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DYNASTY WARRIORS 5 & XTREME LEGENDS
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR CHAOS DIFFICULTY
Created by: Jonathan Leung
Email: jonnay_@hotmail.com
Version 2.07
Start Date: September, 2005
End Date: June, 2006
End Date: Sept, 2006 [XL]
End Date: August, 2007 (Full Weapon Customization)
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Table of Contents
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1.00 - Introduction
2.00 - Copyright
3.00 - Version History
4.00 - Legend
5.00 - General Information and Basics of Chaos Difficulty
5.01 - Changes to Xtreme Legends [XL]
6.00 - General Tips and Strategies of Handling Chaos Difficulty
6.01 - Suggested Items to Equip
6.02 - The Somersault, or Reorientation
6.03 - Eliminate or Avoid Archers
6.04 - Target Majors
6.05 - Attacking Enemies When They are in the Air
6.06 - Keep Your Enemies in Front of You
6.07 - Characters With Two Weapons
6.08 - Steer Clear of Enemy Attack Bases
6.09 - Fighting in Enemy Bases
6.10 - Keep Your Eye on the Detailed Map
6.11 - The Musou Rage
6.12 - The Importance of the Counterattack
6.13 - The Art of True Juggling
6.14 - Manually Increasing Your Attack Range
6.15 - The Non-Playable Spear General
6.16 - A Cheap Method of Defeating Generals with Ease
6.17 - Reasons For Choosing the Ice Orb or Fire Orb
6.18 - Having Your Back Facing a General
6.19 - Taking Advantage of Certain Solid Objects
6.20 - Outside Boundaries
6.21 - Attacks with High Height
6.22 - Unblockable Attacks
6.23 - Disconnected Ground
6.24 - Generals Approaching at a Distance
6.25 - Enemies that do not Flinch
6.26 - Weapon Power
6.27 - Weapon Weight Multiplier
6.28 - The Green Scroll
6.29 - The Disadvantages of Having a Bodyguard
6.30 - Unsuspected and Unwanted Displacement
6.31 - Enemies in Musou Rage
6.32 - Ice Orb Probability
6.33 - The True Way of Musou [XL]
6.34 - The Dragon Arms [XL]
6.35 - Damage-Free Zone
6.36 - Crowd Clearing vs Crowd Control
7.00 - Musou Rage Token and Meat Bun Locations for 5-star Difficulty Stages
7.01 - The Yellow Turban Rebellion (Yellow Turban Forces)
7.02 - The Battle of Chi Bi (Allied Forces)
7.03 - Conquest of Nan Zhong (Nanman Forces)
7.04 - The Siege of He Fei Castle (Wei Forces)
7.05 - The Siege of He Fei Castle (Wu Forces)
7.06 - Battle of Bai Di Castle (Wu Forces)
7.07 - Battle of Bai Di Castle (Shu Forces)
7.08 - Battle of Wu Zhang Plains (Wei Forces)
7.09 - Battle of Wu Zhang Plains (Shu Forces)
7.10 - Struggle for the Book (183AD) [XL]
7.11 - Rescue at Lou Sang Village (184AD) [XL]
7.12 - Ou Xing's Rebellion (187AD) [XL]
7.13 - The Ten Eunuchs' Rebellion (189AD) [XL]
7.14 - Battle of Yan Province (194AD) [XL]
7.15 - Imperial Rescue (195AD) [XL]
7.16 - The Two Qiaos (196AD) [XL]
7.17 - Husbands and Wives (200AD) [XL]
7.18 - Battle of Ji Castle (213AD) [XL]
7.19 - Battle of Jia Meng Gate (214AD) [XL]
7.20 - Battle of Yang Ping Gate (215AD) [XL]
7.21 - Battle of Ru Xu Kou (217AD) [XL]
7.22 - Battle of Han Shui (219AD) [XL]
7.23 - Battle of Mai Castle (219AD) [XL]
7.24 - Battle of Xin Castle (227AD) [XL]
7.25 - Battle of Shi Ting (228AD) [XL]
7.26 - Battle of Mt. Qi (231AD) [XL]
7.27 - Showdown at Nan Zhong (235AD) [XL]
8.00 - Individual Character Analyses for Dynasty Warriors 5
8.01 - Lu Bu
8.02 - Ma Chao
8.03 - Zhuge Liang
8.04 - Zhao Yun
8.05 - Wei Yan
8.06 - Gan Ning
8.07 - Xiahou Dun
8.08 - Pang De
8.09 - Zhang Liao
8.10 - Guan Yu
8.11 - Sima Yi
8.12 - Xu Huang
8.13 - Zuo Ci
8.14 - Ling Tong
8.15 - Meng Huo
8.16 - Pang Tong
8.17 - Zhang He
8.18 - Lu Xun
8.19 - Zhou Yu
8.20 - Xiao Qiao
8.21 - Yue Ying
8.22 - Guan Ping
8.23 - Lu Meng
8.24 - Xing Cai
8.25 - Liu Bei
8.26 - Cao Ren
8.27 - Huang Zhong
8.28 - Da Qiao
8.29 - Sun Shang Xiang
8.30 - Zhou Tai
8.31 - Zhang Fei
8.32 - Jiang Wei
8.33 - Yuan Shao
8.34 - Cao Pi
8.35 - Sun Quan
8.36 - Cao Cao
8.37 - Dong Zhuo
8.38 - Xu Zhu
8.39 - Xiahou Yuan
8.40 - Sun Jian
8.41 - Zhu Rong
8.42 - Zhen Ji
8.43 - Dian Wei
8.44 - Huang Gai
8.45 - Diao Chan
8.46 - Taishi Ci
8.47 - Sun Ce
8.48 - Zhang Jiao
9.00 - Individual Character Analyses for Xtreme Legends [XL]
9.01 - Lu Bu [XL]
9.02 - Zhou Tai [XL]
9.03 - Zhao Yun [XL]
9.04 - Ma Chao [XL]
9.05 - Lu Xun [XL]
9.06 - Wei Yan [XL]
9.07 - Gan Ning [XL]
9.08 - Zhang Liao [XL]
9.09 - Pang De [XL]
9.10 - Da Qiao [XL]
9.11 - Zhuge Liang [XL]
9.12 - Zuo Ci [XL]
9.13 - Ling Tong [XL]
9.14 - Yuan Shao [XL]
9.15 - Sun Quan [XL]
9.16 - Sima Yi [XL]
9.17 - Zhang He [XL]
9.18 - Nu Wa [XL]
9.19 - Liu Bei [XL]
9.20 - Xiahou Dun [XL]
9.21 - Zhang Fei [XL]
9.22 - Jiang Wei [XL]
9.23 - Xing Cai [XL]
9.24 - Lu Meng [XL]
9.25 - Dong Zhuo [XL]
9.26 - Guan Yu [XL]
9.27 - Zhou Yu [XL]
9.28 - Pang Tong [XL]
9.29 - Meng Huo [XL]
9.30 - Xu Huang [XL]
9.31 - Yue Ying [XL]
9.32 - Guan Ping [XL]
9.33 - Xiao Qiao [XL]
9.34 - Sun Jian [XL]
9.35 - Cao Pi [XL]
9.36 - Cao Cao [XL]
9.37 - Cao Ren [XL]
9.38 - Sun Shang Xiang [XL]
9.39 - Zhen Ji [XL]
9.40 - Huang Zhong [XL]
9.41 - Fu Xi [XL]
9.42 - Xiahou Yuan [XL]
9.43 - Taishi Ci [XL]
9.44 - Xu Zhu [XL]
9.45 - Dian Wei [XL]
9.46 - Zhu Rong [XL]
9.47 - Sun Ce [XL]
9.48 - Huang Gai [XL]
9.49 - Diao Chan [XL]
9.50 - Zhang Jiao [XL]
10.00 - Ideal Weapon Customizations (CAW) [XL]
10.01 - Bonus Attribute Chart
10.02 - Zhuge Liang [XL]
10.03 - Lu Bu [XL]
10.04 - Zhou Tai [XL]
10.05 - Zhao Yun [XL]
10.06 - Ma Chao [XL]
10.07 - Sun Jian [XL]
10.08 - Yuan Shao [XL]
10.09 - Pang De [XL]
10.10 - Zhang Liao [XL]
10.11 - Lu Meng [XL]
10.12 - Lu Xun [XL]
10.13 - Ling Tong [XL]
10.14 - Gan Ning [XL]
10.15 - Cao Ren [XL]
10.16 - Zuo Ci [XL]
10.17 - Xu Huang [XL]
10.18 - Liu Bei [XL]
10.19 - Wei Yan [XL]
10.20 - Da Qiao [XL]
10.21 - Xing Cai [XL]
10.22 - Sun Quan [XL]
10.23 - Sima Yi [XL]
10.24 - Zhang He [XL]
10.25 - Nu Wa [XL]
10.26 - Pang Tong [XL]
10.27 - Meng Huo [XL]
10.28 - Zhu Rong [XL]
10.29 - Guan Yu [XL]
10.30 - Xiahou Dun [XL]
10.31 - Zhang Fei [XL]
10.32 - Jiang Wei [XL]
10.33 - Guan Ping [XL]
10.34 - Yue Ying [XL]
10.35 - Cao Cao [XL]
10.36 - Taishi Ci [XL]
10.37 - Dong Zhuo [XL]
10.38 - Xiao Qiao [XL]
10.39 - Zhou Yu [XL]
10.40 - Cao Pi [XL]
10.41 - Sun Shang Xiang [XL]
10.42 - Zhen Ji [XL]
10.43 - Huang Zhong [XL]
10.44 - Diao Chan [XL]
10.45 - Xu Zhu [XL]
10.46 - Fu Xi [XL]
10.47 - Xiahou Yuan [XL]
10.48 - Dian Wei [XL]
10.49 - Zhang Jiao [XL]
10.50 - Huang Gai [XL]
10.51 - Sun Ce [XL]
11.00 - Musou Rage Token and Meat Bun Locations for All Other Stages
12.00 - Video Clip Directory
13.00 - Frequently Asked Questions
14.00 - Just for Fun
14.01 - My Favorite Characters
14.02 - Ten Fastest General Killers
14.03 - Character Normal Attack Ranking
14.04 - Killing Regular Generals in One Hit [XL]
14.05 - Ma Chao's God Tier Placement
14.06 - Dynasty Warriors 5 Musou Strength Ranking
15.00 - Thanks and Credits
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1.00 - Introduction
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This guide is designed to provide tips for playing on Chaos difficulty. But
rather what I'm aiming for are tips for mastering Chaos difficulty, and
using character to maximum potential. The real beauty in Chaos is that it's
much more realistic, in that you die after several hits. I intend to indulge
everyone to play and learn to love Chaos. Be advised that my methods only
emphasize character maximization. I've had complaints about charge attack
spamming in my videos. So, if you don't like character maximization in Chaos,
abusing the same offensive methods for a character, and tier lists, then kindly
stop reading.
I have omitted the use of healing bodyguards, as Chaos mode would be rendered
not so very chaotic, if whenever you are in low health your bodyguard just
bails you out. Since you are granted invincibility while performing a musou
attack, you have all that time for your bodyguard to heal you. Think of this
FAQ as a more of a challenge to beat it without relying on bodyguards. However,
starting off your first few levels in Chaos with healing bodyguards will surely
help you develop your skills much quicker. Health on the field should be
considered as minor freebies. Also the Tribal Remedy item is encouraged,
because you have to work hard to earn the life.
Only very brief walkthroughs for 5 star difficulty levels will be covered,
but this guide will include strategies/tips and indepth discussion with all
characters. There are nine 5 star difficulty levels in free mode. In musou mode,
there are a total of 13 extra 5 star difficulty levels. These levels are the
last levels of the certain unique musou modes that don't end with any of the 5
star levels that are already available in free mode. For example, Zhao Yun's
musou mode ends at Yi Ling; this is a 5 star level. The difficulty of these
final levels is equivalent to the 5 star levels in free mode. This guide will
contain only the 5 star levels in free mode. Only musou rage locations have
been provided for all stages.
99% of this guide is my work alone, so there should be many things that I may
have missed, and many things that can be contributed. I would be glad to hear,
and greatly look forward to hearing, any useful strategies that I have failed
to mention. If I find the tip/strategy to be useful, I will include it, and
give credit. My intention for this guide, is always, to improve it.
The writing style I will be using in this guide is informal writing. The
language I use is more colloquial, and intended to be treated as more of
a discussion or conversation between me and you, the reader. I'm quite
aware of the informal grammar, and that spammable isn't quite a word.
Many people may find it useful to read all the of character sections, sorted
by character. This is useful to see how each character changes throughout
all three analyses, Dynasty Warriors 5, Xtreme Legends, and then Full
Weapon Customization. Simple use the search tool with CTRL+F, and just
add a "- " before each character's name (with a space after the -)
This is how the titles of each character's subsection is done, so this
will allow for quick navigation.
Lastly, I've discovered a new nickname for me recently. Apparently, I am also
known as Joe Musou. I don't know how this came to exist, but I suppose I don't
mind it.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to:
- provide better suggestions or tips, or even if you feel you have a better
video clip
- persuade me in making modifications in the tier list
(BEFORE you do so, please take the time to read the introduction of the tier
list where I have my tier list explicitly defined. And PLEASE, if you desire
to swap any two characters, at least have their sections read before-hand,
and have already viewed both their video clips)
- if you have any questions regarding my guide
- if you'd like Dynasty Warriors help outside the realm of Chaos mode
- or if you'd just like to chat about Dynasty Warriors in general
at www.jonnay_@hotmail.com. I will give full credit to providers of tips or
strategies that I find to be useful. Credit is only awarded to the first
provider of the same strategy.
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2.00 - Copyright
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This guide was composed to be posted on, and only on www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com.
This guide may not be reproduced and posted on any other site without my
written permission.
Violation of copyright is illegal and strictly prohibited.
Copyright 2005-2006 Jonathan Leung
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3.00 - Version History
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0.90 - First submission of the Guide. About 90% completion.
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0.91 - Added section 6.23 - Unblockable Attacks and Xu Huang's Air Charge
Modifications to the tier list:
Zuo Ci up.
Jiang Wei up.
Sima Yi up.
Huang Zhong down.
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0.92 - Added section 10.0 - Just for Fun
Added section 6.24 - Disconnected Ground
Added more to intro to section 8.0
Updated several characters
Modifications to the tier list:
Guan Yu up.
Yue Ying up.
Xiahou Dun down.
Meng Huo up.
Xiahou Yuan down.
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0.93 - Added section 6.25 - Generals Approaching at a Distance
Added section 6.26 - Enemies that do not Flinch
Completed Sun Quan.
Modifications to the tier list:
Taishi Ci down.
Huang Zhong down.
Dian Wei down.
Sun Jian up.
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0.94 - Updated 6.23 - Unblockable Attacks
Added more to tier list introduction
Updated 6.22 - Attacks with High Height
Modifications to the tier list:
Zuo Ci up.
Zhang He up.
Meng Huo down.
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0.95 - Added requests for video clips, in section 8 - character tips...
A general update in the entire character tips section
Added video clip for proofs for: (Just for Fun section)
Countering counterattacks (DW4)
Continuous musou filling (DW3)
Charge Cancellation (Huang Zhong only)
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0.96 - Updated Zhou Tai
Video Clip additions:
Zhou Tai
Xu Huang
Lu Bu
Jiang Wei
Modifications to the tier list:
Huang Gai up.
Xu Huang up.
Zhang He up.
Updated Using the Bow attack and First charge simultaneously
(Huang Zhong)
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0.97 - Revised 5 fastest general killers to 10 (section 10.0)
Added section 6.27 - Weapon Power
Added section 6.28 - Weapon Weight Multiplier
Added section 6.29 - The Green Scroll
Added section 6.30 - Disadvantages of Having a Bodyguard
Added character summaries
Updated Taishi Ci
Updated Wei Yan
Modifications to the tier list:
Taishi Ci down.
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0.98 - Updated section 6.12 - Importance of the Counterattack
Modifications to the tier list:
Sun Ce down.
Pang De up.
Wei Yan up.
Updated Xu Huang
Updated Zhang Jiao
Updated Da Qiao
Updated Cao Cao
Added Section 6.31 - Unsuspected and Unwanted Displacement
Added Section 6.32 - Enemy Generals in Musou Rage
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0.99 - Added Musou Rage Locations for all maps
All Video Clips, and Character Sections finished
Modifications to the tier list:
Sun Jian down.
Sun Shang Xiang up.
Taishi Ci down.
Sima Yi up.
Pang De up.
Zhou Yu up.
Guan Ping down.
Xiahou Dun up.
Jiang Wei up.
1.00 - 100% completion of the guide
Entire Proofread and Update!
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1.01 - New update: This is just heads up, as I'm planning to make an
Xtreme Legends expansion. The Create-A-Warrior in Edit Mode and Destiny
Mode is what lead me to do this. There are many characters who are
ruined by their fourth weapons, and are much better with a different
weapon altogether, whether it be because of weapon weight or weapon
attribute or both. In Destiny Mode, it is possible to get a third weapon
with 5 attributes on it. On top of that, it is possible to raise the
numerical values of these attributes to the maximum of 20. Thus, it is
possible to create a character with the same moveset with better stats
to suit Chaos Mode more appropriately. This would however sacrifice
the musou rage tokens for ever 100 KO's that you would get with a
fourth weapon. Aside from these new and better possibilities with
Create-A-Warrior (I'll abbreviate it as CAW from here on), there are
some important changes with combat in Xtreme Legends: Characters will
now flinch for longer, musous are slightly extended, some charge attacks
now activate the elemental orbs when they didn't in Dynasty Warriors 5,
and there are a lot of new items. These would result in some changes
with using most of the characters, and a slightly different tier list.
I want to make an Xtreme Legends expansion, with notes on all the
characters, and new sections for the Fu Xi and Nu Wa movesets.
A new Xtreme Legends Tier List will be created. In addition to this,
I will also expand the Musou Rage Locations section, for all the new
stages in Legend Mode, and add the locations of all meat buns for
all the stages.
The stages included in section 7, level walkthroughs, are only 5-star
difficulty stages. Because I now want to include the location of musou
rages and meat buns in non 5-star levels, I have revised these sections,
but only the titles. Section 7 will have the 5-star difficulty stages,
and section 9 will include non 5-star stages. The new stages in Xtreme
Legends are all 5-star difficulty, so they will be in section 7.
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1.10 - There are Xtreme Legends expansions to my guide for each of the sections
and all of these will have a [XL] symbol, in the title of the
section/subsection.
Updated Sun Shang Xiang
Updated Pang De
Added section 5.1 - Changes in Xtreme Legends [XL]
Added section 6.32 - Ice Orb Probability
Added section 6.33 - The True Way of Musou
Added section 6.34 - The Dragon Arms
Completed Musou Rage Token and Meat Bun Locations for 5-star stages
Completed Musou Rage Token and Meat Bun Locations for all other stages
(sections 7, and 11)
My goals for the next update: (by Sept 06)
Several extra subsections for section 6: General Tips and Strategies
New section, section 9 - Character Walkthroughs for Xtreme Legends
Yes. This section will introduce a new tier list.
New section, section 10 - Create-A-Warrior
New section, section 11 - All-Emcompassing Tier List
New section, section 13 - Video Clip Directory
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1.11 - Updated Huang Zhong
Updated Diao Chan
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1.15 - Corrected properties of Power
Corrected Relative Attack Strengths Formula
Revised the Character Normal Attack Ranking
Completed Xtreme Legends Character subsections in section 9
from Lu Bu to Ling Tong
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1.20 - Added Fu Xi into section 9, and the tier list
Completed Xtreme Legends Character subsections in section 9
from Lu Bu to Zhang He
Updated Lu Meng in section 8
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1.30 - Added new subsection, 14.4 - Killing Generals in One Hit
Completed video clips for all characters in Xtreme Legends
please check them out on YouTube (go to section 9 for link)
Finished video clip notes up to
Revised section 6.1 - Suggested Items to Equip (worth a read)
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Feb05/07
1.31 - Haven't updated in a long time.
- Mainly tier list updates this time.
- There are now tons of videos on my YouTube account
- I want to announce addition of Weapon Weight Alternatives for all
characters in both DW5 and XL. The Tier Lists may seem a
little misleading sometimes because people may find it
really tedious to read my long definition. Because some
4th weapons aren't so great, different weight weight
alternatives may often be better. This should be the last
thing I want to add for completion of this guide, and perhaps
some other miscellaneous things for Just for Fun section.
I hope to resume in May, and hope to finish some time in the
Summer.
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Aug04/07
1.85 - Huge update, and overall guide revision
- Corrected Ice Orb Probability
- Ma Chao's God Tier placement theory
- Complete Revision of DW5 Tier List
- Xtreme Legends Analyses finished
- Complete Revision of DW5 XL Tier List
- Included Tier List Discussions for both DW5 and XL Tier Lists
- Included Preview of Full Customization Tier List
- Full Customization section, section 10, analyses left to be completed
and Tier List Discussion
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Aug23/07
2.00 - Full Customization Section complete
- All expansion sections to DW5 are complete
- Version 2.00 of this guide, and finalized version, complete.
- Added section 6.35 - Damage-Free Zone, contributed by Xiahou Jia
- Revised Wei Yan's section - mathematical analysis for deciding between
the Fire Orb and Ice Orb
- The same Fire Orb and Ice Orb analysis for Wei Yan applies to Xiahou Dun
- Included an explanation on how to juggle officers properly with Xu
Zhu's musou
- Diao Chan's safe C3 execution
- More on Cao Pi's Ice Orbs
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Feb20/08
2.05 - Corrected several typo errors
- Included a Musou Damage Ranking, and a link to the video showing this
ranking
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May23/08
2.06 - Revised The Tier List Theory
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May29/08
2.07 - Added Section 6.36 - Crowd Clearing vs Crowd Control
===============================================================================
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4.00 - Legend
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Here is a brief legend explaining the terminology that I'm going to use to
explain things in an easier way.
Attributes - these are all the stats present on items and weapons, as well as
each character's raw stats. The nine attributes in the game are defined
below.
Life - the amount of life, health, or hit points a character has
Musou - a strong special attack that grants invincibility, which is
unique to every character
Attack - overall strength of all attacks
Defense - magnitude of resistance against enemy attacks
Horse - the severity of attacks executed on a horse, and the magnitude
of resistance against enemy attacks while on a horse.
Bow - the severity of an arrow attack, and the magnitude of resistance
against enemy arrows.
Speed - the speed at which a character moves on foot when not
attacking.
Charge - the severity of all attacks executed by pushing the triangle
button.
*Note - the first attack of an evolution is a charge attack
*Note - charge attacks makes the enemy flinch while they are
charging for a musou attack. Because of this specific
flinching property, not all triangle attacks are
charge attacks, and thus do not cause flinching and
are not affected by the Herbal Remedy. ex. Zhen Ji's
normal charge
Fill - the rate at which the musou bar increases
Luck - raises probability of enemies dropping items such as meat buns,
defense x2 for 30 sec, attack x2 for 30 sec, speed x2 for 30
sec, and musou for 10 sec.
*Note - this does not include the musou rage
*Note - the appearance of meat buns on Chao difficulty is
excluded
Normal Attacks - all regular attacks that are executed by pushing the Square
button. This sort of attack is quick but weak, and is unaffected by the
Herbal Remedy item.
Charge Attacks - many special attacks that are executed by pushing the Triangle
button. This sort of attack requires time to charge, which is indicate
by a very brief white flash with a faint sound. It ranges from quick to
slow, and weak to strong. The severity of charge attacks are governed
by the Charge attribute, and may be increased by equiping the Herbal
Remedy Item. Not all attacks executed by the triangle button are
charge attacks.
Charge Attack Notation - I will use the popular short hand notation to
abbreviate charge attacks. Pressing triangle only would be C1,
a character's first charge attack. If S and T stand for square and
triangle, respectively, then SSST would be C4, and SSSSST would be
C6.
Jump Attack - the air attack done by pressing square while in mid-air
Jump Charge - the specific charge attack done by pressing triangle while in
mid-air.
Horse Charge - the charge attack done while on horseback.
Running Attack - the special attack done by pressing square after running for
6 steps
*Note - activating the musou rage resets your steps to 0
Evolution Attacks - the extra 4 attacks added onto to the regular 6 normal
attack string. The moveset ends at 5 normal attacks, and then begins a
new string of 4 evolution attacks, making a total of 9 attacks. Some
unique characters have 10 attacks....or rather 9 attacks but 10
individual strikes, for example Diao Chan.
True Musou - A version of the musou attack where it's fire elemental. The
ending is different and is in most cases better and/or stronger.
Execution Time - the time it takes to execute an attack (usually charge attack)
Recovery Time - the time it takes to recover, and be able to attack again
after executing an attack.
Counter - a counterattack perform by pressing triangle while holding L1, just
as an enemy strikes you.
*Note - a failed counterattack results in a brief studder,
where you will be vulnerable to enemy attack.
Range - how much coverage an attack has. 360 degree strikes have the best
range, while jabbing or vertical attacks have the worst. Keep in mind
range will generally refer to horizontal radial range, and not vertical
range. Height does play a small role in the effectiveness of attacks,
but essentially, it's the horizontal range that is important. If you
want to consider it in Cartesian Coordinates, only x and y are
are important, and not too much for the z.
Reach - how much distance an attack covers. Spear guys like Lu Bu have the most
reach and fan characters like Zhuge Liang have the worst.
Juggling - the act of keeping opponents in the air by continuously attacking
them.
Scatter Attack - any attack that results in enemies flying into other enemies.
This happens when the "enemies that you don't hit" get pushed back, by
the "enemies that you do hit." This would then create a "scattering
effect" where many enemies would be pushed back
*Note - the C4 for most of the characters is a
scattering attack.
*Note - the enemies that are pushed back receive no
damage, and have nothing to do with the attack
attribute.
*Note - your allies cannot be pushed back or scattered, and
therefore are unaffected by scattering attacks.
Flinching - the short period of time when a character is being hit and is
unable to move, jump, block, or attack
*Note - the Arm Guards item nullifies flinching when
performing charge attacks, but note that damage will
still be dealt, unlike what it says on the item
description in the game
*Note - some playable characters are immune to flinching while
they are performing charge attacks even without the
Arm Guards equipped, for example Dian Wei. These
characters can be considered to have default Arm Guards
equipped, therefore equipping Arm Guards on them would
do nothing.
*Note - Characters that have shields are even better, as they
are immune to flinching during their charge attacks,
AND their normal attacks. This means that whenever they
are attacking in any way, when PLANTED on the ground,
(non-aerial attacks) they will never flinch from enemy
normal attacks. Note in particular that only charge
attacks will cause these characters to flinch.
Obviously, they will still receive damage. An example
of this is Xing Cai.
*Note - while in musou rage, all playable characters are immune
to flinching when attacked by normal attacks
Stunning - the act of knocking enemies off balance, but only for a very short
time. Ex. Zhao Yun's C3, or Ma Chao's C3 or C6.
Disorientating - the act of knocking enemies into a dizzy state, where
characters are unable to act for a longer period of time than if they
were to be stunned. Ex. Zuo Ci's C3.
Crowds - When I say crowds, it is normally referred to large groups of enemy
foot soldiers, or peons as some people like to call them.
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5.00 - General Information and Basics of Chaos Difficulty
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With respect to Hard difficulty, the enemy's defense is doubled, and their
attack is quadrupled in Chaos. This is much more challenging than hard mode,
since their attack is quadrupled.
Meat Buns are very scarce. There are only a few meat buns on each map, which
only give you +50 health. The location of these are the same as all the Full
Recovery pickups in all other difficulty levels. These locations will be noted
in the level walkthroughs section.
It seems that there are consistently 3 meat buns in each map, not
including ones that are in supply bases. However, Bai Castle has 4, which is
somewhat bizarre.
Also, I have found that some supply bases harbour two meat buns or more.
This is likely a preset probability. I have seen four meat buns in a
supply base before, but only once in all my experience of playing this game.
I don't have the statistics, but an approximation from pure experience is
somewhere around 5% for two meat buns, while three and four would be likely
under 1% chance.
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5.01 - Changes in Xtreme Legends [XL]
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There are several changes in Xtreme Legends:
The flinching time is slightly extended, and this goes for both you and the
AI. There are probably more cons than pros because of this. Because you will
now flinch for a longer period of time, it is much harder survive in Chaos
Mode. The good thing about this, is that since enemy generals will now flinch
for slightly longer, many charge attacks that have long execution times will
hit successfully, and connect without the general interrupting it. This changes
the strategic ways of using all the characters slightly. But there are some
characters like Xiahou Yuan who are way better because of this change in
Xtreme Legends.
Heavy weapon wielders now gain the property of immunation to flinching. This
is extremely useful in Hard Mode, but of little use in Chaos Mode. Thus,
all characters with heavy weapons will not flinch when executing any attacks of
their own. This goes for all characters. On a side note, the two characters
with shields, Xing Cai and Cao Ren both have this innate ability to be immune
to flinching, regardless of weapon weight.
All stages in Legend Mode have the difficulty of a 5-star stage. The
attack/defense etc properties are the same or very similar. The best way to
prove this is simple; just load your Dynasty Warriors 5 into Xtreme Legends,
by going to Load Original, and play a 5-star stage in Free Mode, on any
difficulty setting. The number of bonus upgrades that you get after completing
the stage is the same as you would get in any stage on that same difficulty,
in Legend Mode. More detail will be covered on these "Bonus Upgrades" in
section 10.
There are many new items added in Xtreme Legends, and the important ones will
be covered in section 6.
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6.00 - General Tips and Strategies for Handling Chaos Difficulty
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This section covers a lot of the basics, useful properties, and general
tips for Chaos Mode.
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6.01 - Suggested Items to Equip
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The main objective of this sub-section is to clarify my view of the
uselessness of equipping the Peacock Amulet, and the Tortoise Amulet. The Tiger
Amulet, Green Scroll, Wind Scroll, and Ginseng are the best choices. I'm
convinced that it's hard for most people to realize and accept this.
My videos also show a clear advantage for having all items devoted to
maximizing offensive power. For the many characters like Zhao Yun or Xu Huang,
who have long reach and wide range, defensive items are almost completely
useless. You have the Tiger Amulet and Green Scroll for maximum attack power;
you have the Wind Scroll to maximize reach; you have the Ginseng for faster
musou filling. A character's musou can be thought of as a defense. Since attack
power is maximized, musou filling become much easier.
In a sense, my proposition can be described by the cliche, "The Best Offense is
the Best Defense."
Here is some indepth logical reasoning to explain the uselessness of
defensive items, namely, the Peacock Amulet, and the Tortoise Amulet.
The biggest reason why these items are close to useless is because of the
fact that meat buns on the field are limited. Limited to a minimum of 3
meat buns. Increasing a character's defense would only allow for that character
to sustain a few more hits, and it's that simple; a "few" is the key word
here. This is testable by the way: Sun Quan with my "ideal" set up, takes
roughly 4 hits from peons to perish. Giving him more life or defense will
increase this to perhaps 8 hits. Keep in mind that these are specifically hits.
If one general along with two elite guards attack you at the same time, you're
a goner. This situation is indeed possible and frequent enough to deserve
to be mentioned.
After reasoning purely with technicalities, some may want and prefer a
realistic example instead: Beginning by first addressing the abstract of
this example, many characters in Xtreme Legends are able to kill regular
generals in simply one full musou, even on Chaos Mode. Being able to do this
is, in itself, a great defense, as you don't even have to engage in a real
fight with the general. Taking Zhao Yun for example, his recommended item
configuration is Tiger Amulet, Green Scroll, Wind Scroll, True Way of Musou,
Way of Musou. A "typical" item configuration which includes the two defensive
items Peacock Amulet and Tortoise Amulet, would likely have these in the place
of Way of Musou, and obviously the Green Scroll. So now, Zhao Yun is able to
sustain more hits, perhaps three times more. But, now he is far from being
able to kill generals in one musou, it takes more effort and larger crowds to
fill his musou, crowd clearing in general becomes much harder, and the
non-360-degree ending of his regular musou will likely leave him in
vulnerable situations.
Here is an even better example: Huang Zhong and Xiahou Yuan can be considered
to have very similar movesets. (Identical 1st, 2nd, and 3rd normal attacks,
C1 is archery, identical C4's, similar C5's that
have similar reach and attack range and able to hit generals regardless of
blocking, a C6 with similar attack range, and very similar musous)
Huang Zhong with his light 4th weapon lies on one extreme end with
one of the lowest attacks, but high defense, and Xiahou Yuan is on the other
end, with very high attack but poor defense (in Dynasty Warriors 5 only).
Thorough experience with both should easily conclude their differences. The
video clips in this guide are good visual backups for this claim.
I do recommend defensive items at times in this guide and it is very
special cases, and it is to achieve what I call a "Special Defense".
Cao Ren is the only character in Dynasty Warriors 5 capable of this sort of
special defense. His 4th weapon is designed purposely to be devoted to
defense. His entire moveset is devoted to defense with protective
attacks and the non-flinching ability. His only problem is that he has
short reach. However, Cao Ren should be consider to have a decent defense
because his high defense stats, can be made useful if he doesn't flinch
from normal attacks. Because he's also attacking, he'll receive slightly
less hits, so he's less prone to a entire chain of continuous slashes.
And if he does get hit, he'll only be scratched.
Additionally, if you insist on a defensive item, the Tribal Remedy is more
useful than the Peacock Amulet and the Tortoise Amulet. The Tribal Remedy
disregards the notion of limited meat buns on the field. Well techincally,
it isn't unlimited, but much more than normal. Going back to Sun Quan's
example, giving him the Tortoise Amulet would allow him to sustain two extra
hits, then acquiring a 300 KO count will approximately equal the Tortoise
Amulet already. Further health after this, explains the usefulness of
the Tribal Remedy.
There is one exception: the Dragon Arms item should also be considered as
a defense item. The Dragon Arms may be extremely useful for some characters.
The difference between the Dragon Arms and the two items Peacock Amulet and
Tortoise Amulet, is that the Dragon Arms reduces the chances of getting hit
by eliminating charge recovery times, and other two increases the number of
times you can get hit before you die.
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6.02 - The Somersault, or Reorientation
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This is a very basic skill. If you are hit into the air, tap L1 as you hit the
ground and you will perform a somersault to quickly flip and reorientate
yourself. If you are knocked high into the air, just keep tapping L1 and you
will do the somersault at the peak position when in the air.
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6.03 - Eliminate or Avoid Archers
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Archers are a real pain if you're fighting in crowds or running from crowds.
Their bow attacks are quite strong on Chaos. The flinch from being hit by an
arrow will cancel your attack while you are attacking, or temporarily stop you
while you are running away from crowds and will allow much time for enemies to
attack you.
A good way to fight smartly in the range of battlefield archers (not archer
towers) is to make use of what I like to call, the ally shielding effect. Non-
piercing attacks, like arrows, will not pierce through anything. This means
that an arrow will stop at the very first thing it strikes, and this means
anything considered opaque in the game. So enemy archers are of no threat at
all, if there is even one thing blocking an arrow's straight-line path to you.
So under circumstances like when fighting massive crowds, you really don't
have to worry too much about those pesky archers. This is useful until you
scatter crowds with attacks or musous.
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6.04 - Target Majors
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Majors are the leaders of the peons which come in groups of fives.
Try to set your targets on these types of peons in large crowds because they
attack way more frequently, and when they do they usually do more hits than
privates. Similarly, this applies to Elite Guards, Gate Captains and
Guard Captains.
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6.05 - Attacking Enemies When They are in the Air
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When you attack enemies while they are in mid-air, in better terminology
juggling them, all damage is cut down by half. Although it is safer to fight
enemies when they are in the air, (since they can't block or fight back) it is
more practical to fight enemies when they are planted on the ground, because
of full damage.
However in some cases it may be more practical to juggle a general, with the
combination of fire, depending on the weapon weight and attacking speed of the
character you are using.
This fact is the reason to avoid certain characters' true musous. For example,
Zhang Liao, or Taishi Ci. They're true musous even though have fire, deal only
half the damage of their regular musous.
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6.06 - Keep Your Enemies in Front of You
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This may seem like common sense, but it is crucial in Chaos as your goal is to
never get hit. Blocking becomes an unavailable option when surrounded. Also
when surrounded, all the people behind you (that are visible on the screen)
cover the people in front of you, so you cannot see them in order to counter
them. This strategy makes stages like Chi Bi very easy, as the links between
all the boats are often narrow enough to keep your enemies in front of you. But
even if in other stages, you can use walls to your advantage, thus limiting
the directions that enemies can come from. A very good strategy is to fight
inside ally bases, like in Wu Zhang Plains of Wei's Side. There are three
defense bases to protect. Standing right at the entrance of a base gives you
extremely good defense, since no enemies will be coming from behind or on your
sides. You may keep doing scattering attacks or projectile attacks, and
quickly rack up kills for getting musou rages.
Even though your enemies are in front of you when you are attack them, having
them out of your view is just as dangerous. Try to make good use of the L1
button to toggle the camera to view the angle from behind you. A good example
for this is attacking generals when they are out of the view of the TV screen
(when the camera isn't toggled behind you). Even though it's apparent to you
that they aren't blocking, it is quite possible that they are charging to
execute a musou attack. You will blinded by this if you can't see them.
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6.07 - Characters With Two Weapons
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Many of the characters with two weapons benefit from increased attack range,
and double damage. It's also a fact that some attacks count as two hits, thus
giving a combo of 2. Generally speaking, learn the unique attacks that involve
the use of both weapons. For attacking range, the best example would be Xiao
Qiao's C4. It covers awesome reach, with a potential range of 360
degrees. Even so, Xiao Qiao's normal attack string has quite compromising
range. The most important aspect of some double weaponed characters is the
increase of damage. Learn these moves and abuse them. The best example is
Taishi Ci, and others include Pang De, Diao Chan, Xiao Qiao, Da Qiao and
Lu Xun. Both Taishi Ci and Diao Chan's jump charge can kill privates in one hit.
Every part of Lu Xun's C3 does a lot of damage. With Xiao Qiao and
Da Qiao, if you successfully hit with both fans (indicated by a +2 in the combo
counter) the damage is indeed doubled. As for Pang De, his C5 deals
massive damage.
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6.08 - Fighting Near Enemy Bases
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Attack bases can deal a lot of damage to you if you are in the range of their
projectiles. The range is actually quite far too, so either fight right along
the outside edges of the base, or inside the base.
Fighting outside defense bases is still a threat, because there are archers on
the corners of the base.
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6.09 - Fighting in Ally Supply Bases
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When the situations are met, fighting inside ally supply bases may give you
full life recovery. One of the 2 gate captains on each side of the base must
be defeated. This opens up the gates to allow enemies in. When enemies are
inside, the guard captain as well as his men will fight. From time to time,
the guard captain will use either attack X2, defense X2, or +200 life. +200
life is what you want here. A good example of this in Bai Di Castle on Shu
Forces. When Gan Ning arrives, and starts to penetrate the area near the
supply base, around the position of Huang Zhong's initial starting position,
the gates are likely to be opened. Luring Gan Ning into the base is an easy
kill, as well as a good chance for full life recovery. Although, I think there
is a limit of how many times this occurs, which I had not yet put time into
figuring out.
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6.10 - Keep Your Eye on the Detailed Map
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Very self-explanatory. It would be quite stupid to be fighting in melee while
toggled on the large field map. Many moves do not have 360 degree range so you
should rely on the map to tell you where your enemies are and how close they
are to you.
Additionally, this detailed map may assist you with some attacks in which
you have no control over the toggling of the camera. Two good examples of this
are Sima Yi's and Gan Ning's musou. Since you can't control the camera in
Sima Yi's musou, just use the detailed map to tell you where to direct his
beams. Many people find it hard to control Gan Ning's musou; I believe the
main reason why it is so hard is because the camera angles are almost never
in the preferred places. On the detailed map, Gan Ning's musou is much easier
to control because you get, in a sense, a bird's eye view. Once you've used
Gan Ning's musou enough times you'll practically have it's speed memorized,
and you can almost completely rely on the detailed map.
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6.11 - The Musou Rage
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The Musou Rage doubles both your attack and defense. A regular Musou
Rage lasts 15 seconds, and when you have the Demon Band equipped, a Musou Rage
will last for 30 seconds. However, a Musou Rage will never end during a musou.
So if the 15 seconds of your musou rage ends when you are in the middle of a
musou, you will still be in Musou Rage, and the Musou Rage will last until your
musou is finished. You will be notified that your Musou Rage will end soon,
by the Musou Token Icon at the bottom left corner of the screen; it will start
spinning faster.
In a Musou Rage, you will be immune to flinching from all normal attacks, and
bow attacks, but you will still flinch if you get hit by charge attacks or
musou attacks.
The characters who benefit most from musou rages are the ones with heavy fourth
weapons. During a musou rage your attacking speed is maximized regardless of
your weapon weight. Since characters with light weapons already attack really
fast, the musou rage upgrades this only a tiny bit. Whereas the attacking speed
of characters with heavy fourth weapons are totally transformed to the speed of
being slightly faster than their attacking speed if they were to be equipped
with a light weapon. This is because the attacking speed when in musou rage for
each character depends on each character's unique attacking speed regardless of
weapon weight. So what I mean is, Ling Tong by default is the fastest attacker,
and Pang De by default is the slowest attacker; when in musou rage, Ling Tong
will always be the fastest attacker, and likewise Pang De will always be the
slowest ranked attacker; thus this is totally independant of weapon weight, and