Difference between revisions of "STW Yari Samurai"

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(Yari Ashigaru)
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Like Yari Samurai, Yari Ashigaru are equipped with spears; all that has been said about ranks and formations applies in full, they also get the bonus against cavalry, and in principle they're suitable for the same tasks, although, of course, nowhere as good as actual warriors.
 
Like Yari Samurai, Yari Ashigaru are equipped with spears; all that has been said about ranks and formations applies in full, they also get the bonus against cavalry, and in principle they're suitable for the same tasks, although, of course, nowhere as good as actual warriors.

Revision as of 11:25, 2 April 2008

TO DO: Someone might want to throw in a short paragraph about actual yari and place a pic here.

Yari Samurai

STW Yari Samurai
Unit Name: Yari Samurai
Type: Spear
Combat Stats
Charge: 0
Attack: 0
Defence: 2
Armour: 2
Speed: 5 - 8 - 9.5
Morale: 2
Cost:
Unit Card:           Stw-ys.gif


Yari Samurai are the first (and for quite some time the only) decent melee unit you get. They're not exceptionally good at anything, but they're also not bad at anything – jack of all trades, master of none. They're really nothing to write home about, but due to their low cost and relative versatility they will remain useful throughout the game. Until you become seriously rich, you'll probably field more Yari than all other troop types combined. They therefore are the benchmark for melee units.

Yari are Spears -- in Total War terms, this means that Yari Samurai work best in an orderly formation facing the enemy. In such a setup, although only the soldiers in the first row do the actual fighting, however, they have the support of three or four ranks behind them. In later games of the series, this meant a boost of +1 defence for every supporting rank and +1 attack for every two supporting ranks. Oh, and besides Spears get a huge attack bonus against cavalry.

Ordering the unit to "keep formation" is easy; ensuring that they will actually face their opponents can be tricky at times, especially when attacking. Tried and proved methods are:

  • set a waypoint behind the enemy, let your troops march into the opponents' unit , once the first men start fighting order your unit to stop.
  • if you tell them to attack some unit they will charge, losing any formation on the way. When they're rather close, often the enemy will counter-charge. Just stop your troops, more often then not they will shape up sufficiently even in the few moments that remain. Taking the enemy charge, then fighting in proper formation usually is more favorable.

Spears aren't made to chop up the enemy (unless said enemy comes on horseback), their emphasis is on holding out, the more so because attacking units usually don't keep their formation. Yari are best used in the tactical defensive ‐provoke an attack then hold out– all things being equal, orderly defenders will win against an attacking mob even when fighting uphill. However, two units of Yari Samurai fighting head-on is mutual attrition, not actual slaughter. The real point of Yari is to keep the enemy occupied, they will hold out some time even against the fiercest opponents, buying you time to outflank the enemy and have another unit charge into their back. Said flanker may well be another unit of Yari: although No-Dachi or Warrior Monks are much better at the task, units are so much more vulnerable to attacks from behind that even Yari usually are will do. Don't bother with formations when flanking, though, just get as many spears into contact with the enemies' behinds as possible.

Yari Ashigaru

STW Yari Samurai
Unit Name: Yari Ashigaru
Type: Spear
Combat Stats
Charge: 0
Attack: -1
Defence: -1
Armour: 0
Speed: 5 - 10 - 12
Morale: -4
Cost:
Unit Card:           Stw-ya.gif


Like Yari Samurai, Yari Ashigaru are equipped with spears; all that has been said about ranks and formations applies in full, they also get the bonus against cavalry, and in principle they're suitable for the same tasks, although, of course, nowhere as good as actual warriors.

Their main problem is morale: You definitely don't need to tell Ashigaru how to perform a retrograde maneuver; they have an instinctive knack for it and will display their mastery of the technique at every opportunity. In order to get any actual use out of Ashigaru, you need to train them at a better Dojo or next to a Palace or only employ them under a well-reputed Taisho.

If you meet any (or all) of the above conditions, Ashigaru can be quite a boon, especially early in the game: a unit of Ashigaru is better than no unit at all; two cheap units offer more flexibility on the battlefield than a single expensive one, and numerical superiority can be a value in and of itself. Finally, Ashigaru are faster than any other foot soldiers: until you have proper cavalry, Ashigaru are your best chance to catch a few routed enemies.

Later in the game, when armies are approaching the 16 unit limit, it's usually better to fill the positions with actual fighters and leave the peasants on their fields. However, they may still come in handy as butt and bait. If the day is long enough, have the enemy empty their quivers at some Ashigaru while your actual troops have some R&R. Try to play hide and seek (exhausting your enemies), or let them be the first to march into the forest full of warrior monks: at the very least, fighting back your Ashigaru will be as tiring as any other melee – and with some luck, the enemy will pursue the routing Ashigaru, thus running straight into the arms of your other troops waiting outside. Sometimes, this also works with castles. Remeber, it's not only that Ashigaru are cheap: actual Samurai are not impressed when the peasants start running.

However, you may need to spend quite some amount on morale upgrades: without, the Ashigaru may break and run even before the enemy sees any reason to react to the bait; likewise, when used as archery decoy, pampering their morale helps more than thick armour.

Yari Cavalry

Although equipped with Yari, they don't belong here. See Cavalry (STW).