It’s been some time since I’ve played the game, but I remembered a trick I learned before. If you’re like me, I think getting the rare Heroic Victories are fun to get, but I couldn’t find a way to get them guaranteed. Well, for better or worse, I obsessed a bit and experimented to find a way to do just that so you don’t have to.
Intro
This is primarily meant for consistently obtaining heroic victories in battles versus the AI and was tested up to Legendary difficulty. This strategy is intended for the main campaign (not RotS and not tested in FotS) or 1v1 AI battles and is recommended for use in the mid-late game, but I also used it from the starting province on legendary difficulty and managed just fine.
Why it Works
The game “undervalues” the strength of Kisho ninja since they seem to be valued similarly to other siege units despite having some of the best stats for infantry units in the game, so rely on using them. They are much more expensive (800 recruitment/275 upkeep) than the yari ashigaru (250/75) spam, but not too much more expensive than katana samurai (750/150). Their weakness is in small numbers and vulnerability to arrows, but we will mitigate this as much as possible.
The Formula
It’s pretty simple. The key is to use 1 kisho ninja per opponent samurai unit and 2/3 per opponent ashigaru unit. This provides the best balance between the game calculating the battle as “unwinnable” and being comfortable for you to beat the AI easily. The goal is to kill as many enemy units as possible while losing as few of your own because this also factors into the “Heroic Victory” calculation. You could consider adjusting the above formula depending on what modifiers you/the enemy have from generals, unit upgrades, etc., but I did not have difficulty using the formula above myself when testing.
At the start of battle, deploy your ninja in a thin line of troops, single column of units, spread as wide as possible and as close as possible to the AI’s formation, matching the length of their line or going a little wider ideally. You can deploy them behind the enemy lines instead if the enemy has archers/multiple rows and to take out their generals quickly. Form all units into a single group, start the battle, and immediately stealth all units to prevent arrow fire which they are very vulnerable to. Then, just charge straight into the enemy. You want them to route as quickly as possible as you will start to lose your units in prolonged combat. Get your general to the front line as quickly as possible (without engaging) for their bonuses on your ninja. Abilities from your general that cause the enemy to route faster are great for this strategy. If you get the bomb upgrade, you can play around with using it just before engaging with the enemy or leading melee units around in a hit-and-run tactic to great effect as it does damage, slows enemies, and decreases their combat abilities. These are all great effects, but you have to watch out for the ninja’s greatest enemy: arrow fire.
To make your ninja the strongest they can be, the Hattori or Tokugawa kisho ninja are cheaper (750/250 instead of 800/275). Get the encampment -> Jujutsu Dojo (+2 melee attack) or Proving Grounds (+5 charge bonus) on your recruiting province. Getting a recruitment province with the mountain hideout -> ninjutsu school -> ninja clan fortress is ideal for 5 starting XP on your kisho ninja. Unfortunately, there are only 3 provinces that give this “resource” on the map, though the Hattori start with one. They are also all clustered in the middle of the map.
“Ninja resource” provinces shown below in blue.
