Zhang Liao is highly underrated, when defending He Fei, Wei was at an disadvantage, Yue Jing and Li Dian did not get along with Zhang Liao due to some personal grudge when he served Lu Bu/Dong Zhuo. And yet, he managed to get all of them to cooperate, instill fear within Wu soldiers and successfully defend He Fei. An absolute badass. Wish he had more screentime in the 2010 TV show, and show the He Fei battle.
I believe in the novels and the Three Kingdoms 2010 TV series, Lu Bu has often been used to compare a lot of formidable warriors such as Zhao Yun and Ma Chao. When your name is used as a measuring stick on martial prowess, you have official cement yourself as the ultimate badass. Hell, in every non-DW warriors game, there will always be a super powerful character who has their own theme and I would always call them the "Lu Bu." of that game.
Lu Bu, the Demon Cockroach, is a Level 99 God Mode Warrior that everyone fears. If he appears at Hulao Gate, just run away and pursue everyone else! Don’t look at him! Don’t even chase him! And the most important of all… DON’T HURT DIAOCHAN!
A few games implied Had if Sun Ce lived to be old. He possibly could have conquered all of china. He was charismatic and had Zhou Yu with him. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu together were OP. Also with Xiahou Dun. He was more into politics and stuff. His campaigns as a General were lackluster he took alot of L’s also him and Guan Yu had almost nothing to do with each other historically
Yeah but the games love to push his "rivalry" with Guan Yu lol and thats really the reason why hes here just cause he consistently holds his own and in some games, kills Guan Yu, but I agree lol
In the novel Xiahou Dun actually fought Guan Yu to a draw when Guan Yu was leaving Cao Cao's army through the 5 gates. Also, Xiahou Dun held his own against Lu Bu during a night raid on Cao Cao on the march to Luo Yang I believe
Historical Lü Bu may not be the total badass the novel and fiction draw him out to be, but he was still an amusingly interesting historical figure. Historical Zhang Liao was actually what fictional Lü Bu is supposed to be, except Zhang Liao also utilized strategies in order to best his enemies, and Battle of He Fei is the prime example proof of it. But for such a badass like Zhang Liao (as well as Gao Shun) to loyally follow Lü Bu back then means Lü Bu was either physically powerful and skilled in fighting, or quite charismatic. Lü Bu might forever be known as a traitor to some Three Kingdoms scholars and historians, but every of his (historical) betrayals could still be justified: a. He killed Ding Yuan by the order from Dong Zhuo, and Ding Yuan historically never raised Lü Bu as a son. b. He betrayed Dong Zhuo, but who wouldn't? Besides, this one betrayal had ended the tyranny of Dong Zhuo. c. He betrayed Liu Bei, but to be slightly fair, however, Zhang Fei beat up Lü Bu's relative in his drunken state. EDIT: Cao Bao and Lü Bu had nothing to do with each other, so Lü Bu's defecting from Liu Bei to Yuan Shu was not exactly justified. Lmao. So, yeah, while not exactly a badass, he was still an interesting man.
100% and theres so many sources for these character out there its hard to tell which one is the true representation of the character, which is why I tried to average from every source I could, hope you enjoyed the vid!
Wanna write this down, found your comment ... Thank you for this Zhang Liao thingy. It's the truth. Trying to dig some historical records (from chinese sources) ... the real badass names would surprise loads of people. Teaser - Cao Chun.
The thing is that in eastern culture, betrayal is like THE WORST sin you can commit. Trust and loyalty was everything back then and Lü Bu was not seen as trustworthy.
@@oskforalltid And the thing is, backstabbing, betrayal, and defection were such common things in pre and during Three Kingdoms era. Liu Bei, for example, defected from Gongsun Zan to Tao Qian, and then Cao Cao, and then Yuan Shao, and finally Liu Zhang, only to betray him by taking his land from him. Not to mention the times where he basically left his family in his enemies' mercy. It's just that Lü Bu's case, his betrayal was justified at one time, and treasonous at the other. Dong Zhuo was wanted dead by literally anyone at the time thanks to his cruel, ruthless, and tyrannical rule, had several assassination attempts at his life, and had Lü Bu as his bodyguard. Dong Zhuo trusted him so much that when Wang Yun and his conspirators managed to make Dong Zhuo run for his life, he went to Lü Bu, only to be killed since Lü Bu also conspired with Wang Yun to kill Dong Zhuo. The other time, Lü Bu and his forces were forced to flee by Cao Cao's forces, and he sought refuge with Liu Bei. Despite having basically rescued by Liu Bei during his time of need, Lü Bu betrayed him by taking his land from drunk Zhang Fei.
I strongly recommend either doing loads of research, or saying "this is limited specifically to the Dynasty Warriors series and how each figure appears in the games" if that makes sense?
I agree with your list! The only what-Ifs I can think of is what if Huang Zhong got a chance to fire his bow against Lu Bu? Considering that Lu Bu is 100% Charge! I'd imagine that Death by Archers or even Catapults could of been another valid way to take Lu Bu down since he'd probably not use stealth or cover. (The Novel version, the DW versions all have varying degrees of Plot-Armour and Rule of Cool on their side.) Edit: But if we're talking about sheer strength . . . then yeah, Lu Bu and Dian Wei. Also have a hunch that Meng Huo would of been a contender considering how many times he lost and got try again.
Yeah i definitely see the arguments for both ways, I went with Zhao cause of the never losing a duel bit and the fact he remained as skilled as a 60 year old man, he had to be incredibly skilled
I thought in the novel ma chao was gonna attempt to ride cao cao down but saw xu zhu staring him down and wouldn't dare advance. This gives xu zhu a place above ma chao
Mmm idk about that, I know they fought to a draw, but like I said since Ma Chao also fought against Zhang Fei and held his own, gives him a little bit of an edge, I might redo this video after I finish my Who Would Series, go in depth with the analysis
Lu Bu is like Akuma/Hehachi/Rugal tier of power. You just know that regardless of the game, he’s probably one of if not the strongest characters. The OG Dynasty Warriors hidden character.
13- Taishi Ci (strong, but very slow) 12- Ding Feng 11- Huang Gai (I hate to play with him) 10- Xu Huang 9- Xu Zhu or Xu Chu 8- Dian Wei 7- Gan Ning (very nice for riding horse) 6- Wei Wan 5- Lu Meng 4- Zhang Liao (my favorite) 3- Sima Zhao (most playable) 2- Zhang Fei 1- Guan Yu (my favorite) 0- Lu Bu
Lu Bu is the strongest in row power but you need more then just strength but let's put that off for now, here is idea for the video, TOP 10 character personalities go
I will say I think Wei Yan should of been somewhere here and Taishi Ci would probably hold his own against Zhang Liao but he jumped in between him and Sun Quan had it been a actual fight I think he could of won. Other then that great list and of course don't pursue Lu Bu.
Never pursue! Lol but I could see that, I did a 1 v 1 of Wei Yan vs Taishi Ci on my channel if you wanna check out who I would pick in a 1v1, but taishi ci would be strugglin against zhang liao dude was a monster
Guan yu isnt the god of war. They may have called him that on the battlefield, but he was deified as the god of loyalty not god of war. He is worship to this day as a god that protects the family/establishment. Thats because he was loyal and never betray you. His shrine is flanked by his adopted son guan ping and loyal captain zhou cang, who both died with him in the same battle.
I'd agree. Sun Jian is often overlooked, and several of his accomplishments were given to other people (such as Guan Yu) in the novel. Historically, he was probably one of the greatest soldiers of his time. He was a great leader and a fantastic warrior. He was respected and loved by his allies and respected and feared by those he stood against. Heck, he and his army historically defeated Lu Bu and his army. His only notable defeat (outside of the battle the resulted in his death due to ambush) was one that only came about because his jealous superior refused to send his troops provisions
@TheNightowlGaming I will watch it in a second. But first I wish to state im willing to bet you still have the top 3 wrong. Yes its your opinion and such I understand. But ill bet I can convince you to change your mind based 100% on the books and what they say. Lu Bu will likely be your number 1. I'll prove he's number 2.
Zhao Yun too low. He's one of the few characters in the game who's real life feats are just as jaw-dropping. The novel takes a bit of fictional license with some of the battles (Shamoke didn't kill Gan Ning, he died of illness) to spice things up. He should be top 3. Xu Zhu too low. When he dueled Ma Chao to a draw he did so without armor. He also had a VERY long career in warfare which was very difficult to do back then unless your name was Zhao Yun. Should be top 5 as he was an absolute beast even in the non-fictionalized historical records. Ma Chao is too high here. He spent most of his time with his father up in the sticks and only came down when Cao Cao killed his Dad while his Dad was trying to ambush Cao Cao. He had a short career in Shu helping them take Shu and then he dies fairly young. Gan Ning too high, most of his depiction in the game is fictionalized. In reality he was just an above average general who caught the forever sniffles. In real life, much of Wu's characters did not really tussle with Wei or Shu very much. Sun Ce just ran through the South and then Sun Quan kind of stayed out of the conflicts while consolidating more territory in the South all the way to Vietnam. It wasn't until Liu Bei took Jing that Sun Quan began taking an interest in the other three kingdoms. Cao Cao was doing all of the heavy lifting in mainland China while Liu Bei kept running West until he got as far West as West goes. Cao Cao's generals that survived to the 3 kingdoms era should all be much higher.
I can understand your points, but the list is a conglomeration of all sources of materials with history being the least impactful because of the controversial pieces in it (Hua xiongs death as an example). I did a new top 50 strongest with thorough research + how they are presented, much more accurate list than this one
OK, I understand that DW is but a game. But, the OP seems genuinely interested in RTK actual history. Anyway, in chinese, but a historical record of duels in that era - th-cam.com/video/Et6yC3yeYWU/w-d-xo.html It's also possible to search for official RTK sources translated into English in 2023, yah? Most warriors in the list at the top 10 are about there, more or less. I mean, Lu Bu's archery skill stopped a war in recorded history. However, the list included Commanders as Warriors, which muddled things a bit. True Warriors according to history would be, yes, Lu Bu. Xu Chu and Ma Chao (who caused his father's death, by the way. Cao Cao didnt want to kill Ma Teng, but Ma Chao attacked for YEARS despite his father and siblings been at Cao Cao's place). Surprise entries would be Cao Chun (head of the elite Tiger Leopard squad) and Niu Jin (similar, cavalry head. By the way, Cao Ren dived into enemy's formations to save him one time too. He can fight too.) And Gao Shun (the north tribal folks are all warriors, like Lu Bu and Zhang Liao, etc). The bloodthirsty Gan Ning deserves a mention too, although also a good commander ... Commanders who can fight very well would be the usual Guan Yu-s and Zhang Fei-s. Zhao Yun was usually neglected because of his age (he was older than Liu Bei, you see) but otherwise a very noble person. TaiShi Ci was a living legendary nobleman in his time. His duel with the very talented Sun Ce is actual history, it seems. Else, think everyone knows Zhang Liao's exploits throughout, and not just that battle with his 800 men. Also, Xu Huang was literally undefeated throughout because he was such a supreme commander ... Honourable mentions are Xiahou Dun (likely actual brother of Cao Cao. "Cao" been the adopted surname) and Wei Yan (highly regarded by Liu Bei in actual history, 1st commander of Hanzhong). Zhou Tai's scars were because of Sun Quan's recklessness more than anything else. ... hope I didnt miss any worth generals from the recorded history. If you have been reading all these text, thank you. :)
Yes absolutely correct, I will be remaking this video as my knowledge on the characters and history has expanded so much since I made this and at some point I will be making a more accurate list, is it going to be 100% right that everyone agrees with, no it never will but nonetheless aint nobody else making these videos so imma keep doing my best 😁
Bro Dian Wei was a certified monster, how can he not be in top 5, its definitely a subjective list, but it was said Dian Wei wielded two halberds that weighed 45 lbs each, imagine a 40 lb dumbbell in mini halberd form and you're going against him, ik its subjective and zhang liao is a beast for sure, but Id put my money on Dian Wei in a 1 v 1
Fun fact according to the record of the three kingdoms (historically) all of guan Yu’s feats from the battle of hu Lao gate were actually done by Sun Jian. Sun Jian killed hau Xiong and even though it wasn’t one on one Sun Jian’s unit fought Lu Bu’s unit and forced Lu Bu to retreat not once but 3 times. Not trying to take anything from Lu Bu I still think he was the strongest fighter of the time just saying I wish Sun Jian got the recognition he deserves. (Explains we’re Sun Ce gets it from ) I really enjoyed the video though you put a lot of thought into it.
Lu Bu was defeated by Sun Jian in history. The first time was because Lu Bu and his colleagues were at odds, leading to chaos in the army. The second time was when Dong Zhuo ordered Lu Bu to stay behind during the retreat, which does not necessarily indicate how powerful Sun Jian was. 《Book of the Later Han》 Dong Zhuo 《後漢書》董卓列傳「孫堅收合散卒，進屯梁縣之陽人。卓遣將胡軫、呂布攻之。布與軫不相能，軍中自驚恐，士卒散亂。堅追擊之，軫、布敗走。」 Lu Bu and Hu Zhen had a falling out, causing panic among the army and scattering of soldiers. Sun Jian pursued them, and both Hu Zhen and Lu Bu were defeated in their escape. 《後漢書‧董卓傳》：「卓自出與堅戰於諸陵墓閒，卓敗走，卻屯黽池，聚兵於陝。堅進洛陽宣陽城門，更擊呂布，布復破走。」 Dong Zhuo personally led his troops to fight against Sun Jian in the area of the imperial tombs. Dong Zhuo was defeated and retreated to Turtle Pond, where he regrouped his forces in Shaanxi. Sun Jian entered Luoyang through Xuanyang Gate, attacked Lv Bu, who was also defeated and fled. Sun Jian then cleaned up the royal ancestral temple, filled the various tombs that had been dug open, divided his troops and went out of Hangu Pass to intercept Dong Zhuo's retreat between Xin'an and Xingchi.
Same with Zhuge Liang too. All he did at Chi Bi is make an alliance with Wu. It was Zhou Yu who is responsible for the tactics and strategies that repelled Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang is more of a efficient administrator than a tactician. Not down playing his achievements tho.
I think some of that might come from the fact that Luo Guanzhong wrote ROTK with the intention of painting Shu Han as the heroes. See also: some of the historic atrocities of Ma Chao not even being mentioned, or Huang Zhong being said to hit an archery target 100 times with as many arrows.
Unfortunately the novelised RoTK is written by someone who stans liu bei hard. It’s why the three brothers often do weird things the author thinks sound cool and everyone cheers them on for it.
Guan Yu is worship because of his loyalty. He didnot betray his brothers despite separated and let cao cao live for once to thank him for lubu horse and hospitality. He is worshipped by chinese police force mainly hong kong police force and their triads as a reminder not to betray and be loyal to your faction. Guan yu also worshipped by buddhists because he is a defender to the Goddess of mercy Guan Yin. There are 2 stance of Guan yu being worshipped, 1 holding his halberd weapon, as a guardian , known as Wu stance 2 holding a scroll/ book as mentor to studies and problem solving , known as Wen stance The book holding stance is referred to when Guan Yu was shot by an arrow, a medic remove it while Guan Yu didnt cry or response to pain reading a book.
Sun Ce laid the foundation of Wu. His family from being a vassal to Yuan Su to becomes the founder of Wu that even impressed Cao Cao. Sad that he died too early.
Sun ce was far to rash probably due to his age understandably, however still to rash to lead wu who were very focused around strategy and collectiveness
Honestly id say in the early stages on who would of been the winner, Wu was probably the biggest threat when Sun Ce was alive. Cao Cao was still a small politician trying to get some land, Liu Bei was a nobody constantly trying not to get assasinated, and mean while Sun Jian already had a established small kingdom of his own, and Sun Ce took up the torch taking heads left and right. If we are going by video game lore alone, Sun Ce easily should be bumped up to the top 10 list around 10-7. Cao Cao and LIu Bei were literally saying THANK GOD when Sun Ce died, for he was a genuine menace. There main problem is after Zhou Yu died, they really lacked proper talent to pick up the torch. Same problem happened with Liu Bei, it was probabbly why Wei was the kingdom that won at the time, for Cao Cao entrusted his kingdom to capable people who could carry on his vision. While Jin became Wei 2.0 , It was still built off of people Cao cao knew and groomed.
I thought this was a game-mechanic ranking, but to my pleasant surprise its actually a lore-based ranking video. Glad to see foreigners that appreciate the original stories. I highly recommend reading the actual historical materials of the Three-kingdoms, you would find Guan Yu to be even more badass in real life than in the Romance.
Hell yeah! The game and its characters were so interesting that I delve deep into their history (what I could find) and tried to make this list as accurate as possible taking in both the game elements and historical elements, glad you enjoyed it!
@@TheNightowlGaming There might be a general who could be stronger than Lu Bu, but not many think about it or just gloss over it as there's not enough evidence supporting it in the novel. That person being Yan Liang. Yan Liang was only killed by Guan Yu in the novel because he was caught off guard, not realizing Red Hare's speed. He didn't even get a chance to fight back. Yan Liang is the general who Xu Huang could not last more than 30 bouts against before calling it quits and Xu Huang is an insanely good fighter. I once ranked Yan at No. 13 in my own list of warriors prowess based on the novel, but I put a big asterisk next to it saying Yan could go top 3 or 5 and might even challenge No. 1 if he had a chance to fight Guan Yu fairly.
@@TheNightowlGaming It's in Chapter 25 of the novel. I just reread that part and somethings, I remembered incorrectly, but I wasn't far off. Instead of 30 bouts, it was actually 20 that Xu Huang retired after. Instead of Guan Yu offering himself, it was Cao Cao who called for him to deal with Yan Liang after Xu Huang failed. Although Yan Liang wasn't stated to have been surprised by Red Hare's speed, it was stated that he was caught completely unprepared. I'm pretty sure it was Red Hare's speed that caught him off guard cause how can Xu Huang not last even one stroke with Guan Yu, but can last 20 against Yan Liang. Yet, Yan Liang was killed off in one stroke by Guan Yu. Anyways, it's here in chapter 25 and you can start around the 8 minute mark. th-cam.com/video/fxklj_v2dDE/w-d-xo.html
Seeing all this DW5 cutscene footage warms my heart when you're talking about these characters. When I think of a DW character, my mind always goes to their DW5 rendition. 👍 Heck of a good list in my opinion. I think you nailed it on the head for the most part. Although I do disagree and say I personally love Zhang Liao's beast mode at Chang Ban in DW7. It was like seeing a bit of Lu Bu come out in him and I guess for suspension of disbelief we could assume Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun weren't at their best due to the heavy fighting, low supplies, and worrying about Liu Bei's safety. Even before that scene in the series I always considered him to be Guan Yu's equal and Gan Ning to be Zhang Liao's equal head cannon wise with whoever winning depending on circumstance. A 3 way fight between all three would just be amazing. That's pretty much it though. Put Zhang Liao and Gan Ning a bit higher and I fully agree with the list. I think Lu Meng and Cao Ren deserve some honorable mentions too!
For sure, appreciate the kind words so much! ANd yeah its always tough deducing which character is where based on their in game feats and stuff, but I can definitely see the argument for Zhang Liao and Gan Ning being a little higher!
I'm a asian and grown up with three kingdom..and i know story about Sun Ce beat Xu huang and zhang liao at the same time to chase Cao Cao..so i think the strongest of Wu might be sun ce. Zhang liao of wei and after guan yu death,Ma chao is the strongest of Shu
Wow Ma Chao stronger than Guan Yu, interesting and I didnt know about Sun Ce doing that, I hadnt read that anywhere but he was definitely strong. It's definitely a hard list to make with so many sources of information!
@@TheNightowlGaming Ma chao is the strongest after Guan Yu death. Some info you can't find anywhere BC they are "folklore". Your list is prety accurate.i agree with top 3 but number 4 should be ma chao,sun ce or zhang liao
@@phongpham6749 ma chao was so scared of Xu Chu that he dare not go fight or capture cao cao 🤣Xu Chu is strongest man of wei but zhang liao is the most fear
What we really need to see is the eventual conclusion to the duel between Guan Yu vs. Zhang Fei! All I gotta say is "THAT'S GOTTA HURT" (Blue Dragon and Serpent Blade clashing each other at various occasions)
Interestingly Xiahou Dun wasn't that impressive a warrior, or even a general, losing or at least not standing out in most battles he was in. He was, apparently, very good at governing though. He seemed to care a lot for the people and knew the best way to help them prosper. I'll assume that him being counted among Wei's 4 generals was because of how close he was with Cao Cao and how respected he was in Wei rather than his actual military accomplishments.
Yeah that's what I keep hearing, so it might be controversial to put up so "high" or in the list at all but because the way they show and display Xiahou Dun in the games, I mainly went off of that
@@TheNightowlGaming I mean, he might not have been good at warfare but he was tough as nails. Plucking an arrow out your face with your eye attached, then eating your own eye is the most metal moment in ROTK... even if he only got an arrow to the face because he once again misjudged a battle situation. :p
@@marked01 Ha. I actually meant to put 4, as in the four generals used in the first DW, but I guess my mind wandered and I put 5 because I'm used to writing 5 generals. Didn't even notice.
One thing about Huang Zhong, he was often praised as being just like General Lian Po, one of the 4 Greatest Generals in the Warring States Period where he was still active despite being past his prime
I agree with most of yours, I mean the 'positions' on the list are going to vary wildly just based on how much value you personally put on in-game feats, but there's nobody on your list I would say doesn't at the very least deserve to be 'considered' for their rankings. I would like to suggest Hua Xiong though, just because he was DLC and so I think he tends to get overlooked. Main feat being that in DW9 he actually has a one-on-one fight with Lu Bu. He loses that fight, and if you just watch the cutscene it looks totally one-sided, like he didn't even measure in the same league. In their fight Lu Bu, reveals that he was holding back, and that because Hua Xiong didn't notice, proves that Hua Xiong is weak. But the thing that I think people miss, is the scene just 'before' he goes to fight Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo orders Hua Xiong to hold back as well. And during the fight, when 'both' of them were holding back, Hua Xiong was actually winning. Around the end of the fight, Lu Bu starts to take it seriously, but Dong Bai stops the fight before Hua Xiong ever gets to go all out. Then, when Hua Xiong dies, they make it 'very' clear that he's going out to fight with overconfidence and an inflated ego, which feels like they were trying to keep this image of him being genuinely strong, while also keeping it believable that he could die so quickly. To be clear, I don't think that Koei intended fans to think Hua Xiong could 'beat' Lu Bu, or Guan Yu, I just think he's higher on the totem pole than people give him credit for.
That is a solid argument and similarly thinking of characters like Wen Chou & Yan Liang too I was thinking where would they stand. And someone else mentioned Liao Hua. But because they all get lumped into NPCs its hard not to think of them as just fodder for the playable characters
There some things the game can improve upon. Guan Ping doesn't abandon Guan Yu. Both of them get captured and we're executed for refusing to serve Sun Quan. Yu doesn't lose a 1 v 1 to Meng or Dun. The most underrated warriors in the history is Ling Tong & Cao Cao's second bodyguard. Cao Cao second body guard dueled everybody. He almost got killed by Ma Chao if not for Cao Cao in one of the duels. If not for Ling Tong, Zhang Liao gets to Sun Quan. His mission was a suicide mission and he survived it. I think both need a better rework and appearance.
Zhao Yun supposedly had hemophilia, yet lived into his seventies, meaning he didn't get as much as a scratch in battle. I would arguably put him in top 2 above Guan Yu, but definitely top 3. It's easy to underrate Zhao Yun because he's not as flashy as others, but he's an absolute monster in the novel, and he's still the poster boy for many games.
100%! But some of the tales surrounding him isnt 100% factual nor proven to be, so on an average and taking that into consideration that's why I placed him there, I will be remaking this vid at some point with much more accurate rankings but back then this was as accurate as I could get! He's still a beast though, definitely a top 10 or 5 strongest character
Agree, ZY is only one who survived and died of old age. When others usually die young. Think about it. And same as Lu Bu. It has no record that he lose the duel to anyone.
Many have think that Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Zhou Yu and Lu Xun are amongst the best, but if i create a kingdom my self, i will have Guo Jia as my strategist. His prediction always accurate even in moment before he's death, he foresaw the future already, even Cao Cao lamented to Xun Yu twice because Guo have died before the Red Cliff, otherwise Cao would not suffered defeat. If you read the wiki, you will know why you must have this man in your side. Also, Xu Shu is also brilliant, yet he was tricked by Cao Cao plot
@@InvisibleBiscuit The real one who predict the weakness of Cao Cao in the Battle of Chibi is Zhou Yu, in suggestion of Huang Gai. He realize that Cao armies are not accustomize in naval and their lack of knowledge of terrain, and was weak to fire attack. Pang Tong helps by suggesting Cao Cao to link the ship so the fire will spread further across Cao's deck. All Zhuge Liang do was pray for 3 days and 3 night, hoping that the wind will change direction from the southeast so the fire attack can be executed. So there's a rumor that Zhuge Liang can control weather, deeming him as a somekind of sorcerer. If you want to know about Guo Jia, you gotta check wikipedia, and prepare to be surprised about all his prediction
While historically Lu Bu is nowhere as strong as his novel counterpart, he's still No joke, he's strong enough to the point people who see him fight says"among man Lu Bu among horse redhere" And earn the nicknamed of "flying general"
The fact that people like Gao Shun and Zhang Liao actually followed him through thick and thin speaks either of his excellent charisma or powerful combative capabilities. Gao Shun was Lü Bu's main commander who was the reason behind Lü Bu's forces' victories, and his defeat was because Lü Bu didn't listen to Gao Shun. Zhang Liao was originally one of Lü Bu's men, or probably Gao Shun's. Once Lü Bu and Gao Shun were executed, Cao Cao took him and he proved his worth during the Battle of He Fei where he, along with Yue Jin and Li Dian whom he didn't get along with, drove Wu forces of 100.000 men out with just 7.000 men. If such men followed Lü Bu, you can't help but wonder what kind of interesting person Lü Bu must have been.
Historically, Taishi Ci actually passed away earlier than Hefei from illness. His death at Hefei is fictional. He was also a good archer historically. His warrior skills are completely KOEI original. A nod to his historical archery is portrayed in 9 empires as his unit type is archer.
This was a great list, can tell you actually give a shit and are a fan. The only changes I would make are the two arrow guys. They are more like skilled warriors and less “strongest”. The rest of the list was well thought out and accurate asf dude
In the game, Gan Ning is killed by Shamoke --- historically, Gan Ning dies from illness. Now what this tells you is that the historic Gan Ning was truly a strong fierce warrior that only illness would be his defeat.
If we are following strictly based on the game. Apparently 2 of the 3 empire - shu and wei ( i believe after the death of Yuan Sao but before the conflict between each empire starts), joined up and was only able to defeat lu bu by flooding the castle wall (essentially forcing them out of the Castle) . This was also the same method and reasoning how Guan Yu died. Also, I forgot who, but in Dynasty warriors 8, I believe either Wen Yang (your top 10) or Xu Huang (your top 13) was also quoted to be the second coming of the god of war.
Wei is the best faction in the game ngl... They have the best generals and strategists.. Shu may have 5 Tiger generals and Zhuge Liang, but some of them don't even wanna work with each other and few couldn't be trusted even by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang themselves.. Ironically, Cao Cao's generals (except Cao's and Xiahou's family) were his enemies before joining him, like Xu Huang, Jia Xu, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Pang De, but they still could work together... And then you got Sima Yi the one that beat Zhuge Liang... Also, another reason why they're the best faction is bcuz of their roster.. All of them are the important part of the Three Kingdoms history... All they need now is adding Cao Hong and Cheng Yu.. Now look at Shu's roster, sure they're great but in recent titles they added fictional characters that weren't even important to the stories like Guan Suo, Guan Yinping and Zhou Cang.
True true, Wei is my favorite factions as well, and I didnt even think about that Cao Cao was able to bring people in who were enemies and were still able to work well together.
@@TheNightowlGaming you should check this Chinese drama called Cao Cao, it's based on actual history, and not from the novel... although some parts in this drama are fictional.. In this drama, you'll see what kinda person Liu Bei actually is and how great Cao Cao's generals are...
@@TheNightowlGaming Yea that's hard to figure out. It's always tough. But for me in a duel I would think so. I know Zhang Liao's name is like Madara's in the naruto world. That name puts fear in your heart. But I know Cao Cao wouldn't be alive if not for Dian Wei. But with Liao's experience I figured he would yea. Zhao Yun one on one? Yea Zhang would beat him I think. I know Historically Zhao Yun killed a lot of officers though.
My top 10 based on novel honorable mention : yan liang, dian wei 10.Wen Chou (1v2 against zhang liao and xu huang) 9.Taishi ci 8.Huang gai 7.Huang zhong 6.Zhang Liao 5.Zhang fei (draw vs ma choa ) 4. Ma chao 3.Guan yu 2.Zhao yun (In novel this guy is god-tier never lost a match in his life or even a wound, die peacefully) 1.Lubu
Wow interesting list! For some reason, YT blocked the comment, but nice list, its definitely hard to rank which is which except for Lu Bu, everyone knows hes the strongest haha
Love this video! DW is one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. Too bad I haven’t anyone to geek out irl lol. But also loved the editing, well done; and the research to formulate your educated opinions! So great ✨ please continue to do more vids 🙏🏽
Lu Bu is undisputed number 1, not only in the story, but his movesets as well. Koei really does this character justice in the DW games. We might as well talk about the strongest Samurai Characters as well, Tadakatsu, being Lu Bu’s rival in the Warriors Orochi games, might take the number 1 spot as well.
19. Han Dang 19. Cao Ren 19. Jiang Wei 15. Zhou Tai 15. Wei Yan 15. Zhang Liao 15. Sun Ce 14. Sun Jian 10. Xiahou Dun 10. Taishi Ci 10. Gan Ning 10. Pang De 8. Zhang He 8. Dian Wei 5. Zhao Yun 5. Ma Chao 5. Guan Yu 2. Huang Zhong 2. Xu Zhu 2. Zhang Fei 1. Lu Bu
@@TheNightowlGaming It's only fighting skill in their peak. not commander skill. For fighting commander ranking: 18. Dong Zhuo 18. Zhang He 18. Deng Ai 14. Xiahou Dun 14. Pang De 14. Huang Zhong 14. Lu Meng 11. Taishi Ci 11. Wei Yan 11. Cao Ren 9. Xu Huang 9. Gan Ning 8. Zhang Fei 5. Xiahou Yuan 5. Ma Chao 5. Zhang Liao 4. Sun Ce 2. Sun Jian 2. Lu Bu 1. Guan Yu npc: 18. Hua Xiong 11. Gongsun Zan 11. Yan Liang 9. Gao Shun 9. Wen Chou 8: Xu Rong ============================ For grand commander ranking: 21. Sima Zhao 19. Sun Jian 19. Zhang Liao 18. Liu Bei 17. Sima Shi 15. Xun You 15. Chen Gong 13. Fa Zheng 13. Zhong Hui 12. Lu Su 9. Xu Shu 9. Cao Cao 9. Lu Meng 8. Deng Ai 7. Jiang Wei 5. Pang Tong 5. Zhuge Liang 4. Jia Xu 2. Sima Yi 2. Lu Xun 1. Zhou Yu npc: Cheng Yu Yang Hu Han Sui Zhuge Ke Chen Tai Lu Kang Shen Pei Ju Shou Tian Feng
Taishi Ci was my favorite. His weapons and special used to WRECK!! Ma Chao and Sima Ye I clapped with them too. I thought Huong Gai would make it as he seemed physically powerful as well.
Fun list. I will say you cant bring actual history into these lists as much. Duels werent a thing back then in the records of the three kingdoms. And Lu Bu was skilled but he actually gained popularity after campaigning against bandits for a while and he never won a proper battle against any force. Even Zhang Fei wasnt just a strong brute, he actually had good money , land, and was educated and helped in strategies early on for Liu Bei. But off romance novels and game i agree with this list.
Oh really that's interesting to hear especially for someone like Zhang Fei cause even when I did analysis and researched hiim along with some of the comments saying how brutish and mean of a character he was its interesting to hear, but Im glad you agree with the list somewhat and hopefully you enjoyed the video!
@@TheNightowlGaming definitely enjoyed it and yes in all romance, games and pop culture zhng fei is depicted one way. But he did come from money and he actually owned the peach garden that the oath was done in. Super hard to know the real truth when its either of these factions writing on themselves (wu, wei, shu-han) vs some records of the HAn which was being phased out by wei.
Oh, no problem, it's always good to ask! Records of The Three Kingdoms immediately comes to mind, but I'm fairly certain Rafe de Crespigny's "Northern Frontier: The policies and strategy of the Later Han Empire" has it in there somewhere, I had to check it again as I haven't read it in like, 3 years. @@TheNightowlGaming
Fun fact about Liao Hua: he saw the rise and the fall of Shu and he was one of the OGs since the Yellow turban rebellion that has been fighting for Liu Bei, i find weird that he still is a generic officer.
Fun Fact, Xiaohou Dun didnt have many feats in the novels he didnt duel and win against many major characters, but Cao Cao praise him a lot because 1) he is Cao Cao's cousin / relative 2) he is the first man who support and join Cao Cao army 3) he serve Cao Cao the longest, earning him the most loyal retainer
I think Xiahou Yuan is better warrior than Dun and had more achievements and also he is a master archer. After Dun lost his eye he pretty much stuck with desk job lol
If would say Huang Zhong is better than Zhou Tai since he was beaten by Huang Zhong tactic's prior to Xiaoting. And yet, i would assume Deng Ai replace Xiahou Yuan place there since Deng Ai serves both Cao Wei (Cao regime and Sima Regime) respectfully and let to demise of Shu Han. I would say Sun Jian has honorable mention coz his struggle during coalition against Dong Zhuo, since he recieve a lot of glory despite his army in a low of supplies (Yuan Shu didnt send supplies properly towards him).
Sun Jian and Deng Ai are definitely two solid choices and definitely good as honorable mentions! Tough to make lists like this, hope you enjoyed it though!
Not gonna touch about the lore but if we speak about the game then Xu Zhu doesnt get much love and recognition not because of his looks, but rather because his move sets and speed are trash. For comparison Dong Zhuo is also a slow fat pig but since his move sets are borderline okay he somehow became playable. Love and recognition in DW is all about playability. 😉
Oh 100% like the Xu Zhu in Total War is totally badass but in DW he's a bit exaggerated lol which definitely leads to people not wanting to play him. But 100% he's one of the strongest character in the game
Yue Jin was a badass irl though, one of the few who was true to charging the front lines and living, elite 5 general of wei he a beast, I also should have considered Sun Jian cause he was a great martial artist too, but Lu Meng I could see definitely top 40 or 50 🤙
If we talk about real historical might and valor here, than #1 would be Dian Wei and no one even close. Then again, if we talk about real history, then Lu Bu would not even make it to this list. In the novel and games however, situation differs drastically, so I get why folks make certain choices
Yeah I tried to average all the sources and then make the list and even still it's hard to look at my list with 100% certainty so it's definitely understandable why everyone's choices vary
Zheng Liao should have been number, the defence of He Fei is the biggest fest of the era. Guan Yu should be a little lower since his feats are not that great and Cap Ren should be in the list, I would also place Zhang He and Zhou Tai higher. Zhou Tai over Zheng Fei.
Definitely a hard list to make, some interesting choices and switches you would make to the list, zhang liao at number 1 is interesting (above lu bu?). I definitely should have included Cao Ren, its easy in hindsight to look back and think who should go where. I hope you enjoyed the video though!
(I am partially joking when I say this. In the book and legends, he's a mystic, so he was more about the mind & tricks and stuff). In DW5, Zuo Ci has higher stats than Lu Bu; it's the only game where he's not the strongest in it
Haha nice! I also recognize your name as I've used I think it was a tier list or rankings of the DW characters for one of my vids. Its always nice to see another DW creator 🔥
I wonder which of the three kings would be the strongest. I’m very glad to see them not listed because let’s be honest.. their body guards were the real force of nature. All of the top 5 were body guards to them. 😂
I agree. I was wondering at Zhang Liao at 5 but I agree had Dian Wei lived he would have been 4th. I agree Guan Yu second. In the games and tbe book he is just the goat. After Lu Bu death he was thr best so makes sense
Yep! it was hard to choose between zhang liao and zhao yun for 5th just because of both of their incredible feats, but I went off of Zhao Yun never losing a duel and in some records it was said he was never even scratched so I gave the advantage to Zhao Yun!
Taichi Ci's death in the novel was an ambush arrow attack. He never recovered from his wounds so he died in 206ish. In those times if you didn't die on the battlefield and in bed, it was illness. Similar to how tuberculous was called "consumption" on the 1800s. It's a very generic term. So, fairly accurate. His duels with Ce was only a "draw" was because how non-lethal duels were just "passes" on horses. Pang De was originally a vassal of Ma Teng, and in the novel he was trained by his family.. only for him to leave Ma Teng. Never liked him since. Xu Huang was also a monk and a devotee to Confucianism. Him being a "match for Sun Tzu" was just a compliment on his battle intelligence. Xiahou Dun was a promising general until Zang Da got his eye, so he became more of a general, not a fighter as much. Gan Ning was not a great fighter as far as how crazy he was, he did a lot of psychological warfare being a pirate and all. He was defeated in battle many times by Huang Zu of Liu Biao and finally recruited him. He was killed at range by Sha Ke. Not in a duel. Zhou Tai in the game was fun as a story, but he was not nearly as strong as a one on one dueler. Zhou Tai wasn't even IN the first 4 or 5 DW games. He is a small part.. and he sure as hell didn't use a katana as a weapon.It's just ideas added on later. Zhao Yun was as revered to Liu Bei and his own brothers. He would bury Zhou Tai. Zhao Yun is literally the general that carried Liu Bei after Guan Yu's death. Zhao Yun's legacy is almost cult-like. DW's depiction of Xu Zhu is insulting at best. He was loud and stoic, but gave up drinking when Cao Cao threatened to execute him for killing a friend of Cao Cao. Ma Chao was one of the best duelers in the RTK novel. Zhu Ge Liang recognized him to be "nearly as strong as Zhang Fei and as smart as Da Ji." Zhang Liao was a mind, not really a dueler. He is not on the same level as they are.. but if you're referring to his DW personality, sure. Zhang Liao would kill his own personality to win a fight. He doesn't care. Dian Wei is a great choice for 4. He is really a focused and simple guy. In the novel, he died on his feet when helping Cao Cao escape Zhang Xiu's ambush. That quote was not for Zhang Fei, is was Guan Yu. Zhang Fei fought in a trance-like state, but was an AWFUL general. Guan Yu was not only revered in his life as the God of War, but he is also worshipped ijn today's age as the God of Commerce. He is a common statue as the red-faced in many Chinese restaurants as a sign of good luck. Guan Yu was a mind, a warrior, a dueler, a negotiator, a litigator and a polymath. "Chi Tu ma among horses, Li Guang among men." Lu Bu is not as strong as the game makes him to be, but yeah, he is still probably the strongest.
@@TheNightowlGaming I'm just really impressed. I've read the RTK book multiple times and am just always impressed when folks do research and not just video game logic.
@@TheNightowlGaming the earlier games has a warrior glossary on the roster. According to the three Roman kingdom, Shamoke shot an arrow in the head of Gan Ning and Zhou Tai retaliated and killed Shamoke. The historical history Gan Ning never participated in the battle of Xiaoting and died two years before the battle. Zhou Tai also did not kill Shamoke.
When it comes to duel, historically I would say 1 Dian Wei 2. Xu Chu 3. Zhang Liao 4. Ling Tong (he took down 70 soldiers solo when he was retreating in He Fei battle) 5. Zhao Yun or Zhang Fei Lu Bu was a bum in real life. Ma Chao was scared of Xu Chu. Guan Yu was scares of Gan Ning
Mmmm Idk about that lol Guan Yu being scared of Gan Ning? Maybe.. and Ma chao dueled xu zhu and drawed out and then Lu Bu was a menace, "among men Lu Bu..."
Really! The things I read was that Zhang Fei was an incredible warrior and then of course the chang ban bridge event. Its definitely a hard list to make
Guan Yu admitted to Cao Cao that Zhang Fei stronger than him. While he was in Cao Cao’s army before Guan Du. Chang Ban is how Cao Cao recognized Zhang Fei
@@MrDarkAkuma Wasn't his drinking greatly exaggerated in the novel? I haven't read many, if any historical passages of him suffering defeats due to drinking. He apparently did have a temper, but it was more like he just didn't show much respect to those he felt were below him. In a similar vein, Guan Yu didn't show much respect to those above him outside of Liu Bei
NEW Top 50 Strongest Characters Rankings: th-cam.com/video/GIE3q76W0Bg/w-d-xo.html
Zhang Liao is highly underrated, when defending He Fei, Wei was at an disadvantage, Yue Jing and Li Dian did not get along with Zhang Liao due to some personal grudge when he served Lu Bu/Dong Zhuo. And yet, he managed to get all of them to cooperate, instill fear within Wu soldiers and successfully defend He Fei. An absolute badass. Wish he had more screentime in the 2010 TV show, and show the He Fei battle.
Zhang liao is a beast for sure, absolute monster and the way they depict him in the games is so good
How about Lu Bu? Little screen time too? Or fine?
There was a show!?
Zhang Liao is the best
Zhang Liao is the best character in those games. Second only in strength to Lu Bu
I believe in the novels and the Three Kingdoms 2010 TV series, Lu Bu has often been used to compare a lot of formidable warriors such as Zhao Yun and Ma Chao. When your name is used as a measuring stick on martial prowess, you have official cement yourself as the ultimate badass.
Hell, in every non-DW warriors game, there will always be a super powerful character who has their own theme and I would always call them the "Lu Bu." of that game.
Yep he was the easiest to put in this list hands down
because his name was so famous that everyone accept him as the strongest warrior to ever live
Lu Bu, the Demon Cockroach, is a Level 99 God Mode Warrior that everyone fears.
If he appears at Hulao Gate, just run away and pursue everyone else! Don’t look at him! Don’t even chase him! And the most important of all… DON’T HURT DIAOCHAN!
GET AWAY FROM HIS DIAOCHAN!
Yes and don't forget zhang liao in his battle he fei was like a beast
@@tyranttyranrt4979 It would be interesting to see a Lu Bu vs Zhang Liao duel
And there's me in early game kill diao chan and try to kill angry lu bu at hu lao gate lol
I took out Dian Chan... 3 min later I was questioning why DW5 got so difficult all of a sudden.
A few games implied Had if Sun Ce lived to be old. He possibly could have conquered all of china. He was charismatic and had Zhou Yu with him. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu together were OP.
Also with Xiahou Dun. He was more into politics and stuff. His campaigns as a General were lackluster he took alot of L’s also him and Guan Yu had almost nothing to do with each other historically
Yeah but the games love to push his "rivalry" with Guan Yu lol and thats really the reason why hes here just cause he consistently holds his own and in some games, kills Guan Yu, but I agree lol
In the novel Xiahou Dun actually fought Guan Yu to a draw when Guan Yu was leaving Cao Cao's army through the 5 gates. Also, Xiahou Dun held his own against Lu Bu during a night raid on Cao Cao on the march to Luo Yang I believe
I agree but I think the game wants Xiahou Dun to represent Cao Cao's hand. Meng and him killing Guan Yu is ridiculous. They would both get bodied.
Lu Bu will always be my favorite character in the dynasty warrior universe ☝️
Nice! Lu Bu is a beast!
Historical Lü Bu may not be the total badass the novel and fiction draw him out to be, but he was still an amusingly interesting historical figure.
Historical Zhang Liao was actually what fictional Lü Bu is supposed to be, except Zhang Liao also utilized strategies in order to best his enemies, and Battle of He Fei is the prime example proof of it. But for such a badass like Zhang Liao (as well as Gao Shun) to loyally follow Lü Bu back then means Lü Bu was either physically powerful and skilled in fighting, or quite charismatic.
Lü Bu might forever be known as a traitor to some Three Kingdoms scholars and historians, but every of his (historical) betrayals could still be justified: a. He killed Ding Yuan by the order from Dong Zhuo, and Ding Yuan historically never raised Lü Bu as a son. b. He betrayed Dong Zhuo, but who wouldn't? Besides, this one betrayal had ended the tyranny of Dong Zhuo. c. He betrayed Liu Bei, but to be slightly fair, however, Zhang Fei beat up Lü Bu's relative in his drunken state. EDIT: Cao Bao and Lü Bu had nothing to do with each other, so Lü Bu's defecting from Liu Bei to Yuan Shu was not exactly justified. Lmao.
So, yeah, while not exactly a badass, he was still an interesting man.
100% and theres so many sources for these character out there its hard to tell which one is the true representation of the character, which is why I tried to average from every source I could, hope you enjoyed the vid!
I agree Lu Bu was done dirty, especially in the whole Xu province situation. Had Yuan Shu come to help things might have been different.
Wanna write this down, found your comment ... Thank you for this Zhang Liao thingy. It's the truth. Trying to dig some historical records (from chinese sources) ... the real badass names would surprise loads of people. Teaser - Cao Chun.
The thing is that in eastern culture, betrayal is like THE WORST sin you can commit. Trust and loyalty was everything back then and Lü Bu was not seen as trustworthy.
@@oskforalltid And the thing is, backstabbing, betrayal, and defection were such common things in pre and during Three Kingdoms era. Liu Bei, for example, defected from Gongsun Zan to Tao Qian, and then Cao Cao, and then Yuan Shao, and finally Liu Zhang, only to betray him by taking his land from him. Not to mention the times where he basically left his family in his enemies' mercy.
It's just that Lü Bu's case, his betrayal was justified at one time, and treasonous at the other. Dong Zhuo was wanted dead by literally anyone at the time thanks to his cruel, ruthless, and tyrannical rule, had several assassination attempts at his life, and had Lü Bu as his bodyguard. Dong Zhuo trusted him so much that when Wang Yun and his conspirators managed to make Dong Zhuo run for his life, he went to Lü Bu, only to be killed since Lü Bu also conspired with Wang Yun to kill Dong Zhuo. The other time, Lü Bu and his forces were forced to flee by Cao Cao's forces, and he sought refuge with Liu Bei. Despite having basically rescued by Liu Bei during his time of need, Lü Bu betrayed him by taking his land from drunk Zhang Fei.
Guan Yu was absolutely terrified of Gan Ning, and ontop of that, Sun Jian was an absolute beast historically, not including him is a shock.
I will be remaking this next year 😁😎
I strongly recommend either doing loads of research, or saying "this is limited specifically to the Dynasty Warriors series and how each figure appears in the games" if that makes sense?
Excellent ranking, you picked perfectly.
Appreciate it very much!
I agree with your list!
The only what-Ifs I can think of is what if Huang Zhong got a chance to fire his bow against Lu Bu? Considering that Lu Bu is 100% Charge! I'd imagine that Death by Archers or even Catapults could of been another valid way to take Lu Bu down since he'd probably not use stealth or cover. (The Novel version, the DW versions all have varying degrees of Plot-Armour and Rule of Cool on their side.)
Edit: But if we're talking about sheer strength . . . then yeah, Lu Bu and Dian Wei. Also have a hunch that Meng Huo would of been a contender considering how many times he lost and got try again.
Yeah I didnt even think about Meng Huo, but Lu Bu with his ultra instinct in DW9 to deflect Xiahou Yuans arrow, Im assuming it would be the same thing
@@TheNightowlGaming That is fair. DW character's are super natural.
Lu Bu was an exceptional archer in the novel as well
Only thing I would switch is zhang Liao and Dian Wei. But I believe zhang Liao is definitely before zhao yun . Other than that great list
Yeah i definitely see the arguments for both ways, I went with Zhao cause of the never losing a duel bit and the fact he remained as skilled as a 60 year old man, he had to be incredibly skilled
I've also played dynasty warriors during my childhood. Will you do a ranking of which games are the best?
At some point yeah!
@@TheNightowlGaming plz do a vid giving good ideas and views on each game or each kingdom
I thought in the novel ma chao was gonna attempt to ride cao cao down but saw xu zhu staring him down and wouldn't dare advance. This gives xu zhu a place above ma chao
Mmm idk about that, I know they fought to a draw, but like I said since Ma Chao also fought against Zhang Fei and held his own, gives him a little bit of an edge, I might redo this video after I finish my Who Would Series, go in depth with the analysis
Lu Bu is like Akuma/Hehachi/Rugal tier of power. You just know that regardless of the game, he’s probably one of if not the strongest characters.
The OG Dynasty Warriors hidden character.
100% dude's OP
13- Taishi Ci (strong, but very slow)
12- Ding Feng
11- Huang Gai (I hate to play with him)
10- Xu Huang
9- Xu Zhu or Xu Chu
8- Dian Wei
7- Gan Ning (very nice for riding horse)
6- Wei Wan
5- Lu Meng
4- Zhang Liao (my favorite)
3- Sima Zhao (most playable)
2- Zhang Fei
1- Guan Yu (my favorite)
0- Lu Bu
oh so for like in game these are your vids!
I some what agree with most of this list but putting Dian Wei above Zhao yun is actually nuts
Idk about nuts but I get what youre saying lol 😁
before even watching lu bu , gwan yu, ma choa. i forget the one who wrote the art of war name with the red armour
I love the design of Ma Chao and his spear is usually SICK but I don't like the 3/4 angle of his spin when he attacks. It's like a drunken pony keg
haha his musou is so iconic though, great character
Lu Bu is the strongest in row power but you need more then just strength but let's put that off for now, here is idea for the video, TOP 10 character personalities
go
Interesting idea 🤔📝
@@TheNightowlGaming right? I have few others but that would just be rude of me at this point
I will say I think Wei Yan should of been somewhere here and Taishi Ci would probably hold his own against Zhang Liao but he jumped in between him and Sun Quan had it been a actual fight I think he could of won.
Other then that great list and of course don't pursue Lu Bu.
Never pursue! Lol but I could see that, I did a 1 v 1 of Wei Yan vs Taishi Ci on my channel if you wanna check out who I would pick in a 1v1, but taishi ci would be strugglin against zhang liao dude was a monster
Lu Bu Chaos mode is Absolute Nightmare for me. I always skip him and go straight to Dong Zhuo
Haha exactly! lol
Honorable Mentions should be: Huang Gai, Deng Ai, Lu Meng, and Sima Zhao
Guan yu isnt the god of war. They may have called him that on the battlefield, but he was deified as the god of loyalty not god of war.
He is worship to this day as a god that protects the family/establishment. Thats because he was loyal and never betray you.
His shrine is flanked by his adopted son guan ping and loyal captain zhou cang, who both died with him in the same battle.
Yep for sure, new top 50 in the description 😁😁
#1 should be Liu Shan ...
Oh yeah how could I forget the menacing strength that Liu Shan possesses XD
Bro said Taishi Ci 17 but he hasn't seen me play him
😎 also there's a new top 50 in the pinned comment 🤙
Guan yu sun jian and lu bu
I'd agree. Sun Jian is often overlooked, and several of his accomplishments were given to other people (such as Guan Yu) in the novel. Historically, he was probably one of the greatest soldiers of his time. He was a great leader and a fantastic warrior. He was respected and loved by his allies and respected and feared by those he stood against. Heck, he and his army historically defeated Lu Bu and his army. His only notable defeat (outside of the battle the resulted in his death due to ambush) was one that only came about because his jealous superior refused to send his troops provisions
In DW 5 Gan ning is my worst nightmare next to Lu bu and Guan yu
the lawn mower!
Lu bu is a beast he use to always defeat me 😂😂😂😂 with like three hits
Dynasty warriors 3 is a top 10 greatest PS2 game of all time… so much better than anything other junk they released since
100% DW3 was the one I started with and it will always have a special place in my heart
@@TheNightowlGaming if Wei has zhang Liao, Wh has gan ning lmao
I think Xiahou Dun maybe little bit higher than this.
Definitely arguable, but its definitely hard to make a list like this, hope you enjoyed!
How you gonna put Guan Yu ahead of Zhang Fei? Guan Yu even stated in the books that "Brother Fei" would beat him in battle.
th-cam.com/video/GIE3q76W0Bg/w-d-xo.html
@TheNightowlGaming I will watch it in a second. But first I wish to state im willing to bet you still have the top 3 wrong. Yes its your opinion and such I understand. But ill bet I can convince you to change your mind based 100% on the books and what they say. Lu Bu will likely be your number 1. I'll prove he's number 2.
Zhao Yun too low.
He's one of the few characters in the game who's real life feats are just as jaw-dropping. The novel takes a bit of fictional license with some of the battles (Shamoke didn't kill Gan Ning, he died of illness) to spice things up.
He should be top 3.
Xu Zhu too low. When he dueled Ma Chao to a draw he did so without armor. He also had a VERY long career in warfare which was very difficult to do back then unless your name was Zhao Yun. Should be top 5 as he was an absolute beast even in the non-fictionalized historical records.
Ma Chao is too high here. He spent most of his time with his father up in the sticks and only came down when Cao Cao killed his Dad while his Dad was trying to ambush Cao Cao. He had a short career in Shu helping them take Shu and then he dies fairly young.
Gan Ning too high, most of his depiction in the game is fictionalized. In reality he was just an above average general who caught the forever sniffles.
In real life, much of Wu's characters did not really tussle with Wei or Shu very much. Sun Ce just ran through the South and then Sun Quan kind of stayed out of the conflicts while consolidating more territory in the South all the way to Vietnam. It wasn't until Liu Bei took Jing that Sun Quan began taking an interest in the other three kingdoms. Cao Cao was doing all of the heavy lifting in mainland China while Liu Bei kept running West until he got as far West as West goes. Cao Cao's generals that survived to the 3 kingdoms era should all be much higher.
I can understand your points, but the list is a conglomeration of all sources of materials with history being the least impactful because of the controversial pieces in it (Hua xiongs death as an example). I did a new top 50 strongest with thorough research + how they are presented, much more accurate list than this one
OK, I understand that DW is but a game. But, the OP seems genuinely interested in RTK actual history. Anyway, in chinese, but a historical record of duels in that era - th-cam.com/video/Et6yC3yeYWU/w-d-xo.html It's also possible to search for official RTK sources translated into English in 2023, yah?
Most warriors in the list at the top 10 are about there, more or less. I mean, Lu Bu's archery skill stopped a war in recorded history. However, the list included Commanders as Warriors, which muddled things a bit.
True Warriors according to history would be, yes, Lu Bu. Xu Chu and Ma Chao (who caused his father's death, by the way. Cao Cao didnt want to kill Ma Teng, but Ma Chao attacked for YEARS despite his father and siblings been at Cao Cao's place). Surprise entries would be Cao Chun (head of the elite Tiger Leopard squad) and Niu Jin (similar, cavalry head. By the way, Cao Ren dived into enemy's formations to save him one time too. He can fight too.) And Gao Shun (the north tribal folks are all warriors, like Lu Bu and Zhang Liao, etc). The bloodthirsty Gan Ning deserves a mention too, although also a good commander ...
Commanders who can fight very well would be the usual Guan Yu-s and Zhang Fei-s. Zhao Yun was usually neglected because of his age (he was older than Liu Bei, you see) but otherwise a very noble person. TaiShi Ci was a living legendary nobleman in his time. His duel with the very talented Sun Ce is actual history, it seems. Else, think everyone knows Zhang Liao's exploits throughout, and not just that battle with his 800 men. Also, Xu Huang was literally undefeated throughout because he was such a supreme commander ...
Honourable mentions are Xiahou Dun (likely actual brother of Cao Cao. "Cao" been the adopted surname) and Wei Yan (highly regarded by Liu Bei in actual history, 1st commander of Hanzhong). Zhou Tai's scars were because of Sun Quan's recklessness more than anything else.
... hope I didnt miss any worth generals from the recorded history. If you have been reading all these text, thank you. :)
Yes absolutely correct, I will be remaking this video as my knowledge on the characters and history has expanded so much since I made this and at some point I will be making a more accurate list, is it going to be 100% right that everyone agrees with, no it never will but nonetheless aint nobody else making these videos so imma keep doing my best 😁
ngl i tuned out when i saw dian wei in the top 5. especially over zhang liao.
Bro Dian Wei was a certified monster, how can he not be in top 5, its definitely a subjective list, but it was said Dian Wei wielded two halberds that weighed 45 lbs each, imagine a 40 lb dumbbell in mini halberd form and you're going against him, ik its subjective and zhang liao is a beast for sure, but Id put my money on Dian Wei in a 1 v 1
@@TheNightowlGaming i just can’t see it. after zhang liao defended he fei and other moments
My boi Shamoke mentioned
Fun fact according to the record of the three kingdoms (historically) all of guan Yu’s feats from the battle of hu Lao gate were actually done by Sun Jian. Sun Jian killed hau Xiong and even though it wasn’t one on one Sun Jian’s unit fought Lu Bu’s unit and forced Lu Bu to retreat not once but 3 times.
Not trying to take anything from Lu Bu I still think he was the strongest fighter of the time just saying I wish Sun Jian got the recognition he deserves. (Explains we’re Sun Ce gets it from )
I really enjoyed the video though you put a lot of thought into it.
I appreciate it so much! It was so hard to make with so many different sources and information to try and average everyone out
Lu Bu was defeated by Sun Jian in history. The first time was because Lu Bu and his colleagues were at odds, leading to chaos in the army. The second time was when Dong Zhuo ordered Lu Bu to stay behind during the retreat, which does not necessarily indicate how powerful Sun Jian was.
《Book of the Later Han》
Dong Zhuo
《後漢書》董卓列傳「孫堅收合散卒，進屯梁縣之陽人。卓遣將胡軫、呂布攻之。布與軫不相能，軍中自驚恐，士卒散亂。堅追擊之，軫、布敗走。」
Lu Bu and Hu Zhen had a falling out, causing panic among the army and scattering of soldiers. Sun Jian pursued them, and both Hu Zhen and Lu Bu were defeated in their escape.
《後漢書‧董卓傳》：「卓自出與堅戰於諸陵墓閒，卓敗走，卻屯黽池，聚兵於陝。堅進洛陽宣陽城門，更擊呂布，布復破走。」
Dong Zhuo personally led his troops to fight against Sun Jian in the area of the imperial tombs. Dong Zhuo was defeated and retreated to Turtle Pond, where he regrouped his forces in Shaanxi. Sun Jian entered Luoyang through Xuanyang Gate, attacked Lv Bu, who was also defeated and fled. Sun Jian then cleaned up the royal ancestral temple, filled the various tombs that had been dug open, divided his troops and went out of Hangu Pass to intercept Dong Zhuo's retreat between Xin'an and Xingchi.
Same with Zhuge Liang too. All he did at Chi Bi is make an alliance with Wu. It was Zhou Yu who is responsible for the tactics and strategies that repelled Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang is more of a efficient administrator than a tactician. Not down playing his achievements tho.
I think some of that might come from the fact that Luo Guanzhong wrote ROTK with the intention of painting Shu Han as the heroes. See also: some of the historic atrocities of Ma Chao not even being mentioned, or Huang Zhong being said to hit an archery target 100 times with as many arrows.
Unfortunately the novelised RoTK is written by someone who stans liu bei hard. It’s why the three brothers often do weird things the author thinks sound cool and everyone cheers them on for it.
Guan Yu wasn't just nicknamed the God of War but is still worship today in China and Taiwan as one
He's a legend for a reason!
My grandma just worshipped him
Guan Yu is worship because of his loyalty. He didnot betray his brothers despite separated and let cao cao live for once to thank him for lubu horse and hospitality.
He is worshipped by chinese police force mainly hong kong police force and their triads as a reminder not to betray and be loyal to your faction.
Guan yu also worshipped by buddhists because he is a defender to the Goddess of mercy Guan Yin.
There are 2 stance of Guan yu being worshipped,
1 holding his halberd weapon, as a guardian , known as Wu stance
2 holding a scroll/ book as mentor to studies and problem solving , known as Wen stance
The book holding stance is referred to when Guan Yu was shot by an arrow, a medic remove it while Guan Yu didnt cry or response to pain reading a book.
@@TheNightowlGaminghats why hes added to Smite and fights with and against gods
I always fondly call him Guan "da f***" Yu for the amazing feats he pulls off. Try saying it yourself.
Sun Ce laid the foundation of Wu. His family from being a vassal to Yuan Su to becomes the founder of Wu that even impressed Cao Cao. Sad that he died too early.
For sure, it would have been interesting to see what would have had happened if he stayed alive longer
Sun ce was far to rash probably due to his age understandably, however still to rash to lead wu who were very focused around strategy and collectiveness
Honestly id say in the early stages on who would of been the winner, Wu was probably the biggest threat when Sun Ce was alive. Cao Cao was still a small politician trying to get some land, Liu Bei was a nobody constantly trying not to get assasinated, and mean while Sun Jian already had a established small kingdom of his own, and Sun Ce took up the torch taking heads left and right. If we are going by video game lore alone, Sun Ce easily should be bumped up to the top 10 list around 10-7. Cao Cao and LIu Bei were literally saying THANK GOD when Sun Ce died, for he was a genuine menace. There main problem is after Zhou Yu died, they really lacked proper talent to pick up the torch. Same problem happened with Liu Bei, it was probabbly why Wei was the kingdom that won at the time, for Cao Cao entrusted his kingdom to capable people who could carry on his vision. While Jin became Wei 2.0 , It was still built off of people Cao cao knew and groomed.
I thought this was a game-mechanic ranking, but to my pleasant surprise its actually a lore-based ranking video. Glad to see foreigners that appreciate the original stories. I highly recommend reading the actual historical materials of the Three-kingdoms, you would find Guan Yu to be even more badass in real life than in the Romance.
Hell yeah! The game and its characters were so interesting that I delve deep into their history (what I could find) and tried to make this list as accurate as possible taking in both the game elements and historical elements, glad you enjoyed it!
@@TheNightowlGaming There might be a general who could be stronger than Lu Bu, but not many think about it or just gloss over it as there's not enough evidence supporting it in the novel.
That person being Yan Liang. Yan Liang was only killed by Guan Yu in the novel because he was caught off guard, not realizing Red Hare's speed. He didn't even get a chance to fight back.
Yan Liang is the general who Xu Huang could not last more than 30 bouts against before calling it quits and Xu Huang is an insanely good fighter. I once ranked Yan at No. 13 in my own list of warriors prowess based on the novel, but I put a big asterisk next to it saying Yan could go top 3 or 5 and might even challenge No. 1 if he had a chance to fight Guan Yu fairly.
Interesting, is there a source? Cause his wiki page is very limited@@baiqi44
@@TheNightowlGaming It's in Chapter 25 of the novel. I just reread that part and somethings, I remembered incorrectly, but I wasn't far off. Instead of 30 bouts, it was actually 20 that Xu Huang retired after. Instead of Guan Yu offering himself, it was Cao Cao who called for him to deal with Yan Liang after Xu Huang failed. Although Yan Liang wasn't stated to have been surprised by Red Hare's speed, it was stated that he was caught completely unprepared. I'm pretty sure it was Red Hare's speed that caught him off guard cause how can Xu Huang not last even one stroke with Guan Yu, but can last 20 against Yan Liang. Yet, Yan Liang was killed off in one stroke by Guan Yu.
Anyways, it's here in chapter 25 and you can start around the 8 minute mark. th-cam.com/video/fxklj_v2dDE/w-d-xo.html
I appreciate that!@@baiqi44
Seeing all this DW5 cutscene footage warms my heart when you're talking about these characters. When I think of a DW character, my mind always goes to their DW5 rendition. 👍
Heck of a good list in my opinion. I think you nailed it on the head for the most part. Although I do disagree and say I personally love Zhang Liao's beast mode at Chang Ban in DW7. It was like seeing a bit of Lu Bu come out in him and I guess for suspension of disbelief we could assume Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun weren't at their best due to the heavy fighting, low supplies, and worrying about Liu Bei's safety. Even before that scene in the series I always considered him to be Guan Yu's equal and Gan Ning to be Zhang Liao's equal head cannon wise with whoever winning depending on circumstance. A 3 way fight between all three would just be amazing.
That's pretty much it though. Put Zhang Liao and Gan Ning a bit higher and I fully agree with the list. I think Lu Meng and Cao Ren deserve some honorable mentions too!
For sure, appreciate the kind words so much! ANd yeah its always tough deducing which character is where based on their in game feats and stuff, but I can definitely see the argument for Zhang Liao and Gan Ning being a little higher!
I wish I can play DW5, unfortunately I don't have it...
I'm a asian and grown up with three kingdom..and i know story about Sun Ce beat Xu huang and zhang liao at the same time to chase Cao Cao..so i think the strongest of Wu might be sun ce. Zhang liao of wei and after guan yu death,Ma chao is the strongest of Shu
Wow Ma Chao stronger than Guan Yu, interesting and I didnt know about Sun Ce doing that, I hadnt read that anywhere but he was definitely strong. It's definitely a hard list to make with so many sources of information!
@@TheNightowlGaming Ma chao is the strongest after Guan Yu death. Some info you can't find anywhere BC they are "folklore". Your list is prety accurate.i agree with top 3 but number 4 should be ma chao,sun ce or zhang liao
@@phongpham6749 ma chao was so scared of Xu Chu that he dare not go fight or capture cao cao 🤣Xu Chu is strongest man of wei but zhang liao is the most fear
What we really need to see is the eventual conclusion to the duel between Guan Yu vs. Zhang Fei! All I gotta say is "THAT'S GOTTA HURT" (Blue Dragon and Serpent Blade clashing each other at various occasions)
Yeah that would be an epic duel, but I think I would put my money on Guan Yu!
I miss the English versions of the early DW and SW games. The voice acting was top notch🤙
The VA from the early games was so good, hope they bring it back
Interestingly Xiahou Dun wasn't that impressive a warrior, or even a general, losing or at least not standing out in most battles he was in. He was, apparently, very good at governing though. He seemed to care a lot for the people and knew the best way to help them prosper. I'll assume that him being counted among Wei's 4 generals was because of how close he was with Cao Cao and how respected he was in Wei rather than his actual military accomplishments.
Yeah that's what I keep hearing, so it might be controversial to put up so "high" or in the list at all but because the way they show and display Xiahou Dun in the games, I mainly went off of that
@@TheNightowlGaming I mean, he might not have been good at warfare but he was tough as nails. Plucking an arrow out your face with your eye attached, then eating your own eye is the most metal moment in ROTK... even if he only got an arrow to the face because he once again misjudged a battle situation. :p
@@muthesquirrel LOL right right
I'm sorry if it's a very late reply, but uhhh... Isn't 5 elites of wei are Zhang Liao, Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Zhang He and Xu Huang?
@@marked01 Ha. I actually meant to put 4, as in the four generals used in the first DW, but I guess my mind wandered and I put 5 because I'm used to writing 5 generals. Didn't even notice.
One thing about Huang Zhong, he was often praised as being just like General Lian Po, one of the 4 Greatest Generals in the Warring States Period where he was still active despite being past his prime
Oh interesting to know! 🔥
I agree with most of yours, I mean the 'positions' on the list are going to vary wildly just based on how much value you personally put on in-game feats, but there's nobody on your list I would say doesn't at the very least deserve to be 'considered' for their rankings.
I would like to suggest Hua Xiong though, just because he was DLC and so I think he tends to get overlooked. Main feat being that in DW9 he actually has a one-on-one fight with Lu Bu. He loses that fight, and if you just watch the cutscene it looks totally one-sided, like he didn't even measure in the same league. In their fight Lu Bu, reveals that he was holding back, and that because Hua Xiong didn't notice, proves that Hua Xiong is weak.
But the thing that I think people miss, is the scene just 'before' he goes to fight Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo orders Hua Xiong to hold back as well. And during the fight, when 'both' of them were holding back, Hua Xiong was actually winning. Around the end of the fight, Lu Bu starts to take it seriously, but Dong Bai stops the fight before Hua Xiong ever gets to go all out.
Then, when Hua Xiong dies, they make it 'very' clear that he's going out to fight with overconfidence and an inflated ego, which feels like they were trying to keep this image of him being genuinely strong, while also keeping it believable that he could die so quickly. To be clear, I don't think that Koei intended fans to think Hua Xiong could 'beat' Lu Bu, or Guan Yu, I just think he's higher on the totem pole than people give him credit for.
That is a solid argument and similarly thinking of characters like Wen Chou & Yan Liang too I was thinking where would they stand. And someone else mentioned Liao Hua. But because they all get lumped into NPCs its hard not to think of them as just fodder for the playable characters
There some things the game can improve upon. Guan Ping doesn't abandon Guan Yu. Both of them get captured and we're executed for refusing to serve Sun Quan. Yu doesn't lose a 1 v 1 to Meng or Dun.
The most underrated warriors in the history is Ling Tong & Cao Cao's second bodyguard. Cao Cao second body guard dueled everybody. He almost got killed by Ma Chao if not for Cao Cao in one of the duels. If not for Ling Tong, Zhang Liao gets to Sun Quan. His mission was a suicide mission and he survived it. I think both need a better rework and appearance.
True alot of the playable DW characters need some development for sure
Zhao Yun supposedly had hemophilia, yet lived into his seventies, meaning he didn't get as much as a scratch in battle. I would arguably put him in top 2 above Guan Yu, but definitely top 3. It's easy to underrate Zhao Yun because he's not as flashy as others, but he's an absolute monster in the novel, and he's still the poster boy for many games.
100%! But some of the tales surrounding him isnt 100% factual nor proven to be, so on an average and taking that into consideration that's why I placed him there, I will be remaking this vid at some point with much more accurate rankings but back then this was as accurate as I could get! He's still a beast though, definitely a top 10 or 5 strongest character
@@TheNightowlGaming agreed, can't tell for sure what is true, I was just very impressed by the hemophilia thing!
its honestly not easy to rank DW characters since a lot of them are pretty strong in the games.
He always obey tactic.
Agree, ZY is only one who survived and died of old age.
When others usually die young.
Think about it.
And same as Lu Bu.
It has no record that he lose the duel to anyone.
I hope to see a top strategist list or top 20 smartest Dynasty Warriors characters soon
Thats an interesting idea!
Many have think that Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Zhou Yu and Lu Xun are amongst the best, but if i create a kingdom my self, i will have Guo Jia as my strategist. His prediction always accurate even in moment before he's death, he foresaw the future already, even Cao Cao lamented to Xun Yu twice because Guo have died before the Red Cliff, otherwise Cao would not suffered defeat. If you read the wiki, you will know why you must have this man in your side. Also, Xu Shu is also brilliant, yet he was tricked by Cao Cao plot
@@ErickSvalrith Zhuge Liang can predict (or control wind though) battle of Chi bi
@@InvisibleBiscuit The real one who predict the weakness of Cao Cao in the Battle of Chibi is Zhou Yu, in suggestion of Huang Gai. He realize that Cao armies are not accustomize in naval and their lack of knowledge of terrain, and was weak to fire attack. Pang Tong helps by suggesting Cao Cao to link the ship so the fire will spread further across Cao's deck.
All Zhuge Liang do was pray for 3 days and 3 night, hoping that the wind will change direction from the southeast so the fire attack can be executed.
So there's a rumor that Zhuge Liang can control weather, deeming him as a somekind of sorcerer.
If you want to know about Guo Jia, you gotta check wikipedia, and prepare to be surprised about all his prediction
DW4 Ma chao mounted build was the strongest build in dw history IMO
He was pretty broken for sure, absolute menace to use
While historically Lu Bu is nowhere as strong as his novel counterpart, he's still No joke, he's strong enough to the point people who see him fight says"among man Lu Bu among horse redhere" And earn the nicknamed of "flying general"
Lu Bu a God among this time 🔥
The fact that people like Gao Shun and Zhang Liao actually followed him through thick and thin speaks either of his excellent charisma or powerful combative capabilities.
Gao Shun was Lü Bu's main commander who was the reason behind Lü Bu's forces' victories, and his defeat was because Lü Bu didn't listen to Gao Shun.
Zhang Liao was originally one of Lü Bu's men, or probably Gao Shun's. Once Lü Bu and Gao Shun were executed, Cao Cao took him and he proved his worth during the Battle of He Fei where he, along with Yue Jin and Li Dian whom he didn't get along with, drove Wu forces of 100.000 men out with just 7.000 men.
If such men followed Lü Bu, you can't help but wonder what kind of interesting person Lü Bu must have been.
Historically, Taishi Ci actually passed away earlier than Hefei from illness.
His death at Hefei is fictional.
He was also a good archer historically. His warrior skills are completely KOEI original. A nod to his historical archery is portrayed in 9 empires as his unit type is archer.
Yep I did read about him having insane archery skills
This was a great list, can tell you actually give a shit and are a fan. The only changes I would make are the two arrow guys. They are more like skilled warriors and less “strongest”. The rest of the list was well thought out and accurate asf dude
Appreciate the kind words so much, definitely a hardcore fan and it was definitely a hard list to make 🙏
In the game, Gan Ning is killed by Shamoke --- historically, Gan Ning dies from illness.
Now what this tells you is that the historic Gan Ning was truly a strong fierce warrior that only illness would be his defeat.
100% Gan Ning is a beast!
He was a MONSTROSITY to play as in DW3 his Musous was basically a lawnmower
If we are following strictly based on the game. Apparently 2 of the 3 empire - shu and wei ( i believe after the death of Yuan Sao but before the conflict between each empire starts), joined up and was only able to defeat lu bu by flooding the castle wall (essentially forcing them out of the Castle) . This was also the same method and reasoning how Guan Yu died.
Also, I forgot who, but in Dynasty warriors 8, I believe either Wen Yang (your top 10) or Xu Huang (your top 13) was also quoted to be the second coming of the god of war.
Yeah and I forget too, I just know Xu Huang's comparison to Sun Tzu and Wen Yang would get compared to Zhao Yun, both formidable warriors
Wei is the best faction in the game ngl...
They have the best generals and strategists..
Shu may have 5 Tiger generals and Zhuge Liang, but some of them don't even wanna work with each other and few couldn't be trusted even by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang themselves..
Ironically, Cao Cao's generals (except Cao's and Xiahou's family) were his enemies before joining him, like Xu Huang, Jia Xu, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Pang De, but they still could work together... And then you got Sima Yi the one that beat Zhuge Liang...
Also, another reason why they're the best faction is bcuz of their roster..
All of them are the important part of the Three Kingdoms history... All they need now is adding Cao Hong and Cheng Yu..
Now look at Shu's roster, sure they're great but in recent titles they added fictional characters that weren't even important to the stories like Guan Suo, Guan Yinping and Zhou Cang.
True true, Wei is my favorite factions as well, and I didnt even think about that Cao Cao was able to bring people in who were enemies and were still able to work well together.
@@TheNightowlGaming you should check this Chinese drama called Cao Cao, it's based on actual history, and not from the novel...
although some parts in this drama are fictional..
In this drama, you'll see what kinda person Liu Bei actually is
and how great Cao Cao's generals are...
Wu is my favorite faction.
Well yeah.... wei was the biggest faction if course they have alot of historical figures shu was small compared to the others
@@tartagilia2448small but fragile, no wonder they r lose~
I agree with this list for the most part. I would have Zhang Liao and Dian Wei switch spots but everything else I think is decent. Awesome lost man!
Thank you thank you! Thats interesting, you think Zhang would beat Dian Wei and Zhao Yun in a duel? Its definitely hard to surmise
@@TheNightowlGaming Yea that's hard to figure out. It's always tough. But for me in a duel I would think so. I know Zhang Liao's name is like Madara's in the naruto world. That name puts fear in your heart. But I know Cao Cao wouldn't be alive if not for Dian Wei. But with Liao's experience I figured he would yea. Zhao Yun one on one? Yea Zhang would beat him I think. I know Historically Zhao Yun killed a lot of officers though.
My top 10 based on novel
honorable mention : yan liang, dian wei
10.Wen Chou (1v2 against zhang liao and xu huang)
9.Taishi ci
8.Huang gai
7.Huang zhong
6.Zhang Liao
5.Zhang fei (draw vs ma choa )
4. Ma chao
3.Guan yu
2.Zhao yun (In novel this guy is god-tier never lost a match in his life or even a wound, die peacefully)
1.Lubu
Wow interesting list! For some reason, YT blocked the comment, but nice list, its definitely hard to rank which is which except for Lu Bu, everyone knows hes the strongest haha
Love this video! DW is one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. Too bad I haven’t anyone to geek out irl lol. But also loved the editing, well done; and the research to formulate your educated opinions! So great ✨ please continue to do more vids 🙏🏽
I appreciate the kind words so much! I have many other videos on my channel for hardcore DW fans like myself to enjoy!
Play dw 8 Extreme legends still today
Men totally! geeking IRL whit any ROTK fan is hard to find
Lu Bu is undisputed number 1, not only in the story, but his movesets as well. Koei really does this character justice in the DW games.
We might as well talk about the strongest Samurai Characters as well, Tadakatsu, being Lu Bu’s rival in the Warriors Orochi games, might take the number 1 spot as well.
I definitely need to get around to playing the SW games, but yeah Lu Bu was the easiest person to place in this list lol
19. Han Dang
19. Cao Ren
19. Jiang Wei
15. Zhou Tai
15. Wei Yan
15. Zhang Liao
15. Sun Ce
14. Sun Jian
10. Xiahou Dun
10. Taishi Ci
10. Gan Ning
10. Pang De
8. Zhang He
8. Dian Wei
5. Zhao Yun
5. Ma Chao
5. Guan Yu
2. Huang Zhong
2. Xu Zhu
2. Zhang Fei
1. Lu Bu
Wow what an interesting ranking, Zhang Liao that low and Han Dang is in, very interesting! 🤗
@@TheNightowlGaming It's only fighting skill in their peak. not commander skill.
For fighting commander ranking:
18. Dong Zhuo
18. Zhang He
18. Deng Ai
14. Xiahou Dun
14. Pang De
14. Huang Zhong
14. Lu Meng
11. Taishi Ci
11. Wei Yan
11. Cao Ren
9. Xu Huang
9. Gan Ning
8. Zhang Fei
5. Xiahou Yuan
5. Ma Chao
5. Zhang Liao
4. Sun Ce
2. Sun Jian
2. Lu Bu
1. Guan Yu
npc:
18. Hua Xiong
11. Gongsun Zan
11. Yan Liang
9. Gao Shun
9. Wen Chou
8: Xu Rong
============================
For grand commander ranking:
21. Sima Zhao
19. Sun Jian
19. Zhang Liao
18. Liu Bei
17. Sima Shi
15. Xun You
15. Chen Gong
13. Fa Zheng
13. Zhong Hui
12. Lu Su
9. Xu Shu
9. Cao Cao
9. Lu Meng
8. Deng Ai
7. Jiang Wei
5. Pang Tong
5. Zhuge Liang
4. Jia Xu
2. Sima Yi
2. Lu Xun
1. Zhou Yu
npc:
Cheng Yu
Yang Hu
Han Sui
Zhuge Ke
Chen Tai
Lu Kang
Shen Pei
Ju Shou
Tian Feng
@@paradonkeyz Very Interesting 🔥🔥
Taishi Ci was my favorite. His weapons and special used to WRECK!! Ma Chao and Sima Ye I clapped with them too. I thought Huong Gai would make it as he seemed physically powerful as well.
yeah definitely tough choices to make for sure, I can se Huang Gai being a top 40 or 50 character though
Fun list. I will say you cant bring actual history into these lists as much. Duels werent a thing back then in the records of the three kingdoms. And Lu Bu was skilled but he actually gained popularity after campaigning against bandits for a while and he never won a proper battle against any force. Even Zhang Fei wasnt just a strong brute, he actually had good money , land, and was educated and helped in strategies early on for Liu Bei. But off romance novels and game i agree with this list.
Oh really that's interesting to hear especially for someone like Zhang Fei cause even when I did analysis and researched hiim along with some of the comments saying how brutish and mean of a character he was its interesting to hear, but Im glad you agree with the list somewhat and hopefully you enjoyed the video!
@@TheNightowlGaming definitely enjoyed it and yes in all romance, games and pop culture zhng fei is depicted one way. But he did come from money and he actually owned the peach garden that the oath was done in. Super hard to know the real truth when its either of these factions writing on themselves (wu, wei, shu-han) vs some records of the HAn which was being phased out by wei.
Loving this video and list man! I am in the middle of reading Romance of the Three Kingdom so I will probably rewatch afterwards :)
Ayeeee!!
When Gan Ning died they said that he was real sick and should have not participated in the battle against Shu.
Ahh i think he's higher on my new list in the description
Fun fact: In actual history, Lu Bu got absolutely demolished by Sun Jian at Hu Lao Pass (it wasn't a gate until much, much later in history)
you got a source for that? Not tryna challenge just genuinely curious 👀
Oh, no problem, it's always good to ask! Records of The Three Kingdoms immediately comes to mind, but I'm fairly certain Rafe de Crespigny's "Northern Frontier: The policies and strategy of the Later Han Empire" has it in there somewhere, I had to check it again as I haven't read it in like, 3 years. @@TheNightowlGaming
Thats good to know I will check it out!@@WanderSeth
If I recall, Dong Zhuo sent out Lü Bu and another guy Lü Bu actually didn't get along with to attack Sun Jian, but was defeated.
Sun Jian also killed Hua Xiong in the true history
Liao Hua never lost a duel… I’ll just leave that here
Wow really? They need to add him already lol
He needs to be added
Fun fact about Liao Hua: he saw the rise and the fall of Shu and he was one of the OGs since the Yellow turban rebellion that has been fighting for Liu Bei, i find weird that he still is a generic officer.
Former Yellow Turban rebel turned Shu-Han's second in command in the late Han era. He should definitely be a playable character at this point.
No wonder I've been craving to see him as a famous officer (as well as a few others from all kingdoms)
I saw the cutscene where zhoa Yun smacked a child with the end if his spear
Yeah in DW4 lol
One of my favorites! I can still hear his voice before and after being smacked lol
Fun Fact, Xiaohou Dun didnt have many feats in the novels he didnt duel and win against many major characters, but Cao Cao praise him a lot because
1) he is Cao Cao's cousin / relative
2) he is the first man who support and join Cao Cao army
3) he serve Cao Cao the longest, earning him the most loyal retainer
Yah, i redid this list, did the top 50 instead, XIahou still in it, but much lower,link in description!
I think Xiahou Yuan is better warrior than Dun and had more achievements and also he is a master archer. After Dun lost his eye he pretty much stuck with desk job lol
If would say Huang Zhong is better than Zhou Tai since he was beaten by Huang Zhong tactic's prior to Xiaoting. And yet, i would assume Deng Ai replace Xiahou Yuan place there since Deng Ai serves both Cao Wei (Cao regime and Sima Regime) respectfully and let to demise of Shu Han. I would say Sun Jian has honorable mention coz his struggle during coalition against Dong Zhuo, since he recieve a lot of glory despite his army in a low of supplies (Yuan Shu didnt send supplies properly towards him).
Sun Jian and Deng Ai are definitely two solid choices and definitely good as honorable mentions! Tough to make lists like this, hope you enjoyed it though!
Not gonna touch about the lore but if we speak about the game then Xu Zhu doesnt get much love and recognition not because of his looks, but rather because his move sets and speed are trash. For comparison Dong Zhuo is also a slow fat pig but since his move sets are borderline okay he somehow became playable. Love and recognition in DW is all about playability. 😉
Oh 100% like the Xu Zhu in Total War is totally badass but in DW he's a bit exaggerated lol which definitely leads to people not wanting to play him. But 100% he's one of the strongest character in the game
Just subbed! I love your content. Dynasty Warriors is my second favorite video game series. Glad to see a TH-camr who talks about it
Appreciate it so much, welcome!
when it comes for longevity, competency, loyalty, success, fierceness, manliness Xiaohou Dun is the greatest warrior, I'm Guan Yu fan tho.
Yep Xiahou Dun is a beast!
Also do your most wanted characters for Dynasty Warriors 10 please
ahh thats interesting
Think the only warrior who should’ve got an honorable mention is Lu Meng.
Yue Jin was a badass irl though, one of the few who was true to charging the front lines and living, elite 5 general of wei he a beast, I also should have considered Sun Jian cause he was a great martial artist too, but Lu Meng I could see definitely top 40 or 50 🤙
Don't need to watch the strongest is Lu Bu.
Hahaha 100% the easiest person to put in a place on this list
@@TheNightowlGaming Not to mention Guan Yu who is most likely in 2nd place.
Horse Ma Chao. No one is stronger than DW4 DW5 Ma Chao on horse back.
truu
If we talk about real historical might and valor here, than #1 would be Dian Wei and no one even close.
Then again, if we talk about real history, then Lu Bu would not even make it to this list.
In the novel and games however, situation differs drastically, so I get why folks make certain choices
Yeah I tried to average all the sources and then make the list and even still it's hard to look at my list with 100% certainty so it's definitely understandable why everyone's choices vary
Do the most beautiful women in dynasty warriors
yh Lu Bu be just OP like that lol
good list, honestly i would have put Gan Ning higher but it’s fine
Yeah it was tough to decide, but Im glad you enjoyed it!
Zheng Liao should have been number, the defence of He Fei is the biggest fest of the era. Guan Yu should be a little lower since his feats are not that great and Cap Ren should be in the list, I would also place Zhang He and Zhou Tai higher. Zhou Tai over Zheng Fei.
Definitely a hard list to make, some interesting choices and switches you would make to the list, zhang liao at number 1 is interesting (above lu bu?). I definitely should have included Cao Ren, its easy in hindsight to look back and think who should go where. I hope you enjoyed the video though!
(I am partially joking when I say this. In the book and legends, he's a mystic, so he was more about the mind & tricks and stuff).
In DW5, Zuo Ci has higher stats than Lu Bu; it's the only game where he's not the strongest in it
Haha nice! I also recognize your name as I've used I think it was a tier list or rankings of the DW characters for one of my vids. Its always nice to see another DW creator 🔥
@@TheNightowlGaming Sadly, I only ever made the one video
@@sirjedisentinel Thats okay, I still enjoyed it 😁🔥
The list must have been hard to make... but bro I know you ain't forgot my boy Guan Ping, the beast, son of Guan Yu
Definitely was gonna be remaking this vid next year 😎
Zhou Tai is so dreamy and my dude love him!!! ❤❤❤😭
zhou tai the best!
@@TheNightowlGaming he is
zhou tai was my guy so i was just happy to see him in the top 10 lol
Zhou Tai is a certified beast
I wonder which of the three kings would be the strongest. I’m very glad to see them not listed because let’s be honest.. their body guards were the real force of nature. All of the top 5 were body guards to them. 😂
😂 100%
I agree. I was wondering at Zhang Liao at 5 but I agree had Dian Wei lived he would have been 4th. I agree Guan Yu second. In the games and tbe book he is just the goat. After Lu Bu death he was thr best so makes sense
Yep! it was hard to choose between zhang liao and zhao yun for 5th just because of both of their incredible feats, but I went off of Zhao Yun never losing a duel and in some records it was said he was never even scratched so I gave the advantage to Zhao Yun!
My favorite thing about Dian Wei in the books is how Cao Cao would lament over his loss up until he died.
Yup a beast of a man
Cow cow- Ah Dian Wei, ge made such good tea.
Dies.
Ma Chao arguably has the best character design
One of the best 100%
Taichi Ci's death in the novel was an ambush arrow attack. He never recovered from his wounds so he died in 206ish. In those times if you didn't die on the battlefield and in bed, it was illness. Similar to how tuberculous was called "consumption" on the 1800s. It's a very generic term. So, fairly accurate. His duels with Ce was only a "draw" was because how non-lethal duels were just "passes" on horses.
Pang De was originally a vassal of Ma Teng, and in the novel he was trained by his family.. only for him to leave Ma Teng. Never liked him since.
Xu Huang was also a monk and a devotee to Confucianism. Him being a "match for Sun Tzu" was just a compliment on his battle intelligence.
Xiahou Dun was a promising general until Zang Da got his eye, so he became more of a general, not a fighter as much.
Gan Ning was not a great fighter as far as how crazy he was, he did a lot of psychological warfare being a pirate and all. He was defeated in battle many times by Huang Zu of Liu Biao and finally recruited him. He was killed at range by Sha Ke. Not in a duel.
Zhou Tai in the game was fun as a story, but he was not nearly as strong as a one on one dueler. Zhou Tai wasn't even IN the first 4 or 5 DW games. He is a small part.. and he sure as hell didn't use a katana as a weapon.It's just ideas added on later.
Zhao Yun was as revered to Liu Bei and his own brothers. He would bury Zhou Tai. Zhao Yun is literally the general that carried Liu Bei after Guan Yu's death. Zhao Yun's legacy is almost cult-like.
DW's depiction of Xu Zhu is insulting at best. He was loud and stoic, but gave up drinking when Cao Cao threatened to execute him for killing a friend of Cao Cao.
Ma Chao was one of the best duelers in the RTK novel. Zhu Ge Liang recognized him to be "nearly as strong as Zhang Fei and as smart as Da Ji."
Zhang Liao was a mind, not really a dueler. He is not on the same level as they are.. but if you're referring to his DW personality, sure. Zhang Liao would kill his own personality to win a fight. He doesn't care.
Dian Wei is a great choice for 4. He is really a focused and simple guy. In the novel, he died on his feet when helping Cao Cao escape Zhang Xiu's ambush.
That quote was not for Zhang Fei, is was Guan Yu. Zhang Fei fought in a trance-like state, but was an AWFUL general.
Guan Yu was not only revered in his life as the God of War, but he is also worshipped ijn today's age as the God of Commerce. He is a common statue as the red-faced in many Chinese restaurants as a sign of good luck. Guan Yu was a mind, a warrior, a dueler, a negotiator, a litigator and a polymath.
"Chi Tu ma among horses, Li Guang among men." Lu Bu is not as strong as the game makes him to be, but yeah, he is still probably the strongest.
Yes, my top 50 strongest characters is thoroughly researched and placed and my most accurate list to date
@@TheNightowlGaming I'm just really impressed. I've read the RTK book multiple times and am just always impressed when folks do research and not just video game logic.
Can you do similar analyzing videos to the Samurai Warriors character?
Once ive played the games yeah!
I already had the top 3 in mind and it was the same as yours lol
Ayeee
The top 3 were practically a give away lol
Lol the 3 easiest to put in the list, in a sense
@@TheNightowlGaming you planning to make a samurai warriors version of your vids?
@@Stefo717 Once I play the series yes! I havent played any of the SW or WO games yet
Regarding Gan Ning, I read he was killed by Shamoke with an arrow and that Zhou Tai chased after him and killed Shamoke in retaliation.
In history, I dont think its true, but it does happen in a few of the games!
@@TheNightowlGaming the earlier games has a warrior glossary on the roster. According to the three Roman kingdom, Shamoke shot an arrow in the head of Gan Ning and Zhou Tai retaliated and killed Shamoke. The historical history Gan Ning never participated in the battle of Xiaoting and died two years before the battle. Zhou Tai also did not kill Shamoke.
When it comes to duel, historically I would say
1 Dian Wei
2. Xu Chu
3. Zhang Liao
4. Ling Tong (he took down 70 soldiers solo when he was retreating in He Fei battle)
5. Zhao Yun or Zhang Fei
Lu Bu was a bum in real life. Ma Chao was scared of Xu Chu. Guan Yu was scares of Gan Ning
Mmmm Idk about that lol Guan Yu being scared of Gan Ning? Maybe.. and Ma chao dueled xu zhu and drawed out and then Lu Bu was a menace, "among men Lu Bu..."
I think Zhang Liao would have preferred to be ranked 4th and thank u
For sure, I could see the argument for him!
Really don't think Zhang Fei should be that high, not above Dian Wei or Zhang Liao anyways. Other than that, pretty much spot on
Really! The things I read was that Zhang Fei was an incredible warrior and then of course the chang ban bridge event. Its definitely a hard list to make
Guan Yu admitted to Cao Cao that Zhang Fei stronger than him. While he was in Cao Cao’s army before Guan Du. Chang Ban is how Cao Cao recognized Zhang Fei
My point being Zhang Fei was incredibly powerful. His drinking just nerfed him.
@@MrDarkAkuma and temper
@@MrDarkAkuma Wasn't his drinking greatly exaggerated in the novel? I haven't read many, if any historical passages of him suffering defeats due to drinking. He apparently did have a temper, but it was more like he just didn't show much respect to those he felt were below him. In a similar vein, Guan Yu didn't show much respect to those above him outside of Liu Bei
Number 1 should the soundtrack 😂 it can easily beat every game existed.
haha nice
And Zhang liao has been killed by sun Quan by the help of Lin shi and ding feng
Yep.... Very unusual cutscene for him to die like that, but.. we dont talk about that 😅😁
For me top 3 will be
Lu Bu
Guan Yu
Xiaho Dun
Solid choices 🔥🔥