SHOGUN: TOTAL WAR WARLORD EDITION
UNITS FAQ
6/16/02 Version 1.0
By Megat Saiful.
Email: Light_of_hope@hotmail.com
Copyright 2002 Megat Saiful
Copyright Notice: I've worked hard for this FAQ, so I'm not just going
to let other people rip it off. Under no circumstances shall this
document be circulated around without my permission. Currently, I have this FAQ
posted only on www.GameFAQs.com. Should you be interested in posting it on
your site, please contact me. As long as you don't claim it as your own, there
won't be a problem.
Shogun Total War and the Total War logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Dreamtime Interactive Pty Ltd.
You're Daimyo, a warlord during the feudal age of Japan. Your ultimate
goal is to conquer all of Japan and unite it under one rule, and the
ruler shall be you. You have many samurai at your disposal, ready to
die for you. With them, you will lead your clan to victory, and become
the Shogun!
Shogun: Total War (S:TW for short) is a very innovative game. Different
from other strategy games, S:TW is very realistic and you virtually
need to think like a real military commander. Careful management of
every aspect, be it economy, diplomacy or military, is crucial. In this
FAQ, I will mostly talk about the military part, and the specifics of
the units.
A)Update Notes:
6/16/02: Finished this guide and submitted it.
5/7/04: I'm SO sorry for the time I took to update this FAQ. But really,
there's not much to add anyway. And there's hardly contributions to point
out any misinformation/mistakes in this thing. By all means, please don't
hesitate to tell me how I can improve this guide. :(
-A clan specializing in a certain unit will pay 25% less than that
unit's usual price.
-I play the game with the unit size of 60,so I only need one season
to train a group of units. Every unit that is mentioned in this FAQ
is trained within one season, unless stated otherwise. The price of
koku might also differ. And Dan Lebreck emailed me an interesting point:
"I noticed that if you set your default unit size to 80, they cost a bit more.
But they take 1 season to train, like a default unit setting of 60.
100+ unit setting will take 2 turns to train."
-The province of Yamashiro provides +1 honor for ALL units being
trained there. With that said, I won't include it in every unit's
specifics.
Cost: 100 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Oda.
Production building: Spear dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Tosa, Owari.
Comment: The cheapest foot soldier of all. They are weak, both on the
offensive and the defensive, and their morale is terribly low. Their
usefulness wears out after several years, when stronger units are being
used. Unless you give them maximum upgrades and train them in the
provinces that provide them with +1 honor, you're better off with the
yari samurai instead.
Yari Samurai
Cost: 200 koku
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Spear dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: -
Comment: Stronger than the yari ashigaru, the yari samurai will be a
large part of your army due to their versatility. They are extremely
effective when used against cavalry units. Then again, they are still
quite good when going against other type of troops. Mix a few groups
of them with samurai archers and you have an army decent enough to guard
a province. Still, you will need to have good commanding skills when
your yari samurais face stronger units such as the warrior monks.
Samurai Archers
Cost: 300 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Uesugi.
Production building: Archery dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Totomi.
Comment: These guys will be your main ranged units. They serve as
support fire when mixed with melee troops. They are a vital component
for a balanced army. Remember that they must ALWAYS be protected,
considering the fact that melee combat is not their specialty. Watch
out for yari cavalries, since they can devastate your samurai archers
if you're not careful.
No-Dachi Samurai
Cost: 300 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Shimazu.
Production building: Sword dojo (Appears only after legendary
swordsman event).
Provinces with honor bonus: Satsuma.
Comment: Very lethal, the No-Dachi samurai units are best used on the
offensive, considering the fact that their attack rating is quite high.
However, they are lightly armored, and can fall prey to archers. If
possible, try to train them in provinces that have the armory so that
it is harder for them to get killed.
Warrior Monks
Cost: 500 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Mori.
Production building: Buddhist Temple.
Provinces with honor bonus: Kii, Kaga.
Comment: Arguably the most powerful foot soldier in the game, next to
the kensai. The warrior monks' attack rating is very high. Additionally,
they carry with them portable shrines. This somewhat lowers the morale
of enemy troops when they engage the warrior monks. However, the
shrines do not affect the troops of a Christian Daimyo. Regardless,
these fanatical soldiers are to be feared at all times. If your economy
is stable, have at least ONE province concentrate on training these
units. They're definitely worth it.
Naginata
Cost: 400 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Famous spear dojo, with armory.
Provinces with honor bonus: -
Comment: Heavily armored and thus having high defense rating, the
naginata should be used defensively. Put them in front of your archers
to protect them, or make them bear the brunt of an enemy charge so that
your other melee units can engage the enemy with fewer casualties.
Avoid having them march for a long distance, as this will cause them
to get tired easily. Bad weather such as heavy snow or rain can also
have adverse effects on the naginata.
Arquebusiers
Cost: 100 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Oda.
Production building: Dutch/Portuguese trading post.
Provinces with honor bonus: Tosa, Owari.
Comment: The basic gunpowder unit. I don't really like to use them,
seeing as how they reload slowly and can hardly kill a decent number
of enemy troops. They need to be protected, as they are lightly armored,
and can easily be killed if enemy melee units get to engage them.
Furthermore, they are just conscripted peasants like the yari ashigaru.
That means that they can easily flee when things aren't half as awry
as they might think.
Note: Unlike musketeers, the arquebusiers CANNOT use their weapons
while it is raining.
Musketeers
Cost: 175 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Oda.
Production building: Dutch trading post (They will appear as the game
progresses), Portuguese trading post (You will need to build the
cathedral).
Provinces with honor bonus: Tosa, Owari.
Comment: An upgraded version of the arquebusiers, these guys are
supposed to be stronger and better trained. Personally, I still don't
think they are worth the koku spent on them. Give me samurai/cavalry
archers any day and I won't even care to build these musket-carrying
peasants.
Kensai
Time needed to train: 4 seasons.
Cost: 600 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Legendary Sword Dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: -
Comment: The kensai is aptly named "The sword saint". This unit's
mastery of the sword is AMAZING. They can easily engage one whole group
of enemy troops all by themselves. Yes, I'm talking about one kensai
going against AT LEAST 60 melee units. Give them maximum upgrades, and
you'll have one heck of a killing machine. But be warned! Do NOT allow
enemy archers to fire upon them continuously, or you'll find your 600
koku wasted down the drain because the kensai died before he could
engage the enemy.
Battlefield Ninja
Time needed to train: 4 seasons.
Cost: 600 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Imagawa.
Production building: Battlefield Ninja dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Iga.
Comment: The battlefield ninja can be classified as "Special Forces".
They're experts in the arts of stealth, virtually invisible even in
open space, and thus it is really hard to engage them on the battlefield
unless they are really close. Their shurikens are extremely deadly,
and they can eliminate key units like the Daimyo or the leading general
with relative ease. Be on full alert and protect your Daimyo/general
if you ever see a small group of units that somehow disappear from one
spot and later appear a short distance away. Those are the battlefield
ninja, and you'll never know when they might sneak up on you.
Dan Lebreck suggested a strategy for these trained battlefield assassins:
"I also noticed that you can take the battle field ninja unit you can make
them run up to a castle and take out the front unit guarding the castle.
you will take 0 casualties if their is one unit in the castle.
You will probably take more if they have a group of archers. The ninjas are not
that
stealthy if they have to walk up a hill. It would be a good idea
to have a group of Calvary archers go up to the castle wall and kill
the samurai archers before you have your ninja unit invade."
Ashigaru Crossbowmen (Mongol Campaign only)
Cost: 100 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Archery dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Tosa, Owari.
Comment: These ashigaru troops carry simple crossbows that can take
out almost anything that they hit. The ashigaru crossbowmen are
supposedly the replacement for the warrior monks, which are not present
in the Mongol Campaign. Unfortunately, like other ashigaru units, they
have their considerable share of weaknesses. The crossbows they use
are rather damaging. But due to the slow firing rate, their stopping
power is somewhat limited. Their morale level is not exactly desirable
either. I highly suggest that you train them in their bonus provinces,
along with maximum upgrades. Not much of a replacement, huh?
Cost: 500 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Takeda.
Production building: Horse dojo, with spear dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Shinano.
Comment: The yari cavalries are extremely fast and can be said to be
"lightning raid" units. Lightly armored and armed with spears, they
are best suited to kill those pesky samurai/cavalry archers. They are
somewhat effective against other cavalry units too. Also, you can use
them to hunt down those fleeing enemy troops, due to their speed. Other
than these, it is not advisable to use them in frontal assaults against
other units, such as the yari samurai.
Cavalry Archer
Cost: 500 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Takeda.
Production building: Horse dojo, with archery dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Shinano.
Comment: These mounted archers are stronger and have a longer range
of fire than the samurai archers. Additionally, they have more speed
and thus can outrun most foot soldiers that try to catch up with them.
If you have the koku, train them instead of training the samurai archers.
Beware of the yari cavalry though, since they can easily rout your
cavalry archers.
Naginata Cavalry
Cost: 450 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Takeda.
Production building: Famous horse dojo, with spear dojo.
Provinces with honor bonus: Shinano.
Comment: These are the cavalry version for the naginata infantry. Their
weapons are stronger than that of the heavy cavalry's. However, they
are slower, and have less armor. I don't really recommend you to train
them, considering the fact that the heavy cavalry is better all-around,
and the latter will only cost you an extra 150 koku. But if you're really
short on koku, and you need a cheaper substitute for the heavy cavalry,
then they are your answer.
Heavy Cavalry
Cost: 600 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Takeda.
Production building: Famous horse dojo with armory.
Provinces with honor bonus: Shinano.
Comment: The deadliest of the deadly, the heavy cavalry units are your
elite troopers. They have strong weaponry and heavy armors. Hardly
anything on the battlefield can stand up against them, with the
exception of yari units and the musketeers, and even these two will
need a good commander to be of a threat against the heavy cavalry. Train
them whenever you have the chance and koku. They will be an extremely
valuable addition to your army.
In every war, not only soldiers on the battlefield are needed.
Intelligence gathering must be done, so that valuable information can
be yours to use against your rival Daimyo. And if a certain general
becomes an undeniable threat to your cause, assassination can be the
easiest way to get rid of him. Here in this section, I will elaborate
about units needed for such operations
Ninja
Cost: 200 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Imagawa.
Production building: Ninja house.
Provinces with honor bonus: Iga.
Comment: The ninja can be used in many ways. You can have them act as
spies in enemy provinces. You can also have them counterspy in your
own provinces, as to capture and kill enemy shinobi or ninja that are
lurking somewhere. They are also capable of assassinating enemy
generals. As for myself, I prefer to use them to unlock the gates of
the enemy castles which I lay siege to. This will save precious time
because huge castles like citadels can take years to fall.
Ninjas are indeed versatile, but you will have to be somewhat careful
in using them. If an assassination fails (which will be most likely
to happen if the ninja has low honor), the enemy will kill that
particular ninja. Also, avoid sending them to enemy provinces that have
border forts, as they can be discovered and killed easily.
Shinobi
Cost: 100 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: Imagawa.
Production building: Teahouse.
Provinces with honor bonus: Tajima.
Comment: The shinobi is identical to the ninja, with several
differences. First, they CANNOT assassinate generals or open castle
gates for you. Second, they can instigate rebellions in enemy provinces.
This is useful to keep your rival Daimyo occupied with such rebellions.
Finally, they can raise the population loyalty in your own provinces.
Thus, you can increase the tax rate without worrying about your people
getting unruly.
Emissary
Cost: 100 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Tranquil garden.
Provinces with honor bonus: Kazusa.
Comment: The emissary is your negotiator. Trained in the arts of
diplomacy, he is the only unit that can make it possible for you to
forge an alliance with another clan. In times of war, he can try to
propose a cease-fire between you and a rival Daimyo. The emissary can
also act as a spy in neighboring provinces or attempt to bribe an enemy
general to join your side.
There are certain things that you need to consider when sending your
emissary to perform a mission. When you propose a cease-fire, it is
possible that the enemy Daimyo will not only reject the proposal, but
also might decapitate your emissary and send his head back to you as
an insult. And remember that if it is easy for an enemy general to be
bribed to join you, it will also be easy for him to betray you.
Priest (Christian Daimyo only)
Cost: 50 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Church.
Provinces with honor bonus: -
Comment: Nothing much to talk about the priest, really. He's very
similar to the emissary, with one main difference: If you send him to
an enemy Daimyo who is ALSO a Christian, your priest won't be killed
by him, even if the Daimyo rejects your proposal.
Legendary Geisha
Time needed to train: 8 seasons.
Cost: 500 koku.
Clan that specializes in them: -
Production building: Geisha house.
Provinces with honor bonus: -
Comment: The legendary geisha is the ultimate spy and assassin. It will
take quite some time for you to train her, but she's worth every single
koku and season. She can still miss her target, but she will NOT be
killed like the ninja. What makes her even better, from my experience,
is that only another legendary geisha can kill her. Border forts can't
stop her and ninjas who try to go after her tend to fail, unless their
honor level is far higher than hers. I highly advise you to train at
least ONE geisha if you have the opportunity.
Update: It seems that a ninja CAN kill the geisha. Either by luck, or if
the ninja has high honour. (Thanks to whoever emailed this to me. Sorry
I lost your name because my previous hard disk was out of commission.
Email me to be credited!)
This campaign takes place in the thirteenth century, when Kublai Khan
attempted to invade Japan. He was almost successful in doing so, but
a typhoon, named "The Divine Wind" by the Japanese defenders, destroyed
his fleet before they could land on the soil of Japan. The Mongol
Campaign is mostly how the invasion would've been, if the typhoon
disaster did not happen and the Great Khan managed to get his forces
to march on the Land of The Rising Sun. Here, in this section, I will
talk about the powerful units of the ruthless conqueror.
Note: I will NOT elaborate much about the Mongol units because most
of them, except the thunder bombers and the Korean skirmishers, are
similar to their Japanese counterpart. Furthermore, specifics like
cost, clan specialization, production building and honor regions are
not applicable for the Mongols, because you'll receive your troops from
Kublai Khan every summer, provided that you've sent enough koku as a
tribute to him each autumn.
Comment: These are the basic infantrymen for the Mongols. They are
better than the yari ashigaru, but slightly weaker than yari samurai.
Best used against cavalry.
Korean Guardsmen
Comment: The Mongols' answer for the Japanese naginata. They both seem
to be equally strong, but perhaps the naginata troops are a bit better
armored. Best used to bear the brunt of enemy charge, just like their
counterpart.
Korean Skirmishers
Comment: They carry with them large shields and a limited supply of
spears. It seems to me that they can withstand missile weapons like
arrows quite well. They are supposed to be ranged units, but their
firing range is shorter than that of an archer's. However, their spears
seem to be rather damaging. I don't really use them, though. If you
want to try them out, make sure they're protected at all times. Like
archers, they're pretty much doomed if a group of melee units catch
up with them.
Thunder Bombers
Comment: These guys are EXTREMELY dangerous, both to you and your enemy.
They twirl a type of grenade in their hands and then throw them at their
opponents. The resulting explosion can cause serious casualties. If
you're not careful, you might even kill your own units with these
explosives. Even worse, if one of them got killed while trying to twirl
a grenade, that grenade of his will explode RIGHT AWAY, killing other
thunder bombers, and possibly start a HUGE chain reaction of
explosions.
Handle them cautiously. They're risky to use indeed, but if you know
how to command them properly, they can wreak serious havoc on your enemy.
Be reminded that their grenades won't work while it is raining and thus
they're useless during that time.
Comment: Very impressive, to say the least. The light cavalry is MUCH
better than its Japanese counterpart, the cavalry archer. They have
a longer range of fire, and when they run out of arrows, they can act
as melee units and engage enemy troops. Strong with both ranged and
melee attacks, the light cavalry is definitely a unit of versatility.
Heavy Cavalry
Comment: I'm not exaggerating when I say that the Mongols' heavy
cavalry is the strongest unit in the game. Even yari units seem to have
problems dealing with these fearsome warriors. Have them charge with
wedge formation and see how they slam against those Japanese troops
and make the latter look like rag dolls being scattered around. Like
the light cavalry, they are undeniably superior when compared to their
Japanese counterpart.
A: Ask any experienced player, and he'll tell you that no clan is "the best".
It really does depend on your playing style. You like cavalry? Takeda is
the way to go. Fond of archers? Let's pick Uesugi. However, some clans DO
have several advantages at the beginning of a game. But usually, it is about
their position or the provinces they first have. The Uesugi clan in the
"Sengokou Jidai" period has an almost unfair advantage over other clans because
they hold 3-4 rich provinces right away.
Well, I guess that's the end of my FAQ. It's my first effort, so I'm
really sorry if it is not exactly satisfactory. If you can find mistakes
or inaccuracies, please send me an email. My address can be found at
the beginning of this FAQ. I'll answer your questions too, but DO read
the FAQ thoroughly before asking me.
And to the veterans of the game, please send me an email if you have
great tips about the usage of S: TW units. It's a great game, but with
the new concept and all, some might find it hard to adapt. Your help
would be most appreciated.
