TOP 7 BOW INFANTRY UNITS - Total War: Shogun 2!

[@NUSensei]

Also, I just noticed something. "Bow" units are the only regular units named after a weapon type...in English. You have Yari units, Naginata units, Katana units and Nodachi units. The Bow units are just...Bow units. They correctly shout out their weapon in Japanese (e.g. "Yumi Ashigaru"), but their unit name is "Bow".

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Holy crap, conspiracy revealed.

[@NurseGundam]

That has always bugged me so much from when I started playing

[@bjorndevlieger8565]

um Yari just means spear in japanese so by that notion we can safely say the yari units also are named after a weapon type lol

[@NUSensei]

@@bjorndevlieger8565 You didn't read the part where I said "...in English".

[@NurseGundam]

@@bjorndevlieger8565 Yeah, but it's the only one that's uses the English word for the weapon without it being a black powder unit.

[@newindika849]

One thing you missed that makes Daikyu absolutely the best archer unit of the game is that someone discovered that they have a "hidden" feature that is armor penetration looking into the game database. And I realized this after finishing a chosokabe campaign where I used both units to the late game. While bow monks outperform Daikyu early game against light armored units, the rest of the game Daikyu's were outperforming bow monks by a large margin, getting about 25-30% more kills each battle. While bow monks needed about 2-3 arrows to kill a single samurai model, each Daikyu arrow was more like a matchlock shot. Even they have considerably lower reload speed than bow monks they have 20% more men, so the more chevrons this unit has the better it becomes. Going from 50 to 65 reload speed (monks) is a 30% stat increase. Going from 15 (daikyu) to 30 is 100%.

[@akemisayaka8905]

This is surprisingly still uncommon knowledge after so long? Not saying that towards you but general community of total war. The damage stat is hidden in the db files but yes all ranged weapons have projectiles assigned to them and this lasts up until atilla/TOB. Accuracy is not the damaging stat but the damage of the arrow is and if I remember daikyus were like 0.3 or 0.4 meaning it took an average of 1-3 arrows depending on armor and accuracy to kill since all units besides generals had 1hp. Guns do 1hp hence why they always one shot.

[@BBPOWER1986]

there is a hidden attributes of Daikyu Samurai, its arrows are special and have armor piercing bonuses, so the damage is actually higher than all other bows.

[@NUSensei]

3:06 I knew you couldn't help but think of yari units in a bow unit list.

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Tried to sneak one past you!

[@Sharnoy1]

Bow warrior monk will obviously be the best. BUT the real question is... can Donkey still rate Yari Ashigaru to the top?

[@colonelgridwood4744]

You meann Ashigaru archers?

[@Sharnoy1]

@@colonelgridwood4744 No, not really. If you have watched Donkey's previous videos, you know what I'm talking about ;)

[@colonelgridwood4744]

@@Sharnoy1 Bow warrior monks?

[@yokogoph]

Yari Thrower Ashigaru

[@unowno123]

what if we made bow ashigaru with spear wall...

[@cipo91]

Best bow unit? Yari Ashigaru.

[@NUSensei]

Archery units? Sounds like my kind of thing.

[@arjansudra]

Nice to see you here, love your videos :)

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

I unfortunately decided not to follow your advice on Reddit and rename the videos to best/worst. I had actually done so on the Yari one for a bit but then decided I was just going to stick with Top X instead. I understand some people don't agree with that decision but I think I'm okay with that, I appreciate your input though. If I throw this one up on Reddit I'll make sure not to get caught up in the drama, people are welcome to disagree on the title, as long as we all agree the video is the bee's knees. :D

[@NUSensei]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP It's a semantic thing. It's only a problem if you actually get yourself into an argument over it. As long as the list is a good one, no one really cares about the title. You'll trigger more people with a lazy subjective reason like "Ikko Ikki Bow Warrior Monks are worst because I never played the Ikko Ikki and I disagree with their religion".

[@ethansadhoursatpepes2882]

You keep this game alive

[@arneverschoor8215]

5:57 Amen to those guys

[@matthiasweinmann8115]

I understand your points and agree fully with them, just wanted to mention that i deeply admire the daikyu`s, just love how they handle those big ass bow sticks

[@Dr.CaveCurinas]

Actually, something he didn't mention in the video is that the Daikyu samurai's bows pierce armor. For instance, it would take a bow warrior monk 4 shots to kill a katana samurai, but a Daikyu only 2. This, combined with their superior numbers, melee stats, and lower cost, make the Daikyu the superior option.

[@janbazuine6636]

No daikyu sam just do 25 percent more damage

[@demistr7435]

Top 10 non playable clans could make an interesting video. Or maybe a video where you talk about different levels of castles, their benefits, negatives, etc.

[@josephgraney1928]

I think that for the Ikko Ikki, their special Bow Ashigaru belong at the very top. They can beat better bow units, due to having significantl more men in each unit; this is true of all Bow Ashigaru, but with Ikko Ikki Bow Ashigaru, it often becomes a big enough difference to prove decisive, even against units with significantly higher stats. Given their cheap, fast recruitment and upkeep costs, they can be very useful as garrison units, defending fortresses effectively when an enemy army shows up where you don't expect. On the battlefield, they often are very useful just due to the massive numbers of arrows they put into the air. I rarely move beyond them as the Ikko Ikki.

[@Snoogen11]

"Bow Ashigaru are the key to *early game* ". Me finishing my first ever campaign without using anything other than ashigaru. *suprised Pikachu face*

[@benimations4268]

@Facepalm Full O' Napalm nah not just oda you can do any clan with only ashigaru

[@benimations4268]

@@nicholasthuya7683 imported matchlock takes too long. Unless you are playing otomo

[@P4TRICCS]

@@benimations4268 why? I got them in early with shimazu

[@benimations4268]

@@P4TRICCS but imported matchlock take 4 turns

[@jonaslechat9472]

@@benimations4268 I agree that they take long to buid but in a siege defense, only 2 or 3 of them is enough to win coupled with 4 or 5 other melee units against a full army group... I even pushed it a bit and managed to win against a full army group with 2 matchlocks and 2 yari ashigaru, plus the very basic garnison. Matchlocks are extremely good there breaking morale of every unit approching

[@colonelgridwood4744]

*Top 7 matchlock units*

[@jjohansen86]

I've learned to rate range extremely highly, and I feel like I've gotten reasonably good against the AI at using a range advantage to have zero loss battles. This is especially true in a siege. Yes, I know, you're never supposed to assault a castle, but in my Chosokabe campaign I broke that rule with lots of bow warrior monks, daikyu samurai, and even bow heroes... because the AI would never sally out of their castle, the longer range units could literally pick off the enemy units (and towers) with zero losses by just patiently firing into the castle. And so, with this perspective, I 100% agree with what you said, especially about the bow hero: 80% of the time I don't care about it, but sometimes I can engineer a scenario (especially with a siege) where the range means I can slowly pick off units with complete impunity. I've literally taken highly upgraded castles with zero losses by outranging the AI and... well... exploiting that issue with its code. That bumps everything with a range boost higher in my ranking, so of course daikyu samurai and bow warrior monks are the top picks for me, and I would even be tempted to put the bow hero higher because of it... but I'm too aware that it's useless most of the time to actually do so.

[@TheManofthecross]

the ammo issue is what you should watch out for and exploiting the ai to a degree will cause the developers and mod makers to fix it so you take losses regardless. I mean you got to take either the tenjo etc and when the place is properly garasoned with archers etc they will shot back at you regardless so your zero losses is null and void unless you take losses so light that when replenishment cones in that negates the whole thing.

[@Darth_Melvis]

I love attacking castles so I always avoid that suggestion range weapons are deadly in this, I really like those bow monks plus the monks look cool so I'm gonna have a lot of fun with them.

[@Kalidoscope1230]

"Keep warm in winter" *meanwhile relaxing in the rare 21 degrees Celsius in summer in case tomorrow is 45*

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Hahaha, what the hell, where are you from.

[@Kalidoscope1230]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP Down under. The bootiful country of Australia where Hurricanes are Cyclones, toilets flush counter-clockwise and Christmas for some folks is in July.

[@COMMANDandConquer199]

You didn't even mention that the Daikyu samurai do more damage per shot, so they tear armored units apart.

[@IrishBartx]

Coming from Attila and seeing how this game performs is amazing

[@Dfathurr]

Once, when i played shimazu, i recruited bow warrior monk from province which has fletchers, and i created encampment and updrade it to hunting lodge, the result are highly amazing trust me. It almost made my samurai and cav useless and just doing nothing

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

That’s what I do every campaign 😝

[@superspies32]

I do the same with Donderbus calvary and the result is amazing, with silver accuracy 2 Donderbus is more than enough to break ikko-ikki monk warrior and bow

[@theamorphousflatsch2699]

You forgot to say, that the bow hero is an unique unit, which can only be recruted once at hight cost and requirements.

[@anteplibela]

7:07 ok this is epic

[@BrognusBelgen]

I find the key selling point for Daiykuu Samurai, is the fact you can still use them after going Christian.

[@Endwankery]

Bingo! Always happy when other people realize this

[@jonasnee]

daikyu do more dmg per arrow actually so they will perform better vs high armor units.

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Not in my experience with the many tests I've done.

[@Sanvone]

Interesting video. I personally value Bow Samurai the most which is dictated by my playstyle of relying on city defences to blood enemies. Had few situations in which I defended with 20 units against 40+ units and every time Bow Samurai were crucial to success. In case of long defensive battles running out of ammunition makes other bow units more obsolete than them. Bow Samurai are in such a lucky position that they can level up quickly and by the siege end they become melee reliable enough to pull out a win. If only Bow Ronins had also higher melee stats than Bow Samurais I would also value them highly.

[@АнтонАкимов-л2с]

A comment from late 2020). Also need to mention that Daiykuu Samurai has mor deadly arrows (0.4 instead of standard 0.3). They have lower rate of fire but their kill ratio is nearly equal to bow monks. And they're much cheaper.

[@isaacalves97]

great video! loved it:)

[@Moonlighteas]

Don't you mean top 7 "Archer Department" units. Nice vid

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Fuck me, wasted opportunity there!

[@NikoLavikainen]

I think there's one thing about the regular Bow Samurai compared to monks easily missed: The upgrades from buildings and tech in the campaign. Fletchers + Armoury + Legendary Archery Dojo + Tech = Cheaper unit that rivals the monks. Those extra 20 men actually start to be quite significant with all the upgrades. Of course your Tech focus and access to holy site or craft works makes a big difference to which is actually a better choice mid-game, but I feel Samurai have the edge there. (1 vs 2 buildings to recruit, the bow tech being tied to cavalry, monastery and holy site techs being hard to get) And late game it's more of a question between guns vs bows, but bow samurai still make a viable choice.

[@tonyshu6052]

Top pew pew units.

[@av076]

Thank you for continuing to make these videos. I love you.

[@datuputi777]

Bow cav was left out. The auto resolve hero. Edit: nvm it's bow "infantry " Despite what people say I think it's reasonable that comp gives them so much value because they can defeat any range( archer/ gun) in melee and can kite most melee units with exception of melee cav.

[@Sharnoy1]

Top quality video once again! Daikyu samurai above Bow samurai was kinda a surprise to me, since they are only available to Chosokabe. Usually you also include availability as a factor when ranking units, but this time it seems you didn't. It's fine though. I was planning to start a new Chosokabe campaign anyway after I finish my current with Aizu :) Cheers!

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

I factor in availability in terms of how many of a unit are available, like with the Date Bulletproof Samurai you can only recruit 4 at a time. I don’t consider availability to clans in these videos because I want to objectively rate the effectiveness of the units. If I did than Long Yari Ashigaru wouldn’t have been #1 in the Yari Infantry video either, and that would just be silly as they are by far the best Yari Infantry unit in the game. Hope that clears it up a bit.

[@Sharnoy1]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP That is a very good POINT. Thank you for replying!

[@R3GARnator]

Bow Samurai are essential in Realm Divide, where you need the enemy to break on your walls until it's clear enough to push.

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

That seems more like a personal problem though, I usually push out right away with Bow Warrior Monks.

[@TheFlyingZulu]

I get ready for realm divide by saving up money to bribe a friendly into not attacking me right away. Use ninja's to delay the advancement of all of the enemy armies also.

[@simonnachreiner8380]

I’ll give the Yumi Ashigaru one thing. They make _excellent_ garrisoned units. Their low cost combined with the inherently better trading bow units get during siege defense means an extra unit here or there is never wasted. Especially post RD when the navel invasions from fog or war never stop.

[@Stardog081]

These videos are so helpful

[@adjsmith]

Caveat: I don't play TW:S2 nearly as much as you. I'm in a Chosokabe campaign on Normal right now. One big advantage Bow Samurai have, is that via tech, you can recruit Bow Samurai with XP Level 4 anywhere. Experience counts for quite a bit, especially with archers. While you can also get Level 4 Bow Warrior Monks out of a temple province, or simply train them through combat, the former precludes other province bonuses (such as cheaper unit recruitment from Iron, armor upgrades from a Blacksmith, or accuracy upgrades from a Fletcher) and the latter takes time. This doesn't count their resilience against arrow fire from having armor in the first place, or their ability to survive being attacked in melee long enough for reinforcements to get to them, neither of which the BWM have; or their greater numbers; or the cost difference (which you mention); or their immediate recruitment availability. I'd be interested to see comparisons of how much this matters, though: how do XP 4 Bow Samurai with level 3 armor (or accuracy) upgrades stack up against XP 4 Bow Warrior Monks with no upgrades? Of course, this should come with the caveat that you pointed out several times, that the AI tends to shoot arrows at whatever is closest, rather than starting archer duels.

[@IncoherentSchizo]

3:06 Yari ronin??? Yari ronin might be on the list if they could throw their yari like a javelin and had some real use

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

I clearly meant Bow Ronin but misspoke.

[@IncoherentSchizo]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP I know. Just kidding around about if only yari ronin could be good

[@IncoherentSchizo]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP Im surprised how quickly the daikyu samurai beat the bow warrior monks but out of curiosity did you use bow warrior monks from chosokabe/ikko/Usuegi?

[@henrylin6537]

Old video but ive been playing shogun 2 for a long time and for chosokabe i tend to feild 6 naginata samuri with 5 armor as front line. 2 katana samuri 5 armor as reserves incase one section is gettkng swarmed. And 2 spear samuri (also armor). 1 for each flank to kill flanking cav. I use 3 yari cav around my general to either give options of hammer anvil or protect my general (have charge bonus if possible). The remaining units are 4 bow samuri with armor and daiku samuri with full accurancy boosts. I generally set them behind my bow samuri and they get tl freely shoot while enemy shoots my bow armored up samuri. :) and i mostly win once my yari cav and spear samuri kill ebenmy general that charged my backline

[@syarifagathon4809]

for sp campaign, i still prefer daikyu samurai over bow monk 1. cheaper upkeep 2. easier to recruit 3. higher armor 4. higher missile dmg ( it uses different projectile than bow monk) for bow hero, performance wise i rated it as 3rd best after daikyu n bow monk but i can understand if it's consider low ranking for sp since u can only have 1 of them

[@AndrewKeeleymegaak3]

I like the bow hero because with their extra range and accuracy they can snipe people on the wall without getting shot back at.

[@cb-hz6dm]

Good video, like always

[@Vincrand]

The bow samurai do have another thing going for them. With the tier 3 dojo you can recruit them in 1 turn. This is why I opted to use them over the daikyu from the point I got that building. Also I rather have 2 more armor on my ranged units than 5 accuracy from the encampment upgrade.

[@leftyfourguns]

Fond memories of starting up a Hard-Very Hard campaign and being greeted by a full stack of enemy bow samurai within 3-4 turns

[@pancytryna9378]

W h a t

[@samuraigamez358]

DO top 8 cav units, it's my favorite unit type.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

8 - some dead horses and men 7 - another field turned red 6 - hopefully no zombie will come out of that 5 - a japanese reenactment of Azincourt 4 - what's left of the Light Brigade 3 - aftermath of the final battle of The Last Samurai 2 - yet another pile of dead men and horses 1 - Donderbuss Cavalry. I guess it explains the rest of the list

[@Overdoseplus]

They hadn't figured out AP damage out too well imo. Now TWH is full of AP archer units. Dakyo should have been like vertical matchlocks. The extra .1 dmg or was it .2? doesn't mean too much since they tend to overkill a single soldier or miss like all other archers barring hero slightly.

[@tonywolf5127]

Still no naginata list?

[@antlantis1234]

My list 7-bandits 6-hero 5-ashigaru 4-ronin 3-samurai 2-daikiu 1-monks I think I got a decent job.

[@isaacalves97]

Do Best Artlary units next!!!

[@jchea1764]

If I had to choose either 1000 men with 1 arrow each, or one man with 1000 arrows... I'd choose the same as you did too... That is... Unless that 1 man with 1000 arrows is Legolas..

[@TheManofthecross]

or 1000 stat man or sitama from one punch man that is. ;) the parady of opness.

[@demistr7435]

My guess 1) Bow warrior monks 2) Daikyu samurai 3) Bow samurai 4) Bow ronin 5) Hattori bandits 6) Bow ashigaru 7) Bow Hero

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

You'll be surprised! :D

[@678gog]

Nah, He'd put ashigaru above bandits because of their extreme requirements for a unit only slightly better.

[@teemup9247]

Hattori bandits will be last

[@Sharnoy1]

Daikyu samurai will probably come second to Bow Samurai because of availability.

[@demistr7435]

@@Sharnoy1 To be fair Daikyu arent that hard to recruit.

[@arnvidramdahl2083]

This is one of my favorite games, but unfortunately you can go through everything just with archer monks... without suffering casualties, that hurts the strategy too much, especially when it comes to besieging castles (the most important thing in campaigns)

[@samuraigamez358]

Will this really only come out at 10 pm ?

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Yeah, the same as every day. I upload 3 videos a day, 9PM, 10PM, and 11PM CET. I just figured I’d use the premiere option for once, see if people like it or not. It’s still available after that if that’s what you meant. This is no different from a normal upload except that it gives people the opportunity to chat and comment before the video releases.

[@RuskiFuze01]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP this confused me for a sec, then I realized for me it's 5 when it's 9 for you guys

[@danieliusmalickis6672]

because of the way british time is recorded i thought this will come up in 5 months as we do it: Day:Month:Year while they do it Month:Day:year

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Must be a KZbin thing. We do day/month/year as well. In fact, almost the entire world does it that way except for the USA and Japan I believe.

[@danieliusmalickis6672]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP Yeah probably made by the Americans to give the illusion of being different

[@voidranger6082]

which stats are pushing the bow warriors over bow samurai/ashigaru? mainly wondering because if i remember right the upgrades from fletcher building is a flat increase so they would have a bigger impact the worst the stats are in increase in hits, assuming all units fire the same arrow. In that case ashigaru would seem to be better offensively due to the greater numbers meaning more arrows firing for more kills, more so if they are chosokabe or another clan that gets improved stats on the bow ashigaru.

[@BigCookieCrunch]

keep up the shogun 2 vids they are great

[@Socrato-v7f]

Next: Best matchlock units

[@shingeovanny508]

HELL YEAHHHHH ❤💖💖😊💞💖👏👏👍❤ !!! Another top from smartdonkey

[@RocketHarry865]

I find bow ashigaru useful as cheap siege units as 2 units of bow ashigarus using fire arrows can easily set castle walls on fire

[@123dimeno]

Can you do samurai until ?

[@InnocentFlowers]

But who's got the best bow ashigaru? You say the Ikko Ikki have it upgraded. I look at the ikko ikki bow ashigaru, and I'm wondering at what point do they become superior to other ashigaru with accuracy modifiers, if at all.

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Their 40 extra men do it, but when talking about the best, Oda of course.

[@InnocentFlowers]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP From the very start, without upgrades? Is there any way to redeem Ikko Ikki Matchlock monks? I don't think the numbers cut it.

[@VK-sz4it]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP What about ikko ikki bow ashigaru with all possible positive accuracy buffs and maxed experience? I think they will destroy any other bow unit. I would have tryed this out, but I uninstalled the game yesturday.

[@KazBodnar]

MrSmartDonkeyLP: "bow warrior monks" KZbin: B A V A R I A M O N K S

[@teemup9247]

Mrsmartdonkey I am new here and I have watched almost all of your non letsplay videos on shogun 2 and some random episodes of lets plays and I just wonder...why no darthmod? I can't play shogun without it. It makes ranged units more realistic and harder to use. Also it makes some changes that make sense and it is lot harder to play than vanilla legendary. I'd like to hear you opinion!

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Because I'm still satisfied with the vanilla game to be honest.

[@teemua6552]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP That is fair but I would like to see darthmod campaign so you could give your comparison!

[@tonyshu6052]

same situation for me . I found out about Donkey a month ago

[@shawnrileywest2826]

Try ratio mod it great

[@mattm7007]

Warrior Monks with an encampment building, or samurai with encampment building plus Fletcher?

[@arneverschoor8215]

1. Bow warrior monks 2. daikyu samurai 3. bow ronin 4. bow samurai 5. bow ashigaru 6. bow hero 7. hattori bandits

[@Brandonhayhew]

The Japanese bows are kinda similar to that of the English Longbowmen?

[@fredstercooney5497]

books from Windblown no

[@joei8236]

recently i've been running into some problems regarding mods from the workshop, i've played some mods before i reset my computer, after the reset, none of the mods seemed to be working, everytime i tick the box in mod manager and join the game, none of the mod will work, and when i reopen the mod manager, the box are "unticked". im win10 help please

[@TheLeaderX1]

3:05 "which make yari ronin obselete"? im confused?

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

I clearly meant Bow Ronin but misspoke.

[@hoob1810]

3:06 u said yari ronin xd

[@Dzharek]

Top Gunpowder Infantry next?

[@ashina2146]

1.Bow Monk 2.Daikyu Samurai 3.Bow Ashigaru 4.Bow Samurai 5.Bow Hero 6.Bow Ronin 7.Bandit But if Oda Bow Ashigaru is in this List, they will be Number 1,5 Due to being a Cheaper Bow Samurai With Less Armor(They have 35 Accuracy and 30 Reload, almost the same as Bow Samurai 40 Accuracy and 40 Reload)

[@Somethinghumble]

bow cav should have been on this list, probably between bow sam and bow monks.

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

They're cavalry, not infantry, they're on the missile cav list.

[@sharpasacueball]

Aren't there only like 7 how units in the game in total?

[@strangerakari2836]

Cavalry units please!

[@vranceanuvladut9009]

pretty sure bow hero are meant to be the sniper that kills the enemy generals

[@stanislawsheremetiev7222]

Since when the ikko ikki bow ashigaru are better than the bow ashigaru?

[@dekuLink05]

Since they have more men per unit compared to others

[@AvengerAtIlipa]

A bow warrior monks really worth the extra upkeep cost? They are really squishy and have fewer men. Bow Samurai can still get hundreds in battles and are much easier to recruit and maintain. Bow Warrior Monks are statistically better but are they more cost effective?

[@dannydux0335]

where is the dismounted Bow Cavalry unit?

[@IAmTh3Doom]

Daikyu samurai > bow warrior monk

[@tinchosabala]

I bet it was hard when you realized that Yari Ashigaru didn’t use bows... But you threw out a party when you remembered the “Bow” in Bow Warrior Monks. But, now seriously, this tops are kind of pointless when we know what the best unit will be, and what the worst will be. Like Yari Ashigaru, or Bow Warrior Monks, or Yari Cavalry. And, on the other hand, every hero unit and the Yari Samurai.

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Doesn't stop me making the lists and plenty of people enjoying them, I don't think they're pointless either way but to each their own.

[@tinchosabala]

MrSmartDonkeyLP, I didn’t intend to, they are still entertaining to watch, even when you talk about Yari Ashigaru and Bow Warrior Monks. Besides, we get deeper information on your thoughts on units like Yari Ronin or Bow Ashigaru, that you barely talked about in other videos. And anyways, if you are going to make tops for every weapon type units, the rest will be more interesting, since we don’t know much of your thoughts on things like Katana units or ships. I doubt you will make a top list on ships though, since you did say you aren’t very good with naval combat.

[@ks.9944]

Can you help me I'm doing fall of the samurai avatar and my friend does shogun 2 units and he usually beats me with no daichi samurai charges and his bow men range I haven't unlocked any fall of the samurai units except the default ones eg.white tiger,yari ki and shir

[@nam5165]

My play style: Half ashigaru, haft bow warrior monk. Cheap and effectively XD

[@sandeepbalasubramanya9674]

Duy Nam Phạm my playing style Oda Take two armies of yari ashi(65%) and and bow ashi(35%) Autoplay 😂😂

[@KyoushaPumpItUp]

My style: 1 general 2 katana samurai 2 nodachi samurai 5 spear/naginata units 5 Bow units 5 matchlock units

[@TheManofthecross]

anything from the archer heavy clan the chooseake will win this in addition to there farming skills.

[@maltep6654]

I'm missing the Nagaoka clan overview :)

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

That one is probably next.

[@Dhomden]

7: Bandits 6: Hero 5: Ronin 4. Samurai 3: Ashigaru 2. Daikyo 1: Monk Lets go

[@Dhomden]

Ok I was close xD but my bias towards bow ronin early on as Ikko to defend Echizen's walls (as they fit more easily with fewer, better archers) might have skewed me. That, or the annoying silk requirement currently blocking me from a legendary bow school as Uesugi post-divide, since it is literally only available at the other end of the map as a trade node behind 7 clans spamming boats and hating my guts. That drops them pretty hard for me tbh, but I guess they're only really worth it as a turtling Chosokabe anyway, who will have the silk much more easily and the research much faster. One thing I must stress with the daikyu is that even though they are inferior to monks 1-to-1, they perform the same role perfectly well with their range, which makes the swap to Christianity as Chosokabe near-completely non-committal. In early vanilla this choice was painful to make, but with the daikyus it's close to a no-brainer to get the filthy nanban cannon galleons in a flash. Chosokabe is almost built to turtle on the two western islands, and I guess CA heard my screams of anguish when I first played them and were relying on vbow samurai throughout the game.

[@chancerobinson246]

Bow warrior monks will clearly be no.1 no doubt.

[@JA-lr5ix]

What about bow nuns?

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

They don’t exist.

[@JA-lr5ix]

MrSmartDonkeyLP My bad M8! Just needed some extra street cred with JC

[@matiasmattera6650]

Basically the best army for Donkey will be like 1 General 4 Takeda Yari Cavalry 6 Ikko Ikki Bow Warrior Monk 10 Oda Long Yari Ashigaru

[@TheManofthecross]

true but just bring in the batteries of the grand convention of artillery mainly cannons and enough troops to keep them safe etc and he will have no choice but to close in and get shelled all the way up. :)

[@matiasmattera6650]

@@TheManofthecross I'm talking about Shogun 2 not FotS

[@JGenM]

1. Bow Warrior Monks; that one is a given 2. Daikyu Samurai; same size as Bow Samurai while having better stats 3./4. Bow Ashigaru; Ashigaru are cheaper and have more men but have worse stats and no flaming arrow 4./3. Bow Samurai; 5. Bow Ronin; smaller than Samurai but not much better in stats 6. Hattori Bandits; firing while hidden is useless against the AI and they require two buildings 7. Bow Hero; way too small of a unit

[@kasumi2173]

Bow ashigaru have flaming arrows, their aim is just worse than bow sam.

[@JGenM]

Whoops you're right makes me even more suprised that samurai beat ashigaru

[@pacatcaprostianudoare2768]

i do not agree with your number 5 spot for the bow hero: its incredibly versatile and has the effect aura that helps other archers so if you put him behind other archers it is incredibly good at helping other archers and with its great accuracy whatever it shoots at will die for sure. that is my point of view after doing a legendary difficulty campaign with almost all except for the Date clan

[@liao2211]

Foot Samurai from ROTS

[@alessandro-hm9wk]

Why didnt you ad bow kachi?

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Because that's not a Shogun 2 unit. It's a Fall of the Samurai unit.

[@Pantsugrenadiere]

As i know this donkey the list will be something like that: -bow ashigaru -bow warrior Monk -bow daikyu samouraï -bow samouraï -bow ronin -bandit -bow héro I didn't put bow cavalry because i don't know if it count in cavalry or archer and i must admit i don't know where put the bandit so i put it just before thé hero and i put warrior Monk before ashigaru because you looks like an ashigaru lover (exept for the matchlock ashigaru)

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

I actually only really love Yari Ashigaru, the other Ashigaru units are just okay, except for Loan-Sword Ashigaru.

[@Pantsugrenadiere]

@@MrSmartDonkeyLP hum so i think thé bow ashigaru is lower than bow samouraï but better than ronin. Also even if warrior Monk are more precise than daikyu, maybe i think it Can be better in a way because of their Armor

[@naglisudovic3667]

Bow warrior monks my prediction

[@maximusd26]

7:10 100% aesthetic

[@Preussensprinz]

Top 5 line infantry in fots

[@IAmTh3Doom]

I hate how every unit gets the arrows from... Nowhere, no quivers, really anoying, and only one mod to fix it, but its broken 🙄

[@TomCouger]

#1 Bow Ashigaru.

[@jossgoyanko7006]

Best Hero units?

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

I will do a hero list once I’ve finished all these lists so I have more experience with them. I don’t use them all that often in campaigns so if I made a list now it wouldn’t be very meaningful.

[@ryaeon9793]

i know its been so long but.. stock army is the best.. (almost every strategy game i played) same as in real world.. you know elites because they are choosen one.. best among the best.

[@hekkura]

Bow Warrior Monks Bow Samurai Daikyu Samurai Bow Ronin Bow Ashigaru Hattori Bandits Bow Hero

[@MrSmartDonkeyLP]

Close, but no cigar!

[@hekkura]

Oh boy First and second will be a tossup between bow warrior Monks and bow samurai. Warrior Monks for their sheer killing power, but Samurai for general versatility and availability Last place and second last is definitely bow hero and bandits. Combination of unlocks, low unit size, and poor stats for the bandits. Bow Ronin and Bow Ashigaru should have swapped places in my list. Bow Ronin's low unit size means it's useless and you just skip right to bow Warrior Monks as ikko ikki.