Troop Trees

In Gekokujo, every clan has a similar Ashigaru troop tree and a Samurai troop tree, whereas Ikko Ikki additionally has a special branch of Monk fighters. The only differences come from some clan-specific weapon preferences and elite units. They consist of one elite-tier Ashigaru unit type, and two Hatamoto-tier Samurai units, which represents the best soldiers available in the clan. Equivalent units of two clans have the same base stats (need verification), randomness nature of troop stats will lead to differences between the units of each clan.

Here is a quick sum up of the faction specialties :



Unlike the troop names in Native, all the troop names found in Gekokujo are consistent, meaning a veteran Ashigaru will be at roughly the same level as its Samurai counterpart (see below chart).

Ashigaru


Ashigaru are trained peasants armed with spears, bows and muskets. They can be recruited as peasants from any village at a cost of 10 mon each. These recruited men are hailed by region as villagers, which can be further trained to become an experienced Ashigaru unit.

Villager
Villager are fresh recruits who have decided to take their chances on the battlefields of feudal Japan. Unfortunately, their eagerness leads them to follow you with little to no preparation. Armed with whatever passes as a weapon and protected only by their meager clothing, they often meet their ends just as quickly as they began; but under a wise commander, and perhaps a few skilled trainers, they can gain the skills they need to rise through the ranks as spearmen or skirmishers. As mentioned above, they can be further trained into an elite unit depending on the clan.

Spearman
Spearmen are soldiers who have demonstrated their skill in fighting with sword and spear. They use their polearms to skewer, slash and bash their opponents at a distance. This allows them to fight outside of the range of a samurai's katana or impale a horse before they trample over, thus making them an effective melee units even if their prowess is lacking.

Inexperienced soldiers who have just received their equipment and the training necessary to use them are simply called spearmen, with a humble level of 9. Those who have honed their skills during a fight or training, can be promoted to be called a Trained Spearmen at level 14. As they progress further, the battle-hardened soldiers will found themselves useful as a Veteran Spearmen with a level of 19. If a clans have mastered the way of the spear, they can produce the Elite Spearmen at level 25. These Elite Spearmen are the only best melee units made available in the clan's ashigaru troop tree with spear expertise.

Skirmisher
From a distance, skirmishers can pop down on anyone in mass volley. They are mainly armed with either a yumi bow or a musket. Skirmishers armed with yumi bow are weak but can fire 3 times quicker than the musket with the fastest reload, therefore they dish out a ton of damage to anyone as they pick off different targets. The skirmishers armed with muskets has a different story. Muskets are slow and painful to reload but they can out-range the yumi bows. The slow reload may also force its user to conserve their ammunition while fighting longer than any bow skirmisher. Most skirmishers do only carry one-handed weapon for melee defence, however these melee weapons are defenceless against cavalry charge and massive melee charge. Therefore it is important for commanders to take good care of Skirmishers and position them next to a friendly spearmen, on a hill or both for the best results. It is important to take good care of these skirmishers since they can provide a deadly volley fire that can even kill the best troop. Depending on their faction, the elite troops can be trained to be the master of bow or musket. Be it the bows or the muskets, an accurate shot is enough to bring down an enemy or put a samurai's years of training to waste by riddling him with holes.

From the start, amateur peasants can be promoted as a skirmisher at level 9. They will have to learn to shoot with accuracy and discipline in-order to be promoted to Trained Skirmishers at level 14. Battle hardened Trained Skirmishers who are experienced can be further promoted to Veteran Skirmishers at level 19. Those clans with access to foreign firearms or superior bowyers and archery traditions can equip and train a fully accomplished Ashigaru snipers, which will entitle them the title of Elite Skirmishers at the level of 25. It is considered a great honour to shoot first in the battlefield, to either rain death or blow away the enemies.

SamuraiSamurai_Troop_Tree.png
Samurai are noble warriors trained from Ji-Samurai, recruited in towns and castles, for 300 mon. They cost even more than mercenaries, but often found as a superior unit on the battlefield. Their noble background and high salary allows them to purchase a good set of appropriate equipment as compared to the Ashigaru units. This ensures that a newly recruited Ji-samurai can at least hold on his own and fight well on the battlefield.

Ji-samurai
Ji-samurai are often associated with the region they are recruited from. Once promoted, they are identified by their clan rather than their home region. Only level 6, but warriors by profession, their diligent training and status as nobility allows them to eventually become a powerful swordsmen, cavalrymen, archers, or gunners expertise in fighting and mastery of skills. Each clan has access to two types of Hatamoto units.

Retainer
Retainers are so named because they are sworn to protect their lord and his honor. They are the trusted guards of the lord and as such are equipped with katanas, one-handed weapons, and the best armor available to them. Ji-samurai are sworn in as retainers once they prove their loyalty at level 11. Experience and rapidly growing skill with the sword earns them the title of Veteran Retainer at level 16. Alternatively, these veterans are given the option to choose the way of the sword, the way of the horse or the way of the bow. If they display great military skill and a penchant for leadership, they are given the post of Officer or Mounted Officer at level 21. Some factions bestow their clan's secret techniques along with excellent equipment to the samurai who have mastered the sword or spear. These masters are known as Hatamoto Guards or Hatamoto Cavalry with a soaring level of 27.

Marksman
Marksmen are samurai with unparalleled skill with long-range weaponry. In contrast to skirmishers, these warriors can use their backup one-handed weapons to great effect, substituting power and reach with speed and skill. Marksmen typically show their capacities at level 11. Simultaneous training in sword and bow or musket allows them to become the powerful Samurai Archer or Samurai Gunners with a level of 16. Samurai whose archery or firearm skill makes their backup weapon virtually unnecessary are given the title of Master Archer or Master Gunner at the level 21. Only clan's who can craft the best bows or have mastered the guns of the Portuguese and the Dutch, can produce an expert snipers which known as the Hatamoto Archer or Hatamoto Gunner with a level of 27.

Faction Specific Troops
A complete table of Faction special troops, with first-tier troop name and weapon used by Skirmishers and Marksmen.

Ikko Monk


Ikko Villagers are called "Ikko Villagers", instead of "Villagers from Kaga". These villagers can be recruited in the remote villages near the fortresses.

The equivalent of retainer are called volunteer ("(Veteran/Mounted) Ikko Volunteer" instead of "(Veteran/Mounted) Ikko Retainer").

Unlike the Samurai clans, the buddhist sect Ikko Ikki does not have a samurai top tier unit (Hatamoto), but have an elite monk unit (the Naginata Monk). The player can hire them in Kanazawa or in one of the three fortresses (which are fortresses, and not castles, therefore you can not hire samurai there), for 10 mon each. It offers a cheap option between Ashigaru and Samurai. However, the player is more than encouraged to recruit Ikko samurai instead at Toyama castle, as they only cost 10 mon, but this may be fixed later.

Mercenary
The mercenaries in Gekokujo are hired soldiers that are commonly found offering their services in the Inns of the many towns of the feudal japan. Since they are the mercenaries, they do not fight to be loyal but for the money.(which also means that they can never receive any morale penalties no matter what they fight) They do however, have a slightly higher upkeep cost than equivalent faction troops and they aren't noticeably more stronger, but they are an easy and fast way (if the player has the money) of get troops of diverse quality ranging from the lowly hired guards to experienced agents and veteran warriors.

The mercenaries are also one of the two troop tree (being the "female" troop tree the other one tree) to be able to train agents. The agents are troops specialized in covert warfare who can infiltrate in enemy castles and open the gates from inside, allowing parties with low engineering skills to quickly assault castles.

[*No further upgrade available for Hired Gunner]

Peasant
The peasant men and women are the lowliest troop of the mercenary troop tree, consisting of nothing more than "disenfranchised" farmers and labourers. They are no better than any villager in battle, being similarly weak and poorly armed, so should be protected until they can promote to more useful troops. The peasant can only be promoted to hired guards (men) or onnabushi (women).

Peasants can't be hired by traditional methods unlike any other troops, or through inns as with most mercenaries, rather they are found as prisoners or peasant parties who travel to town markets to sell their wares.

Hired Guard
The hired guards are the lowliest troop that can be hired from inns or upgraded from male peasants. Just a step above the peasantry, they often have bamboo spears, short swords or clubs, and occasionally a musket. These units are also commonly found protecting caravans. As with peasants, they are better kept away from combat - unless things are desperate. A trained Hired Guards can choose to be promoted to a hired gunners or a yojimbos.

Hired Gunner
The hired gunners are, perhaps, the most simple ranged unit available to the player. "Armored" with samurai civilian clothes, their best (and possibly only good) characteristic is that they always are armed with a gun (a Sakai Teppo to be exact) though not exactly crack-shots, and being rather defenseless at close combat (though always armed with wakizachis), anyone who carries a gun can't be underestimated and is always a useful asset. Good as a support unit, they are useful even for bulging or patching the ranks of gun troops. They are rather cheap troops considering that they always carry a gun. These troops can't be promoted further.

Yojimbo
The Yojimbos ("bodyguards") are the other upgrade of the hired guards, armed only with katanas and being rather average swordsmen. They are rather weak due wearing samurai clothing instead of samurai armor, not exactly good field troops but can be dangerous given the circumstances. They can upgrade to Hired warriors or Agents.

Agent
Armed with Ninjatos and Shurikens, these men or women are not worthy for their price, but they are able to infiltrate the castle to open up the gates in sufficient numbers, they can be upgraded to Experienced Agents.

Experienced Agent
Armed with Black light armor, Ninjatos, Shurikens and even some Compact Yumi bows, the experienced agent is the top unit of the agent sub-tree. These (sometimes) black hooded soldiers are way better field soldiers than mere agents, but due their cost and time to train it's more wise to keep them far from any harm as they still are rather average-to-weak foot soldiers. They are better at infiltrating an enemy castles and take less time to actually open the gates than a similar group of common agents. To open the doors of a castle in mere few hours, it needs a sizable group of experienced agents, which as said before, are expensive and hard to get, but it's an alternative to having to train a skilled engineer.

Hired Warrior
The Hired Warriors are lightly armored but high cost foot infantry comparable to most ashigaru soldiers. They are well skilled troops with an unimpressive equipment, consisting mostly in "military-grade" swords and spears. Though they might not be impressive, they do come as mercenaries readied for hire should anyone has the money and in need for more troops.

Veteran Hired Warrior
With an high contract cost and a high upkeep, the Veteran Hired Warriors is one of the highest rank of the mercenary tree. Being one of the most skilled melee soldiers available, these men ready for battle. These men are well equipped, even better than most ashigaru and comparable to the samurai. However they come with a high cost which is more than an average ashigaru's weekly wage. Although they don't come cheap, you can still hire them from the inn if you have the money.

Ronin
The Ronin are samurai without a master, they often roam around the map to cleanse the lands from bandits, deserters and youkai. The only way of recruiting these men is to save them from captivity. These units are some units that can knock anyone unconscious with a practice katanas and nodachis. Knocked out enemies will then be sold into slavery. However, their traditional samurai clothing does not completely protect them so keep in mind not to place them on the front line.

Ronin Wanderer
Ronin Wanderer no longer are equipped with blunt weapon, they are armed with real katana instead. They also brought in some headgear, but further then that they are still mediocre troops.

Ronin Adventurer
These Ronin can deal out good amounts of damage, but they can't take much themselves. Armed with a variety of melee weaponry, their combat skills should not be underestimated. They have swapped their samurai outfits for some light armor to protect themselves a little better, but they can't be expected to survive prolonged combat, especially against samurai.

Ronin Protector
Armed with katanas and dressed in fine armour, they are everything you'd expect from them. Able to hold the line of battle and go head on against most other infantry makes these men a reliable force of arms.

Ronin Hero
Masters of the way of war, Ronin Heroes are able to emerge victorious against any opponent. Dressed in very good armor and armed with a variety of deadly weapons they will prove their worth.

Female Mercenaries
The female troop tree consist mainly of one branch (Onnabushi) and one additional sub-branch (Female Agents). The Onna-bushi (Woman-Warrior) are well rounded soldiers who start off being comparable to your average peasant and end becoming a true force of Elite Infantry, not only on par with Hatamoto Guards, but also boasting of a cheaper upkeep cost. The Onnabushi are mostly Infantry troops armed with a wide variety of weapons skilled with a variety of different weapons, and can come with swords (Wakizachis and Katanas), polearms (either spears or Naginatas) and occasionally even bows. They generally resemble native M&B Sword Sisters tree, except that they never become cavalry. As a whole it is an elite infantry/archer tree with a "siege specialist" sub-branch.

Peasant Women
Just like the male peasant, they are terrible for combat due to their awful stats and equipment, they are the common "source" of Onnabushi candidates. Often found in peasant caravans or as prisoner of bandit parties. Keep them far from harm until they become true warriors.

Onnabushi
The first available upgrade for female peasants, and are similar in scope to hired guards. Onnabushi are level 10 units with balanced low skills and are armed with a basic yari spears or bo staves, kama sickles or katanas, and occasionally practice yumi bows. These warriors still wear peasant clothes which makes them very vulnerable. As mentioned above, keep them away from the battlefield until it is considered safe to attack.

Trained Onnabushi
The second upgrade of the Onnabushi, similar to Yojimbos. They are more skilled than the common Onnabushis, their equipment has improved (samurai clothing and Ashigaru Helmets),while similarly armed with better spears,swords and bows. They fare better than Onnabushis, but don't expect much of them.

Agent
Identical to male agents. They have low stats and bad equipment, but can open castle gates in sufficient numbers.

Expert Agent
Better equipment than agent. They are average-to-low efficiency soldiers, and are better at infiltrating castles. Note that they also very expensive.

Veteran Onnabushi
Armed with battle-grade equipment as Ashigaru armor and better weapons, the Veteran Onnabushi are combat line capable troops. They are quite skilled with bows, making them flexible as both infantry and archers. Keep in mind though that due to randomly generated equipment variety, Onnabushi don not always spawn with bows, therefore it is recommended to treat them more like flexible infantry rather than dedicated archers. Yet, they still are vulnerable against Hatamoto guards and other ranged units.

Elite Onnabushi
Analogous to Sword Sisters, Elite Onnabushi are the crown jewel of the onnabushi troop tree. They are very strong units, comparable to other Hatamoto units and high level player companions They still are armed with a large variety of weapons, such as Katanas, Naginatas and War Yumis with ceremonial arrows. This makes them a flexible unit that are capable of doing multiple role including guarding missile units and attacking. The only downside of Elite Onnabushi is their long training time, however they worth the effort as soon as they are trained to an Elite Onnabushi.

The Bandit Tree
Bandit units are special units as compared to the other troop trees, they exist as only one unit type before merging into the mercenaries troop tree. They are not recruit-able from any town, therefore you will need to capture them or hire them from defeated parties/sieged town with them as prisoners before recruiting them. The easiest way to obtain them is probably by capturing them and hiring them. Depending on your leadership role, the chance to recruit them can vary but it also comes with a morale penalty.

Once recruited and trained, they can be upgraded to Hired Guard as presented in the Mercenaries Trees. All bandits including the Kinai Rebel can be upgraded to the same troop as the mercenary tree except for the Monk Rebel. The Kinai Rebel can be upgraded to Yojiimbo which already upgraded from Hired Guard. The Monk Rebel however, have a interesting career choice. The Monk Rebel can be upgraded to Ikko Monk which is the starting rank of the Ikko Ikki Special Troops.

[Looter] > [Woku Pirate] OR [Shinano Rebel] > [Hired Guard]

[Seto Pirate] > [Hired Guard]

[Ezo Warriror] > [Hired Guard]

[Kanto Rebel] > [Hired Guard]

[Kinai Rebel] > [Yojimbo]

[Monk Rebel] > [Ikko Monk]

Looter
Looters are the worst bandit available on the map, they have little to no armour nor any good weapons to begin with. They are ineffective against armoured troops and extremle vulnerable against missile fire and cavalry charge. However, Looters can pose as a dangerous threat to any unarmoured target especially when the player just started playing at a higher difficulty. Their wore the same clothing as the peasants including weapons used by villagers. The kama that they ocasionally drop is, however, a decent weapon for new characters who do not own a katana yet. Looters can be found anywhere on the map especially in Niigata and Kasugayama or anywhere near it.

Wokou Pirate
Wokou Pirate is considered to be an upgraded version of Looters with better weapons. They are heavily armed but wore the same clothing as the villagers. Their main armament consist of melee weapons used by the Chinese and the Korean which are great for dealing high damage and good weapon reach. They also use guns to fight to support the charging melee troops. Their melee weapons consist of Chinese made weapons which are heavy and dangerous to anyone near it. Backed by the musket fire, the Wokou Pirates can devastate anyone when it strikes. The Wokou Pirates are commonly found near Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Sashiki in the Kyushu region. The terrain of these places are full of mountains, it does not favour the cavalry or any missile troop. The high uneven ground render cavalry charge useless and limited line of sights for missile troops to fire. Fighting the Wokou will force the player to meet them face to face in melee combat. mostly favouring the Wokou Pirates.

Seto Pirates
The Seto pirates are a weaker bandit found near the borders of Seto Inland Sea which connects most region under the control of Mori clan, Ukita clan, Chosokabe clan and even the Miyoshi clan. They are notable bandit groups who are lightly armoured and armed but are efficient against lightly armored foes by using mass archer volley fire. They do some armour including villager's clothing. Their main armament consist of light bows, spears and single handed swords. The bows are considered a weak weapon, however it can chew up any troops with its high rate of fire in mass volley if any of those arrows penetrate especially for weaker opponents. As their name suggest they are commonly found in the shores of the Seto inland sea, which is the sea between Shikoku and Honshu, that mean than often they are a nuisance to the Mori or Ukita clans (and ocassionally the Chosokabe or Miyoshi clans). The geography in these places are also fairly even, which can be used effectively by cavalries and missile units. However, be wary of these pirates unless you are willing to exchange fire with them.

Shinano Rebel
The Shinano Rebel are similar to the Seto Pirates, they are lightly armoured and armed but do wear their armour properly and use better weapons than the Pirates. These rebels are commonly found in the shinano province which is far between the town of Kasugayama and Kofu, often dangerous to weak opponents due to the pirates' highly concentrated area of the region. These pirates have a similar armament as the Seto Pirates, they are armed with light bows and one-handed weapon but with better spears. These rebels mostly focus on spears so exchaging fire with them will not pose as a threat unlike the Seto Pirates. The geography of Shinano province are also fairly even. Cavalry charge and missile volley are possible, but it is better to use ranged weapons and melee engagement rather than sending out your cavalry against spears.

Kanto Rebel
The Kanto Rebel are different from the bandits mentioned above, they are often found in their namesake valley plain. They do wear armour and are armed with better weapons than most bandits (comparable to Kinai Rebel). The Kanto Rebel is considered to be a more dangerous enemy than the Shinano Rebel due to the fact that the Kanto Rebel are equipped with better archery weapon including powerful arrows. The Kanto Rebel however, are considered to be a lesser threat to the player because these rebel are not found near the towns of Edo, Choshi and Mito which is often patrolled by lords who resent them the most. Therefore travelling along the towns will be safer for trade routes. The rebels are hard to find unless you travel near Edo and Satake's castles and villages. It is advised not to engage these rebels unless you want to find trouble in the flatland.

Kinai Rebel
Kinai Rebel are most probably a common enemy if you are travelling through Miyoshi clan's region. They are one of the worst enemy you can encounter, similar to the Monk Rebels on the east. As mentioned above, these rebels are similarly armed as the Kanto Rebel and wear do wear armour that are similar to them. The Kinai Rebel are also armed with heavy blunt weapons aimed to knock anyone unconscious when hit, making these rebels a dangerous threat as compared to the Kanto Rebel. The land is slightly sloped and even, thus it is possible to initate a cavalry charge or missile fire with some limitation due to certain uneven areas. It is highly recommended to travel in a group or with a lord if you wish to pass through Kyoto, Nara and Sakai.

Monk Rebel
The most deadliest bandit among all, the Monk Rebel are heavily armed despite wearing a similar armour to most bandits. They are commonly found in the province of Owari and Mikawa, under the rule of Oda and Tokugawa. These land are quite small, which allows Monk Rebels to gather in groups and encircle anyone on the map in large numbers. The monk rebels are armed with heavy spears and guns which are both deadly and powerful, it is strong enough to kill even some of your best troop. Therefore it is highly not recommended to travel these places even with a decent army.

Ezo Warrior
the Ezo Warrior are similar bandits to the Wokou Pirates, except without any guns. They are found in Hokkaido freely roaming around the snowy map. They are armed with good swords which are comparable to common swords found in most part of Japan but are rare enough to not be found in any markets. Though they are good in melee, they still lacks the support of missile troop and have to rely on mass charge tactics. With this in mind, Ezo Warrior may be an easy target for you and your companion to master archery/gunnery skills. It is also an ideal enemy for farming levels, proficiencies and even keeping them as slaves if you have prisoner skills. The land is fairly even so cavalry charge and missile units will not see any problem for taking down the Ezo Warriors except for getting swarmed in melee engagement if not careful. As they are often found in Hokkaido most of the time the only clan that they relate is the Nanbu clan. they are also "associated" to the villages of Otasut and Niputay, though they don't spawn from there.

Neutral Troops
Neutral Troops can be recruited from neutral fort/villages once it is captured by the player. They are special unit unlike any other troop since they have only one upgrade per unit type. In-game, one upgrade means that their stats are bad but do benefit the player alot in certain ways.

First of all, recruiting troops will come in a group which allows player to hire them quickly when building an army. Training can take place in a shorter period and even everyone in a single night if you have a high training stats, not to mention that they have a very cheap upkeep cost.

Neutral Troops come with a variety, making selection of individual unit that solely focus on one weapon possible. Even each troop are better than some tier 2~3 mercenaries and ashigaru troop in some ways.

Their strength comes together in numbers when being clustered together in a single blob while using swarming tactics or mass execution from firing squad. Therefore these troops are perfect for spamming if you ever need an army.

Tsushima
Tsushima Gunners wear a better set of armour when recruited than the Shingon Monk Gunners. They seem to prefer quantity over quality. Their guns have a higher rate of fire while sacrificing damage output. Once upgraded, the Veteran Tsushima Gunners are issued with a better melee weapon with higher weapon reach but still retains the same armour. Recruit the Tsushima Gunners if you prefer higher rate of fire and better melee weapons.

Kowara-dera
Shingon Monk Gunners are different as compared to the Tsushima Gunners. The Shingon Monk Gunners prefer quality over quantity. Their guns are slow to reload but packs a powerful punch. Once upgraded, the Veteran Shingon Monk Gunners' changes are noticible since they wear a better set of armour as compared to the Tsushima Gunners however still retain the same melee weapon. Should you seek for quality over quantity, recruit the Shingon Monk Gunners.

Mii-dera
Jimon Monk Warriors are specialised spear units available in the neutral troop unit. They come as a armoured troops when recruited and is armed with a powerful polearms than most melee units. Once upgraded, they will receive better armour and equipments while being more efficient in fighting and suriving. Veteran Jimon Monk Warriors is probably the best neutral troop who specialise in melee fight, comparable to the Ikko Naginata Monks. Think of them as a mix of Sado Returnee and the Veteran Utari Swordsman.

Sado
BSado Exile are considered to be bad as compared to the Utari Swordsman when recruited. Their armour are inferior to the Utari Swordsman but they have a similar weapon. Once upgraded, the Sado Returnee are issued with a military grade armour and is equipped with a good variety of melee weapons including a polearm. Armour are comparable to Jimon Monk Warriors, but the weapon lacks the damage when compared to the Veteran Utari Swordsman. If you prefer better protection, recruit the Sado Exile.

Niputay
The Utari Swordsman are tribesmen of Hokkaido living in the village of Niputay. They have better armour than Sado Exile when recruited but is not as good as most troops mentioned above. They however, do have some access to light spear with them when recruited.(Sadly, not all swordsman are equipped with a spear.) Once upgraded, the Veteran Utari Swordsman will be given a decent armour and solely focus on only one type of two-handed swords. Giving this troop a disadvantage as compared to the Sado Returnee. However, the swords deals a high amount of damage which is better than the Sado troop.

Otasut
Utari Skirmisher is the only archer troop available in the neutral troop tree. Just like the Utari Swordsman, they live in a village of in Hokkaido, Otasut. Utari Skirmisher also retain its own equipment which consist of bow, arrows and armour. The only difference in its upgrade is its melee weapon, the one-handed weapon is replaced with a better sword with further weapon reach.