To unlock Lu Bu in Dynasty Warriors 3 Remastered, finish the Battle at Hulao Gate with 1,000 or more KOs on your counter. Difficulty does not matter, and you do not have to defeat him: the KO count and a completed stage are the only requirements, so the trick is to farm soldiers before you end the battle.
That is the same condition the 2001 original used, and launch-week guides for DYNASTY WARRIORS 3: Complete Edition Remastered report that it carries over unchanged. Koei Tecmo has not published the unlock list itself, so below we flag what is confirmed for the remaster and what comes from the original game.
The Unlock Condition
- Stage: The Battle at Hulao Gate (Allied Forces side), the stage players reach early in most Musou Mode stories and can also pick in Free Mode.
- Requirement: 1,000 KOs or more, then win the battle.
- Difficulty: Any. Remaster guides say Easy works just as well as Hard.
- Mode: In the original, Free Mode counted as well as Musou Mode. Remaster guides describe it the same way.
Lu Bu joins the select screen after the results screen. Koei Tecmo confirms his Xtreme Legends story is in the package, one of seven extra Musou Mode stories (Lu Bu, Meng Huo and Yuan Shao are the three it names), so unlocking him opens a full campaign, not just a Free Mode pick.
Step-by-Step: Unlocking Lu Bu
- Pick a strong officer. Remaster guides recommend decent Attack and Musou stats, and Steam forum players single out Guan Yu for his range and crowd-clearing Musou attack.
- Start the Battle at Hulao Gate on the Allied side. Easy is the safest choice if your officer is under-leveled.
- Do not rush the gates. Clear the soldiers on every path before you push forward, since every peon counts toward the total.
- Keep an eye on your KO counter. When it passes 1,000, push to Dong Zhuo and win the stage.
- In the original, Lu Bu attacked Yuan Shao after a set time. Guard your commander when that happens: if the commander falls, the battle is lost and the KOs with it.
Remaster guides specifically warn to “deliberately spread out your attacks” so the battle does not end before you hit the number. Defeating Dong Zhuo too early is the most common way to miss it.
Get Diaochan and Dong Zhuo in the Same Run
Hulao Gate unlocks three officers, and you can stack them:
- Diaochan: defeat her during the battle. If she appears, beat her and finish the stage.
- Dong Zhuo: defeat both Diaochan and Lu Bu in the same run, per the original game’s conditions. That means facing Lu Bu, not just avoiding him.
- Red Hare Saddle: in the original, defeating Lu Bu at Hulao Gate made a supply team appear near Cao Cao’s start, carrying the Red Hare Saddle (start every stage on the fastest horse). Catch the supply team before it leaves the map. This item is separate from the Retro-Style Red Hare Saddle pre-order bonus, which Koei Tecmo gave to everyone who pre-ordered before September 30, 2026.
How to Beat Lu Bu
Lu Bu is the toughest officer on the stage, and Koei Tecmo’s free demo teased that “an iconic formidable opponent” waits at the end if “particular conditions are met.” Some approaches that help:
- Drop his morale first. The original game’s long-standing community advice is to kill soldiers in an officer’s unit until morale messages appear; a demoralized officer blocks less and hits softer.
- Use the new defensive tools. The remaster adds Evasion, a timed Just Evasion counter, and Perfect Power Guard, which stuns strong enemies when you deflect with the right timing, per Koei Tecmo. All three are on by default under Normal Settings.
- Bring a co-op partner. Offline two-player split screen works in Musou and Free Mode, so a second player can hold Lu Bu’s attention while you finish him.
- Level up in Free Mode first. Officers grow between runs, and an under-leveled officer on Hard will struggle with him.
Tips Most Players Miss
- The KO count is the unlock, not the duel. You never have to beat Lu Bu to unlock him.
- Items carry over. Growth items and weapons collected in Free Mode carry over to every mode, per Koei Tecmo, so a few Free Mode runs make the Lu Bu fight far easier.
- Patch 1.0.1 fixed off-screen drops. Koei Tecmo’s first update fixed a bug where items dropped by officers defeated off screen could not be collected, which matters when bodyguards land the kill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the difficulty matter when unlocking Lu Bu? No. The 1,000 KO condition counts on any difficulty, according to the original game’s documentation and remaster guides.
Do I need to defeat Lu Bu to unlock him? No. You need 1,000 KOs and a completed Hulao Gate stage. Defeating him is only required for Dong Zhuo and the Red Hare Saddle.
Can I unlock Lu Bu in Free Mode? In the original game, yes. Remaster guides describe the same rule, so Free Mode is a fine way to do it with a leveled officer.
Does Lu Bu have his own story mode? Yes. His Xtreme Legends Musou Mode story is included in the remaster, per Koei Tecmo.
Can I unlock Lu Bu in the demo? No. Demo progress does not carry over to the full game, per the Steam store listing.
Where is the full unlock list? Our guide to unlocking every character in Dynasty Warriors 3 Remastered covers all 42 officers, and our list of the best PS2 games of all time covers the era the original came from.