Dynasty Warriors 6/Weapon Movesets

Several characters in Dynasty Warriors 6 share the same weapon movesets albeit with minor differences. Dynasty Warriors 6: Special later gave six characters unique weapon movesets, leaving two of the eight shared weapon categories with only one owner.

Shared Weapons

 * * indicates a character who initially started out with a cloned moveset until receiving their own weapon in Dynasty Warriors 6: Special.


 * Spear - Ma Chao *, Zhang He * , Taishi Ci * , Sun Ce
 * Polearm - Guan Ping, Xu Huang, Cao Ren, Lu Meng, Ling Tong *
 * Sword - Cao Pi *, Sun Quan, Yuan Shao
 * Dao - Huang Zhong, Xiahou Yuan, Zhou Tai
 * Mace - Wei Yan, Xu Zhu, Huang Gai, Dong Zhuo
 * Bow - Yue Ying *, Sun Shang Xiang
 * Chain Whip - Zhen Ji, Diao Chan
 * Staff - Pang Tong, Zhang Jiao

Fighting Style
Spear wielders are mobile mid-ranged warriors who can handle various situations. Their normal attacks use both ends of their weapon and are more prone to stabbing during later Renbu levels. Their charge attacks spin the character forward, and the running version is useful for breaking down obstacles. While they may take time to get used to, their grapples are very useful for close-ranged encounters. Compared to the polearm users, these fighters work best by capitalizing their reach for all-out attacks.

The main downside to the spear's fighting style lies in its need for running space. For instance, performing their charge attacks while near a cliff may not be the best idea. Also, their charges leave them open for an attack as they cannot react until they have landed from their spins. They also do not possess many anti-air defenses and are left open to many aerial opponents.

Fighting Style
Similar to the spear, polearm users are user-friendly fighters who can use the medium range of their weapon to close in on foes. Warriors in this style, however, use less movement during their attacks and are slightly slower during their strikes. Their grapples also have a more shallow starting range than the spear, rendering them slightly harder to time with during confrontations.

To compensate for the polearm's insufficient speed, many of their attacks have a longer range than the spear fighters, making them strong defensive fighters with various poking mind games. Their running charge attack can either be used to break an enemy's guard during duels or to clear a small crowd of guards. They continue to share the spear's disadvantages regarding attacks from the air and also require a longer setup to continue their combos.

Fighting Style
This moveset utilizes Chinese swordsmanship as the basis for most of its attacks. While the range of their moves are more narrow than others, they are executed quickly and capable of pressing a relentless offensive with standard combos. Users of this style are granted with ranged special attacks to better corner enemies, giving them an edge in siege battles.

These characters work best with patient players who can judge the enemy AI well and respond accordingly. Unless they hit higher Renbu levels, characters in this style may experience difficulty while fighting in crowds and may lose to quicker, long-ranged fighters.

Fighting Style
Warriors who use the dao have wider arcs in their attacks than sword wielders and usually hurl more air waves during higher Renbu levels. Their charge attacks can be used to pressure an officer and even double as a good crowd clearer. Being quite versatile, they can be used in almost any situation that focuses more on offense.

Agility-wise, dao users are slightly slower than sword users but move quicker than those who fight with maces. Their moveset is easy to use and a good choice for players testing short-ranged fighters for the first time. Their greatest flaw is that they lack attacks to cover their rear defenses and have slow recovery time from their dashing charge.

Fighting Style
Characters wielding maces are powerful close-ranged fighters. Lacking speed and range, they work best by constantly pressuring their enemies with overwhelming strikes. They have mighty grapples and power guards, plus their attacks can cover up weak spots well. Charge attacks double as a solid anti-air move and officer killer. Their running charge attack is a hard-to-aim rolling attack that is good for minor crowd control.

To further emphasize their assets, all characters with this moveset have the Swift Attack special, boosting attack power and granting Infinite Renbu. Though useful for solo encounters, they have difficulty retaining Renbu at a constant rate and may lose to enemies with longer reach. Being able to consistently maintain Renbu levels is no longer an issue in Empires, though mace wielders may not be as fast in taking over enemy bases due to their sluggishness.

Fighting Style
Archers have attacks with the longest range as well as good ground control. The majority of their attacks are stationary and cover the range of vision in front of them. As long as the player can judge distances well, they will likely win most of their battles against generals and crowds. The held charge attack is especially useful for clearing close-ranged enemies and obstacles since it is quick and multi-hitting.

The general style, however, has a weak deadlock attack and somewhat inconvenient grapples. They are usually used to gain more ground for the archer. They also do not posses many anti-air attacks and have difficult to use mounted attacks, leaving them better off on foot when facing enemy crowds.

Fighting Style
Ladies who use the whip have an overall balanced moveset that works well in most encounters. Their attacks cover most of the area around them and have excellent reach. All of their charge attacks help with crowd clearing and dueling officers. Being great combo dealers, they can easily reach and maintain higher levels of Renbu.

However, whip wielders need time to perform their attacks and may leave themselves open to quicker attackers. Their normal dashing attacks are best used for breaking down obstacles. While their evade animation is unique, it has a shorter traveling distance than others and is difficult to use consecutively. Therefore, they are strong mid-ranged fighters who excel in higher level difficulties.

Fighting Style
Staff wielders are akin to "mage" characters in the game. Like Zhuge Liang, their moveset emphasizes sorcery and has fanciful levitating grapples. Their moveset is an eccentric mix of short to mid-ranged attacks, allowing players to comfortably adapt to most situations.

Their charge attack chain offers good crowd control and their held charge is generally useful for dueling officers. Similar to the mace-wielding characters, however, they lack speed and range during their normal attacks. Veteran players may handle this class the best due to its unorthodox set of moves.