Zhang Jiao- The Lord of Heaven "Witness the Miracles of the Way of Peace!" Contents: 1) Copyright 2) Move-list 3) Pros and Cons 4) Weapons 5) Costumes 6) Recommended Items 7) The Art of Combat 8) Zhang Who? 9) Frequently Asked Questions 10) Xie xie, arigatou, gracias, merci, thanks. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> This guide (though horrible) was written on experiences and play-time of FantasyShadow (©2003). Please don't change my guide without my consent, as it would force me to kill a puppy. You don't want to kill a puppy, do you? <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Move-List=== _______________ S- Jiao does a neat little spin and drags his staff around, hitting a good few soldiers. SS- Jiao thrusts his staff backwards into the man who's now behind him (since he turned around), turning himself sideways. SSS- Jiao completes his turn and drags his staff in a diagonal, hitting the opponent in front of him (and maybe some poor sucker standing next to him). SSSS- Jiao takes a "groovin'" step forward and hits the opponent before him with his staff. SSSSS- Jiao takes another groovy step and imitates his SSSS attack. SSSSSS- Jiao swings his staff in what I would call 170 degrees (not quite a complete semi-circle) and gives us a nice pose. Run S- Jiao dashes forward and pushes his staff forward, conecting with roughly three people. Jump S- Jiao jumps and projects his staff on a horizontal, successfully smacking some poor sap. Jump T- Jiao does a rather impressive flip and then, rather than landing, hovers in the air while exploding with a small torrent of wind that attacks the entire crowd. T- Jiao uses his hovering staff to lift up a foe and throw him away. ST- Jiao swings his staff in an upwards hit behind his back. Low juggler, add orb element if equipped. SST- Jiao does a wierd looking dance while walking forward projecting his staff horizontally before him, finishing with a small shock. Guard-breaker. SSST- The fires of heaven? Jiao turns his staff into something of a flame thrower and drags it 180 degrees in front of him. Burns enemies it connects with, cause multiple hits. Knock-back effect. SSSST- Jiao drops his staff to the ground and then raises it up with his heavenly powers, and the person standing on it as well. Press T for a follow-up attack. High juggler. Add orb element if equipped. SSSSST- Fire is his forte. Jiao prods the person in front of him with his staff while shooting a fireball, then steps backwards and fires a larger fireball. Continue pressing T for continued strikes. Musou- "Heaven!" Jiao prods the poor sucker in front of him with his staff twice, then turns a full cirlce (turn the analog), spewing his heavenly flames. Hold O for more strikes. True Musou- "Bow your head!" Much the same as regular Musou with added flames and staff for more Burnination. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Pros=== 1) Funky fighting style. 2) Automatically able to burn people. 3) Concentrated attacks on the enemy. ===Cons=== 1) Poor crowd control. 2) Low attack stat. 3) Musou is difficult to properly direct. ===Overall=== Zhang Jiao is definately a character for experts. His low attack stat means that you'll probably be getting your face beaten in while you're doing very little damage in return. His crowd control is abysmal unless you cheese his 3ST attack, and even then you for the most part only hit enemies in front of you. Note that if you're not "locked" on to any particular enemy and you swivel the analog stick, you can turn this attack into a 360. Even given that, he could definately use some extra reach. He's a good fighter, but he's not for everybody. His voice actor also did a fairly good job, so he gets points in my book. Besides all that, you have to love a character who's fighting style resembles the Funky Chicken. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Weapons=== Level 1-3: Magic Staff, 4 attacks maximum Level 4-5: Mystic Staff, 5 attacks maximum Level 6-9: Fire Staff, 6 attacks maximum <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Costumes=== 1- Yellow/black/red robes with a smallish red cape/shawl and multi-colored beads around his neck and hair. Yellow circlet. Pretty trendy. No shoes! 2- Similar to his first, with white and blue robes, and a blue cape/shawl. White beads and headband. I likes me this costume. No shoes! 3- Same coloration as his first, but he ditched his circlet for an ugly huge hat. 4- Same coloration as his second, but with that same ugly hat. >< 5- Costume from DW3. Black and yellow robes with multi-colored beads (mostly red). Yellow circlet. 6- Alternate costume from DW3:XL. Same as 5, but brown and yellow coloring. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Recommended Items=== 1) Tiger Amulet- Any boost to his attack is welcome. 2) Tortoise Amulet- Anything that keeps you alive longer is A-OK. 3) Peacock Urn- More life. You need a reason for it? 4) Charge Bracer- I've seen a lot of people completely neglect this item. It's a PRIZE and shouldn't be dismissed. Equip it with Zhang Jiao and you won't be hit in the back while you're burning everybody in front of you with your 3ST attack. 5) Wind Scroll- Let's face it, he has a horrible range. The boost is much appreciated. 6) Fire Orb- The guy already obviously has an elemental alignment with fire. Equip the fire orb to add Burnination ability to the rest of his moves. 7) Shadow Harness- With other characters, this may not be necessary, and I'm not saying the Zhang Jiao has a phenominal mounted attack. However, when the only thing your opponents can do is jump up and hit you (or shoot you), you have a major advantage in combat. By sitting mounted in the middle of a crowd, Jiao gets a little crowd clearing ability that he wouldn't have otherwise. You also stay alive longer, and if you ever need to run and get health..well..you already have a horse! =D <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===The Art of Combat=== Tip One: Abuse his SSST (3ST) attack. Not only is it his crowd clearer, it BURNS. Tip Two: Try to stay away from his SST attack. It looks kind of cool, and it knocks the enemy off their guard, but it's just not worth it. By the time he finishes his spaztic dance, they're back and fightin' again. The damage isn't that great either. Tip Three: If you're having trouble getting off your 3ST attack, go with his normal attacks, the attack at the end clears out the crowd a little, which is a major help. Tip Four: If you're going to duel, make sure you can do at least five hits. Without the high launcher, you stand a very poor chance in a one on one combat. Using the 3ST here is next to impossible, and doesn't do enough damage in 45 seconds to kill the opponent if it does connect. Oddly enough, ol' ZJ can hold his own in a duel once he gets added attacks. Hey, he sacrificed his crowd control ability, so he SHOULD! ~.^ Tip Five: Don't be a hero. You are not Ma Chao. You are not Zhao Yun. You are not Xiahou Dun. You are not LuBu. You are not...etc, etc, etc. You are ZHANG JIAO. Nobody in the three kingdoms likes you, you have NO support, and you have one of the worst set of physical stats to start with. Take things slow, take things easy. If you get surrounded by three officers, LEAVE. Try to isolate officers so that you fight them one at a time, with as little enemy soldiers around as is possible. If at all possible, stick with your allied soldiers. Oddly enough, the Yellow Turbans DO protect their Great Teacher. Tip Six: Have fun. ~.^ Zhang Jiao's attacks are funny to look at, and his ranting and raving is fun to listen to. So you're not the greatest warrior in the three kingdoms...hey, if you run through the Yellow Turban Musou mode, you OWN the empire, so who's the greatest here anyway? Live it up, people. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Zhang Who?=== I know what you're thinking..."everybody and their mother is named Zhang something in this game!!" Well, you're half right. Or almost half right. Or maybe there's just a couple and I'm exaggerating. Whichever. If you check your DW4 database in alphabetical listing, there are 16 officers with the name Zhang, and out of those 16, only 5 of them are related (Zhang Fei and Zhang Bao, and then Zhang Jiao, Bao, and Liang). Crazy isn't it? Think of it like "Smith" or something. Anyway...here's what my good friend Luo Guanzhong has to say about Zhang Jiao. "At this time in the county of Julu was a certain Zhang family, of whom three brothers bore the name of Zhang Jue, Zhang Ba, and Zhang Lian, respectively. The eldest Zhang Jue was an unclassed graduate, who devoted himself to medicine. One day, while culling simples in the woods, Zhang Jue met a venerable old gentlemen with very bright, emerald eyes and fresh complexion, who walked with an oak-wood staff. The old man beckoned Zhang Jue into a cave and there gave him three volumes of THE BOOK OF HEAVEN. 'This book,' said the old gentleman, 'is the Essential Arts of Peace. With the aid of these volumes, you can convert the world and rescue humankind. But you must be single-minded, or, rest assured, you will greatly suffer.' With a humble obeisance, Zhang Jue took the book and asked the name of his benefactor. 'I am Saint Hermit of the Southern Land,' was the reply, as the old gentleman disappeared in thin air. Zhang Jue studied the wonderful book eagerly and strove day and night to reduce its precepts to practice. Before long, he could summon the wind and command the rain, and he became known as the Mystic of the Way of Peace." I would quote more, but it's kind of lengthy. The only thing truly important to note after that is his declaring himself Lord of Heaven, while Zhang Ba was the Lord of Earth, and Zhang Lian was the Lord of Human. Take note that Jue is how it's translated, and Zhang Jiao and Zhang Jue are one in the same, as well as Zhang Ba is Zhang Bao and Zhang Lian is Zhang Liang. Aside from the spelling discrepencies...who really cares? <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Frequently Asked Questions=== Q: How do I unlock Zhang Jiao?! I can't get him to come!! A: Complete all other Musou modes: Wu, Wei, Shu, Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, LuBu and Nanman. Q: Nanman?! I can't get them!! How do I unlock the Nanman?! A: Calm down. Defeat Meng Huo and Zhu Rong in duels, and you'll unlock them both, and the Nanman Musou mode. Easy for sheezy. Q: Arrghgh! I need a better weapon! How do I get his 10th?! A: Ask Muni, not me. It's all there in his FAQ. If you can't read it go to BNii's FAQ. o.O You don't need little old me to tell you, I use FAQ's too you know. Q: You know, you're really horrible at writing FAQ's. A: Thank you, this is my first one. =D Q: Thank you?! I said you're horrible! A: I think you're horrible too! ^_^ Q: ARRGH!!! I'm never reading any of your FAQ's again! A: o_O Suit yourself, I only wrote this one because ZJ wasn't covered. Figured I'd lend a hand to the community I do love so much. Q: .....so....you're writing another FAQ, right? A: Eh...maybe. Maybe not. ~.^ I'm not the best source of info, y'know what I'm sayin? But, we'll see. =D <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ===Xie xie, Arigatou, Gracias, Merci, Thanks=== KOEI- You guys make...the coolest games. <3 Koei! CJayC- You are a minor deity. Thank you for the site! Thanks for keeping it free of charge! =D Homestarrunner.com- Without Strong Bad emails, I never would have had use of the word "Burnination" Other DW4 FAQ writers- If it hadn't been for you guys, I would have been lost entirely. Props mostly to Muni and BNii (hope I'm getting your name right x.e) Board Users- Ok. The boards helped a little. u.u; But not much and I really can't remember any names or threads. x.x;; Threekingdoms.com- For putting the novel up for me to read and quote from. without it, I'd never have gotten to read such a great story. My computer- For not crashing while I wrote this. -.-; <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> >_> You're still here? Oh...umm...Zhang Jiao has a funny beard, doesn't he? Or did you want my opinions on his voice actor? Not a bad job, I must say, and I'm pretty critical about these things. "Witness the wrath of the heavens!!" ~~~Have fun!!~~~