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The climax of Chapter 2 inDynasty Warriors: Originsis the Battle of Hulao Gate, where the Coalition attempts to bring Dong Zhuo to justice outside of Luoyang. After the previous story battle nearly ended in disaster, you might be worried that your allies won’t be able to get their act together and actually win the war; victory here hinges on your ability to be in the right place at the right time.
Unlike many of the battles you’ve fought up to this point, decisions as simple as which companion to bring can have a major impact on your chances.
Battle Of Hulao Gate Overview
The Battle Of Hulao Gate can be divided into three major sections:
In all three parts, it’s critical that youprotect your alliesandretreat to an allied base when necessaryto replenish your Guard Squad and pick up extra Meat Buns. Dong Zhuo has some powerful officers in his service (and is no slouch in combat himself), so going into any fight unprepared can cost you the battle.
Which Companion To Choose
Since the full force of the Coalition has gathered for this battle, you havefour possible companions to choose from; Xiahou Dun, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Huang Gai. Your choice willalso impact your starting location.
It’s strongly recommended that youchooseeither Xiahou Dun or Huang Gai as your companion, or go alone.Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both instrumental in holding off Lu Bu in the second half of the battle, which they won’t be able to do if they’re tagging along with you.
Going alone will deny you the opportunity to use powerful True Musou Attacks and character swaps, but it does have one key advantage;starting in the centerputs you in a strong position to eliminate the enemy officers at the bottom of the cliffs in the middle of the mapbefore Zhang Liao arrives. This makes the fight against him much easier when he does show up, and can potentially save a few officers from retreating.
How To Set Up The Allied Charge On Hulao Gate
As soon as the battle begins,help your allies take the base closest to your starting location.You’ll have a full force on your side, so you should be able to conquer it fairly quickly. Once it’s secure,take the Meat Bunsstored there andmove to help Yuan Shao’s vanguardat the bottom of the cliffs, directly between the two centermost bases.
You should have theMeat PerceiverSkill unlocked by now, which allows you to easily spot Meat Bun containers highlighted in green using Eyes Of The Sacred Bird.
The bottom of the cliffs isn’t a base, butdefeat the enemy officers there as quickly as you may;if you entered the battle with no companion and started at the center,do this firstinstead of helping to take a base. Zhang Liao and his cavalry will appear heretwo minutes and thirty seconds after the battle starts.
Once each of the four bases is taken, the commander of that brach of the Coalition Army willprepare a charge.you may trigger the charge at any time bymoving next to an officer who is ready, but you shouldwait until all four charges are preparedandZhang Liao is defeated. It’s also a good idea tovisit a base and refill your Meat Bunsbefore charging, since they’ll be scarce until you break through to Dong Zhuo’s inner sanctum.
Beating Zhang Liao as quickly as possible should be your top priority right now. Not only is he a potential threat to Yuan Shao (whose death would end the battle in defeat), but the longer he ties up your allies in the middle of the map, the less support the north and south forces will have in taking their respective bases.
How To Deal With Lu Bu At The Battle Of Hulao Gate
After the charge,focus on defeating officers and destroying enemy arrow towersuntil Jia Xu’s Large Force is defeated and Lu Bu arrives. Once he does, the game becomes one of survival. Just like when you encountered him at the palace,Lu Bu uses unblockable attacks that can reduce you from full Health to almost nothing in a single strike, and this time he’s riding his legendary steed, Red Hare.
Unfortunately, you’ll need to confront Lu Bu here. The aim isn’t to defeat him - that’s effectively impossible - but rather tominimize casualties.Using Tactics, SP Attacks, and combos while dodging Lu Bu’s attacks canwear down Lu Bu’s Courage and stun him; every moment he’s stunned is a moment he’s not cleaving through Coalition troops and officers.
attempt to save your Musou Rage and companion for this segment;Huang Gaiis particularly adept at stunning Lu Bu thanks to his precise Gauntlet strikes.
Eventually, Lu Bu will unleash a Musou Attack thatkills any nearby troops and officers, but thankfully it won’t affect you; after that, he’llride south to try and kill Yuan Shao.Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu will meet him at the bottom of the cliffs where you fought Zhang Liao earlier to try and hold him off.
If Liu Bei and both of his companions are still alive, and neither are accompanying you, the three of them will get a large buff when they engage Lu Bu.
Should You Help Liu Bei Fight Lu Bu?
The Sworn Brothers can hold off Lu Bu for quite some time, but even with their buff they will eventually lose the fight. You could theoretically beat Lu Bu alongside them, but you’d have to play perfectly, almost never missing an Evade.
The intended path is for you tostay with Cao Caoand defeat Dong Zhuobefore Lu Bu can break through and kill Yuan Shao. Even after Liu Bei retreats, Yuan Shao and his bodyguards can put up a decent fight before being overwhelmed. Nevertheless, Lu Bu essentiallyserves as a timer for the battle; eventually, inevitably, he will take out your general if you don’t beat his first.
If you really want to help Liu Bei,follow Lu Bubut don’t jump over the edge of the cliff when he does. Instead,use the Volley Tacticto fire on him from above once. This should impact his Courage. After that, the best thing you can do for Liu Bei is keep Morale high and beat Dong Zhuo as quickly as you can.
How To Beat Dong Zhuo’s Large Force
you may engage Dong Zhuo’s army at any time after Lu Bu appears, butthe rest of the Coalition army won’t charge until Cao Cao gives the order; if you rush ahead, you’ll be stuck fighting alone. Stay in front of the gate anddefend the catapults as they get into position.Once they’re ready, Cao Cao will signal that he’s prepared;move next to himto start the charge.
Dong Zhuo’s army hasseveral lines of greatshieldsblocking your path. TheChargeTactic is a great way to break through them quickly, buttry not to get too far ahead of the rest of the army.You need allies to destroy the catapults at the rear, and even your own Guard Squad might not be able to keep up if they get caught on a shield wall.
Destroy at least two catapultsto prevent a barrage from decimating the Coalition forces, thenduel Diaochanto eliminate her quickly. Her attacks are lightning-fast, so coming prepared with a Battle Art that has a built-in counter, likePiercing Vengeancefor Spears, can be a big help when battling her. Unlike most other enemy officers,Diaochan will specifically target youonce she joins the battle, so there’s really no avoiding her.
If you need to heal, there are Meat Bunson top of the left and right walls of the fortress.You can alsotake a break to ride north or south to take the enemy bases there; this increases Morale, lets you replenish your Guards, and gives you a supply of Meat Buns to raid.
With Diaochan and the catapults out of the way, defeating the army is now just a question ofgrinding down their numbersby defeating officers and using Musou Attacks to eliminate soldiers en masse. Once the army disbands,Dong Zhuowill appear at the top of the stairs.
When you approach Dong Zhuo, he’llchallenge you to a duel.Accepting and defeating him bywearing him down for an Assaultbefore the timer runs out is the fastest and simplest way to beat him. Either way, he’s much slower than Diaochan, and while he does have an unblockable charge attack, he’s not nearly as dangerous as Lu Bu. As long as youdon’t go into the fight short of health and supplies,defeating the tyrant should be the easiest part of this battle.
Once Dong Zhuo falls, either through regular combat or your duel, Lu Bu will end his rampage and the battle will end in a Coalition victory.
