Strategy for battlefield ninjas?

[briny_norman]

I'm playing the Hattori and just got a band of battlefield ninjas.
So, my castle was besieged shortly after and I thought I'd try and use my ninjas for a small ambush.

I ran my ninjas out of the castle to hide in a small group of trees where they hid. A few minutes later the enemy general headed straight for them and wiped them out before I could do anything.
So much for their hiding abilities.

Is there any way to judge how well hidden my ninjas are and when they might be spotted?
Is there a spotting range or something?
The enemy general just seemed to go straight for them.

Has anybody used their ninjas on the battlefield with any success?
I.e. had them successfully sneak attack anything?
How am I supposed to use them...?!

[Keepbro]

Best use of these guys I've found is to put them well out of the way - then walk them toward where you need them and then rush and kill where needed (with stealth on). Care is needed as to when to use stealth as being seen means that units WILL engage them (usually cavalry/generals which means that you can use them as bait to draw generals into bands of ninja if using more than one unit).

I like using them in sieges - their bombs are great fun.

[briny_norman]

In sieges - do you use them on the walls - to throw bombs at the climbing enemy?
Or do you try and sneak them around?

[waidizss]

There was some guy posting that even though his cavalry was in trees AI marched his spear units towards it. I think the CA is Sauron

[Tepok]

Great way to capture objectives/towers.

In objective maps, place them in woods near the objective, let the enemy capture it with the bulk of the army, then lauch the offfensive is with your main body, and before the clash, launch them in stealth at the general/archers/whatever weak or strategical target you want to prevent from charging you (any cav, no-daichi, monks...)

[The Juggernaut]

The general's a bit hard to kill, but after battle is joined I use them to kill and distract enemy archers, they can usually take down two or three units of yumi ashigaru without support. It's GREAT!

[King Gambrinus]

The flaw of the battlefield ninjas in Shogun 2 is that you'll never have time to fully use them if you do put them out of the way. Because of the fragile morale system, holding a line in this game isn't always the best tactic, so bogging down your enemy and using the ninjas is very hard.


Oh, and they can't beat the general. Lame.


Don't use them in MP. Just don't.

[Graphic]

The flaw of the battlefield ninjas in Shogun 2 is that you'll never have time to fully use them if you do put them out of the way. Because of the fragile morale system, holding a line in this game isn't always the best tactic, so bogging down your enemy and using the ninjas is very hard.


Oh, and they can't beat the general. Lame.


Don't use them in MP. Just don't.

I look forward to using them with my slower movement/bonus morale mods though.

[Saruman the white wizard]

Don't use them in MP. Just don't.

I sometimes use them in MP just for fun and the two times I did they helped me a lot.
The first time was against someone who didn't expect them at all. While he was busy fighting my main force his general was killed by 2 kisho ninja unit's bombs and soon after his army collapsed.
The second time my opponent ran his cavalry through my ninjas just trieng to get them somewhere. I couldn't get my ninjas out of the way in time, but due to being in a forest they actually managed to kill all of the cavalry units (I had 3 units of ninjas) and after that they attacked the enemy in the flank with bomb attacks. Good times .
When you use ninja just make sure you have good/large main body of melee infantry because without an army to back them up even the most awesome units will achieve nothing.

[Battlecry]

I've used them as a great skirmish force. Out in front of your advancing infantry, when they get close enough to be detected immediately have them run up, throw their bombs, and then run back. A charge from just about anything will rout an enemy unit after being bombed like this. You can also use a few of them clustered as a "flank crusher" or to specifically destroy the strongest enemy unit (i.e. using 3 on 1 or so). They each have two volleys of bombs to throw (maybe 3, with the blinding bombs), so you could stack them one behind the other. The front rank throws & retreats, then the next rank etc. until bombs are exhausted. 3 bomb volleys will rout just about anything. I'd be real careful using them from behind your melee units - bad timing and you'll hammer your own men.

[rob-a-dogg]

holding a line in the vanilla version of this game is impossible, so bogging down your enemy and using the ninjas is very hard.


Oh, and they can't beat the general. Lame.

ambush+ stealth + run + grenades = dead general

[walkerk19]

Kisho ninja are pretty effective for that kind of sneak attack. I usually have them ambush enemy back.

[Thefallenhun]

I've never been really hit hard by kisho ninjas, as if I so much as get a whiff of them on the battlefield, I clam up.

[Kev006]

in siege attacks its also good to note that they scale walls incredibly fast compared to normal troops

[StormtrooperDan]

Ninjas are good for:

1. Capture the key buildings on multiplayer
2. Flank and kill bowmen.
3. With my main army to bomb the advancing enemy line. The bombing causes a big morale hit, when I charge in my katana samurai and follow up with naginata monk's warcry for some quick routes.

[Captain Arrrgh!]

I use them in defensive battles. I hide them far off to the right or left and way in front of my army so that the enemy marches right past them, then I put them in Klingon cloak mode and have them charge into enemy archers from behind. It completel confounds the enemy's use of missile troops and keeps my line troops' morale up. I find once the main lines are engaged my ninja can route two or three ashigaru archer units by themselves.

I also hide them outside the castle when I'm defending in a siege, wait until the enemy has committed all its melee troops to climbing the walls, then cloak-rush them into the backs of archers again.

[Babaganoush]

I remember how the demo said ninjas were GREAT at assassinating generals.

I lold as they got ripped apart by the general.

[RandarKal]

In my Tokugawa campaign (because my armies are all different for each clan's campaign, to add different tactics and experiences), I have six units and when on defense, they will be sitting behind my Yari lines but in front of my archers to add their bombs and finally their swords to the main battle line, they do quite well...as only one Tokugawa army has them at the moment, I have yet to find out their best application offensively (though I intend to keep them around my Yari Samurai, likely as Skirmishers and then the real punch in a melee fight (each unit has 4-5 bars of experience).


Edit: I find they are much like Principes in RTW, with my Yari Samurai being Trarii...with some slight advantages and disadvantages for the Ninjas compared to Principes

[Gulatr]

I remember how the demo said ninjas were GREAT at assassinating generals.

I lold as they got ripped apart by the general.

Maybe the campaign map Ninja agent, not the Kisho Ninja units.

Kisho Ninja are good against infantry but cavalry will destroy them - Generals are small, elite cavalry units.

In campaign they work well in groups of 2-3, they will deal a decisive blow to the enemy army from the flank, will take castle climb castle walls very quickly with no losses and will be able to take the enemy by surprise.

[Babaganoush]

Maybe the campaign map Ninja agent, not the Kisho Ninja units.

Kisho Ninja are good against infantry but cavalry will destroy them - Generals are small, elite cavalry units.

In campaign they work well in groups of 2-3, they will deal a decisive blow to the enemy army from the flank, will take castle climb castle walls very quickly with no losses and will be able to take the enemy by surprise.

Nah if you play the Chosokabe Siege Tutorial, the advisor states how the kisho are great at sneaking up and killing the general.

A shameful display.