Heavy Samurai

Heavy Samurai
Statistics
Health	351
Damage per Second	162
DPS vs Infantry	40
Damage Multiplier	25%
Range	0.75
Range Type	Melee
Training Cost	170
Training Time	35s
Troop Space	1
General Information
Nation	Japanese
Troop Type	Heavy Infantry
Strength	High damage against buildings and cavalry
Weakness	Defending soldiers, mortars, redoubt
Favourite Target	Any
Upgrade Information
Age Unlocked	Medieval Age
Upgrade Cost	500,000
Upgrade Time	1d
Experience Gain	520
Upgrade Navigation
Previous	Samurai
Next	Nodachi Samurai

“Well-armed and plentiful, these troops are effective at tearing down enemy buildings. These unique Japanese soldiers deal more damage.”

Heavy Samurai is a level 6 Japanese unique Heavy Infantry unit unlocked in the Medieval Age. Its predecessor is the Samurai and can be upgraded to the Nodachi Samurai. It is researched in a level 5 Blacksmith. It replaces the Pikeman.

General Information

The standard Heavy Infantry's default A.I. or purpose is to destroy the closest building (excluding walls), but they may fight back when attacked by an enemy troop. They're excellent at taking down defensive Heavy Cavalry (noticeably on cavalry at an age lower than them) and are able to destroy buildings quickly. However, their disadvantages are that they have low health, meaning that they can be killed very quickly. They can get destroyed easily by Splash Damage Structures such as Catapults or Mortars and Multiple Target Damage Structures such as Redoubt or Machine Gun. They are also weak against other Heavy Infantry (and even Ranged Infanty} spawned by the City Center, Garrisons, Ambush Traps etc.

• As a Japanese unique unit, samurai has 20% more damage than the standard Heavy Infantry they replace.

Historical Description

In the 15th century, Samurai began to be equipped with plate armor which provided some limited protection from the early muskets which appeared at the same time. (Eventually firearms' increasing penetrative ability would render all personal armor useless, of course.) The added armor made the Samurai even more impervious to improvised peasant weaponry, increasing their control over the masses around them.

Attacking Strategies

• If these units are used in large groups and not in heavy fire, they can be devastating and can destroy a base easily.
• Catapults or Mortars, with their splash damage, are devastating against these units and can kill a group of them in a few hits if in the range of the impact. Spread the units around so that the mortar would have to hit each infantry to kill it and that its impact would not affect other infantry as well, or deploy a few Heavy Cavalry to destroy it.
• Redoubts or Machine Guns buildings can likewise be devastating against these units, if it is not dealt with appropriately. Keep the units away from it until it is destroyed or position them to destroy it quickly.
• If a group of these units are under fire from Catapults or Mortars or Redoubts or Machine Guns buildings, consider using war tactics such as Sabotage or Protect and destroy the buildings as quick as possible, or use Demolition beforehand to eliminate these threats. You may also consider using Heavy Cavalry or other units to destroy these threats early on.
• The Missile Silo can eliminate a group of these units quickly. Don't group them together so much that will attract the Silo attacks. Or you could deploy them after the Silo is destroyed, sabotaged or distracted by other units with high HP.
• Use Ranged Infantry or Machine Gun Infantry to support them, so they don't perish easily to defenders.
• They can be used as a distraction for many defenses and can help protect ranged infantry such as Ranged Infantry from defenses.
• A group of them can easily overwhelm single target defensive towers, but are vulnerable against machine gun buildings.
• While using an army entirely composed with Heavy Infantry can decimate enemy bases early on, this strategy becomes less useful as you advance ages as your opponents will use more powerful defenses with AOE effect such as the Missile Silo.

Trivia

• Samurai were an elite warrior class in ancient japan, roughly with the same status and purpose as knights in feudal Europe.
• Samurai were ruled by a code called Bushido.
• Although they are traditionally thought of as swordsmen, Samurai actually started as elite bowmen. Eventually, as they became a permanent warrior class they also began training and fighting with all kinds of weapons, including yari (spears), different kind of swords like the katana and the no dachi (a very long sword), tanegashima (muskets) and even blunderbusses.