Samurai

Advanced

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Status: Released
Year: 2016
Genre: Indie, Strategy
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux

1. Summary

Samurai are elite armored enemy units that sit at the top of the enemy hierarchy and force the player to use specialized counterplay rather than standard stealth shortcuts. They resist or ignore common distractions, see through disguise, survive most standard ranged attacks as a stun instead of a kill, and can only be killed directly through specific heavy, explosive, environmental, or follow-up methods.

2. Tags

advanceddocumented

3. Design Intent / Job Story

When I identify an armored elite enemy in a guarded route, I want to understand which tools can bypass, stun, or kill it, so that I can build a safe plan around its resistance to normal distraction, disguise, and ranged elimination tactics.

4. Role in Gameplay Loop

Creates the highest enemy-threat tier within the enemy hierarchy.
Forces players to distinguish bypass, stun, and kill plans instead of treating all enemies as standard takedown targets.
Acts as a hard counter to disguise routes and common sound-lure patterns.
Gives specialized anti-Samurai tools, environmental hazards, and coordinated stun-follow-up tactics high tactical value.
Raises execution risk because some valid kill methods take longer, make more noise, or require another character to complete the plan.

5. Preconditions

Mission has spawned at least one Samurai enemy unit.
Enemy AI and detection systems are active.
Player has line of sight, proximity, or other tactical information sufficient to identify the unit as a Samurai.
Any attempted countermeasure is available to the current squad through character composition, ammunition, environmental setup, or coordinated follow-up.
For direct elimination, the selected method is one of the Samurai-valid kill methods rather than a standard guard-only tactic.

6. Parameters

Parameter	Value	Type	Notes
Enemy tier	Elite / Samurai	enum	Highest documented enemy tier within the hierarchy.
Armor state	Heavy armor	enum	Determines resistance to standard ranged and melee kill methods.
Standard distraction response	Ignore movement lure; look only	enum	Samurai do not walk to common lures such as Kuma; they may look toward the source.
Disguise response	See through and attack on sight	enum	Disguise does not protect against Samurai detection.
Matchlock pistol effect	Stun, not kill	enemy-state result	Shared pistols disable Samurai temporarily rather than killing them.
Scoped rifle effect	Stun, not kill	enemy-state result	Long-range rifle shots disable Samurai but require follow-up for kill.
Heavy hand cannon effect	Kill	enemy-state result	Heavy ranged anti-Samurai shot kills rather than stuns.
Specialized melee effect	Kill	enemy-state result	Sword-to-sword melee can kill Samurai directly.
Specialized melee duration	A couple seconds / TBD exact value	duration	Direct sword-to-sword kill takes longer than a normal takedown and creates vulnerability.
Area crowd-control effect	Excluded / no kill	enemy-state result	Area attacks described as non-Samurai kills must not kill Samurai.
Explosive effect	Kill when valid	enemy-state result	Grenades or equivalent explosives can kill Samurai directly when used in range.
Environmental hazard effect	Kill when valid	enemy-state result	Falling objects, explosions, or other valid environmental hazards bypass armor.
Stun follow-up window	TBD	duration	Time available to finish a stunned Samurai before recovery.
Stunned counterattack ability	Can remain dangerous	boolean	Evidence indicates a shocked/stunned Samurai can still perform knife attacks in some contexts.

7. Core Rules

Samurai are elite armored enemies and should not use the same vulnerability table as Normal Guards.
Standard sound-lure tactics such as common distractions and companion lures do not pull Samurai away from their post; at most, the Samurai turns or looks toward the source.
Disguise does not protect a character from Samurai; a Samurai sees through disguise and attacks on sight.
Standard matchlock pistols stun Samurai instead of killing them.
Scoped rifle shots can stun Samurai at long range but do not kill them outright.
A stunned Samurai remains dangerous if the stun state still permits close-range counterattacks or recovery before follow-up.
A standard stun on a Samurai must be followed by a valid finishing method before the Samurai recovers or creates combat/alarm consequences.
The heavy anti-Samurai hand-cannon shot kills Samurai at range, unlike standard matchlock fire.
A specialized sword-to-sword melee takedown can kill Samurai directly, but the longer execution leaves the attacker vulnerable during the animation.
Area-of-effect melee crowd-control attacks that explicitly exclude Samurai must not kill them.
Explosive attacks and environmental hazards can kill Samurai when the source is defined as valid against armored enemies.
If the current squad lacks a direct Samurai counter, the intended solution should be bypass, environmental setup, or stun-plus-follow-up coordination rather than a normal takedown.

8. BDD Scenarios

Scenario: Samurai ignores a companion lure

Given: a Samurai is guarding a route
When: the lure would normally pull a regular guard away from position
Then: the Samurai does not walk to the lure
And: a sound-based companion lure is activated within attention range
And: the Samurai only looks toward the source or briefly changes attention

Scenario: Disguise fails against Samurai

Given: a character is in disguise
When: the disguised character enters the Samurai's detection range
Then: the Samurai sees through the disguise
And: a Samurai has line of sight to the disguised character
And: the Samurai attacks on sight

Scenario: Standard firearm only stuns Samurai

Given: a Samurai is a valid target for a standard matchlock pistol
When: the player fires the pistol at the Samurai
Then: the Samurai is stunned rather than killed
And: the player must use another valid method to finish, bypass, or escape before recovery

Scenario: Rifle stun followed by allied finish

Given: a Samurai is too far away for immediate melee access
When: the player shoots the Samurai with the rifle
Then: the Samurai is stunned rather than killed
And: a scoped rifle user has line of sight to the Samurai
And: another character can finish the Samurai during the stun window if positioned correctly

Scenario: Heavy ranged weapon kills Samurai

Given: the heavy anti-Samurai hand cannon has ammunition available
When: the player fires the hand cannon at the Samurai
Then: the Samurai is killed at range
And: a Samurai is a valid target
And: the shot consumes one limited charge and applies its loud weapon consequence

Scenario: Specialized melee kills Samurai with exposure

Given: the specialized Samurai-capable melee owner is close enough to the Samurai
When: the player executes the sword-to-sword takedown
Then: the Samurai is killed directly
And: no other enemy can punish the attacker during the extended animation
And: the attacker remains vulnerable until the animation completes

Scenario: Non-Samurai area attack does not kill Samurai

Given: an area-of-effect melee attack is defined to kill only non-Samurai enemies
When: the player executes the attack
Then: non-Samurai enemies in the area are killed
And: a Samurai stands inside the attack area
And: the Samurai survives according to its armored enemy rules

9. Edge Cases

Samurai is stunned by a firearm but recovers before the player can complete a finishing action.
Samurai is stunned but remains capable of a close-range knife/counterattack during the stun or shock state.
A lure affects nearby regular guards while the Samurai only looks toward the source, desynchronizing the patrol plan.
Disguised movement route is safe against regular guards but fails because a Samurai patrol crosses it.
Player queues a normal melee, projectile, or area attack in Shadow Mode against a Samurai and the target validation must reject or resolve as non-lethal.
Direct anti-Samurai method creates loud noise, exposes a body, or alerts nearby enemies even though the Samurai dies.
Environmental kill setup succeeds against Samurai but the resulting accident/noise changes nearby patrol behavior.
Current mission squad lacks the character or ammo needed for direct Samurai removal, requiring bypass or environmental planning.

10. QA Notes

Verify Samurai ignore standard sound distractions that move Normal Guards, while still showing the intended look/attention reaction.
Verify disguise detection by Samurai attacks immediately and does not use the regular guard disguise-safe path.
Verify standard matchlock pistols stun Samurai and never kill them directly.
Verify scoped rifle shots stun Samurai and allow a timed follow-up by another valid character.
Verify heavy anti-Samurai ranged fire kills Samurai and consumes the correct limited ammunition.
Verify the specialized sword-to-sword melee kill works only for the intended owner and uses the longer vulnerable animation.
Verify area-of-effect attacks documented as non-Samurai do not kill Samurai even when the Samurai stands inside the area.
Verify explosive and environmental kills resolve correctly against Samurai across missions that include those setups.
Verify stunned Samurai recovery, counterattack, body state, alarm, and follow-up interactions across all difficulty settings.
Verify UI targeting, ability availability, and failure feedback prevent players from reading invalid tactics as successful Samurai counters.

11. Mechanic Dependencies

Environmental Interaction System (Environmental interaction rules provide non-character-specific kill options such as falling objects or explosive hazards that can bypass Samurai armor.)
Enemy Type Hierarchy (Samurai are the elite child enemy type within the broader enemy hierarchy and inherit the need for type-specific vulnerability rules.)
Shadow Mode Coordination System (Shadow Mode coordination is relevant for stun-follow-up plans where one character disables the Samurai and another finishes during the window.)
Melee Takedown Variations (Melee takedown variations define the specialized sword-to-sword kill that can directly eliminate Samurai and its longer vulnerability window.)
Ranged Elimination Abilities (Ranged elimination rules define why standard pistols and rifles stun Samurai while the heavy hand cannon can kill them.)
Sound-Based Distraction Abilities (Sound-based distraction rules are required because Samurai resist common lures and do not move like regular guards when distracted.)
Disguise and Social Infiltration System (Disguise and social infiltration rules include Samurai as the hard counter that sees through disguise and attacks on sight.)

12. UI Links

Ability Command Bar - The Ability Command Bar exposes the anti-Samurai tools and invalid/available ability states, including melee, firearm, hand cannon, rifle, grenade, and distraction abilities.
Shadow Mode Command UI - Shadow Mode Command UI supports coordinated stun-and-follow-up sequences needed when a Samurai is disabled but not killed by the first action.
Enemy Vision Cones - Enemy Vision Cones show Samurai sight coverage and support route planning around their detection and disguise-countering presence.
Detection Feedback Overlay - The Detection Feedback Overlay communicates Samurai detection, suspicion, and alert states, including the special case where disguise can be bypassed immediately.

References

1.
Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Full Character Guides and Tricks (L54-76 of 116) Character guide evidence that Mugen is best against Samurai, can kill Samurai sword-to-sword with a longer vulnerable takedown, Sword Wind kills only non-Samurai enemies, and the Hand Cannon is the only long-range weapon here that kills rather than merely stunning Samurai.A: Stealth Takedown A swift strike of Mugen's katana will take down any enemies. His takedown is just as quick and quiet as Hayato's. Mugen is also the only character who can kill...
2.
Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Full Character Guides and Tricks (L84-90 of 116)
3.
Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Full Character Guides and Tricks (L98-116 of 116)
4.
Steam Community :: Guide :: Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 101 (L67-78 of 101)
5.
The Art of Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun and STRATEGY GUIDE (L4430-4442 of 4930)
6.
Прохождение Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun #1 - Осада Осаки | Тракт Накасено [Профессионал] (1:24:10-1:24:12)
7.
Прохождение Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun #3 - Гора Цуру|Убийство господина Ябу[Профессионал] (1:44:36-1:44:38)