Taigong Wang

Taigong Wang (太公望) debuted as a new character in Warriors Orochi 2. His character is based on a famous Chinese strategist with the same name, famous for his fishing technique and his act of executing Da Ji.

Warriors Orochi
Taigong Wang first appears in the world with Fu Xi and Nu Wa to try to stop Orochi. With an army of other mystics, he acts as the army's main leader and strategist. He orchestrates several magical ploys to take place during the battle. In the end, they are defeated and forced to rethink their strategy.

He appears after the main conflict in Warriors Orochi and pursues the fleeing Da Ji. He follows tracks her to Shi Ting and uses Liu Bei's attack as a diversion to capture her. When this fails, he joins with Shu and acts as one of the army's strategist. He discovers her whereabouts at Odani Castle and goes with Lu Xun to lead the assault. He successfully captures Da Ji and Himiko with help from Zhuge Liang who appeared when Himiko nearly successfully escape. He sends them to the army's main camp in a lightly armed cart, knowing they would escape. When Zhuge Liang questions this, Taigong Wang simply says it would be easier to have all of Orochi's supporters in one place at once, it seems that he has already foreseen this and that was the reason why he followed Da Ji's tricks even though he saw through all of her plans. During the final battle at Wu Zhang Plains, he opens the locked gates by concocting an illusion of rolling boulders on enemy lines. His efforts allow his allies to fight Orochi. When they claim victory, Taigong Wang thanks Liu Bei for teaching him the strength of humanity and rides off.

Fengshen Yanyi
In the series, Taigong Wang is the default name for the protagonist in Fengshen Yanyi. Unlike his Warriors series counterpart, he is a relatively modest youth with a strong sense of justice. He is the 21 year old protagonist who just became a mystic. His master asks him to check the human world based on odd premonitions the elder has been having. Once Taigong Wang sees the devastation, he volunteers to stop Da Ji. He travels with Huang Feihu to amass a great army while simultaneously cleansing the souls of their opponents with his divine fishing rod. To his surprise, his allies designate him as the army's commander when they reach Ji Fa's kingdom. He and his friends eventually succeed but realizes that it only stalled the world's evils and didn't bring lasting peace.

His position as main protagonist is replaced with Ziya's introduction. By the time Fengshen Yanyi 2 takes place, he is still working to vanquish demons and specters on the human world. He first meets Ziya by protecting them with a gust of wind and rescues Ziya's party. They later formally meet and agree to join forces when he meets Li Lan.

During the timeline in Magical Fengshen, Taigong Wang is heralded as a legendary hero and one of the four who sealed away Da Ji's soul. He spends his days leisurely fishing by a river and, while the protagonists are transformed as fish, are caught as one of his catches. Once he realizes that they were looking for him, he aids them by handing them two treasures. He would have volunteered to aid them more but the trio's were following heaven's will and not for him to intervene. Shortly after, he calls for a dragon and flies away to regions unknown.

Personality
Personality wise he seems to be egoistic considering some of his lines in the game. This clearly becomes a problem as in one of the stages of Warriors Orochi 2 he does not realize at all that Da Ji isn't running from them, she is luring them away. He admits to Zuo Ci in an after battle conversation that he does not understand humans very well and that factor is making it harder for him to anticipate Da Ji's plans.

Voice Actors

 * Daisuke Kishio - Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Kentarō Itō - Fengshen Yanyi series (Japanese)
 * Naozumi Takahashi - Fengshen Yanyi series (Ziya; Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Your crimes were so great that even the peace of death was stripped from you. But do not fear. I shall grant you that peace."
 * "Finished your speech? Then disappear."
 * Taigong Wang and Orochi X at Wu Zhang Plains.


 * "This man possess great talent, but still needs to learn the art of finesse."
 * Zuo Ci talking about Taigong Wang, after joining Shu.


 * "Oh, I didn't notice you there, boy. You tend to blend in with the background."
 * "Your futile mouthings will not save you now. It ends here."
 * Da Ji and Taigong Wang, at the Battle of Shi Ting.


 * "At a loss, are you? This is unusual."
 * "I am ashamed to admit it, but I cannot read what Da Ji will do next. Hehe, this human factor is messing everything up."
 * "Da Ji has learnt from her time working with and against people. She has gained a human cunning. The time will come when you too will come to understand them. Then, you will know what to do."
 * Zuo Ci and Taigong Wang, on the subject of humans and Da Ji.

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: quickly hurls a dusty gust of wind forward. Deals little damage but leaves foes open to attack. Cannot kill generals.
 * , undefined: drags his grail lure that is hidden in the ground upward and launches enemies. Additionally smashes the lure downward. Leaves a yin yang trap. Will not perform the full combo if his enemy isn't in range of his lure.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined, undefined, undefined): While standing upright and slowly walking forward, he swings his fishing rod once per button press. On the final press, he then smashes the ground with his lure. Leaves a yin yang trap.
 * ,, , undefined: Brings out his lure, hops, and then stomps on it. Clears away foes and leaves a yin yang trap.
 * ,, , , undefined: Turns his back to his foes with his arms still behind him. While in this position, he heaves his lure in an upwards arc to smash in front of him. Leaves a yin yang trap in the area in front of him.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Spins his rod around him and bashes enemies with his lure in front of him. Leaves a yin yang trap.
 * ,, , , , , , , : While Taigong Wang steps forward, he articulately swings his rod twice before taking another step. He ends the chain by kicking his lure with a spinning motion into the enemies in front of him.
 * , : Swings his rod downward.
 * , undefined: Levitates for a moment to bring out his lure, creating a ground explosion in the area below him.
 * Taigong Wang performs a fishing maneuver and summons large columns of water. During the finale, he lifts his lure up into the air and smashes it down on the ground.


 * R1: Lifts his rod into the air and explodes all of the glowing yin yangs in the area.
 * R1 (counter): Flips back a short distance and, while on one knee, hurls a gust of dusty wind.

Mounted Attacks

 * undefined: Conjures a whirlwind to circle around him.
 * ,, , , , : Rotates his wrist inward and outward to swing his rod to his right.
 * Faster version of chain while the horse charges forward.

Fighting Style
Much like his fellow mystics, Taigong Wang once mastered is a force to be reckoned with. Taigong Wang strikes a balance between both crowd clearing and dueling. He has an equal amount of sweeping attacks that end with explosions, and one-on-one attacks that combo well. The range on his musou it somewhat difficult to judge making it tricky to use effectively.