tough choice

[Irving]

ok.. so i took shinano from Takeda and it had a 100% crop bonus, sword dojo, spear dojo, the hole nine yards. (as well as only two men in the castle...) the thing is, should i destroy all the buildings and cripple one of his provinces and just retreat? or try and stay with it? i did destroy his church http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif... *bows to lord Buddha* by destroying the buildings, i would be disobeying the Sun Tzu who says that the enemies resources are more important than ones own....... well, takeda took it back next turn... and i retreated..... when should i just torch an enemies town and pull out?

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Chaos is born from order.
Cowardice is born from bravery.
Weakness is born from strength.
-Sun Tzu

[solypsist]

depends. if you think you can hold it, then keep the stuff, of course. but i get the feeling you took it while Takeda's forces were a little more spread out; so if you're expoecting a massive counterattck, then dispose of his buildings. it can be a tough call. there have been time i've torched and pillaged an enemy province only to have the enemy let me keep it without more fighting, which is a real drag.
i guess my answer is simply: do what you feel is best for the present situation and hope for the best.

incidentally, dont forget when you take a province, the buildings downgrade by one, and when takeda re-conquered it, his buildings downgraded by one more, so he was definiely worse off that if you hand't taken shinano for a turn.

[Zone]

The AI can tell which are good and bad provinces (that's what it seems to me anyway, I can leave bad provinces fairly unguarded and have no attacks but I must heavily fortify the better places) so .... at your own risk http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

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Fight first, then scream 'Doh, why did I forget my Kensi!'

[Catiline]

I usually smash and burn. Build decent army and go smashing. you can cut swathes through aI territory wiht a battle winning army, destroying as you go. early on this can get you a quick advantage, later in the game it can save you from facing high tech monkeys. Crush whoever is getting strong, ndthen ally with them, and do the same. Sacrifice the army, it'll no doubt end up withno troops, but head for the furthest province away you can that has a port, and bring back your general wiht nice pamped up honour and high honour units. Combine the remnants to give you some elite troops, Bob's your uncle.

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Oderint dum metuant

[BSM_Skkzarg]

Great question.

My view is simple - if you intend to hold the province - keep the buildings. If you expect to lose it - burn it. IF your unsure of whether or not you can hold it - consider the importance of the province. Shinano is one of the MOST important provinces in Japan - when fully developed it turns out ultimate cav. Not to mention its nearly tailor made for defense, and is flanked by river provinces - allowing you to make it the cornerstone of a defensive line.

One last thing, remember that if you do destroy buildings - you get a portion of their build cost in koku returned. This is useful when finances are iffy and you have a decent army.

Qapla!

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BSM_Skkzarg
"A mind is a terrible thing to taste."

[Gothmog]

You can add a bit of the "role" playing in it.

For instance, you can be a civil man by not burning any single building, or be a devil advocate by scortching every inch of the earth.

[Vanya]

GAH! If your infrastructure is weak, and the facilities in this province are a much needed boost in quality concripts, then by all means you should strive to hold it. Shinano is a very defensible province, so you can turn it into a Takeda meatgrinder too.

[Gothmog]

That's right. How can I forget that Shinano has 10 borders to begin with? With Shinano, half of the Japan is within your grip.

[Maltz]

The AI is less willing to take a lost province back if you've sold everything. Whole sales are particularly beneficial in early game as koku is limited and we cannot afford too much losses.

[BakaGaijin]

Feh. Shinano's not nearly as easy to defend as you might think. Certainly not worth the trouble. Since it is a crossroads, it makes you vulnerable to attack from several other Daimyo at once. Taking Shinano before you've secured the rest of Northern Japan is an exercise in futility. It will become the meatgrinder for your men, not for the enemy's. Given the AI's ability to mass-produce, you will lose in the end.

I say plunder it for all it's worth (destroy the buildings) and leave a token garrison. Attempt to secure the surrounding provinces. I suggest using an Ashigaru army in Shinano. If the enemy decides to attack, you can withdraw it to the castle and hold the enemy in place for a long time without wasting much koku. If you're especially lucky, the extended siege will prompt a rebellion. Don't get too attached to it until you've secured at least Takeda and Hojo's lands.

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Disappear into the Darkness!!

[Moriboy]

I've won games by burning not only the enemy's buildings, but my own as well. There are situations when it would have been insane to try to hold a province, so better to destroy it and get the money. (This was the only way I survived Baroccas sadistic JDD as Mori.)

Does anyone know if there's a rhyme or reason to which buildings are destroyed, damaged or survive intact? Many is the time I've gotten a legendary something or other after a conquest.