Zuo Ci/Movesets

Movesets

Keys:

Normal Attack •

Charge Attack •

Musou •

Jump/Mount

Base Game

Main Attacks: Charge Attack 1: : Swats deck forward to release an elemental orb that later explodes. Tapping once produces a fire orb while doing so twice or more creates an ice orb. Will instantly detonate upon coming into contact with walls. Cannot activate other elemental effects provided by orbs.; Charge Attack 2: : Causes the talismans to circle around and drag nearby foes to the air. Cannot activate elemental effects provided by orbs.; Charge Attack 3: : Eviscerates foes by manipulating the talismans to pierce through enemies inward in a protruding pentagram pattern. The barrage ends with Zuo Ci causing the talismans to spin together and daze their targets.; Charge Attack 4: : Fires several lasers in different directions as the talismans spin around Zuo Ci.; Charge Attack 5: : Pushes palm forward with all five talismans placed in front to create a cone of dark wind traveling forth. Opponents caught within its path will be flung high up into the air.; Charge Attack 6: : Zuo Ci sends his cards on the ground, triggering a powerful explosion that knocks surrounding foes upward. Pressing again will have him follow it up with a misty dark shockwave that scatters his targets to different directions.; Normal Attack 1: : Manipulates talismans to move horizontally to the right, towards the front, diagonally to the upper right, and finally to the left.; Normal Attack 2: : Similar to the first normal attack string, but adds a motion where the talismans are flung in a circle from front to back.; Normal Attack 3: : Similar to the second normal attack string, but finishes the combo by palming the talismans in a row.; Evolution Attack: : Forgoes the normal attack string's sixth hit animation by transitioning to the combo leading up to the fourth charge attack. The last hit inflicts elemental damage depending on the type of deck equipped.

Musou Attacks: Musou Attack: : Manipulates talismans to spin around in rapid motion while walking slowly with right hand held up in a praying motion. Upon the attack's completion, Zuo Ci sends down large lightning bolts to rain on the area.; True Musou Attack: Low Health + : Similar to the normal Musou animation, but Zuo Ci shoots an array of fireballs and ice blocks in a fan formation before summoning the usual lightning bolts.

Auxiliary Attacks: Dash Attack: Dashing + : Fires a cone of dark wind surrounded by talisman cards.; Jump Attack: : Swings all five talismans together in a circular motion while in mid-air.; Jump Charge: : Glides downward to the ground while coated in flames, setting enemies below ablaze.; Parry: L1 + : Manipulates the talismans to fly out one by one to counter enemy attacks.

Horse Attacks: Horse Charge Attack: : Has talismans quickly revolve clockwise around Zuo Ci. Can be performed while in the middle of doing the normal horse attack string.; Horse Normal Attack: : Swings all five talismans together in a circular motion while riding horse.; Horse Musou Attack: : Manipulates talismans to spin around Zuo Ci continuously while riding.

Bow Attacks: Normal Shot: Hold R1 + : Shoots a normal arrow.; Charge Shot: Hold R1 + : Fires a charged shot that dazes the target.; Musou Shot: Hold R1 + : Unleashes a Musou-powered arrow that knocks enemies down. Can fire multiple shots rapidly so long as the user has enough Musou.

Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends

Xtreme Mode Skills: Special Ability 1 - Token Power-Up: Gives the player a Musou Token while causing sub-officers to enter Musou Rage. Occurs randomly.; Special Ability 2 - Doctor: Calls a doctor to restore a small portion of health. Occurs randomly after every battle.; Special Ability 3 - Revolt: Stages a revolt against the party. Occurs if the defecting character is thoroughly dissatisfied with the player's actions.

Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires

Zuo Ci gains additional abilities and traits in this title.

Weapon Type: Unique

Skill - Fire: Sets an enemy base on fire, weakening the troops guarding it.

Proposed Policy - Sorcerers: Employs a sorcerer unit and takes them into battle with the player's forces. Valid only for 1 turn.

Dynasty Warriors: Online

Although Zuo Ci's moveset is available for player avatars to make use of, the actual character can be temporarily controlled by using their corresponding spirit item.

Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2

Zuo Ci gains additional abilities and traits in this title.

Ability - Revive +: Revives all of the player's defeated officers with full life. Also restores the player's life gauge.

Support Skill 1 - Elude: Restores 50 life points by successfully parrying an attack.

Support Skill 2 - Rage: Causes the Musou Rage gauge to refill at a faster rate.

Team Combination: Illusionist Trio (妖しの術士; lit. "Mystical Sorcerers"); Required Characters: Pang Tong, Zhang Jiao, Zuo Ci; Bonus: +50 Growth

Warriors Orochi

Modified Attacks: Charge Attack 1: : This move can only conjure an ice orb now. In the sequel, it becomes a fire orb instead.; Charge Attack 4: : Functions similarly to its base game incarnation, but can no longer inflict elemental damage. This is rectified in the sequel.; Charge Attack 6: : Functions similarly to its base game incarnation, though the second input attack has been changed into a fiery explosion.; Jump Charge: : Instead of gliding down with flames surrounding Zuo Ci, he hurls five energy waves flying at random directions. The sequel has him release three shadow spheres instead.

New Attacks: Special Attack 1: R1: Sends out five shadow spheres traveling in a fan arc. Enemies struck by them will be made more vulnerable to incoming attacks for 30 seconds. Does not consume Musou. In the original version, this attack suffered from a bug which made it affect both allies and horses as well.; Special Attack 2: Direction + R1: Zuo Ci unleashes a surge of mystical energy while sticking the talismans near his forehead. It bestows him with a buff that heightens his attack power and hit speed. Tapping immediately will have him rear back before delivering a fierce punch infused with enough power to send foes flying. Does not consume Musou. The sequel nerfs this move by making it slower in execution and lessening its damage output.; Aerial Thrust: : Zuo Ci spins forward in mid-air, enabling him to jump cancel attacks or travel further.

Team Abilities: Ability 1 - Acclaim: Increases experience points gained.; Ability 2 - Potence: Increases the team's attack.; Ability 3 - Focus: Increases the team's Musou.; Ability 4 - Technique: Increases attack of Technique-type characters.

Warriors Orochi 2

Team Attacks: Assist Attack: Counter + L1 + or : Zuo Ci performs his second charge attack to assist a teammate. Consumes a portion of Musou.; Triple Attack 1: Low Health + L2 + R2 + : Shoots a wave of powerful gusts.; Triple Attack 2: Low Health + L2 + R2 + : Releases several lightning bolts simultaneously.; Triple Attack 3: Low Health + L2 + R2 + : Unleashes bolts of lightning radiating from Zuo Ci while levitating in the air.; Triple Attack Finisher: Zuo Ci revolves his talismans around to juggle foes before bombarding them with laser beams shot at a radial pattern just like his fourth charge attack. As the whole team finishes up, a bright pillar of light generates at the intersection of their attack range and engulfs the surrounding area. Enemies caught by the blast sustain massive damage while being flung to the air and set on fire.; Strategy - Shield: Increases the defense of the allied commander.

Warriors Orochi 3

Zuo Ci retains his weapon moveset from Dynasty Warriors 5 albeit with some changes and additions.

Changed Attacks: Charge Attack 1: : Sends out a fire orb, though it can now pass through walls.; Musou Attack: : While this move retains the same animation as before, it can no longer be prolonged by holding like before.; Jump Charge: : Though the animation for this move remains unchanged, it now produces three wind orbs that can interact with destructible objects.

Team Abilities: Ability 1 - Regeneration: Accelerates Musou recovery while inactive.; Ability 2 - Impulse: Increases speed for all team members. Only available in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate.

Special Attacks: Musou Attack: : Zuo Ci performs Bound Deck as their ground Musou attack.; Counter Attack/Break Guard: Counter + L1 + : Quickly swats away an enemy's attack, causing them to stagger briefly.; Assist Attack: Counter + L1 or R1: Zuo Ci performs the fourth charge attack to assist a teammate while surrounded within an updraft of wind for extra coverage.; Grounded Type Action: R1: Zuo Ci readies his deck to levitate while doing a praying focus gesture, then thrusts forward his left palm as the cards float upward in a conal pattern. The sudden impact is enough to send nearbt foes flying while the cards fly back to Zuo Ci's hand afterwards.; Midair Type Action: R1: Rushes forward at a descending angle with cards moving in a spiral, then conjures a field of purple mystic energy upon landing to launch foes.; Shift Step: Direction + L1 + : Performs a sidestep strafe primarily used for evasive purposes. Can be canceled into an instant dash attack by tapping while in shift step position. In Ultimate, pressing upon being hit will cause the user to automatically back away from their attacker.; Normal Strategy Card: Purifier (呪詛解除; lit. "Curse Removal"): Dispels any added attributes or status ailments the current officer has. Works best when paired up with Special cards that inflict status conditions on both player and opponent.; Golden Strategy Card: Curse Lifter (禁呪解放; lit. "Forbidden Spell Unleashed"): Removes the player's CT state, enabling them to use their cards again provided they have enough BP.

Team Attacks: Triple Rush 1: Produces a mobile shockwave traveling forth by aligning each talisman card together to form a chained link.; Triple Rush 2: Causes talisman cards to rapidly revolve around Zuo Ci continuously.; Triple Rush 3: Manipulates all five talisman cards to encircle in front of Zuo Ci to send down a massive energy wave.; Unique Triple Rush: If Zuo Ci is partnered with Kanetsugu Naoe and Seimei Abe, he will be able to perform a unique triple rush attack alongside them. For his part, Zuo Ci creates a large yin yang field to juggle foes for a bit.

Fighting Style

Available after unlocking every character in the game, Zuo Ci is considered the strongest character in terms of moveset and stats. He mainly uses a deck of talisman cards to harness elemental magic to his will. As a result, he is a very effective crowd clearer and officer slayer. His most notable attacks are his third to sixth charge attacks. For some players, conjuring fire or ice spheres with his first charge can give Zuo Ci some room to initiate one of his other charge attacks.

Despite his advantages, he can be easily interrupted by enemies within massive crowds, so giving him a light weapon can help mitigate that. Alternatively, players may opt to equip him with a heavy weapon in Xtreme Legends due to the weight type's anti-flinching properties. His normal Musou attack is almost as good as his True Musou, meaning he won't have much use for the Way of the Musou even in harder battles.

When controlled by the AI in Dynasty Warriors 5, most of Zuo Ci's charge attacks will be imbued with the light element by default.

He retains much of the same quirks from the base game in the Warriors Orochi series, though these can be fixed with the right combination of weapon attributes and team abilities. Due to being a speed-type character in the first two games, he can easily execute multiple combos while canceling them at any time. His special attacks should be employed liberally as they do not consume Musou.

The next two sequels nerf him considerably for balancing purposes, though he is still a formidable character when played right.

Keys:

Normal Attack •

Charge Attack •

Musou •

Jump/Mount

Base Game

Zuo Ci is affiliated with the talisman cards in this title. When equipped with it, Zuo Ci can perform the following unique attacks listed below.

EX Attack 1:

: Performs a variation of Zuo Ci's old special directional attack from the first two Warriors Orochi games in which he charges up mystic power before delivering a fierce punch that knocks foes into the air. It also grants him a temporary buff that increases his attack power, hit speed, and movement speed. Note that performing this move will override the effects of his weapon moveset's second charge finisher.

EX Attack 2:

: Zuo Ci swats his cards forward and downward to fire a purple laser beam that pierces through enemy lines as it travels within a straight trajectory. Introduced in Xtreme Legends.

Musou Attack - Bound Deck (結符; lit. "Binding Charms"):

: Paces forth while surrounded by revolving talismans that eventually scatter in different directions to create a shockwave. Acts very similar to Zuo Ci's original Musou Attack.

Alternate Musou Attack - Triple Deck (剛符三連衛; lit. "Rigid Charms Triple Chain Guard"): R1 +

: Grapples the closest enemy and knocks them back with a talisman after-image combo. Has a different effect if the grabbing motion fails.

Aerial Musou Attack - Chaotic Deck (乱符; lit. "Turbulent Charms"):

: Causes talismans to swarm in various directions before launching a ball of mystic energy on the ground.

Rage Attack: Zuo Ci surrounds himself within a pair of magically chained talismans that repeatedly intersect with one another as he walks forward. In the end, he gathers the talismans back and causes them to spin around him at full-speed, producing a powerful radial shockwave in the process.

True Rage Attack: By performing 100 or more hits during his Rage attack, Zuo Ci will change his attack pattern by reshaping the talisman cards into a large vertical ring used for tackling foes and releasing gusts of wind continuously. It ends with him altering their movements once more to resemble a wave-like halo for the purpose of lifting surviving opponents up into the air.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends

Bodyguard Skills: Battle Skill - Emergency Support: Causes items to appear upon approaching the user.; Assistance Skill - Growth: Causes enemies to occasionally drop growth items when defeated.; Rouse Skill - Assault: Increases the attack power of bodyguards when they are near death.

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires

Ways of Life Skills: Ways of Life - Immortal: Benevolent Type, +1 to Virtue, 3,000 Employment Cost; Fixed Strategy - Rumours: Spreads rumors to sow discontent in territories owned by other factions.; Stratagem Card 1 - Thunder Strike: Unleashes a lightning bolt to shock enemies. Becomes more effective during rain, storms, snow, and blizzards.; Stratagem Card 2 - Darkness: Unleashes a wave of dark projectiles forward to damage enemies.; Stratagem Card 3 - Rumors: Lures in one enemy unit by spreading false information. Has a chance of failing and does not work on enemy commanders or units with special status.; Stratagem Card 4 - Taunt: Taunts an enemy unit into coming after the user for 15 seconds. Has a chance of failing and does not work on enemy commanders or units with special status.; Stratagem Card 5 - Thunderstorm: Causes a lightning storm across the entire battlefield to damage all enemies for 60 seconds. Becomes more effective during rain, storms, snows, and blizzards. Requires 3 allied units to temporarily withdraw for card to take effect.; Awarded Stratagem Card - Temper: Fills up 2 Musou bars.

Warriors Orochi 4

While retaining the same moveset from Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends, Zuo Ci wields the Caduceus as their sacred treasure in this title. When equipped with it, Zuo Ci can perform the following attacks listed below.

Special Attacks: Musou Attack: : Zuo Ci performs Bound Deck as their ground Musou attack.; Normal Magic: R1 + : Releases ten electric spheres that travel down in an arc, bursting into lightning bolts upon hitting the ground. Can be rather tricky to aim against enemies at close range due to its orbital trajectory.; Charge Magic: R1 + : Warps Caduceus to a specific location and causes it to generate a beam of golden light on the ground, triggering a powerful explosive force.; Unique Magic: R1 + : Zuo Ci conjures a tornado that shreds opponents repeatedly in the air, then summons two phantom serpents to rise up and attack.; Summon Magic: R1 + : Summons mount to Zuo Ci's side.

Miscellaneous Skills: Unity Magic Bonus: Power +1, Technique +4, Speed +3; Musou Effect - Repel: Forces surrounding enemy players to be returned to their main base. Only applies in Battle Arena.; Divine Blessing 1 - Breakneck: Increases movement speed and attack speed. Only applies in Battle Arena.; Divine Blessing 2 - Assail: Increases attack speed, normal attack power, and charge attack power. Only applies in Battle Arena.; Infinity Support Skill - Crystals: Increases the possibility of obtaining crystals. Only applies in Infinity Mode.

Type Skills: Critical Hit: Passive: Causes attacks to inflict more damage against airborne enemies.; Spirit Charge: Attack + : Cancels most attacks into a spirit charge that breaks through the enemy's guard while consuming a portion of Musou.; Type Upgrade Skill 1 - Flak: Increases damage inflicted upon airborne enemies.; Type Upgrade Skill 2 - Torrent: Enhances the character's switch combo.; Type Upgrade Skill 3 - Shadow Blade: Increases damage caused by spirit charges.; Type Upgrade Skill 4 - Shadowless: Enables the character to sometimes conserve Musou when doing a spirit charge.; Type Upgrade Skill 5 - Tempered: Temporarily increases defense when somersaulting with little health left.

Fighting Style

Keys:

Flow Attack •

Reactive Attack •

Musou •

Jump/Mount

Base Game

Zuo Ci is affiliated with the shaman rod in this title. When equipped with it, Zuo Ci can perform the following unique attacks listed below.

Unique Attacks: Unique Flow Attack Finisher: Enemy Airborne + : Zuo Ci's finisher has him conjure a dark funneling vortex filled with talisman cards in mid-air, blowing away enemies and scattering them around the area.; Unique Trigger Attack: R1 + : Entraps enemies within a dark purple tornado overlaid with talisman cards floating upward, then causes it to burst via simple hand gesture. Can inflict slash-based damage.; Special Technique: R1 + : Conjures a dark tornado emanating with electric currents, then causes lightning to fly out from the center. Despite its potency, enemy officers can easily evade it in higher difficulty settings, making the move risky to use.; Musou Attack: : Manipulates staff into revolving around Zuo Ci counterclockwise continuously as he slowly walks while doing a one-handed prayer gesture. Upon pausing, he then conjures two dark purple tornadoes filled with talisman cards to juggle enemies in front of him repeatedly. It ends with him unleashing a powerful dark blast that sends targets scattering in different directions. Can inflict slash-based damage. The cycle phase of this attack is based on Zuo Ci's original Musou attack from previous games.; Aerial Musou Attack: : Creates a dark vortex filled with talisman cards to suck in enemies, then causes it to burst into several purple homing lasers similar to the ones conjured by Sima Yi. Each hit is imbued with the slash attribute, making it highly effective against stronger enemy officers.

Horse Maneuvers: Summon Horse: L2: Summon horse to the battlefield. Holding L2 as the horse approaches will allow the character to automatically mount them.; Auto-Run: Riding Mode + L2: Automatically runs towards a specified destination. If a destination has not been set, the horse will instead run towards the location of the player's currently selected mission.; Sprint: Riding Mode + Direction + R1: Causes horse to run at a faster pace. Doing so depletes their stamina each time.; Jump: Riding Mode + Direction + R2: Causes horse to jump high while running.; Horse Fast Attack: Riding Mode + : Performs a fast and seamless attack while mounted. The attack itself varies depending on what type of weapon is equipped and whether the enemy is grounded or airborne.; Horse Trigger Attack: Riding Mode + : Performs an attack that sends enemies flying into the air. May vary depending on what type of weapon is equipped.; Horse Musou Attack: Riding Mode + : Causes horse to sprint by consuming Musou instead of stamina.; Dismount Horse: Riding Mode + : Dismounts from horse and resumes default fighting stance.

Bow Maneuvers: Shooting Mode: 🡻: Pulls out bow and assumes archery stance. Can be cancelled by tapping 🡻 again.; Switch Arrows: 🡸 or 🡺: Switches between different types of arrows.; Bow Attack: Shooting Mode + : Fires current arrow at a target. Can lock on targets by tapping R3.; Lower Bow: Shooting Mode + : Lowers bow while squatting down.

Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires

Officer Skills: Secret Plan - Wrath of the Immortals (神仙の裁き; lit. "Immortal Being's Judgment"): Unleashes a powerful lightning attack with each activation increasing its strength.; Military Unit: Infantry; Title: Lone Immortal (孤高の神仙); Unique Political Ploy - Wall Destroyed: Damages areas owned by another faction while decreasing their defense level by 15.; Reputation Bonus: Commanding +25%, Ingenious +80%, Eloquent +50%, Benevolent +80%, Evil -50%

Shin Sangoku Musou Apuri

Base Attacks: Normal Attack: Performs unique flow attack string from the base game using the shaman rod. Available by default.; Aerial Attack: Performs aerial flow attack string from the base game.; Repel Attack: Performs knock-down trigger attack from the base game to repel foes.; Launch Attack: Performs launch trigger attack from the base game to lift foes into the air. Can be followed up with aerial flow hit string activated by repeatedly tapping the normal attack icon.; Stun Attack: Performs stun trigger attack from the base game to daze foes momentarily. Can be followed up with stun flow hit string activated by repeatedly tapping the normal attack icon.; Guard Break Attack: Performs guard break attack from the base game to break the enemy's guard. Can be followed up with down flow hit string activated by repeatedly tapping the normal attack icon.; Chain Attack: Performs down flow attack from the base game to repeatedly strike at foes. Does heavy damage, but cannot deplete the target's spirit. This move is mostly available to attack-type versions of Zuo Ci.; Endurance Attack: Performs separating attack from the base game while generating a protective aura that temporarily boosts defense. This move is mostly available to defense-type versions of Zuo Ci.; Sneak Attack: Performs dash attack from the base game to inflict heavy damage on the opponent's spirit. This move is mostly available to speed-type versions of Zuo Ci.; Missile Attack: Leaps into the air and fires a projectile that turns into a large tornado upon hitting the ground. Does decent damage from a distance, but cannot deplete the target's spirit. This move is mostly available to snipe-type versions of Zuo Ci.; Recover Attack: Performs separating attack from the base game while generating a healing circle that gradually restores health. Has no elemental variations with each upgraded version. This move is mostly available to special-type versions of Zuo Ci.

Special Attacks: Unique Attack 1 - Storm Charms (嵐符): Performs special technique from the base game. Available by default.; Unique Attack 2 - Wind Curse Charms (風呪符): Performs unique trigger from the base game using the shaman rod. Initially available for UR rank versions of its user, this move can be learned upon reaching level 170.; Musou Attack: Performs Musou attack from base game minus the looping animation. Consumes one full Musou gauge.; Aerial Musou Attack: Performs aerial Musou attack from base game. Consumes one full Musou gauge.; Super Musou Attack: Performs full Musou attack from base game. Consumes two full Musou gauges.

Auxiliary Attacks: Counter Attack: Performs counter attack from the base game by tapping the orange counter icon near the opponent once it pops up.; Finishing Attack: Performs finishing attack from the base game by tapping the golden finisher icon that appears once the opponent's spirit has been fully depleted.; Normal Evasion: Does a normal evasion maneuver on the ground to avoid enemy attacks. Can only be performed by attack-type and special-type versions of Zuo Ci.; Swift Evasion: Hovers in the air to avoid enemy attacks in an instant. Can only be performed by speed-type and snipe-type versions of Zuo Ci.; Piercing Evasion: Charges forth while hunched to avoid enemy attacks while dealing chip damage to foes blocking the way. Can only be performed by defense-type versions of Zuo Ci.

Normal Version Attacks

Class Type: Snipe

Mystic Version Attacks

Class Type: Special

Abyss Version Attacks

Class Type: Defense

Other Skills

Memory Abilities: Mystic's Roar of Thunder (神仙、雷鳴の一喝); Characters: Zuo Ci; Rank: R; Bonus: +205 Health; Skill - Anti-Beast (防獣): Reduces damage from animals by 7%.

Team Combination: Aiming For a World of Benevolence (仁の世を目指して); Required Characters: Liu Bei, Zuo Ci; Bonus: +100 Defense, +50 Health

Illusionary Sorcerers (幻惑の術士)

Required Characters: Zhang Jiao, Zuo Ci

Bonus: +50 Attack, +100 Health

Opinions on Moustaches (口ひげに一家言)

Required Characters: Yuan Shao, Zuo Ci, Yuan Shu

Bonus: +50 Attack, +100 Health, +50 Musou