Speed

Speed (スピード or 速) is a character class introduced in the Warriors Orochi series, being indicated by the color blue. Speed characters are generally thrifty Musou spenders with fast reflexes and weak durability.

The first game gives characters under this category two R1 Type Actions known as Combination Arts. They have little-to-no visual cues when executed and may not even consume Musou depending on the character. Those who lean more towards martial arts tend to have abilities that cost nothing while tacticians with magical abilities are likely to have moves that require Musou to activate.

Stationary arts (dubbed as Art 1) are triggered by tapping R1 in neutral while dynamic arts can be employed by pressing the aforementioned button while moving (dubbed as Art 2). The first game allows players to cancel these moves with one another easily, though Warriors Orochi 2 prevents Art 2 moves from cancelling into Art 1 moves for balancing purposes.

Speed-type characters also gain the ability to perform a (mid)air dash (known as an "Aerial Thrust" only in the localizations) which enables them to move further in the air by tapping twice that also has a brief window of invulnerability. The ability to jump cancel (or "Aerial Escape") both regular attacks and Type Actions allows for both mobility purposes or when utilized by a more experienced player, the ability to prolong combos. However, the air dash/aerial thrust if not held with a direction, cancels all forward momentum at the end.

In the first two installments, executing a Musou Chain with two or more speed characters will imbue their attacks with the Agility attribute. If paired with a character who has an exceptionally fast Musou attack, they can swiftly clear the area of weaker foes at a more astounding rate.

Warriors Orochi 3 limits Speed-type characters to one Type Action that will always consume Musou per use, though the amount required is still the lowest among the other categories and tend to focus more on quick execution or additional coverage range. Despite retaining their ability to air dash moreso based on the physics for Dash-type Weapons in Dynasty Warriors 7, they can no longer jump cancel jumping charge attacks.

In Warriors Orochi 4, they have a special upgrade allowing them to occasionally summon doubles to aid in their attacks, similar to the Multi attribute from previous games. Characters under this type now have the innate ability to lengthen their combos while receiving subsequent damage boosts upon attaining 300 and 1,000 hits.

Trivia

 * Xingcai, Zhou Tai and Dodomeki are the only characters that retain their Speed-typing across the entire series.
 * In the 3rd Orochi entry, Yuanji was the only Speed-type character from the Jin Kingdom, as well as Kai being the only Samurai 3 Speed-type character.
 * Zuo Ci was the only non-original Orochi character from the Other category to be a Speed-type in the prior installments. This also applies to being the only Technique-type of that category in the 3rd entry.
 * Both Zuo Ci and Wukong from installments prior to the 3rd were uniquely the only 2 Speed-type characters with a unique hidden 3rd Combination Art performed with pressing the normal attack button during  one of their Combination Arts (neutral R1/Art 1 for Wukong and direction + R1/Art 2 for Zuo Ci).