Dynasty Warriors 4 Xu Chu Guide By DTBOM This guide (Copyright 2003) was written and composed by DTBOM. It may not be altered in anyway, and may not be used without consent from myself. It will not and may not be used for personal gain. If you wish to post this on your website, contact me. My contact info is in the contact info section. --------------------------------------- Table of Contents: 1. Guide History 2. Xu Chu's History 3. Character Stats 4. Why should I use Xu Chu? 5. Pros and Cons 6. Moves 7. Recommended Items and 10th weapon 8. Costumes 9. Character Strategies 10. Frequently Asked Questions 11. Credits/Afterword 12. Contact Information/Guidelines --------------------------------------- 1. Guide History 4/22/03 V 1.0-Basically I decided to finish the FAQ before sub,itting it. All sections are at complete status. --------------------------------------- 2. Xu Zhu's History "Xu Chu was a massive man with impressive physical strength, and was renowned in the areas of Ru Nan and Huai Nan (1). When Cao Cao was patrolling the area, Xu Chu was fighting with Yellow Turban rebels. Cao Cao was impressed with Xu Zhu’s power and enlisted him as an important guard, appointing him as Commandant. In the battles against Zhang Xiu and Ma Chao, Zhongkang saved Cao Cao’s life with a great display of valor and was subsequently promoted to Imperial Corps Commander of the Military Guard. Later when Cao Pi assumed the position as Emperor of Wei, Xu Chu took charge of the Imperial Guards and promoted to General of the Military Guard, and titled Lord of Wansui Precinct. In addition, Xu Chu earned the title of Lord of Mouxiang. Zhongkang was prudent, dignified and calm when assuming the important roles of his offices. However, in battle, it was said that Xu Chu was like a Raging Tiger, and his strength equaled that of Dian Wei. Xu Chu enjoyed close relationships with both Cao Cao and Cao Pi, after his death, Cao Pi titled him Courageous Lord." Xu Chu's history was directly quoted from an archive of http://www.kongming.net I take no credit for this. --------------------------------------- 3. Character Stats Xu Chu has improved since DW3 since Defense has been changed to the same maximum for all characters. As a result, defense will not be covered in this guide. HP: A Xu Chu has very high max HP, coupled with maxed defense this makes him a walking tank. Xu Chu is very hard to kill, and this gives you more time to smash! Musou: D Xu Chu's musou meter is very short, preventing him from sustaining his musou for very long. This is not necessarily a bad thing. His musou is devestating, but rarely will you hit the same enemy more than once. It's best not to get any Wine power-ups so that he can use it as often as possible. Attack: A Xu Chu has very high attack, which isn't surprising considering his size. This goes very nicely with his crowd clearing skills, allowing him to decimate enemies quickly and deal with those annoying peons that stab you in the back. Range: B Despite his weapon size, it's not as long as it seems. He stills has above average range, but it still limits the usefulness of his SSST somewhat. A good Wind Scroll fixes this right up. Speed: F- Simply put, Xu Chu is the slowest runner in the game. You could probably outrun him with a refridgerator strapped to your back. Do not leave home without a horse or you will cry....a lot. Move Speed: C Some of Xu Chu's moves are slow, others are quick. None of his moves are exceedingly slow, and timed right they're still very unlikely to be blocked. Basically, you have to be careful with when you attack, but not so much that it ruins his ability to fight effectively. --------------------------------------- 4. Why should I use Xu Chu? You may be turned off by Xu Chu's...errrr...how should I say this? Tremendous size and baby face, but don't be. Beneath that ridiculous exterior is a tiger of a warrior. He has a very nice mix of one on one and crowd clearing moves, and his stats are well balanced. He covers all sides rather well, and he has very few real weaknesses. --------------------------------------- 5. Pros and Cons Pros: -High Strength -High HP -Great Crowd Clearer -Strong moves -Covers back and sides well -Has a good balance of stats -Has a good balance of one on one and crowd clearing attacks. Cons: -Looks ridiculous -Sloooooooooooooooooooow -Some attacks are below average speed As you can see, Xu Chu's strengths outnumber and outweigh his weaknesses. The proper item set and strategy can basically nullify all but one of his weaknesses. --------------------------------------- 6. Moves Running Attack: Xu Chu gets a running(wading) start, then does a continuous tumble roll along the ground. It does meager damage, but knocks enemies off guard and can be sustained by rapidly tapping Square. If you are forced to hoof it, Xu Chu moves significantly faster during this attack. Basic square combo: Xu Chu does two horizontal swings, two diagonal swings, a 360 degree swing, and ends with a vertical swing. It does nice damage, and covers all sides pretty well. It's a bit slow though, and doesn't excel in any category. Stick to charge moves and use this sparingly. C1: Xu Chu grabs an enemy and swats them away onto the horizon. This move is actually decent for crowd clearing. When he swings after the initial grab, it is a 360 degree swing and he's invulnerable once he grabs the enemy. This can be used to dispatch surrounding enemies. It does nice damage too. C2: The slow and terrible 1st launcher, never use it...ever! C3: Xu Chu smashes his weapon to the ground several times then one final time with greater force. It is great against duels and one enemy, and does nice damage. It's also pretty quick, but avoid in crowds or you'll get interrupted 90% of the time. C4: Xu Chu does a 270 degree baseball swing, launching anyone hit into space. With an orb you can use this move to inflict many enemies with it's status. It does very nice damage, and comes off relatively quickly. The recovery time isn't all that bad either. Overall, this is Xu Chu's best move. Use it often. C5: The typical 2nd launcher, use sparingly, not worth the effort. C6: Xu Chu hops forward several times(press triangle repeatedly), then causes a shock wave. This may seem terrible at first glance, but with the rigth orb it has it's uses. Every part of this move uses your element. So rushing into a crowd with a lvl 4 ice orb using this can set up for a devestating musou. Use sparingly, but do not ignore it if you have the right orb. Does OK damage, but nothing special. Musou: Xu Chu spins around several times, knocking anyone nearby into the stratosphere. It does excellent damage hit for hit, and since he falls over at the end, you are safe during the recovery time. Overall, use this move often, especially when an officer is frozen. True musou: The regular musou with fire and several big spins at the end. It becomes a juggling musou and thus loses it's usefulness. Avoid it, unless you have no choice. --------------------------------------- 7. Recommended Items and 10th weapon Xu Chu can equip 4 items, and a saddle and orb just like everyone else. To maximize his effectiveness, I will list what the best items for Xu Chu are. Saddle: Shadow Saddle Orb: Ice Orb Slot 1: Tortoise Amulet Slot 2: Tiger Amulet Slot 3: Wind Scroll Slot 4: Herbal Remedy To get Xu Chu's 10th Weapon: First, you must be on Hard mode and have unlocked the Wei Side of The Battle of Tong Gate. To do so, in Chapter 4 skip Chang Ban, you will recieve it before chapter 5. Beat it, and you got it. Your weapon must be level 9. Now, I'm not certain of all the requirements, but I can give you a step by step walkthrough that will definitely get you the weapon. 1. Kill Ma Dai then Pang De. 2. Kill the 2 generals in the Southeast. 3. Wait until Han Sui and Cao Cao meet, do not engage Han Sui or his officers prior to the scene. 4. Once Cao Cao has the scene with Han Sui, kill all of Han Sui's officers. 5. Han Sui defects message. 6. Shu army is charging message, get the Stone Crusher. Note: You must get all the officer kills. I tested this. Stone Crusher +59 Attack --------------------------------------- 8. Costumes Costume 1: Xu Chu's basic costume, a tiny purple vest and big baggy pants. The vest is open and his hair is in a bun. Keep in mind, his hair is in a bun for every costume. Costume 2: A palette swap of number 1. Much lighter purple colors for all parts of clothing. Costume 3: Costume 1 except the vest is replaced by a larger brown furry one. This is my favorite. Costume 4: Costume 2 except with a larger light purple vest. Copstume 5: His costume from DW3. He has a cross strap across his chest. Costume 6: Costume 5 with brighter colors. --------------------------------------- 9. Character Strategies Remember, Xu Chu's moves are somewhat slow. You have to time them right, or you'll get clobbered. Use his C3 in duels, and use his C4 in crowds. If you encounter a particular large group of enemies, and have the ice orb equipped as suggested, use C6 and charge into the crowd. A high level ice orb will freeze a lot of them. Now use your musou and kill them all. Be sure not to raise Xu Chu's musou gauge much. He's much better with low Musou, and you'll rarely hit enemies more than once anyway. Try your best to freeze generals then hit them with your musou. The ice keeps them grounded and your musou will do crazy damage even on hard. Always have a horse, Xu Chu is so slow it hurts to hoof it with him. Avoid his launcher moves, please, I'm begging you. --------------------------------------- 10. Frequently Asked Questions. Q: I'm having trouble getting his 10th, when the Shu army charges, I don't get the weapon message! A: Make sure you killed all the officers yourself, and that you didn't engage Han Sui prior to the cinema with Cao Cao. If you did that, it should work. Q: Xu Chu is fat! A: Yes, yes he is. Q: Why did you write about Xu Chu???? A: Well, personally I think he's very underrated and fun to play with. I hope that with this FAQ I can get people to give him a chance. --------------------------------------- 11. Credits/Afterword I would like to thank: My mom, just because everyone has to say that no matter what the situation! Koei for making another brilliant installment in the DW series. Keep up the good work! Kongming.net for having such a great site filled with Three Kingdoms info. In particular for their bio on Xu Chu. CJayC for maintaining Gamefaqs. Without him, you probably wouldn't be reading this. --------------------------------------- 12. Contact Info/Guidelines My AOL instant messager screen name is InfantryStallion. My e-mail is suzyfarley@earthlink.net When sending me e-mails/instant messages do: -Make your question clear and concise -Make sure it's not answered in the FAQ -Try your best to make it easy to understand -_- -Label that's it's about my FAQ in the title Do not: -Ask something listed in the FAQ -Tell me Xu Chu sucks, if you think so even after trying him at max, keep it to yourself please. -Send me chain letters!!!!!!!>< The End.