• Units

Soma Missile Cavalry

Mounted Samurai

With both hands busy aiming and firing their bows, samurai cavalry must use their knees to control and steer their mounts. This requires intense training for both man and beast. These archers can move quickly to the enemy’s flanks, or harass them from a distance. If caught in melee, the samurai have enough training to defend themselves, but they should probably avoid fighting naginata-armed infantry units. Their relatively few numbers makes them vulnerable to a massed attack by archers: weight of numbers will overpower even skilled warriors.

Samurai were expected to be proficient in the use of a number of weapons but, during this period, archery was widely regarded as the best way to demonstrate a warrior’s true skills. Battles were occasionally settled by mounted archery duels, performed by each army’s most skilled archer. Opponents would ride towards one another and fire a single arrow. This “jousting with bows” could be repeated several times as fatal wounds were seldom inflicted during the early passes. The participants were trying their best to kill each other, but their armour was extremely good at keeping out arrows! Instantly fatal wounds were rather difficult to inflict.

Unit Name Mounted Samurai

Unit Key Genpei_Cav_Missile_Samurai_Cavalry

Soldiers 40

Category Cavalry

Class Missile Cavalry

Multiplayer Cost 700

└ Multiplayer Limit 0

Recruitment Cost 800

├ Recruitment Turns 2

└ Unit Limit 0

Upkeep Cost 250

Melee Attack 14

└ Melee Weapon sabre

Charge Bonus 10

Bonus vs Cavalry 0

Range 150

├ Missile Weapon bow

└ Projectile shogun_arrow_genpei

Accuracy 60

Reloading Skill 60

Ammunition 25

Melee Defence 3

Armour 6

Horse Mode shogun_horse_samurai

└ Mount Armour 3

Morale 10

Abilities

• Swooping Crane
  This unit can arrange itself into a moving circular formation, harrassing the enemy with a constant rate of fire.
• Flaming Arrows
  This unit can fire flaming arrows for a short period of time. Flaming arrows have a greater damage effect and can set fire to flammable objects. Flaming arrows don't function in wet weather.
• Whistling Arrows
  Whistling arrows have an unsettling effect on both enemy and friendly troops, reducing their morale and combat ability for a short period when they fly over them.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Very good accuracy and reload rate.
• Very good in melee.
• Very good morale.
• Vulnerable to naginata armed infantry and massed archers.