Not using an "Ex" weapon ?

[Felky]

I'm totally new to Dynasty Warrriors,
I've noticed some weapons have "Ex" word on it, which means it's the main weapon of the selected Officier (right?) and it does unlock special moves (right?²).

But then you can always switch that "main" weapon with 9999 other ones and I'd like to try a few other ones but keep my actual Officier.

Soooo.. What's the downside of not using the main weapon (Ex) of an Officier ?

Can I use whatever weapon I want with anyone, depending on my taste ?

[MemPhiZ ZX - #NewYear2025]

Ex weapon is the most compatible weapon and you can perform EX attack which can only be done with EX weapon. there's no actual downside other than the EX attack.

and yes you can use any weapons you want. you can even equip Lu Bu's halberd on Xiao Qiao if you want.

[enge]

You won't have access to the character's two EX moves, that's it. For some officers it's a big deal, for others - not so much. You retain all of the Musou and Rage attacks, and those will use the stats of the weapon equipped, despite using the hero's 3rd rank EX weapon in their animation. A matter of preference, really.

If you're going the mix'n'match route, pay attention to compatibility stars - the more you get, the bigger damage bonus you receive and a nifty technique once you hit 4-stars (that's done automatically, through level ups, by the way). It matters mostly on higher difficulties, though.

[Felky]

Oook thanks !

So if I use a weapon without "Ex" the only combos I can use are
- Normal (light) / Strong attacks combos
- Musous (three of them)

Did I get that right ?

[enge]

Those, plus the Rage attack and Switch / Storm Rush stuff.
Horseback and Dash attacks also count as separate moves, but that's digging too deep.

[Felky]

Cool cool, I'll try out a bit of everything then !

[Brain_E]

Originally posted by encogen:

*snip*

If you're going the mix'n'match route, pay attention to compatibility stars - the more you get, the bigger damage bonus you receive and a nifty technique once you hit 4-stars (that's done automatically, through level ups, by the way). It matters mostly on higher difficulties, though.

Those nifty techniques (4 in total) are actually quite important to some characters. After level 25 (IIRC or whenever you get 4 star compability), you generally want to use compatible weapons (not necessarily EX weapons) so you can use the special skills.

[Felky]

Ok !! So I can use whatever weapon I like but if it has less than 4* compatibility with my Officier then I might miss some special skills

[Clever Cloaks]

To put it simply:
4-star compability: You get special abilities like Dash(Double Jump), Dive(Dodge), Whirlwind, and Shadow Sprint(Combo Cancels)
Ex. Weapons: You get the character's two unique EX attacks. Ex weapons are always 4-star Compatible.

So, yeah, I recommend just having your officers stick to their Ex. Weapons for more variety... unless you're playing with DLC weapons. Of course, the Halberd is really useful if you want to get the 5-star weapons early on.

[Felky]

Mmhh.. I don't really get it.
As Lu Lingqi Lv.22 for exemple I've got :

Compatibility
Dash 1/1 star
Dive 1/1 star
Shadow Sprint 3/4 stars
Whirlwind 3/3 stars

That means I can use Dash/Dive/Whirlwind and I'll unlock ShadowSprint once it's 4/4 stars ?

If yes : How to use them then ? Is that a Skill I need to equip ?

[enge]

No, techniques require 4 stars to become useable - Lingqi's only technique is Shadow Sprint. You'll get it at level 25 (or 30, I forgot).

All of those are passive and are always on, as long as you're using the compatible weapon.

You can use other techniques through Expert skills (by levelling up a respective officer to Lv50), but it's not worth it in general.

[Felky]

Ohh ! Now I get it thanks

Any tips about Lu Lingqi while we're at it ?

I'm only doing LightAttack x5 then StrongAttack x2 to buff myself and then spam LightAttack x4 + StrongAttack x1 to do the tornado that sends everyone into the air..
Spamming this makes everyone fly forever but it's so repetitive and literally just the same attack over and over I feel like I'm playing the game wrong :'D

I've seen some sick-endless-crazy-comboes in some videos and it seems like some people never stops attacking and comboes-up everything during the entire missions; but I can't seem to find how they do that

[enge]

I've seen some sick-endless-crazy-comboes in some videos and it seems like some people never stops attacking and comboes-up everything during the entire missions; but I can't seem to find how they do that

That's probably Shadow Sprint in action. In a nutshell, you press Light Attack immediately after any Strong Attack, and the character dashes forward, attacking. It's pretty spiffy with Crossed Pikes.

[Felky]

Ohh, that would explain a lot..
I'll keep leveling until I get that fourth star on the ShadowSpirit then, thanks a lot for the explanations