Unit Types (Dynasty Warriors)

The following is a list of common troop and officer types found in the Dynasty Warriors series. General troops are often limited to simple 3-to-4 chain basic combos, while generic officers always have 4 chain basic combos while often using more varieties of moves and acting more aggressive.

A notable trait between generic troops and officers are their Musou Attacks; generic troops unlike with officers/generals cannot clash with higher ranking units with their Musou Attacks, and will always get interrupted by any attack done by an officer or player. Said Musou Attacks also lack any invincibility, hence being easy to interrupt.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, generic officers, depending on the difficulty level set, can perform a Special Attack such as Volley. However, the Special Attack depends on the generic officer using it. Heroes and Large Warriors possess Swift Attack, Warriors and Rulers utilize Volley, Advisers inflict Fire, and Strategists have Rockfall.

Common Troops
These are the most poorly armored troops in Dynasty Warriors. Common troops include:
 * Private - Privates will serve as the games' main fodder, coming at the player by the hundreds. They, like peasants, can wield a sword, spear, halberd or pike. Spear-wielding Privates will usually charge at the player in unison with an attack similar to Zhao Yun's undefined/C1 attack in his appearances before Dynasty Warriors 6. Halberd-wielding Privates do something similar with a jump attack. Shi Huan in Dynasty Warriors 3 is the only generic officer to use the model of a Private, but also uses a heavy ranking moveset like the rest (that is until his model has been corrected in Xtreme Legends).
 * Peasant - Peasants are the weakest Common Troop as they can be defeated in just one hit by almost any character with any weapon. They can wield a sword, spear or pike. In Dynasty Warriors 6, Peasants wielded no weapons, except for their Chieftains, who carried swords.
 * Corporal - Corporals are rare and stronger versions of the Common Troop, but they generally are no more different than them. They normally appear in older games via higher-ranked stages in terms of difficulty.


 * Guard - Guards are bodyguards to certain officers, usually commanders and powerful ones that also double as playable characters. Guards also wear heavy armor, and usually wield spears or swords. Their appearance is also used for Gate Soldiers, or can lead a unit of five, containing a Guard and four Privates. In games as of Dynasty Warriors 4 and 5, the models for both Guards and Sergeants/Majors have been switched around. In Dynasty Warriors 6, they appear similar to the catapult engineer, but use the club moveset and are seen heavily in the main camp and supply bases. These units in previous games are also often bound to use higher-ranking movesets that are equivalent to the generic officers and playable characters alike. Halberd-wielding Guards often perform a unison attack with their jump attacks in Dynasty Warriors 5, making use of Lu Meng's jumping attack animation.


 * Sergeant - Sergeants are at the entrance to and inside of bases. They are slightly bolder than their Private look-a-likes but are generally no stronger. Sergeants can wield a sword, spear, or pike. Sergeants are often the general model for NPC officers of the Yellow Turbans as well (such as for Pei Yuanshao and He Yi). In games as of Dynasty Warriors 4 and 5, the models for both Guards and Sergeants/Majors have been switched around. Sergeants can also lead a Supply Unit in the Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends Destiny Mode, dropping a weapon once defeated.


 * Major - The highest ranking of all generic troops. A single Major will lead a unit of five, containing four Privates (or four Guards for Major Guards).
 * Elite Guard - Originally known as a Guard Captain prior to Dynasty Warriors 4, this form of Sergeant is normally lead by another group of guards. However, what greatly sets them apart is their high frequency of dropping healing items when defeated, making them invaluable to target when in a dire situation. What kind of healing item dropped tends to be random however, but they are likely to drop ones that heal a good amount of HP.


 * Archer - A support unit from beginning to end, their role is to assist the vanguard by sniping enemies from a long distance with bows and crossbows. While their potency may vary in each installment of the series, archers are a considerable threat when in groups. They often wear little to no armor to allow for faster mobility. In most older games, especially games where stagger can be inflicted, their staggering/"guard breaking" state animates much faster than with the other units, but has no differences anywhere else. When approached up close, they will try to run away to gain distance.


 * First Bow - Also known as First Crossbow in the case of crossbow wielders. They always attack in tandem with four archers under their command. These units have slightly higher stats and wear different clothes to distinguish themselves from regular archers. If these units are defeated first, then their respective archer subordinates within their unit will falter somewhat in two ways; one is where they might retreat and act rather unorganized at a distance, or if the player runs away from them to process them off-screen, they will disappear. Thus, targeting First Bows tends to be a priority in order to ease amount of enemy archers within the vicinity.


 * Bannerman - Bannermen, who first appeared in Dynasty Warriors 6, were heavily-armored soldiers holding nothing but a flag to display their army's insignia. They lead units of around twenty with the unit being known as "Roving Attack", but also raise their flags to raise morale. When a soldier including the player, is next to the Bannerman when he raises the flag, they gain a temporary power-up like Speed Up, or Attack Up.


 * Engineer - Engineers have two forms - Peasants, or a large, bulky men who help build and carry ladders and siege weapons in Dynasty Warriors 6. The larger Engineers carry and prop up the ladders and are able to throw boulders at enemies.


 * Messengers - In the Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends Destiny Mode, common troops will appear with the name “Messenger” above their heads. They are essentially Peasants that drop messages. common troops have very little armor, a leather lamellar coat underneath a cloth jerkin, with a leather piece wrapped around the waist and stomach. Their hair is combed back and tied into a bun, and wield a sword.


 * Lady Guard - Lady Guards serve as bodyguards for female officer such as Sun Shangxiang and Diaochan. They will wield a sword, spear or pike. They are not very well protected, having only a cloth jerkin for protection with a leather shoulder section as well as cloth wrist guards and leather boots. Also, they have almost no clothing to protect their back. There is no physical difference between a normal Lady Guard and Captain (except in the Strikeforce series), though the latter has better stats. In Warriors Orochi, they appear with both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors 2 women moveset, wielding a katana, a sword, or a naginata. In Warriors Orochi 2, they only appear with the same moveset as the Samurai Warriors 2 women, wielding a katana.

Heavy Troops
These are much better protected in comparison to common troops. Heavy troops include:


 * Guard Captain - Guard Captains stand as the leader of bases in Dynasty Warriors 5 and 6. Guard Captains can wield a sword, spear, or pike, but as the leader for Attack Bases, they wield dual swords similar to Lu Xun with fast attacks, or a pike and a shield for Defense Bases, like Xing Cai. These are slightly stronger than their common troop counterparts. They will each drop an Attack +1, Defense +1, or random item respectively. Guard Captains took up their name in Dynasty Warriors 5, since in Dynasty Warriors 3 and 4 they were known as "Gate Captains". The Guard Captains appear in Dynasty Warriors 6 and its Empires expansion in bases.
 * Originally, their names were mixed up with Elite Guards as mentioned above, but have since been named like so via Dynasty Warriors 4 onward.


 * Bombardier - Decked in armor and packed with explosives, Bombardiers are specialized units introduced in Dynasty Warriors 4. They often appear in covert missions involving sabotage, traps, ambushes, etc. Though not exactly the fastest compared to other troops, these units more than make up for that with their ability to lob bombs from a distance with precise accuracy, which functions just the same as Huang Gai's C1 attack via the double undefined tap version (which inflicts a vertical spiraling launch hit effect with fire damage). If left unattended, their presence could spell disaster for any on the battlefield as the bombs are unblockable (but also damage both enemy and allied units alike). Beast Master units also make use of the Bombardier's move set to compliment their ability to tame tigers and elephants.
 * In the fourth installment, both Huang Gai and the bombardiers' bombs would bounce a bit forward when thrown, while in the fifth installment they would instantly explode upon contacting any surface.


 * Gate Troops - Gate Troops defend check points with their Guard Captain leader. They will only wield swords. Unlike their leader, none of them drop anything upon losing in battle.

Heavy troops have a chainmail undercoat and a cloth jerkin overcoat. Over that however is a leather lamellar chest piece, leather knee pads, leather ankle guards, iron wrist guards and a helmet with a blunt point.

Yellow Turban Troops

 * Turban Infantry - Turban Infantry are light, militia units. Turban infantry have very little protection. They wear a light cloth jerking with scraps of leather tied onto to the chest and shins. They also have leather wristbands and have a yellow bandanna around their forehead. There are two types:
 * Infantry - The fodder of the Yellow Turban army. They are working-class men who have volunteered to fight for “Heavens' Will”. They can wield a sword, spear or pike. Infantry will attack like any other common troop unit, like Privates.
 * Bandit Infantry - Bandit Infantry are the main source of income for Bandit Chiefs. Small units are hired out to fight for people. Bandit Infantry use Axes, like Dian Wei.


 * Turban Sorcerer - Zhang Jiao taught these sorcerers his mystic ways in exchange for their service in his campaign. A Turban Sorcerer will assist Zhang Jiao and his brothers in casting spells and reciting incantations. Sorcerers wield no weapons and instead attack with magic, as well as having their default stance as the heavy sword moveset used by the rulers (but with no visible weapon). They can freeze their enemies on the spot via elemental shot blasts that are always ice element (using the Strategist's animation of firing them), shoot stunning lasers like Sima Yi, and use gusts of wind to clear crowds like Pang Tong and Zhang Liao. They wear no armor whatsoever other than their decorative ceremonial robes. Female sorcerers (or rather, sorceresses) in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends also use similar spells to subdue their opponents (and actually wielding a sword with the same stance and moveset despite not using it). However, their tendency to cluster together and attack in groups make them more threatening to deal with than their male counterparts. After having been gone since Dynasty Warriors 6, they make their return in Shin Sangoku Musou 7.


 * Turban Captain - Turban Captains are heavy, militia units. A Turban Captain has a full leather lamella undercoat and a cloth jerkin on their lower half, but on the upper half is a leather strip across the waist and stomach. Leather wrist and ankle guards are also present, along with a helmet. There are two types:
 * Captains - Turban Captains lead groups of four Turban Infantry into battle. They are part time soldiers who have volunteered to fight for “Heaven's will”. They can wield a sword, spear or pike.
 * Bandit Captain - A Bandit Captain will lead his band of Bandit Infantry into battle on his masters request in exchange for a cut of the hiring fee. He too will wield an axe (like Dian Wei).

Nanman Troops

 * Nanman Infantry - Nanman Infantry are the brave warriors of the wild. They attack with ferocity, using nature to their advantage. They will wield a sword, spear or pike. Their armor usage is minimal, a single leather scale corset over their stomachs, a leather headband and cloth wrist and ankle guards. Nanman Infantry will attack like any other common troop unit, like Privates. Originally in Dynasty Warriors 3, several Nanman units via both infantry and armored troops all had unique battle cries when attacking, and screeching cries of pain whenever they take damage. As of Dynasty Warriors 4, their battle and pain cries are the same as with all non-Nanman troops.


 * Armored Troops - Said to be "invincible", their uniqueness is their extraordinary defense, heavy moveset, and invulnerability to arrows. Normally they appear only in small quantity and are defeated by explosive crates or flaming arrows, often set by Zhuge Liang. These troops almost resemble normal infantry except for the fact that they don straw helmets, and rattan strips of armor down one side.


 * Nanman Amazon - Like their male Nanman counterparts, Amazons are practically naked. A cloth piece covers their chest and pelvis whilst there are leather wrist, guards and fur skin boots. They will wield a sword, spear or pike. They are Zhu Rong's bodyguards. Although their character model is named "Nanman Amazon", in the game, their title is Amazoness. In Warriors Orochi, they appear with their original moveset only, unlike the Lady Guards who reappear with both Samurai Warriors 2 and Dynasty Warriors movesets. However, they do not reappear in Warriors Orochi 2.
 * Nanman Sorcerer - Added exclusively in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, these female witch doctors fight in the same manner as their Yellow Turban counterparts. Rather than subduing foes with ice and lightning elemental shots, however, they use poison or blast shots to weaken them gradually.


 * Nanman Captain - Nanman Captains led their fierce warriors into battle. One Captain will lead four Nanman Infantrymen into the fray, they will wield a sword, spear or pike. In contrast to their warriors, Captains have a fair bit of armor. A full leather lamellar undercoat and a cloth jerkin over it. Over that a fur skin chest piece, cloth thigh, wrist and ankle guards and even rigid leather helmet with a plume.

Special Troop

 * Magical Troops - These troops have been brought to life by the various magic and summonings made by the Yellow Turbans and Zhuge Liang. There are two types:
 * Phantom Soldiers - Magically created phantoms frequently summoned, but not exclusive to the Yellow Turbans. They are completely invincible and non-interactive as players' attacks go through them. They have appeared differently since their appearance in Dynasty Warriors 4. The Dynasty Warriors 4 version had them as a translucent regular soldier, but in Dynasty Warriors 5 and Warriors Orochi they are a purple or blue silhouette of a soldier. In Dynasty Warriors 6, Phantoms have been revamped to be a hovering collection of dust and sand. When hit, the troop explodes after a set amount of time.


 * Clay Soldiers - Zhuge Liang's special troops in Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends. They are immovable and don't flinch. This is a blessing and a curse; on one hand normal attacks don't faze them, but hitting them with a horse or fire spray attacks, especially from Zhang Jiao and Zhu Rong, kills them very quickly as they cannot be pushed out of range, cannot be forced airborne, and thus suffer more frequent damage without any airborne damage reduction. They use spears and pikes.


 * Machines - Man-made contraptions made for sieges and attacking:
 * Juggernaut - See article.
 * Wooden Oxen - An invention by Yueying in Dynasty Warriors 5, but claimed to be made by Zhuge Liang in Dynasty Warriors 6. They are armored supply carriers in common terms that were used during the battle at Wuzhang Plains. They look funnily enough like wooden oxen on wheels. They have high defense, moderate health and appear en mass, making them aggravating to destroy, but they all move very slowly just as fast as all other machines. On top of this every wooden ox that makes it to the back lines raises morale. Originally they acted as normal item boxes akin to jars and crates in Dynasty Warriors 3, but eventually become actual machine units as of Dynasty Warriors 4. Historically however, wheelbarrows were used to transport the supplies, though the concept art of the said oxen has them as ox-themed wheelbarrows instead of wheeled-tanks of sorts.


 * Arbalest - Big machines that crank out volleys of arrows. They shoot all across the line in their middle. Their attacks are timed by the wheel on the side; it cranks back to fire and lunges forward when it does so. They appear in ambushes, defense of the camp or castle, or as siege weapons. They have a huge life bar and high defense but are stationary. Arbalests usually appear consecutively behind each other. In Dynasty Warriors 6, they only appear in challenge mode. They are stage gimmicks in Dynasty Warriors 7 and serve as rapid fire turrets with infinite ammo.


 * Ballistas - Big crossbow like machines that fire a large bolt. In Dynasty Warriors 6, they are located on top of gate and castle walls, and are used to destroy siege weapons being used by an invading force. They can be destroyed by the attacking force with the player or catapults. They have a long life bar and are usually guarded by the bulky engineers and either bowmen or crossbowmen. These weapons can sometimes be used by the player starting in Dynasty Warriors 7. Dynasty Warriors 9 sees them return as mobile siege weapons that can be destroyed by the player character or allied troops. They fire a large wind-type blast at enemies before they have to be rewound to launch another shot.


 * Catapult - Catapults are large weapons used to destroy ballistae during a siege in Dynasty Warriors 6. In previous installments, they were used to help break down gates and walls, such as in Dynasty Warriors 4. They return as a stage gimmick during castle sieges in Dynasty Warriors 7, in which the player's character can control a catapult's aim and fire them to break down down gates. Mobile catapults also provide a similar function but with the advantage of closing in on a target. Dynasty Warriors 9 has catapults built by Engineer Captains to either attack or defend a fortification by taking out the opposing force's siege weapons or defenses. They can be destroyed by the player or friendly catapults, but taking out the Engineer Captains delays the construction of said weapons until one can complete the action and bring the weapon to bear in battle.


 * Ram - Rams in previous installments were basically a large, pointed, metal ramming spear tied by ropes to a large, wooden frame to support it. It was used to break down walls and gates. In Dynasty Warriors 6, Rams are built by Engineers and were manned by four of the large, bulky Engineers that aimed it and charged it forward, before pulling back for another charge. They are about three prongs made of logs. Dynasty Warriors 9 has the rams take an appearance similar to back in Dynasty Warriors 3, but much larger, with the troops that push it up to the gate then climbing up to man the large log that acts as the ram, pulling back and thrusting it forward to damage the doors until they destroy the lock on the other side, allowing the gates to open and allow their forces into the castle. Rams can be destroyed by either troops or siege weapons, such as catapults, so they have to be defended until they carry out their objective.


 * Pyrocannon - Introduced in Dynasty Warriors 7, function similarly too that of the Juggernaut. While the Juggernaut is more commonly used by early period characters, the Pyrocannon is usually deployed by heroes from the later time periods, such as those from the Jin Kingdom.


 * Siege Tower - Introduced in Dynasty Warriors 5 (but have appeared in a non-interactive form in prior games), siege towers were used to bombard a castle's defenses with volleys of arrows from the archers inside until the defenses crumbled. In Dynasty Warriors 7, they are built by engineers in front of large buildings, or great walls, and are used to attack the foot soldiers atop those walls to keep them from firing arrows down at enemy troops while they prepare Rams to break down the doors. Dynasty Warriors 9 brings them back as a combination of both this and the Mechanical Ladder, but need to be built by Engineer Captains and then moved into position against a castle wall to deploy a ramp to allow troops to climb up onto the wall and engage the forces there, along with taking out the corner towers that provide reinforcements for the forces sealed within until the rams can open the gates.


 * Mechanical Bridge - Introduced in Dynasty Warriors 4, and known then as Bridgelayers, they are used to gain access across big gaps where there are no bridges currently, or if one had been previously destroyed. Players must protect them while they move across the map to get to their destined location.


 * Mechanical Ladder - AKA "Cloud Ladders" in the Asian scripts, and introduced in Dynasty Warriors 4 where they were known then as Siege Ramps, they are used to grant characters the ability to climb castle walls, or mountain sides, where there are no ladders currently. Players must protect them while they move across the map to get to their destined location. Dynasty Warriors 9 brings them back as a combination of both this and the Siege Tower, but need to be built by Engineer Captains and then moved into position against a castle wall to deploy a ramp to allow troops to climb up onto the wall and engage the forces there, along with taking out the corner towers that provide reinforcements for the forces sealed within until the rams can open the gates.

Shin Sangoku Musou Blast

 * Obstacles - Inanimate objects that serve to hinder the player's movements. Can be ignored or used to control the flow of enemy movement.
 * Blockade - A slanted fence built to restrict mobility and provide enemy artillery with a layer of defense. Often built in multiple rows, they are easily destroyed by charge blasts.
 * Barricade - Spiked fence that damages anything that runs against it. Appears in several rows during high-tier battles. Can be safely attacked from its two sides or best dispatched by indirect weapon users.
 * Siege Weapons - Mobile and stationary contraptions deployed to attack the player and their base, the former may arrive in unending droves during difficult battles.
 * Juggernaut - Slow-moving tiger tank that generates a radial shockwave periodically. Devastating when deployed in huge numbers. May be summoned as an ally unit using certain officer skills.
 * Catapult - Launches huge rocks at the player's location, causing them to lose their footing upon being hit. Multiple catapults can potentially entrap characters, leaving their bases vulnerable to enemy units. Unable to target the player when attacked up close. May be summoned as an ally unit using certain officer skills.
 * Siege Ram - Large machine built for damaging fortifications. Will ignore other units in favor of reaching the player's base. Unless it is quickly destroyed, a ram will eventually rush towards its target and self-destruct, causing heavy damage.
 * Siege Tower - A tall tower that fires single ballista bolts non-stop. Often comes in pairs and may be accompanied by a team of archers.
 * Cannon Tower - A tower that attacks the player with cannonballs. Unlike catapults, their projectiles do not flinch the player. Sometimes comes in pairs during high-leveled stages. Despite the danger they pose, the towers have a dead zone that prevents them from targeting anything up close, leaving them vulnerable to melee attackers.

Generic Officers

 * Ruler - These are the most heavily armored of all generic officers, having a full chainmail suit underneath a suit of plate mail, then a leather lamellar chest piece and a regal overcoat, with shoulder pads, full forearm and leg protection. They have a decorative yet necessary helmet with a chain mail drape for neck protection and a long plume form to show authority. They are all sword wielders in battle. Examples are Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu, and previously Liu Shan. This officer model was introduced in Dynasty Warriors 5. In Dynasty Warriors 6 and its spin-offs, Rulers in their debut adapt their moveset from the Sword clone moveset used by Liu Bei, Sun Jian, Sun Quan, Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao.


 * Strategist - These are common among the ranks of the Yellow Turbans, and the back of other most armies. They wear a leather lamellar coat underneath a layered strategist robe and a kind of tall, stiff Hitelmacher-like hat on their head. As of Dynasty Warriors 6, some of these models retain a younger look, with less decorative clothing and no facial hair, while others have the opposite. They wield only swords in all installments, but they vary via the "ruler sword" movelist (e.g. Liu Bei, Sun Jian) or the "warrior sword" movelist (e.g. Huang Zhong, Xiahou Yuan). Examples are Guo Jia and Ma Liang. In Dynasty Warriors 6, Strategists adapt their moveset from the sword clone moveset.


 * Sorcerer - Using the Strategist model and introduced in Dynasty Warriors 6, Sorcerer officers use staves. They attack with a staff clone moveset and are similar to Zhang Jiao's version of the style. Really the only officers who are this are Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang. They walk in a hunched manner similar to Pang Tong or Zhang Jiao.


 * Warrior - These too are common among the ranks of the Yellow Turbans, but also make up a good part of other armies. They are decently armored, having a chest plate, shoulder plate, thigh plate set of armor as well as wrist guards and a turban (or even a pheasant tail headpiece in Dynasty Warriors 3). In Dynasty Warriors 5, the Warrior model was applied to officers like Yu Jin and Han Dang. In Dynasty Warriors 6, however, Warriors kept their turban and overlapping clothes, but traded the sword for a spear clone moveset. Enemy Defense Captains that guard castle gates from friendly siege forces are armed with the spear moveset as well.


 * Large Warrior - These officers are as common as, but much burlier than the Warrior's model. They have a large muscle mass and as such only wear leather lamellar underneath a plate mail chest piece, shoulder guards, shin guards and wrist guards. They have their hair tied into a bun and have a light cloth wrap around their waist. Though in Dynasty Warriors 6 they wore a plumed helmet and gained more armor. They wield only pikes, adapted from the polearm clone moveset. Examples are Hua Xiong and Wang Ping. In Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, Large Warriors used large clubs and used the club moveset. Enemy Siege Captains when protecting friendly castle gates from an enemy siege are armed with the polearm moveset as well.


 * Hero - These officers are some of the best protected officers, having a full chainmail suit underneath a suit of plate mail. Shoulder, shin and wrist guards and a helmet with a small spike are also present. They were spear wielders in past installments. As they were given a thinner yet older appearance in Dynasty Warriors 5, in the next installment, the Hero model was given a taller helmet, longer spaulders and tassets, and were given a dao clone moveset. Examples of the more recent Hero are Liao Hua and Li Dian. For their appearance in Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, they wield long bows to harass opponents from afar. Guard Captains in Dynasty Warriors 6 are armed with the dao moveset.


 * Barbarian - These officers make up a greater section of Nanman armies officers, usually being great warriors within their tribes. They have no real armor, wrist plates aside. Their only real protection is intimidation which consists of an animal skull helmet, painted markings all over the body and an unshaven, savage look. A fur skin pelt covers their pelvis and is held by a belt made of animal hide. They also have a necklace of a small ring. They are sword wielders, but very few also use pikes and spears (mainly in Dynasty Warriors 3). Examples are Jinhuan Sanjie and Wu Tugu.


 * Nanman Officer - These officers make up a lesser section of Nanman armies officers, usually being the leaders of a tribe within the kingdom. They are slightly better armored than their Barbarian comrades, having thigh and wrist plates. There is also a small leather cape-like item draped over their backs and the skull helmet has now been replaced by a stiff, decorated crown with a small draping piece of leather for neck protection. Pikes are their main weapon of choice, and this model is introduced in Dynasty Warriors 5. Examples are King Duosi and King Mulu.

Quotes

 * See: Generic Officer Quotes

Weapons

 * See also: Generic Officer Weapons

Dynasty Warriors 8
Generics retain the same weapons from Dynasty Warriors 7, with club and iron fan replaced by great sword and throwing knives.

Dynasty Warriors 9
With the open-world design of this game, most generic officers, such as Assault, Defense, or Support Captains, even various Bandit Chiefs and Bandit Head Chiefs, will be equipped with one of several generic weapons from past titles, including the Great Sword, Throwing Knives, Club, Iron Fan, Sword, Spear, Magic Staff, Chain and Sickle, Battle Ax, or Great Ax. Essentially the base weapons that most playable officers in this title share due to using the same weapon set between them. Boss-type enemies, such as the various Bandit Chiefs and Head Chiefs, will be equipped with the rare weapon of certain officers, such as Huang Gai, Dian Wei, Zhang Jiao, Gan Ning, Sima Zhao, or Zhang He.

Generic Movesets

 * See: Generic Officer Movesets

Voice Actors

 * Daisuke Tōjō, Akira Kajiwara, Takahiro Suzuki, Keisuke Baba - Dynasty Warriors 3 (Japanese)
 * Kai Taschner, Claus Brockmeyer, Jörg Stuttmann - Dynasty Warriors 3 (German-uncredited)
 * Eddie Frierson - Dynasty Warriors 4~6 (English)
 * Michael Forest - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (English)
 * Richard Epcar - Dynasty Warriors 4~5, 7~8 (English)
 * David Beron - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (English)
 * Robert Martin Klein - Dynasty Warriors 4 (English)
 * Tony Oliver - Dynasty Warriors 4~5, 7, Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Peter Doyle - Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends, 6, Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Liam O'Brien, Wally Wingert, Grant George, Skip Stellrecht, Alan Shearman - Dynasty Warriors 6 (English)
 * Matthew Mercer, Christopher Sabat, Steve Staley, Darrel Guilbeau, Michael Lindsay - Dynasty Warriors 7 (English)
 * Nobunaga Shimazaki - Dynasty Warriors 7 (Japanese)
 * Dan Woren - Dynasty Warriors 8 (English)
 * Shunzo Miyasaka, Hiromu Miyazaki, Sota Arai, Ryosuke Kanemoto - Dynasty Warriors 8 (Japanese)
 * Christian Chan, Aric Hendrix, Dustin Loomis, Andrew Steel, Tim Budas, Derek Manson, Dennis Pastorizo, Charles Frank, Paul Harted - Officers in Dynasty Warriors 9 (English)
 * Drew Cullinan, Tory Andrews, Miles Allen, Kevin Miller - Soldiers in Dynasty Warriors 9 (English)
 * Matt Shuster, Rocio Lopez, Eric Miller, Rachel Staman/Leticia Grassi, Smokey Miles, Libby Brien, Steven Marter, D. Padraic, Phil Miller, Kate Jopson, Ratana Ratana - Peasants in Dynasty Warriors 9 (English)
 * Xuefeng Rong, Long Yin, Xiao Lang, Minna Wang, Fei Ling, Lao Gui, Haoyu Wen, Aojie Ji, Ge Zhang, Tong Yin - Officers in Dynasty Warriors 9 (Chinese)
 * Yifan Wei, Xueliang Wang, Jing Li, Bo Jiang, Xinyuan Fan, Biyu Zhang, Pang Jie, Bao Mu, Jin Li, Lijiang Jia, Chenyang Fu - Soldiers and peasants in Dynasty Warriors 9 (Chinese)
 * Masamu Ono, Chiharu Sasa, Yasunao Sakai, Kazumasa Fukagawa, Masakazu Koshima, Masaya Mizuta, Hirokazu Miyahara, Shikito Miyagi, Koichi Gomi, Shuki Imagawa - Officers in Dynasty Warriors 9 (Japanese)
 * Yōhei Namekawa, Ryohei Arai, Shunsuke Kanie, Yusuke Shirooka, Toshiya Chiba - Soldiers in Dynasty Warriors 9 (Japanese)
 * Kazumi Shono, Atsumi Yoshioka, Sonosuke Hattori, Momoka Odaira, Sho Sonoda, Yukiko Motoyoshi, Takumu Miyazono, Reimu, Yukinori Okuhata, Kohei Imai, Reo Kiuchi - Peasants in Dynasty Warriors 9 (Japanese)
 * Yōhei Azakami, Shintarō Ogawa, Yūsuke Handa, Masakazu Kōshima - Male officers in Shin Sangoku Musou Blast
 * Haruka Terui, Tomoyo Sasaki, Yūki Kaneko - Female officers in Shin Sangoku Musou Blast
 * An Hyo Min, Cho Kyu Jun, Kim Hye-seong - Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed (Korean)

Trivia

 * A majority of units in Dynasty Warriors 3 have programming oddities that can also be experienced by the player via hacking through and emulator and so forth:
 * Enemy units that use Huang Zhong's moveset via having his C5 will not leave the ground properly for the Charge Drive followup. Meanwhile, other units with proper-working C5 followups will instantly land on the ground faster that the playable generals would.
 * Units that also share Huang Zhong's basic attack string animation (up to five inputs) will emit a charge attack sound effect while on the fourth input, even without an actual charge attack occurring.
 * Some units in 3 to 5 will attack only on one side via their basic normal string finisher while mounted on a horse.
 * Generic officers also have unused dialogue in the earlier installments of Dynasty Warriors.
 * Playing as certain generic officers in Dynasty Warriors 3 via hacking through emulator, can cause instant death during gameplay after certain cutscenes, for example playing as Hua Xiong at Hu Lao Gate, Dong Zhuo's side.