Quote Originally Posted by Prodigal View Post
Excuse me if this seems a rude question, but I seem to be over come with small sword syndrome, Tin are you playing all the battles on Leg. too?
Yes. Max difficulty, 40 minute timer.

My battles all go generally the same way. Long line of spears behind a long line of archers. My armies are usually 50/50 of each. Archers shoot, when enemy closes range the spears move up in front of them to take the melee. If it's early on and the spears are Ashigaru, they go into spear wall. With proper terrain use (and use of loose formation for archers when facing more than a couple AI archers), this is good enough to win. One spear unit on each flank should be ready to deal with flanking cav. Later on, swap the Ashigaru for Naginata and Bow Samurai, but tactics remain the same. Above all, defend as much as possible. When at all possible, let the AI assault while you sit inside a castle. If that's not possible, just use smart positioning to take them apart with your archers. If you stay ranged-heavy, the AI will often attack you even if they are technically the defender. So, when you are attacking, always watch the AI for the first 30 seconds or so of the battle before you move. It will be clear right there if it's going to sit still and defend, move to a different spot and defend, or rush you. If it rushes, move your army backwards to a good defensive terrain spot and pretend it's a defensive battle.

On the campaign map, maximize your replenishment rate. Your highest ranking general should be given the resupply office. Prioritize roads everywhere you go. If you're going to be defending a province for a while, improve the castle as much as you can within your rice limits, and build an encampment/barracks. You can easily achieve 30%+ replenishment rates in a province, which makes your army essentially immune to attrition from multiple battles... all you have to worry about is annihilation in a single battle. If annihilation is a serious risk, just don't fight the battle. A full stack army is far more important than a province. You can recapture the province a lot faster (and cheaper) than you can rebuild your army. Do not be afraid to retreat and let the AI take a province if doing so will get you out of a multi-stack trap and let you kill each enemy stack one at a time.