10 Best Dynasty Warriors Characters

6. Xiahou Dun

Zhou yun dynasty warriors
koei

One of Wei's founding generals, he joined his cousin Cao Cao in the early days of their careers. A man trained in combat from an early age, he lived on the run for a bit after murdering a man who insulted his fighting instructor.

During a fight with Lu Bu's army he is struck in the eye with an arrow and, plucking out the arrow with the eyeball attached, issues one of the greatest lines in the book: “Essence of my father, blood of my mother; I cannot throw this gift away!” He then eats his own eyeball and cuts down the man who fired the arrow. This scene always played out hilariously in the DW series, because Xiahou Dun is usually portrayed with his eyepatch, even before the event occurs in the games.

Though his being armed with a club in DW6 was fitting based on his character background in the novel, I'm glad they gave him back his scimitar in the more recent releases. Xiahou Dun essentially works similar to Guan Yu with shorter reach, but a little faster in most games. A faster Guan Yu? Yeah, that's a gift we can't throw away, either.

Contributor
Contributor

Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.