Part 18

Explore the movesets, histories, and strategies for Huang Gai and Sun Shang Xiang in Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered. Master their unique combat styles to dominate the battlefield.

Huang Gai

History: An officer with Wu since the days of Sun Jian. A master of the iron staff. At the Battle of Chi Bi, together with Zhou Yu, he hatched the "Last Resort" plan. After being "punished" by Zhou Yu, Huang Gai surrendered to Cao Cao, where he then set fire to the Wei fleet, leading to a great victory for Wu.

Description: Big bald dude with a big club. Unlike Xu Zhu and other big guys, is able to move slightly faster than a slug.

Unlocking: Starting Character

Stages Played: The Yellow Turban Rebellion (184 AD), The Battle at Hu Lao Gate (191 AD), Surprise Attack on Liu Biao (192 AD), The Battle at Chi Bi (208 AD), The Battle at Yi Ling (222 AD), The Battle at You Ting (228 AD), The Siege of He Fei Castle (234 AD)

Fourth Weapon: Black Shadow – Chi Bi Stage, Wu Side. Defeat Zhang Liao. The special item will then appear near Zhuge Liang's place of prayer. Grab it then finish off the stage.

Attacks:

1. Attack 1: A wide club swing. Takes out foes in front of you and is reasonably fast.
2. Attack 2: A powerful swing that juggles a group of enemies at once.
3. Attack 3: A high kick. Dizzies enemies that it hits, but has poor range and will only hit guys directly in front of you.
4. Attack 4: A big forward smash. It will knock an enemy that it hits VERY far back, but the area of effect is poor, and it won't hit many foes.
5. Attack 5: An upward swing. Standard high juggling move.
6. Attack 6: A stomp attack that will clear out all the enemies around you. Very nice as a crowd control move.
7. Musou Attack: A rapid fire series of swings. Can do some good damage, and also has good ability to clear out a group.
8. Running Attack: Dashing Headbutt. Good forward range and it knocks back enemies.

Overall Assessment: As you might expect from a big guy wielding a club, Huang Gai is very powerful, although somewhat slow. He's still fast enough to do his damage though, unlike some other big characters in the game. His special attacks don't give him much crowd clearing ability, till you get a 6 hit weapon, but his regular attacks still cover a good range, making him decent at crowd control.

Advanced Strategy: Huang Gai’s regular moveset doesn’t hit tons of enemies at once, but he’s still a good crowd control character if you get his third weapon and can do his stomp attack. This move comes out slow though so be careful. He’s better suited to beating down enemy generals though, so focus a lot of your energy on getting rid of them, then you can mop up the stragglers. He’s pretty quick for a big man, so use that to your advantage.

Sun Shang Xiang (SSX)

History: The daughter of the Sun clan. She is the younger sister of both Sun Ce and Sun Quan. A somewhat manly woman, she took interest in the martial arts form a young age. She later became Liu Bei's wife, but it is said that her ladies-in-waiting were constantly outside her room, dressed in full armor.

Description: Hot chick in red, carries a pair of chakram (bladed rings)

Unlocking: Starting Character

Stages Played: The Mountain Bandit Campaign, The Battle at Chi BI (208 AD), The Battle at He Fei (215 AD), The Battle at Yi Ling (222 AD), The Nanman Campaign (225 AD), Raid on the Rogue Fortress, The Seige of He Fei Castle (234 AD)

Fourth Weapon: You Ting Stage, Wu side. Kill Cao Xiu. The special item will appear next to Cao Xiu's initial position. Grab it and finish the stage.

Attacks:

1. Attack 1: A twirling upside down kick. This move is fast, and will knock back enemies close to you.
2. Attack 2: Upward strike with one chakram. Standard juggling attack.
3. Attack 3: Throws her chakram out which hits practically every enemy close to you and dizzies them. A very useful attack. Good speed too.
4. Attack 4: She throws out both chakram, which travel in a circular motion and knock back practically everyone around you. Great crowd control move.
5. Attack 5: Upward slash with both chakram. Standard high juggling move.
6. Attack 6: Throws out both her chakram which travel in a very wide range, and hit the enemies multiple times. Very good move for damage and clearing out a crowd. You can also rapidly press T to rack up more hits.
7. Musou Attack: She tosses her chakram multiple times to nail anyone it hits for decent damage. She ends with a spinning attack that hits enemies all around you. Good move for doing damage to a large group of foes.
8. Running Attack: A double strike with both chakram. Not very good range, but it does dizzy if it hits.

Overall Assessment: SSX doesn't have much range or power, but she has great speed and amazing clear out capability. Many of her attacks hit a wide range of enemies and hit everyone around you. This makes her great for going into a thick group of enemies and clearing her way out of them.

Advanced Strategy: SSX is the epitome of a hit and run character. Use her SSST often to keep the bad guys away from you. She doesn’t have enough strength to go toe to toe with powerful enemies, so hit them a couple times and back off. Almost all of her special moves are designed to hit a group of enemies so use that to her advantage. In a big group, if you’re willing to gamble, her Charge 6 can do a good amount of damage, but she might get hit out of it, especially by archers. Use the knockdown, go behind strategy against generals.