digital strategy Way of the samurai
CONTENTS
Ashigaru will form the basis of your army at the start. They provide efficiency over other types of troops and are a lot more efficient than samurai, cheaper and replenish a lot faster. Armies should consist of 30 per cent samurai at the most. In the early game battles, use a line of Yari Ashigaru units in ‘Wall of Spear’ formation fronted by a line of Yumi Ashigaru in skirmish order. Yari Ashigaru actually fight better in Yari Wall. Use it to your advantage, as a charge into a Yari Wall is devastating. Keep your general close to the front lines to prevent the Ashigaru from breaking. Place the two Yari units on either flank to prevent the line being flanked. Make sure you bring plenty of archers to the battle. If your opponent wants to have a skirmish before the main fight, put your archers in front of your infantry, if your opponent moves in with the infantry immediately, positions your archers behind your infantry, or use skirmish mode for this to happen automatically. Ashigaru are cheap, but Samurai are the lethal killers with better stats and morale. Yari Samurai don't need spear wall to absorb cavalry charge and also have the rapid advance ability that boosts their speed and charge. They can hold their own against kata samurai as well. Boosted by a general they can cut through Ahigaru lines.
General management
The deeper a general specialises in becoming an infantry leader the better for your army. Put one point into ‘Strategist’ at first level, two points into Poet on second level, then three points into infantry leader on third level onwards. The three The Naginata Samurai are also a cost-effective option. You levels of specialisation in infantry leader provide can opt for balanced armies that will have an average price the "stand and fight" ability, +1 to melee damage and then +3 to all units. This deals but remain flexible. enormous damage. This improvement Monks cost more to train and maintain than Samurai will also see your Bow Ashigaru and with an armour rating of two are fragile to archers. improve their reloading time and However, they have some of the highest morale in the gain better defence. game and produce excellent damage. Keep them in A disloyal general can reserve or hidden waiting in ambush to make the most take off run off with your use of them.
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army and must be prevented. A general may look at his Daimyo’s abilities and believe he can usurp him. The fastest way to prevent this dishonor is to place up to three Metsuke in your army to ensure the general doesn't begin to wander. Each will add +1 to the general's loyalty, with more improvements possible in the Chi tree. The general can also be married to a wife, while improving the Daimyo’s skills will also put him in place. When honour is on the line, sometimes rumours of unrest cannot be tolerated. Strip him of his army and commission, recruit another general to take his place and than order him to do seppuku. B
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