Dynasty Warriors 4 (Shin Sangoku Musou 3) - Character Guide:
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Version 1.23
By Clay "FerretGuy" Johnson
(
[email protected])
::READ DISCLAIMER BEFORE CONTINUING::
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Version 1.2 - Removed unnecessary ASCII art; updated move descriptions.
Version 1.1 - Updated 10th Weapon info; changed section order.
Version 1.0 - Groundwork of the FAQ up, expect major updating to come.
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1) Introduction
2) Background Information
3) Pros and Cons
4) How to Unlock
5) Costumes
6) Weapons
7) 10th Weapon
8) Items
9) Move List
10) Advanced Tactics
11) Quotes
12) Special Thanks
13) Disclaimer
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1) INTRODUCTION
Hello and welcome. This is the first FAQ of any kind that I have ever written.
In it I plan to give an in-depth view of my personal favorite Dynasty Warriors
character, Gan Ning. This guide assumes the basic game play mechanics, which
can be found in other various Dynasty Warriors 4 FAQs.
If you have ANY information relating to Gan Ning that you would like to add,
please contact me by email. Any contributors will be given full credit in the
"Special Thanks" section. If you see anything missing a detail, no matter how
small, email me. I really want as much feedback as possible in order to provide
the most complete Gan Ning FAQ available on the internet.
Read and enjoy.
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2) BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Gan Ning has always been a very brave and skillful man. In his youth, he led a
group of pirates that terrorized any small town unfortunate enough to have it's
boarders near the coast. His trademark bells gave early warning to the attack
that was yet to come. Knowing this; towns people would either fight over the
nearest hiding spot, or set out a feast in an attempt to appease him.
In his twenties, he took up the hobby of reading. After becoming very
interested in the work of Zhou dynasty writers, he sought to serve
Liu Biao. Because of his background, he was quickly denied. Instead, he joined
the ranks of Huang Zu.
In a battle with Sun Quan, Gan Ning took out an officer and successfully
held off the attack. When Huang Zu showed no signs of promoting Gan Ning, he
took Su Fei's advice and joined Sun Quan in battle.
With the recommendation of Zhou Yu and Lu Meng, Gan Ning was quickly welcomed
and treated very well. On Gan Ning's advice, Sun Quan led his army in an attack
on Huang Zu. Gan Ning's insight on the situation impressed Sun Quan so much
that he put Gan Ning in charge of the assault.
Gan Ning followed Zhou Yu into the battles of Wulin and Nanjun. Because of his
many important victories, he was given the title of "General Who Oppresses the
Enemy with Ferocity."
Over the course of more victories, Gan Ning had developed a strong name for
himself. After Guan Yu stopped his attack at Yiyang when he heard news of Gan
Ning's approach, Sun Quan appointed him Grand Administrator of Xiling and
Commander of both Yangxin and Xiazhi County.
He accompanied Sun Quan in the attacks of He Fei and Wan. When an unexpected
event forced Sun Quan to retreat from battle, Gan Ning "fiercely opposed" the
advancing troops of Zhang Liao and allowed Sun Quan a safe escape.
Gan Ning was intelligent, loyal, and skilled in battle. He despised wealth and
respected men with abilities. He was always the first to charge into battle.
Because of this, his troops devoted their lives to him.
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3) PROS AND CONS
PROS
-GREAT run speed
-GREAT throw (C1)
-Good attack speed
-Good damage
-Good charges
-Good life
-Good defense
-Good musou
CONS
-Average range
-Mediocre dash attack
Well, after looking at this, you may think I'm biased. I probably am, but
you'll find that there really isn't much on Gan Ning that sticks out as being
"bad." Everything on him seems to fall dead average, with the exception of
his superior speed and throw. From his life and defense, to his damage and
charges, everything manages to stay competitive. What he lacks in range, he
makes up in speed; as do most sword users. His dash attack is often quickly
written off as inferior, but we'll get to that later.
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4) HOW TO UNLOCK
In order to use Gan Ning, you must first unlock him in Musou mode. This can be
done at any difficulty setting. First, play through the Wu Musou Mode until you
reach:
Wu Chapter 5
Congratulations! You have now unlocked Gan Ning! ...yeah, that's it. Just clear
Wu Chapter 4 and he's yours.
There is a very difficult alternative to the above, though. In Chapter 4, The
Battle of Xia Kou, you can defeat Gan Ning before killing Su Fei; doing so will
result in Gan Ning's surrender and ultimately the ability to play as him. But
beware; in this powered up state, Gan Ning proves to be one of the toughest
opponents you will ever encounter in Dynasty Warriors 4.
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5) COSTUMES
Every character has a total of 6 costumes. Gan Ning is no exception. Below is a
table showing the required rank for said costumes.
__________________
| RANK | COSTUME |
|-------|----------|
|--16---|-----1----|
|--11---|-----2----|
|---7---|-----3----|
|---7---|-----4----|
|--Max--|-----5----|
|--Max--|-----6----|
|_______|__________|
You get two new costumes at ranks 7 and Max; while you only get one new one at
rank 11. Below is a brief summary of each costume.
1st: Dark red pants with a light red sash hanging in between his legs. A dark
green vest with yellow trim. A necklace of large yellow bells. His
trademark brown spiked hair, with a red bandana holding two white feathers
tied around it.
2nd: White pants with a bright blue sash hanging in between his legs. A dark
red vest with white trim. A necklace of large white bells. Brown spiked
hair, with a white bandana holding two white feathers tied around it.
3rd: Dark red pants with a light red sash hanging in between his legs. A dark
green vest with yellow trim. His string of large yellow bells is on his
left hip, tied around his waste by a red sash. Brown spiked hair, with a
red bandana holding two white feathers tied around it.
4th: White pants with a bright blue sash hanging in between his legs. A dark
red vest with white trim. His string of large white bells is on his left
hip, tied around his waste by a blue sash. Brown spiked hair, with a white
bandana holding two white feathers tied around it.
5th: Dark red pants with soft yellow designs. He is now shirtless, with his
dark green vest tied around his waste, hanging in the back. Now exposed
tattoos decorate his body. The string of large yellow bells is on his left
hip, tied around his waste by a red sash. Brown spiked hair with a red
bandana holding two white feathers tied around it.
6th: Dark purple pants. He is now shirtless, with his dark green vest tied
around his waste, hanging in the back. Now exposed tattoos decorate his
body. The string of large white bells is on his left hip, tied around his
waste by a red sash. White spiked hair with a red bandana holding two red
feathers tied around it.
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6) WEAPONS
Below is a table of all avaiable weapons. Listed are the modifiers of the
sword, as well as experience requirments.
Level Exp Name Attack #Attacks
1 0 Pirate Sword +16 4
2 1000 Pirate Sword +19 4
3 3000 Pirate Sword +22 4
4 6000 River Sword +26 5
5 10000 River Sword +29 5
6 15000 River Sword +32 5
7 21000 River Master +41 6
8 28000 River Master +44 6
9 36000 River Master +47 6
10 See Below Sea Master +56 6
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7) 10th WEAPON
-Weapon must be LEVEL 9
-Game must be on HARD MODE
-Must be done in WU MUSOU MODE
To reach the stage containing his 10th Weapon as fast as possible; I suggest
doing missions in the follow order:
-Yellow Turban Rebellion
-Battle of Si Shui Gate
-Battle of Hu Lao Gate
-Assault on Liu Biao
-Unification of Jiang Dong
Completing them in this order will bypass those lengthy Gaiden stages and get
you right into:
Chapter 4: Battle of Xia Kou
-Defeat every enemy general; exluding Huang Zu.
-If Huang Zu's ship hasn't docked at your southern base, wait for it to do so.
-Double check that everyone but Huang Zu has been defeated.
-When you recieve the message from Zhou Yu; move to the enemy ship still docked
in their (northern) base.
-Destroy the gunpowder at the front of the ship, then return to land.
-Wait for the burning ship to reach the docked one.
-When the ships collide, you will be treated to a short event. DO NOT SKIP IT.
Congratulations! You now own the VERY cool looking Sea Master!
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8) ITEMS
Gan Ning has the lowest amount of item slots possible, which is four. Below is
a table showing the required rank for said amount of item slots.
____________________
| RANK | Item Slots |
|-------|------------|
|--16---|-----1------|
|--11---|-----2------|
|---7---|-----3------|
|--Max--|-----4------|
|_______|____________|
As you can see, there isn't much room to work with. So be careful with your
decisions. The main item I insist on you equipping is the Wind Scroll. To test
out the effect of it, do a Musou. You will see that your blade range has been
increased by roughly 1/2 the original length of your sword. Not only will it
help your overall combat skills tremendously, but it will also increase the
effectiveness of your juggle combos.
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9) MOVELIST
STANDARD ATTACKS
S1 - A dropping diagonal slash from left to right.
S2 - A horizontal slash from left to right.
S3 - A straight jab with the sword.
S4 - A counter-clockwise 180 degree kick.
S5 - In a crouched position with your left foot back and right foot forward,
you do a horizontal slash from left to right.
S6 - In a crouched position with your right foot back and left foot forward,
you do a horizontal slash from right to left.
Your S6 combo will rarely be used alone; as your C4 and C6 will generally be
much better choices.
SPECIAL NOTE:
You can combo into an S6 after using your C1. Learn to do this whenever
possible; as it comes in very handy in duels.
CHARGE ATTACKS
C1 - Bringing your sword downwards in a clockwise motion from your left, you
impale your enemy in the chest. You then pop him up in the air and
send them to the ground with a swift left kick. This can then be
followed by an S6, as mentioned above.
Further pressing of Triangle after the initial left kick will result in
a powerful second kick using your right foot; which sends anyone within
range spiraling off- invaluable if you are low on health.
As with all throws, use this one with discretion. It will leave you wide
open for attacks from the sides and back.
C2 - A powerful rising diagonal slash from left to right. This is your
standard launcher; it sends your enemy straight up into the air and
allows for easy juggling. Charge up time is a bit slow, so use with
caution.
C3 - A rising vertical slash which can be done in rapid succession. After two
slashes, you will perform a powerful dropping slash, which will stun
anyone within range. Continued pressing of Triangle will result in more
consecutive slashes before the final stun. This will be your bread and
butter move for fighting lone officers. The stun at the end allows you
to start another C3, or do a C1/S6 combo.
C4 - A powerful 360 degree clockwise slash which will send anyone within range
flying. This is your early crowd clearing move. The charge time is
slightly longer than your C6, but the overall move comes out faster
(3 slashes as opposed to 5.) Learn to use this often, as it does some
pretty great stuff with a freeze orb.
C5 - A powerful rising diagonal slash from the left to right. It will send
anyone within range high up into the air. Further pressing of Triangle
will result in an automatic jump, followed by an aggressive downward
vertical slash, which will send your enemy straight into the ground.
This is your standard high launcher.
C6 - A very powerful counter-clockwise jumping slash which will emit a large,
bright blue burst of energy. The energy will send anyone within a certain
distance around you into a violent spiral. This will be your main crowd
clearing move. Great range, great charge up time, great damage,
great recovery, just an all around solid move.
SPECIAL ATTACKS
RUNNING S
-You raise both arms over your head and pivot your body in an attempt to stop.
Anyone unlucky enough to get caught in your path will be hit by your forward
right knee, sending them into a stun. Generally considered useless due to the
tricky hit detection; it's actually fairly usefull for lone officers or stray
enemies.
There is a brief charge up time, then you shoot off at a greater speed; it's
easy to overlook and can lead to accuracy problems. If you treat it like
"cocking a gun" you will have a much easier time aiming and suddenly have
yet another functional stun.
JUMPING C
-A very stylish summersault which puts your sword in perfect position to be
slammed into the ground upon impact. This will cause anyone within range
to land on their back, taking damage.
Jumping charges are considered useless by most players. You will usually be
knocked out of the air before you even start descending. But they do have
their uses. Use it to knock down groups of archers. They won't have time to
run off, giving you a large window of opportunity to follow up with an
attack.
BLOCKING C
-When executed just before an enemy attack, you will riposte their blow. If
you can master the timing, you'll have a great asset on your hands. Not only
for duels, the quick follow up attack will usually catch unsuspecting
soldiers off guard as well.
MUSOU ATTACKS
MUSOU
-You crouch down and lower the blade to your left side. You then dash off at
breakneck speeds, sending anything in your path flying. You can control your
path of destruction as you would normally guide Gan Ning, but you can only
make very wide turns. At the end of your rush, you do a single clockwise 360
degree slash.
In DW3, it was much slower and easier to control, people were able to
combo with it. When veteran players come back and saw the insane speed, they
figured it was now useless. Not so. It was never supposed to be a slow moving
trail of instant death, it was made to ram. If you see a thick line of
enemies, run them all down. It will do great damage and send everything
flying, which is exactley what you want it to do. Use it as a tool, not your
main form of attack.
Equipping an Elixer will let you do it more frequently, so use that option
if you want to. I don't recommend a Dragon Amulet, though. Being able to do
it longer won't do you much good, as you can't turn around and hit the same
guys again with reliable accuracy.
TRUE MUSOU
-The same as above, only you end with 3 circular slashes. Fire is now added.
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10) ADVANCED TACTICS
(Coming Soon)
This will be the brunt of my guide. Expect combos, juggles, tricks, ect.
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11) QUOTES
SELF PROCLAIMATION(R3): "Come on! I'm waiting!"
MUSOU: "Here we go!"
TRUE MUSOU: "Oh yeah!"
DUEL CHALLENGE: "You want a piece of Gan Ning? Come and get it!"
DUEL ACCEPT: "Oh yeah? I've been itchin' for a fight!"
COMPLEMENTING YOU: "Good Job!"
COMPLEMENTING ENEMY: "Tch... They’re pretty good."
OFFICER DEFEATED: "I took out an officer!"
DEATH: "Heh... I can't hear the bells anymore."
JOIN ANOUNCEMENT: "You should be HONORED that Gan Ning's gonna take your head!"
1,000 ENEMIES DEFEATED: "Man, I'm too good!"
STRUGGLING: "The enemy's strong. We have to fight harder!"
WHO HAS DEFEATED _____?: "I've taken out ______, guys!"
WHY DO YOU WAGE WAR SO TRIVIALLY?: "Give me a break. Gotta get your hands dirty
sometime."
ELEPHANT SIGHTING: "Wow! Look at this thing."
ELEPHANT DESTROYING TOWER: "Wow!"
TIASHI SURRENDERS: "Come on. Let's go build this new world."
(Send in anything I'm missing)
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12) SPECIAL THANKS
-CJayC, well known in the world of gaming; you have helped out countless
numbers of people. You work your ass off to keep GameFaqs running and I
give you a lot of credit for that- thanks.
-Stephen Ng of faqs.ign.com, you made me feel like an individual by contacting
me personally. I've had many (many) automated e-mails sent to me requesting
that my FAQ be used on their site; but you proved that there really are humans
behind the big company names.
-Adam Carson of AFI, you first got me interested in pirates; thus making me a
Gan Ning player.
-Sam Umnus, you are the one who first got me interested in Dynasty Warriors.
Although all you really did was duel me with a maxed out Lu Bu in Dynasty
Warriors 3, I never forgot it. ;)
-Muni Shinobu, I think I speak for everyone in the Dynasty Warriors 4 community
when I say, "thanks!"
-TheGizmoFiles, thanks for your two contributions to the quote database!
-MasterJoeCool, 1,000 kills quote contributor. :)
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13) DISCLAIMER
This guide may be not be reproduced or edited under any circumstances except
for personal or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission from the author. Use of
this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display without
expressed written permission from the author is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
Copyright 2003 Clay Johnson
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
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