Zuo Ci

Zuo Ci is one of the new characters from Dynasty Warriors 5 and possesses the highest stats in the series, ending the tradition of Lu Bu being the ultimate character. He is a powerful mystic well versed in the dark arts who followed Cao Cao on his rise to power, believing that he may be the one to restore peace. After losing faith in Cao Cao's brutal methods, he instead supported Liu Bei.

He was added to the series by fan request but was left out of Dynasty Warriors 6. In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 70 years old.

Role in Games

 * "The darkness has lifted... And yet the world still cannot find the light."
 * ―Zuo Ci

Dynasty Warriors
Zuo Ci's role in the Dynasty Warriors series is very loosely connected to his Romance of the Three Kingdoms counterpart. In his Musou Mode, he supports Liu Bei, as he saw him to be the only one capable of ruling China appropriately. This however, ended after Guan Yu's death, when Liu Bei failed to follow his advisers, blindly attacking Wu. At this point, Zuo Ci works against Shu. The mystic also keeps a watchful eye on Cao Cao, who would fall under his own will to conquer the land, instead of wanting to unite it. His ending in Dynasty Warriors 5 shows Zuo Ci standing amongst the various dead bodies of war, claiming the chaos has subsided yet peace has not been found. He then vows to return in a time when the land can finally be at peace before disapearing and taking flight as a bird.

Zuo Ci also appears in the Musou Mode of Xu Zhu, turning up at Mt. Ding Jun and He Fei Castle. Generally, he mystically appears in the middle of battles, threatening to kill Cao Cao, which greatly angers Xu Zhu.

Warriors Orochi
Zuo Ci appears in the last stage of Orochi's story mode in Warriors Orochi 2, which serves as the prequel for the series. He assists the mystic army by creating replicas of himself. Once he's defeated, he states that he now knows the snake demon's power and retreats to reassess his strategy. In Warriors Orochi, Zuo Ci, along with Yoshihiro Shimazu and Xing Cai, appear early in Shu's story to help free Zhao Yun from his prison. During their escape, he wishes the trio luck and disappears from battle. He later assists Shu during their climatic battle with Orochi.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Zuo Ci joins to protect Liu Bei, support his cause, and act as the bridge between the humans and Taigong Wang. As a conduit, Zuo Ci also helps reveal Wang's thoughts on mortals.

Personality
He is portrayed as an immortal mystic, and, unlike others of his Mysticism like Fu Xi and Nu Wa, Ci is very old. Zuo Ci is also recognized as most characters to be an old man who is incapable of battle.

Appearance
Zuo Ci has had a very unique look about him. His hat stood up in a funnel-shape, while his face was painted with markings that shaped as a yin-yang symbol. A long, protruding mustache matched his beard. He also wore robes, marked with Taoist symbols and Chinese characters, along with one boot. His alternate costume consisted of the same wardrobe, but without the hat.

Voice Actors

 * Michael Forest - Dynasty Warriors 5, Warriors Orochi series (English)
 * Masaharu Satō - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "Be careful how you treat me. Karma has a way of hurting."
 * "I hope I can play my cards right."
 * "I do as the fates require."
 * "The darkness has lifted... And yet the world still cannot find the light."
 * "How unfortunate. However, maybe you should take this as a sign from the heavens. Give up your ambition in favor of Liu Bei. He is the one that this land truly needs, not you."
 * "Silence! I cannot allow it to end here! Not yet!"
 * Zuo Ci and Cao Cao at Chi Bi; Dynasty Warriors 5


 * "Eh? Who's that up yonder?"
 * "Am I of interest to you, innocent child?"
 * Xu Zhu spotting Zuo Ci; Dynasty Warriors 5


 * "Ah, so you control the winds. Still, with your little wings, you shall never reach the heavens. Come with me, leave behind your worldly desires. Let the peace of the heavens enfold you."
 * Zuo Ci addressing Pang Tong; Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends


 * "You are but a living corpse who has chosen to watch the world go by. You have no need for this book."
 * "There is a purpose to my observation. Hence, I am here."
 * Zhang Jiao and Zuo Ci; Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends


 * "Now do you see the foolishness of turning your back on the gods? You have been punished for your sins!"
 * "You exaggerate, Zhang Jiao. Our success surely owes more to hard work, than the fickle vicissitudes of the heavens!"
 * "I'm sure we can all agree that victory is sweet, no matter what the means, hmm?"
 * Zhang Jiao, Zuo Ci, and Pang Tong; Warriors Orochi 2

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Releases an orb that explodes after a few seconds, press undefined once it's fire, twice and it's ice.
 * , undefined: Knock opponent upwards with cards.
 * ,, undefined(undefined, undefined): Surrounds opponents with a circle of cards, impales them and the cards surround the opponent from the other side, repeats twice, then at the end Zuo Ci throws cards forward spiraling in a circle.
 * ,, , undefined: Cards surround Zuo Ci and then Zuo Ci sends lasers from his cards in all directions.
 * ,, , , undefined: Zuo Ci blasts his cards spiraling forward, knocking anything in front of him skyward.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Zuo Ci sends his cards at the ground creating an explosion, knocking everything upwards, then creates another scattering opponents in every direction.
 * Cards spiral around Zuo Ci damaging opponents, then lightning rains down around him.
 * ,undefined: Rides down on cards with a spray of shadow spheres in front of him.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Spins cards for one revolution.
 * ,, , , , : Three swipes to the right side, three swipes to the left.
 * A string of side-alternating swipes, followed by one card spin. Ended when the Musou gauge empties.

Differences between games

 * The, undefined has always changed in Zuo Ci's appearances. In Dynasty Warriors 5 and it's expansions, Ci sent out fire as his projectiles. In Warriors Orochi, he sent out blue cutting waves, and, in Warriors Orochi 2, he sent out black spheres.

Dynasty Warriors
With only one incarnation, Zuo Ci is a very solid character. He's a very effective crowd clearer, as well as a good officer killer. His, , , undefined, and , , , , , undefined, and , , undefined(undefined, undefined) attacks are all superb for crowd clearing, with the latter being the most devastating. It repeatedly attacks a group of enemies in front of the player. This makes it useful for killing enemy generals, especially when the player and enemy are alone. For enemies to get full force, players are recommended to step a bit back before using it.

The, , , , , undefined string causes two explosions to set foes on fire, though it takes a long time to activate. Troops can easily interrupt the attackWith a Heavy weapon, similar to most everyone else, Zuo Ci is left very vulnerable in between attacks. The slowness of his moveset is a definite weakness, so a light weapon is recommended.

Warriors Orochi
Zuo Ci's weaknesses from Dynasty Warriors 5 apply to him in Warriors Orochi, but can be fixed with the addition of layers of Agility. In Warriors Orochi, Zuo Ci is significantly buffed compared to his incarnation in Dynasty Warriors 5. He is classified as a Speed-type character, and can therefore execute multiple combos with ease. With his special attacks that use no Musou, Zuo Ci is godly in power. The attack basically strengthens Zuo Ci in speed and power, at the cost of a small frame of vulnerability. After, all of his attacks go by fast, and enemies don't have a big gap to counter.

A hidden attack was placed in Zuo Ci's moveset without an in-game notice. After activating the attack buff, pressing will make Zuo Ci strike with a powered palm, known by most as the "God Hand" technique. The strike goes incredibly fast, and is only used right after the buff. However, in Warriors Orochi 2, Zuo Ci has been nerfed, and the special attacks take a significantly longer time to activate. The third and final special attack has Zuo Ci send out multiple spheres that, when contact occurs, decreases enemies' defense significantly. This can be used in coordination with the God Hand technique, or a combo string, making all attacks, especially element-activated ones with damage-inflicting attributes, especially effective.

Most all elements can be applied to Zuo Ci's weapons to increase potency, but recommended ones are Brave, Air, and Agility. The latter is to combat Zuo Ci's speed weakness. Depending on the player's playing style, Brave can be used to multiply the power of his, , undefined (undefined, undefined) to fight generals, especially on harder difficulties. The Air element can be added to those players who utilize Air Dash to juggle enemies.

Dynasty Warriors 5

 * 4th Weapon: Trump Deck
 * Base Attack: 20; Weight: Medium
 * Stats: Charge +15, Fill +20, Bow +15, Defense +15, Musou +20
 * Stage: Battle of Hu Lao Gate (Allied Forces)
 * Location: On the castle's wall near where Lu Bu first appeared.
 * Requirements: Defeat Lu Bu.

Historical Information
Zuo Ci was a Taoist that practiced on Emei Mountain. He was nicknamed, "Master Black Horn". In reality, Zuo Ci never predicted Cao Cao's death and served him until retirement.

In historical texts, Zuo Ci studied atop the Mount Tianzhu, practiced medicinal alchemy and nourished his vital essence by controlled breathing, as well as other means. It is said that he could live for long periods without eating. He was also very knowledgeable in the Confucian classics and in astrology.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Zuo Ci is a legendary personage of the Three Kingdoms period of China. Though he is known as a local of Lujiang, the years of his birth and death are unknown. It is believed that he had existed before the collapse of the Han Dynasty, and it is claimed that he lived to three hundred. He learned his magics and path to longevity from the Taoist sage Feng Heng, and eventually passed his arts to Ge Xuan.

Around the year 200 CE, a warlord by the name of Sun Ce, who was a strict Confucian, wanted to kill Zuo Ci and chased him on horseback. Zuo Ci, unmounted, still managed to escape by seemingly walking slowly.

Later, Zuo Ci went to Cao Cao, who granted him a pension to do his magics. Cao Cao may have shown an interest in the Taoist approach to longevity by doing this, but his son Cao Zhi wrote that the pensions are only intended to keep the magicians and their wild teachings under control. Zuo Ci showed Cao Cao's court a number of magics, such as catching an exotic fish from an empty copper pan, and teleporting far away to buy ginger. Zuo Ci once fed a whole court assembly with food and wine, but Cao Cao soon found out that Zuo Ci had emptied every wine shop in the region with his magic for this purpose. Cao Cao tried to execute Zuo Ci, but Zuo Ci escaped by walking through walls. When someone reported that Zuo Ci had been sighted in the market, everyone in the market became identical to Zuo's appearance. Another report said Zuo Ci went to the mountaintop, so Cao Cao and his men went, and realized Zuo Ci was concealed among a flock of sheep. Knowing he cannot find him, Cao Cao announced to the flock of sheep that he was merely trying to test Zuo Ci's skill, and had no intention to kill him. At the moment, a goat stood on its hind legs and spoke. Cao Cao's men rushed to the goat, only to find the rest of the flock also turned into goats and started standing and speaking like humans. Zuo Ci was never found by Cao Cao's men again.

Zuo Ci eventually retired from the world to practice his arts in the mountains.