Line Infantry are considerably less varied than cavalry, hence I won’t go through each line infantry unit separately, as they are basically the same unit with varying firepower, morale and melee stats. I feel that these general guidelines will suffice in guiding you into effective line infantry selection:

• 150-range units other than Marines are seldom worthwhile. 150 range guards tend to be too expensive, whilst 150-line infantry tend to lack the rate of fire to make the investment worthwhile. Cheap line infantry like Red Bears might seem like a good choice for 150 range units, but do you really want a 150 range unit that is only capable of firing a shot every 12 secs and even then with inferior accuracy?
  
  
• Quantity beats quality. In most cases you are better off fielding more cheap line infantry than less of higher quality. For example 2 vanilla Black Tortoise Force are considerably more effective than one rank 9 Red Bear unit. The Black Tortoise Force will double your firepower and allow you to project that firepower from two directions, enabling you to check more units. That is way more useful than the extra 25 range and better shooting stats offered by the rank 9 Red Bears.
  
  
• Line Infantry don’t upgrade well. Generally it is ineffective to upgrade line infantry as you can get similar or better upgrades by just going for a more expensive vanilla unit. You will almost never lose out in terms of cost effectiveness and you will save a veteran slot. If you do end up upgrading line infantry, I’d only recommend doing so with Red Bears and upgrading their reload skill by 1-2. Personally I also utilise rank 1 Black Tortoise Force with 1 reload, but vanilla Red Bears are only 40 koku more and are far sturdier. With any line infantry veterans you want to ask yourself is there a vanilla option that offers me similar statistics at a similar cost? Quite often there is a viable vanilla option available.
  
  
• Choose line infantry according to their role. Line infantry generally have two roles, holding terrain and pushing/pulling the enemy. For holding terrain, which is the main role of line infantry, cheap line units like Black Tortoise and Red Bears will work just fine. For pushing and pulling the enemy, offensive duties, you want quality units as their firepower enables you to punish the enemy very quickly. An army doesn’t need 4-5 high quality line units. 2-3 high quality line is sufficient on most maps.
  
  
• If your army is focused on melee units like strong cav and melee infantry, you don’t need quality line infantry. With cav and melee heavy armies, you seldom need quality line infantry as the melee components already offer a strong offensive threat. What you actually need is as much quantity as possible (within reason), meaning that vanilla Black Tortoise are usually the way to go. The Black Tortoise usually shine in this setup as they can check considerable numbers of better enemy line by their mere presence without even having to engage. Then when the offensive melee units engage, they can take advantage of the disorder caused among the enemy line to fire freely to great effect.
  
  
• If playing defensively, place high morale line with good melee stats on the flanks. When up against stronger cavalry forces it is decisive that your flanks won’t crumble when attacked. For example Black Tortoise Force will crumble in seconds if engaged by cavalry. To avoid this you need to have units capable of standing their ground against cavalry. So if you have them, place Vermilion Bird Force, Red Bears or Shinsengumi Police Force on the flanks of your line. They will hold better than most other line units, buying you time to focus fire on the cavalry and stop your flank from crumbling in seconds. Especially with a line spam you want to ensure that your most exposed units are capable of holding against cavalry attacks. However you don’t want to place Guards/Marines on the flank as in melee they can’t benefit from their massive firepower, so save those for your center.
  
  
• Black Tortoise -> Red Bears -> Imp. Inf/Shog. Inf -> Shog. Guard Inf -> 150 US Marines. These units are the most cost effective line units in their respective price classes. With these five units you can build a sturdy and cost-effective line infantry force and you'll hardly ever go wrong.

1. Quantity beats quality. E.g. Two Black Tortoise Force will beat a unit of guards. Hence it is almost always better to have numbers over quality, provided that you have the space to bring the extra firepower to bear. Hence always strive for 2v1 engagements and avoid 1v2 engagements.

2. First volleys are decisive. When two line infantry units face each other in a 1v1 engagement, whichever unit will get the first volley has the advantage. Eventually a unit with considerably greater reload can make up for the lost ground, but even in those situations the engagement will have favoured the defender. Hence when two line infantry face each other, avoid being the one advancing into the range of waiting guns.

3. Don’t bother with meatshields. For line battles meatshields are almost never worth it. Firstly they can often obstruct the view of your line, and bullets can and will travel beyond the meatshields into the line behind them. In the end you are not providing much additional protection for more expensive units and you are just wasting valuable units with poor tactics. No unit is expendable in FotS.

4. Always have ‘Guard’-mode active. ‘Guard’-mode allows your line infantry to fire even when engaged in melee, which greatly increases their performance against melee units as long as the line unit is wider than the melee unit.

5. Deploy line infantry as wide as possible. You want to maximise the firepower of each unit. As only the front rank can fire, you are best off stretching the first rank as wide as possible to get the most guns firing. However in the scenario of advancing into waiting guns, a case might made for having a bit more depth than usual. Wider units spend more time shuffling when taking losses than deeper units, which means that the 1½-2 row infantry might get off more shots than the 1 row deep line would.

6. Space-button is your friend. By keeping space pressed down often, you can easily determine the engagement range of your line infantry and thus avoid engaging where it is unnecessary and engage where needed. By knowing the engagement range of your line, you’ll avoid needless casualties.

7. Firepower is the only protection line infantry have, so when they can’t fire they need to be covered by other units. A line infantry is only capable of protecting itself and destroying the opponent from the front and only when stationary. Hence it is crucial that line infantry is covered by other line infantry, melee infantry or cavalry when moving or threatened from the flanks or rear. If a line infantry isn’t covered and unable to defend itself, it will quickly be lost with little loss for the enemy.

8. Use forests for cover. Forests greatly increase the surviveability of line infantry against firepower and cavalry. Hence when possible utilise forests for your advantage. Forests are one of the few factors that can enable an outnumbered line infantry unit to fight succesfully against two units. They also greatly increase the ability of line infantry to fend off cavalry.

9. Deploy your strongest line in front. I personally find that keeping your strongest line units up front gives you the biggest returns for your investment as it means that you present more firepower from the start and if lucky, your advantage will keep increasing. When used as reserves, strong line usually end up being wasted as they are being called upon to stabilise a losing engagement, which is easier said than done. So it is better to try to win the engagement from the start than try to win it later with strong reserves.

10. When using double lines, space them out wide and deep enough. When you choose to deploy line infantry in double lines, it is key that you leave enough space between the two lines. The space between the two lines buys the second line time to give firepower an effect and it means that the opposing cav can’t quickly and easily disrupt both lines. In essence a gap under 50 meters between the lines is the same as having one messy line, while a gap of around 100 meters is optimal.

11. When superior in cavalry, strive for width; when inferior in cavalry strive to match opponents width whilst retaining sufficient depth. If you are stronger in cavalry it means that you do not need line reserves in depth. It usually also means that you are weaker in line quantity and/or quality. Hence you want to maximise the firepower and map control offered by your line infantry by spreading out as wide as possible. However, when you are weaker in cavalry you need to play more reactive. You need to match the opponent for width so that he can’t outflank you with his line, but at the same time you will have to retain sufficient depth (2-3) lines on the flanks, so that the cavalry can’t just overwhelm a single uncovered line infantry.

12. Use ‘Attack’-commands only in these situations:

• Rotating to shoot an incoming enemy.
  
• Pursuing a kiting enemy.
  
• When you want to focus fire on an opponent already in range.
  
• When needing to fire at an incoming enemy while currently moving.

Attack-commands are one of trickier aspects of FotS line infantry use. Unlike ‘fire at will’, which requires the whole unit to be prepared and stationary, attack order allows men of the unit to fire separately when they are ready to fire. This means that the unit will get shots off faster than what would be the case with fire at will. However attack orders can be unreliable. Firstly they will make the unit advance until it can fire, which can end up with the unit running out of position and they will keep chasing the unit until given a new order. LoS can also create difficulties for attack orders. In addition to that, a misclicked attack order becomes a move order, which can result in your units being pulled out of position and leaving them exposed and vulnerable. Hence great care needs to be taken with attack orders, but well-used they are an invaluable tool for effective line infantry use.

13. Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of bayonet charges. In some situations charging into melee is a better option than shooting out. Usually when a few conditions are met, you should consider engaging into melee:

• Your unit has stronger melee stats than the enemy or is at a severe disadvantage in rate of fire but near even in terms of melee stats.
  
• And your unit can advance and charge with some degree of protection from the enemy unit, like through forests or behind hills obscuring views or just attacking from a dead angle.

If a melee charge manages to connect, it will do a lot of damage due to the high charge bonuses of line infantry. In addition to that, a unit that is engaged in melee cannot use its firepower effectively. For example when engaging a line infantry unit protected by a forest with two of yours, it might be worthwhile to shoot with one and charge the other into melee from an angle. Once your line has engaged in melee, that forest won’t grant the other side any advantages.

14. Unchecked lines are a major threat, regardless of quality, and can swing the engagement. Any line infantry unit that is given the freedom to fire without reply will cause considerable damage. Even White Tigers that are allowed to fire freely will kill an expensive unit of Marines, if given time. Hence you should never ignore unchecked line infantry and try to maneuver in a way that allows you to either check all the line infantry units or keep them out of the fight somehow.

15. If your line doesn't have the firepower to destroy melee infantry, run away. When attacked by melee infantry, if your line is unable to destroy them through firepower you should activate skirmish and try to delay engagement as long as possible. As long as they are chasing, they are tied up and can't affect the rest of the battle.

In the following section we will take a look at cavalry units in Fall of the Samurai, concentrating on statistics, upgrades and unit roles.

Yari Ki

Cost 790
Morale 8
Attack 12
Defense 4
Charge 15
Armour 4
Speed 12

Yari Ki form the backbone of any FotS cavalry force. They are highly cost effective and upgrade well and when combined with their speed means that they are the best cavalry available. Upgrade wise they perform well at anywhere from vanilla to rank 7-8 veterans, albeit in different roles.

For upgrade sequence I’d generally recommend 2 attack -> 1 morale -> 1 defense -> 2 clan attack (-> 1 morale/defense/speed). It is completely up to you and your army selection where you want to stop, however rank 5-6 tends to be the sweet spot. Generally morale will help you in cavalry battles, while defense will help you against attrition when fighting against infantry. Speed upgrades are only cost-effective when fighting against line infantry, so these days I’d avoid them.

In terms of role, the Yari Ki are the main melee cav of FotS and are surprisingly universal when upgraded. They can deal with other cav, line infantry and sword infantry. Their only real weakness is their poor basic morale. At vanilla level their main task is to tie up expensive enemy cav units in melee while the supporting line infantry deals with them and they can be decent at tying up enemy line and disrupting their firing. At higher levels they are just monstrous in melee and the only thing that can stop them is firepower, spears (if they can catch them) and Shogunate Guard Cav/Other Yari Ki.

Shogunate Guard Cavalry

Cost 1200
Morale 12
Attack 16
Defense 6
Charge 30
Armour 2
Speed 10
Encourages Nearby Units

In essence a Great Guard light. Shogunate Guard Cav are the strongest, but not the most cost effective cavalry in FotS. Generally upgraded Yari Ki can achieve similar stats for cheaper, which means that the primary use of Shogunate Guard Cav is to act as additional lancers in the army and give morale support to Yari Ki with their inspire aura. If upgraded to a compareable level to Yari Ki, they will beat them handily but it is never a particularly effective matchup as the Shogunate Guard Cav are such an expensive unit…

It is also worthwhile to note that Shogunate Guard Cav are slower than Yari Ki, which means that Yari Ki will often outpace their Shogunate Guard Cav support. Upgrade wise I’d recommend either 2 attack or 2 attack -> 2 defense/speed -> 1/2 clan attack. Vanilla Shogunate Guard cav are generally a waste and I’d recommend having them at rank 4/5 if you do bring them. Otherwise you’re paying 1200 for a cavalry unit that is weaker and slower than Yari Ki.

Also do not underestimate the usefulness of speed upgrades for Shogunate Guard cav. The difference between ten and eleven speed can be the difference between taking a volley from line infantry or overrunning the unit before it gets a shot off.


Sabre Cavalry

Cost 650
Morale 10
Attack 18
Defense 7
Charge 10
Armour 2
Speed 10

The Saber Cav is a highly problematic cavalry unit. It has an immense attack, good defense and morale for its cheap cost, yet it has, weak charge, little armour and terrible speed. Yari Ki tears them apart and their slower speed makes them harder to utilise against line infantry. This doesn’t however mean that they are a useless unit, but merely that they are a unit that needs to be utilized with care and upgraded well. Their charge is deceptive as well, as they ride the heaviest mounts in the game, which means that their charge has greater momentum, increasing knockdowns and push backs, which again increases kills indirectly.

So how should you upgrade Saber Cav? First thing that they need is speed and the more speed the better. Hence the upgrade path I use is 2 speed -> 2 attack -> 2 clan attack. Alternatively you can go for more defense to increase their staying power, but against line infantry speed is better than defense.

As to the role of Saber Cav, their primary use is to tear apart opposing Shogitai. With 31 attack, they will do so very effectively. Their secondary use is to destroy enemy line, but to do so they need to attack line infantry that is distracted/disrupted. To function effectively in this role, the Saber Cav need all the speed that they can get. They should also at all costs avoid engaging Yari Ki or Shogunate Guard Cav, save for cheeky rear charges to rout the engaged opposing cav quickly.

Imperial Guard Cav

Cost 1050
Morale 12
Attack 15
Defense 10
Charge 20
Speed 10
Range 125
Accuracy 40
Reload 80
Ammunition 60
Inspires Units

The Imperial Guard Cav is an excellent cavalry unit. They are armed with rapid firing carbines and are capable of fast and accurate shots, they inspire nearby troops and they possess decent melee stats as well. And all this comes at the price of 1050 koku, which isn’t a lot. However, the unit doesn’t upgrade well as most bonuses are just negligible save for the extra range.

The role of the Imperial Guard Cav is primarily one of versatile support. With their mobility, firepower and inspiring presence they are excellent support for any cav or line battle. They are also the hard counter for any melee infantry units and a single Imperial Guard Cav unit is capable of destroying several melee infantry units with their firepower. Generally bringing in an Imperial Guard Cav will add a flexible unit that can deal with most unit types depending on their utilization.

150 range Imperial Guard Cavalry can be handy, but at the cost of 1500+ also very risky. They offer great skirmishing abilities, allowing you to even snipe off 125 range line units before they get a shot off. But one mis-micro can result in the unit getting shot, quickly throwing all those funds down the drain. In addition they are an attritional unit, meaning that they need time to return the investment in kills. Hence they are a bad choice for high tempo matches.

Due to their melee stats it is often alluring to send them charging into the back of enemy units, but it is seldom worthwhile to do so if the unit still has ammo left. Generally if the unit is free to shoot at will, it is capable of shooting every 6 seconds or so, which is a faster rate of fire than Marines, which means that the unit usually kills more effectively with firepower than with melee attacks. Plus they will generally lose men quite rapidly when engaged in melee against melee units.

Carbine Cavalry

Cost 900
Morale 8
Attack 13
Defense 8
Armour 2
Charge 15
Speed 10
Range 125
Accuracy 30
Reload 75
Ammunition 40

Carbine Cavalry offers very similar firepower to the Imperial Guard Cavalry, but at a cheaper cost. They are more of a pure skirmishing unit than a great supporting unit. They don’t upgrade well, meaning that if you want to invest a bit more in gun cav, get the Imperial Guard Cav. But if you want Carbine armed cavalry for skirmishing purposes, you can’t go wrong with Carbine Cav as the difference between them and the Imperial Guard Cav is minimal in terms of firepower.

Revolver Cav

Cost 1000
Morale 6
Attack 10
Defense 3
Armour 2
Speed 12
Range 70
Accuracy 15
Reload 20
Ammunition 12

The Revolver Cav are a high risk, high reward type of unit. On first glance the stats of the unit are quite horrible, but Revolver Cav have a dirty little secret. They dual wield revolvers, which means that they shoot twice in each volley and do so without having to reload in between. This means that the unit is capable of shooting roughly 700 bullets in 20 seconds or so. This sort of firepower is absolute murder to any unit that happens to be on the receiving end. Already 2-3 volleys are enough to demolish any unit that they face, meaning that they can quickly take out key enemy units like Marines, Shogitai or strong, expensive cavalry.

However the Revolver Cav also present a considerable risk to their user. Firstly, they have a really short range, which means that actually getting close enough to fire can be a problem in two different ways. Firstly it means that frontal advances against waiting line units are highly inadvisable. Secondly it means that operating Revolver Cav anywhere near enemy cav comes with the risk of being caught before the firepower can come to bear.

Generally giving attack orders with Revolver Cav is risky if the attack order is given when the target is out of range, as it might make the Revolver Cav advance a lot closer. It is also risky to run the Revolver Cav into range when up against cavalry as they cannot fire while halting. Generally you either want the Revolver Cav to be fully halted before the enemy cav is in range or alternatively walking into range. For some reason the rate of fire of gun cav is the best while walking due to need to reorganize the formation. Alternatively, you want to give the unit a firing order once they are in range, as that should result in instant firing and obliteration of the target.

Hence it is adviseable to either use something to pull the enemy into Revolver Cav range, advance from a blind angle or use some units to screen the Revolver Cav. Once a unit is in range, you can use the attack order without major qualms. Also it is worthwhile to keep atleast a 50 meter distance between your melee cav and the supporting Revolver Cav when engaging in cav battles. If the distance is smaller than that, there is a big risk of ending up with the Revolver Cav being dragged into the melee.

I would also advise using ‘Guard’-mode for Revolver Cav, to allow them to shoot up any cav that tries to engage them from the front while in melee. Skirmish mode is often a bad idea, because it usually reduces the firing opportunities of the Revolver Cav due to the auto-withdrawal and can end up getting bugged, but it does allow the unit to stay alive with less micromanagement.

Upgradewise you are best with vanilla. Upgraded Revolver Cav don’t get any considerable increase in their killing power, which means that the upgrades are mostly wasted. So keep them at vanilla. Increased ammo can be good if you know that you will face a melee rusher, but they are usually just too risky.

Revolver Cav are a unit that will reward players who have managed to master them, but they are a unit that requires a fair deal of experience with them to be reliably useful. If you have a lot of time to train, then you definitely should train in the use of Revolver Cav, as they are battle winners.

Bow Ki

Cost 550
Morale 10
Attack 5
Defense 2
Charge 10
Armour 2
Speed 10
Range 150
Accuracy 60
Reload 35
Ammunition 25

Bow Ki are a unique unit in the context of FotS. They are cheap and cost effective ranged cavalry. In terms of firepower they come nowhere near the kill potential of the different gun armed cavalry units, but they have other advantages compared to them. Firstly they have a range of 150, which means that they are able to outrange most rifle-armed opponents. Additionally they are capable of firing without a direct line of sight, which means that they can shoot the enemy from behind reverse slopes, hilltops and other obstructions. In some situations this ability can be battle-winning as it can force the enemy to advance into waiting guns at nearby point blank ranges.

With upgrades the kill potential of the unit does rise considerably. At rank 9 they can achieve an accuracy of 90 with a range of 175, which makes the unit very easy to use and immensely useful in eliminating key enemy units. It also makes them a nice way to get an advantage in a stand-off between 150-range units. However it can be difficult to unlock the rank 9 upgrades.

At their cheapest they are good at weakening Shogunate Guard Cav, who are very weak against arrows with their 2 armour. They can also do a good job at tearing apart Shogitai. In terms of upgrades I’d prioritise extra ammunition and accuracy, as those are the main two things that increase the units killing power. As with all bow cav, the extra reload seldom comes into play as you can seldom stand still and fire at will unless firing from a dead angle.

They can also make for excellent late game flankers, as they are cavalry for morale purposes and their charge is strong enough to deal good damage on rear charges. Additionally they can make for a nice meatshield if you are forced to commit frontal assaults with your cav forces. One thing that isn’t apparent is that Bow Ki can capture buildings while mounted with ‘Cavalry Capture’. This means that they can be used to capture low priority buildings quickly and relatively cheaply, while then being able to get them back into the fight quickly.

Overall they’re definitely not a unit that should be overlooked, because on the right map (hilly) and against the right player (line heavy armies), they can be very effective and a great annoyance.

Samurai Hero

Too few men, which means not enough firepower for their cost. Don’t bother.

1. Never engage prepared line infantry frontally

Frontal attacks with cav against prepared line infantry are seldom worth it as a single volley from a line unit can halve a cavalry units combat effectiveness. Losing 50% of your expensive Yari Ki to beat a Black Tortoise or White Bear is seldom a good deal. Instead:

2. Always try to attack from a blind spot

Charging from the rear or flank of the unit is always preferable. Line infantry can shoot at a 45 degree angle to either side, but beyond that they are forced to turn to fire. Usually line infantry can’t turn fast enough to fire off a volley and have to rely on reserves in depth to deal with cav that has charged into their flank.

3. Utilise several angles for your cav threat/attack

If the cav attack only comes from one angle or direction, the opposing player seldom has any real issues in stopping it and rotating his guns to shoot it up. By placing your cav around the opposing army in a manner that allows them to converge upon the focal point of the assault from several directions at once or in sequence, you will make it hard for the opponent to focus his firepower to stop your attack.

4. Unsettle the enemy line through maneuver

Generally even if you place your cav on the enemy flank, the enemy generally has time to rotate his lines to face the cavalry threat. Hence it is usually smart to initiate your cavalry attack with a maneuver with a part of your cavalry towards a dead angle of your opponents army, which will force him to start rotating. Then while he is in the middle of the rotation, quickly change direction into a full on cav assault. If done correctly it will allow you a free charge into the most exposed line infantry, with other lines exposing themselves in succession as they need to rotate to deal with the threat.

5. Try to attack the enemy in a position where his line can’t support each other

With cavalry you can often choose when and where you engage. Generally one of the best situations to attack in is when the enemy line is divided between several fields of fire. For example a situation where a ridge isolates a third of the enemy line from the other line inf is a near perfect opportunity for attacking. Generally the hardest terrain to attack line in is completely flat terrain as it means lines can easily rotate to support each other. Broken terrain makes it harder for lines to support each other and thus makes it easier to successfully break the army with a cav assault. Just let the terrain divide the opponent and use the maneuverability of cavalry to concentrate overwhelming forces against the divided sections.

6. Utilise the terrain as cover for your advance

This goes without saying, but always observe the terrain carefully and try to find avenues of attack that offer as much cover as possible. The less time the enemy has to shoot, the better your chances of success.

7. Press aggressively with your cav when possible

If you are superior in cavalry, then you should press aggressively with your cavalry. Placing cavalry in the flanks and rear will limit enemy forward momentum as the cavalry needs to be checked at all times. This will both make it hard for the opponent to get key terrain and to advance against you. If the opponent loses faith in their ability to advance and attack you, then you control the outcome of the battle. It will also allow you to control the map more effectively.

8. Avoid fighting cavalry battles within enemy line range (and try to get the enemy to fight within your line’s range)

Another fairly obvious thing, but stating it regardless. Line infantry can quickly sway the direction of any cavalry battle, and fighting enemy cav supported by line will quickly lose you the cav battle and vice versa.

9. Ensure that any cav attack has the mass to engage all unengaged line infantry in the sector

It is important to ensure that all cav attacks launched have enough mass. Without sufficient mass the cavalry will get bogged down and shot apart. For example a situation where two cav attack four line will result in the cav destroying most of the two line they engage first, but in process being destroyed by the two supporting line that are left unengaged and free to shoot. Hence try to launch your cav attacks in situations where you have atleast a 1-1 parity in numbers or ensure numerical parity through infantry support.

If the lines are layered, you should quickly push through the first and let slower follow up troops deal with the disrupted first line.

10. Getting the charge bonus is essential

Usually the quickest way to lose a cav battle is to get caught in a cav battle where your cav units don’t get a charge bonus due to either being caught standing/running or getting intercepted by another cav unit while charging. Hence you should place a lot of importance on the micromanagement of your cav engagement, to avoid getting your cav charged without getting a charge bonus yourself. It is a small thing, but it can easily lose you battles. You can of course also try to catch your opponent off-guard or confuse his cav orders by last second maneuvers, if you have the micro to pull it off. I’ll talk some more about it in the tips and tricks.

11. Cav battles are decided by flanking

As the morale of most cavalry units is weak, the most effective way to win cav battles is through rear charges. But pulling off a rear charge often requires numerical superiority, because pinning two cav units with one can be very risky, especially when the two can attempt to push through before the flanking unit makes contact.

12. If weaker on cavalry, bring your cav to the center

If you are considerably weaker in cavalry, then the last thing that you want to do is place your cavalry on the flanks as blockers. Quite often you are actually better off taking the initiative and attacking the enemy line frontally rather than trying to counter the enemy cav on the flanks. There are two reasons why this tends to be a smart move. Firstly it can disrupt and destroy enemy the weaker enemy line infantry and more importantly it will usually lure the enemy cav towards the center to be shot by your line and drag them out of position. The less cav the enemy has on your flank, the less of a danger his cav poses. There is also a third reason why it can be a good idea and that is the fact that it is unexpected. People don’t expect opponent’s weaker in cavalry to actually use their cav aggressively and hence they can be caught flatfooted by a sudden cavalry charge against their line. It will unsettle them as the battle takes an unexpected turn, which can often result in their cavalry being misused. Also once the enemy line is engaged by cav, it allows your line to focus on his cavalry, which is usually a better case than your cav against his cav and your line against his line.

However as usual don’t go charging into prepared line infantry, but instead look for the moment of weakness(=movement).

12. Never attack revolver cav frontally 1v1

When your opponent has revolver cav, never attack the unit frontally with just one unit. If you have to attack them frontally, always try to have one extra unit. The extra unit will allow you to close in and overwhelm the unit before it can disintegrate one of yours. In a 1v1 situation, try to utilise the short range of the revolver cav to your advantage by forcing them to turn around their axis by running past them outside their firing cone and then turning in for the charge. The time the revolver cav spend turning is time they spend not firing.

13. Utilise Your General

Morale can be crucial in cavalry battles, which is why it is key to use your rally for the main cav engagement. In addition to that, the generals aura is stronger than the aura of guards, meaning that your morale will be better.

14. Friendly Fire is Always a Gamble

The -6 morale penalty from friendly fire is a big problem in cavalry battles. Fr

Spear Levy
Roles: Cav Blocker, Meatshield
Upgrades: None, 1 morale.

Spear Levy are the cheapest melee infantry available in FotS. They are good against cavalry due to their spears and they offer a decent attack and defense for their price, which enables them to perform decently against weak line infantry as well. However they are hamstrung by their poor morale. This poor morale means that without careful morale management, you end up with a costineffective unit, as they can easily rout regardless of actual casualties suffered. This means that especially in a meatshield role, they will require morale boosts to perform effectively. Against cavalry they will perform well, but rear charges can easily shatter Spear Levy and they are prone to join a mass rout. At all costs avoid getting your Spear Levy hit by friendly fire, as they don’t have the morale to take that. You should also try to utilise Rally, Heroic Assault and auras to keep your Spear Levy in the fight.

When carefully managed, Spear Levy can do a good job in melee against any cav or basic line infantry and will atleast break even in terms of kills to cost ratio. They excel at denying terrain or an approach for enemy cavalry. But they aren’t a unit I’d recommend to careless players due to their poor morale and the need for careful morale management.

Kyoto Police
Roles: Anti-Cav Specialist
Upgrades: None

Kyoto Police are a niche unit and their only role is to offer an affordable, yet reliable anti-cav specialist infantry. They are considerably more powerful than Spear Levy, but this is reflected in their price. At 700 koku, they compete with Yari Kachi due to similarity in cost and statistics, and they don’t do it all too satisfactorily. Where as the Yari Kachi are universalists due to their versatile stats, the Kyoto Police are pure specialists. Against cavalry there isn’t much difference between Kyoto Police and Yari Kachi, but against any other units the difference in performance is marked. They do not upgrade well at all due to vanilla Yari Kachi being noticeably better and only 100 koku more expensive. They lack the morale to perform well in an assault role and are too expensive for meatshields. But if you want a reliable spear unit for killing cavalry, then Kyoto Police offer that ability at a cheaper cost than the Yari Kachi.

Yari Kachi
Roles: Anti Cav, Assault Infantry
Upgrades: None, -> 2 attack, -> 2-4 def, -> 1 morale.

Yari Kachi are the versatile universalist of melee infantry. They are reliable against almost anything, even holding their own against sword infantry with sufficient upgrades. They will beat melee cavalry with ease and will do a great job against most line infantry. Most importantly unlike sword-wielding assault infantry, they do not require cover from cavalry threats. However due to their 8 morale, you will need to choose the time and angle of your assault correctly. Although their killing power isn’t markedly reduced by a volley or two from line infantry, their morale might not hold it. Hence you want to choose your attack so that they can get in among the enemy line without getting shot, making Yari Kachi the unit of choice for a flanking assault infantry as they can operate independently of cavalry.

Yari Kachi upgrade well, with attack being a priority to make them more effective against line infantry, followed by defense and morale. Rank 7 Yari Kachi (2 attack, 4 def, 1 morale) are one of the most powerful melee units in the game, but generally you will do well with just rank 2 Yari Kachi (2 attack).

Kisho Ninja
Role: Anti-Line Infantry Ambush
Upgrades: 2 attack, 2 def

Kisho Ninja offer you something no other melee infantry can, which is the ability to suddenly ambush enemy line infantry anywhere on the battlefield. This sudden attack often engages one line infantry, which can create an opening for the rest of your melee units to exploit. However they are unit that heavily relies on timing and positioning. If they are poorly positioned the opponent might never come close to them or might discover them too early, and if you time your ambush poorly, the enemy will have killed the ninjas before your other units can exploit the opening. To use Ninja effectively, you need to deploy and move them through forests. Otherwise your opponent will discover them before they have a chance to attack. Once the enemy gets close, you need to activate ‘Stealth’ to avoid detection and get a charge in. In addition to that, you need to select an ambush position that allows the rest of your army to get in position in time to support it.

Due to the cost and fragility of Kisho Ninja, I wouldn’t recommend more than 1 Kisho Ninja unit. One unit is all you need to create an opening and unsettle an enemy defense. I wouldn’t recommend vanilla Kisho Ninja either as they lack the attack and defense to truly destroy line infantry, but clan skill upgrades are a waste as well due to unit size.

Katana Kachi
Role: Assault Infantry, Anti-Spear Specialist
Upgrades: None

Katana Kachi don’t upgrade well due to veteran Katana Kachi being in the same price range as vanilla Shogitai and having considerably weaker morale (8 vs. 12). They are mainly useful as part of massive melee rushes that want to field more swords than just three Shogitai. They lack the power and morale of Shogitai and the versatility of Yari Kachi. This means that although they will perform well against all-non Shogitai infantry, they are vulnerable to cavalry and lack reliability in an assault role due to weaker morale. In most cases you are better off with either a Shogitai or a Yari Kachi, depending on the role the unit will play in your army.

Shogitai
Role: Assault Infantry, Rush Blocker
Upgrades: None, -> 1-2 attack, -> 2 speed

Shogitai are the best assault infantry in the game and will beat all other melee infantry of a similar cost. They have excellent morale and immense attack, which means that they will reliably close the distance and kill the target or simply die trying. You will rarely see Shogitai routing before losing atleast 50% of their manpower and the only melee threat towards them is heavily upgraded melee cavalry, and even then only in the open. In terms of pure killing power, they are one of the strongest units in the game, but only if they connect. Hence it is seldom smart to invest too heavily in your Shogitai, because firepower doesn’t care about melee stats and Shogitai alone are seldom enough to catch the enemy line.

Interestingly enough Shogitai aren’t only useful as assault infantry, but they also make great rush blockers due to their great morale and melee stats. Their morale allows them to hold against other melee units while buying time for your line infantry to shoot for effect. The high morale will also mean that the friendly fire penalty won’t break your Shogitai with ease.

As for veteran upgrades, they are often a luxury, but at times they can make a noticeable difference. Attack upgrades aren’t too noticeable against line infantry due to the comparatively low defenses of line infantry, but against other Shogitai they do make a massive difference allowing your Shogitai to reliably beat those of your opponent in a 1v1 engagement. Speed upgrades on the other hand are great investment when using Shogitai against line infantry, as speed is the only protection that a melee unit can have against firepower. The faster your unit, the less time the opposing units have to shoot, thus reducing the effect of their firepower. The only problem is that to effectively utilise the upgrades, you will have to predict whether you will be facing line infantry or other Shogitai. Which is why it might be sometimes worthwhile to utilise rank 5 Shogitai with 3 attack, 2 speed to get more versatility, but that again has risks of its own.

1. Avoid frontal attacks across open ground into prepared lines. Although line infantry do have the ability to take a volley and still pose a significant melee threat, it is far from optimal to expose them to enemy firepower as it will reduce their combat effectiveness and depending on units and morale management, will also cause routing.

2. Rather attack from blind spots. Hence you are better off attacking from a flank or obscured from line of sight by forests of hills.

3. Always have parity in numbers at the point of attack. Attacking 1v2 or 2v3 will make you run out of momentum due to an unchecked unit.

4. “Meatshields” aren’t really expendable. Although meatshields can allow your more expensive melee units to make contact relatively unharmed, try to avoid thinking of spear levies as expendable. They cost over half of a normal line infantry unit and can do a lot of damage when given an opportunity. So instead try to create situations where both the levy and the assault infantry make contact, as that will keep more units checked and preserve the synergy between them for longer. Generally if an assault requires meatshields to even make contact, you shouldn’t be making that assault in the first place. (Think flanks, not frontal)

5. Melee infantry work best as support for cavalry. Generally melee infantry work best operating as the follow up for cavalry assaults. The mobility of cavalry can be used to create an opening for the advance of the melee infantry, allowing the infantry to get in among the enemy line freely, which allows the cavalry to push forward and engage new threats. Essentially cavalry pin and disrupt, infantry follow up to mop up, allowing cav to keep momentum.

6. When using spears against cavalry, avoid chasing after the enemy cav. Rather you should hold key positions and approaches, and protect key units. By keeping the cavalry at bay, the spears are already doing their job. The only exception here is when your own cavalry is pinning the enemy cav in place.

7. If using non-Shogitai infantry as melee blockers, boost morale in anyway possible. If you are forced to use other melee infantry for blocking purposes, you need to boost their morale in any way possible to keep them in the fight. Otherwise the friendly fire+losing combat morale penalties can and most probably will rout your unit before sufficient effect has been gained. Rally + auras are key here.

8. Successful melee infantry use requires successful combined arms use. Melee infantry alone struggle to really affect a battle. They will get shot apart by gun cav, kited by line infantry and charged by melee cav in the case of Shogitai. Hence melee infantry alone and unsupported will seldom do more than buy you time. To truly convert their attack and staying power into kills, you will need to combine them with firepower and cavalry. The presence of melee infantry adds another tactical dimension into armies and gives offensive armies the bulk to carry out a sustained assault. Hence use melee infantry to add another dimension to your tactical approach and don’t rely on them as your only approach, because they are ill-suited to that.

9. Don’t underestimate the importance of speed modifiers. Speed is a decisive factor in melee infantry assault. The faster your melee infantry is, the less time they spend exposed to enemy firepower and the better their chances are of catching retreating line. Hence it is worthwhile to maximise your speed bonuses before assaulting. Capture the Farmhouse if there are any, have either Quick March or Double Time-infantry skills for the general, utilise Heroic Assault if you have it. In the same sense you want to avoid attacking through obstructing terrain that will decrease your speed like shallow water or attacking up a hill.

10. Support melee pushes with your general. Morale boosts will often make or break your melee pushes, especially when using units other than Shogitai. Your general’s aura is one of the strongest morale boosts in the game and utilising rally to boost the morale of the unit will ensure that even your weaker morale units will connect with their charge. Hence if you support your melee pushes with your general, the effectiveness and reliability of the attack will increase.

When to use Armstrong Guns?

Armstrong Guns are a great unit. The offer great range, decent accuracy and good firepower. This allows them to pick apart key enemy units before engagement has even begun and the morale penalty for being hit by artillery is considerable (-4). So why don’t we see them being used more often?

Firstly they are costly. At their price you could get atleast a Guard Infantry unit and with upgrades even a Marine. Secondly they lack mobility, tying down your army to protect them flanking cavalry. In essence you are forced to give up your ability to maneuver freely for the advantage of being able to shoot at your opponent freely. More often than not, the freedom of maneuver is more important than getting free shots. In the worst case scenarios the Armstrongs don’t offer much firepower either. Getting a good shot comes down to luck and they generally are very ineffective shooting into forests and water.

So keeping in mind the advantages and disadvantages of Armstrong Guns, when should you use them? If these three conditions are met, I would recommend bringing an Armstrong gun:

• The map doesn’t make it difficult to protect the guns.
  
• The map offers little in terms of forest cover and is relatively flat, allowing for clear lines of fire.
  
• The opposing player is known to rely heavily on 150 range line infantry for his offensive threat.

If these three conditions will be met, the Armstrongs will most likely be worth the trouble. The prime example of a map where artillery can be worth it is Osaka Plain. In 3v3 teamgames one Armstrong per team is often very effective as it is very easy to protect them and lack of mobility is less of an issue.

Artillery Tactics/Targeting

• Armstrong guns are heavily reliant on accuracy. Hence accuracy boosting upgrades and skills will considerably boost their effectiveness. Range can be useful as well to allow the unit of fire at a larger area, but it is worthwhile to remember that accuracy is reduced with distance.
  
• They shoot best at units directly in front. For whatever the reason, Armstrongs seem to hit units directly in front of them better than units out at the flanks.
  
• Avoid shooting at units in forests/water.
  
• The best targets are units exposing the length of the unit to enfilading fire. If you can hit a unit in this situation, it often causes massive losses.
  
• Shrapnel shots are best used against units in deeper formations, like Shogitai and cavalry. Against 1 rank deep line infantry, the spread of the shrapnel shot is wasted.
  
• Targeting the general is seldom effective due to the small size of the target. Only shoot at stationary generals, preferably with shrapnel shot activated for immediate effect.

Facing Artillery

• Move and attack quickly as Armstrong Guns do their damage over time. At the start of the engagement you will have an advantage in firepower, which will slowly dwindle if you let the Armstrongs do their damage.
  
• Spread out and outflank the enemy. Due to the presence of guns in his army, he will be forced to defend in depth, reducing the width of his frontline and ceding map control to you.
  
• Keep key units protected in forests or pushed out wide.
  
• Avoid presenting an easy target with your general.

How fast a unit reloads is based on three things: the projectile-type base reload speed, the reload modifier for the base reload speed and the minimum duration of the reload animation.

1. Projectile-types:

boshin_breech_loading_rifle:Base reload time 10
French Marines, US Marines, Royal Marines, Shogunate Guard, Imperial Guard, Imperial Infantry, Shogunate Infantry.

boshin_rifle: Base reload time 18
White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Red Bear, White Bear, Black Bear, Shinsengumi Police, Vermilion Bird Force, Kihetai.

boshin_repeating_rifle: Base time 6
Tosa Riflemen

boshin_carbine: Base reload time 6
Carbine Cav, Imperial Guard Cav

boshin_revolver: Base reload time 18
Revolver Cav

boshin_sharpshooter_rifle: Base reload time 18
Yugekitai, Sharpshooters

The base reload time determines how long a unit with that projectile would need to spend on the reload animation if it had a reload skill of 1.

2. Reload Skill:
The base reload time is then modified by the units reload skill. I’m not entirely sure how the reload time is reduced, but generally the change in reload speed is linear. My guess is that reload skill acts as a percentual deduction from the units base reload time. However reload speed is capped by the third factor present in the game’s reload mechanics, the minimum duration of the the reload animation.

3. Reload Animations

boshin_man_rifle_trained: Minimum animation time ~7 seconds between shots.
French Marines, US Marines, Royal Marines, Shogunate Guard, Imperial Guard, Kiheitai, Imp Guard Cav, Carbine Cav. (Breech-loading animation)

shogun_man_musket: Minimum animation time: ~9.5-10.5 secs between shots
Tosa Riflemen, Yugekitai, Sharpshooters, Shinsengumi Police. (Muzzle-loading animation)

shogun_man_musket_trained: ~9.5-10.5 secs between shots
Imperial Infantry, Shogunate Infantry, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Red Bear, White Bear, Black Bear, Shinsengumi Police, Vermilion Bird Force. (Muzzle-loading animation)

Analysis:
The combination of these three factors can create some very surprising results in the effectiveness of the reload skill. It is worthwhile to firstly note, that Imperial and Shogunate Infantry use the breech-loading projectile type, but have the muzzle-loading animation. This results in a weird little situation, where their base reload time and the animation duration are roughly the same. This means that they hit the reload cap very early on.


The different shooting types:

Guards and Marines:
(boshin_breech_loading_rifle (proj_type) + boshin_man_rifle_trained (anim))

Guards and marines have the advantage of both having the fastest basic reload time and the fastest reload animation. This means that they are capable of faster rates of fire than other units. All units in this category are capable of firing atleast once every 8.5 seconds. However the rate of fire is capped at roughly 7 seconds between shots due to the duration of the reloading animation. This has the interesting effect of making any reload beyond 75 completely redundant as the rate of fire will be roughly the same from 75-100 reload. In fact in this unit category you should prioritise accuracy upgrades once the unit has 70 reload.

Units under this category: French Marines, US Marines, Royal Marines, Shogunate Guard, Imperial Guard

Kiheitai:
(boshin_rifle + boshin_man_rifle_trained)

Kiheitai combine a long base reload time with the faster animation. However the unit suffers from the fact that its reload skill struggles to rise above 65, which means that it will seldom get to the shooting speeds that it is capable of reaching. Theoretically it should be able to reach something similar to the rate of fire of the guards, but only in situations where its reload skill reaches the regions of 80 or so. Hence it really isn’t a unit you want to take as you can pay 110 extra and get a guard unit, which we will always reload in under 9 seconds. Kiheitai have the biggest range of reload times in the game as they start at a bit over 15 secs and can make their way down to numbers under ten.

Units under this category: Kiheitai

Imperial and Shogunate Infantry:
(boshin_breech_loading_rifle + shogun_man_musket_trained)

Imperial and Shogunate Infantry have an interesting mismatch of having the breech-loading rifle projectile type, but the muzzle-loading rifle reload animation. What this means in terms of unit reload is that they reach their reload speed cap very early. In fact their rate of fire seems to max out already at 55 reload, possibly even earlier. This means that the basic unit will be capable of firing at a rate of every 10.5 seconds, yet any reload upgrades will not markedly increase the rate of fire. Not once did I notice a reload time that was under 10 seconds with this animation. I even tested it with a 80 reload Imperial Infantry. Hence upgrade-wise they are best left at vanilla, where they offer a better rate of fire than anything in the next category in their priceclass.

Units under this category: Imperial Infantry, Shogunate Infantry.

Line Infantry:
(boshin_rifle + shogun_man_musket_trained)

Units under this category have muzzle-loading rifles and the matching animations. At worst they can take around 18-20 seconds between shots and their reload speed cap lies at roughly 10 seconds. However unlike the units with the breech-loading rifle projectile type, these units are hard pressed to reach the cap. This is because they do not reach their cap before the reload skill of 70+. Firstly it means that they can never compete with the guards and marines in terms of rate of fire as the guards will be roughly three seconds faster at best. Secondly it means that with this unit group you will see constant gains with every increase of the reload skill. In this unit category the clear standout performer is the Black Bear unit, which is capable of reaching very impressive numbers both in accuracy and reload, making them a prime candidate for a cheaper 150 range line unit. Personally I wouldn’t bother with any other 150 range unit from this category as they will lack the rate of fire and accuracy to make them worth the investment.

Units under this category:
White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Red Bear, White Bear, Black Bear, Vermilion Bird. Force

Tosa Riflemen:
boshin_repeating_rifle + boshin_man_rifle_trained

Tosa Riflemen have the fastest base reload time in the game and after the latest patch they also have the faster breech-loading reload animation. This means that they are able to fire roughly every 5-6 seconds. However due to the low base reload time, they really don't benefit much from reload upgrades as they will hit the animation cap very quickly.

Yugekitai and Sharpshooters:
boshin_sharpshooter_rifle + shogun_man_musket

Unlike the Tosas, Yugekitai and Sharpshooters have a slow base reload time. This means that their rate of fire isn’t as much limited by the animation as it is by their poor reload added to their long base reload time. Vanilla version of the units will struggle getting a shot off every 18 seconds, although I’d guess that reload times of 12 seconds should be entirely possible with some reload upgrades. So to make these units useful, you definitely want to upgrade their reload skill. Still you’re almost always better off with a Tosa.


Carbine Cav and Imperial Guard Cav:
(boshin_carbine + boshin_man_rifle_trained)

The two carbine cav units are actually the fastest firing riflemen in the game. They combine the fastest base reload time with the fastest reloading animation, which means that they’re capable of shooting roughly once every six seconds or so (dismounted). This means that despite their small unit size, they do pack a considerable punch and can be used with great effect to supportline battles.

One thing I've noticed about many players is an inactive use of the general's bodyguard. Despite its small size, a general's bodyguard with a gun and a few reload upgrades is one of the deadliest units on the battlefield. It is mobile and has an immense rate of fire, meaning that it can swing the balance of any engagement quickly with the help of its aura and gun.

Generally the best place for your general is out on the flank with your cavalry, not in the center behind your line. There are two reasons for this:

1) Flanks are generally the only zone where gun cav can bring their firepower to bear as they can avoid counter-volleys through their mobility, which is something they can't do in the centre. Overall the flank placement allows the unit to roam freely and do their fair share of skirmishing against enemy units, killing key enemy units like cav and exposed line without the risk of counter-fire. In addition to that, the presence of the general will give your cavalry an edge in any cavalry battle through aura and rally with the added boost of accurate and rapid firepower, provided that you are smart enough to keep him atleast around 75 meters from the engagement. Otherwise you run the risk of him getting run down by other cav.

2) When placed in the center behind your line, the general's gun won't be able to bring its firepower to bear against enemy line and more importantly, it will quickly take considerable casualties from back kills caused by stray bullets. You generally don't think much about lines being able to harm units beyond their range, but a general placed behind a line unit will be halved surprisingly quickly by these stray bullets. This essentially means that one of your deadliest units has lost over half of its effectiveness without directly contributing anything to the battle in terms of kills. Marines and Vermilions offer a far more effective means to get that aura boost for your line infantry than wasting your general behind the line infantry.

So overall, it is worthwhile to be aggressive with the positioning of your general, but it is worthwhile to remember that he is the most fragile unit you have. Hence don't push him too close to cav engagements, avoid getting him into melee fights if possible and always have something to shield him from other gun cav. Oh and skirmish + 2 speed skill is your friend. That way you can easily manage 150+ kills per game with your 2 acc/2 reload general, which can easily swing a close battle in to your favour.