Dynasty Warriors: Origins – Complete Weapons Guide | How to Use Each Weapon

Dynasty Warriors: Origins has about 10 different types of weapons you can use throughout the game.

You start with the standard Sword and unlock more unique types as you progress through the game. Every single type has its own quirks, giving you varied movesets and playstyles. For example, you can beat up foes with the Gauntlets or cleave through hordes by throwing your Wheels at them!

In this guide, we’ll look at every single weapon type in the game and give you a general idea of how to use them properly.

Complete Weapons Guide | How to Use Each Weapon in Dynasty Warriors: Origins

Sword

This is your starting weapon type in Dynasty Warriors: Origins and one of the easiest weapons to use. It’s a balanced weapon in every sense of the word. It has a somewhat short range but makes up for it with fast attacks. Thanks to its speed, it’s very versatile and allows you to adapt to every situation, such as dodging during combos.

The main thing to keep in mind with the Sword is that you can press Heavy Attack to perform combo finishers. You’ll get different finishers depending on how many Light Attacks you chained together. For example, pressing Heavy Attack after 1 Light Attack will send your foes into the air and allow for aerial combos.

A notable tool to keep in mind when using the Sword is the finisher you get by pressing Heavy Attack after 5 Light Attacks. It can interrupt attacks from enemies, allowing you to stay on the offensive.

Spear

The Spear is somewhat similar to the Sword in this game. Thanks to the Wanderer’s martial arts prowess, you don’t just poke enemies with the Spear. Instead, you can perform combos that string together a variety of pokes and swipes. It has a fantastic balance of speed and range.

Unlike the Sword, however, the Spear doesn’t have Heavy Attack finishers. Pressing Heavy Attack will always result in the same attack, no matter how many Light Attacks you press. To make up for this lower versatility, you can press Heavy Attack multiple times to launch a powerful Heavy Attack combo.

String your attacks together to lead to the Heavy Attack combo and deal massive damage quickly!

Gauntlets

The Gauntlets are one of the most unique weapons you can use in Dynasty Warriors: Origins. They completely do away with the standard Light Attack and Heavy Attack setup that’s common to the series. Instead, pressing Heavy Attack will allow you to enter a Stance. You can then press either Light Attack or Heavy Attack to do a stance-dependent attack.

There are 4 different Stances you can use with the Gauntlets, as follows:

• Tiger Stance – Entered by pressing Heavy Attack on its own. Allows you to follow up with fast strikes that send out shockwaves and hit multiple foes at once.
• Dragon Stance – Enter by pressing Heavy Attack after a Light Attack. Let’s you do shoulder charges and stomps that send opponents flying. Great to clear space and start aerial combos.
• Serpent Stance – To enter this Stance, press Heavy Attack while blocking. Gives you access to attacks that group enemies together with swift AoE attacks.
• Phoenix Stance – Press Heavy Attack while dashing to enter this Stance. Can be followed up with either a jumping quick to clear distance or by summoning spikes that knock enemies into the air.

Master the various stances and use them together to make the most out of the Gauntlets!

Wheels

The Wheels in this game are based on the traditional water and fire wheels, though they are more akin to chakrams. The Wheels replace the Heavy Attack with a unique throwing move. This makes it a very versatile weapon for cleaving through foes at mid-range.

Which state you’re in when you press Heavy Attack will change the throw. This gives you different moves when blocking and dashing, for example. Your Wheels will return to you shortly after the throw, with the timing varying for each throw. Don’t worry, though, you can still attack normally after a throw!

Now, the main gimmick of this weapon is the enhanced throw mechanic. Pressing the Heavy Attack button right as the Wheels return to you will result in a more powerful throw attack. Mastering the timing of this mechanic will be crucial to making the most out of the Wheels, so be sure to practice it!

Podao

Do you want to wreck your foes with a single strong hit? Of all the weapons in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the Podao might be the best for you to use. This large blade does away with speed and long combos in favor of brutal charged attacks. We really do mean brutal, by the way, it can deal insane damage and stagger foes with every hit!

When using the Podao, you’ll generally not use your Light Attacks too much. Instead, you’ll want to focus on your charged Heavy Attacks. You can chain up to three Heavy Attacks together. Holding the Heavy Attack button during any of these attacks will allow you to charge them up. The longer you charge, the more damage and range you’ll get.

The main downside to the Podao is that it’s very slow. You also leave yourself open while charging the Heavy Attacks. You can walk slowly when charging, but this usually isn’t enough to get out of harm’s way. Mastering the Podao will be all about learning when to charge your attacks and for how long.

Staff

A long Staff that’s extremely easy to use. It’s fast and has fantastic range, making it perfect for large groups of weapon foes.

The Staff’s main gimmick is that you can hold the Heavy Attack button to do repeated attacks. For example, pressing and holding Heavy Attack after a Light Attack will make you rush around the battlefield while quickly spinning the Staff around you. This keeps you mobile while also dealing consistent damage to every foe around you. Release the Heavy Attack button to do a strong finisher attack!

This weapon is really simple, so you really just need to learn when to hold and release your extended Heavy Attacks. Hold until you get closer to larger groups of foes before releasing to unleash your finisher.

Twin Pikes

The Twin Pikes are somewhat similar to the Staff. They are somewhat shorter and slower, but make up for it by dealing more damage. However, the main similarity is that the Twin Pikes also allow you to extend your Heavy Attacks. Instead of holding the button like with the Staff, you have to mash it with the Twin Pikes. The Heavy Attacks will also get faster the more you mash!

Another key difference is that the Twin Pikes have a more limited extension. You can’t just mash your Heavy Attack button to attack indefinitely. Instead, the Wanderer will automatically unleash a finisher move after a certain amount of repetitions. Time a final Heavy Attack button press with the finisher to power it up for even more damage.

The main thing you’ll need to practice with the Twin Pikes is the timing for the finishers. While you don’t really need them to do well with this weapon, mastering the final Heavy Attack button press will maximize your damage.

Lance

This might sound odd, but the Lance in Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the weapon you want to use if you wish to play like a tank.

Pressing and holding the Heavy Attack button with the Lance will allow you to enter a special Enduring stance. Any damage you take while in this stance will charge up a red aura around your Wanderer, powering you up. Release the Heavy Attack button to consume the red aura and unleash a devastating counterattack. The more damage you soak up, the more damage your counterattack does!

Now, the Lance is extremely simple since you mainly focus on soaking up damage while in the Enduring stance. However, be careful as you do not actually block damage while in the stance. Any damage you take will be turned to grey Health and recover over time. You’ll lose the grey Health if you get hit again before it recovers, though.

Ultimately, the Lance is excellent for dealing massive damage and quickly staggering Officers. Just be careful not to take too much damage!

Crescent Blade

This bladed polearm is all about dishing out a constant barrage of attacks. It’s not the fastest out of all the weapons you can use in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, but it has great range and damage.

While you use the Crescent Blade, you get 2 different combos. A 3-hit Light Attack combo and a 4-hit Heavy Attack combo. These combos can loop into each other and you can also alternate between the Light Attack and Heavy Attack combos at any moment. Alternating the combos allows you to effectively attack indefinitely, which also powers up your Crescent Blade.

After you’ve landed a barrage of combos together and powered up your blade, hold the Heavy Attack button. This will release a powerful Heavy Attack finisher based on how much you’ve charged your weapon. It’s as simple as that!

Halberd

Last but certainly not least, the Halberd is the last of all the types of weapons you unlock in Dynasty Warriors: Origins. It only becomes available once you beat the game’s campaign, regardless of which finale you get.

The Halberd has access to long combos both when using Light Attacks and Heavy Attacks. You can also alternate between the Light Attack and Heavy Attack combo whenever you want. Doing either full combo will result in a powerful finisher move.

Unlike most other weapons, the Halberd doesn’t really have a gimmick. Well, unless you want to consider being overpowered a gimmick! It has incredible damage, the longest range in the game, and is also fairly fast. It’s by far the best weapon in the game. No wonder the mighty Lu Bu favors it!

That’s everything you need to know about all the weapons in Dynasty Warriors: Origins and how to use them. Whichever one you end up preferring is up to your personal preference, but at least now you know how they all work.

Aside from weapons, you’ll also want to get a trusty steed to help you on the battlefield. Make sure to check out our guide on how to get new horses as well!