combat in the era

[Hooahguy]

when ETW came out many people complained that the melee combat was too individual-based. in other words, in ETW fighting would be one on one, whereas in previous games other soldiers could join in on a fight and help their man, so instead of 1 on 1 it would be, lets say, 4 on 1.

now before i go on i want to say that i know almost nothing ancient japan or that area, which is why im asking this question.
was combat back then individual based, like it is in ETW? i was thinking that because of the whole samurai class aspect, it would make this "glitch" realistic.

[al Roumi]

I don't know how accurate this is, but I remember seeing or reading about how the attempted Mongol invasion effectively ended the Samurai "calling out" and individual dueling. The Mongols' troops were not particularily respectful of individual Samurai riding out in front of battle lines to initiate challenges...

The films Ran and When the Last Sword Is Drawn (a troublingly scant historical knowledge base!) certainly don't portray a series of chivalric duels, but they cover different ages.

I doubt a Samurai would have fought in an individual duel against Ashigaru troops however.

To what extent do the individual combat animations in ETW actually affect the overal unit/unit combat and its outcome?

[Intranetusa]

I've read that the "calling out duels" thing was mostly a myth, and only existed during peace time. During actual wars, the samurai didn't bother engaging in honorable duels.

[A Nerd]

A mass of combat would be better than one on one engagements as the unit numbers thinned. I grow tired of watching the front lines fight as the back lines merely stand ready. The front lines die and the back lines move up to replace them. This continues till one side loses. Makes it seem like units have no veterans. All the kills made during the battle were made my guys that died during the fight. Unit experience goes to the guys in the back that did nothing but stand around until the enemy unit routed.

[Hooahguy]

i think you people misunderstood what i meant. heres what i meant.
four soldiers square off in a battle, two against two. one soldier kills his enemy, then sees his friend still in combat with the other enemy. would he join his friend to help kill the enemy or would he hang back until the fight was resolved?

[Kagemusha]

i think you people misunderstood what i meant. heres what i meant.
four soldiers square off in a battle, two against two. one soldier kills his enemy, then sees his friend still in combat with the other enemy. would he join his friend to help kill the enemy or would he hang back until the fight was resolved?

He would join in killing the underdog.There were still some battlefield duels during this era, but the number of them was very few and normal Ashigaru´s had no problems ganging up against an invidual enemy no matter whether he was a samurai or Ashigaru.