Dynasty Warriors: Origins may not have the huge amount of movesets that the previous games in the franchise did, but the nine weapons it does have are all incredibly fun and have a lot of depth. Not only does each weapon have fun combos and a unique gimmick, but each one also has several unique battle arts to cause pure chaos on the battlefield.
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With this many great weapons, each with hundreds of thousands of KOs under their belt, it’s natural for the question of “which weapon is the best to arise”. While each one has their worth and should be used often, if one were to judge each weapon based on their combos, primary gimmick, and battle arts, then it becomes possible to form the following ranking of Dynasty Warriors: Origins weapons.
9The Lance
Nearly every weapon type in Dynasty Warriors: Origins has some sort of gimmick or a mix of strengths and weaknesses that makes it feel unique. However, there is one exception to this rule: the lance. Everything about the lance moveset isexceedinglynormal. Regular attacks, regular battle arts, and ordinary support characters wielding it. This weapon has no highs or lows, potentially making it a perfect weapon for those who don’t want to deal with the extra gimmicks that movesets tend to have in this title.
Sadly, being the most normal weapon in the game works against the lance when it comes to this list. While it’s fun to use, it just doesn’t come close to the greatness of every other weapon in the Origins locker. Thankfully, it does have some incredibly brutal assault animations when you break enemy fortitude; it never feels like a waste whenever you have one equipped.
8The Gauntlets
While using long lances or swords is fine for most people, a true warrior can crack the skull of an enemy force using only their fists! These weapons are very unique in that the player isn’t expected to be constantly moving and slashing at enemies while using them, but rather one should stand their ground in the middle of a base and enter into a battle stance where you’ll be able to unleash a flurry of punches in the direction of your choice.
These stances and the ability to hold your ground makes the gauntlets a great weapon choice for the game’s boss encounters, but sadly means they fall short when it comes to fighting groups of enemies. If you’re in a small base where enemies are crowded together, you cannot take full advantage of the fist’s stances. So, while they aren’t a bad weapon type, they feel more situational than others in the roster.
7The Twin Pikes
Zhang Liao’s twin pikes strike fear into any enemy who sees them and the same principle applies to any foe when the player is wielding them. The main gimmick of the twin pikes is their infinite strong attacks. Once the player begins mashing that button, they’ll continue attacking until they either stop or are attacked by a foe.
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These infinite strong attacks give the twin pikes the same advantage as the gauntlets, where the player may plant their feet in the center of a large enemy force and keep attacking. Unlike the fists though, the main combos of the Twin Pikes are great at crowd control in all situations and have some great battle arts. So, while they have fundamentally the same purpose as movesets, the Twin Pikes slightly outback the gauntlets on this list.
6The Sword
Next up on the list is the weapon of choice for a majority of gaming protagonists: a sword. Similar to the lance, the sword doesn’t have any special gimmicks or weaknesses. However, unlike the lance, this simplicity feels appropriate for the sword moveset. As the protagonist starts the game with this weapon, it feels right for it to have normal combos and give players a pure musou experience before easing them into the more unique weapons of Origins.
Being the weapon you start the game with, the sword moveset is very well-rounded. It doesn’t have many weaknesses, but also not many unique qualities that allow it to overshadow later weapons in the game. Even its best battle arts aren’t obtained until much later in the game. With this weapon seemingly being designed to be middle-of-the-road in quality, it only makes sense that it falls into the middle of this list.
5The Padou
Xiahou Dun’s weapon of choice, the padou, is one of the most simple weapon types in the game. None of its combos do anything fancy, merely slicing at enemies with your sword. Unlike the lance, the padou is hiding a trick up its sleeve. If you hold in the strong attack button, the padou’s attacks can be charged up to incredible strength. In addition to this, the battle arts of this weapon shatter through enemy fortitude like glass, giving the player ample opportunity to chain assault after assault.
These great battle arts, of course, come at a high bravery cost, which makes the padou a hard weapon to get a handle on during the early game. Come late game, and this weapon completely changes the gameplay loop as the player gets into a loop of breaking enemies before unleashing a massively strong charged attack that decimates their health bar. While it isn’t the best weapon type in the game, you can’t go wrong while wielding a Padou. Especially if you’re facing a strong foe like Lu Bu.
4The Crescent Blade
Guan Yu of theShu factiontruly earned the title God of War for charging into battle with this huge weapon. The crescent blade moveset has a very unique gimmick that turns the Musou formula on its head, as pressing the strong button at the right time after performing a regular strong attack will lead to an extended combo. It’s very rare for a Musou moveset to have any sort of extension to its strong attacks, so this inherently makes the crescent blade stand out.
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The crescent blade is very similar to the padou in that it is at its most optimal when the player charges up their string combos. Unlike the padou, though, the crescent blade’s normal combos are also plenty strong on their own. It also has the same advantage of its battle arts, decimating the fortitude of enemies, thus earning it a higher placement on this list.
3The Spear
Next up on the list is the weapon of choice for Dynasty Warriors’ mascot character Zhou Yun: the spear. Due to its status as a mascot weapon, the player will gain access to this moveset during the tutorial. Don’t let that early acquisition make you think this weapon isn’t worthwhile though, as the Spear is one of the most fun weapons in the game! The main gimmick of this weapon is that if the player were to end combos by pressing triangle twice, the protagonist will let loose a flurry of rapid stabs forward at enemies.
This gimmick, as well as several combos which sweep the spear left and right at enemies, makes this an excellent moveset for clearing crowds and shaving through the health of officers. Unfortunately, the spear does lose some points as it has some of the least impressive battle arts in the game, both animation and damage-wise. If these arts had just a bit more pizzazz, then this weapon could have topped this list, but being in the upper half isn’t bad.
2The Staff
Following up the spear on this list is the weapon of choice of Wu’s grand strategist Zhou Yu: the staff. This quick weapon is great for crowd control as many of its combos involve moving toward and around enemies. The staff’s main gimmick is that if the player holds in the strong attack button after a combo, they’ll enter a state where they’ll continuously attack until the player either lets go of the button or is hit themselves.
In a way, the staff can be seen as the polar opposite of the Twin Pikes, whose greatest strength was allowing the player to stand in one place and slash at enemies. On the flip side, this gimmick makes the staff the best weapon in the game for mowing down crowds, as it allows the player to keep attacking as they run through a crowd, increasing the K.O. counter by the dozens as they do.
The staff is also great for shattering the fortitude of officers, as the player can also stand still to attack a very small area of enemies with a single attack. With these strengths, staff nearly made its way to the top of the list. However, there was one weapon moveset which was just a little bit better.
It’s a shame the other strategists and their personal weapons weren’t usable in this title.
1The Wheels
Sun Shangxiang is one of thebest charactersin the Dynasty Warriors franchise, which is why it feels so great that Dynasty Warriors: Origins gives special focus to her and her weapons: the wheels. These weapons can both slice through enemies and be thrown in various directions, with their main gimmick being that if the player presses the triangle button immediately upon the wheels returning to them, they’ll be able to unleash an even stronger attack.
Whether you’re taking down hundreds of enemies in a base or facing off against a boss, wheels are easily the most fun weapon type in Dynasty Warriors: Origins. Each combo feels unique in how it takes down enemies and keeping track of where your previously thrown wheels are so you can unleash even more carnage is so much fun. While you should use a variety of weapon types throughout your playthrough, no one can blame you for wanting to switch back to wheels as soon as possible.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins
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