Horde Bonus

The Horde Bonus is an advantage that some units of the Chinese army would earn when in a group of five or more, increasing their rate of fire by 50%. When the Horde Bonus is active, there is a red star visible beneath the affected units, though depending on upgrades, the pattern could contain additional elements.

It is unknown what the rationale behind the bonus actually is, but may be a result of troops' increased morale and fervor in battle.

Upgrades

Units that could gain Horde Bonus could be further benefitted by certain upgrades. General Shin Fai, who trained elite infantry, was more familiar with this tactic and could upgrade his forces with a more concentrated version that offered increased benefits.

• Nationalism
• Patriotism (General Shin Fai only)

Note that these upgrades applied to all affected units regardless of if horded or not, regardless of which subfaction arsenal they were constructed from. As such, units like the Battlemaster (which was unavailable to General Fai) could still receive the bonus from the Patriotism upgrade, as long as both assets were possessed by the same general.

Affected Units

• Red Guard
• Mini-Gunner (General Shin Fai only)
• Tank Hunter
• Battlemaster

Note

Any combination of the above mentioned units except battlemasters would activate the Horde Bonus. Garrisoned infantry benefit from this bonus, as long as it was active when they entered. Thus, for a building garrisoned one by one, it may be beneficial to evacuate the troops, wait a moment for them to gain the Horde Bonus, then immediately re-garrison them.

On occasion, it may be difficult to maintain the Horde Bonus within vehicle columns, due to how they tend to spread out when firing at maximum range to maintain the distance between themselves and the target.