Dynasty Warriors 3 for Sony PlayStation 2 Character FAQ for Yuan Shao ----------------- 0.0 Introduction ----------------- Welcome to what is my 6th FAQ now. I am Bjan Mara, and I go by the on-line name of psxfreak101, in case you hadn't noticed :-P This Character FAQ is for the character Yuan Shao of the Dynasty Warriors 3 game. Looking under the list of Character FAQs for this game, it was noted that Yuan Shao has still yet to have an FAQ for him, so I figured I may as well write one up. Really, just any old excuse to write about my favourite game in all of existance :-P -------- Contents -------- 1.0 Version History 2.0 Why play as Yuan Shao? 3.0 Encyclopaedia Entry 4.0 Unlocking Him 5.0 Moveset 6.0 Using Yuan Shao 7.0 Weapons 8.0 Stage Walkthrough 8.1 The Battle of Hu Lao Gate 8.2 The Battle at Guan Du 9.0 Is This The End? -------------------- 1.0 Version History -------------------- Version 1.0 Submitted 27/01/2006 For all intents and purposes, is complete, unless an error or 100 are spotted. --------------------------- 2.0 Why play as Yuan Shao? --------------------------- Well, he's another sword user. But you say to me "So what? There's another ten or so sword users in this game. Why should we care about this particular guy?" I respond "Because he's a playable character in this game that reeks of awesomeness! And he uses a sword!" Yep, that's a pretty weak reason as to why you should play as this guy. Just use him. He's very effective in his attacking ability, much like every other sword user in the game. Plus, he gets an interesting stage against Cao Cao and the Wei forces. ------------------------ 3.0 Encyclopaedia Entry ------------------------ This is direct from his Officer Bio in the DW3 game: "A member of the distinguished Yuan clan, he became the leader of the Allied forces in the movement against Dong Zhuo. Following Dong Zhuo's death, he fought with Cao Cao, who was trying to take control of the central plains. However, despite his large army at the Battle of Guan Du, internal strife and various other troubles such as the attack of his supply depot led to a major defeat." Now, normally I'd add some stupid comment at this point, but I've got nothing for Yuan Shao here. Maybe something about losing with a huge army. Sucks to be over-confident. ------------------ 4.0 Unlocking Him ------------------ This must be done in musou mode. If you're looking to unlock Yuan Shao as quick as possible, then Zhang He is a good choice considering that his first stage is indeed Guan Du, Wei forces. While playing The Battle at Guan Du, Wei forces side, defeat Yan Liang and Wen Chou, and then finish the stage. Yuan Shao will become playable, as will Yuan Shao's forces' side at Guan Du. ------------ 5.0 Moveset ------------ A basic description of his moves. Then, it'll be followed by a preferred way of playing. I'll also add the preferred name for the moves in brackets afterwards. T - Triangle, S - Square. C - xth Charge, which is just the proper name. SSSSSS (S-String) - 6 180 horizontal slashes in a row (4th strike heads slightly vertical). Great in crowds. Running Attack - Dashes forward with a 180 slash. Good crowd clearer. T (C1) - A 360 attack. Like all C1s, this works well as a guard break on officers. ST (C2) - A typical short-launcher, except that it lags a bit more than others. SST (C3) - Another 180 slash, stunning all who are hit by it. SSST (C4) - Practically a vertical slash. Sends all that are hit by it flying. SSSST(T) (C5) - Typical high-launcher with the single aerial attack. SSSSST (C6) - Sends a shockwave along the ground that covers approximately 210 degrees (probably more). Clears crowds well. Musou - Slashes his sword back and forth horizontally, and ends in his C4. It also leaves his targets grounded, so it will dish out optimal damage. True Musou - Obligatory fire element is added to his musou. Also added is a few 360 slashes before the final hit. This also juggles, but the fire element makes up for the slight decrease in damage dished out from the attacks themselves. S on Horse - Typical alternating slashes, starting from the right. T on Horse - More powerful version of the S on horse, attacking the right, then left-hand side. Musou on Horse - More powerful version of the T on horse. Acts as a reasonable crowd clearer. -------------------- 6.0 Using Yuan Shao -------------------- Well, you only need to know about 3 moves: his S-String, his C6, and his normal musou. In a crowd situation, it doesn't matter which move you use really. Just use the S-String into the crowd, and if you're being attacked/interrupted from behind then use your musou straight away. If you feel like really clearing the crowd in front of you, then use the C6. In a one-on-one situation against officers, one effective combo is to use the first 5 strikes of his S-String, and then cancel into his musou. If it's a playable character, they will counter with their own musou after the first hit of yours (producing the weapon lock), but otherwise it'll take a huge chunk of health off your target's life. Yeah, that's really all there is to the Yuan Shao character. If you're still on your 1st or 2nd weapon, then obviously you can't use his C6. Just alternate between his S-String (which is still effective regardless of your weapon) and his musou. The following is an example item set-up that I like to use with him: Peacock Urn Tiger Amulet Tortoise Amulet Elixir Wind Scroll/Speed Scroll Of course, item set-ups are always relative to what stat items you have. If your Elixir is only a +2, then it absolutely isn't worth equipping. The first 4 items are fairly stock standard as far as I'm concerned. Added attack, defense and life are always good additions, while the Elixir serves well in getting you to use your musou quickly in battle. As for the 5th slot there, this is more of a personal choice thing. The Wind Scroll is always great on a sword user (in fact, it's arguably great on all characters anyway) and is what I'd normally pick as the 5th slot. The option of the Speed Scroll is really more for if you think his walking speed leaves a lot to be desired. I think his walking speed is just fine. ----------------- 7.0 Weapons List ----------------- The following is the 4 weapons that Yuan Shao can equip himself with. Of important note is that his 1st, 2nd and 3rd weapons can be found either in crates throughout the stages, or from an officer upon their defeat. His 4th weapon is obtained through a specific objective on a specific stage (explained under its stats). The 1st, 2nd and 3rd weapons will also have different assortments of stats on them. 1st - Broad Sword Attack +17 Max Hits: 4 2nd - Long Sword Attack +32 Max Hits: 5 3rd - Master Sword Attacks +44 Max Hits: 6 4th - Grand Master Attacks +44 Max Hits: 6 No Element Jump +20 (why?) Musou Max +78 Defense +54 Bow Attack +51 Mounted Attack +46 Where to obtain it - Guan Du, Yuan Shao's forces Requirements to get it - Keep Wen Chou alive for 10 minutes. Where to locate weapon - A supply unit will appear outside the south-east depot and head north. Defeat the Supply Captain for the weapon. Strategies - Firstly, it is advised that you try this after playing a couple of stages with Yuan Shao. Yes, you can obtain this weapon on base stats (as I did), but given that the difficulty of this stage is 3 flags (according to DW3:XL, DW3 doesn't have difficulty ratings on the stages), it is best to have played a couple of stages first. I can tell you that getting this 4th weapon is painful if you are on base stats, but is well worth the challenge if that's what you're looking for. Here it's probably best to equip Red Hare as well. Considering your current position, and what you have to do to succeed in getting the weapon, you'd want to get into the action as quick as possible. You can probably replace the Wind Scroll for Red Hare. Your first (and probably only) obstacle in your way is Guan Yu. If he (or his soldiers) gets anywhere near Yan Liang or Wen Chou, you'll see a short cut-scene and then the message "'s forces have been obliterated." I'm sure you can work out the problem with this. So, head straight to Guan Yu inside the castle and try to kill him as soon as possible. It's not the easiest thing in the world due to Guan Yu's stats (his on this stage rival that of the commanders on either sides). The other problem you'll probably come across is the fact that he'll be surrounded by other officers in the area, whether he's next to the entrance aided by Cao Ren, or closer to the north-east corner, next to Cao Hong and Xu Zhu. So, you'll have problems, for sure. Once he's defeated, head straight back outside and fight off the officers outside the castle. If any Wei soldiers approach Wen Chou go and fight alongside him. If you manage to defeat Xiahou Dun and Xu Huang, then you're definitely in the clear (and doing a pretty good job of cleaning up the stage in the process). The moment you see the "A supply unit has appeared!", rush straight to it, defeat the Supply Captain, collect the weapon, SAVE, and then finish the stage as you see fit. This probably means systematically working your way through to Cao Cao, killing all other officers prior to reaching him. ---------------------- 8.0 Stage Walkthrough ---------------------- Well, unfortunately for Yuan Shao, he doesn't have a musou mode in this game (yes, one was added for the Xtreme Legends expansion game, but this is all about DW3 and not DW3:XL). So, instead you'll get to put up with two stage walkthroughs of the two stages that he does appear in here. Of note, I won't really be mentioning where to pick up items or weapons, and where to get health. Items and weapons you can find locations for elsewhere, while health pick-ups are generally obtained from any of the following: - Any pot next to a gate will have health - Any guard captains will drop at least a +100 meat bun - Any soldier comboed for at least 16 hits upon death can drop at least a +50 meat bun This walkthrough will only be concerned with just getting through the stages. I will also mention where the Life+10 & Musou+10 are for each of the stages to allow for easy maxing of the character. Without further ado, let us start with the first of his two appearances: ------------------------------ 8.1 The Battle at Hu Lao Gate ------------------------------ Starting Position: North-western corner. Yuan Shao has the worst starting position in terms of how much effort is required to get into the thick of battle. Head south towards Sun Jian's position and aid them in defeating Hu Zhen and Zhao Cen stationed in front of the Fan Shui Gate. This will open up Fan Shui Gate for you, allowing you access to the rest of the stage essentially. Defeat Hua Xiong just past the gate. Head back onto the Fan Shui Gate. On top of the gate on the southern side there is a Musou+10 waiting. Collect it, then head through the northern pathway, passing Fan Chou, and stopping at Niou Fu. Defeat him, then head back through to Fan Chou and defeat him as well. Now work your way east, through the crowd, to Wang Fang. He is situated just north of the East Gate. Usually the gate would be closed unless Wang Fang has been defeated, but by now Lu Bu's forces should be nearby, opening the East Gate up. Defeat Wang Fang, then head back through to Xu Rong and defeat him as well. Lu Bu and his sub-generals are optional in this stage. In fact, you could probably argue that for any officers in any stage :-P If you choose to defeat them, get Zhang Liao and Gao Shun first, then work your way through Lu Bu. At this point in time your character will have little to no chance of beating Lu Bu, so you'll probably want to use a "hit and run" tactic using your musou. If you are going to ignore Lu Bu completely, then just whittle down his morale. The soldiers that come from the gate to the south are all Lu Bu's soldiers, so defeating them will eventually bring down his morale, and thus prevent any generals from falling by Lu Bu's spear while he's off-screen. In any case, Li Jue and Guo Si will have more than likely made their ambush in the north. Cao Cao may still be sitting in the north, depending on how well he was managing the soldiers from that northern gate. If that's the case, you'll probably want to hurry to his side because he can fall very quickly. If Cao Cao isn't there (or has been defeated), then Li Jue and Guo Si will head through to the back of Yuan Shao's forces (should be waiting outside Fan Shui Gate). Either way just head through to the 2 generals and defeat them. Now, just head back through the southern path, meeting and defeating Li Meng if he's still alive, and working your way through to the front of Hu Lao Gate. In the little passage south of Li Meng's position, an archer ambush will appear. Ignore the archers and continue towards the front of Hu Lao Gate. At this point, an ally Assault Unit will appear infront of the gate. Protect the Assault Captain and kill all the soldiers in the area. One of two things can happen here: - If you successfully defeat all the soldiers in the area, then the gate will open and Li Ru will ambush infront of the gates. - If the Assault Captain falls before the gate is opened, then there will be a mass morale drop amongst the ally forces, and Li Ru will ambush in front of the gates. His defeat will trigger the opening of the gates. Once Li Ru has been defeated, defeat Diao Chan waiting inside the gate. Then, head on top of Hu Lao Gate, and collect the Life+10 on the northern end of the gate. Finally, just close the 3 gates in the back, and defeat Dong Zhuo for the victory. -------------------------- 8.2 The Battle at Guan Du -------------------------- Starting Position: North-western corner. Firstly, I realise that I had made a mini-walkthrough for his 4th weapon regarding this very stage. I'm still going to do a separate walkthrough because of the fact that I wouldn't use the same route that was used for the 4th weapon. Seriously, who would want to head straight for Guan Yu at the start? Secondly, as the commander of this stage you are once again in the worst position as far as getting into the thick of action is concerned. Head towards Xu Huang's position. As you cross the bridge to the east, you'll see a section just south of the bridge that points into the river intersection. Go there, and you'll find a Life+10 for the taking. Continue on to Xu Huang's position. As you reach the first bridge that heads back west, you'll see Yue Jin fighting there. Defeat him, then cross the bridge. You'll probably come across Yu Jin as well in the process, so defeat him too. Then head past Xu Huang towards Xiahou Dun and defeat him. Head south (away from Xu Huang) and find his two sub-officers: Wei Xu and Shi Huan. Defeat them, then head back towards Xu Huang and defeat him. Then head west towards Xiahou Yuan's position and defeat Li Dian, Liu Yan, and then Xiahou Yuan himself. Xiahou Yuan's defeat will prompt the northern castle walls to collapse. Then you get a congratulatory message from Cao Cao. What a great guy! By now you probably would've seen a couple of cut-scenes involving Guan Yu defeating first Yan Liang, then Wen Chou. He's likely to be outside the castle at this point, so it would be in your best interest to take him out now. If he meets up with Liu Bei, then Liu Bei will retreat. Also, if you're just left with Zhang He, Liu Bei and Chun Yuqiong at this point then the Wei forces will move out from the castle and start an all-out attack. This means you'll have to do a bit of personal guess and check work to find all the remaining officers. The good news is that you'll know where they're coming from. Zhang Liao and his sub-officers Xun You, Song Xian and Cheng Yu will have moved through the gap in the northern wall of their castle. Xu Zhu, Cao Hong, Cao Ren and Jia Xu will have all moved from the eastern entrance of the castle. In any case, find them all and defeat them all. Then head inside the castle and cross the eastern-most bridge. Right there next to the archer's tower is a Musou+10 item. Collect it, head to Cao Cao in the south-west corner, and defeat him. Congratulations, you've just squashed the Wei forces! Now go get DW3:XL so you can experience a musou mode with Yuan Shao. Go on, you know you want to... --------------------- 9.0 Is This The End? --------------------- Yay for random DW3 quote :-D Anywho, that's it for this FAQ. Not much else to add except thanks for reading my character FAQ to do with my all-time favourite game! If you're wanting to contact me for whatever reason, whether it be pointing out a mistake in the FAQ, or just wanting to tell me that the game sucks, use this address: psxfreak101 at hotmail dot com Or better yet, just post something on the DW3 board, because I'll be there ready to answer anything you've got on your mind. Thanks for reading!