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Ways to Improve Your Chances of Successful CS
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-Don't be seen or heard by your intended
victim obviously. That one is a
no-brainer.
-However if your victim has a low level of
vigilance, appearing suddenly in
front of them will cause them to startle which
will give you a certain-kill
indicator. This will rarely work on anything
higher than a Samurai General
though some Ninja Masters and Feudal Lords
can be assassinated this way.
-Certain status ailments will make enemies
more vulnerable to CS like amnesia
or confusion. Knockout is a guaranteed
successful CS.
-Your enemy's facing can be the difference
between being able to initiate a
non-resistable CS and being unable to, or
succeeding a forced CS. Enemies
facing you are always less susceptible and
more resistant, go for the back.
-Your victim's vigilance level is a large factor,
even when unaware a Samurai
General is capable of resisting Above or
Frontal CS. Even a lowly warrior who
has been alerted several times might resist.
-During combat, wounding an enemy increases
your chances to force a CS,
initiating it from behind further improves your
chances.
-Your own level of fatigue will affect how long
you can try and force a CS.
-When an enemy attacks, they often reveal a
weak spot which will give you a
certain-kill indication if you are in the right
place (usually behind them.)
This can be achieved by timely evasive rolls.
-Certain enemy actions often make them
vulnerable from behindW, like skidding
to a halt from running or climbing onto a low
obstacle.
-An enemy will give you a certain-kill prompt
when they sheathe their weapon.
-Many attacks have a stun factor which can
add up to knock out your enemy in
combat, making them vulnerable to a prone
CS. Throwing objects at them can
achieve this as well.
-An enemy that is targeting someone else can
be CSed from behind easily.
-Invisible Shadow scrolls are worth their
weight in gold, each one means a free
and easy CS on one opponent of choice.
-Scrolls of Master's Understanding are
incredible...for the short amount of
time that they last.
-Sometimes your CS has no chance to succeed,
being able to recognize those
situations and not waste your time trying is
important.
STANDARD ENEMIES AND NPCs
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[Warriors]
They come in three factions (Ichijo, Akame,
Sadame) with three different
classes (swordsman, archer, rifleman.) Fodder
and your most common adversaries,
I don't need to tell you how to deal with these
guys as they're lazy, slow
and not very strong. Sometimes they take a big
stretch which can make their
patrols slightly unpredictable. In combat they
can be troublesome since
they'll scream for help and then mob you
when their friends show up. They even
have an enemy-only move where they'll pin
you from behind while their fellow
warriors take a free shot at you (mash triangle
to throw them off).
While fundamentally identical in capability,
each of the three types of
guardsmen have special abilities. Akame guards
can throw attack spheres and use
strength potions, Sadame guards can plant
land mines and Ichijo guards have a
special sword technique.
[Elite Warriors]
Slightly tougher, stronger and more wary
guards. Not only are they less
susceptible to being lured or CSed, they can
see you on rooftops! They're
commonly assigned to carry valuables, man
lookout towers or tend bear cages.
When they spot you, they'll rush to their
duties before fighting you, often
pulling out a conch horn and putting the entire
level on alert. They can be
identified by their slightly different gear from
ordinary warriors: Ichijo
elites wear headguards and red headbands,
Akame elites wear iron helms, Sadame
elites have a monk necklace (yuigesa.)
[Samurai General]
Much more powerful and vigilant than your
average soldier, samurai generals are
frequently the target of assassination missions.
While they're still
susceptible to the same tactics used on
guardsmen, they look around more often
and have much better vision and hearing.
When alerted, they'll call to any
nearby companions to come to their aid.
Samurai Generals also have a resistance
to CS in general and you cannot Ledge-CS or
Corner-CS them if they are facing
your direction.
Sadly the various Samurai Generals all use the
same sword style (high stance)
rather than occasionally dual-wielding like in
Imashime. This does make them a
bit more predictable in combat though. When
their HP is low, they'll
frequently use health potions.
Weak Spot: If you get behind them the exact
moment they attempt to hit you with
their jumping guard break attack, you will get
a certain-kill prompt.
[Barbarians]
Stupid and wild, barbarians are slightly more
durable than guardsmen, fast and
good jumpers. They also have an annoying
habit of sporadically turning when
stationary and their patrol routes can be
frustratingly quick. However their
vigilance is awful and Chimatsuri-Sappo is even
more effective on them than on
warriors.
In combat, they're pushovers unless you've
alerted several of them. They can
be knocked out by throwing any object at
them and many attacks will easily put
them out cold as well. They're hungry fellows
and they'll eat up to two
sushi or even a mushroom.
Weak Spot: Their back! Barbarians will almost
always give you a certain-kill
prompt from behind.
[Barbarian Chieftain]
These big guys are much like their smaller kin
except that you don't want to
tangle with them in combat...they have some
powerful moves and a lot of HP,
however they will sometimes strike a victory
pose which gives you an opening
for attack. They can also be a real nuisance
when they're patrolling as they
are fast and their vision is rather good.
However their vigilance is poor and
subsequently they can be CSed relatively
easily. They have the same appetite as
their smaller brethren.
[Mosu Ninja]
I love these gals. Their lazy pace makes them
easy to approach and their
attention span is very short, they won't stay in
alert for very long. Mind the
sexy stretching though, they're actually having
a look around and it makes
their patrols very unpredictable.
In combat, they hop around a lot and evade
constantly while throwing kunai or
rushing in and attacking with some rather
effective guard breaking combos. In a
pack, they can chew up an oxcart in seconds,
or you for that matter, some
attacking you at close range while others pelt
you with kunai. Fighting
multiple Mosu is no good, do your best to get
away but remember they can follow
you wherever you go, unlike warriors.
For fun, set a landmine down and lure a Mosu
on to it and torment them as
they're frozen with fear, they won't move an
inch if they know they've
tripped a mine. Note that their leaders, Ageha
and Usuba, have no such
awareness of mines.
[Kenobi Ninja]
I hate these guys. Their sprinting patrols and
keen vision make them really
difficult to avoid. If you purple-alert one of
them, move! Kenobi never walk
anywhere, they always dash and their jumping
ability ensures that you're not
safe even on rooftops. They even eat quickly
and efficiently, a Kenobi will
gobble down food with little hesitation and
quickly move on, which can be a
benefit to you at times.
In combat, these guys are fast and throw
ailment spheres and shuriken. Fighting
more than one at a time is not a wise course
of action and they're very good
at tracking you if you flee.
Like Mosu, they also have awareness of land
mines and will freeze if they step
on one. Another odd behaviorism of theirs is
that they attack when drawing
their sword which can cause them to hit allies
when entering orange alert, or
chop down a door that you're hiding behind.
[Taraba Ninja]
More like TERRIBLE ninja, har har. They're
huge, noisy, slow and sitting ducks
for assassination. Those incredible jumps can
surprise you though when you
think you're hidden and safe, keep an ear out
for the tell-tale grunt and
don't rely on rooftops to hide you when
they're around. While patrolling
Taraba make such a racket its impossible to
ignore, stationary Taraba can be so
quiet and still they're easy to overlook. Their
vigilance level is terrible
though (probably thanks to those confining
helmets), a Taraba in brown or
purple alert mode can be CSed very easily and
forced CS from behind succeeds
frequently even against alerted and healthy
Taraba.
In combat, don't bother with shuriken or
arrows, that armor isn't just for
looks...but it does weigh them down pretty
well and make them unable to perform
standup attacks which is always exploitable.
Aside from cannon spam from
multiple Tarabas they're pretty easy to take
down as long as you keep them
down. Unblockable flamethrower attacks and
their spammable throw can be a real
nuisance otherwise.
Oddly enough, they dispose of their corpses
not by dumping them down wells but
by incinerating with flamethrowers, same with
disarming mines. Also, they
can't eat with those steel buckets on their head
so they'll just pocket any
sushi you throw at them for later.
They have a catastrophic weakness to spike
traps due to their size, stepping on
one causes them to take multiple hits
frequently killing them instantly. Also
since they cannot ledge cling, pitfalls are their
bane.
Weak Spot: When they hunker down to fire
their cannon at you, you can recieve a
certain-kill prompt from the front but you
have to be fast and close.
[Yojimbo]
Master swordsmen and some of the most
dangerous foes in the game, Yojimbo
(bodyguards) are people you don't want to
mess with if you can help it. They
aren't easy to CS as their vigilance, hearing,
eyesight and awareness are very
keen. Approaching them from the ground may
draw their attention before you get
a certain-kill prompt and forcing a CS is
difficult. However CSing them from
above can kill them reliably and easily though
keep in mind they can spot you
on rooftops. They never patrol but they do
wander randomly and rest in the
strangest places, be sure to watch for Yojimbo
hid