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Jiang Wei: Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!
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Avast, ye swabbies! This here be me Jiang Wei guide! I've written this in order
to help familiarize those just starting not only with the basics of Jiang Wei,
but also with the basics of the game. Advanced players can find some helpful
suggestions, and those Jiang Wei fans who have not yet played DW5 Jiang Wei
can drool at the descriptions of his new C6, C1, and reduced charge times.
Updates / Version History:
Ver. 0.8: I have arrived! I cannot rest; I still have much to accomplish!
Ver. 1.0: Yosh! Finally 1.0! Corrected some info, added a section for
jades, revamped the item breakdown, added a section
for weapon weights, and added a section for unlocking your
4th level weapon.
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Table of Contents:
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1) Why Jiang Wei?
2) Unlocking Jiang Wei.
3) Making the Transition
5) Movelist
6) Items, Orbs, and Saddles
7) Recomended Jiang Wei Setups
8) *Blink* *Blink* ... How Do I Get My 4th?
9) General Strategy
10) Combo Advice
11) And Now for Something Completely Different!
12) Contact Information
13) Copyright Information
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Why Jiang Wei?
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Simply put, Jiang Wei is a finely honed and very effective ground fighter.
Though he's not at the level of brokenness that Ling Tong, Lu Bu, and Zuo Ci
occupy, his move set is fast, decently powerful, and provides excellent crowd
control. In addition, he's one of a select few characters who can juggle
multiple opponents consistently and for high damage.
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Unlocking Jiang Wei:
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Beat two Shu Musuo modes. Simple as pie. :P
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Making the Transition:
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This section is intended for players already familiar with Jiang Wei from DW4,
so if you didn't play that game, you might want to skip this section.
Jiang Wei hasn't undergone a ton of changes, but there are a few that you should
know right off the bat. His C1 has been changed to a "time-bomb" projectile
much like Zhen Ji's C1, his C4 is actually usable now due to a speed/range
upgrade, and his C6 has been changed from a beam to a nice crowd clearing
attack that is just as good in combos as his old C6. On the downside, his C5 no
longer hits in a 360, but I'm not complaining. This is probably the best
incarnation of Jiang Wei.
Also, jump charges in general have changed quite a bit. Instead of a universal
jump charge, everyone has a more personal/effective jump charge. It's really
important that you learn to do them right after leaving the ground in a jump.
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Jiang Wei's Moves:
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Legend
S = Square
T = Triangle
C = Circle
[--] = While in the state defined in the brackets. For example, [Run] = While
running (after taking 8 steps)
[Basic]-
SSSSSS-
An upwards slash with the spear, followed by a blow with the blunt
end. After this, the rest are massive range slashes that cover most
of the area around Jiang Wei. It's also plenty fast. Between the speed,
range, and circumference of these attacks, Jiang Wei definitely has one
of the best basic attack strings in the game.
SSSSSSSSS-
More of the same, but who'd complain? After the fifth hit, Jiang Wei
does the last four hits of his basic attack string again. The last four
hits are the best of the original anyways. It rocks. ^_^
T-
Much improved from DW4, Jiang Wei's C1 has him release a ball of fire which
explodes after a certain amount of time. A great move, but one to be careful
with, as it leaves Jiang Wei wide open during the animation.
ST-
Jiang Wei does a spin, bringing forth the business end of his spear in
a massive upwards blow. This thing's range is HUGE, it does good damage
and launches. The only problem with this move is that it has a bit of charge
time at the beginning. Not too much of a problem.
SST (Mash T)-
A series of blows with the spear, ending with a slash that covers a full
360 around you, stunning whoever it hits. This move screams, "Abuse me!"
Feel free to do so.
SSST-
After doing a spin, Jiang Wei smashes his spear's shaft into the enemies.
This move is dangerous to use due to a long charge time. However, it's
much improved from DW4 & 3, and you can actually get this move off
against peons. It works decently well as a crowd clearer, but I prefer
C2, C3, and C6.
SSSST-
Twirling his spear around his body, Jiang Wei unleashes a blast of wind that
knocks opponents into the air. Nice damage, and covers a wide area in front
of Jiang Wei.
SSSSST-
Jiang Wei leaps forward in a lunging thrust with his spear, then twirls around
in a damaging 360. This move is VERY good; it's so fast and hits such a wide
area that it's practically impossible to knock Jiang Wei out of it. Good for
combos, too, though it's a little tricky to connect it in a juggle.
C-
The big, bad Musou attack. Jiang Wei twirls his spear to the side, spinning
around as he advances. To top it off, he does one, big, crowd clearing slash
that covers a complete 360 around him. As musuos go it's nothing spectacular,
but it'll give you some breathing room and get you out of combos.
C on low life-
Take the normal musou, add the fire element, and replace that ending slash with
the BIGGEST FREAKING FIREBALL YOU'VE EVER SEEN. This thing hits a
gigantic area in front of him, inflicts impressive damage, and sets up juggles.
It's also invincible until Jiang Wei has completely recovered from the move,
making it a lot safer then his old True Musuo closing attack. Though Jiang
Wei's newly found preoccupation with fire does make it seem like he's been
hanging out with Wu when Zhuge wasn't looking...
Counter (T while guarding)-
The T hit from SSST. Since Jiang Wei is invincible during this move, this
is a great way to get some breathing room if you're being pressured. Also,
if you aim carefully, you can use this to turn some hapless soldier into
a human cannon ball and snipe people with him, which, if not useful,
is really fun to watch. ^_^
[Run]
S-
A GIGANTIC slash with the spear, doing a lot of damage. Use
frequently.
[Aerial]
S-
A wide swipe downwards with his spear. Gets people off their horses, stops
people from hitting you in the air. That's all you really need.
T-
After a short charge, Jiang Wei unleashes a barrage of thrusts with his spear,
then unleashes a powerful slash that covers a BIG 180 in front of him and
puts soldiers into reel stun. Fun, stylish move, and a good replacement for a
dash attack if there's not enough space between you and your targets.
[Horseback]
S-
A kind of sub-par horse attack. Jiang Wei slashes on either side of the
horse, but his slashes remain pretty close to the horse’s side. You weren't
planning to actually fight on a horse anyways, right?
T-
It basically does the above twice, for a bit more damage. It's really
nothing special.
C-
Fast normal horse attacks, basically. Don't use this. Ever. Don't even think
about it. And don't think I can't hear you thinking about it. Stop it. Stop
it NOW! MAKO COMMANDS IT!
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Items, Orbs, and Saddles:
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Our man Jiang Wei will eventually have a total of five item slots. Here's some
judgments on the items, and my Jiang Wei set-up...
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Items-
You can equip items to modify the stats of your character, as well as give
them special properties, such as faster musuo charge. Items
are absolutely vital. Choose wisely.
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Peacock Urn-
-Increases the length of your character's life bar.-
This one is kind of a no brainer. The more life you have, the more
life you can lose. The only item more important to your survival is
the tortoise amulet.
Dragon Amulet-
-Increase the length of your character's musuo bar.-
All I can say is that you should not, under any circumstances, equip
this item. The only good use for this item is for characters that do great
damage with the multi-hit part of their musuo, and that is not Jiang Wei.
The only thing this item will do is make your musuo bar take longer to
fill up.
Tiger Amulet-
-Increases your character's attack stat-
It makes things die faster. The faster you kill things, the longer
you'll live. This is pretty much necessary equipment.
Tortoise Amulet-
-Increases your character's defense stat.-
More Defense = longer life. This IS necessary equipment, unless you
have it at a really low level in comparison to your other equipment.
Speed Scroll-
-Increases your character's running speed.-
Not great. The only purpose of this item is to move faster on the ground,
and a horse is a much better choice. There are much more useful choices
then this item.
Huang's Bow-
-Increases damage dealt by your bow attacks.-
Personally, I never use my bow, and I can't see much reason for why
I should. Thusly, I also can't think of a reason to recommend this item.
Calvalry Harness-
-Increases mounted attack and defense.-
Nigh useless on Jiang Wei, since you'll do all of your real fighting
on the ground.
Seven Star Sash-
-Increases the hidden stat Luck.-
Mmmm. A great yet underrated item. Not only is it useful for getting better
items and weapons, but it also increases the drop rate of consumables such
as meat buns and war god axes. One of my personal favorites.
Ginseng-
-Increases gains to musuo energy.-
This is a grand item, and it can save you from a lot of bad situations. With
the increased number of enemies on screen in this game, you're more likely
to need your musuo to break out of combos, and this will allow you to
regain musuo energy much quicker. You can also use your musuo offensively
a little more freely, seeing as you can charge your musuo bar very quickly
with this item. Overall, a very solid and flexible item choice.
Herbal Remedy-
-Increases damage inflicted by charge attacks.-
This is very nice if you're trying to maximize your damage output.
While this item isn't overly effective at low levels, it beefs up your
attacks quite nicely once you get one at a high level. This
isn't as effective for Jiang Wei as it is for characters with one
extremely powerful charge attack, like Huang Zhong and Ling
Tong, but it's still effective.
Art of War-
-Doubles the length of time that temporary items are in effect.-
Attack x2 for a full minute is absolutely beautiful. This is a very nice
item, and flexible, as it's bonuses are determined by the items you
pick up. However, it does require those items to drop, so it's a
little luck based. Still, a solid choice.
Survival Guide-
-When at critical life, your attack is doubled.-
Meh. With the advent of Musuo Rage and improved True Musous,
this item has lost a lot of it's usefulness. If you save your Musuo
Rage Tokens to use when you're at low life, you shouldn't need
this item.
Bodyguard Scroll-
-Increases the strength of your bodyguard.-
It makes your bodyguards attack slightly more aggressively and
slightly beefs their stats. From my experiments, it doesn’t seem
too useful.
Musuo Scroll-
-Use True Musuo regardless of current health.-
Not a bad item. Combine this with an elixir and Jiang Wei's Wu-licious
Fireball of Doom (c) will become your best friend, especially in combos.
However, this item really demands that you use your musuo for offensive
purposes, and since I like to sit on my musuo for evolution attacks and
breaking out of combos, this item isn’t my cup of tea.
Wind Scroll-
-Increases the range of your melee attacks.-
Well, the range increase isn’t nearly as large as the one given in DW4,
making this a much less effective item. It’s good enough to take
up an item slot, but not good enough to be required.
Fire Arrows-
-Your bow attacks gain the fire element.-
Meh. Once again, I don't use my bow enough to make this item worth
using a slot for.
Charge Bracer-
-Increases the amount of damage needed to interrupt your charge attacks.-
This is very useful on Chaos and 4-5 star Hard stages. Even with Jiang
Wei, it's hard to keep your backside covered at all times. This really helps
you dish out the damage and keep a crowd in order.
Musuo Armor-
-Prevents your character from being stunned by arrows.-
This is a situational piece of equipment. Archers are always incredibly
annoying in large groups, but not every stage has archers in large groups. In
general, I'd say leave the armor at home and find a more universally effective
piece of equipment. However, if you know you're going to be target practice
for a few thousand archers, then you'd best come prepared.
Tiger Collar-
-When equipped, an invulnerable tiger follows you into battle, attacking
randomly.-
I haven't unlocked/screwed around with this item. From all reports,
the only real use of the tiger is to draw attacks away from you, which doesn't
sound too great for Jiang Wei. I don't want to set my opinion in stone until
I've tried it, but I'd recommend other items before this one.
Green Scroll-
-Doubles your attack and halves your defense.-
This is quite a situational item. If you're going for speed kills on stages
where you don't have to worry too much about defense, this item is great.
If you're doing Chaos or 4-5 star Hard stages, the loss of defense isn't
really worth it.
Godly Ring-
-Lengthens the duration of Musuo Rage.-
If you have your 4th weapon, this item is cheap. You'll pretty much be
in constant Musuo Rage. If you don't have your 4th, I find Musuo Rage
Tokens to drop too infrequently to make this item worthwhile.
Tribal Remedy-
-After every 100 kills, you receive a +50 health meat bun.-
This item is incredibly useful. This is pretty much required on any
Chaos stage, as restorative items are incredibly rare. On other
difficulty settings, you might consider another item, but more
health is always a good thing.
Serpent Earrings-
-After every 100 kills, you receive +2 attack.-
This item is very nice while leveling up a character, not so nice
afterwards. If you're trying to max out Jiang Wei fast, this is
definitely the way to go. If not, then you probably want to look
elsewhere.
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Elemental Jades-
Fire-
-After activation, target loses life constantly while in the air-
Meh. Jiang Wei has never been particularly great with the fire element.
While it allows you to juggle multiple people for higher damage, your
best combo starter, C3, doesn't benefit from this item, as the opponent
will be on the ground when they're dizzied. Stick to ice if you want
to maximize your combos. And on that note...
Ice-
-On a succesful activation, it causes targets hit by a charge
attack to become frozen.-
I am heavily impressed with the DW5 ice jade. It activates
routinely, and allows for combos where you repeatedly freeze
your target. This makes the ice jade your best choice if you're
going for an all-out offensive Jiang Wei.
However, the ice orb also offers defensive merits. When people
are frozen, they can't attack you (duh), which makes crowd
control that much easier. This blend of defensive and offensive
merits really makes the ice jade shine, and I highly recommend it.
Yin-
-Causes instant death, and massive damage to officers. Uses
musuo energy on succesful activation-
Oi. Koei doesn't seem to like the death element anymore. Because
this jade uses your musuo bar, it's nigh useless. It prevents you
from using your musuo in either a defensive or offensive manner, and
it's not nearly strong enough to make up for that.
Yang
-Breaks an opponent's guard.-
While breaking an opponent's guard is nice, it's only really useful against
officers, and, sadly, that makes this orb next to useless. There are too
many ways for Jiang Wei to get past an opponent's guard; "walk" around
with C3, auto-crossup with C6, C1 unblockable, or just use SSSSS and
end a combo with complete safety. While this wouldn't make the orb
completely useless by itself, you've also got to consider that you give
up massive damage potential from refreeze combos by using this orb.
Overall, not worth it.
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Saddles-
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Red Hare Harness-
It's fast. *Shrugs* Hey, you're not exactly going to be relying on your trusty
steed in battle, so it's really up to you which one you choose.
Hex Mark Harness-
Slightly slower the Red Hare, but it increases your luck. Luck is always
nice. Personally, I'm a bit of a luck whore, so I quite enjoy the Hex Mark
saddle.
Shadow Harness-
With this saddle, you can't be knocked off your mount. If you're sick of
running past soldiers only to be whacked off your horse by an arrow, this is
the horse for you.
Storm Harness-
This saddle gives you a 1.5x modifier to your points gained at the end of a
stage. Very nice if you're trying to max yourself out quickly, but not much
point after you've reached the maximum number of points.
Elephant Harness-
HO-HA!!! Stop riding girly PONIES, and get a ride with some reeeeeal muscle!
I love elephants for one thing and one thing only; mounted T. Go ahead. Try
it. It's fun.
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Recommended Jiang Wei Setups
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Here's my Jiang Wei, as well as some other recommendations on how to maximize
your Jiang Wei. Make them f34r j00r 1337 m!gh7!!!
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Jiang Wei, Mako's Choice!
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Saddle-
Hex Mark/Elephant ^_^
Orb-
Ice
Items-
Peacock Urn
Tiger Amulet
Tortoise Amulet
Ginseng
Tribal Remedy/Wind Scroll/Charge Bracer
Bodyguard-
Fan or Sorcerer
Why?-
Hew Mark for luck, Elephant for smash. I use the Ice Jade for the
awesomeness of refreeze combos. Peacock/Tiger/Tortoise
are pretty much required, and Ginseng helps me break out
of combos and the such. I haven't quite decided what I want for
my last item. As for bodyguards, my fan BG keeps me alive,
and my sorceror BG is named Jiang Mao. >.>; He also
helps with freezing stuff.
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Jiang Wei, Death Dealer!
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Saddle-
Shadow
Jade-
Ice
Items-
Tiger Amulet
Green Scroll
Ginsent
Way of Musou
Herbal Remedy
Bodyguard-
Spear or Sorcerer
Why?-
This set-up is for pure, straight out speed kills, and is not recommended
on most stages. You're going to take damage faster then Xu Chu can
eat cakes with this gear, but you'll be hitting for huge damage. The
Ginseng will help to keep you alive by letting your musuo bar charge
faster, and the Way of Musuo allows you to deal quite a hefty chunk of
damage with your musuo. The Ice Jade should help you keep safe/keep
your damage constant. A spear bodyguard will help you kill whoever
you're going for that much faster, and a sorcerer provides a bit more
defense through freezing additional enemies.
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Jiang Wei, Pumped Plain!
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Saddle-
Whatever.
Jade-
Fire
Items-
Peacock Urn
Tiger Amulet
Tortoise Amulet
Dragon Amulet
Bodyguard Scroll
Bodyguard-
Any
Why?-
This is pretty much just taking normal Jiang Wei and pumping up everything
about him, including his bodyguards. Kind of bland, but, hey, it's supposed
to be. This is good if you just pretty much want to play a basic character,
but at the same time don't want to leave behind the benefits of items.
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Jiang Wei, n00b Style!
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Set up for a new Jiang Wei...
Saddle-
Elephant
Jade-
Ice
Items-
Peacock Urn/Tiger Amulet
Tortoise Amulet
Bodyguard-
Fan
Why?-
Your Jiang Wei is still fresh and weak, so an elephant will be a great aid
in racking up kills quickly (mash T, man, mash it). The Ice jade will really
help your combo potential, and the Peacock/Tortoise/Fan BG
combo will maximize what little life you have. Alternatively, you can
swap out the Peacock Urn for a Tiger Amulet, and put a little more power
behind your blows.
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*Blink* *Blink* ... How Do I Get My 4th?-
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This is your 4th weapon:
Blink-
Base Attack 36
Medium Weight
Luck +15
Speed +15
Attack +16
Musou +18
Life +17
This is how you get it:
Step 1.) Go to the Battle of Tian Shui, choose Wei side, and set it to
Hard Mode.
Step 2.) Run to the clearing at the upper right side of the map.
Step 3.) Let your morale drop until both castles fall, and your commander
begins to flee.
Step 3.5.) *IMPORTANT!* Listen to some Queen while you wait. Bohemian
Rhapsody is preferable.
Step 4.) Zhuge Liang will launch an ambush for you commander at the
upper right side of the map. Hey, you're already there! Kill the general
leading the ambush, Gao Xiong.
Step 5.) Your commander will get lost at around this point, and will begin
to charge towards the enemy camp. Collect your weapon once you get
the special item report, then meet up with your commander at the enemy
camp.
Step 6.) Kill Zhuge Liang before your commander runs into a tree or
something equally fatal.
Some suggestions:
-Bring a saddle with you for this. If you don't have a saddle, bring a good
speed scroll. If you don't have a speed scroll, bring a friend. If you don't
have a friend, stop playing vidoe games. Your commander charges into
the enemy camp pretty quickly once he gets going, and you've got to
get your item and run down to the enemy base before he gets himself
killed. A saddle will let you accomplish this easily, a speed scroll will
make this a little harder, and a friend can babysit your commander while
you take care of your objectives.
-Don't kill the enemy generals. This stage is so easy that you don't need
any morale, and after getting the special item report, you really need to
focus on grabbing your weapon and high-tailing it to the enemy base.
-Listen to Queen. Seriously. They rock.
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General Strategy-
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Section 1.) Getting Started-
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The first thing you really need to get under your belt is a general
familiarity with Jiang Wei, obviously. If you don't know him well, you
can't use his attacks to their fullest, and you might have trouble on some
of the later stages. I highly suggest just taking him through Musuo mode
on normal to get acquainted with him, as this will leave you with some
decent stats and almost certainly a level 3 weapon.
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Section 2.) Move Break Down-
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I briefly touched on some strategy for Jiang Wei while describing his moves,
but now I'm going to get quite a bit more in depth. What follows is my
suggestions for the best ways to utilize Jiang Wei's moves.
[Basic]-
SSSSSS-
This will, in some way or another, be the meat of your game plan. It, of
course, leads into all of Jiang Wei's charge attacks, but it's also quite a
good move in and of itself. It covers you well, has massive range, and is
rather safe if it gets blocked. It's also your most consistent juggle attack,
and it's your best bet for juggling multiple opponents after C2 or C5.
If this gets blocked, stop it at the 5th hit to recover faster. This can also
be used in juggles for ghetto infinites with SSSSS
SSSSSSSSS-
It's uses are exactly the same as Jiang Wei's basic string, with the added
note that this makes an excellent, easy to land juggle closer. Fantastic
for juggling multiple opponents off C2.
T-
You can do a LOT of stuff with this move. Because it allows you to attack
opponents without actually being in the spot the attack originates from,
it can be used in some very interesting ways. So far, these are the ways
I've found to use it, and the ways to set it up...
1.) Nuke a unit. Simple enough to set-up; just use it as the unit
comes running at you. Time it so that the orb explodes right as
the unit reaches it. This will take out most peons, but not
sergeants, and definitely not officers. Also releases your equipped
element; great for freezing people.
2.) Shield your attacks. This one is a little harder to set up, as
it's only really useful in a crowd, and C1 in a crowd usually gets
you hurt. The best way to set this up is to use C1 after a
successful C3, when everyone's dizzied. Put out an orb in the
direction you want covered, then attack in your desired direction.
If anyone around the orb tries to attack you, they'll get hit by
the orb's explosion. This is a great trick for keeping peons off
your back while you combo an officer, and good for keeping
an officer off your back while you kill peons. :P
3.) Set up an unblockable. You have the orb flank
your target, then you attack from the front as the orb explodes.
The target will be put into hit stun from the explosion, and you
can attack with the combo of your choice. This requires a bit
more precision in placement of your orb, a bit more timing,
and is very risky to do in a crowd. The first method involves
waiting for the target (aka officer) starts running at you from
a good distance away. Throw out an orb, then move back a
bit. If you do it right, the orb should be behind the opponent,
allowing you to attack and force the unblockable or block and
let the explosion work by itself. Either way, you get a free
combo.
The other method requires a knockdown. After knocking down
the target, get extremely close to them and throw out an
orb. It should float behind them as they get up. You attack,
the orb goes off, and you've got a textbook unblockable.
Now, this sounds all well and good, but you should consider the slow
speed of this move before using it. Jiang Wei really takes his time
putting out that orb, and if anyone is able to attack you, they have
ample time in which to do so. Be cautious using this move. It's very
good, but highly punishable if used incorrectly.
ST-
Because of the large range of this attack and it's launching properties,
it allows you to inflict good damage on a large number of foes.
However, an opponent can block in between the S and the T, so this
has limited uses against officers. Great for killing large amounts of
relatively powerful peons (bases come to mind...). Also, the follow
up combo can safely move you closer to an officer or clear out
additional peons on the ground.
Most reliable combo follow-up is the basic attack string or the
Evolution attack string. C3 doesn't do enough damage, C6 is
incredibly hard to connect against multiple opponents (first hit
almost always misses), and C2 is a bit too slow to connect again.
If you have some really tough peons to juggle (may happen on
harder stages with low morale), you can use C5 and rejuggle;
peons never air recover out of repeated juggles. You're a bit
vulnerable from the back while doing this, though.
SST (Mash T)-
Your all purpose completely abuseable move. This was good in DW4
before they removed auto-tracking, and now it's almost broken. The
"meat" slashes in the attack cover a wide area of Jiang Wei's body,
hit for decent damage, and move him forward. The forward momentum
prevents opponents from tagging your backside, and you're hitting everyone
else, so this move is very hard to interrupt. The 360 slash that ends this
attack just seals the deal by dizzying everything within a spears length
of you, allowing any number of follow-ups. There are only two times when
you don't want to use this move; juggle combos, and when you've got a
good amount of opponent's behind you. In the first scenario, you can
use a C6, basic attack string, or Evolution attack string for more damage.
In the second, you'll probably be knocked out of the attack rather quickly.
Just be careful to keep your back safe and you'll be fine.
On another note, this attack is incredible once paired with an ice jade,
and allows you to repeatedly freeze an officer on the ground for massive
damage. Even if the ice effect doesn't go off, you get a dizzy and a free
combo.
SSST-
Eeeeeh. I really don't recommend using this attack too often. Even though
it got a massive speed/range upgrade in DW5, it's still not very safe. The
damage it inflicts is nice, and it has huge knockback, but in most cases
C2, C3, and C6 are much better choices. On the upside, Jiang Wei rushes
forward while doing this move, making it hard to interrupt once it's
started.
As of the moment, I think this move might have some exploitable glitches.
I won't say anything until I've tested it, but this move may be more useful
then it appears.
SSSST-
This move is very, very risky to use. The move no longer hits in a 360, and
Jiang Wei doesn't move while executing the attack. This makes his flank
very vulnerable while using this move. You can launch a lot of people with
this, and the move itself does good damage, but the risk usually isn't
worth the reward. However, if your backside is clear and you want to juggle
multiple opponents, go ahead and use this attack.
On another note, this is great for setting up a C1 unblockable. Officers
can't block before the launch, and Jiang Wei recovers with plenty of time
to safely put out a C1.
SSSSST-
This attack is completely and utterly abuseable. It's too fast to interrupt,
recovers very quickly, and hits a very large area. Great for scoring
knock-downs, crowd control, juggles, escaping a crowd, abusing your
element... there is nothing this attack doesn't do and do well. The only
downside to this move is that officers can block right before the first hit,
but even that isn't a problem; the first rushing hit moves past them, and
the 360 slash hits them from behind. I'd like to get more in-depth with
suggestions on how to use this move, but you can seriously use it
any way you please.
One thing to consider, though; getting both hits of this to connect in a
juggle is tricky, and I don't think you can do it with a light weapon.
I'd recommend delaying your attack after a launcher to insure a lower
juggle, making this easier to connect.
C-
I'd highly recommend that you save this move for defensive purposes.
If you start to get comboed, bust this out and break out. Other then
that, most of the stuff that this does can be better done with your
normal moves.
C on low life-
Even though the ending fireball for this opens up some interesting
combo possibilities, I'd still recommend that you reserve this move
for defensive purposes. Not much more to say.
Counter (T while guarding)-
Great to get back on the offensive after blocking. If you time it
incorrectly, Jiang Wei will stand there like an idiot with his spear
pushed out in front of him, and you WILL pay for it. If you don't
think you can time it right at a given moment, don't use it. If you're
relatively sure in your abilities to hit with this, go for it.
[Run]
S-
Mmmmm mmm. Big range, big damage, big knockback. Basically,
use this attack every time it's ready and you're running into a crowd.
Not much more to say.
[Aerial]
S-
Learn to do this attack off of the ground (jump, then immediately attack).
Jump attacks are amazingly fast, and if you get really good at using them
in a defensive manner, you can use a jump attack instead of blocking.
Jiang Wei's jump attack hits a very wide area, to boot, making this a great
attack to interrupt with. This also scores a knockdown; great for putting
out a C1.
On another note, ALWAYS use this after an air recovery. It'll help
you safely reach the ground and inflict a little damage while you're at it.
T-
Again, learn to use this attack straight off of the ground. It's usefulness
is greatly enhanced when you learn to do so.
This is a good replacement for a dashing attack when you don't have
the space to do one (you need to take 8 steps before you can use a
dash attack). It does similar damage, has similar range, and puts
targets into a reeling animation where they can't block. Other then that,
it has limited use in making flashy combos.
----------------------------------------
Section 3.) Choose Your Weapon!-
----------------------------------------
DW5 introduced weapon weight to the games series, which alters the
speed at which your character attacks and also how much damage
they inflict. Heavy attacks slower but deals more damage, light attacks
faster but deals less damage, and medium is the default. This requires
a little more thought on the players part on what weapons to equip.
Well, until you get Jiang Wei's 4th weapon, anyways.
Heavy-
Most people will tell you that heavy weapons are worthless. I am, for
the most part, one of those people. However, heavy weapons do have a
purpose for Jiang Wei; they make it much easier to juggle people. Every
hit in a juggle combo makes the opponent bounce up slightly, and Jiang
Wei attacks fast enough that the opponent is bounced too high to land
a C6 easily, and doing his SSSSS -> SSSSS semi-infinite is a little
tricky. With a heavy weapon, you attack at a speed perfect for juggling;
not slow enough to let the opponent drop, but not so fast that you bounce
them far into the air.
Other then that, though, heavy weapons are too slow to be considered
a really sound choice.
Medium-
My personal favorite. Medium weapons offer you decent speed and damage,
leaving you with good crowd control and juggle combos. As mentioned in
heavy weapons, you bounce opponents a bit too high for easy juggles, but
this shouldn't be too noticeable outside of trying to land a C6 in a juggle.
Also, Jiang Wei's 4th weapon is medium, so it would be best to get used
to this weight.
Light-
The reverse of heavy in all ways. More speed, less damage; great crowd
control, bad juggles. Trying to juggle with a light weapon is a pain. On the
other hand, you become very hard to interrupt, and refreeze combos render
juggles obsolete anyways. The dip in damage is noticeable, but so is
the increase in speed. Light weapons are pretty good, and give you another
way to play Jiang Wei.
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Combo Advice
----------------------------
This are just a few combos that you should get accustomed to, as well as some
general notes to help your juggles.
----------------------------------------
Section 1.) Common Combos-
----------------------------------------
SST (mash for maximum hits, let it stun) -> SSSSST [Officer Combo]
ST -> SSSSSS [Crowd Combo]
SSSST -> SSSSSS [Crowd Combo]
SSSST -> SSSST -> SSSST ... [Semi-Infinite]
SST -> SSSSS -> SSSSS ... [Semi-infinite]
SST (target freezes) -> SST (mash for maximum hits, target freezes) ...
[Basic refreeze combo. Works best with a 3rd or 4th level weapon.]
----------------------------------------
Section 2.) Combo Notes-
----------------------------------------
- If you put out a C1, you can use your jump charge as a MEAN juggle
starter. Time your C1 so that the explosion will go off as you hit with
the end of your jump charge and the explosion will knock your target
slightly into the air, giving you a perfect low-juggle for C6.
- With a first level weapon, the best combo you can do is:
SST -> Jump Charge
- If you use it near a corner (or get lucky), you can use your true musuo
to continue juggle combos.
- You can use your C1 to add the fire element to your juggles, but
timing it is a little awkward and it's too inconsistent to be truly useful.
- Light weapons are not necesarilly better for comboing. As you
attack an opponent in a juggle, they rise higher into the air, and
your light weapon will frequently move an opponent too high for
all of your follow up attacks to hit.
- On harder stages/difficulties, officers will air recover out of juggle
combos if you attempt to relaunch them twice or relaunch them
after dizzying them.
- Refreeze combos are more fun then two barrelfulls of monkies.
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And Now for Something Completely Different!
-------------------
Originally posted on the GameFAQs DW5 board by Fenafnir...
----------------------------------------
Jiang Wei to Liu Chan: "We are sending an envoy to Wei."
Liu Chan: "What for?"
Jiang Wei: "My Lord we are being pummelled, and I believe Cao Pi is the key to
avoiding further bloodshed"
Liu Chan: ".......are you serious?"
Jiang Wei: "Yes, I believe that the influence Cao Pi has over Wei, if swayed to
favour us, could potentially save Shu"
Liu Chan: "I had no idea the influence was so strong..."
Jiang Wei: "My Lord I believe you have no ideas at all and frankly I'm not
surprised"
Liu Chan: "Is this true?"
Jiang Wei: "Well, no good ones, my Lord"
Liu Chan: "Good, the last thing I would want to look like is a bumbling
imbecile"
Jiang Wei: "Well, quite my Lord. Anyway if I could return for a moment to the
Wei situation-"
Liu Chan: "Ah yes, well, what are our options?"
Jiang Wei: "Well, there is more than just one way-"
Liu Chan: "Wait, you mean that there is infact 2 Wei's? Well thats going to
complicate matters isn't it?"
Jiang Wei: "lord...."
Liu Chan: "Yes?"
Jiang Wei: "Do try to keep your brain solely on listening to my words, avoid
striving for independent thought. Anything you try to do by yourself could
result in the destruction of your kingdom and this includes decision making. I
did infact mean that there is more than one means of dealing with the situation
Liu Chan: "Right, carry on, sorry"
Jiang Wei: "Right, now as mentioned before Cao Pi is pivotal. We shall deal
with Cao Ren later."
Liu Chan: "I like that idea, but I don't think cowering is going to help
anything, and learn to pronounce your words correctly, sounding your 'ings'
is more sophisticated"
Jiang Wei: "My Lord I must again ask for silence and common sense, such as it
is"
Liu Chan: Sorry"
Jiang Wei: "Right, as it stands Cao Pi is running rampant around our land, but
we can turn the tide if negotiations come through"
Liu Chan: "I see, but I must say I am struggling with the concept of persuading
cow pee to support us, I mean if it can 'turn the tide', it would be desirable,
but I'm not sure"
Jiang Wei: "My Lord, you struggle with most concepts. May I be inclined
to ask as to why you don't like our plan?"
Liu Chan: "Well the very notion of manipulating cow piddle is simply mind
boggling"
Jiang Wei: "......................My Lord, as out of place as my following
comment may be I feel it necessary to express myself. Trying to boggle a mind
as limited as yours, is like trying to see how many innuendos you can find in
Zhang He's monologues: simple, mildly amusing at first but the novelty soon
wears off. And, may I add, the kingdom is doomed, I'm off to France.
I wish I could say it has been a pleasure my Lord, but meeting you was the
darkest day of my life and every day since then, as far as I'm concerned,
has been a slow, depressing trudge through the seven circles of hell which
would make Beelzebub weep." *Walks away*
Liu Chan: "................so I take it lunch is off then?"
----------------------------------------
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits and Thanks:
-------------------
God- For not smiting me like a heathen. :P
Mike Miller- For watching my back as we fought together for the glory of
Nu Wa's dynasty.
Cory Purcel- For exposing me to DW3 in the first place. In a 13 hour session.
Koei- For giving Jiang Wei his new C6. Mmmmmm...
Fenafnir- For allowing me to put his post in my FAQ.
Papa Murphy's Pizza- For making the affordable, quality pizza that keeps
College students like me fed.
_____________________________________________________________________
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Contact Information:
--------------------
I can be reached at
[email protected]. Feel free to send any concerns or
corrections my way, but keep these criteria in mind:
1.) Keep it legible. Perfection isn't necessary (This FAQ probably has some
typos I missed), but I don't want to try and work my way through "OMGZ TRH
f1rZ 0rb !z t3h ZECKZI3!!!" Such e-mails shall be deleted, and their writers
shall be sacked.
2.) Keep it civil. No need to blast me over something missing in my FAQ.
3.) Keep it simple. If you put an attachment on the e-mail, I will not open
it. Viruses and all that.
4.) Keep it... uh... well-titled. Just put "DynastyWarriors5-JiangWei" in the
title, so that I know it's not more spam.
_____________________________________________________________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Information:
----------------------
This FAQ is a copyright (c) of Joshua Miguel Butler, 2005. It may not be
reproduced in any way, shape, or form without my written consent. It is not to
be used for profit, toilet paper, or making sacrifices to EA Game's.
