But it only applies when manually fighting a battle. If I auto resolved a battle where the AI had an army of yari samurai vs my army of yari ashigaru, I would lose every single time.
What also makes all of the cavalry units of Shogun 2: Total War most interesting is the fact that they, unlike cavalry from other games, have the option of fighting from horseback or on foot. This gives greater options, as you can have missile cavalry add their fire to the line, melee cavalry can take up defense of the line or still launch devastating flank assaults.
@@joshuasitzema9920 True, if used conventionally, but when hidden in ambush, as a reserve force to be deployed against the flanks, or even carrying out a rear guard action, the yari cavalry dismounted can prove to be quite effective.
@@donjuanmckenzie4897 Not so. For a dismounted calvary unit can also act in conjunction with light infantry as skirmishers, as an infantry reserve, or as a flanking unit that can be quickly remounted and deployed against the enemy in a charge. Furthermore, if some cavalry units are dismounted and others are kept mounted, this gives even greater options upon the battlefield, as could be seen in real life situations such as the Battle of Naseby.
Interesting enough, the unit you mentioned was actually the most used in real history of Sengoku period. The only Clan that really used the Cavalry well was the Takeda only but otherwise most clan rely heavily on bow (later rifle Ashigaru) and yari Ashigaru. Your build is almost like Oda Nobunaga army where he relied heavily on Ashigaru to conquer Japan.
Which means that the game is set up properly as well, yes? Anyway, of course bow samurai or katana samurai are stronger. But the fact is that a samurai is expensive, while you can spam ashigaru. And after guns became big, well it doesn't matter how skillfull you are or how expensive your armour was. You get shot, you get dead.
@@Limrasson Yup, basically what Akira Kurosawa movies like Ran and Kagemusha try to show. In Kagemusha, a great warrior like Shingen got killed by an overweight Ashigaru with a Teppu, during the scene where he demonstrate Nobunaga how he shot Shingen. In Ran, Saburo after reuniting with his dad got assassinated by a sniper.
@@hanchiman This is true in multyplayer as well, to some degree at least. I leveled up warrior monk hero unit (naginatas) to max, gave them all the upgrades they could fit. The 20 of them could hold off an army, with their 36 defense. But a bunch of gunny-bois could massacre them.
@@Limrasson haha yeah, sad to say that although kinda "boring" with the best unit to win, but on the same time effective. Personally I really like the Cavalry unit because they look "Cool" but on the long run they are too expensive to keep and not to mention getting their ass kicked by cheaper unit.
I would make a strong case for Katana Samurai being one of the best units. You unlock it very early, and a single unit really bolsters your line early game, where putting it on the flank can make fights go by much quicker, courtesy of then going blender on whatever's in their way. They're reasonably cheap, even on Legendary. They stay relevant through the entire campaign, while I've experienced that vetted ashigaru sometimes end up as arrow pincushions if caught by a bow samurai heavy army mid-to late game. Minor disclaimer, I'm not as good at Legendary as you are (I've only beaten it as Shimazu, Date, Chosokabe (all of whom are considered reasonably easy), Ikko Ikki and Takeda, being my latest success story.), so take this with a grain of salt. I do agree that Yari Wall is stupid good. It's funny how when you're defending a castle, placing your yarigaru in yari wall next to the wall is more effective than the unit actually being on the wall with the bonus that comes with that. So good.
or you can put the Ashigaru infront of the wall and fought the invader before they can climb, all while having archer shooting on a wall which is also a high ground that cannot be flanked. There, you have a perfect turtle formation, I beaten a full 24 samurai units castle siege with only 10 ashigaru with 4 ashigaru bow, 2 samurai bow, 1 samurai retainer and 2 katana samurai.
@@adamabiani1134 well I explain in my previous comment did I? Just line up the ashigaru outside the walls to stop their melee from climbing up, your bow units will be firing at a perfect angle from untouchable location the entire match. Due to how melee combat work in shogun, it makes very little different keeping your melee units on the wall and have them actually fight on the ground.
using both regular yari ashigaru and long yari ashigaru, both on the SAME tiles, and on yari wall. you get the double yari wall, a weapon of doom and disper
My favourite unit purely for defending castles is matchlock ashigaru. I just played a campaign as Christian Shimazu and I was mesmerised by how quickly samurai dropped while trying to get over the walls. Then you pull them back, let a melee unit hold what's left of the enemy in place while the matchlocks fire into their backs. Can easily rack up 200-300 kills this way. For what they cost they're so worth it, it's just a pity that by the time you've unlocked the tech as Buddhists the game's pretty much already over.
Shogun 2 has propably the least amount of factions/settlements and generally content but it was so polished that u pretty much did care,the latest historical games were like 3 times like shogun but 3 times less polished,it turns out that decreasing quality equally to the number u increase quantity is actually a bad factor,especially in these types of games in which even in shogun u can still play hundrends if not thousands of hours...Lets see how the new total war game three kingdoms turns out to be,although i have my doubts.
I 100% agree with your #1 choice. Yari Ashigaru can cav-proof your flanks, and the Yari Wall ability has won me a TON of defensive siege battles. Whether it's blocking bridges or blocking gates I haven't had time to repair, they're particularly amazing at stopping the enemy cold in a bottleneck. Combined with their low cost and the large number of men in their units, they're invaluable and I use them from early to late game every time.
Bow warrior monks are insanely OP especially if you recruit them in a fletcher or a religios region. With a fully upgraded fletcher and their accuracy could go up to 100 %...one shot - one kill.
Uesugi, ikko iki have 65 accuracy & Chosokabe has 70 instead of 60, fletcher gives 20 accuracy at 3rd building. so 85 or 90 respectively. Many build the the accuracy camp for 10 more accuracy but I advise against it to build the +2 armour so you can sustain arrow fire as each chevon/unit level gives + 2 accuracy up an extra 18 at level 9 chevron. The bow retainer for 10 extra accuracy on infantry unit is nice but not entirely necessary but if it comes up worth consideration unlike the camp.
you have earned my respect in this video, not by standing by fact but for explaining your belief. I'm going to keep looking through videos here, lets see if they are all this good.
that was an eye opener for me, I only started really using cavalry not so long ago and mostly katana's yari cavalry was the other option but i never thought the light cavalry would be so good.
What about Oda Long Yari Ashigaru? I found that no one can beat their yari wall unless they are surrounded but all units will eventually perish when they are surrounded. In my opinion, army based on yari ashigaru + light cavalry can be used throughout the game because we beat the enemy with numbers. We can create a wall of ashigaru and use the rest to do the proper encirclement.
Honestly, I did a Bowmen and Yari Wall play through my very first time playing the game. it was a logical choice, and ended up being a very deadly one. I took over the entire island of Kyushu without a problem, taking on AI armies sometimes 3x my size. lol
Dude I just wanna say THANK you! TW Shogun 2 was my first experiance with the TW series ever and I had so much trouble with my first campain on normal, playing as chosokabe. It was all going well until end game with realm divide and I had the friggin whole map agains me, I tried over and over so many times, almost gave up on TW. But then found you watched a few vids and man what a difference. This time I managed to even have trade partners and allies in to late game when everybody wanted me dead haha. Thank you man I will love the rest of TW series cuz of you.
Chosokabe bow spam + Yari Ashi is super OP. Having 2 or 3 ashigaru holding the front line with maybe an extra to prevent a cavalry flank can win wars when you have 2/3 armies like that, mostly early game
I recently started playing Shogun 2 again, granted last time I could never get far because the game would decide to crash. But after a while of letting it sit in the back of my Steam library I decided to come back to it. It's the first Total War game I've played since Medieval 2, I've been away that long. Naturally, I need to learn my some stuff, but I want to say I'm relieved that light and yari cav are on here because it confirms for me that I've been using them more-or-less right. I've won plenty of battles with light and yari cav playing skirmish roles against archers and the back of enemy lines and have even used them to break up attackers in siege defenses. I am however very surprised yari ashigaru are up there, and I may have to sit back and reconsider now, lol; especially since I need to work on streamlining my army in my current campaign, I'm having some budget problems so I guess throwing out some yari samurai would not be a bad cost saving strategy.
Naginata Samurai is my favorite unit in the game! I played a lot with these guys , they are so amazing in Campaign, with max meele attack buff (Master Weaponsmith + Jujutsu Dojo) they hold the line and beat everything than approaches.
"Hi! My name is MrSmartDonkey and this is my story. " Man, for a second there I thought you were about to go into one of those weird movie inner-monologues. I LOVE YOU.
Yari Ashigaru really are the best thing ever. I haven't played in awhile, but I remember that when playing as the Ikko Ikki you could beef their Ashigaru up to be incredibly powerful with nigh unbreakable morale. Kind of necessary anyway since everyone wants you dead, but there's nothing more satisfying than an unbreakable yari wall with pretty much infinite morale shredding a massive samurai coalition. As any faction! Probably why I only ever really played as Oda or Ikko Ikki, because their ashigaru are slightly different/superior to others.
It's been 6 years since I watched this video and already became one of my favorites of all time, everyone miss your Shogun 2 videos, so I hopefully you return very soon with more fantastic content and more top x vids. Let me show you my top 5 best units: -1) Naginata Samurai (the best defensive and tankiest unit) -2) Bow Warrior Monks (most deadly missile unit) -3) Yari Cavalry (best cavalry and excellent field cleaner) -4) Katana Samurai (probably the Best offensive infantry) -5) Yari Ashigaru (without whose contribution, none of the above would be possible)
This confirms how I have always played Shogun 2. Ashigaru like crazy and in large amounts, because if they get the experience and ranks they can be deadly.
You could fight with yari ashigaru by forming up and marching to the position of your enemy. You don't need to click them to attack... this creates a solid wall of spears maintaining formation while attacking. Pathfinding is dumb so they tend fight with expose flanks.
My #1 reason I love Shogun 2 is that even the early units are useful in the late game. I played an Oda campaign and I never recruited samurai infantry and eventually won.
Yari Ashi + Gunpowder and 16th c. version of Cannae. At center, present very thin line of Yari ashi... only 3 deep. 3 units. Place 4 gunpowder units in front of them. In a sort of V formation... makes it easier to reposition later. The enemy will typically charge... even if you're attacker... they see that weak center and cant restrain themselves. 2 volleys, then run behind the thin yari line. On each flank 3 shock infantry (whatever you can afford / faction appropriate) + 2 Cav. Keep the flanks flat, and slightly receded from the edges of the V formation. Once the enemy is in kill zone... charge straight downfield, arc around, and collapse on their center, killing them from the rear. May need to angle the innermost shock unit on each side to protect ashi flanks and become part of the center. Depends on enemy composition. Your weakest troops are engaged in the front, your strongest troops are shredding them from the rear. And the matchlocks shred them from the sides while all their units are stuck in combat. Last couple units can be used on Yari Ashi reserve or Cav... it can be helpful to engage and overwhelm enemy cav early so that most of your firepower can focus on the enemy's center infantry lines (otherwise, AI will frequently charge cav straight into your center... suiciding on yari ashi, but throwing off timing with getting your guns back in front for the coming infantry charge). 9 times out of 10, you can reposition the gunpowder on flanks and wreak havoc. But if for some reason things have gone terribly awry, you can pull a Braveheart and shoot your ashi in the back, killing everyone at point blank range. The AI army disintegrates so fast with all the shock tactics leveraged against it, that their archers rarely get off more than a few volleys before you can use cav to disperse (theyre always in skirmish mode), herd towards infantry, and start picking them apart in detail. I like to focus on killing every last enemy archer that I can. Casualties are almost entirely limited to Yari Ashi and Cav (if you engaged in a Cav prebattle). If your matchlocks got 2 volleys off on infantry charge, that will massively reduce Yari Ashi casualties and little to no logistics train being necessary. This Army becomes more effective when paired with a Cav General... since Rome, I like to operate offensive campaigns in groups of 2-4 generals having different unit types. With a main general containing the entire infantry line, a logistics baggage train general for replenishment and occupying cities, while 1-2 have solely cavalry units to raid, screen, scout, shield, and reinforce. The cav generals can be extremely aggressive and take advantage of developing opportunities a lot better than a large infantry army that may need to maintain a position on main roads. Attack reinforcement trains. Threaten cities farther inland. Lay siege to deny resources or draw out enemy armies. Even attack a full 20 stack, lure off enemy cav, demolish, and then retreat, and attack with the main army a few turns later. When you do engage, the cav enters the battlefield already on your enemy's rear or flank... or both if you mass all 3 generals.
Depending on your settings, size of unit display also affects the effectiveness of a unit, for ashigaru in general, the bigger the better. Medium is hardcore difficulty, small is death sentence.
Naturally, I think its best to play on the biggest unit size you can in total war games. Since cavalry is already always op to varying degrees and the smaller the infantry unit size the easier it is for a cav unit to smash them.
Naginata Monks Controversial, I know. But follow these easy steps and you'll be winning battle after battle with only naginata monks on your side: Spread out, charge, close in, war cry, win. Doesn't matter who they're fighting, in what terrain, offence or defence. Their ability to break enemy morale while holding ground against all odds is what makes this my go to unit in late campaign. I frequently run with armies filled with naginata monk units topped with a few monk archers because of how versatile they are. I call those armies the "Fedaykin Guard" because of their religious fervour, nearly unbreakable morale, high stamina and ferocity in battle. Yeah, they don't have that much armour, but who cares when the enemy has their backs turned in retreat. The key to not sustaining heavy losses to arrows is good timing with your spread out mechanic. Once you get it down you can't lose with naginata monks on your side.
in a multy with my friend, i was defending in a siege game, he had 6 units of light cavalry and i had one of yari cavalry. i tracked his mass of cavalry to the walls were my archers did tgeir jobs and then i put the unit of yari cav defending the ramp. they held the line for really long. then i sent a katana samurai into the ramp and they finished the cav army, only loosing 34 men. his infantry didnt stand a chance.
My top 5 is similar to yours but with some differences. In no particular order: 1. Bow Samurai - I chose these over Bow Monks because of greater numbers, lower cost, and higher armour. Bow Monks can kill quite effectively, however Bow Samurai are the most reliable bow unit overall. 2. Light Cavalry. These are great at dodging and weaving past units to flank the units you are looking to charge. They are extremely fast and tire very slowly. They are the #1 unit for eliminating fleeing enemy units. 3. Yari Cavalry. These are yari footmen but on horses. They specialise in killing and overpowering enemy cavalry even in sustained fighting. These can take out an enemy general in seconds, if left unchecked. They aren't so great against infantry however they still are effective when charging enemy units. 4. Naginata Samurai - Tanks in flesh. These badboys can hold a spot almost indefinitely and can hold their own against Katana Samurai. Although they are slow at killing, they are even slower at dying. 5. Katana Samurai - I've picked these over Yari Ashigaru for the obvious fact that Katana Samurai can slice their way through anything. If invading a walled town, these badboys are for kicking in the door. An extremely high attack rating with excellent damage, these Samurai are also well armoured. Not as good survivability as Naginata Samurai, but what you kill first can't kill you back.
My best use of light cavalry was, when i got besieged by a LOT of bow-ashigarus. I put them outside of the wall, and when the battle started, charged them right into the enemy archers. They routed in less then a minute and i had an easy win before me.
for siege defense I feel like the daikyu samurai are a bit better than bow warrior monks because after softening up the upcoming enemies they can (most of the time) even take on katana samurai while the monks would get shredded and withdrawing your archers in time to be replaced by infantry is often too micro intensive given how annoying units behave on walls, thanks to the 20 additional men they don't deal that much less damage (or rather it's very situational) thanks to their armor they take minimal losses in ranged combat defending walls for campaign it's also important that they are a good chunk cheaper only drawback of them is the inferior rate of fire and accuracy but in campaign you will eventually get enough buffs to get them to 100 accuracy at which point they are basically even with monks but for less upkeep and better armor
I just finished domination campaign with Ikko Ikki using only yari ashigaru with lone katana ashigaru and bow monks. i won every battle i fought in real time even against forces twice as big. It was a blast
I know you said no clan specific units, but Date No-Dachi are my favourite. After skirmishing for a bit to open up their lines a bit, the no-dachi will outright slaughter all the yari they can find.
I use yari ashigaru in conjunction with yari samurai and the best is to use them as a charge resistor, I like using it in sieges as defender by intentionally placing them in formation in front of the walls then let the enemy charge into them.
for most of my campaigns I prefer sword infantry, and especially the nodachi samurai, the power to their charge combined with the versatility of yari cav to counter any enemy cav makes them my goto army:D now these armies are expensive, but they are hell of a lot of fun. sure yari wall can route enemies at game breaking scale. but the satisfaction of my Katana and nodachi cutting them down the moment they engage is great! (with blood and gore mod of course) attack on defence, so they won't camp hills. it may not be min max, but it sure is honorable. the date clan will prevail! BTW good to see another shogun 2 video!
Yari wall is overrated. Just spam 4-5 bow samurai/ashigaru and have fun seeing the poor ashigaru replacing their dead buddies positions after every volley of arrows. also just use light cavalry and out maneuver the wall, charging them from behind, retreat and re-charge then repeat. Most people who think their yari wall is invincible just play against casual AI. I dare them spam their yari wall against Ikko Ikki AI.
Yes, when I'm walking around with my max level Oda Spear Ashigaru they just slaughter the newly minted samurai (especially when I have the opportunity to set up a general box.)
Yes, i so love yari wall, better is only pike wall of Oda, the best clan in the game, most fun to play and...well my historical favourite, Nobunaga was great.
Agree on Yari Ashigaru and Yumi Ash and light cav. I just laugh when I see a stack with 5 generals, 5 hero units and some artillery or teppo units, total army size
100% agree with number 1 yari wall on legendary oda campaign win. best thing is during a siege of 10000 to 14000 attacking my castle (mostly samurai) with a army of 3000 yari bow units remaining units 500 men.
Outside of legendary, when you may use pause for perfect army control, the donderbus(?) cav makes the list for me. It can break or shatter ashigaru with a volley or two. With preparedness, they can survive any cavalry charge, and rout non-hero cav, and they can move into range of their targets quickly enough that enemy archers aren't that big a deal. The only real downside is the extreme ammount of micro they need, due to their low range.
I can't remember the exact unit, but one of that factions get a select unit of monks that are god tier. They can't be routed so they fight to the last man. I've lost several battles do to units having half their men left but they run away, but during a play through i won battle after battle because i could rely on my monks to never retreat.
Oda Long Yari Ashigaru are stupid OP. I was recruiting them with 19 melee attack and 5 armor not even 15-20 turns into my short campaign on very hard. They were taking on 2-3 Katana sams at a time and winning.
I agree with light cavalry cuz it's cheap and fast. Get 2 of it and with your general, you can flank when you find an chance, kill enemy general to immediately drop enemy morale or kill off archers and go into backline of the enemy infantry. Every time I'm outnumbered in a battle, I use cavalry to win with these simple tactics. They are not the greatest at fighting head to head but their mobility can be so effective to outmaneuver enemy so you strike weak points or isolated units, especially their general.
So...how about... Yari Ashigaru in spear wall, with Naginata samurai on the flanks, supported by bow warrior monks and Yari cavalry to do hammer and anvil, and then light cav to chase down routing units?
Great list, pretty much my pics. I'm a economist and i always look to the best cost effective solution to way to win in games. Oda is by far the easiest faction in the game.
From memory the ashigaru units are so overpowered that getting rising phoenix with oda is really easy, online 5-6 units of spear wall with a few guns and yari cav with a leader general was nearly the only thing you would fight against and with.
I'm probably weird but I usually find Bow Ashiagaru more than sufficient for most of the Campaigns. I mean in open fields nothing beats some good guns but for the price, how early they are available and how easily they can be obtained in any province it's hard not to just have 5 or 6 in your stack and still do very well with them.
Hey I have a question, what do you think of Takeda Fire Cavalry? Compared to Yari Cav as well? I only have about 100 hours in Shogun 2, and I've only completed 3 serious runs, so I'm pretty unknowledgeable on the game. I watched a ton of your campaigns years ago when I didn't have the game, so I know you probably mentioned these but I've forgotten them by now.
I can't remember my exact opinion on them in comparison to Yari Cav, but I do remember liking them enough to throw some in my armies. I will probably be doing a Top X video on the DLC units sometime as well, I'll go into more detail then.
I just started playing total war battles (old computer wasn't strong enough to do anything but auto resolve battles) my first play? oda and i have to say with blacksmith + encampment I never made a unit that wasnt Ashigaru since they were just as good as base samurai units but i could field 3X more
Bruh I was playing as Date and I have an army full of no dachi samurai and bow warrior monks idk I just enabled banzai flaming whistle arrows and the 2 enemy armies just started running away it was the most glorious battle I’ve ever commanded in a total war game I thought the yari would destroy my infantry but I charged them before they formed yari wall which is probably why my army full of samurai was able to beat them severely outnumbered
Alright so I have 2200 hours on Shogun 2 of which at least 1500 is multiplayer. I still play weekly so if your on matchmaking you probably have or will run into me. Since Donkey covered mostly the Campaign meta, my following advice will focus on matchmaking and online multiplayer in regards to some of the units he has selected because with the exception of Naginata samurai they all perform well online aswell. Bow warrior monks: I cannot praise this unit enough; especially in light of Traditional VS FotS matches. Let's put it this way. Bow Warrior monks and a few other elite bow units are the sole reason such match ups are even balancable at all. And it's been tuned near perfectly. Multiplayer only allows you to field 2 of these units at a time so your best bet is focus on skilling them into ACCURACY AND RANGE with any leftover points in stopping power. This will allow you to outrange all but veteran Tosa riflemen and accuracy ensures maximum kills per volley. If you play traditional ranged armies THESE ARE A MUST HAVE. Yari ashigaru/Ashigaru in general: Ashigaru units are surprisingly potent in multiplayer assuming your not fighting either an Elite or Spam FoTs enemy. The only catch is you need to supplement thier morale with proper general skills and perhaps 1 or maybe 2 hero units. Stand and fight on your general is almost a must but to be fair I have seen some very talented players make it work without it. When it comes to using Ashigaru in multiplayer you are going to want to commit. That means 50 to 70 percent Ashigaru unit type across the board spread between things like: Yari, matchlock and loan sword. Bow Ashigaru are not really worth it. Better to go with Samurai archers if you want a large but "short" range bow unit you can field en mass IE 3+ units. Barring that go elite archer like bow monks, bow hero or Daikyu. The remaining 1/2 to 1/3 of your army can be made up of specialists of your choice; but the important thing to remember here is if you are going to bring Ashigaru in multiplayer then you bring an overwhelming amount of them. The only exception would be long yari Ashigaru which can be used supplementally within other army builds. My final tip applies too both Bow Monks AND Yari Ashigaru. If at all possible you need to acquire and field the TETSU BISHI CALTROP retainer which gives +5 against cavalry to ALL spear and bow troops simultainiously. Now I could be mistaken but I believe this particular retainer is a random drop so you might have to grind for it; but I assure you it's worth it. If you hate Cavalry draggers this is the retainer for you. It melts cavalry even elites like Shogunate Guard.
I'd have Katana Samurai in there. I don't like to base an army around Naganiata backed up by bow warrior monks as even with maxed out armour they simply can't withstand enough punishment from a sword. Sword units however can cope with anything and quickly dismantle spear units leaving you free to use your micro units to exploit developing situations rather than acting purely reactively. A couple of reserve No-Dachi to break units as Katana weaken them and most others are already engaged, with strong bows and a few cavalry at the back and I've got my textbook tactic for cracking the enemy like an egg. Also upgraded melee rather than armour helps. Basically I'd opt for meelee and speed over a big shield of naginata men. Aggression works well as its adaptable but I find if I give enemy space and my line breaks I can find it hard to cope just if one unit slips through to my bow units. Offense works well in defense battles too I find, just get on a hill and you've lots of freedom to exploit the enemy where their troops or imbalanced or AI fails.
I fought a defensive seige battle yesterday in am empty town when 45 Samurai Retainers (equivalent to Katana Samurai) defeated a full troop of Yari Ashigaru and Light Cavalry. Made me realise their full importance.
I love foot samurai. They have high armor and they are good at melee when it gets down to that. I think they are the best for castle defence situations.
I would agree with your list but I used to play multiplayer battles and a lot of times balancing spam units vs. expensive units was the hardest part of the game for me. Shogun Two, like Shogun One was very "Rock Paper Scissors" type of game; there was always a counter unit.
I know you made it clear; I just wanted to highlight the difference because whenever I play a Total War game (since 2000) I always start with the single play first before moving on to the multiplayer.
I like this video but for me the 5 best unit to Shogun 2 is : - 1 : Naginata Samuraï ( the best equilibre unit, armor and melee skil is amazing). - 2 : Yari Samuraï ( no commentary because is just amazing :D ). - 3 : Monk Naginata ( is no first because is so expensive and so hight condition to recrut). - 4 : Archer Ashigaru ( is low expensive and huge unit, early and end game is nice). - 5 : Ashigaru Yari ( 200 unit and specialité is good for early and end game). ps : i don't expose monk archer because is hight expensive and vulnerable vs archer ashigaru ( booster is +20 accuracy and +2 armor, nice recruit for bonus). Thanks for reading ^^
I don't get it. How can the naginata samurai tank anything and let your archers fire? Every time I have a unit in front of my archers I get that stupid block line of sight notification and can't fire a single shot
I find that Long Yari Ashigaru can pretty realiably wipe the floor with Katana Samurai. Combine with the dreaded **DOUBLE YARI WALL** for extra cheese.
I have a bunch of Let's Plays on it, just use the search button on my channel. gyazo.com/1d311fc2dded0627f895e51ab684725a The button on the right, every channel has it, almost no-one realizes.
Everyone gangsta until the ashigaru form a yari wall.
The other team: *we're fucked*
Daimyo: Yes, Mr. Bow Warrior Monk. That unit right there.
But it only applies when manually fighting a battle. If I auto resolved a battle where the AI had an army of yari samurai vs my army of yari ashigaru, I would lose every single time.
@D Malak it's because when you auto resolve it makes your army work under the AI, causing your general to be disabled and missing his frontal lobe.
Heavy shimazu gunners: *laughs evil as they shoot and watch the enemy get destroyed.
Fall of the samurai: hahaha haha! Your spears are nothing!
What also makes all of the cavalry units of Shogun 2: Total War most interesting is the fact that they, unlike cavalry from other games, have the option of fighting from horseback or on foot. This gives greater options, as you can have missile cavalry add their fire to the line, melee cavalry can take up defense of the line or still launch devastating flank assaults.
Yari cav dismounted are just a crappy version of yari samurai. Katana cavalry would be the better choice to dismount when needed
@@joshuasitzema9920 True, if used conventionally, but when hidden in ambush, as a reserve force to be deployed against the flanks, or even carrying out a rear guard action, the yari cavalry dismounted can prove to be quite effective.
Dismounting is basically useless except in a siege that's going badly
@@donjuanmckenzie4897 Not so. For a dismounted calvary unit can also act in conjunction with light infantry as skirmishers, as an infantry reserve, or as a flanking unit that can be quickly remounted and deployed against the enemy in a charge. Furthermore, if some cavalry units are dismounted and others are kept mounted, this gives even greater options upon the battlefield, as could be seen in real life situations such as the Battle of Naseby.
Man that made me want to play Shogun again!
Sebastian Johannesson So why are you watching this if you don't play?
Sebastian Johannesson iiii
Interesting enough, the unit you mentioned was actually the most used in real history of Sengoku period. The only Clan that really used the Cavalry well was the Takeda only but otherwise most clan rely heavily on bow (later rifle Ashigaru) and yari Ashigaru. Your build is almost like Oda Nobunaga army where he relied heavily on Ashigaru to conquer Japan.
Which means that the game is set up properly as well, yes?
Anyway, of course bow samurai or katana samurai are stronger.
But the fact is that a samurai is expensive, while you can spam ashigaru.
And after guns became big, well it doesn't matter how skillfull you are or how expensive your armour was. You get shot, you get dead.
@@Limrasson Yup, basically what Akira Kurosawa movies like Ran and Kagemusha try to show.
In Kagemusha, a great warrior like Shingen got killed by an overweight Ashigaru with a Teppu, during the scene where he demonstrate Nobunaga how he shot Shingen.
In Ran, Saburo after reuniting with his dad got assassinated by a sniper.
@@Limrasson Also in 7 Samurai, the silent but deadly Kyūzō got shot and killed at the end, despite he was a master swordman.
@@hanchiman This is true in multyplayer as well, to some degree at least. I leveled up warrior monk hero unit (naginatas) to max, gave them all the upgrades they could fit.
The 20 of them could hold off an army, with their 36 defense.
But a bunch of gunny-bois could massacre them.
@@Limrasson haha yeah, sad to say that although kinda "boring" with the best unit to win, but on the same time effective. Personally I really like the Cavalry unit because they look "Cool" but on the long run they are too expensive to keep and not to mention getting their ass kicked by cheaper unit.
I would make a strong case for Katana Samurai being one of the best units.
You unlock it very early, and a single unit really bolsters your line early game, where putting it on the flank can make fights go by much quicker, courtesy of then going blender on whatever's in their way.
They're reasonably cheap, even on Legendary.
They stay relevant through the entire campaign, while I've experienced that vetted ashigaru sometimes end up as arrow pincushions if caught by a bow samurai heavy army mid-to late game.
Minor disclaimer, I'm not as good at Legendary as you are (I've only beaten it as Shimazu, Date, Chosokabe (all of whom are considered reasonably easy), Ikko Ikki and Takeda, being my latest success story.), so take this with a grain of salt.
I do agree that Yari Wall is stupid good. It's funny how when you're defending a castle, placing your yarigaru in yari wall next to the wall is more effective than the unit actually being on the wall with the bonus that comes with that. So good.
or you can put the Ashigaru infront of the wall and fought the invader before they can climb, all while having archer shooting on a wall which is also a high ground that cannot be flanked. There, you have a perfect turtle formation, I beaten a full 24 samurai units castle siege with only 10 ashigaru with 4 ashigaru bow, 2 samurai bow, 1 samurai retainer and 2 katana samurai.
@@kaleidoscope3234 did the archers get the brunt of the kills?
@@adamabiani1134 I rewatched the replay of that siege and each of the ashigaru bow were raking several hundred kills each.
@@kaleidoscope3234 jeez that's a ton eh, so how did you do that?
@@adamabiani1134 well I explain in my previous comment did I? Just line up the ashigaru outside the walls to stop their melee from climbing up, your bow units will be firing at a perfect angle from untouchable location the entire match. Due to how melee combat work in shogun, it makes very little different keeping your melee units on the wall and have them actually fight on the ground.
All clans bow down before the ODA. For we are the Master of the Thousand Spear.
the double yari wall is my favorite thing ever
+timbronco1 double!?
using both regular yari ashigaru and long yari ashigaru, both on the SAME tiles, and on yari wall. you get the double yari wall, a weapon of doom and disper
AzoiatheCobra Can this combo beat 2 katana samurai?
I think Volound made a video where he beat 12000 samurai units (different types) using only 6,000 ashigaru units (matchlock included)
My favourite unit purely for defending castles is matchlock ashigaru. I just played a campaign as Christian Shimazu and I was mesmerised by how quickly samurai dropped while trying to get over the walls. Then you pull them back, let a melee unit hold what's left of the enemy in place while the matchlocks fire into their backs. Can easily rack up 200-300 kills this way. For what they cost they're so worth it, it's just a pity that by the time you've unlocked the tech as Buddhists the game's pretty much already over.
Shogun 2 has propably the least amount of factions/settlements and generally content but it was so polished that u pretty much did care,the latest historical games were like 3 times like shogun but 3 times less polished,it turns out that decreasing quality equally to the number u increase quantity is actually a bad factor,especially in these types of games in which even in shogun u can still play hundrends if not thousands of hours...Lets see how the new total war game three kingdoms turns out to be,although i have my doubts.
I 100% agree with your #1 choice. Yari Ashigaru can cav-proof your flanks, and the Yari Wall ability has won me a TON of defensive siege battles. Whether it's blocking bridges or blocking gates I haven't had time to repair, they're particularly amazing at stopping the enemy cold in a bottleneck. Combined with their low cost and the large number of men in their units, they're invaluable and I use them from early to late game every time.
Bow warrior monks are insanely OP especially if you recruit them in a fletcher or a religios region. With a fully upgraded fletcher and their accuracy could go up to 100 %...one shot - one kill.
Uesugi, ikko iki have 65 accuracy & Chosokabe has 70 instead of 60,
fletcher gives 20 accuracy at 3rd building.
so 85 or 90 respectively.
Many build the the accuracy camp for 10 more accuracy but I advise against it to build the +2 armour so you can sustain arrow fire as each chevon/unit level gives + 2 accuracy up an extra 18 at level 9 chevron.
The bow retainer for 10 extra accuracy on infantry unit is nice but not entirely necessary but if it comes up worth consideration unlike the camp.
you have earned my respect in this video, not by standing by fact but for explaining your belief. I'm going to keep looking through videos here, lets see if they are all this good.
yes oda best clan master of ashigaru.♡♡ good old game i still love this game i alwayse played oda clan haha
Long yari are literally op. They are as effective as med Tier Hoplite units in Rome 2 but tier 1 cheap
They are, but for this video I did not include faction specific units.
I like the Otomo, But it's like the kick below the belt in shogun 2.
It's like the warsaw uprisings, how do you expect to win?
Oda Long Yari's are so good Alexander the Great would be proud to take them along
Yeah,Oda long yari is my favourite unit,But after Naginata Samurai...
Been watching your let's plays, for a few days now. Thank you for lighting the interest to this game :) Subscribed.
that was an eye opener for me, I only started really using cavalry not so long ago and mostly katana's yari cavalry was the other option but i never thought the light cavalry would be so good.
This was very useful, thank you so much, I'm just starting out in Shogun 2.
What about Oda Long Yari Ashigaru? I found that no one can beat their yari wall unless they are surrounded but all units will eventually perish when they are surrounded.
In my opinion, army based on yari ashigaru + light cavalry can be used throughout the game because we beat the enemy with numbers. We can create a wall of ashigaru and use the rest to do the proper encirclement.
0:24 Read the disclaimer on the screen.
kept playing this game since 2013, it is kind of amazing.
That made me want to play shogun again! Great list!
Honestly, I did a Bowmen and Yari Wall play through my very first time playing the game. it was a logical choice, and ended up being a very deadly one. I took over the entire island of Kyushu without a problem, taking on AI armies sometimes 3x my size. lol
Dude I just wanna say THANK you! TW Shogun 2 was my first experiance with the TW series ever and I had so much trouble with my first campain on normal, playing as chosokabe. It was all going well until end game with realm divide and I had the friggin whole map agains me, I tried over and over so many times, almost gave up on TW. But then found you watched a few vids and man what a difference. This time I managed to even have trade partners and allies in to late game when everybody wanted me dead haha. Thank you man I will love the rest of TW series cuz of you.
Glad you managed to get there in the end!
Chosokabe bow spam + Yari Ashi is super OP. Having 2 or 3 ashigaru holding the front line with maybe an extra to prevent a cavalry flank can win wars when you have 2/3 armies like that, mostly early game
must admit was surprised to see two sets of cavalry in this list but i couldnt agree more with your choice of bow warrior monks and ofcourse ashigaru
I recently started playing Shogun 2 again, granted last time I could never get far because the game would decide to crash. But after a while of letting it sit in the back of my Steam library I decided to come back to it. It's the first Total War game I've played since Medieval 2, I've been away that long.
Naturally, I need to learn my some stuff, but I want to say I'm relieved that light and yari cav are on here because it confirms for me that I've been using them more-or-less right. I've won plenty of battles with light and yari cav playing skirmish roles against archers and the back of enemy lines and have even used them to break up attackers in siege defenses. I am however very surprised yari ashigaru are up there, and I may have to sit back and reconsider now, lol; especially since I need to work on streamlining my army in my current campaign, I'm having some budget problems so I guess throwing out some yari samurai would not be a bad cost saving strategy.
Naginata Samurai is my favorite unit in the game! I played a lot with these guys , they are so amazing in Campaign, with max meele attack buff (Master Weaponsmith + Jujutsu Dojo) they hold the line and beat everything than approaches.
"Hi! My name is MrSmartDonkey and this is my story. " Man, for a second there I thought you were about to go into one of those weird movie inner-monologues. I LOVE YOU.
Jerry Valentine just watched your video to lol
Yari Ashigaru really are the best thing ever. I haven't played in awhile, but I remember that when playing as the Ikko Ikki you could beef their Ashigaru up to be incredibly powerful with nigh unbreakable morale. Kind of necessary anyway since everyone wants you dead, but there's nothing more satisfying than an unbreakable yari wall with pretty much infinite morale shredding a massive samurai coalition. As any faction! Probably why I only ever really played as Oda or Ikko Ikki, because their ashigaru are slightly different/superior to others.
It's been 6 years since I watched this video and already became one of my favorites of all time, everyone miss your Shogun 2 videos, so I hopefully you return very soon with more fantastic content and more top x vids. Let me show you my top 5 best units:
-1) Naginata Samurai (the best defensive and tankiest unit)
-2) Bow Warrior Monks (most deadly missile unit)
-3) Yari Cavalry (best cavalry and excellent field cleaner)
-4) Katana Samurai (probably the Best offensive infantry)
-5) Yari Ashigaru (without whose contribution, none of the above would be possible)
I have definitely won many battles against samurai armies using just the yari wall and some archers. 100% agree with the number 1 pick
when attacking, yari ashigaru in loose formation, charge the bow unit, and katana samurai right behind.
my all time fav strat
This confirms how I have always played Shogun 2. Ashigaru like crazy and in large amounts, because if they get the experience and ranks they can be deadly.
Later in the game fire rockets recruited from a maxed out +accuracy providence is my go to over bows.
For some reason, I immediately thought that asigaru with yari will take first place))) Good video, thank you!
the music was a good touch :)
I just love how I was able to immediately guess that it would be yari ashigaru in the number 1 spot.
You could fight with yari ashigaru by forming up and marching to the position of your enemy. You don't need to click them to attack... this creates a solid wall of spears maintaining formation while attacking. Pathfinding is dumb so they tend fight with expose flanks.
My #1 reason I love Shogun 2 is that even the early units are useful in the late game. I played an Oda campaign and I never recruited samurai infantry and eventually won.
Yari Ashi + Gunpowder and 16th c. version of Cannae.
At center, present very thin line of Yari ashi... only 3 deep. 3 units. Place 4 gunpowder units in front of them. In a sort of V formation... makes it easier to reposition later.
The enemy will typically charge... even if you're attacker... they see that weak center and cant restrain themselves. 2 volleys, then run behind the thin yari line.
On each flank 3 shock infantry (whatever you can afford / faction appropriate) + 2 Cav. Keep the flanks flat, and slightly receded from the edges of the V formation. Once the enemy is in kill zone... charge straight downfield, arc around, and collapse on their center, killing them from the rear. May need to angle the innermost shock unit on each side to protect ashi flanks and become part of the center. Depends on enemy composition.
Your weakest troops are engaged in the front, your strongest troops are shredding them from the rear. And the matchlocks shred them from the sides while all their units are stuck in combat.
Last couple units can be used on Yari Ashi reserve or Cav... it can be helpful to engage and overwhelm enemy cav early so that most of your firepower can focus on the enemy's center infantry lines (otherwise, AI will frequently charge cav straight into your center... suiciding on yari ashi, but throwing off timing with getting your guns back in front for the coming infantry charge).
9 times out of 10, you can reposition the gunpowder on flanks and wreak havoc. But if for some reason things have gone terribly awry, you can pull a Braveheart and shoot your ashi in the back, killing everyone at point blank range.
The AI army disintegrates so fast with all the shock tactics leveraged against it, that their archers rarely get off more than a few volleys before you can use cav to disperse (theyre always in skirmish mode), herd towards infantry, and start picking them apart in detail. I like to focus on killing every last enemy archer that I can.
Casualties are almost entirely limited to Yari Ashi and Cav (if you engaged in a Cav prebattle). If your matchlocks got 2 volleys off on infantry charge, that will massively reduce Yari Ashi casualties and little to no logistics train being necessary.
This Army becomes more effective when paired with a Cav General... since Rome, I like to operate offensive campaigns in groups of 2-4 generals having different unit types. With a main general containing the entire infantry line, a logistics baggage train general for replenishment and occupying cities, while 1-2 have solely cavalry units to raid, screen, scout, shield, and reinforce. The cav generals can be extremely aggressive and take advantage of developing opportunities a lot better than a large infantry army that may need to maintain a position on main roads. Attack reinforcement trains. Threaten cities farther inland. Lay siege to deny resources or draw out enemy armies. Even attack a full 20 stack, lure off enemy cav, demolish, and then retreat, and attack with the main army a few turns later.
When you do engage, the cav enters the battlefield already on your enemy's rear or flank... or both if you mass all 3 generals.
Depending on your settings, size of unit display also affects the effectiveness of a unit, for ashigaru in general, the bigger the better. Medium is hardcore difficulty, small is death sentence.
Naturally, I think its best to play on the biggest unit size you can in total war games. Since cavalry is already always op to varying degrees and the smaller the infantry unit size the easier it is for a cav unit to smash them.
Naginata Monks
Controversial, I know. But follow these easy steps and you'll be winning battle after battle with only naginata monks on your side: Spread out, charge, close in, war cry, win. Doesn't matter who they're fighting, in what terrain, offence or defence. Their ability to break enemy morale while holding ground against all odds is what makes this my go to unit in late campaign. I frequently run with armies filled with naginata monk units topped with a few monk archers because of how versatile they are. I call those armies the "Fedaykin Guard" because of their religious fervour, nearly unbreakable morale, high stamina and ferocity in battle. Yeah, they don't have that much armour, but who cares when the enemy has their backs turned in retreat. The key to not sustaining heavy losses to arrows is good timing with your spread out mechanic. Once you get it down you can't lose with naginata monks on your side.
Not that controversial, they'd probably be #6 for me, but since it's a Top 5 list they didn't make the cut.
I always get some gold armour Nag sam and call them sponge samurai. They can meatshield your entire army from enemy archers
in a multy with my friend, i was defending in a siege game, he had 6 units of light cavalry and i had one of yari cavalry. i tracked his mass of cavalry to the walls were my archers did tgeir jobs and then i put the unit of yari cav defending the ramp. they held the line for really long. then i sent a katana samurai into the ramp and they finished the cav army, only loosing 34 men. his infantry didnt stand a chance.
My top 5 is similar to yours but with some differences.
In no particular order:
1. Bow Samurai - I chose these over Bow Monks because of greater numbers, lower cost, and higher armour. Bow Monks can kill quite effectively, however Bow Samurai are the most reliable bow unit overall.
2. Light Cavalry. These are great at dodging and weaving past units to flank the units you are looking to charge. They are extremely fast and tire very slowly. They are the #1 unit for eliminating fleeing enemy units.
3. Yari Cavalry. These are yari footmen but on horses. They specialise in killing and overpowering enemy cavalry even in sustained fighting. These can take out an enemy general in seconds, if left unchecked. They aren't so great against infantry however they still are effective when charging enemy units.
4. Naginata Samurai - Tanks in flesh. These badboys can hold a spot almost indefinitely and can hold their own against Katana Samurai. Although they are slow at killing, they are even slower at dying.
5. Katana Samurai - I've picked these over Yari Ashigaru for the obvious fact that Katana Samurai can slice their way through anything. If invading a walled town, these badboys are for kicking in the door. An extremely high attack rating with excellent damage, these Samurai are also well armoured. Not as good survivability as Naginata Samurai, but what you kill first can't kill you back.
I am so agree with your ToP5 man!
thanks a lot. Very good video. Même si j'ai encore des difficultés à comprendre tout ce que tu dis ;-)
My best use of light cavalry was, when i got besieged by a LOT of bow-ashigarus. I put them outside of the wall, and when the battle started, charged them right into the enemy archers. They routed in less then a minute and i had an easy win before me.
for siege defense I feel like the daikyu samurai are a bit better than bow warrior monks because after softening up the upcoming enemies they can (most of the time) even take on katana samurai while the monks would get shredded and withdrawing your archers in time to be replaced by infantry is often too micro intensive given how annoying units behave on walls, thanks to the 20 additional men they don't deal that much less damage (or rather it's very situational)
thanks to their armor they take minimal losses in ranged combat defending walls
for campaign it's also important that they are a good chunk cheaper
only drawback of them is the inferior rate of fire and accuracy but in campaign you will eventually get enough buffs to get them to 100 accuracy at which point they are basically even with monks but for less upkeep and better armor
I really agree on that number one, i remember I bested a samurai army twice my size with only yari ashigaru and bow samurai and god was it glorious.
I just finished domination campaign with Ikko Ikki using only yari ashigaru with lone katana ashigaru and bow monks. i won every battle i fought in real time even against forces twice as big. It was a blast
Have you done a list of the best overall unit. With hero and clan specific units included? I would love to see that.
I am working through the campaign complete with this video
nice break down, makes sense to me. Like!
Good vid ty!
I know you said no clan specific units, but Date No-Dachi are my favourite. After skirmishing for a bit to open up their lines a bit, the no-dachi will outright slaughter all the yari they can find.
You cant argue with that. Yari ashigaru are so useful and versatile.
That fps drop with the naginata samurai :p
I use yari ashigaru in conjunction with yari samurai and the best is to use them as a charge resistor, I like using it in sieges as defender by intentionally placing them in formation in front of the walls then let the enemy charge into them.
for most of my campaigns I prefer sword infantry, and especially the nodachi samurai, the power to their charge combined with the versatility of yari cav to counter any enemy cav makes them my goto army:D now these armies are expensive, but they are hell of a lot of fun. sure yari wall can route enemies at game breaking scale. but the satisfaction of my Katana and nodachi cutting them down the moment they engage is great! (with blood and gore mod of course) attack on defence, so they won't camp hills. it may not be min max, but it sure is honorable. the date clan will prevail! BTW good to see another shogun 2 video!
Yari wall is overrated. Just spam 4-5 bow samurai/ashigaru and have fun seeing the poor ashigaru replacing their dead buddies positions after every volley of arrows. also just use light cavalry and out maneuver the wall, charging them from behind, retreat and re-charge then repeat. Most people who think their yari wall is invincible just play against casual AI. I dare them spam their yari wall against Ikko Ikki AI.
Guns are even more effective than bows in killing Yari Ashigaru
Yup no dachi and cavalry rules!
Shimazu will tear through your naginata like swords!
Tung Nguyen I doubt you can take a castle against yari wall against a defender that actually uses cav.
Good I would have cried if Yari Ashigaru weren't on this list.
Yes, when I'm walking around with my max level Oda Spear Ashigaru they just slaughter the newly minted samurai (especially when I have the opportunity to set up a general box.)
My brother played an ODA campaign and when he got long spear ashi it was game over for everybody else who apposed him
Yes, i so love yari wall, better is only pike wall of Oda, the best clan in the game, most fun to play and...well my historical favourite, Nobunaga was great.
Agree on Yari Ashigaru and Yumi Ash and light cav. I just laugh when I see a stack with 5 generals, 5 hero units and some artillery or teppo units, total army size
I totally agree with yari ashigaru. Yari wall is GREAT. It's also balanced though because you can get rid of it with missile troops.
I usually use Katana or Naginata samurai with tier 3 armor or weapons, sometimes matchlock weapons
you make an old game seem refreshing
100% agree with number 1 yari wall on legendary oda campaign win. best thing is during a siege of 10000 to 14000 attacking my castle (mostly samurai) with a army of 3000 yari bow units remaining units 500 men.
Outside of legendary, when you may use pause for perfect army control, the donderbus(?) cav makes the list for me. It can break or shatter ashigaru with a volley or two. With preparedness, they can survive any cavalry charge, and rout non-hero cav, and they can move into range of their targets quickly enough that enemy archers aren't that big a deal.
The only real downside is the extreme ammount of micro they need, due to their low range.
Again, as mentioned in the video as well as the description, this video does NOT include DLC and faction specific units.
I can't remember the exact unit, but one of that factions get a select unit of monks that are god tier. They can't be routed so they fight to the last man. I've lost several battles do to units having half their men left but they run away, but during a play through i won battle after battle because i could rely on my monks to never retreat.
Yeah U like Uesugi Naginata Monk as well. The only downside is they are so expensive to maintain and they are easily killed by archers.
Oda Long Yari Ashigaru are stupid OP. I was recruiting them with 19 melee attack and 5 armor not even 15-20 turns into my short campaign on very hard. They were taking on 2-3 Katana sams at a time and winning.
I agree with light cavalry cuz it's cheap and fast. Get 2 of it and with your general, you can flank when you find an chance, kill enemy general to immediately drop enemy morale or kill off archers and go into backline of the enemy infantry. Every time I'm outnumbered in a battle, I use cavalry to win with these simple tactics. They are not the greatest at fighting head to head but their mobility can be so effective to outmaneuver enemy so you strike weak points or isolated units, especially their general.
Time to install again!
I also like the naginata warrior monks because of their demoralising shout
So...how about... Yari Ashigaru in spear wall, with Naginata samurai on the flanks, supported by bow warrior monks and Yari cavalry to do hammer and anvil, and then light cav to chase down routing units?
Great list, pretty much my pics. I'm a economist and i always look to the best cost effective solution to way to win in games. Oda is by far the easiest faction in the game.
Omg why i just now discovered you.... I love Shogun 2 !!!!! I'm still playing this game modded
From memory the ashigaru units are so overpowered that getting rising phoenix with oda is really easy, online 5-6 units of spear wall with a few guns and yari cav with a leader general was nearly the only thing you would fight against and with.
Any plans to do a top 5 for Rise and Fall of the Samurai?
I don't believe I've ever used more than yard ashigaru and bow ashigaru lol
I'm probably weird but I usually find Bow Ashiagaru more than sufficient for most of the Campaigns. I mean in open fields nothing beats some good guns but for the price, how early they are available and how easily they can be obtained in any province it's hard not to just have 5 or 6 in your stack and still do very well with them.
Hey I have a question, what do you think of Takeda Fire Cavalry? Compared to Yari Cav as well? I only have about 100 hours in Shogun 2, and I've only completed 3 serious runs, so I'm pretty unknowledgeable on the game. I watched a ton of your campaigns years ago when I didn't have the game, so I know you probably mentioned these but I've forgotten them by now.
I can't remember my exact opinion on them in comparison to Yari Cav, but I do remember liking them enough to throw some in my armies. I will probably be doing a Top X video on the DLC units sometime as well, I'll go into more detail then.
Fantastic, thanks.
Now I want to load this game up again
Bow samurai are amazing for holding forts. They will shoot from the wall AND kill anything that gets up all on their own.
I just started playing total war battles (old computer wasn't strong enough to do anything but auto resolve battles) my first play? oda and i have to say with blacksmith + encampment I never made a unit that wasnt Ashigaru since they were just as good as base samurai units but i could field 3X more
Yari Ashigaru always need more love. Good one.
very good
Bruh I was playing as Date and I have an army full of no dachi samurai and bow warrior monks idk I just enabled banzai flaming whistle arrows and the 2 enemy armies just started running away it was the most glorious battle I’ve ever commanded in a total war game I thought the yari would destroy my infantry but I charged them before they formed yari wall which is probably why my army full of samurai was able to beat them severely outnumbered
Alright so I have 2200 hours on Shogun 2 of which at least 1500 is multiplayer. I still play weekly so if your on matchmaking you probably have or will run into me. Since Donkey covered mostly the Campaign meta, my following advice will focus on matchmaking and online multiplayer in regards to some of the units he has selected because with the exception of Naginata samurai they all perform well online aswell.
Bow warrior monks:
I cannot praise this unit enough; especially in light of Traditional VS FotS matches. Let's put it this way. Bow Warrior monks and a few other elite bow units are the sole reason such match ups are even balancable at all. And it's been tuned near perfectly. Multiplayer only allows you to field 2 of these units at a time so your best bet is focus on skilling them into ACCURACY AND RANGE with any leftover points in stopping power. This will allow you to outrange all but veteran Tosa riflemen and accuracy ensures maximum kills per volley. If you play traditional ranged armies THESE ARE A MUST HAVE.
Yari ashigaru/Ashigaru in general:
Ashigaru units are surprisingly potent in multiplayer assuming your not fighting either an Elite or Spam FoTs enemy. The only catch is you need to supplement thier morale with proper general skills and perhaps 1 or maybe 2 hero units. Stand and fight on your general is almost a must but to be fair I have seen some very talented players make it work without it. When it comes to using Ashigaru in multiplayer you are going to want to commit. That means 50 to 70 percent Ashigaru unit type across the board spread between things like: Yari, matchlock and loan sword. Bow Ashigaru are not really worth it. Better to go with Samurai archers if you want a large but "short" range bow unit you can field en mass IE 3+ units. Barring that go elite archer like bow monks, bow hero or Daikyu. The remaining 1/2 to 1/3 of your army can be made up of specialists of your choice; but the important thing to remember here is if you are going to bring Ashigaru in multiplayer then you bring an overwhelming amount of them. The only exception would be long yari Ashigaru which can be used supplementally within other army builds.
My final tip applies too both Bow Monks AND Yari Ashigaru. If at all possible you need to acquire and field the TETSU BISHI CALTROP retainer which gives +5 against cavalry to ALL spear and bow troops simultainiously. Now I could be mistaken but I believe this particular retainer is a random drop so you might have to grind for it; but I assure you it's worth it. If you hate Cavalry draggers this is the retainer for you. It melts cavalry even elites like Shogunate Guard.
Darqo2119 is my gametag
Universalave2119
My favorite clan is the Chosokabe :|
I love archers...
I'd have Katana Samurai in there. I don't like to base an army around Naganiata backed up by bow warrior monks as even with maxed out armour they simply can't withstand enough punishment from a sword. Sword units however can cope with anything and quickly dismantle spear units leaving you free to use your micro units to exploit developing situations rather than acting purely reactively. A couple of reserve No-Dachi to break units as Katana weaken them and most others are already engaged, with strong bows and a few cavalry at the back and I've got my textbook tactic for cracking the enemy like an egg. Also upgraded melee rather than armour helps. Basically I'd opt for meelee and speed over a big shield of naginata men. Aggression works well as its adaptable but I find if I give enemy space and my line breaks I can find it hard to cope just if one unit slips through to my bow units. Offense works well in defense battles too I find, just get on a hill and you've lots of freedom to exploit the enemy where their troops or imbalanced or AI fails.
I fought a defensive seige battle yesterday in am empty town when 45 Samurai Retainers (equivalent to Katana Samurai) defeated a full troop of Yari Ashigaru and Light Cavalry. Made me realise their full importance.
Totally agree with number 1
I love foot samurai. They have high armor and they are good at melee when it gets down to that. I think they are the best for castle defence situations.
Foot Samurai are a Rise of the Samurai unit.
MrSmartDonkeyLP good call! I love your videos btw.
I would agree with your list but I used to play multiplayer battles and a lot of times balancing spam units vs. expensive units was the hardest part of the game for me. Shogun Two, like Shogun One was very "Rock Paper Scissors" type of game; there was always a counter unit.
Except I make it clear in this video that this list is based on singleplayer campaign mode.
I know you made it clear; I just wanted to highlight the difference because whenever I play a Total War game (since 2000) I always start with the single play first before moving on to the multiplayer.
3:45 sound logic, my dude, sound logic 👌
extremely accurated Archer Monks
:( How do you get the blood mod? Can't find an install video anywhere, and subscribing on steam still doesn't work.
It's a DLC on steam. You have to buy it.
I like this video but for me the 5 best unit to Shogun 2 is :
- 1 : Naginata Samuraï ( the best equilibre unit, armor and melee skil is amazing).
- 2 : Yari Samuraï ( no commentary because is just amazing :D ).
- 3 : Monk Naginata ( is no first because is so expensive and so hight condition to recrut).
- 4 : Archer Ashigaru ( is low expensive and huge unit, early and end game is nice).
- 5 : Ashigaru Yari ( 200 unit and specialité is good for early and end game).
ps : i don't expose monk archer because is hight expensive and vulnerable vs archer ashigaru ( booster is +20 accuracy and +2 armor, nice recruit for bonus).
Thanks for reading ^^
In my opinion I would have put matchlock samurai 5th as they stand up to basically any archer unit head to head on flat ground
I don't get it. How can the naginata samurai tank anything and let your archers fire? Every time I have a unit in front of my archers I get that stupid block line of sight notification and can't fire a single shot
Hey MrSmartDonkeyLP Imagine if Yari Samurai had Yari wall AND Yari Square~
Also, what if they made Long Yari Samurai ^^
I find that Long Yari Ashigaru can pretty realiably wipe the floor with Katana Samurai. Combine with the dreaded **DOUBLE YARI WALL** for extra cheese.
Yup, something I state all the time. I however also stated I did not include DLC units in this list, and Long Yari Ashigaru are DLC.
Ah you're right, my bad :D
How do you feel about the Fall of the Samurai expansion? I ask because I didn't find any videos about it on your channel.
I have a bunch of Let's Plays on it, just use the search button on my channel. gyazo.com/1d311fc2dded0627f895e51ab684725a The button on the right, every channel has it, almost no-one realizes.