Dynasty Warriors 8/Weapons

The weapon system in Dynasty Warriors 8 is relatively similar to Dynasty Warriors 7's system with several tweaks and new features for its presentation.

In Story Mode, weapons can be bought from the blacksmith during pre-battle camp segments and may vary in quality depending on the level of difficulty chosen. Generic officers now drop weapon boxes containing types already owned by the player whereas unique characters leave behind their signature weapon upon being defeated. Some have rare variations that share the same appearance but come with fixed attributes. Final weapons, in the form of 5th and 6th weapons, have returned and like before can only be obtained on difficulty levels "Hard" or above. In the Complete Edition of Dynasty Warriors 8, players can carry up to 1,200 weapons.

Weapon seals from the previous title are replaced with a tempering system similar to the Warriors Orochi series. Players can use this system to modify their weapons with 40 different weapon attributes. There are two main forms of tempering: Temper (which fuses two weapons of the same type together using various materials) and Reforge (exchanges three weapons and materials to create two different but stronger weapons). The resulting attribute change is randomized and players must weigh their customization options carefully. The 1.03 patch update in the Japanese version alleviates this problem somewhat by allowing other attributes to help increase existing ones. Tempering can only be done in Ambition Mode once the blacksmith shop has been appropriately expanded. While weapons are also sold in this mode, they increase in quantity and gain better attributes as the facility's rank becomes higher. This also applies to weapons acquired from other facilities.

Another feature, Weapon Fusion, allows the usage of a Gem currency to manually instill different elements onto a weapon from other weapons and also boost them, in addition to boosting a weapon's attack power and changing it's affinity.

A new weapon affinity system is in place with three properties: Heaven (天 ), Earth (地 ), and Man (人 ). They have a triangular relationship for their affinity with one another and are randomly assigned to weapons. Disadvantageous weapons will cause an opponent to receive less damage and immunity to flinching from attacks barring EX Attacks, Switch Attacks, or Musou Attacks of any kind, while an advantageous one has the opposite effect while also allowing free critical hits to be inflicted on the target on any attack landed. Officers with an advantage over the player will deal more damage.
 * Man trumps Heaven.
 * Earth is superior to Man.
 * Heaven has an advantage over Earth.

New weapon affinities provide different effects depending on the weapon type used by the player and their opponents.
 * Storm Rush - Enables the player to break an enemy's guard and attack rapidly by button mashing. Can be activated as long as the opponent's weapon affinity is worse and their spirit gauge (represented by a small blue polygon divided into sections) is fully depleted by attacking them enough. It can still deplete should they guard against attacks and won't reset if any weapons and changed. It cannot be depleted by Storm Rush attacks themselves, Musou attacks, or Rage mode, with the latter two briefly disabling all weapon affinities.
 * Switch Counter - Also known as Variable Counter in the Japanese version. When facing an opponent with an advantageous weapon affinity (symbolized by a red danger mark) that is about to execute a strong attack, weapon switch, or storm rush, the player can perform a counterattack to blow surrounding enemies away whilst switching weapons. Attack and Defense buffs will also be briefly bestowed. Switch Counters greatly fill the Rage bar.
 * Rage - Known in the Japanese version as Awakening Musou. Activated by tapping the R3 button once the Rage bar is full. The bar will then slowly decrease while an effect is bestowed, increasing attack, defense, and attack speed. During this state, the player's Musou stacks will merge into a single gauge reminiscent to those seen in past titles, as well as fully restoring it. Pressing the Musou button will initiate a Rage attack, which can be prolonged by holding the button down. If the attack chain exceeds more than a certain amount of hits, it will turn into a deadlier True Rage attack which causes the fallen to drop experience-increasing items that are automatically acquired via gravitating towards the player. Rage mode can't be prematurely deactivated and the Musou gauge cannot fill up from landing attacks.

Universal weapon mastery is affected by the levels of a character using it as an EX weapon. Once obtained and equipped, characters can activate weapon proficiency skills regardless of the character's proficiency. Gender restrictions are removed and players can no longer equip different weapons during battle.

In order to acquire the weapons with special conditions (5~6 stars), the player must be playing as the EX wielder for that weapon in Free or Story Mode.

Weapon Types
Every weapon type is divided into four different action skills introduced in Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends. It also contains the names of their respective EX wielders for this game.


 * * only available in Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends.
 * ** only available in Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires.
 * *** changes made in Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires.

Wind Master Weapons

 * Spear - Ma Chao
 * Pike - Lu Meng
 * Double Voulge - Wei Yan
 * Great Sword - Guan Ping
 * Club - Xu Zhu
 * Gloves - Meng Huo
 * Halberd - Lu Bu
 * Twin Axes - Zhang Liao
 * Lance - Deng Ai
 * Twin Rods - Taishi Ci
 * Axe - Dian Wei
 * Tonfa - Sun Ce
 * Crossbow - Lianshi
 * Arm Cannon - Guo Huai
 * Brush - Ma Dai
 * Dagger-Axe - Yueying
 * Bomb - Dong Zhuo
 * Short Pike - Han Dang
 * Great Axe - Xu Huang
 * Mace - Pang De
 * Spiked Shield - Cao Ren
 * Arm Blade - Huang Gai
 * Circle Blade - Ding Feng
 * Siege Spear - Xiahou Ba
 * Bow & Rod - Xiahou Yuan
 * Wheeled Halberd - Li Dian
 * Rake - Lu Su
 * Dual-Headed Mace - Guan Yinping
 * Rotating Crossbow - DLC (Deng Ai ***)
 * War Trident - Yu Jin *
 * Stele - DLC * (Meng Huo ***)

Dasher Weapons

 * Sword - Sun Quan
 * Rapier - Liu Shan
 * War Fan - Zhuge Liang
 * Twin Swords - Liu Bei
 * Throwing Knives - Wang Yuanji
 * Chain & Sickle - Jia Xu
 * Nunchaku - Guan Suo
 * Staff - Zhou Yu
 * Bow - Huang Zhong
 * Shaman Rod - Zhang Jiao
 * Iron Fan - Xiaoqiao
 * Sword & Shield - Xingcai
 * Flying Swords - Zhong Hui
 * Curved Sword - Zhou Tai
 * Claws - Zhang He
 * Wheels - Sun Shangxiang
 * Chain Whip - Diaochan
 * Spinner - Bao Sanniang
 * Flute - Zhenji
 * Harp - Cai Wenji
 * Orb & Scepter - Guo Jia
 * Trishula - Wang Yi
 * Pugil Stick - Daqiao
 * Lightning Sword - Sima Shi
 * Boomerang - Zhurong
 * Sword & Hook - Xu Shu
 * Swallow Swords - Lu Xun
 * Three Sectional Staff - Ling Tong
 * Shadow Fan - Pang Tong
 * Extension Blade - Yuan Shao
 * Dual Hookblades - Yue Jin
 * Wingblades - Guan Xing
 * Throwing Axes - Jia Chong
 * Wired Gloves - Zhang Chunhua
 * Sabatons - DLC (Guan Suo ***)
 * Emei Piercers - DLC (Wang Yi ***)
 * Paired Fans - DLC (Xiaoqiao ***)
 * Flame Bow - Zhu Ran *
 * Art of War Scroll - Chen Gong *
 * Formation Wand - Xun Yu **

Shadow Sprinter Weapons

 * Flail - Gan Ning
 * Podao - Xiahou Dun
 * Double Pike - Zhang Fei
 * General's Sword - Cao Cao
 * Nine Rings Blade - Sun Jian
 * Double-Edge Trident - Jiang Wei
 * Short Rod - Zhuge Dan
 * Javelin - Wen Yang
 * Flaming Sword - DLC (Sun Quan ***)
 * Crossed Pike - Lu Lingqi *
 * Mandarin Duck Hooks - DLC * (Lianshi ***)

Diver Weapons

 * Dragon Spear - Zhao Yun
 * Crescent Blade - Guan Yu
 * Dual Blade - Cao Pi
 * Horsehair Whip - Sima Yi
 * Striking Sword - Sima Zhao
 * Talisman Cards - Zuo Ci
 * Flail Sword - Zhang Bao
 * Bladebow - DLC (Yueying ***)
 * Woven Cloth - Fa Zheng *
 * Dragon Column - DLC * (Liu Shan ***)

Weapon Compatibility
This chart is a list of every character's compatibility rating with specific types of weaponry. The more stars they have, the more damage they can inflict with a particular weapon.


 * ★ - Initial compatibility rank. Boosts weapon attack by 2 points.
 * ★★ - Character must reach Level 10 to be in this rank. Boosts weapon attack by 5 points.
 * ★★★ - Character must reach Level 18 to be in this rank. Boosts weapon attack by 7 points.
 * ★★★★ - Character must reach Level 26 to be in this rank. Boosts weapon attack by 10 points. Can also perform an action skill related to preferred weapon type.


 * * only available in Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends.
 * ** only available in Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires.

Weapon Attributes
This is a list of attributes found in the game. With a maximum of 10 levels per attribute, up to 6 can be attached to a non-rare weapon via tempering. Attributes with special properties have no level capacity.


 * * indicates attributes found in Xtreme Legends.

Weapon List
Whirlwind Weapons=

Stele

 * -|Dash Weapons=

Art of War Scroll

 * -|Shadow Sprint Weapons=

Mandarin Duck Hooks

 * -|Dive Weapons=