Top 5 Reasons Matchlock Ashigaru Are Magnificent
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- Hello and welcome to the Top 5 Reasons Matchlock Ashigaru Are Magnificent! In this video I explain five ways in which Matchlock Ashigaru can be a brilliant unit in Shogun 2!
Apologies for the lack of uploads recently but I'll be back to uploading regularly again now!
0:00-1:10 Intro
1:10-1:56 Matchlock Ashigaru Overview
1:56-3:33 Cost Efficiency
3:33-5:07 Defensive Siege Supremacy
5:07-10:58 Moral Killers
10:58-11:49 Killing Potential
11:49-19:44 Battlefield Dominance
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Watch more of my Shogun 2 content here:
• Ranking and Tier List ...
#Shogun2Top5 #MatchlockAshigaru - Hry
Perfect timing. Just started an Otomo campaign today, one matchlock unit got 561 kills in a siege defense against a stack of samurai
Oh my god that's the best, gotta love them defensive sieges
Same here freaking beautiful
Was that that free unit they give you early on?
Playing in Ultra?
I recommend checking out the pike terco mod to complement the Portuguese matchlocks. The pike and shot overhaul combined with the pike terco mod and hollow square mod for matchlocks can create the closest thing to actual tercio squares I've seen in total war so far and they smack the shit out cavalry.
This takes me way back. Actual pike and shot tactics being viable in MP makes this game a gem.
Yeah its super fun!
What is MP??
@@antoniocarlosgomesfernedag1637 multiplayer. Un saludo Antonio.
Samurai matchlock is one of the coolest looking units ever. Something beautiful about Samurai and Knights in full armor shooting guns that mix of old and new is beautiful.
Peasant.
Knight.
Samurai.
The bullet makes them all equal.
Nobody :
Date Bulletproof samurai : BANZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!
@@stukacanee9079 *gets shot anyway*
@@LordVader1094 I tested it out and most units lose 15 to 18 men from they first volley
But after the second and the third they routed
The date bulletproof samurai take 5 or 13 men per volley
So therefore they aren’t cost affective but it’s sort of just slowing down death with their bullet proof armor
And coupled with rapid advance I’d say they could do damage to ranged troops
But I just don’t thinks they’re cost effective
It is a shame isn't it? Samurai and knight train their whole lives, peasant with boomy stick go boom boom
@@benpearson49 I think you miscounted which amendment pertains to firearms
Historical once they mass produced matchlocks, the daymios basically gave any of their soldiers a gun
Oda Nobunaga: "I need guns. Lots of guns."
@@benpearson49 In that record, the game is weird regard matchlocks, Koreans source stated that the matchlocks outrange their bows significantly making them very vulnerable once the japanese is in their (matchlocks) range.
@@satriorama4118 game balance
@@satriorama4118 Hmm, that's interesting. I always thought bows outranged matchlocks' effective range.
@@JohnSmith-kg2rt I still dislike that. They should've implemented a system where they have two sets of range, one that's effective and outplays the archers on short range like what we see in the game now and another where's the bullets pretty much get garbage acuracy but you still have the option to kill one unit inefficiently at a much higher cost of ammo, as if you're trying to headhunt some general.
The unit range is still something I'm salty about ever since they've changed the system from medieval 2 where you could place them atop the hills and give them insane range.
Before realm divide, I always go hard to gunpowder mastery because defending settlement is far easier with 6 matchlock ashigaru and 3 small chad yari ashigaru unit against 20 samurai stacks army.
An excellent strategy ;)
9 vs 20 . That's crazy
@@JampingVan I won man, really. But you must put your gunner on wall castle floor that has tenshu 🏯 while yari ashigaru put castle floor below the castle floor that has tenshu 🏯. So the yari wall will hold the climber while the gunner shoot from above them. Oh yeah, the castle level must level 3 minimal in order to work 9 vs 20, otherwise you lost. The bigger the better but I suggest level 3 is enough for sake of the food surplus. The garrison from level 3 castle will suffice enough to add your 9 unit to 12 unit which are samurai retainer, yari ashigaru garrison and bow ashigaru garrison. The reason why at least 9 is because if you put 15 unit in the castle which enemy probably will land, they tends to siege or wonder around to seek weak spot of your territory which you don't want it happen especially if the enemy are samurai army but you can win the manual battle too. Trust me, it works.
@@ltmatthewakj2466 how do you deal with bows shooting super accurate arrows into your ranks!
@@insaneweasel1 Enemy AI bow unit tends to aim yari ashigaru in my experience but that only works if your castle is level 3 above. Before the enemy AI melee almost ready to climb, don't deploy yari unit to the lower level. It's tricky actually, I almost got phyrric victory because of it. Yari wall and teppo gunner from above can drastically reduce melee enemy morale quick enough to broke. At that point, you better pull out the ashigaru into inner castle in hope to draw enemy bow unit to chase them until they decide to climb the wall and then teppo will do the rest. Archers are the only problem in this tactic because they're easily shred yari ashigaru while they perform yarimazing against melee enemy.
Unfortunately the fire projecting mangonel gets countered by everything, even the side of the barn it was supposed to be hitting :)
xDDDD
The problem with Mangonels is one firebombs and hand mortars also suffer from, their projectile has an added "spin effect" which MASSIVELY decreases accuracy. Disabling that makes it so they can actually hit their mark, making them viable. My mod that fixes that also fixes Euro Cannons as well, so non-Fire-Rocket artillery in Vanilla becomes viable.
@@demomanchaos What mod? I will download it.
@@kylehaas864 "Actually Useful Artillery" on the Steam Workshop, changes the Mangonel, Firebombs, Hand Mortars, Euro Cannons, and I think the Wooden Cannon as well. It only alters the Projectiles table, so should be compatible with most mods. I also made the "All-Ranks and Kneel Fire" mod that gives Vanilla Matchlocks exactly what it says on the tin, alongside a lot of other mods I think are worth a look.
good mod
I've played a lot of matchlocks in campaign. Love 'em.
Step 1: Find any hill or uneven ground.
Step 2: Put Spear Ashigaru at the foot of the hill.
Step 3: Put Matchlocks higher up so they can shoot over the spear men.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit.
If there is no hill, which is rare, then intersperse matchlocks and spearmen. Spearmen will hold the enemy, and matchlocks will shoot them to pieces. It's a virtuous cycle. I bring two cav units with me, along with the general, to clean up enemy routers after the battle is over. This is what turns a tactical victory into a strategic one. Wipe them all out.
I would advise bringing some bows for range purposes. Enemy archers out range your matchlocks and can do damage, although you would prefer them to focus on your spears. With your own archers, you can shoot them back, and instigate the enemy to come to you. Build a defensive formation, bait them in, and annihilate them.
The doomstack that makes the game trivial is tercos with armor upgrades as your front line, and fire rockets as your long range units. I would bring 10 tercos, 7 fire rockets, the general, and two light cav (not even yari cav). The fire rockets obliterate everything, including castles. And Tercos are statistically identical to Katana Samurai, but with guns.
AI never attacked my positions on the top of hill!
I tried the interspersing tactic last night and my yari ashigaru ended up routing (even in yari wall) and my whole plan falling apart. Another reason why I think that yari ashigaru suck unless you’re the oda clan.
@@jeterminal9139 test more positions and you’ll get the last laugh
@@steelwind2334 Add some fire rockets (or artillery) to outrange the enemy and force the AI to come at you.
@@magni5648 they are trash
What i think helps Matchlock ashi is the fact that a bullet is just as effective against a katana samurai, (Relatively) as it is against yari ashigaru. 1 hit 1 kill generally. So you can tear apart high-end units with something super cheap.
Matchlock Ashigaru = Portuguese Tercos in training
Lmao yesssss
😂😂😂
but arent Portuguese Tercos from Portugal...?
@@heberthr.6978 ashigaru from portugal 😂😂
@@TripleZHacker What does that mean, are the Tercos better?
Samurai think they are smarter... perhaps, but I've yet to meet one that can outsmart boolet.
As a kid I always struggled to get the best use out of them, they were just really my siege defence forces but as long as you keep your cool they're fantastic 'almost' anywhere as long as I can take a second to make sure there is not a stealthy little hill in front of them.
Been playing the Immersive mod lately. Matchlocks remaining horrifying leaves me crying proud tears for the little ashigaru that could.
Comparatively to the neutered archers, maybe.
That kneel fire for the ashigaru in that mod does a fuckton of damage.
I just stumbled upon this channel and instantly fell in love with it! I am myself Japanese and enjoy Shogun 2 a lot, so it's amazing to see people still enjoy it! Because I don't really know what else to comment, here's a bit of history on the matchlock ashigaru:
Historically, the rise of the matchlock, which is usually attributed to Oda Nobunaga, is more likely to have started in the Shimazu clan (yes, the katana guys. Ever wondered why they get heavy gunners?). Ashigaru in particular were favored as musketeers for suppression fire as they could, with some training, put out a heavy volume of fire against enemy formations. Bow ashigaru would be paired with them to suppress enemy matchlock troops and give their own musketeers time to reload. Matchlock samurai and warrior monks meanwhile were dispersed between the ashigaru lines to act as snipers to pick off important targets like officers. Some of the most famous matchlock ashigaru were the Saika-shū, a band of mercenary ashigaru who fought for the Ikko Ikki and inflicted terrifying casualties against Oda Nobunaga's armies.
Maigoichi Saika is in the unit right? Right? 👍😂
@@VisualdelightPro Yep, that's the man. A freaking legend. You gotta be one hell of a guy to stare down Japan's most powerful warlord and still stick with your guts and defend a temple fortress.
No better unit for going after a cheeky general snipe 😂
Oh god I remember that!!!!!
False: Fire Rockets.
They come close, though.
@@AzureDragon158 no way, fire rockets are only anti-cav, matchlocks can move onto anything afterwards and they don't run out of ammo
@@jdawg7374 True, matchlocks are a much better unit in general. But if you want to end a general's life from half a battlefield away and look cool doing it, fire rockets are the way to go.
My shimazu heavy gunners would like to know your location
My preferred approach is to have the spears in guard mode in square depth blocks, they 'catch' the infantry that are in a thin line but the gaps between the blocks give the gunners spaces to fire at so that both units are operating efficiently.
Right that's a good method to both optimize and use the unit types well together
Checkerboard is very good yeah, have you also tried putting your matchlocks within another matchlock? If you do it correctly you get tons of deathly massed fire as they don't block each other lines of sight.
These videos you make are really awesome. Total War Shogun 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. The funny thing is how diverse the fans of this game are. I've met young people who love this game and I also met a middle aged corporate lawyer who love this game too. Really good video, not sure if you are still making new content but a few of your videos I've seen have been really good! :]
Just started an Otomo campaign, matchlocks are so satisfying to use when defending
YESSSSS
@@TripleZHacker for more pew pew, use the kneel fire and increase range mod. (Gives them kneel fire form FoTs and give em 150-180 range)
@@chitaumoua2396 Ah very nice thanks for the recommendation I shall check it those out!
I'm impressed. This video is well made and I'm truly surprised by how effective matchlock ashigaru can be when used well
Thank you so much!
about the last battle (the oen you used the matchlock in the kitting), thats just a perfect example of defense in depth, giving ground while wearing down the enemy
One thing I wish these stat cards would tell you is missile damage. Cause the matchlocks obviously deal more damage and go through the normal armor of enemies like butter something archers struggle with.
Yeah that would definitely clarify some things regardless, guns kill anything easily other than bulletproof samurai. The highest missile damage is donderbus cav for the otomo. In terms of archers, Chosokabe Daikyu Samurai have the highest missile damage (or it’s equivalent to bow hero?) next would be bow warrior monks if I had to guess. There is a way to unpack the files and find that information. I’m sure some modders know and I might ask them for that information in a video.
Matchlocks just straight-up ignore armor afaik. Except against Date's Bulletproof Samurai. They count their armor fully, which menas the fuckers will happily charge right through half your armies' gunfire and still get into melee.
Otomo Donderbusses don't do more damage per se, they just fire multiple projectiles per trigger pull. And afaik damage doesn't change between bow units, higher quality ones just have quicker reload and are more accurate. You can see that really in action with the Ikko Ikki' bow and matchlock Ashigaru. Sure these guys get another 40 bodies per unit, but holy hell do they struggle to hit the broadside of a barn at longer ranges. (The imported Matchlock Ashigaru are a better deal than they look because of this - they have better reload and accuracy than the regular ones, and the smaller unit size can actually help with maneuvering them on the battlefield.)
So in shogun 2 there is actually no "damage" stats. every unit has 1hp, so whether you're hit with a sword, arrow or bullet doesn't matter, you're dead either way.
What it does have is attack anddefence stats for melee which determines your chance to hit or be hit, and accuracy for ranged.
Armour is an additional element which again is binary, if you get hit, there's a chance armour will save you.
The difference with bullets in shogun 2 is that they ignore armour, so if you're hit, you're dead
"there is no perfect unit in shogun 2"
*Laughs in portuguese tercos*
They’re close, but they’re vulnerable to Cav
@@TripleZHacker the thing is they aren't. With fire by rank activated, they could fuck up a cavalry before they could reach them.
@@dank_lord They certainly don't have anti-cav bonus, so if the cavalry can make it to them without being shot then it's an easy win. That being said, so long as your guys aren't stuck behind hills they will dominate. If you can get the tercos with accuracy bonus they are amazing.
@Infinite Names everyone knows spanish invented tercios mate. We are talking about portugal units here. Hence the emphasis on *portuguese*
@Infinite Names I don't remember Spain getting involved in those wars, but I *do* remember the portuguese having terços.
I can attest on the morale killers, my standard army (don't remember the composition exactly but it was something like 4 yari ashigaru, 2 katana samurai, 4 bow units, 2 cannons, the general and 3 matchlock ashigaru) would consistenly beat armies larger than mine on realm divide by:
1) matchlock fire 2-3 volleys on enemies.
2) as they get near melee range, archers are already effective and start cutting them down further
3) matchlocks fall back, yari samurai go headfirst into the enemy
4) katana samurai protect the flank or attack (depends on enemy size)
Also cannons just BTFOing half of their army (or general after step 2)
love to still see shogun 2 videos poping up
thank you for making this
This has made me want to play shogun 2 again. Gonna go and load it up later.
Yes!!!!!!! :)
*when you play Fall of the Samurai in the base game*
Using matchlocks with the long yari spearmen is insanely effective on the defense. Deploy the long yaris in squares in the first rank with gaps between them, and deploy the matchlocks to the rear.
Attacking units will get hung up on the long yari while getting shot to pieces by the matchlocks - it's a deadly combination.
Another option is deploy 2 ranks of matchlocks just in front of the first long yari rank. They'll get off a few volleys and then can be retreated or the long yaris pushed forward for melee.
This set up requires more micromanaging but can inflict devastating damage on the enemy.
I´m here for Juli at the beginning. More of that please.
xD
Absolute based unit
1000%
I played the Portuguese unit mod and there is a unit called Portuguese musketeers. Low armor and low melee (as expected) but I have an army with 6 of them and also with max level which gives them a 75 reload and 100+ accuracy (with master bow boost). Also they have a slightly better range of 125. I purposefully exposed that army in a lvl 4 castle to a triple full stack of enemies (mixed of samurais, hero units and etc). At the end the average kill counts were 700
Yup I’ve seen them in that mod and it’s an excellent mod for sure I love those unique Otomo units
*You forgot one last point:*
Ranked matchlock gunfire sound is the most pleasurable sfx in shogun2
there was a perfect unit in pre nerf Shimazu Heavy Gunners. wipe out a whole units with only 1 volley.
Tbh I just found out their niche like a few months back, the other CZcams channel showed how the gunpowder unit will actually think and not fire directly to where friendly units are (they'll still have that problem if friendly units are in a melee but not directly, like not even misfire on friendly), I'm no master of strategy (conversion mod joke inserted) nor multiplayer guy, but messing around with some game stats like all-rank fire brings some joy to the campaign.
Yeah its nice to learn more about a game after you've played it for a bit
I tend to have a "teccio" that consists of Guns => Spears => Bows the gun ashagaru tend to have proficient enough melee that the spears can pick up and let the guns relocate, the bows can continue to pound units and some yari cavalry light cavalry can flank any flankers
Nice video.. Next video suggestion: How to counter FotS army with Shogun army in avator conquest
Ah sure I can eventually make a video on that topic perhaps
Rush army
@@JohnSmith-kg2rt yes I too use the rush army with no bows but in ultra funds battle, if the enemy brings loads of veterans it's just really hard also like 2yari cav will lose to 1 yari ki and you can't bring just a lot of ash because you will have funds left. Let's see if TripleZHacker has a counter
@@helly9748 on ultra no idea how
@@helly9748 I used to run with a meatshield front than no dachi behind but I never played much on ultra
Everyone gangsta until the Hattori allied with Oda, have a Nanban port and convince to be Christian.
"Veteran Hattori matchlock ninja"
That is literally cursed
Either playing Otomo or using a mod that lets you import Matchlocks at the beginning of the game makes these guys absolutely chad, but sadly in the base game you get them far too late for them to be ultra useful in most situations. I love me guns, though, and still use them if only for how cool they are
Matchlock units are good for demoralizing the enemy for the first two or three volleys depending and with rapid fire.
Then you can charge your katana, Naginata samurai or nodachi samurai.
Campagin whenever my matchlock units are pulled back I try my best to manuver them around the flanks to pick off enemy cavalry or even face them along the side to shoot at the enemy infantry stuck in melee. But due to AI always reacting weirdly to a players movement its sometimes difficult to get things to work. Hence I rarely use matchlock units mostly bow due to I can use the extra empty slots for other units
As a complete and utter newb to shogun 2, I immediately noticed how ridiculously overpowered the strategy of “shitloads of archers, handful of guns” is
i always get them along side yari ashigarus, canons and fire rockets for overwhelming fire power
Mod them so that all ranks of the unit can fire and give them Kneel Fire and they can be rather nasty. The only real issue is just how much of a pain in the ass they are to get. You pretty much have to be blitzing the tech tree to get them for them to even play a role in the campaign.
Make a bootleg Spanish tercio by having 4 Long Yari or just the vanilla Yari Ashigaru and make a pike square with them and have 4 Matchlock Ashigaru on each of its 4 corners
played 1v1 march long time ago, was on the losing side until the enemy player choose to charge his general on my 1 and only matchlock. the volley went of just 1 sec before they run them down but the volley killed the general and almost the whole unit. was a huge moral loss and thanks to that I won the game :D.
Oda are the best to use with matchlock ashigaru (Otomo can have their virgin matchlock samurai)
Long Yari Ashigaru are already great, but give them boom sticks to their companions and you can have an invincible army that counters almost everything
Meanwhile im useing hattori matchlock ashigaru and hattori kisho ninjas
The problem is range, I hate how bow always shot down my gun boys so easily. So a mod changing range to improve campaign experience is more important, 4 of my boys on the wall is beast
Light cav is insanely good for harassing bows. I keep them in my armies all the way until late game for this reason
@@jackfrench7176 It can be done, but they require a lot of micro for cycle charging. If I'm not mistaken light cav will lose prolonged melee combat vs bow ashigaru.
I noticed in my games when Kneeling is On, the Matchlocks are more hesitant to fire. When you use the Matchlocks, do you target specific enemy units or do you let them fire at will?
Usually let them fire at will, if you target, they often just charge way too close to the unit and get caught in melee. There is thought an excellent guide on using matchlocks on steam!
i was in one defensive siege that i expected to lose 3 full stacks attacking my tier 2 castle and half stack army with some garrison. the first two army's advance my garrison ashigaru hold the yari wall as volley after volley rains down on the attackers. every wall has guns on it all sides are firing and both army's break and rout. My units are pretty much out of ammo they may have a few shots left but no enough to win and my yari garrison and my reserve ashigaru and samurai units are to beaten up to hold. The 3rd army just decides its not wort it and leaves the field. Matchlock ashigaru won me the day their easily.
historically the matchlock is not a good counter against cavalry, its the combo of yari+shot. without spears, any ranged infantry of that time is weak to cav, in fact i think the bow is better against japanese cavalry because they have a faster rate of fire and japanese horses are not armored.
What are your favorite mods to play otomo campaigns with? Rn I'm trying to decide between darthmod, Ultimate Immersion, Master of Strategy, or vanilla with tons of small individualized mods like match lock range, all rank fire, unit size, tech, and skill reworks
All those are great options. There is also a unit mod in the steam workshop called Weierstrass units for Vanilla, which adds some cool Otomo units.
@@TripleZHacker I'm trying to use weierstrass because I loved it in Darthmod, but it conflicts with other unit mod changes like unit range mods, unit sizes, added abilities, etc
Do you have a steam workshop collection that's publicly available?
@@AssassinFOURnolan I don't have a collection myself but I could make one at some point for sure, I see why it would conflict though, you have a great list already regardless!
Took kyoto with a army I made at turn 15 in turn 40 and was 3 matchlock ashigaru 3 portuegese boys 10 yari ashigaru boys 2 light cav and two bow samurai
Has anyone seen Ran? The matchlock troops were very effective there as well.
Matchlock units should have bonus cavalry morale deductions. Irl history, horses become unstable and panic when they hear the loud noises of the matchlock guns and also the canons.
Hey mate noiceee video !!! did you ever played MoSS mod for Shogun 2 and FOTS ??? its really excelent mate !!! try out for yourself at any day
Ah thanks for the recommendation! I think I’ve seen it before so I’ll give it a try!
@@TripleZHacker Its like DEI is to Rome 2 and Stainless steel for Medieval 2, you wont forget it about this mod, completely rework the tech tree, new units, new building/economic structure like a mini victoria 2 game and a lot more !!!
an good sugestion is to check out otomo ,rokkaku or hojo for the first game !!
To install search MoSS easy Install Collection on Steam, i recomend too getting all the SOTS MoSS Castle mods for some historical castles too
officially devin made a Ikko Ikki campaign about it if you want to check it out first before installing
thats it, i really love this mod from the inner of my heart so please check it out !!!
In defensive sieges I typically put matchlocks on the walls, with bowmen behind them so I can get an arrow volley on top of the bullets.
I also try to place yari ashigaru in yari wall at the foot of the walls, with another row up behind the bowmen incase the enemy gets to the walls. In desperate situations I'll have the Yari in the keep hold the walls while I set up matchlocks towards the center, with bows behind them, and once my yari break I turn on fire at will and it usually is enough to win the day.
Supposedly new evidence suggests that the arquebusiers didn't contribute as much as is popularly thought to Nagashino,
Still brutal. But the popular myth is they just tore ass while the spears and stakes guarded them..
They're really only worth recruiting as the Otomo since you get them early but other clans not so much. You unlock matchlock samurai and ashigaru with the same technology and at that point it's better to just get matchlock samurai.
Oda?
The main problem here is they need Gunpowder Mastery...which is way too far down the tech tree for just an Ashigaru unit. Exception ofc is Otomo which is the only clan that can use them effectively
The problem i always faced with matchlocks is a piece of wet toilet paper is more durable when faced with its job… I my first experience of guns was in lockdown when I had time (and a laptop that worked) with the shimazu. It was great that I could get imported matchlock ashigaru but when faced with any danger they melted. They were unsurprisingly the prime target of any bow unit, and putting a gap in my line just meant a cav charge into the matchlocks before rolling my exposed sides whilst putting them in a flank so they all could fire was equally challenging. I don’t think I got more than 200 kills a battle when i expected more. Even using the elevation of a hill with thier incredibly slow fire rate meant the enemy was hiding behind my yari wall I felt I was just undermining
The only way I could manage was though cavalry kite cheese while the ashigaru took painstakingly long to kill… I wanted higher fire rate but the morale penalty that I should be working with counteracted what I wanted to do… I could not even get them to fire upon a shattered, broken, fleeing from the battle unit because they somehow forgot all 62 steps of how to reload a black powder gun despite being Portuguese or something.
As Otomo, should I put by Nanban quarter in the capital, or the province with the fletchers?
Being able to recruit two imported ML ashigaru per turn is great, and the port stacks with the pirate lair/warehouse upgrade in the capital, but then I'm missing out on golden accuracy matchlocks. Does accuracy matter if I'm firing by rank?
Is expensive but yes. Having Portugues Tercios with high aim is needed in the most difficuld campaign
Yeah I usually put one in Buzen just because the better accuracy is so helpful on harder difficulties! Tercos with like nearly 90-100 accuracy are so broken xD
@@pabloarammasmanian5391 ikko ikki might be harder. Everyone hates you, tons of enemies, crap economy and far fewer units to choose from.
I always put it in the Shimazu province with the armorer, to beef up their armor. Then I use them as a front line, with fire rockets in the back. Tercos are statistically the same as Katana Samurai. So I use them as Katana Samurai, but with guns. :D
Move it to Buzen, that extra accuracy is quite useful but honestly at a certain point it is redundant so building the Encampment to give Attack might be better (After a volley Tercos can 1v1 Kat Sam, so buffing their attack means they can be just as effective in melee as they are at range and you aren't really losing much practical effect from your volleys).
make me think of skaven in warhammer total war.. some disposable infantry and gun weapons teams.
It's supposed to be a Japan game yet I'm playing 1500s pike and shot Spanish tactics
these guys can really hold a fort
Otomo and Oda be like "I own a Teppo for home-defense"
I didn't know you can build walls in front of your units. How do you do that?
How many turns till those matchlocks are up? thats the only reason i dont use them
If it don't go boom, it gets no room.
Gunpowder for life.
They do have one major weakness. In certain scenarious, they become extremely micro intensive and if you're not paying attention, they can perform poorly or below their efficiency. But tis' just a small price for salvation! MOAR DAKKA!!!
True guns can be mirco heavy in land battles especially
@@TripleZHacker Yeap, but its all worth it when you manage to successfully micro everything well. Truly, a civiled weapon for a more....wait ....
Well it is no secret that I tend yo use my yari ashigaru as meatshield for my matchlock ashigaru
With ultimate immersive mod during sieges my lone matchlock asgihagru got 982 kills and routed countless of smaurai waves... It came at a cost though.... The yari ashigarus really had to stop that samurai meat grinder. But nevertheless it saved my neck! And saved mikawa castle!
I really wish matchlocks weren't locked behind so much tech and buildings. By the time I can use them it's late game and I aready have great bowmen
The reason why in real world history guns replaced bows: cost. Could an English Longbowman outperform even a Musketeer ? Probably, but you have to train an archer for years and years, while you can train a peasant to use a musket in a couple of weeks or months. They are "good enough" while being much cheaper.
Also european armor became so damn strong you needed the firearms to be able to deal with them outside of melee.
@@gavins9846 Not really, these heavily armored soldiers were the minority, the large majority of armies were comprised of lightly armored levies, and for the occasional higher armored people they'd use crossbows. Guns are just so easy to use you could field hundreds of thousands of levies very quickly that could simply kill the most trained of soldiers.
@@HenriqueRJchiki I said "also". Never denied the logistical advantage which guns have.
@@HenriqueRJchiki Late european armor was that strong. Do not argue that muskets didn't have a much higher and reliable armor-piercing ability over bows: czcams.com/video/Bjs4-u5lO60/video.html&ab_channel=Skallagrim
Reliable because archers have to be in top physical shape to not under-perform. Long campaigns magnify this effect as soldiers lose strength. Meanwhile all the musketeers needed to do was to pull a trigger to send a ball down with 100x the energy. (A musket ball flies around 10x the speed of an arrow). Observations from veterans:
bowvsmusket.com/2015/02/27/sir-roger-williams-briefe-discourse-of-vvarre-to-prooue-bow-men-the-worst-shot-vsed-in-these-days/
I really don't get why the muskets in-game are outranged by bows. IRL war bow arrows drop off pretty quickly.
I love pike and shot, I wish there was a European game about the era in total wars style.
Yes yes yes I know right it would be a perfect era. Empire total war’s start date of 1701 is too late for me. I would want a 1440s-1648 (peace of Westphalia) campaign. However, I doubt we will see such a game made.
My main issue with matchlock ashigaru while doing the campaign is that unless you are playing as the Otomo you just unlock them way too late ; by the time you get access to them they are simply just there for the fun / meme factor of putting a whole army of them to defend a castle and watch each of their units get 500 kills or something . They are absolutely magnificent for castle defense ( though castles are rather easy to defend in general ) but awful in any other pve field battle cause archers will outrange them and kill them .
They can definitely be p good in pvp scenarios though .
its useful for players that don't rush their campaigns or forced into a stalemate since they lack money or an army to attack enemies, i fielded them since i did nothing but research during a legendary run since the enemies constant attacks on my frontline settlements prevented my armies from launching an attack as they were too damaged
@@guardiadecivil6777 Yea , legendary can be a butt .
I usually play it aggressively during the first few years , get a sizeable amount of territory , try to make alliances with the big dogs on the map or at least sign trading treaties with anyone I don't want to go to war with immediately and do what I can to keep those treaties running if they are key to my survival . If I can get a small fleet up to cap one or two of those trading points and keep them that's also a huge plus .
Once I have 12-ish provinces I slow down to what's almost a halt to work on my economy until I am making 5-10 k per turn , work a bit on my cities and their buildings , rework and reinforce my armies , set up what are going to be my main choke points to defend in case of invasion while still pushing a little bit against those factions who are still at war with me for whatever reason , growing closer to the realm-divide limit but without triggering it .
As soon as I feel I'm ready , my diplomatic relationships are fine enough , my economy is , my armies are , my cities can be defended , my fleets too , I maybe have a few more of those to prevent landings or to ferry my troops around , I have a steady amount of cash available I can use to keep my allies close for as much as I need to...I then trigger realm divide and go for it .
Past this point , however , I don't strictly feel like I "need" things...more like if I want to try something out for fun then I go for it ( matchlocks , faction specific units , hero units... ) , if I want to improve on something to optimize my cash flow or my army's efficiency then sure , why not ; ashigaru and samurai units are usually more than fine to clear the campaign itself but if you are going for very long campaigns or to conquer all of Japan as I usually do cause it's just more comfy and fun I feel...then yea...by all means , try out everything you want and have fun .
As for getting sieged constantly and locked into a stalemate...it can be pretty dangerous on legendary cause you know the AI cheats...and while it can happen and you can manage to turn the situation you should obviously try not to ever be there in the first place . It gets awfully painful in some clans' cases ( the Uesugi and Date in particular cause their start is rather rough due to their position being so many turns away from the closest possible enemy towns to invade and thus from more profit and recruitment slots ) and when bad luck starts being a thing too with diplomacy being the way it is that can really mess up a campaign .
Like the vid and glad you're back. Still not a fan of ML in field combat - your examples were on ideal terrain even tiny bumps kill MLs. Also, I'm in the annoying FBR is busted gang, bugs me every time I try and use it. Siege defences ftw tho no doubt.
Yeah the ideal terrain is needed for sure, I think they can be used sparingly in the campaign in land battles. Still they’re super cheap so even if you lose them it’s not a big deal also :)
I vastly prefer uneven ground with matchlocks. If there is any kind of hill or inclination, I put my spears at the base, and get my matchlocks higher, so they can shoot over top. GG 2 EZ. :D Plus, matchlocks aren't very long range, so you don't need a lot of LOS. The battle will be won or lost based on if you can get to the best high ground first, and then force them to come to you.
Alternatively, intersperse the matchlocks and spearmen, so that the matchlocks can shoot through, and the spears can catch any chargers. I line my line up single rank, to match up against theirs. If my line is wider, flank around. If my line is not wider, arc back to form a semi-circle.
With matchlocks, you just want to shoot the enemy. Everything is built around getting them to come to you. I say minimal cav, just the general and two light cav, held in reserve to run down the enemy after you win. But some archers are good to bait the enemy into attacking, and to have recourse against their archers. You don't want to leave your defensive formation until the battle is close to won.
I usually have one more unit of spears than matchlocks, so that the spears are on the outside of the formation, but I'm considering counting the cav as part of the line and interspersing matchlocks with them, to help them win the flanks.
What i do. *Casually increase gun range to bow*
Have 6 guns ashigaru followed by 6 long yari ashigaru and have 2 cannons to force enemy to come and charge blindly. Have some calvery to counter any form of flanking calvary, primarly using calvary that can shoot (moding)or calvary with bow. When enemies get to close have the guns retreat behind the long yari bois and watch as the AI send all their expensive samurai into the spears getting stab
Yes yes yes :)
There is another strategy. Requires mods that allow the recruitment of all units.
Superior fire power:
6 gun
5 hojo Motars
4 tokugowa mounted gunners
4 European cannons (but with mods you can get FOTS cannons reskin into senguko jite)
Set the 6 gun units as the first line. (I use a mod that allow kneel fire for the matchlock.
Behind them i usually have the 4 mounted gunners behind the matchlocks to add extra rain of bullets.
The hojo Motars would be behind the mounted gunners to rain bombs and at a nice distance against the enemy as they will go through gunfire and motor fires. (Note: Hojo Motars dont give a F about friendly fire. Enemise get close ally gunners ans that area is getting boomed)
The cannons will be of course behind the Motors adding another boom boom for the enemise.
Of course you kinda screwed when they all need to reload
Fun fact: Matchlocks of that period had an effective range of about 200 meters while bows had ranges from 70 to 150 meters.
So realistically matchlocks should have 200 range.
Yep that’s true
how do you put bamboo walls?
7:23 I felt terrible for laughing
How do you get bamboo wall
I am playing as otomo and I am having an issue with a Chosokabe bow samurai spam
Yeah AI does bow spam to a degree you can bring some cav or melee to counter or bring some of your own bows
Sadly that lack of range compared to bows has always prevented me from relying on them, especially against the AI. I've tried MANY times to like them, but that low range and rate of fire.....
How did you put bamboo walls? I cant find where or how to do it
I was wondering about that too.
when you are defending a field battle, some units allow you to place bamboo or wood walls when selecting them.
It's usually through deployable defenses and I think there's a few conditions for it to work, I'll have to look into more myself tbh!
@@TripleZHacker I heard somewhere that it is not available in custom battles and only works in campaign. Not too sure though, but one of the conditions apparently was to have one unit or army not move for one turn(in campaign) and that will give time for the units to "dig in" and enable ranged units to deploy "screens" during the battle deployment phase which I am guessing means you have to be defending from an enemy attack.
@@bhaltyloumata2303 Yeah, I heard similar. It was either to not move for a turn, or to have movement points remaining. Someone should test it, but not me. :D
6:14 How did you get bamboo walls into custom battles ?
On the map Kanto Plains I was able to have the option to use deployable defenses with the matchlock ashigaru while in the deployment zone prior to the battle where the terrain was flat. I'm not entirely sure if it depends on which map you choose etc so I will mention it in a future video for sure!
gilded accuracy, outnumbered and defending a single layered fortress and yari ashigaru in front of them in spear wall. It was a bloodfest.
:)
By the time you can get those the campaign is already over unless you are stalling for nearly a decade.
por qué no los dos? yeeeeehhhhh!
its a shame gunpower units are so late in the tech tree, when you get them early they are so useful
Try Otomo campaign
I do wish there was a mod or something that allowed you to get them earlier.
@@nuclearconsensus385 There is. It´s called early teppo and it´s on the steam workshop.
may I ask how bamboo walls are placed in custom battles?
I was in a flat terrain area and in the deployment zone you may have an option of deployable defenses although it might depend on the map- (I was able to deploy them on Kanto Plains)- although I’m not entirely sure I’ll make a future video on it sometime!
Love the cute anime girl addition, keep it up!
For sure xD
Match ashigaru + bow ashigaru = even more harder defance
All Ashigaru, all the time. Ashi Spears, Ashi Bows, Ashi Matchlocks. Light Cav. :D
Blast the japanese shogun to kingdom come
How do you build bamboo walls?
You must be a defender, and leaving an army 1 turn not moved on a field.
Game saving defenses were won only because of matchlocks in a battle twice or thrice the numbers against the defending force
The cost of the units were equivalent though because matchlocks are so cheap, which is already reason why they're so good and cost effective.
Matchlock Ashigaru cured my cancer
The bigger question is how does one survive the archer onslaught that counters guns
Well if they bring a ton of archers you can destroy them with other units and if you close the distance that helps. Usually you want to have bows of your own to defend your Matchlock units too.
@@TripleZHacker ye but still basic line I tend to deal when playing with my mates is archers yari and no dachi
Give guns a chance in moments they’re really potent, a lot of units can be used a variety of ways very effectively when you test them
@@TripleZHacker do you play defensively with your matchlocks or agressively? Cause I tend to build defensive armies and use them in sieges but I'm really bad at field battles against others so what is the best style for them besides guerrilla tactics and high micro
@@silverazrael9562 Matchlocks are maybe the worst units to play agressive with. The only thing they can hit is the back of your own units (when in the back) or they get mowed down by enemy archers (when they are at the front). You could try to flank the enemy, but your matchlock wouldn't be able to fight for a good portion of the fight.
You could turn offensive battles into defensive battles by getting bow warrior monks or a superior amount of archers. The enemy will need to attack you since you have more range.
I don't know why this was recommended to me but i clicked because i like matchlock in Nioh 2 and i tought it is some kind of historical video
I do mention so history from time to time and I’ve seen gameplay oh Nioh 2 I’ll have to play those games sometime myself
@@TripleZHacker i highly recommend Nioh 2 it's such a fun game with combine history and folklore of Japan generally one of my top 3 games of all time
"there`s no perfect unit" Yari Ashigaru wall would like to have a few words with you.
They’re a very excellent and effective unit, but they lack morale and armor. Additionally if they’re flanked they can route fairly easily, still they’re very excellent and the backbone of most armies.
@@TripleZHacker whatever flaw they have. they are the most cost effective unit, rank up pretty good, and generals can get unique upgrades to them pretty easy. Put them up defending some bow worrier monks and you can take almost any army. Hell, they can take on samurais wall up and survive. Loose formation against range and yari wall against melee.
As far as campaigns are concerned, there's almost no reason to recruit anything but ashigaru of various type.
Especially Oda. 3 ashigaru for 1 samurai trade off? Almost no samurai can compete. Aside from maybe some cavalry in the hands of a micro-manager.
ashigarus to hold the line, samurais to envelop the enemy army attacking their flanks and cavalry for completely charging their rear. ashigarus are good for defensive purposes but by late game (unless your oda) you will need to field at least a couple of samurais for your army.
@@guardiadecivil6777 Doesn't really seem to be the case. You will have twice as many troops on every field in my experience.
Eventually, you get to a point where auto-resolve throws its hands up in confusion and just lets you win by numbers with surprisingly minimal losses. Though the enemy's AI cheats are something to consider.
Do you use Fire by Rank or is it a noob trap?
It looked like fire by rank, at least for the first volleys. If I understood correctly, it's best used in conjunction with toggling fire at will off. That way you can wait 'til you see the whites of their eyes before firing and hopefully have everyone in the first rank fire at once.
Generally in my experience fire by rank is really good against infantry as the matchlocks shoot when the enemy is closer and they do so in mass as the entire unit can fire. Against cavalry though you most likely won't have many chances to pull off many volleys, so free fire is better there as it's faster. If you do use fire by rank though remember to position your matchlocks in 3 ranks.
FbR simply doesn't work properly in the game, as you'll often have the enemy get into melee before your lads start shooting (Especially enemy cav). I haven't sorted out how to make FbR work, even fucking with the data files hasn't helped. The issue is because of how fussy the game is with troop positioning before it starts the animation cycle, and this fussiness can also be problematic in FoTS sometimes units will be taking so much fire the troops just keep shuffling rather than firing back (Dubbed the "Tosa Shuffle").
Much easier and more effective is just giving them Kneel Fire and enabling every solider to fire via mods. With that even the lamest of Gun Ash becomes scary.
@@demomanchaos I suggest you do revaluate FbR, I used to never use it, now I use it much more often. FbR will always yield the most kills in a field battle with free fire not even coming close. However against cav you need to use free fire like I said, as fire by rank has a sluggish startup. Do note that you can reduce the startup of fire by rank if you order your matchlocks to attack the enemy just slightly before entering their range, this will make them fire faster. Note they will do less kills because the enemy is further away, but they will do the most morale damage because the ranks fire in perfect sync.
Edit: Oh yeah, if you do use FbR, make sure to organize your matchlocks in 3 even ranks as that's the most optimal formation.
@@scorpion5574 I have no need for FbR anymore, as I got into modding and figured out the only thing keeping matchlocks from all firing was a simple checkbox (Which Mounted Gunners and Donderbus Cav have checked, meaning that while dismounted all of their guys will fire). Ticking that box and also giving the lads Kneel Fire (Have do add KF to the tech tree to use it in campaign) means that I can line up 3 deep, pop KF, and every man will be able to fire. I tried fixing the laggy start up on FbR but despite my best efforts I was never able to.
I will say Tercos with All-Ranks Fire are absolute monsters beyond monsters. They were scary AF with just the front rank firing, but having all 120 lads shooting is just nasty.