Cao Cao Guide Dynasty Warriors 4 By: Lord Deng Ai Email: ATL@most-wanted.com Version: 1.0 Started: April 11, 2003 Updates: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Intro and Copyrights 2) History of Cao Cao 3) Why use Cao Cao 4) Unlocking 5) Cao Cao's moves 6) Unlocking Cao Cao's level 10 weapon (Wrath of Heaven) 7) Cao Cao's models 8) My strategies using Cao Cao 9) Suggested items for Cao Cao 10) FAQ's 11) Credits 12) Contact ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction and Copyrights ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This guide is the forth guide I made on GameFAQs, all the contents are based on my own experiences (Copyright 2003 Vince Yang). This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any, and public display is strictly prohibited a violation of copyright. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Cao, stylename Meng De, lived between 155-220 AD. When the yellow Turban Rebellion started, he joined the Han force to crush the yellow turbanx. He distinguished himself on the battle field and was promoted after. He also joined the allies against the tyrant Dong Zhuo, but was defeated by Dong Zhuo's troops. He reorganized his army with the help of his cousins and Guo Jia after the death of Dong Zhuo. After he defeated Lu Bu at the battle of Xia Pi, he had to fight against a much larger force of Yuan Shao to gain control of the north. At the decisive battle of Guan Du, he sent Yuan Shao's larger force fleeing with the help of Guan Yu and a good Strategy. With Yuan Shao elimiated, Cao Cao founded the kingdom of Wei. He later fought against the allied force of Wu and Shu at Chi Bi, but lost due to the lack of experiences on water and plots set by Zhuge Liang. After the death of Guan Yu, Guan Yu's head was sent to Cao Cao by Wu. It is rumored that Cao Cao started to have brain problems after seeing the head of Guan Yu. A great doctor named Hua Tuo was willing to perform a brain surgery on Cao Cao, but Cao Cao feared Hua Tuo was planning to kill him, so he refused and thrown Hua Tuo into jail. Both Cao Cao and Hua Tuo died soon after. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why use Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Cao has average speed, power, and attack range, making him a decent choice among the characters. He also has good combo attacks that allow him to do extra element attacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unlocking Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Cao is initially unlocked in the game ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Cao's moves ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keys: S = Square button, T = Triangle button, C = Circle button Basic S moves: S - A right to left swing of the sword SS - A left to right swing back SSS - An underhand swing to the top SSSS - A tilted left to right swing SSSSS - A tilted right to left swing below Cao Cao's waist SSSSSS - A 180 swing from the left to the right Running S move: S (while running): A charging punch from the bottom of the sword Charged moves (with T): T - A singer laser is shot from the sword without orb equiped, with orb three lasers are shot attached with elements. This is a good move to stun the enemy, it can also do a good damage if good orbs are equiped with Cao Cao. The only problem is that it can be blocked easily by enemies. ST - An underhand swing to the top that sends enemy flying in the air. It is a good move if you're planning to do more combos on the enemy. SST(TTTT) - A continuous, zig-zagging, charging movements while swing the sword from right to left. If all hits are connected, you can hit 5 charged attacks on the enemy. This is a very dangerous attack if all hits are connected and a good orb is attached. But this attack can be very hard to control and hit a specific enemy because it zig-zags. I found it eaiser to use if don't touch the movement buttons while performing the attack. SSST - A charged up big 180 swing from the left to right that clears the enemy infront of Cao Cao. This isn't that great of a crowd clearing move, but it can do some damage and clear at least half of the enemy around Cao Cao. SSSST(TT) - A turn-around underhand swing that sends the enemies flying high in the air. This move gives you chance to combo the enemy more. If another T is pressed, Cao Cao will jump up and hit the enemy twice before the enemy falls back down. SSSSST(TTTT) - A continuous charged underhand swings of the sword. You can hit 5 charged attacks on the enemy. This move is better than the SST(TTTT) because it doesn't zig-zags that much. This also is a very dangerous move if a good orb is attached. This is Cao Cao's best move. Normal moves and charged moves summary: Cao Cao's moves aren't great at crowd clearing, but they can really hurt the enemies. Find him a good orb and his charged attacks will rip the enemies apart. Musou moves: C - A continuous up and down swing of the sword. It ends with a big 360 counter-clockwise swing. This is not one of the best musous, but one of the worst. The beginning attacks knocks the enemies back when they are hit, making it harder to combo the enemies with the musou. The only good thing about it is the last 360 swing. It really opens up some room for Cao Cao. C (True Musou) - It begins the same with the regular musou move except the enemies that are hit catches on fire. Near the end Cao Cao swings the sword from left to right, then back to left, then a vertical top to bottom swing. It finishs with the same 360 swing with the regular musou. Jump moves: S - A horizontal swing that can both clear crowds and knock enemies off their horses. T - A good crowd-clearing move that knocks down the enemies around Dian Wei. It's a good move if it's connected, but it can be broken by the jump attacks from the enemies around Dian Wei. On horse moves: S attacks - Normal right to left swings. T attacks - A charged up left-right swing that does more damage than the S attacks, but nothing special. C attack - The mosou attack on horse is nothing more than the S attacks except that it does more damage and looks cooler. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unlocking Cao Cao's level 10 weapon (Wrath of Heaven) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First you must have Cao Cao's level 9 weapon before getting his level 10 weapon. The requirements: Play the battle of Chi Bi, Cao Cao's side. First see through Pang Tong's ploy. Then defeat Zhuge Liang before he summons the wind. Defeat Lu Meng and Gan Ning before Huang Gai appears at the destnation point. After Gan Ning and Lu Meng are defeated, defeat Huang Gai before he set the ships on fire. Cao Cao should get the Wrath of Heaven accquired message soon after Huang Gai is defeated. My suggestions for getting the weapon When the battle of Chi Bi starts, go directly the northwest of the map where Pang Tong is. After you get close to him the ploy should be broken, then quickly go down south where Zhuge Liang is. Enemy back up troops (I think Guan Yu) will show up when you're half way there, but just ignore them, you don't have any time to waste. When you reach Zhuge Liang defeat him as quickly as possible and go for Gan Ning right after that. This is the part where you really need to hurry, if you don't defeat both Lu Meng and Gan Ning before Huang Gai gets to the destination point, you'll have to kiss Wrath of Heaven good bye. If you're lucky, they might ask you into duels, try to defeat them there. After the two dies don't waste any time and go toward where Huang Gai will show up and defeat him there. Note: Try not to waste any time when you're completeing the tasks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Cao's models ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model 1 (get this initially): Red-orange shoulder guard, silver waist guards. Blue headgear, clothing, and pants. Along with a dark blue cape with designs of little dragons. Model 2 (get rank 12): Blue-purple shoulder guard, purple waist guards. Red headgear, light puple clothing and pants. Along with a purple cape with the end being red, same little dragons design. Model 3 (get rank 7): The exact same custom as model 1, but the cape lost the little dragons and were replaced by a red fire design at the bottom. Model 4 (get rank 7): The exact same custom as model 2, but the cape lost the little dragons and were replaced by a light purple fire design at the bottom. Model 5 (get rank MAX): Cao Cao's custom from DW3. Red-orange shoulder and waist guards. Purple clothings and pants with a blue sash. The headgear is also different from models 1, 2, 3, and 4. Model 6 (get rank MAX): Dian Wei's alternate custom from DW3 XL. Patterned shoulder guard and black waist guards. White clothings and pants, with purple blue sash. Same headgear as model 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My strategies using Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Against normal crowds of soldiers: When I'm up against a group of normal useless soldiers, I tends to use Cao Cao's SST(TTTT), SSST, and SSSSST(TTTT). The SST(TTTT) is a great all around move, even though it's not great at crowd clearing, it hurts whoever it hits. With an orb equiped, this is a killer move. If you're really need a crowd clearing move, the SSST is the next best move next to Cao Cao's musou. It only clears half of the enemy around Cao Cao, but it's a lot better compared to other moves of Cao Cao. SSSSST(TTTT) is a real killer, even if it's not that great against crowds, but if try to walk in a cirle while use this move, it can hit most of the enemies around Cao Cao. A good orb can turn this move into one of the best moves in the game. Against officer along with soldiers: When an officer and solider comes along, I use T, SST(TTTT), and the SSSSST(TTTT). I try to use as much of T as I could, it both stuns the enemy officer and does great damage. The SST(TTTT) is more useful in this situation than the SSSSST(TTTT). When the officer is stunned or away, you want to take down as much as the normal soldier as possible. That's where the zig-zagging comes in handy. When using it try to use it in a cirle because it doesn't cover that much range. When most of the soldiers are down the SSSSST(TTTT) becomes useful. It can both take care of the remaining soldiers or focous on the single officer. Once again, a great orb will help the SST(TTTT) and SSSSST(TTTT). When dueling: When the duel first start, I like to try out my luck and use the T, but most time the enemy officer just blocks it. But whenever I can get a clear shot at him I try to stun them with the T. Normaly, I would go into the guard mode and wait for the enemy to finish their attacks. Then I would go for the SSSSST(TTTT), if the last hit connects, the enemy should be stunned and waiting to be attacked again. I then would go for SSSST(TT), the reason is because the SSSSST(TTTT) or the SST(TTTT) would be too hard for all the hits to connect because the officer will be in the air when you're attacking them. So the SSSST(TT) is the best choice here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suggested items for Cao Cao ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In DW4, you have a wide range of items you can choose from, different horses, orbs, and items. Here want I suggest to use when playing Cao Cao. Cao Cao (5 item slots) Harness: Shadow, Red Hare. (Use the Shadow so you can¡¯t get knocked off, but when you're rushing through a stage, take the Red Hare) Orbs: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lightning Orb, Slash Orb, or Fire Orb. (With Cao Cao, I usually go for my Vorpal Orb. This orb deals out a lot of damage and it's the best for Cao Cao. It also only stun the enemy, unlike the Lightning which make the enemy falls to the ground) Items: -Peacock Urn -Wind Scroll -Tiger Amulet -Tortise Shell -Charge Bracer I always carry a Peacock Urn with me when I go into a battle. You want to extract the very last bit of hit-point possible, they could be the difference between victory and defeat. Don't go into a battle without one. I use the Wind Scroll to enhance Cao Cao great charge moves' range. The Tiger Amulet makes Cao Cao a even more hard hitting character. Tortise Shell, it never hurt to have a good defense. The last but certainly not the least, the Charge Bracer. It's probably the most important if you use a lot of Cao Cao great charge moves. The Charge Bracer will make sure you're charge moves won't get interrupted, making it a lot eaiser to pull of charge moves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FAQs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I get questions about Cao Cao, I will post them in this section along with my answers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I created this guide all by myself, but still, I have a couple of people to give out thanks to. Special Thanks to: Muni Shinobu - For his Level 10 weapon unlocking guide, and the Character unlocking guide. CJayC - For creating this great site. Koei - For creating this great game. That's all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email: ATL@most-wanted.com MSN messager: Lord_Deng_Ai@hotmail.com If you have any question or feed back, please feel free to email me or IM me. I'm now starting on my Xiahou Yuan guide, but if you're already working on him, please email me so I can work on some other characters. If you see any mistakes on the guide plase inform me and I'll put your usename on the special thanks list.