The samurai has now a “banzai charge” ability but only +1 damage on the first attack is quite negligible. So I have an idea to expand on that :
samurais remain alive for 2s after reaching 0hp
Which will allow them, if an enemy is close, to strike one last time when killed, before actually falling. It fits the idea of an unit that will fight to the end (they often have abilities similar to that, in Civ 5 or 6 the samurai keeps fighting at full strength when injured) while giving them something a bit more general than their very situational anti-UU bonus.
One last thing to spice it up : their death animation used to be commiting seppuku, but it was removed in the DE. This would be a way of getting it back :
if the samurai strikes an enemy one last time : normal death animation, satisfied of having an honourable death
if the samurai fails to do that : seppuku animation, as he didn’t manage to fight as hard as he hoped he would
What do you think about this idea ?
Have both the final strike and conditional seppuku animation
Only have the final strike, without the animation
Only bring the animation back (if the samurai dies with 0 kill)
It would be fun to see the old death animation if they have performed especially poorly.
I’d like to also see them add a running/sprinting animation to highlight the speed boost from the charge attack, and maybe a different attack animation for the +1 attack
Seeing them run into battle and drawing their sword into a slash would be neat
Dieing without landing a single attack maybe. As failing to take a FU paladin down wouldn’t be considered shameful.
Though with unit kill counters, it would be easier to program if the unit had 0 kill.
It wouldn’t be that great of a technique, not as much strength would be built up during the charge and would probably need sacrificing momentum, compared to swinging the sword like a baseball bat.
Maybe having the charge attack be top-down vertical ?
Y’all mean like iai? That’s already a real thing. Idk how effective it is in battle, but it’s real.
It involves drawing the sword quickly just before attacking.
I don’t think the +1 attack is the point. They gain additional speed when within 6 tiles of their target, which allows them to catch up to any foot units, like Longbows, CKN, Plumed, and Composite.
Essentially they are still swordsmen that are only slightly more expensive but perform much better. Their Two-handed Swordsman and Champion might most likely still be rare used.
This recalls me something. Some heavy cavalry units, such as the Iron Hawks of the Tanguts, were described in records as having the riders’ weapons and armor shackled to the horses so that they would not fall off even if they died, so that the horses would keep charging forward. I gived such capability to Buri, Gokturk UU, in my civ concepts.
Delayed death would be a good gimmick and identity for a new UU, but Samurai already has multiple ones.
Your description doesn’t seem to be consistent with delayed death.
Delayed death should technically start a timer (possibl displayed by a charge bar) when HP drops to 0, and trigger the unit’s death when the timer drops to 0 (exhaust the charge bar). Its value lies in the fact that it can absorb unlimited damage during the period when its health is 0, making it relatively good for speedy units at fighting against units with large groups of ranged units.
Your description is more like, when a Samurai dies it deals one extra strike to the enemy target. Maybe technically have the enemy unit that deals the final blow to the Samurai take, say, 20 points of fixed damage if within 0.5 range, and visually pair it with a special animation that the Samurai’s powerful slash before he falls. If the distance is too far, the Samurai will die without dealing extra strike.
If they would trigger seppuku as a result of normal combat, then seppuku would be triggered so often that it would… feel less special. When the Samurai are kited by CAs and can’t catch up, they would kneel down and commit seppuku one after another, which is a bit strange.
I hope that a new UT that could replace Kataparuto, such like Bushido, can provide a bundle of effect including giving Samurai the Heresy effect. If a Samurai is converted, they would die by seppuku. To betray the master is disgraceful and dishonorable.
Nice idea. What did u think after reaching 0 hp will it become invulnerable for 2 seconds and will still soak up damage and be targeted? or will he be removed from targeting and units will try to go around it to fight others while getting hit by it. Either way is a BIG buff for the unit.
The issue is doing it while keeping the momentum of the charge, plus a iaido is a 1h strike, not as strong as 2h. It’s done to attack quickly in close quarters when reacting to an attacker, not for a charge on an open battlefield.
In a real situation a samurai would pick a bigger weapon than his katana to charge (yari, naginata, no-dachi…) but if he had to with his katana, he’d unsheath it before reaching charging speed.
