SD Troops

SD Troops
Your troops, your soldiers, are the heart and soul of your SD game. Here we will talk about:
 * How to build troops
 * Troop Descriptions
 * What to build

Basic Troop Information
Basic Troop Information

The Supply Oxen -
What do I use them for? - These creatures will be your very first troops and supply you with beasts of burden as well as "fodder" for opposing armies should any show up.

'''What are they GOOD for? '''As we said before, amass a good deal of them and you can move food and other supplies from place to place. Also they are cheap soldiers that can stand in front of your walls and be slaughtered by superior forces. IE.. cannon fodder.

What are they NOT good for? Don't expect to do any serious fighting with these guys. Also.. don't expect them to last very long in a fight. Low health, low fighting skill, and low defense make them as weak as newborn kittens on the field of battle. HOWEVER you will need to build them in the very beginning of the game, even if it is to take care of some of the QUESTS that show up.

The Peasant Conscript -
What do I use them for?

The PC is useful for quite a few things in the game.

First off... it is going to be the first real COMBAT troop that you have in the game. Sure Supply Oxen are fun to throw at walls and such, but the constant braying of the creatures, foul odor and fact that they are pretty much useless in combat makes this only so much fun. However your Peasants actually can fight. Not well mind you, but they can fight. After you have built about 250 Supply Oxen, concentrate on building a solid force of about 2000 PC's as the heart of your beginning army.

Secondly, they are your cheap wild takers. 1000 PC's will take a level 1 and a level 2 wild. When you are first starting the game this can be a big deal. Later on in the game when 5% or 10% increase in a resource is not that huge you will have to rely on multiple waves of PCs in order to take a wild. However when you are only losing 1 honor per PC killed in battle, it is a good trade off. Much better than sending 3 Honor Bowmen, or 6 Honor Musketmen!

Finally, your PCs are your dispensable wall breakers. Throwing wave after wave of little PCs at a wall will remove defenses more cheaply than sending in your high honor troops. Save the high honor troops for your opponents soldiers, not his or her wall defenses.

What are they GOOD for?

All of the above, plus one more thing. The QUICKEST way to gain honor in the game is to build troops. And the quickest troops to build are the Peasant Conscript. Building 1,000 PCs will gain you 1,000 Honor. Now imagine what 100,000, or even a million PCs will do for your Honor.

Also... people might think twice about attacking you when they scout and see that you have 100,000, or 1 million Peasant Conscripts. Just a thought...

What are they NOT good for?

Don't send your PCs against Bowmen, Musketmen, or other ranged fighters. They are not equipped for it, and will get torn to shreds. ===The Bowman - === What do I use them for?

Your Bowmen are your first ranged troops in the game and at first may not seem like the most powerful of troops. However after a few levels of research and some serious building, you will find that they can pack a terrific punch in a battle. Especially on defense.

What are they GOOD for?

Use bowmen as part of a mixed group of faster warriors. Your bowman has a speed of 225. Sending 1 Ashigaru, 1 spearman, 1 musketman, 1 Mounted Samurai and 1 Kensai Samurai into battle with a group of bowmen mean that when your forces hit the enemy, all of the faster warriors on your side will take turns striking at the enemy. The Ashigaru will hit first, and your bowmen will take a shot. Then the Mounted Samurai and Kensai will hit, and your bowmen will take a shot. And so on and so forth. Creating a mixed group of warriors that go before your bowmen increase the power of their attacks by increasing the amount of times that they can attack... and therefor increase the overall effectiveness of this deadly warrior.

What are they NOT good for?

With a low defense your bowmen are not good for any type of close up fighting. Only send them in if you know you can take an enemy from a distance (with other troops like above) or if you don't mind losing them.

The Mounted Ashigaru
What do I use them for? Your first horse troops are THE fastest troops in the game and will allow you to reach places quickly for a great many reasons. Use them to send quick reinforcements to a friend in your alliance or to transport resources more quickly than your supply oxen. One of the most useful troops that you will build.. and let me assure you... you will build a lot of them.

What are they GOOD for? Ashigaru are good for quite a few things.

First off.. they are your farmers. Once you have enough of them, start sending them out with Generals to cities nearby. Choose ones that have lower honor and you will be surprised what you come back with. Typically lower honor cities (below 300) have been abandoned by players, however they are still producing limited resources. These resources can be returned to your cities to help you build MORE Ashigaru (or buildings if you want.. )

Second, your Ashigaru are a wonderfully swift delivery service. Typically a trip that takes an hour round with Supply Oxen can take as little as 10 minutes with your speedy horse service. Helping alliance mates who are low on resources has never been easier.

Finally, Ashigaru are great against those pesky bowmen. They simply ride in and trample them to the ground. If you scout someone and they are defending with bowmen, send in your peasants to take out the defenses and your Ashigaru in to take out the archers and you are walking away with sweet success. Or riding away...

What are they NOT good for?

Ashigaru do not get along with Spearmen. If you see them in the mix of enemy troops you should work to eliminate them before you send in your horsemen for clean up.

=== The Spearmen===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?

=== The Musketmen===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?

=== The Supply Wagons===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?

=== The Mounted Samurai===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?

=== The Kensai Samurai===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?

=== The Cannons===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?

=== The Seige Ballistae===

What do I use them for?

What are they GOOD for?

What are they NOT good for?