There are five types of soldiers in Takeda: spearmen, archers, riflemen, swordsmen, and cavalry, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Generally, they all have the same basic emotions and reactions on the battlefield. When they are doing well and beating the enemy, they feel strong and are more willing to continue fighting. When they get hurt, they feel weak and may fallback or even run away. Men in combat react in a simplified way, and adhere to a single maxim: follow the majority.

Also, soldiers are only as good as their commanders. For this reason, in Takeda, the strength of each soldier on the battlefield is calculated using the strength of his commanders - about 50% from the Captain's strength, 30% from the General's, and 20% from the Marshall's.

Spearmen are usually farmers or villagers who are hired or conscripted into the military. Although they are not really professional fighters, spearmen in formation can form a thorny wall of spears, which is highly effective in stopping cavalry charges. Spearman are vulnerable to attacks from the sides and rear due to the awkwardness of their weapons.

Most swordsmen are professional soldiers, since it requires a lot of training and talent to master the Japanese sword, the Katana. Swordsmen are able to quickly attack and defend in all directions, giving them the upper hand in most close engagements, except with cavalry. Swordsmen are very good at penetrating lines of spearmen.

Cavalry are the elite of the Samurai. Only the best of the best have the privilege to ride an expensive and rare war-horse into battle. When they have enough space, cavalry can charge and trample enemy infantry, killing them instantly. Only spearmen can resist this attack.

Archers are the basic ranged attack units in Takeda. Archers don't do much direct damage, but are good for softening up the enemy and supporting other units. Archers are not good in close combat, and only fight if cornered.

Since rifles are expensive, and have to be imported from Europe, these units are somewhat rare. Rifles are easy to use, and do large amounts of damage (cavalry, watch out!). However, these weapons are not very accurate at long range, and take time to reload. Riflemen usually don't have much military training, so they don't always follow orders.