Date campaign on Normal/Medium

lol still don't even remember the name of the difficulty setting.

Anyway, I thought this might be interesting for anyone just starting out, like me (I know most of the folks on here won't be interested, but if there are any noobs out there looking to get started, here's my experience.

Alrighty, so. Started Date campaign on Normal difficulty. I had never played Shogun before, either 2 or STW. But I’ve played MTW quite a bit so I understood the general concepts.

Even so, jumping in was a bit overwhelming. The advisor spouts-off things seemingly at random, having some bit of odd information about whatever button you press, but doesn’t really tell you anything. Being impatient and not wanting to read the encyclopedia about every little thing, I just started and pieced-together what I could while playing.

The first thing I did was to go in the alliances tab and cement an alliance with the folks to the south (sorry, at work right now, so I’ve already forgotten their name). I then moved my starting army directly into battle against the rebels under Tanamune (little snot!).

The battle was a pretty straightforward affair. I set-up on the bottom of a long hill overlooking a plain, while his forces were positioned in a semi-circle around a hill at the opposite side. My plan was to move my bowmen up atop the hill (along a cliff face) to support my ashigaru Yari charge.
For some reason, though, Tanamune withdrew all his troops into a semi-circle on his hill. There were three entrances, and he wasn’t budging. A unit of Yari ashigaru at each entry, two units of bow Ashigaru in the center, and his own bodyguard at the rear.
I was impatient, and wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, so I slowly moved my two archer companies around the flanks and began firing at the side-entry Yari Ashigaru when I got close. But apparently ranges are a bit different! Wow, I don’t remember medieval archers firing that far. Yikes! My bowmen were getting pounded by the secure enemy archers in the center of their circle, so in frustration I (probably foolishly) charge my Yari spearmen up the center (three companies). They moved on of the other Yari spearmen to support the defending one, and the third charged down it’s entrance toward my bowmen.
Leaving the bowmen to fend for themselves, I had my un-hindered bowmen charge up the hill and hit the melee mass in the flank. Meanwhile, my general’s cavalry charged up the path made by my bowmen and attacked their bowmen from behind.
It was a slaughter. Tanamune turned-tail and fled (but, sadly, did not choose the honorable path of suicide), and the rest of their forces were crushed, despite my impatience.

The rest of my turn was spent recruiting two more bow ashigaru and one yari ashigaru in Iwate, upgrading my village to improved farms or whatever, and beginning research in the Bushido tree.

The next two turns were sent slowly sending my reinforced army (using the recruited yari and bowmen) across the province border to Ugo or whatever it’s called. Lol sorry, terrible time remember names. At this point it was fall, and I’d managed to build the rice paddies and upgrade to roads while my army burnt some farms.

The next turn began by my starting the upgrade to a harbor in my coastal village and sending a fresh force of newly-recruited units (1 Katana Samurai, 2 Bow Ashigaru, 2 Yari Ashigaru) to the pass into the Ugo province. (gonna use that name for now). My primary army under…my general…Umanori or something….lol…went to scout-out/seat Ugo castle town. Unfortunately, the Ugo AI had pulled-back his forces into the castle, and the even matching in numbers convinced me I needed to wait to assault the castle (hadn’t discovered the button for ‘seige’ yet lol).
I pulled my army back outside the city and contented myself burning the farms.

Next turn I’d begun research on the way of attack line, in order to get to Way of the Sword for my clan mission (which would give me no-dachi samurai).
At this point I realized my harbor could actually build ships (didn’t realize the units in the recruitment tab changed depending on what sub-structure of the province you have selected. *facesmack*) So I built 2 bow…whatever…ships…lol and sent them to scout the southern coast near my Hitakake (or whatever their name is) allies. Nothing exciting happening down there, although it said they were at war with three other undiscovered clans…Uesugi, Satate, and…one other.
My re-enforcing army made it through the pass, despite it being winter, and hooked-up with my main force under my Daimyo’s brother. At this point, a small Ugo army from their un-discovered province came to flank me, so rather than face them at the moment I decided on a full-on assault of Ugo castle.

My strategy was simple, as their defending force was now much smaller than mine (two Yari ashigaru and one bow ashigaru, compared to my 5 bow, 4 yari, 2 Katana samurai, and general). I split my forces in half beyond the little valleys and proceeded to advance my bowmen to where they could shoot at the defenders. The AI was a bit stupid in this battle and proceeded to run back and forth between the two sides.
Not meeting much opposition, I sent my infantry to scale the walls.
My westernmost force got inside with only the arrows from the watchtower hindering them. It was…pretty sad. Unfortunately the other side met a bit of resistance, as the AI decided to stop waffling and set their yari ashigaru to guard that wall.
Inexplicably, the enemy sent their bow ashigaru to melee two full units of my yari ashigaru that had climbed the western wall. While they meleed in the shadow of the watchtower I had my Katana samurai climb the southern wall to flank the defending enemy spearmen.
Unfortunately, while I wasn’t watching, their archers CRUSHED my yari ashigaru! What the hell? Must have been that watchtower. So my men tried to flee…I sent my general to chase them down, but while I was waiting to get in range for the inspire ability or whatever, the enemy routed and I took the castle. Anticlimactic.

I decided to peacefully occupy the province, exempted them from tax for the year, and watched as their ‘reenforcements’ fled back into the dark of the unexplored map.

The next couple turns I spent recruiting some reenforcements of my own to bolster my healing army, sending my ships south along the coast, and upgrading my stone mine in Ugo.
I believe it was spring of 1542 at this point. I took most of the army in Ugo castle south into Uzen. At this point my army consisted of my general, the Daimyo’s son, and two Katana Samurai, 2 Yari Samurai, 5 Bow Ashigaru, 4 Yari Ashigaru, and 1 Bow Samurai.
In the pass near the Uzen shrine/wayside house I met the Ugo army. Their stack was the same size as mine but, confident that the AI was an idiot at this point, I attacked. And proceeded to hand the reigns to my brother.
Now, my brother’s played MTW, but it’s been a long time.
He set-up with a sound strategy. His bowmen arranged in a semi-circle atop a wooded hill, with the Katana samurai anchoring their flanks. The Yari units he split in two on either side of the hill.
The enemy set-up in a large squarish lump. And didn’t move.
And didn’t move.
And didn’t move.
What the hell? My brother slowly advanced his battle line, archers in the center, and just as he reached bow range the enemy reacted in what was the most intelligent strategic decision I’ve see it make yet.
Pulling back his Yari samurai, the Ugo general use a long string of Yari ashigaru to pull my brother’s left flank too far forward. Stretched-out and weakened, my brother’s left flank collapsed, with a unit of spearmen routing and the others taking massive casualties as the enemy AI pummeled my brother’s extended left with archer fire and a cavalry charge from his general.
At this point my brother was able to hold it together. He basically abandoned the men on the left and reformed a fresh battle line at an angle, facing northwest. His men charged the clumped enemy and surrounded them.
After some heavy melee fighting my brother was able to force the enemy into a route, and won the battle (though the after-action report noted that they barely won by a ‘single sword stroke’. No kidding. Thanks a lot, Patrick. ;-)

So, I’m a bit more wary of the AI now.
After that Uzen castle was starved-out, Ugo eliminated, and my ships continued to scout. Saw a couple Satate and Uesugi navies with much larger stacks than my two ships and ignored them, since I’m neutral with them at the moment. Don’t want to start anything till I’m ready.
It’s fall of 1545 now and I’ve spent the last turns building a second stack, replenishing/reinforcing my army resting in Uzen castle, adjusting tax rates, researching Equal Fields, upgrading my farms, building a sake den and trying five times, unsuccessfully, to sabotage the Satate capital with my ninja. I thought it would at least distract them with a 50% success rate and all, but apparently my ninja’s an incompetent friggin idiot. Starting to look like someone’s up for an execution…

My plan at the moment is rather non-existent. Basically I’m going to tech up and try and learn the ropes of the game before I make a push into Satate territory. Except I forgot, Satate’s dead. Uesugi obliterated them last season. So, now my ninja’s watching Uesugi march all over my bordering provinces, while my Daimyo’s son leads a second army to reinforce Uzen.

Oh also, I tried three times to convince Hitakake to join a war against Uesugi, and they keep refusing. Jerks. Gonna have to put a stop to that nonsense soon. ;-)