Quick Links
Lances are the second-to-last weapon type you’ll unlock in Dynasty Warriors: Origins. At first glance, they seem to work like spears, but their focus is much less on combos and more on pushing deep into enemy formations. Most lance Battle Arts include some kind of forward movement, and once you’re stuck in all it takes is a Heavy Attack to cut huge swathes out of an opposing army.
Related
China has a rich history and culture – these games let you dive in and explore the Middle Kingdom.
Of course, since lances are designed for you to take a fair amount of damage while wielding them, you need to be careful with your health bar and know when it’s time to pull back.
Lance Moveset In Dynasty Warriors: Origins
Holding the button for a Heavy Attack causes your character to enter a stance that lets them “endure” damage that they take. Enduring damage powers up a red aura; using Heavy Attacks while the aura is present upgrades them, then removes the aura.
Enduring doesn’t actually prevent damage. Any damage you take while in an endurance stance slowly regenerates over time, but is lost permanently if you’re damaged again before it heals.
|
Combo |
Attack |
|---|---|
|
1x Heavy Attack. |
Sweep attack. |
|
3x Heavy Attack |
Sweep combo. Available at Proficiency 5. |
|
Hold Heavy Attack. |
Shockwave, followed by a sweep. Endure: Hold the button until you’ve taken enough damage to fill the aura to follow up with a sweep combo that sends enemies flying. |
|
Block + Heavy Attack. |
Pushes away enemies in front of you. Endure: Hold the button until you’ve taken enough damage to fill the aura to launch enemies and then yourself for an aerial combo. Both versions available at Proficiency 2. |
|
Left Stick + Heavy Attack while Dodging. |
Short-range two-hit combo in the direction of the left stick after coming out of the dodge. Endure: Hold the button until you’ve taken enough damage to fill the aura to fire a shockwave in the direction of the left stick. Both versions available at Proficiency 3. |
|
Heavy Attack during a Normal Attack. |
Forward slam attack. |
|
Hold Heavy Attack during a Normal Attack. |
Spinning combo. Endure: Hold the button until you’ve taken enough damage to fill the aura to increase the reach and power of the combo. |
|
Normal Attack in midair. |
Sweeping attack. |
|
Heavy Attack in midair or on horseback. |
Ground slam. Dismounts if used from horseback. |
Lance Combat Tips
The extra damage from enduring attacks is based on the amount of damage that you take, not the number of overall attacks suffered. That means it’s worth letting officers hit you with powerful strikes as long as you have the health to take the hit – you’ll pay them back in kind shortly!
Enduring can be a slower process than just using a regular combo of Normal Attacks; if time is of the essence, the lance’s reach makes it just fine for a more conventional approach as well.
The best approach when using a lance is to rush into a large group of enemies, endure their hits, counter with your revenge attack, then back off to parry and dodge until the damage you endured regenerates. Once you’re down to just one-on-one fights against officers, you can fight them the old-fashioned way.
Related
Games To Play If You Loved Dynasty Warriors
Can’t get enough of Dynasty Warriors? Here are some other games to try out.
Best Lance Build
The lance is one of the more unconventional weapons in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, so you’ll want to take a moment to double-check your loadout when you equip one.
Look for lances with traits that boost your Attack Power but reduce your Defense. That means you’ll take more while enduring and hit back all the harder!
Recommended Gems
Like the spear, the lance is one of the longer weapons in the game. As a result, it has the most to gain from the Oblivion Gem, which grants a percentage-based bonus to weapon reach. The Wellspring Gem needs to be a very high level to be effective by the time you get your hands on any lances, but it can help mitigate some of the damage you’ll be taking, especially if you take your trusty lance into the middle of a large force.
The lance is probably the only weapon for which the Scorch Gem isn’t worth considering, since you’re more likely to be enduring attacks than parrying.
Recommended Battle Arts
Crouching Tiger Strike can be obtained by raising the Peace rating of Jing Province to level 2. Not only is it a Special Art that is good for picking out and heavily damaging single targets like officers, it also has one of the most entertaining animations in the game.
As always, it’s a good idea to have Palm Strike as a backup Special Art.
Skirmisher Strike is a basic Battle Art for the lance similar to the gauntlets’ Elbow Strike. If you have enough Bravery to use it multiple times, you can quickly wear down enemies with repeated thrusts.
For your last slot, Relentless Charge is a great way to push through enemy formations. If you lock onto an officer with R3, you can usually center the charge on them, hitting them with every strike and taking off a good chunk of their Fortitude as well.
Related
Every Mainline Dynasty Warriors Game, Ranked
From humble origins as a 1v1 fighter, Dynasty Warriors has grown into a huge franchise with a gigantic cast of characters.