Tactical Fundamentals

[Tomisama]

There seems to be trends on the battlefield that come and go in cycles. I believe that the use of cavalry archers for instance, seem to be popular for a while, and then drift out of fashion as counters get stronger. Then eventually pop back up again to irritate anew.

One of the most noted trends of late (if I am not imagining it all), is the use of naginata infantry. For a while I think that Tosa was the only advocate for these units, but now it seems that every where I look they are coming at me. No research on this, just seems to be so.

I don’t use NA because of cost, and it seems to me that their armor slows them significantly. Am I just misunderstanding these units, or maybe how to best use them?

[Puzz3D]

There seems to be trends on the battlefield that come and go in cycles. I believe that the use of cavalry archers for instance, seem to be popular for a while, and then drift out of fashion as counters get stronger. Then eventually pop back up again to irritate anew.

This cycling of trends is the result of good playbalance, and it's the reason Samurai Wars needs no rules limiting what units you can take. If your choice of units becomes predictable, your opponent will tend to take the effective counterunits. If your strategy becomes predictable, your opponent will tend to adopt the effective counterstrategy.

One of the most noted trends of late (if I am not imagining it all), is the use of naginata infantry. For a while I think that Tosa was the only advocate for these units, but now it seems that every where I look they are coming at me. No research on this, just seems to be so.

They are being used more, and I would say that Tosa is an expert in the use of the naginata unit. HC, NC, WM and teppo are all good counterunits, and flanking is effective as well.

I don’t use NA because of cost, and it seems to me that their armor slows them significantly. Am I just misunderstanding these units, or maybe how to best use them?

They are quite good on defense where their flanks are usually well protected. On offense, combine the use of NA with a flanking unit such as ND or YC. Engage frontally with the NA, and then flank the enemy unit with the other unit. Since the NA are highly defensive, they will buy you a lot of time with which to carry out the flanking maneuver. However, it's double edged because it also makes them more vulnerable to being flanked.

[LadyAnn]

I wonder when honor 9 peasants will come back in vogue? :D

Annie

[Puzz3D]

I wonder when honor 9 peasants will come back in vogue? :D

After we implement the changes from the Make Your Favorite Unit contest.

[Puzz3D]

Using units for their intended purpose is fundamental to success in Samurai Wars.

Yari Ashigaru is an anti-cav unit, and that's all it is. Use it against cavalry and not against melee infantry.

Yari Samurai is also an anti-cav unit, but it is nearly 2x stronger than YA in melee and most of this extra combat power is defensive. Therefore, it can hold a stronger melee unit for a while especially if the YS is in hold formation.

No-dachi is a melee unit that can beat yari samurai, has enough morale to charge teppo and is an excellent unit to use for flanking due to its high speed and large charge bonus. However, it looses to all the cav units, and therefore has to be protected by an anti-cav unit if there is cav around. ND is vulnerable to archers because it has low armor.

Warrior Monk is the best melee infantry with high morale and high speed, and will beat everything except for HC. With a good charge, NC can beat WM. WM is vulnerable to archers because it has low armor.

Naginata Infantry are nearly as strong as WM, but have very little offensive power. So, they are best used to hold the line for a long time or to make a slow but steady advance if their flanks are protected by some other units. They are heavily armored which protects them from archers, but teppo are still effective against them.

Portuguese Teppo are good if your plan is to neutralize the enemy teppo during the skirmish phase. They are more effective when used in 3 ranks when skirmishing, but 2 ranks when repelling melee attacks especially in the endgame. Rain stops them from shooting.

Japanese Teppo are good if your plan is to win the skirmish phase since they are 50% more effective than the PT. They are more effective when used in 3 ranks when skirmishing, but 2 ranks when repelling melee attacks especially in the endgame. Rain stops them from shooting.

Samurai Archers can defeat teppo and YA in melee, but will loose to everyting else. They can beat a Portuguese teppo and a CA in ranged duel, and are equal against Japanese teppo. However, since they are more expensive than teppo they are best used to support their own teppo to help win the skirmish phase. They can then move up along with their own teppo to shoot the enemy infantry.

Cavalry Archers are fully as effective as samurai archers with their bows, but will loose to the other three ranged unit types because CA are a larger target due the the size of the horse. CA are good at provoking an enemy response when used on the flanks, and can also be very effective on enemy melee units if their use is delayed until the enemy ranged units are depleted in strength, have run out of ammo or if rain has stopped the teppo from shooting. They are also good to use for chasing routed enemy units. They are not very good in melee, but good enough to beat ranged units such as PT, JT and SA in melee.

Yari Cavalry is an anti-cav unit, and is the fastest unit. You see it misused a lot to charge teppo, but this is not its intended purpose. It's too expensive for that, and only has moderate morale and melee power. It's best used to protect ranged units against cav attack or to make flank attacks on enemy units.

Naginata Cavalry is similar to but 40% less powerful than HC. It's a good for assaulting both melee and ranged infantry except, of course, yari infantry. It shouldn't engage YC frontally because it will loose.

Heavy Cavalry is the most powerful cav, and might be slightly underpriced. It can do everything the NC can do only better. Only the YS can decisively beat the HC. The YC and YA are equal in matchup against the HC, but lower in morale. At least the YC is faster and can catch the HC which is another reason for not throwing away YC on teppo attacks. If an HC comes tearing through your formation during the main melee it's bad news for you.

Honor 9 Peasants are good for no-brainer "click on the enemy general" tactic.