Dynasty Warriors: Originshas a huge arsenal of attacks. With ten different weapons, a massive list of Battle Arts, and of course devastating Musou Attacks, there’s a technique for every conceivable situation.
One thing that really separates beginners from pros in DWO, though, is learning to effectively use the basic attack combos for each weapon. Even just mastering one or two from your preferred armaments makes a huge difference. These combos in particular are great for clearing hordes and battling officers, so be sure to practice using them.
8Wheel Orbit
Dodge + Heavy Attack At The Moment You Retrieve A Thrown Wheel
Wheels are avery combo-focused weaponto begin with, and their thrown attacks give them the longest range out of any basic attack in the game. Mastering the Wheels revolves aroundtiming your Heavy Attacksat the same moment you touch a Wheel you previously threw.
The exact follow-up depends on your position and movement at the time you collect the Wheel and make the attack. This move, which we’ve dubbed the Wheel Orbit, is easy to use and very helpful. Dodging into a Wheel lets you control when and where you use the attack, and you get another set of Wheels spinning around you, dealing damage to any foe they hit, for several seconds.
Standing a short distance from an officer while the Wheel Orbit is going lets you damage them and wear down their Fortitude without doing anything!
7Twin Pikes Rush
Dodge + Heavy Attack, Then Repeatedly Press Heavy Attack
Twin Pikestend to rely more on their Battle Arts, since they don’t transition between Normal and Heavy Attacks as well as other weapons. However, their Heavy Attack combos have a lot to offer when used in the situations they’re designed for.
Dodging into a Heavy Attack combo with Twin Pikes will start Ziluanrunning while swinging the Pikesrepeatedly. It’s a little hard to control due to the momentum, but if you charge into a large crowd this way you can quickly carve through their numbers.
Watch for the final two-handed strike to wind up; at that point,stop button mashingand time your final press for the moment the attack connects. This will cause an AoE burst that should finish off any troops nearby that you missed.
6Spear Multi-Thrust
3x Heavy Attack, Then Repeatedly Press Heavy Attack
Often, fighting an officer ends up beingmore about reliably reducing their Fortitudethan about trying to damage their health bar. An Assault on a stunned officer is the most efficient way to deal damage in the game, and it also affects nearby enemies at the same time.
Spear gameplay tends to focus a bit more on charging up for big hits, butdon’t discount the extremely easy-to-use multi-thrust flurry.All you have to do iskeep mashing the heavy attack button; after a three-hit combo, you’ll be able to go into the flurry.
The initial three hits are fairly slow, so you may need to abort the combo to dodge or parry, especially if you’re fighting multiple officers at once. Pick your moment; following up a parry or a Special Art interruption is usually a good bet.
5Twin Pikes Aerial
Repeatedly Press Heavy Attack While Standing Still
This combo can be tricky to pull off, since it’s not guaranteed to get the launch that it needs to be truly effective, but when it works it’s amazing. As with the Spear Multi-Thrust above, it’s best when usedafter staggering an officerby countering one of their attacks.
You have to be standing perfectly still when you start the combo for it to work; otherwise, you’ll perform a different series of attacks.
If the initial hit from the combo strikes a wounded or staggered officer dead-on, it shouldlaunch them into the air, letting you slash away at them for the rest of the combo unimpeded. you’re able to further increase the damage of this move byequipping the Vortex Gem.
4Crescent Blade Multiattack
Dodge + Hold Heavy Attack When Your Blade Is Fully Charged
Crescent Bladesare great for theirbroad, sweeping attacksandcombo-centric Battle Arts, but if you’re out of Bravery you can perform an attack that’s nearly as good as long as the blade is fully charged. The Crescent Blade’s Heavy Attack coming out of a dodgeturns into a multi-hit comboif you hold the button, and itgets an additional strike for each level of charge the Crescent Blade has.
Equipping the Oblivion Gemmakes the attacks from this combo enormous, and unless there’s an especially dangerous officer nearby, it won’t matter that the individual swings are fairly slow; nobody’s getting near you while this attack is in progress without getting hit hard.
3Halberd Multi-Attack
5x Normal Attack, Then Repeatedly Press Heavy Attack
The halberd isslow, relentless, and powerful. It’s best for decimating large formations of troops while using its Battle Arts to fend off teams of officers, but you need to have a plan for one-on-one fights as well.
When facing down a single, powerful foe,especially in a duel, a simple halberd combo can help make up for the weapon’s unwieldiness. Switch to Heavy Attacks after the fifth Normal Attack in the onslaught, and you’ll follow up with another full set of strikes. This is usually more than enough to stun your target, and the strokes are wide enough to catch nearby foes as well.
If your target is still on their feet after the combo,follow up with a Battle Artusing the Bravery that you gained; attempting another combo will likely cause you to take a hit.
2Endless Staff Strikes
Hold Heavy Attack While Standing Still
Staves are another combo-heavy weapon, and for all theirhigh-flying aerial shenanigans, one of their best moves is performed with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Like the Twin Pikes Aerial Combo, you need to be standing perfectly still when you start this attack for it to work.
Holding the Heavy Attack Button while standing stilllaunches an unending, rapid barrage of close-range strikes.If you can keep an officer within range,this is the fastest way to reduce their Fortitudeand follow up with an Assault.
Pay very close attention to both your target and any other nearby officers while performing this combo; it can be hard to spot an incoming attack in time to parry it with your staff whirling and flashing so much.
1Sword Aerial
4x Normal Attacks, Then A Heavy Attack
This is the move that will change the way you play Dynasty Warriors: Origins. It’s comparatively quick to perform, has a very reliable launch, and once you’ve reached ahigh Proficiency level with Swords, has a further Pursuit attack thatadds even more strikes to an already-staggering count.
The power of launching a target, especially with the Vortex Gem, can’t be overstated. Foes arecompletely helpless while they’re up in the air, so there’s a good reason that there aren’t many moves that let you launch them this easily. If any fight in the game is giving you trouble,equip your best swordand repeatedly fire away with this combo, occasionally following up withFlying Dragon Slash, and you’ll find yourself in much better shape.
