Mangonels are highly underrated, those 30 kills per battle can really make a difference!

Best memory of using Mangonels is having one of them one shot a general and instantly guarantee me the win because the enemy morale was dumpster fire. They are fun to use but not effective at all.

Kisho ninja are actually really good at defending a castle. Can hide them, leave them guarding a "weak" spot. Send them to kill units that are climbing, so their small numbers are not a problem.

As someone who's been spamming Naginata samurais since I got Shogun2 I'm surprised you included them in the list. Great vid nevertheless

Katana Cav counts as Heavy Cavalry in the game files so it gets a highest hidden bonus of armor and anti-infantry melee attack bonus

matchlock samurai is underrated too, many players didn't realize their reload bonus is 2 per level and the skill plus another 10

My dad introduced me to shogun 2 A couple years ago, when the game first came out I was too young to even understand the concept of how computers worked but now that I’m 13 it is my favorite strategy game.

Yeah Kisho ninja are pretty underrated. A little while ago I was challenged by a friend to beat a Mori campaign using only Kisho ninja. It was hard, but definitely doable and I really appreciated the very high killing power of the Ninja, especially when equipped with maxed out weaponsmith upgrades and the jiu-jitsu dojo.

Nothing beats Marathon Monks for siege attacks though as they climb walls at the same speed as Kisho Ninja. Two or three units of Marathon Monks in hiding can quickly get up the walls of a castle while the AI is distracted and capture the tenshu ending the battle quickly and with minimal losses

I got my first Mangonels by chance when fighting the Hojo. Never looked back, no castle was free from my wrath lmaooo

Most underrated Shogun 2 channel! Hopefully you get big my friend!

Something to note about Kisho Ninja is if you use Stealth and maneuver them correctly you can reach bomb throwing distance without being spotted. Which tends to have unpleasant results if you reach the right unit.

The bow ashigaru is op in siege defense because I was in a daved and Goliath situation 7 enemy units vs 4 they handled pretty well as meat shields to stall the enemy for my samuria retainers to flank

The algorithm is strong with this one. Though that may be due to the fact his videos are great...

Great video! I wholeheartedly agree with your naginata samurai assessment. Probably the only unit which you can just spam an army with, simply right click the enemy once and still win every encounter in singleplayer.

... I'm surprised by the number 1. As the Oda I exclusively use ashigaru units so I LOVE the bow ashigaru: they cheap, and when they get enough xp they do a very decent job at dealing damage before the melee starts. And as other clans, if they don't have specialist bow units (like the Chosokabe, Uesugi or Ikko-Ikki) I just don't see a reason to make my armies more expensive with regular bow samurai when I'm already having an already expensive arny based on sword (Date and Shimazu) and cavalry (Takeda) armies supplemented by naginata samurai. That's why only with the Chosokabe I go for their unique bow samurai and for the Uesugi and Ikko-Ikki I go for their bow warrior monks as soon as i can afford them, but just because they get bonuses too good to pass up

Very nice video! Naginata Samurai is my favorite unit in the game. They are so amazing in Campaign, with max meele attack buff (Master Weaponsmith + Jujutsu Dojo) they hold the line and beat everything than approaches.

I currently have a playthrough as Oda just one town before realm divide. This video couldn't come at a better time lol

Thank you for making Shogun 2 content! Very enjoyable video as always

Another great vid. Honourable mention for wako raiders from me 🏴‍☠️

My favorite template in campaign is 4 ashigaru front line, 4 missile units of your choice flanked by 2 naginata samurai, 4 katana samurai, 4 mounted yari samurai and a wild card slot. I do play Darth mod so the unit sizes are much larger which allows this to work quite well.

00:02 Katana Cavalry is an underrated unit in Shogun 2. 01:00 Katana Cav are underrated units that excel in attacking infantry and defenseless missile units. 01:59 Naginata samurai are the best frontline infantry unit in Shogun 2 with high attack, defense, morale, and armor. 02:48 Light cavalry units are cost-efficient and versatile in Shogun 2 03:45 Kisho ninja are underrated but powerful units in Shogun 2. 04:39 Kisho Ninjas are highly situational units that can be used for hit and run maneuvers, surprise attacks, and general sniping. 05:39 Bow Ashigaru is the top underrated unit due to their frequent use and impact in campaigns and battles. 06:38 Boashigaru units are underrated and undervalued

Great video man!

I personally loved naginata samurai online, even tho I had few veterans on my online clan, I usually got a few vanilla ones and they were great and versatile. Not the best, but far from the worst! Great video! Happy to have subscribed lately.

now this is a theme i can enjoy

umber one should be European canons! The fear they strike into the enemys heart is invaluable!

I agree on the ninjas. Gotta love their ‘nades!

Man you need more subs, you are top quality

Bow ashigaru is probably the best unit you can use in multiplayer to destroy lightly armored units like monks or ninjas. they don't even need many upgrades to do so. Naginata samurai are really good for one specific role, yet they are a rare sight in multiplayer. They are absolutely the best defensive unit in the game (if you exclude Bulletproof samurai) If you use them in a role to tank a no-dachi charge or just arrows they will excel at both. They are countered by matchlocks, Daikyus and bow generals though. Two of which are in almost every multiplayer match, which is why I believe they are not seen as much. But bringing one or two of them to just sit there and hold down 2-3 units each in melee to allow your other units to outmatch your opponent is incredibly viable. Throw in a hero there for the extra offensive power and morale buff is very strong.... You should know Triple ;)

Favorite thing to do is man walls with muskets, having ninjas standing in hiding behind them and as units commit to climbs, stealth and run to quick swap the ninjas onto the walls to literally bomb the shit out of armies. Its glorious.

I remember disbanding a garrison full of Naginata Samurai 2 turns before the red equiphile declared war on me (again)

Literally just started playing this gem again, god I suck at it relative to every other tw tho haha

I personally like bow samurai, bc i can use them efectively as meele, they completely wreck most spear units and other archers, i just use the spear line and throw them to attack the sides, and light cav to decimate enemy archers

2:44 I'm quite certain Matchlock units are armor piercing. They also have the "ap" trait enabled inside the unit files

Your channel remind me smartdonkey LP channel. Dude cover almost everything about shogun tw. Until it running out of content . Sure cover your favorite game is good spirit 👍

So I tested bow ashigaru and bow samurai against yari ashigaru in custom battles and it seems that the kills per volley of both the bow ashigaru and bow samurai was the same against ashigaru armour class units. The difference in total kill count came from the faster reload rate of bow samurai which resulted in more volleys per minute.

Yarimazing!

I wish MrSmartDonkey would make more Shogun 2 videos. That was the reason I subscribed to him 4 years ago.

I didn't know yari bowmen were so derided! Haven't played in a long while, but back in the day it felt like bow units were OP in Shogun 2. I would always try and fit as many bowmen into my armies that I could possibly still protect with other units, take a hill, and watch them mow down most of the opponent before they could even engage our lines. I often took Yari stacks well into the middle and even late game against the AI.

A few bow ashigaru and firebomb throwers will make a superb defense when defending forts etc. Often the enemy breaks before they get up the walls.

To complete your words about the underratement of the bow ashigaru (I'm not a multi-player guy so this is about the campaign and maybe true in multiplayer but if that's the case, even I don't know): for the mid/late game (meanly if you are playing the Oda and MAYBE chosokabe) if you recruit those units in a province with max accuracy bonus (20 or 25 depending on if you have a camp with the right upgrade) those units will do better than samourais and more precisely monks because even tho their reload isn't the best, their large number will give them the deadliest first voley of all bow units. So even tho units in front have better reload if they are not many left of them it doesn't matter. And this is not even speaking of aditionnal bonuses that they can get through the tech tree and general skill tree if I remember correctly

*sad fire projecting mangonels noises*

Kisho ninja also have vanguard deployment. Hide them at some flank where u think the enemy will be. Walk them close to stay hidden. Surprise attack them in the flanks when both armies engage using stealth. They mow every thing from the back.

To me, light cavalry is the best cavalry in the campaign. They are fast, cheap, excellent to pursue fleeing enemies and in an infantry stalemate, they can make a hammer and anvil very quickly, although they are easily killed by anything.

It's funny to me that Naginata samurais are underated since they where basically one of the units who carried my ass in avatar conquest back then. You know what I loved this game and because of you I may consider replaying it XD

bow ashigaru + fire bow that's deadly combination

I think the treshhold for 1bow ashirgaru beating a bow warrior monk is 6-7 veteran points(dont know how they are called really xD). If you use yari kav and kill their archers, Bow ashigaru become the best bow unit in the game. exp stand and fight and the tech tree + recruitment camps/bow mastery building get them to about 70 precision and 50 reload. with their unit size it just deals more damage than the other archers. Im with you. i just didnt know people would think they are bad.

In my two Campangs Naginata Samurai are in evry fieldarmy and Bow Ashigaru are perfect to protect my Territories.

do you think you would do a install video for last alliance mod for shogun 2

Horse archers are by far my favorite support unit! Each time im deploying them I think to myself "let me show you what happened to the romans...." and they really put the enemy AI in a no-win scenarion: Either ignore them and take a ton of damage for free, or chase them off and STILL take a ton of damage. Extra fun if the guys chasing them is the enemy general, because you shot one arrow at hit bodyguard and went "nanananana, you cannot catch us!"

I have a confession to make... I fucking love... Shogun 2

Its kinda funny that my first campaign that I won was a katana cav only takeda run

The Fishsandwhichpatrol reference to the Kishi Ninja core theory

Am I the only one expiriencing AI bow samurai doomstacks? Naginatas are a neccesity in the mid game.

Lol, I use all those 5 units in campaign, specially The naginata samurai and katana cav.

Nice video! I don't suppose you could make one for general skills?

Kisho ninja is overstated af Amazing utilities, but also a stat stick that will kill pretty much everyone in melee. With Stealth on they charge harder than cavalry, and in prolonged fight they beat most units 1v1. All of that at a cheap price, only slightly more than samurai.

Little known fact, you can upgrade bow ashigaru with long yari arrows so they become God teir melee and ranged units. Truly yarimazing

I agree with Bow Ashigaru and Kisho Ninja. Naginata Samurai and Light cav are very well regarded already. Katana cav aren't underrated because there's nothing to underrate about them. It may be just me but in 99% of all battlefield situations where I have a Katana cav unit, I find myself wishing I'd brought something else. Yeah, they're good against sword infantry, but that's a unit type that has so many counters that are far more versatile, including Yari cav (only slightly worse at killing sword infantry but infinitely better on the charge, against cavalry and especially generals) or any ranged unit.

I prefer naginata as my melee foot infantry. Situationally yari and katana units are better, but you have to make sure they're attacking what needs to be attacked, whether it's foot soldiers or cavalry. Whereas recruiting naginatas out of a province with a master weaponsmith and proving grounds encampment makes the best all around foot soldier in the game. So I go with that. Maybe people underrate them because they like specialists more, and are willing to micromanage the battlefield.

you should make episode about your favourite mods etc

katana cav can reduce the charge from opponents by using diamond formation, that way they beat yari cav with half remaining

The best use of mangonel is the AI will be forced to attack you even when they are defending.

Bow Ashigaru? maybe its just how my battles go (only really play single player) but, the biggest problem i have with them is they don't use their ammo fast enough, like they will probably rout before running out of ammo or the battle lines join at which point you don't want them to shoot or you take time to get them on the flanks. Otherwise Yes i agree. kinda surprised the yari samurai arnt on here. (i know why but still)

Bulk of my army was naginata samurai.

Level 3 bow ashigaru in Avatar Conquest can have 50 accuracy and 45 reload when you have the yumi officer. Makes them pretty good.

As an Oda player... I literally use all of these and dominate.

I was waiting for the Wako Raiders 😔

like how you talk about mp when the mp is virtually dead

The first time played this game i played with oda and didn't use anything other than ashigaru because they were so cheap

One unit I would say is underrated is Yari Samurai, purely because people overhate them. They actually are decent units, while I can recognize they are far from the best, people tend to think they are useless, which is blatantly not true.

how exactly are naginata samurai, light cav and bow ashigaru underrated units in Shogun 2?

The only faction that can use Yari Samurai more effectively is the Hattori clan : 1. Just place Hattori Yari Samurai at the enemy's rear 2. Charge 3. Click rapid advance ability. 4. Profit

Mangonels are only efective if You want the enemy to attack You And in that matter, at least cannons kill a little bit more than them

Mangonels are great for single player. Watching exploding the enemy is great.

Cheap missile unit’s are useful to distract other missiles and bait cavalry charges.

Shogun 2 is historical inaccurate. naginata is pretty much phased out by Sengokujidai. Only monk and female warriors wielded them. On Sengokujidai battlefield，yari reigned supreme. Yari and katana are like modern day rifle and pistol. You fight open battles with rifles and only in close quarter，you pull pistol.

Naginata units need more love. I usually play a mod that gives Naginata Ashigaru, More historically accurate anyway. Absolutely amazing unit, not OP and they’ll hold ground against anything for as long as you need them to.

i didn't even know this game had catapults.

2 minutes after ser this video i get shogun 2

People under appreciate bow ashigaru? Yeah, they blow… until you bump their reload by 2 ranks and accuracy by 2 ranks. Plus a leadership general and they become insanely cost effective, especially in sieges. Under appreciated units 1 - naginata attendants. Pair them with matchlocks and wipe out anything. 2 - Yari samurai. Keep your army compact and 2 units can provide all the anti cav you need 3 - light cav. Don’t upgrade them. So dang cheap. Best way to get an ambush off in multiplayer is to stick 2 of them in woods and “preemptively/prematurely” attack with one. Don’t lose the unit, just make it look like it was a mistake then as your “surprise” is ruined, send that unit to the rest of your army. Now when the actual battle is joined, the enemy will focus on your obvious light cav and not see the second one you never attacked with until his general is dead 4. Fire rockets. Keep them in trees with a nagi attendant escort. Get the enemy to bunch their infantry or take your aim at high value cav or general. They will wreck face 5. Matchlock samurai, no upgrades. Just a solid unit which doesn’t require babysitting. Can be used as an obvious target to bait a cav charge, will do ok (not good), but WILL rally and can then be almost just as effective since only the first Ranch of matchlocks fire 6. Bow general. If you’re good at micro. Plus the crazy long bow range on horseback means you’re guaranteed to force the enemy to attack you on terrain favorable to you 7. Yari ki. Stronger and cheaper than Yari cav, just not as fast

Yari samurai is like the most disappointing infantry unit -_-, I expected they'd be good at combat. Also katana cavalry also. They an fight with prolonged fights, but I believe their meant to be paired with hammer and anvil when the main lines are stuck and due to their good in melee and can prolong its just honestly an waste of money at the same time. Though Naginata are pretty good 👍 their an all rounder fighters, I'm surprised they are here. Light cavalry is pretty good for the start.

Yari Samurai is underrated too and it should stay that way, like what is the point of it? If to counter cavalries or for defense, Yari Ashigarus can do the job and much cheaper, if it's for breaking enemy units, their melee attack sucks

Me abusing the tax order glitch and spamming levy units only(they're good in the end games )

warrior monks fear the peasant bowman

A lot of people will flat out not use Light Cavalry at all in the campaign just because they're not "proper". Having cavalry is better than having no cavalry...... Also mangonels are artillery. I heard before I even tried them back in the day that they were utter dogshit but I still went out of my way to get one. When you have a single piece of artillery and the enemy has none you dictate the terms of the engagement not the other way around. Even if they decide to weather the projectiles knowing most won't hit and then move there's any easy counter.... You move everything towards them until you're fractionally outside of their missile range and then you start using your mangonel from that distance.... It now will get hits, will still start killing and they will move first and you're planted and ready to receive them.

Heck, if you're playing Chosokabe and tech into the Superior Bows artisan feature, you can train Bow Ashigaru with superior accuracy and at that point they become effectively superior to bow samurai due to their unit size. They'll hit just as accurately and at the same range, so the additional missiles end up adding a lot more power to the battlefield. Granted, that's a specific circumstance, and Chosokabe get access to their unique archers who have Bow Warrior monk range minus the whistling shot, but I did that campaign recently and found these guys to be clutch.

Hoboy Bow Ashigaru and Kisho Ninja are the only units that deserve to be on this list. I use Bow Ashigaru until Bow Monks in SP and in MP for a LIGHT skirmish force as melee cores are just what it is. Honestly if a Bow unit was to be put in there Bow Cav would be a better choice. I also personally never use Katana Samurai and just stick to Naginatas. Katana Cav should not even exist. Same with Mangonels and European Cannons. Matchlock units aside from Monk/Terico/Heavy Gunners units also get overlooked a ton. 1 unit of Matchlock Ashigaru can add a ton of utility... Samurai is very questionable.

i understand in MP why bow ashigaru would not be used as much, but who said they are trash in single player/campaign? with how cheap they are, you want 2 bow ashigarus over 1 bow samurai in my opinion 9/10 times...again, in campaign. amazing at sieges, get exp quickly hence their reload and accuracy improves drastically by the mid-game with 4-6 exp shevrons(right spelling?). numbers, replenishment is faster cuz ashigaru replenish faster compared to samurais, cheaper so you can run with 2-3 armies compared to 1 samurai army. and a favourite tactic of mine: have a normal battle stack supported by a...generally half a stack of bow ashigaru. used exclusively for sieges. because the army system was actually allows you any number of armies of even single units to be on the field without a general in shogun 2 compared to what came with rome 2 and since.

I guess I'm just dumb, but katana cavalry are the only ones I use consistently because they are good at surviving and killing enemies. I'm weak at cavs so maybe I'm just not using other units correctly

I love bow ashigaru, because I love Soviet style ashigaru tactics. When I have 4 armies to your 1, I have the better army.

I see light calvalry in your list, lol.

why you gotta do my mangonels like that :(

You're not wrong about any of these though I think most people know about the strengths of Katana Cav and Naginata Sam. I'd like to see some unique units listed here there are definitely a few that are underrated or that on paper look unimpressive until you put them out there.

So, when will you do fav DLC?

Bro what people hate bow ashigaru? They’re like the only bow infantry I use 😨 (unless I’m chosekabe) I’m not spending double the upkeep for marginally better stats in the bow samurai fr. Bowmen are for suppressing and a thinning out before the melee in my experience. If I cheap out in archers I can better afford my more expensive melee units

👏🙂

Bow ashigaru get to roughly 70 accuracy if you have the accuracy upgrades and research. Pointless using bow samurai after that.

Is the first time I hear someone call underrated to Naginata Samurai, Light Cavalry and Bow Ashigaru. I didn't play ONE campaing without recruting these lads, fair enough my early armys are made of mainly of Yari Ashigaru but I always have like 4 Light Cavalry if I can recruit them (who then gets replaced by Yari Cavalry, like, you can blame me? They'e litteraly the same better version) and 6 Bow Ashigaru to counter-skirmish (and then this ones get replaced by Bow Warriors Monks IF I go for defensive armies). With the Naginata? The only ones who I use instead of them from time to time are Naginata Warriors Monk and even there if I want my army to be defensive I just pick the Samurai, they're that good!

It was such a CRIME that Yari Samurai are getting their butts kicked towards yari ashigaru, and many other units, even though they have far more armor and stats then they have -- or they SHOULD. Even worse is when their CAVALRY counterpart does BETTER than them!!! On top of that, the OTHER samurai units beat them as well!!! SHAMFRUL DISPRAY!!!