It’s hard to go wrong with any character inWarriors Orochi 3 Ultimate. Especially once they’re leveled up enough, given the right attributes, and aren’t called Goemon Ishikawa. Lü Bu has good crowd control, Momiji has a very strong special attack, and the boss characters like Orochi X and Tamamo make the journey to unlock them worthwhile.
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Still, that journey is quicker for some characters more than others. Some can struggle against the hordes. Others have a comfortable time even on the hardest difficulties. Then others can snap the game in half before the player even sticks attributes on them. Here are the best characters inWarriors Orochi 3 Ultimate.
10Lianshi
The Wu Kingdom’s Ms Fix-It can really fix thingswith her crossbow. Her combos are great at crowd control, keeping even the bigger foes at a safe distance. They’re especially handy at racking up the kills in their hundreds. Particularly with her EX-combo, which shoots arrows in all directions.
She isn’t so hot when the foes get up close, hence why she’s this low on the list. However, her Musou Attack should help her out in a pinch as she leaps into the air and blitzes the immediate area. Even better, her Ground Special Attack brings in a shower of arrows and heals her and her allies a touch.
9Cai Wenji
The harp-playing poet of Wei is a hard character to learn. She isn’t good at up-close contact and could die quickly in the wrong hands at higher difficulties. However, her energy-blasting combos can keep foes away, and her Ground Special Attack can stun any immediate enemies. Then, if all else fails, she can blow everyone away with a musical Musou attack.
Once mastered, and packed with the right attributes, she can be the strongest character in the game. She could toast the most enemy-dense stages on the hardest settings in no time. It’s just a trek getting to that stage, and there are other characters who offer a shorter journey to great results. Though if players want a challenge with a great reward, Wenji offers that and then some.
8Motochika Chōsokabe
Shikoku’s shamisen-slinger isSamurai Warriors’ version of Cai Wenji, fromthe musical themeto the similar energy-blasting moves. He’s also a hard character to get the most out of compared to the rest of the cast. Still, he has his differences.
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His combos are better out of the box than Wenji’s, and he’s better at taking hits. He also has a better Musou because the player can keep it going if they keep the gauge filled up. Find a Wine jug, or max out Osmosis, and Chōsokabe can nuke everything around him and rack up the combos for other attributes like Bastion and Bombast.
7Kyūbi
Picking a boss character is kind of cheating. It takes a long time to unlock them, but once they are, they’re not really toned down in any way. Orochi is strong, Orochi X is stronger, and Hundun is as beastly as he looks. So, on the face of it, Kyūbi doesn’t seem as good as them or her human equivalent Tamamo.
She’s pretty slow, and a big target for any errant jabs…if the player lets people get too close to her anyway. Kyūbi has plenty of tools to keep them away. Her massive tails can either send foes flying or bring them in for more punishment. Her swiping scythe-like Musou attacks are good for that. If the heat gets too much, her Mid-Air Special gives her a 10-second Invincibility boost. Plenty of time for the player to reorientate themselves and strike back.
6Zhong Hui
Dynasty Warriorswas never going to be historically accurate, and never aimed to be. The first game had Zhuge Liang swinging his fan around himself seemingly through magic. So, why not have a character that can do that with a set of blades instead?
Zhong Hui’s floating razors are one of the series’ most curious weapon choices, and one of the best. His blades can move around him in a circle for protection, swirl forwards to cut through hordes, or launch them in the air for follow-up attacks. Not only that, but they rack up a lot of hits too. Which makes it easier to get the perks from combo-reliant Attributes and getting Health/Musou back through Absorption and Osmosis.
5Cao Cao
The ruler of Weidoesn’t have Zhong Hui’s combo potential. However, he makes up for it in reliable, close-up strength. He’s swifter than Xiahou Dun, and stabler than Liu Bei. Plus, his icicle chucking Musou is a good space clearer. Not that the player will be using it much. The thing that makes Cao Cao king is his Mid-Air Special Attack.
Related:Beginner Tips for Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires
It’s basically an airborne version of his Musou, except it costs less of the gauge to use, and can be spammed until it’s empty. That might be cheesy, but Musou games are basically a dairy farm: milk whatever works until the cheddar rolls in. So, stick the best attributes on Cao Cao, and reap those rewards.
4Ma Dai
What’s the guy with the calligraphy brush doing this high on the list? Proving it is mightier than the sword. He’s as good at space control as Zhong Hui, only he’s better against up-close foes. That brush packs enough punch to swipe them away, while producing explosive symbols that blow up anyone else in the area.
He has some handy special attacks too. His Ground Special boosts his attack for 10 seconds, and his Mid-Air one fires more symbols into the ground. They’re pretty good, though his Musou is also worth using. It’s a simple forward-facing nuke attack, yet it has charm as he swats a big energy ball ahead of him like he’s playing golf.
3Zhang Jiao
If Ma Dai wasn’t a surprise, seeing Zhang Jiao this high might be. Heacts like kooky comic reliefto offset how creepy he otherwise is. But when he’s able to blast fire everywhere, he proves more useful than he looks. He comes with the Flame attribute built in, which he can boost for a few seconds with his EX-move.
However, his true strength lies in his Musou gauge. His Mid-Air Special attack can stun foes and restore life, while his Ground Special makes Zhang Jiao float around and spread explosions everywhere. It’s good and will do the job in a pinch. Yet his Musou does the same job more effectively, covering a wider area with a fiery rain.
2Ayane
Dead or Alive’s purple ninja girl feels more unwieldy combo-wise thanother ninjas like Ryu Hayabusa. Though they have more heft than her sister Kasumi. Her special moves are pretty solid too, flinging flaming kunai blades ahead of her or from midair. But players aren’t going to pick Ayane for her Specials, nor her combos except as a gauge-filler.
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Her Musou is what reigns supreme here. It operates like theSamurai Warriors’ Musou moves, in that the player holds the button to keep the move going. So, if Ayane can find Wine Jugs, or maxes out Osmosis, she won’t need her specials, combos, or anything else to get by. She’d just need to find the nearest big cluster, hold the button down, and destroy everything with an up-close energy wave.
1Xu Shu
So, who is the most overpowered character inWarriors Orochi 3 Ultimate? One of its newbies, surprisingly enough. Xu Shu made his debut inDynasty Warriors 7 Empires, so he wasn’t in the originalWarriors Orochi 3. TheUltimateupdate brought him in, and he became the go-to new guy to go for.
His combos are great both up close and from a distance. Then his Musou move has him act more like a ninja than the ninja characters, swiping across the screen back and forth. However, his Ground Special Attack is better, as he summons a rain of arrows that can be stacked to stun-lock his foes. Max out Osmosis to essentially win the whole game.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimateis out now on Playstation 4, XBox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and the last gen of consoles.
