TOTAL WAR WIKI

Yari Ashigaru (STW unit)

Yari Ashigaru
Category: Infantry
Class: Melee
Soldiers: 60
Weapon Type: Spear 
 

Main Stats
Honour / Morale       1   
6.67%
Melee Attack       7   
29.17%
Melee Defence       5   
35.7%
Charge Bonus       6   
28.57%
Armour       0   
0.00%
Extra Stats
Marching Speed       5   
17.36%
Running Speed      10    
34.72%
Charging Speed      12   
41.66%

Requires: Nothing

The standard Ashigaru is equipped with light
armour and a Yari - a long spear. They are
conscripted peasants and poorly trained, but
often form the mainstay of Samurai armies.
When their fear of the enemy exceeds their
fear of their masters, they often waver.
They operate best when kept in tight
formation, where their long spears give them
an advantage, particularly against Cavalry.

Extra info:
At the start of play in Shogun: Total War, most
clans will receive a yari ashigaru unit “free of charge”
as the start of their army.

The yari, or long spear, was popular as a weapon among the daimyo for their ashigaru because it was relatively easy to train large numbers of peasants to use it. Learning to hold a spear (and point it in the right direction) doesn’t take anything like as much time as learning to use a sword properly!

Yari Ashigaru should not be compared directly to samurai warriors armed in a similar fashion. Ashigaru fighting ability, morale and general levels of equipment are markedly inferior to those of true samurai. On the other hand, the ashigaru are relatively cheap soldiers and can be trained in great numbers quite quickly. Ashigaru soldiers of this type are usually present in clan armies in considerable numbers for just these reasons.