Hojo Hand Mortars are a type of siege unit in Total War: Shogun 2. They are available to the Hojo Clan with the Sengoku Jidai Unit Pack DLC.
Description[]
Hand mortars can lob shots over the heads of intervening troops, even over high walls.
As gunpowder weapons hand mortars are, of course, noisy and smelly, but they have the advantage of using indirect fire thanks to the high trajectory of the missiles. The men have to be well trained to use them. Despite the danger they can pose to an enemy, they are vulnerable in close combat, and the small numerical strength of the unit means that they can be quickly overwhelmed. They may very well see discretion as a good course of action and break when charged.
Hand mortars might be considered dangerous for the user, but lack of concern for danger seems to have been something the Hojo regularly flirted with. Rather than take his duties as shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate seriously, Hojo Takatoki did anything and everything else. He was certainly considered “barely sane” by his contemporaries. He enjoyed the finer things of life, regardless of the dishonour that his rather louche and un-samurai ways brought to his name and family. The “Taiheiki” chronicle of medieval Japan says “By day and by night, with wanton acts he dishonoured his glorious ancestors under the ground; in the morning and in the evening, with vain merriment he invited ruin in his lifetime.”
Strengths & Weaknesses
- High arc of fire is good for attacking units behind walls.
- Slow reload time and low accuracy.
- Very weak if engaged in melee.
- Vulnerable to cavalry.
General Information[]
The Hojo Hand Mortars compare most similarly to Fire Bomb Throwers, but with six times more range. Their accuracy and damage are poor, but their bombs knock over targets, making their attacks a good method of disruption. While Fire Bomb Throwers are considered a separate category by the game ("special unit" instead of "siege unit"), the two are very similar in practice.
Hojo Hand Mortars are few in number and they have poor statistics across the board. Their limited number makes them vulnerable to missile attack, and their weak attack and defense skill mean that they cannot fend off even the weakest opponents in close combat.
Trivia[]
- Hojo Takatoki, mentioned in the description of this unit, was a member of the original Hōjō Clan, which were de facto rulers of the Kamakura Shogunate hundreds of years before the setting of Total War: Shogun 2. They are not related to the Later Hōjō Clan, which is the clan present in Total War: Shogun 2.
| Total War: Shogun 2 Siege Units | |
|---|---|
| Siege Units | European Cannons • Fire Projecting Mangonels • Fire Rockets • Hojo Hand Mortars |