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Lubu-dw7art

Lu Bu riding Red Hare.

The Red Hare Horse (赤兔馬, Chìtùmǎ (pinyin), Sekitoba (onyomi)) is a horse from the Three Kingdoms era, said to have a startling red mane and speed as quick as any rabbit. It is speculated to be a Ferghana horse, though a very large one. The animal was fabled to have been a swift and powerful stallion able to run 1,000 li (li is an old Chinese unit. One li is about 500 meters) in a single day and 800 li in a single night.

In the games, it is the fastest horse and the default mount for Lu Bu and Guan Yu; while the latter in Dynasty Warriors 3 rode on a normal horse in specific stages (most notably the "What-If" scenarios in Xtreme Legends), he would even ride it in levels before the former's death, such as Hulao Gate (which only applies as of Dynasty Warriors 4).

In the third installment of Dynasty Warriors, it was well-known that most of the time, the player's rank would not be high enough to ride the horse, thus it would always knock them off, even if they were Lu Bu themselves. However, a select few were able to ride even the CPU Lu Bu's Red Hare in the Challenge mode stages, such as Dong Zhuo and Zhang Jiao.

As of the sixth installment, Red Hare is also physically the biggest horse in the series, as leaping off of it gives more air time compared to other horses.

The ninth installment has a soldier say the famous quote about Lu Bu and Red Hare upon facing them at Hulao Gate, that being "Lu Bu among men, Red Hare among horses".

Background Info[]

Red Hare is mentioned in the Records of the Three Kingdoms when Lu Bu was temporarily serving Yuan Shao and was forced to defend himself from Wen Chou's attack. It is said that Lu Bu always rode with Red Hare through the enemy camp until he was stopped by Zhang Yan. Additionally, the annotated Cao Cao's biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms also contained the phrase: "Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare" (人中呂布,馬中赤兔) when describing Lu Bu's prowess in battle.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Red Hare was one of Dong Zhuo's treasured horses who could run a thousand li a day. He was given to Lu Bu in exchange for his service. After his death, the horse was put into Cao Cao's care yet no man in their army could tame him. Hoping to gain his services, Cao Cao presented the mount to Guan Yu who tamed and gladly accepted the generous offering. When Guan Yu was executed, Red Hare was given to Ma Zhong as a reward, but he refused to eat and died.

How to Unlock[]

  • Dynasty Warriors 3: Battle of Hu Lao Gate; Allied Forces; Defeat Lu Bu. A Supply Troop will appear along the road Cao Cao takes down to Fan Shui Gate and attempt to flee the battle through Fan Chou's Gate Captain. Defeat the Supply Captain to acquire the item.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Battle of Xia Pi; Lu Bu forces; Don't kill any generals until Guan Yu steals Red Hare, then kill Guan Yu. A Precious Item will appear back on the island where the stage's Red Hare originally spawned, near the Musou Wine. Destroy the crate to acquire the item.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends: Legend of Guan Yu - Defense of Xu; Defeat Yue Jin before he retreats. A Precious Item will appear on the southwest corner of the map.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires: Available to produce using a policy card in Luo Yang.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Battle of Chang Shan; Yuan Shao forces; Kill Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei within a minute of each other. The item will appear outside the west gate of the castle near the checkpoint. Destroy the crate to acquire the item.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends: Battle of Yan Province Legend Mode; Capture every attack base and then achieve 300 KOs.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires: Use a Development card in Nanman (Gathering of Heroes campaign) or Luo Yang three times, and use a Production assignment card in Luo Yang to produce one harness. 
  • Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2: Escape from Chang Ban; Yellow Turban Forces; Defeat Guan Yu 
  • Dynasty Warriors 6: Successfully raise a red-tinted horse with "eyes that consider the world" and "possesses a heavenly physique" in its description. The player will need a character that knows the Horsemanship skill in order to raise it into Red Hare King which includes Guan Yu and Lu Bu.
  • Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires: Buy it for 30,000 gold in a region that sells horses. Alternatively, recruit Lu Bu or Guan Yu to gain the same horse.
  • Dynasty Warriors 7: Clear the Conquest stage, Sangoku Musou Ikusa (三國無双戦).
  • Dynasty Warriors Next: In Campaign Mode, complete Scenario "The Endless Quest" under the Hard or better difficulty.
  • Dynasty Warriors 8: In Ambition Mode, clear 90 consecutive battles.  Alternatively, still in Ambition Mode, clear 30 battles 3 times, going back to the camp after every round of 30 cleared battles. The horse also acts as the default mount of Lu Bu and Guan Yu in later stages.
  • Dynasty Warriors 9: Complete Guan Yu, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu's Story Modes. Red Hare will then be purchasable from the Stable Master in any large city where the stables can be found for 100,000 Gold.
  • Warriors Orochi / 2: Earn a max level Cavalry skill (10+) and have a Dynasty Warriors character lead.
  • Warriors Orochi 3: Have Joan of Arc, Kojirō Sasaki, Wang Yi, or Xu Huang in the main party and fight in The Battle of Fan Castle (first version) in Chapter 3. Obtain 1,500 K.Os on Hard or Chaos to trigger the rare item report.
  • Warriors Orochi 4: Unlock Lu Bu by clearing "In Search of a Fallen God".
  • BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk - purchase as DLC.

Red Hare also appears as a special horse in the G1 Jockey series and as a limited time collectible for the mobile version of 100man-nin no Winning Post.

See Also[]

Gallery[]

Historical Information[]

It is unknown that who other than Lu Bu were Red Hare's owners, meaning it never belonged to Guan Yu.

Hexmark-rotkxi

Hex Mark in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI

Hex Mark (的廬馬, Dílúmǎ (Chinese), Tekiroba (onyomi)) is a uniquely colored horse that was said to have tear drop markings and a blazing white patch on its forehead. The color of its mane and hair varies in its many appearances but it is a black, gray, or white stallion in the Dynasty Warriors series. In the Dynasty Warriors series, it usually increases the player's Luck stat, and it is considered the second fastest horse in the series next to the more superior Red Hare.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, this serves as Liu Bei's default mount. Though in Dynasty Warriors 3, this horse appears in the most stages so far due to Liu Bei's prominence as an officer in those said stages; as a result, it is common to see Liu Bei riding the horse in areas/boundaries that mounts are unable to reach. However, this trend stops being prevalent as of Dynasty Warriors 4.

Background Info[]

In the Record of Three Kingdoms, Hex Mark is a horse that Liu Bei received when he was serving under Liu Biao. While staying at a banquet, Liu Bei felt he was in danger and used this steed to escape from Cai Mao and Kuai Yue. With a mighty cry, he urged Hex Mark to cross the raging river from a seemingly impossible distance. His steed performed a sudden jump and rode Liu Bei to safety. The Book of Jin mentions that Liu Bei and Cao Cao went together to pick out the horse. It accepted Liu Bei so well that the townspeople cheered when he rode off with it.

Hex Mark's role is expanded in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and is introduced in chapter 34. Similar to the account in Records of Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei gains the horse while serving Liu Biao. After quelling a rebellion, Liu Bei spotted the impressive steed and presented it to his lord. Kuai Yue privately confided to Liu Biao that it was a horse that brought grave misfortune to its rider. Thus, Liu Biao quickly returned the gift with the excuse that the younger lord would need it on his expeditions. The following day, one of Liu Biao's advisers, Yi Ji, warns Liu Bei of Kuai Yue's observation regarding the horse. Liu Bei replied, "I am deeply touched by your affection, but a person's life is governed by fate. What horse can interfere with that?"

Liu Bei kept Hex Mark and continued to ride with it. Like the Record of Three Kingdoms, he uses the horse to escape an assassination attempt. During his flight, he reached Xiang River, which had a swift current. Liu Bei urged the horse to walk through the bank as his pursuers rode closer. When he felt Hex Mark's forelegs beckon, Liu Bei began to cry, "Dilu, Dilu! Why betray me? Why must you give me misfortune?" In that same instance Hex Mark made a tremendous leap through the river's current and reached the opposing shore. The story describes that Liu Bei felt as though he were flying; some adaptations of this particular event overlap it with Liu Bei fleeing from Cai Mao's assassination attempt, on top of the horse also being submerged in the water first.

While not named, readers believe Hex Mark is also mentioned in chapter 63. Pang Tong and Liu Bei were ready to ride off when the strategist's mount reared and threw him off his feet. Concerned by the quality of their steeds, Liu Bei bade Pang Tong to take his sturdy steed and they exchanged horses. Unfortunately, their enemy, Zhang Ren, heard that Liu Bei rode a white horse and was on the lookout for a man fitting the description. Once they spotted Pang Tong, the enemy ambush unit mistook him for his lord and killed the strategist with several arrows.

How to Unlock[]

  • Dynasty Warriors 3: Battle of Cheng Du; Personally defeat every enemy general except Liu Zhang. A Precious Item report will appear at the south end of the wall where Liu Zhang's sole Gate Captain is stationed. Destroy the wooden crate to retrieve the item.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Yellow Turban Campaign; Complete the Yellow Turban Fortress battle and select Campaign against Liu Bei. Defeat Zhao Yun and Guan Yu within 2 minutes and reduce Liu Bei's health to about half. It will appear on the small island in the southeast. Destroy the crate to retrieve the item.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends: Defeat 3 officers without killing too many peasants (it's okay to have the "Liu Bei kill peasants" cutscene playing). The item will appear on the central of the map.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires: Available to produce using a policy card in Yong An.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Battle of Cheng Du, Shu Forces; Kill Zhang Ren before he ambushes Pang Tong.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends: Rescue of Lou Sang Village Legend Mode; Save all villagers within five minutes.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires:
  • Dynasty Warriors 6: Raise a white/gray colored horse with "eyes that consider the world" and "possesses a heavenly physique" in its description. Its ability allows you to swim fast regardless of the current. This has reverted to its Luck increase in Special. Again, the player needs a character with Horsemanship to raise it into the Hex Mark/Grey King.
  • Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires: Buy it for 22,000 gold in a country that sells horses.
  • Dynasty Warriors 7: Clear the Conquest stage, Wolves of Chaos (乱世猛将戦).
  • Dynasty Warriors 8: In Ambition Mode, clear 60 consecutive battles. The horse also acts as the default mount of Liu Bei and Pang Tong.
  • Dynasty Warriors Next: In Gala Mode, Complete Steeplechase in under 1 minutes and 30 seconds.
  • Dynasty Warriors 9: Clear the story modes of Liu Bei and Pang Tong, then Hex Mark will be purchasable from the Stable Master in any large city where the stables can be found.

Hex Mark also appears as a special horse in the G1 Jockey series.

Gallery[]

Shadowrunner-dw6

Dynasty Warriors 6 portrait

Shadow Runner (絶影, Juéyǐng (Chinese), Zetsuei (onyomi), lit. Suppressing Shadow) is a horse from the Three Kingdoms period. It was said to have run so quick that it would cast no shadow during its sprint. In the Dynasty Warriors series, it is a black steed but there is no definite description regarding its color. It is named in the Record of the Three Kingdoms and Book of Wei but not in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The horse is famous for carrying Cao Cao to safety during his flight from Wan Castle. Historical records state that it was wounded in the foot and its fate remains unknown. In the novel, it received three arrow wounds -one located in its eye- and perished after it saved its rider. Later Cao Cao would offer it tribute in memory along with Dian Wei.

Players riding this horse are more resilient against attacks, preventing them from ever getting knocked off at all. Though one would stay on the horse, players can still take damage from enemy attacks and even be KOed. This trait can carry over to other horses they choose to steal/borrow and ride, such as another copy of Red Hare or Hex Mark.

In earlier games of the series via Dynasty Warriors 4 and 5, combining the Shadow Runner with characters that only attack from one side while mounted, such as Zhou Tai and Ma Chao, proved so powerful that many fans considered it to be cheating, especially due to the latter's very powerful mounted charge attack in the aforementioned titles. Of course, in some scenarios and via player preferences, it is offset by the fact that the horse itself still travels at an average speed akin to a majority of the general-ranked horses in the series, unless the player manages to steal a faster horse.

However, in a two-player setting, any of the two players that isn't equipped with the Shadow Runner harness while the other player is, will only have the same resistance effect applied to them when they ride on the Shadow Runner, and the effect won't carry over to other horses; the effects only apply to any player that has equipped the harness beforehand.

Also in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, Gongsun Zan will at times ride this horse, both in Yuan Shao's Legend Mode stage and in some stages of Xtreme Mode whenever he is encountered as a Hyper Mode commander. Because of this, it can be hard to try and combat him on foot properly without a Shadow Runner of your own (as trying to fight him on a normal horse may eventually result in him knocking you off as he stays on). This can still work as a double-edged sword; since Gongsun Zan will not flinch when mounted on the Shadow Runner, he can suffer continuous non-airborne-penalty-damage from any source, allowing the player to rack up massive damage on him especially with most wide-hitbox-Musou Attacks.

How to Unlock[]

Stage: Battle of Tong Gate (Shu)
Convince Han Sui to avoid defecting to Cao Cao.
Stage: Legend of Cao Cao - Escape from Chi Bi
Kill all the Wu generals. The item will appear in the northeastern part of the map.
No definite way of getting this: the player must get lucky with the "Change Production" tactic.
Stage: Battle of Liang Province (Allied Forces)
Defeat Zhang Ji and Hu Zhen in less than 45 seconds after their arrival.
Strategy
Select easy mode and equip Red Hare. First destroy the south-western supply base and the two attack bases in the top-left and bottom-right corners. Then camp out in one corner. When Dong Zhuo arrives, he will say "Ha! Do you think I came without a plan!?" after about 1~2 mins. This is the point that the enemy reinforcements come. Quickly kill off the newly spawned reinforcement officer (ignore their troops), then quickly head to the other without stopping.
Stage: Battle of Wan Castle (Zhang Xiu's Forces)
Defeat Cao Cao.
Produced in the northwest most land, Xi Liang. Develop it until you cannot do so any more. After you are done developing, go to "Assign" and do "Western Trade". Repeat this until you get the Shadow Harness.
Raise a black colored horse with "eyes that consider the world" and "possesses a heavenly physique" in its description. The player will need a character with Horsemanship to ensure they unlock the Shadow Runner.
Buy it for 22,000 gold in a county with a stable.
Clear the Conquest stage, Wolves of Chaos (乱世群狼戦, Ransei Gunrou Ikusa).
In Ambition Mode, clear 30 consecutive battles. The horse also acts the default mount of Cao Cao.
In Campaign mode, capture "Luoyang" in "The Struggle for Power" under the Chaos difficulty.
Complete Cao Cao's story and purchase Shadow Runner from the Stable Master in any large city where the stables can be found.

Gallery[]

Storm Runner (爪黄飛電, Zhǎohuángfēidiàn (Chinese), Sōkōhiden (onyomi), lit. Claw Yellow Flying Volt) is one of Cao Cao's beloved horses, which he rode during the infamous hunting party incident with Emperor Xian.

Storm Runner boosts the earned point by a factor of 1.1 after winning the battle.

How to Unlock[]

  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Lu Bu's Scenario, Campaign against Cao Cao; Circle around Yue Jin and defeat Xu Huang. Head to the castle's rear entrance and wait for Yue Jin to flee from the field (You can also defeat Yue Jin first and try to expose Xu Huang, but it is easier to expose Yue Jin). Enter the castle to trigger Xiahou Dun's appearance, then break out and slay him.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends: Legend of Dong Zhuo - The Ten Eunuchs; Defeat Yuan Shao as soon as he appears. The item will appear in the northeastern corner of the map.
  • Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires: Available to produce using a policy card in Jiang Ling
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Battle of Guan Du, Cao Cao's forces; Slay Yan Liang and Wen Chou before five minutes elapse.
  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires:
  • Dynasty Warriors 6: Raise a bay colored horse with "eyes that consider the world" and "possesses a heavenly physique" in its description. It will likely come with the Storm Runner spirit.
  • Dynasty Warriors 8: Made available via downloadable content. Players must defeat Cao Cao first; defeating too many Wei officers before engaging him will result in his retreat.

Gallery[]

Imperial Saddle

Imperial Saddle image from Dynasty Warriors 3.

The Imperial Saddle (皇帝鐙, Kōtei Abumi, lit. Emperor Stirrup) is a rare item found exclusively in Dynasty Warriors 3. Equipping this saddle allows the player to ride any type of horse on the battlefield regardless of rank. It may be useful for those who have yet to obtain certain mounts or use specific characters.

How to Unlock[]

Play the Battle of Yi Ling under the Shu Forces. Defeat Zhu Ran before he sets fire on the main camp, then take down every enemy officer on the map excluding Sun Quan. Doing this will cause the supply troop carrying the item to appear.

Elephantsaddle-dw5

Elephant Saddle from Dynasty Warriors 5.

The Elephant Saddle (象鐙, Zō Abumi, lit. Elephant Stirrup) allows players to ride the Nanman's favored mount, elephants. They are slow yet have a destructive stomp. It's also trickier to knock a person off of these mounts.

In Arslan: The Warriors of Legend, elephants are restricted to cpu units, such as Gadevi.

How to Obtain[]

Gallery[]

The Mammoth Harness is a rare item found in Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires. Using this harness lets players start the level on a war elephant. This elephant is faster and looks a bit different than the usual ones. In Dynasty Warriors 8, the mammoth itself can be acquired via downloadable content.

How to Unlock[]

  • Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires: Develop all items available in Nanman while succeeding with the Nanman Trade commerce policy.
  • Dynasty Warriors 8: Made available as downloadable content.

Gallery[]

Bearsaddledw7

The bear saddle in Dynasty Warriors 7

The Bear (熊鞍, lit. Bear Saddle) is one of the rare mounts that the player can obtain in Samurai Warriors 3. Two players can ride the large bear at once and it features a unique riding moveset for it (similar to the elephants in the Dynasty Warriors series). While it boasts a greater ramming attack and defense than Matsukaze, it is also the slowest mount in the game.

How to Unlock[]

Gallery[]

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