Ironclad - Warrior class is a type of ironclad in Fall of the Samurai.
Description[]
Powerful, enormous iron beasts, the Warrior class have unparalleled armament.
The Warrior class ironclads are impressive, steam-propelled, ocean-going vessels, boasting strong iron hulls. Huge in scale, the ships are packed to the gunnels with rifle-armed crewmen who protect them from enemy attacks, should an enemy manage to get close enough to attempt a boarding. However, with the excellent firepower possessed by the Warrior class, few ships could get close enough to pose such an immediate threat. With all of this taken into account the crews of these ships have excellent morale.
The Warrior class of warships was named after HMS Warrior, an earlier wooden British third-rate ship-of-the-line. Construction of the Warrior class began following construction of France’s first ironclad warship, La Gloire. Sir John Somerset Packington, the First Lord of the Admiralty, was determined to see off any threat to the supremacy of the Royal Navy, and HMS Warrior was to be the largest warship the world had ever seen. When she was commissioned in 1861 she met these demands and more, she was over 60% larger than La Goire. She had also been conceived, designed and built before the French ship was launched. However, such was the speed of change in naval architecture at this time that HMS Warrior was superseded by faster, bigger and better-armoured vessels in less than a decade. She was eventually withdrawn from service in 1883.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Very large, medium-speed vessel
- Very large crew
- Good range and accuracy
- Excellent morale
- Excellent firepower
- Strongest armour available
General Information[]
The Warrior class ironclad is the strongest ship in Fall of the Samurai, boasting an armament of 42 cannons. Its heavy broadside can sink or detonate most ships with just a few volleys, and it boasts an unparalleled hull strength of 10,000: enough to take dozens of salvos from most ships and survive. It also boasts a slightly greater cannon range than most ships, allowing it to fire the first broadside and force opposing ships to maneuver closer to fire back. At close range, it has more crew than any other ship in the game, enough to fend off boarders with ease, though it cannot initiate boarding actions itself. A properly handled Warrior can take on an entire fleet and win. Its only significant weakness is its slow speed. Its large size also makes it somewhat more likely for enemy cannons to find their mark. The combination of its large size and slow speed make it an attractive target for torpedoes, particularly if caught between other ships or land.
The Warrior is significantly more powerful than than its American or French counterparts, and is one of the main reasons for choosing to establish diplomatic relations with the British. However, it is the only foreign-exclusive ironclad to have a limit of one ship, compared to the two Ironclad - Roanoke class and Ironclad - L’ocean class are granted. Despite the very high cost of the Warrior and the British Trading District required to build it, the Warrior is well worth the cost.
It is technically possible to have more than one Warrior class ship by successfully boarding and capturing an enemy Warrior, but this is difficult as it means declaring war on a fellow Imperial faction that is wealthy enough to build a British Trading District (only Imperial factions can establish diplomatic missions with Great Britain) and a Warrior (something the A.I rarely does), then trying to board the Warrior itself. This is a gamble that would likely result in the loss of half a navy, given the Warrior's massive armament, superior range, and large crew. The Warrior can only be built by factions with a diplomatic mission to Great Britain; factions without a diplomatic mission with Great Britain cannot build one even if they capture a province with a British trading district.
Trivia[]
- Like other Ironclads in the game, the Warrior class is based on HMS Warrior, the armoured frigate built by the British in 1860. See HMS Warrior on Wikipedia.