Historically, the Sengoku Jidai saw a widespread adoption of gunpowder into Japanese battle tactics. In fact, towards the end of the period, massed volley fire was all but the standard of ranged tactics. The reasons for this popularity were many:
The superior range of matchlocks made them definitively useful. Professionals with the bow could attain longer ranges, but that was with decades of dedicated practice. Few ashigaru did wield the bow, but they were almost never able to use it to its maximum potential.
Training troops to use the bow was a time-consuming and resource-heavy task. On the other hand, large numbers of ashigaru could be trained to handle a matchlock, within the span of a few days. Thus it was cheaper to maintain matchlock troops.
Initially, the use of guns was limited as they had to be imported from Europe. The Japanese gunsmiths soon mastered the art of making these weapons and improved upon them. They are even credited with adding a foresight to the guns before the Europeans did, increasing accuracy at longer distances.
Guns were appreciated for their raw killing power. Samurai armour was bot designed with muskets in mind and hence proved severely lacking against matchlocks. It would only be towards the start of the Edo period that armour capable of withstanding matchlock fire would be used on the battlefield.
Shogun 2, however, portrays this poorly; mostly an attempt by CA to balance the multiplayer gameplay. For those of us looking for more realism or prefer single-player or just want more of matchlocks; this is the mod for you.
The mod makes sweeping changes to the stats of both bow and matchlock units like:
Matchlock units have superior range compared to all bow units, except the bow warrior monks, the bow hero and the Daikyuu samurai. Bow samurai have a range almost equal to that of matchlocks.
Bow ashigaru have shorter ranges than that of the matchlocks; but their range is same as that of the imported matchlock ashigaru.
Matchlock ashigaru carry Japanese-made matchlocks, which are better in range and accuracy, but have a slightly higher chance of misfiring than an imported matchlock.
Going Christian gives a stronger bonus of acquiring matchlocks earlier.
It is to be noted that the bow hero still has a higher range than the matchlock hero(Tokitaka's Tanegashima).
The bushido arts tree has been slightly modified to allow for earlier access to matchlocks. Attack by fire and Gunpowder Mastery are placed lower down in the tree.
The exact changes made to the units can be found here:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Imported Matchlock Ashigaru-------Range increased to 120
All Matchlock Ashigaru-------------Range increased to 160
Hattori Matchlock Ashigaru---------Upkeep increased to 120
Ikko Matchlock Ashigaru------------Reload skill increased to 10
Oda Matchlock Ashigaru------------Accuracy and Reload skill decreased to 30 and 20,Upkeep increased to 85
Otomo Matchlock Ashigaru---------Reload skill decreased to 20, Ammunition increased to 20
All Matchlock Samurai--------------Range increased to 160
Otomo Matchlock Samurai----------Reload skill now 30, Ammunition increased to 20
Portugese Tercos------------------Recruitment cost and upkeep increased to 900 and 250, Ammunition 20
All Bow Ashigaru-------------------Range decreased to 120, Reload skill increased to 30
Chosokabe Bow Ashigaru-----------Range 150, Reload skill increased to 35
Ikko Bow Ashigaru-----------------Reload skill increased to 15
Oda Bow Ashigaru-----------------Range 150, Accuracy decreased to 25, Reload skill increased to 30
It is to be noted that this mod does not make the matchlocks overpowered, nor can matchlocks replace all the bows in an army. They still retain all their disadvantages:
Matchlock units are poor in melee (especially ashigaru units), and can be easily routed by a cavalry charge (or a charge by bow samurai, just saying).
They cannot arc their shots like bows can and hence cannot fire from behind a melee line (unless positioned on higher ground). Firing over hill and uneven terrain is impossible.
Matchlocks take considerable time to reload, during which multiple volleys of arrows can be fired.
Matchlock ashigaru have low morale like all other ashigaru.
It is recommended that armies contain both types of units-matchlocks to fire before the lines close and bows afterward. This combination yields both maximum efficiency and historical accuracy.
Installation
Download and extract the zip file. Now place the pack file within the Shogun2\data folder. To uninstall, just remove the same file.
Archers and Matchlocks Rebalanced
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