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Yari Ashigaru
Good Vs: Fairly good against Yari Cavalry and Cavalry Archers.
Bad Vs: Everyone else!
Tactical: Yari Ashigaru are peasants and do not provide a lot of muscle to your army. However they do provide numbers, which can win a battle for you. Ashigaru can be used initially to run down routed troops, as they are the fastest unit early on before you have cavalry. They are useful for diverting an enemy's attention and pull him out of formation allowing you to take advantage of him. Yari Ashigaru are very cheap and therefore expendable, use them to take a bridge or rush a unit of pesky archers. They can be saved until the end of a battle and rushed in to provide a little punch to turn the war in your favor. The Oda clan can recruit and maintain Yari Ashigaru for less than the other clans.
Yari Samurai
Good Vs: Yari Ashigaru, Ranged units, Cavalry Units
Bad Vs: No-Dachi Samurai, Warrior Monks, Naginata
Tactical: Yari Samurai are the mainstay of your army. They are highly trained Samurai with long spears. These are your professional soldiers who fit well in almost any situation. Since they are very skilled warriors they will rout less quickly than your Ashigaru units.
They work best when kept in close formation and are not spread out. Yari troops are very good at stopping a charging cavalry unit.They also make a great bodyguard for your Archer units. When a unit gets to close to your archers have Yari Samurai unit head them off.
No-Dachi Samurai
Good Vs: Yari Ashigaru, Yari Samurai, Ranged troops
Bad Vs: Cavalry
Tactical: No-Dachi are trained samurai who use a big two-handed sword. They are very destructive but lack a good defense so use them wisely. Work best when sent in to break up a tight enemy formation. Do not rush these warriors into a battle where a lot of arrows are flying. They wear very little armor and will suffer high casualties. The defensive group will suffer most of the hits and your No-Dachi will be able to get to the archer unit and clean them up with little trouble. This can work to your advantage as they will often chase down targets and pound them mercilessly. However, they may often break from your designated orders to pursue and enemy so keep a close eye on them. Keep them away from charging cavalry! The Shimazu clan can recruit and maintain No-Dachi samurai for less than other clans.
Warrior Monks
Good Vs: All foot soldiers, Cavalry Archers
Bad Vs: Yari Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry
Tactical: These are fanatical Buddhists who chose to fight with a big sword naginata. They are very much like No-Dachi Samurai except they have a better defense. However, their idea of armor is a tightly wrapped shirt so there armor is still pretty low. The same things apply to Warrior Monks as No-Dachi above with some additional things. Warrior Monks are extremely feared by any Buddhist. It is seen as sacrilege to kill a Buddhist monk, so when Monks charge into battle they get a bonus when attacking other Buddhists. Careful though, the same bonus applies to the enemy who attacks you with Warrior Monks. Warrior Monks seem to fare a little better against Cavalry Archers then do the No-Dachi, but still, its best to keep Monks away from Cavalry and arrows. The Mori clan can recruit and maintain Warrior Monks for less than other clans.
Naginata
Good Vs: Foot Soldiers, Yari Cavalry, Cavalry Archers
Bad Vs: Heavy Cavalry
Tactical: Naginata are the most well protected unit in the game. They have a high defense factor and a very high armor rating. Due to their high armor rating they can withstand an extreme amount of missile fire from an enemy. So lead them into the battle in loose formation in front of your troops and they will absorb a lot of the initial attack. They are very good to use when taking a river province, march them up the center of that bridge to take on the missile fire and march a more offensive unit like No-Dachi or Monks in behind to break through the lines. On the other end, Naginata are great at defending a river province. Put them at the beginning of the bridge and order them to hold formation and position and they can hold any unit at bay while your Samurai Archers pound them with arrows.
Samurai Archers
Good Vs: Yari Ashigaru, Yari Samurai
Bad Vs: All others (hand to hand)
Tactical: Samurai Archers carry a large bow, which rains down deadly arrows, but also have the ability to fight hand to hand when the enemy pressures them. Archers do not need a direct line of site to shoot the enemy b/c they can arch their arrows. Put the Archers in a straight-line formation of 2 to 3 deep. This allows for less friendly fire deaths and a greater amount of arrows flying at the enemy at once. Use the Archers as your first strike. They have great range and can seriously deplete an enemy force before any hand-to-hand combat even occurs giving you a great advantage. Place Samurai Archers on op of a hill so they can have a height advantage over the enemy. This allows for a greater field of vision as well as greater damage to their strike. Keep Archers away from Cavalry. They will get killed VERY fast by cavalry units. The Uesugi clan can recruit and maintain Archers for less than other clans.
Arquebusiers - Portuguese Teppo
Good Vs: None (hand to hand)
Bad Vs: Everyone (hand to hand)
Tactical: The Arquebus is a crude version of a musket. They are not very accurate and not very powerful and don't have a long range. The Arquebusiers are Ashigaru trained to shoot; they are much less skilled than Archers. They were popular because you could train a peasant to shoot a gun in a very short period of time while it took years to produce a skilled Archer. The key to making this unit successful is to compensate for their weaknesses by having lots of them. Arquebusiers fire Very slow so put each unit in rows of 3 or 4 to have a fairly consistent rate of fire. They are also not very powerful at long range. So for a quick punch, put them in a long single or two-row line and fire when the enemy is really close. It will take a while to reload from this tactic so be ready to move the Arquebusiers out of the way after this executing this tactic. Keep them out of hand-to-hand combat. These are Ashigaru who are not well trained and are carrying the equivalent of a big club if they are forced to fight. Gunpowder weapons do not fire in the rain or snow so be aware of the weather when using them.
Musketeers - Japanese Teppo
Good Vs: None (hand to hand)
Bad Vs: Everyone (hand to hand)
Tactical: Muskets are a big improvement over the Arquebus. They have a little better range, are more accurate, do a little more damage, and fire faster. However, the same rules apply to Musketeers that apply to Arquebusiers. Keep this in mind: Musketeers are a little better than Arquebusiers, when your unit fires as a whole the effect can demoralize the enemy and cause them to rout.
Yari Cavalry
Good Vs: Samurai Archers, Musketeers, Arquebusiers, No-Dachi, Warrior Monks
Bad Vs: Yari Ashigaru, Yari Samurai, Naginata, Heavy Cavalry
Tactical: Yari Cavalry are the mainstay of the Cavalry. They are the fastest unit in the game and can cause serious havoc to certain units. Being the fastest unit in the game allows them to run down routed troops and rid you of some unwanted enemies. Yari Cavalry are invaluable when faced with Cavalry Archers. They are the only unit that can run down these pesky enemies. Yari Cavalry will also make pretty short work of No-Dachi and Monks. Use Yari Cavalry to out flank your enemy with speed and attack from the side or behind. This gives a bonus to your attacks. Be careful, Horse doesn't mean invincible. Yari Cavalry will suffer casualties when attacking any unit. They are not heavily armored. Keep away from Yari troops. When Cavalry meet a group of organized Yari troops the result is a LOT of dead horses and dead riders. Watch your terrain. Do not run horses up and down hills or through trees. They get tired very quickly and will rout. Like all cavalry, they are very susceptible to missile fire.
Cavalry Archers
Good Vs: Samurai Archers, Arquebusiers, Musketeers, No-Dachi
Bad Vs: Yari Ashigaru, Yari Samurai, Yari Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry
Tactical: Cavalry Archers are simply Archers sitting on horse. They are not as accurate as their Samurai Archer counterparts but still have their own unique abilities. Cavalry Archers are great to use in skirmish mode. They can fire away at the enemy and when they get too close, the Cavalry will run away to anew position. Unless the enemy is chasing you with Yari Cavalry, you will never be caught. This tactic can wear an opponent down, both in numbers and morale. Cavalry archers make great scouts too. Send them around the bend to see where that enemy is or to just hit a few of their troops to break up their formations. Cavalry Archers do have swords and can be used in hand to hand against weaker missile troops. However, keep them away from the Yari, Monks, and Naginata. Just like all Cavalry, watch your terrain. Do not run horses up and down hills or through trees. They get tired very quickly and will rout. Like all cavalry, they are very susceptible to missile fire.
Heavy Cavalry
Good Vs: Everyone!
Bad Vs: Yari Samurai, Naginata (but not that bad)
Tactical: Heavy Cavalry are tanks, plain and simple. They can take on any unit in the game with their power and defense. Keep the Heavy Cavalry on flat ground when attacking the enemy. Only a very high honor and armor Yari Samurai unit or Naginata unit has the slightest chance at taking them out. Your best chance at beating them is to hold them with a good Naginata unit and fire at them with your missile units. Just like all Cavalry, watch your terrain. Do not run horses up and down hills or through trees. They get tired very quickly and will rout. Like all cavalry, they are very susceptible to missile fire
Battlefield Ninja
Operating in small groups, the Battlefield Ninja are one of the most powerful units in the game. Their ability to hide, even in relatively open terrain, and their astounding combat abilities make them ideal for eliminating enemy generals on the battlefield and taking out key enemy units.
Naginata Cavalry
Naginata Cavalry are heavily armed and well armoured cavalry, designed for assaulting strongly defensive troops. They are slower and less well armoured than heavy cavalry, but are more offensive in mellee, their heavy weapons being able overcome even highly skilled and heavily armoured opponents.
Master Swordsman - Kensai
The Master Swordsmen is an exceptional individual who's martial prowess makes him almost invicible in battle. He is capable of taking on whole units of enemy troops and is ideal for taking and holding key positions such as castle gates and bridges.
