Troop Tree Mount And Blade Warband
Kym Cavrak
In Gekokujo, every clan has a similar Ashigaru troop tree and a Samurai troop tree, whereas Ikko Ikki additionally has a special branch of Monk fighters. The only differences come from some clan-specific weapon preferences and elite units. They consist of one elite-tier Ashigaru unit type, and two Hatamoto-tier Samurai units, which represents the best soldiers available in the clan. Equivalent units of two clans have the same base stats (need verification), randomness nature of troop stats will lead to differences between the units of each clan.
Ashigaru are trained peasants armed with spears, bows and muskets. They can be recruited as peasants from any village at a cost of 10 mon each. These recruits are identified by region and can be further trained to become experienced Ashigaru units.
Villagers are fresh recruits who have decided to take their chances on the battlefields of feudal Japan. Unfortunately, their eagerness leads them to follow you with little to no preparation. Armed with whatever passes as a weapon and protected only by their meager clothing, they often meet their ends just as quickly as they began; but under a wise commander, and perhaps a few skilled trainers, they can gain the skills they need to rise through the ranks as spearmen or skirmishers. They can be further trained into an elite unit depending on the clan.
Spearmen are soldiers who have demonstrated their skill in fighting with sword and spear. They use polearms to skewer, slash, and bash opponents at a distance. This allows them to fight outside of the range of a samurai's katana or impale a horse before they trample over, thus making them effective melee units even if their prowess is lacking.
Inexperienced soldiers who have just received their equipment and the training necessary to use them are simply called spearmen, with a humble level of 9. Those who have honed their skills during a fight or training, can be promoted to be called a Trained Spearmen at level 14. As they progress further, the battle-hardened soldiers will found themselves useful as a Veteran Spearmen with a level of 19. If a clans have mastered the way of the spear, they can produce the Elite Spearmen at level 25. These Elite Spearmen are the only best melee units made available in the clan's ashigaru troop tree with spear expertise.
From a distance, skirmishers can pop down on anyone in mass volley. They are mainly armed with either a yumi bow or a musket. Skirmishers armed with bows are weak but can fire 3 times quicker than the musket with the fastest reload, therefore they dish out a ton of damage to anyone as they pick off different targets. Skirmishers armed with muskets struggle with slow reload times but can out-range yumi bows. The slow reload may also force its user to conserve their ammunition while fighting longer than any bow skirmisher. Most skirmishers carry a one-handed weapon for melee defence, however these melee weapons are useless against cavalry or a massive melee charge. Therefore, commanders should protect Skirmishers by positioning them next to a friendly spearmen, on a hill or both for the best results. Well-protected skirmishers can fire deadly volleys that can even kill the best troops. Depending on their faction, elite troops can be trained to be the master of bow or musket. Be it the bows or the muskets, an accurate shot is enough to bring down an enemy or put a samurai's years of training to waste by riddling him with holes.
From the start, amateur peasants can be promoted as a skirmisher at level 9. They will have to learn to shoot with accuracy and discipline to be promoted to Trained Skirmishers at level 14. Battle hardened Trained Skirmishers who are experienced can be further promoted to Veteran Skirmishers at level 19. Those clans with access to foreign firearms or superior bowyers and archery traditions can equip and train a fully accomplished Ashigaru snipers, which will entitle them the title of Elite Skirmishers at the level of 25. It is considered a great honour to shoot first in the battlefield, to either rain death or blow away the enemies.
Samurai are noble warriors trained from Ji-Samurai, recruited in towns and castles, for 300 mon. They cost more than mercenaries but are often superior on the battlefield. Their noble background and high salary allows them to purchase a better equipment than Ashigaru units. This ensures that a newly recruited Ji-samurai can at least hold on his own and fight well on the battlefield.
Ji-samurai are associated with the region they are recruited from. Once promoted, they are identified by clan rather than home region. Only level 6, but warriors by profession, their diligent training and status as nobility allows them to eventually become powerful swordsmen, cavalrymen, archers, or gunners expertise in fighting and mastery of skills . Each clan has access to two types of Hatamoto units.
Retainers are so named because they are sworn to protect their lord and his honor. They are the trusted guards of the lord and are equipped with katanas, one-handed weapons, and the best armor available to them. Ji-samurai are sworn in as retainers once they prove their loyalty at level 11. Experience and rapidly growing skill with the sword earns them the title of Veteran Retainer at level 16. Alternatively, these veterans are given the option to choose the way of the sword, the way of the horse or the way of the bow. If they display great military skill and a penchant for leadership, they are given the post of Officer or Mounted Officer at level 21. Some factions bestow their clan's secret techniques along with excellent equipment to the samurai who have mastered the sword or spear. These masters are known as Hatamoto Guards or Hatamoto Cavalry with a soaring level of 27.
Marksmen are samurai with unparalleled skill with long-range weaponry. In contrast to skirmishers, these warriors can use their backup one-handed weapons to great effect, substituting power and reach with speed and skill. Marksmen typically show their capacities at level 11. Simultaneous training in sword and bow or musket allows them to become the powerful Samurai Archer or Samurai Gunners with a level of 16. Samurai whose archery or firearm skill makes their backup weapon virtually unnecessary are given the title of Master Archer or Master Gunner at the level 21. Only clan's who can craft the best bows or have mastered the guns of the Portuguese and the Dutch, can produce an expert snipers which known as the Hatamoto Archer or Hatamoto Gunner with a level of 27.
Unlike the Samurai clans, the buddhist sect Ikko Ikki does not have a samurai top tier unit (Hatamoto), but have an elite monk unit (the Naginata Monk). The player can hire them in Kanazawa or in one of the three fortresses (which are fortresses, and not castles, therefore you can not hire samurai there), for 10 mon each. It offers a cheap option between Ashigaru and Samurai. However, the player is more than encouraged to recruit Ikko samurai instead at Toyama castle, as they only cost 10 mon, but this may be fixed later.
The mercenaries in Gekokujo are hired soldiers that are commonly found offering their services in the Inns of the many towns of the feudal japan. Since they are the mercenaries, they do not fight to be loyal but for the money.(which also means that they can never receive any morale penalties no matter what they fight) They do however, have a slightly higher upkeep cost than equivalent faction troops and they aren't noticeably more stronger, but they are an easy and fast way (if the player has the money) of get troops of diverse quality ranging from the lowly hired guards to experienced agents and veteran warriors.
The mercenaries are also one of the two troop tree (being the "female" troop tree the other one tree) to be able to train agents. The agents are troops specialized in covert warfare who can infiltrate in enemy castles and open the gates from inside, allowing parties with low engineering skills to quickly assault castles.
The peasant men and women are the lowliest troop of the mercenary troop tree, consisting of nothing more than "disenfranchised" farmers and labourers. They are no better than any villager in battle, being similarly weak and poorly armed, so should be protected until they can promote to more useful troops. The peasant can only be promoted to hired guards (men) or onnabushi (women).
Peasants can't be hired by traditional methods unlike any other troops, or through inns as with most mercenaries, rather they are found as prisoners or peasant parties who travel to town markets to sell their wares.
The hired guards are the lowliest troop that can be hired from inns or upgraded from male peasants. Just a step above the peasantry, they often have bamboo spears, short swords or clubs, and occasionally a musket. These units are also commonly found protecting caravans. As with peasants, they are better kept away from combat - unless things are desperate. A trained Hired Guards can choose to be promoted to a hired gunners or a yojimbos.
The hired gunners are, perhaps, the most simple ranged unit available to the player. "Armored" with samurai civilian clothes, their best (and possibly only good) characteristic is that they always are armed with a gun (a Sakai Teppo to be exact) though not exactly crack-shots, and being rather defenseless at close combat (though always armed with wakizachis), anyone who carries a gun can't be underestimated and is always a useful asset. Good as a support unit, they are useful even for bulging or patching the ranks of gun troops. They are rather cheap troops considering that they always carry a gun. These troops can't be promoted further.
The Yojimbos ("bodyguards") are the other upgrade of the hired guards, armed only with katanas and being rather average swordsmen. They are rather weak due wearing samurai clothing instead of samurai armor, not exactly good field troops but can be dangerous given the circumstances. They can upgrade to Hired warriors or Agents.
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