Yee-Yee-Oh!: Mori (Legendary, Domination)

Table of Content

Introduction
Chapter 01. Lesson of three arrows
Chapter 02. Battle of Izumo Port
Chapter 03. License to betray
Chapter 04. Self-fulfilling prophecy of attack
Chapter 05. Fatal attraction
Chapter 06. First-time boarding
Chapter 07. Closing the trap
Chapter 08. Taming a crazy dog
Chapter 09. Disappointed sailors
Chapter 10. Dishonorable heroes
Chapter 11. Elusive great catch

Naval Tactics Discussion:
Naval Tactics #1: Trapping
Naval Tactics #2: Chaos Begins
Naval Tactics #3: The Wall of Arrows
Videos: Japanese fleet vs. The Black Ship (3 clips)
Conclusion: Naval Battle Wrap-up

Note: "Yee-Yee-Oh!" is a phrase immortalized by the Japanese game maker KOEI's "Nobunaga Ambition" series. In its 9th installment (Ranseiki, 2001), the victors/survivors of a naval battle (which was simply auto-calculated) chant "Yeeee-Yeeee-Oh!". This sound clip is recycled over and over in the game's subsequent incarnations.

INTRODUCTION

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Having skipped Empire and Napoleon TW, I am particularly interested in how naval battles work in STW2. So far I have seen "faster-than-you" Bow Kobaya and "fire-until-you-jump-ship" Nanban Trade Ships/Black Ship. But there are no tactics in those Naval Battles! The real pirates jump onto the enemies' ship and... kick them into the water!

So let's do the last western clan - Mori, to walk on the way of the Sea! We will fight naval battles manually whenever possible and figure out at least one good formation/unit composition/tactics for conventional naval battles!

First, let's take a preview of the Naval units, sorted by time of availability.

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Category 1: Early-Mid Game (Pre-Realm Divide)

Note: All stats are based on in-game encyclopedia (v1.1.0 Build 4768.314775) on Mori's naval units.

Bow Kobaya. Agile but fragile, poor damage output. They are the designated escort of trade fleets. Practically, when the trade fleet is under attack, we order the Trade Ships to retreat, and let the Bow Kobaya run in circles for 20 minutes. After getting Fire Arrows (Way of the Bow), we might be able to set enemy ships on fire with them, making them a lot more useful in serious naval battles. The Mori variety comes with +10 Marine (bow crew). So they are actually pretty good as ranged units!

Medium Bune. Medium naval units with a surprisingly large bow crew. (All the more advanced, larger ships mainly increases their melee crew.) The higher ranged damage output without the requirement of boarding means that a group of them can concentrate their fire on a ship and quickly decimate it/sets it on fire. The Mori variety comes with +10 seaman (melee crew). So they have a good chance to win boarding other regular Medium Bunes, too. They are the backbone of early naval battles! But maybe there are harder backbones towards late game.

Sengoku Bune. Requires Military Port. Their low bow crew count means they provide very little ranged damage. But they make up by having a large melee crew. The Sengoku Bune seem to be the ideal counter to Medium Bune and anything that has significantly less melee crew and cannot out-run Sengoku Bune. A good ship to have in early game fights against Wako Pirates, as Wako Pirates have lots of Medium Bune that only has 35 seamen (melee crew). The Mori variety unfortunately only has +1 extra morale.

Fire Bomb Kobaya. Requires the lv1 naval tech (Way of the Sea) and Military Port. In my Shimazu campaign, my Nanban Trade Ship was often set on fire quickly by something like these little pests. They seem to be an ideal counter to the large, slow, and always flammable ships, as the Kobayas' speed can keep them from being hooked and boraded while throwing devastating fire bombs. Since burning enemies require time to repair their damage, this could be a good way to paralyze important enemy ships so we can work on the others. These small ships can also lay down water mines. So far I have only seen the mines in the tutorial! Maybe we can slowly replace lost Bow Kobayas with them. The Mori variety unfortunately only has +1 extra morale.

Synopsis: The above four should provide a solid roster for pre-RD naval battles. A preliminary battle plan looks like this: Medium Bune (60%) function like Yari+Bow Ashigaru to be the main damage dealer, while Bow/Fire Bomb Kobaya (20%) act as harassing troops, like Bow Cavalry, on the flank. Sengoku Bune (20%) acts as Heavy Cavalry to board weakened/paralyzed/slow opponent so our line can focus on the next target. The fast ships then chase down the routing units.

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Category 2: Mid-Late Game (produced during the pause before Realm Divide for post-RD actions)

Heavy Bune. Requires Lv2 naval tech and Military Port. They actually have fewer bow crew than Medium Bune, so just like Sengoku Bune they will be looking for chances to board enemy ships. But their poor speed probably means that they have to remain stationary and wait for the prey to get close. (The AI always will. :sweatdrop:) The Mori variety comes with only +1 morale. Looks like a good replacement of Medium Bune to form the line, but they will soon become obsolete as we have a better option down the road...

O Atake Bune. Requires Lv3 naval tech, which unlocks Dry Dock (the upgraded Military Port). This O Atake Bune is pretty much the upgrade of Heavy Bune. They also inspire other ships just like an army general's blue circle, so they are designed to be the Flagship. The Mori variety... again comes with just +1 morale. With the largest Marine (bow) crew (60) among all ships (Medium Bune has 55, a close second), O Atake Bunes are also quite deadly in ranged combat. But at this point the main damage dealer is probably handed to the next one...

Cannon Bune. Requires Lv3 naval tech, which unlocks Dry Dock. This is the Japanese (and weaker) version of Nanban Trade Ship (which is a weaker version of the Black Ship). If we fill the most of our fleet with Cannon Bune, they should be abe to severly weaken enemy ships in their approach, allowing for very low-casualty victories. They also cannot be boarded! The Mori variety comes with +10 accuracy and +10 reload! That's 50% on top of the vanilla! Of course we cannot let such a huge bonus go to waste, just like we would love to use Mori Bow Kobaya and Mori Medium Bune before. There seems to be a limit on how many Cannon Bune can be deployed.

Synopsis. The O Atake Bune and Cannon Bune easily replace Medium Bune as the backbone of the fleet. The Cannons will do great damage against various enemy ships, while the O Atake's arrow join in the attack when the enemy ships gets close. They still need to be complemented by fast ships, which should be the veteran Bow/Fire Bomb Kobaya from earlier. So a good post-RD fleet would be Cannon Bune (to the limit), plus O Atake Bune, and 30% of fast, arsonist ships like Bow and Fire Bomb Kobaya. The Cannon Bune and O Atake will form the line, while the light ships flank the sides.

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Category 3: Others

Nihon Maru. An one-time gift for becoming the new Shogun. They are even a further upgrade from O Ataka Bune, with 33% more bow crew, 100%(!) more melee crew, and the same inspiring ability. I am sure that castle on the ship contains multiple 3-piece restrooms. There is no Mori variety of the Nihon Maru, unfortunately. And of course there is only one Nihon Maru.

Matchlock Kobaya. Requires Gun Mastery, the late-game tech that enables the production of matchlock Ashigaru, Samurai, and Warrior Monks. The usage of them is similar to other Kobayas (Bow, Fire Bomb). So if we alrady have veteran Bow and Fire Bomb Kobaya, there seems to be no need to get the third.

Siege Tower Bune. Requires Gun Mastery. A medium-sized ship that shoot enemies from their high deck. But there are not many Bow/Gun Crew on the high deck, either. Since we already have Cannon Bune to fulfill the ranged damage dealer's role, there is no point to get them.

Matchlock Kobaya and Siege Tower Bune are probably designed for those who wish to go after gun tech while ignoring naval techs, so they can have better army (which in my experience is NOT) and navy at the same time.

But as the navy-savvy Mori we will ignore the last two kinds of ships.

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Other goals we wish to achieve in this campaign:

- Train multiple generals, one for each battle fleet, down the Admiral-Pirate path and use them to command all key naval battles.

- Test drive the Sengoku Jidai DLC special unit Wako Raiders and look for tactics to utilize their potential. The Wako Raiders is like a mutant of Katana Samurai. Compared to the samurai, the pirates actually have inferior charge (12 vs. 15), poorer armor (3 vs. 5), but higher melee defence (7 vs. 4). They are more surprise shock troops than hold-your-line tanks. They require Military Port and Sword School. So we can field them at the same time we have Fire Bomb Kobaya.

That concludes our introduction. :bow: Let's begin with the story.

60% of your fleet a cannon bune will not work, because there's a limit on them. thought it was 2. so don't make plans to rely on them for the most part later in the game.

will read this story with great interest. the others were great!

Go Maltz!

I look forward to this; Mori is a faction I like to play.
The start can be quite variable; I was once at war with all neighbors (even the "ally") within 4 turns.

As noted above, you have a limited number of cannon bune; might be 3 - certainly not enough for 60% of fleet.

Grabbing popcorn and settling in for a good story :bounce:

Thanks for the information about Cannon Bune. :bow:

Chapter 1. Lesson of three arrows

Long time ago... about the time when the Spanish conquistadors destroyed the Inca empire and Jean Calvin advocated Protestant Reformation, there was a clan lord in Japanese. His family name is Mori. His given name is Motonari.

Mori Motonari's clan, the Mori clan, was weak. They were surrounded by two powerful neighbors, the Amako clan, and the Ouchi clan, who rivaled each other. Mori Motonari had to play smart in order to survive between these two rivalry clans. In essence, his clan had to become a vassal of Amako or Ouchi, depending on who granted them better protection.

Now Motonari was getting old, and he had to worry about what would happen when he eventually pass away. Motonari had three promising sons (actually in history Mori Motonari eventually had 9 sons :sweatdrop: But at the time of the story he only had 3.).

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The oldest son, the heir of the Mori clan, Takamoto, was a very kind man. Motonari worried that he did not have the heart to perform cruel but necessary actions, such as cutting down enemies' heads, ordering his family members to commit Seppoku (cut their belly open and pick their intestine out) for committing dishonorable deeds, etc.

The second son, Motoharu, was regarded as one of the future greatest generals of Japan. He knew tactics; he was brave; and he knew how to win soldiers' heart. But Motonari knew military alone cannot make a clan survive. Military action was only directed by diplomacy and grand strategy. A wise clan lord would only fight battles he could win. (Note: Motoharu was adopted into the Kikkawa clan so he could become the heir of Kikkawa. This essentially incorporate Kikkawa into Mori like a parent-subsidiary company.)

The third son, Takakage, was one of the brightest man of Japan. He was smart; he knew strategy; he was calm; he always planned severa steps ahead. Takakage would complement Motoharu, so the Mori clan would prosper under sound strategy and brilliant tactics. (Note: Takakage was adopted into the Kobayagawa clan to incorporate them into Mori.)

Worried that Takamoto one day would not gain enough support from his two great younger brothers, Mori Motonari gathered all three one day, and was ready to give them a lesson. This lesson later became worldly famous as the "Lesson of Three Arrows".

You must have heard of the story when you were little, but the characters are of course replaced with easier-to-understand folks like an old farmer or some random landlord. And the subject is changed from arrows to chopsticks or just some random branch from the trees. :rolleyes:

So Mori Motonari gathered his three sons and passed them each an arrow, and asked them to snap and break the arrow with force.

Takamato: "Father, are you sure? This is a waste of precious resource."
Motoharu: "Easy. Done."
Takakage: "Does the weapon merchant offer refund?"
Motonari: "Just do it!"

All three sons broke the bomboo-made arrows easily. Then, Mori took up three more arrows, passed them to the sons, and asked them to break the three arrows together.

Takamoto: "Father, I really think we should go green on this and just use our imagination."
Motoharu: "Urgh... this is tough. I can't break the bundle."
Takakage: "Why don't you use a chainsaw?"

Seeing that all his sons failed to break three arrows when bundled together, Mori Motonari revealed his lesson.

Motonari: "Each of you is like an arrow. If you do not unite together, the Mori clan can be broken easily by anybody. But if you unite as one, the Mori clan is going to undefeatable!"

Takamoto/Motoharu/Takakage: "Yes, father!"

Motonari: "So today I reveal the new design of the Mori clan crest! Three dots united under one line - the three of you will always stick together!"

Takamoto/Motoharu/Takakage: "Yes, father!"

The lesson of the three arrows is over. But there are more important things for the Mori clan to worry about. The powerful Amako clan has launched yet another invasion on Mori's Aki province.

Motonari: "Boys! Let's discuss what we should do next."

Takamoto: "We should take a hygiene break!"
Motonari: "... Go, but come back as soon as you are done."

Motoharu: "I say we gather all we have and fight Amako!"
Motonari: "... Thanks for your creative insight. Maybe you should go back to your room, and read more Sun Tzu's Art of War."

Takakage: "Amako is a powerful foe, but if they only fight us in multiple small waves, there is nothing to be afraid about. We will be able to defeat Amako if we can focus all our military might on them."
Motonari: "... Go on."

Takamoto: "How do we focus all of our military might?"
Takakage: "Diplomacy. We have three neighbor clans, Ouchi, Kikkawa, and Amako. Ouchi is our ally. Kikkawa is neutral, but if we ask them to trade with us and sell them military access, they will remain friendly to us."
Takamoto: "I see!"

Motoharu: "Did we not have a deal with Kikkawa so I will marry their daimyo's daughter, so I can inherit the Kikkawa clan?"
Motonari: "I just came back from a trip to Bingo and had some tea with the Kikkawa daimyo. I saw his daughter. You... do not want to marry his daughter."
Motoharu: "NO~~~~"

Motonari: "OK. Let's serious plan what we will do for the next several years."
Sons: "Yes! Father."

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Motonari: "First, we will focus all our military power on Amako. Their Iwami province has gold deposits. Their Hoki province has good craftsman who makes very accurate bows. These two provinces are both crucial to our clans' economic and military power."
Sons: "Yes! Defeat Amako!"

Motonari: "In the next stage, we look for ways to expand east, with diplomacy or brute force. Our goal is to capture Bingo for its advanced shipyards to train a powerful navy. Then, we keep expanding east until we reach Bizen for its smiths. We will also take Mimasaka, which has Iron deposits, but more importantly, our territory will then be connected like a circle. This cuts down the need of garrison on the east front!"
Sons: "Yes! Expand east!"

Motonari: "When we free up the garrisons, we will be able to expand west with high efficiency. Suo has good horses, Northern Kyushu's Hizen, Higo, and Tsukushi contain some of the most fertile soils in all Japan. Then our clan will be truly undefeatable!"
Sons: "Yes! To Kyushu!"

Motonari: "But that's still far away from us. First, let's fight that Amako army."
Takamoto: "Good luck, father! I will pray for your success."
Motonari: "Takamoto, you are now old enough to lead an army. You are coming with me. This will be your first battle!"
Takamato: "NO~~~~"

Takamoto: "Father, are you sure this is a good idea? Putting me in front like this... Can't you lead a night battle or something?"
Motonari: "This is to let you gain more battle experience! My reinforcement will join up with you in no time. Night battles do not allow reinforcement on either side."
Takamoto: "I don't think I am fully insured for work-related injury! Please come quickly!"

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Note: When the CPU combines multiple generals in a single army, all of them gets full experience (on Legendary, they level very quickly). However, when human does it, the secondary generals only gain "1" EXP. So we still have to resort to the old trick of spliting generals into multiple stacks.

Takamoto: "Finally, father, you came! I saw the Amako army went into hiding in the hill full of trees."
Motonari: "So we cannot simply attack them."

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Takamoto: "Yes, attacking uphill is tough work. Charging downhill is easy job."
Motonari: "Good. So we try to get them to do the easy job."
Takamoto: "What do you mean, father?"
Motonari: "You get close to them, and see if any of them chase after you."
Takamoto: "Isn't that dangerous?"
Motonari: "If you are stupid enough to stand in the open and within their Bow Ashigaru's range, it is dangerous. Approach from the side, not front!"
Takamoto: "Yes, father!"

Takamoto: "Father, help! Amako's Yari Ashigaru has charged downhill toward me!"

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Motonari: "Good! Don't be afraid. They are infantry; you are cavalry. They are much slower than you. Maintain a steady lead to give them some hope of catching up, and lure them back here. I will take care of the rest."
Takamoto: "Sounds so easy..."

Takamoto: "Buhahaha, the Amako Yari Ashigaru ran into our trap! They are dead ducks!" :laugh4:

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Motonari: "Good job. But we could have done better. Our trap did not spring perfectly - one side of the trap got in contact with the enemy before the others. We have to practice timing to obtain maximum morale shock in the shortest time. Now go get another group to follow you!"
Takamoto: "Yes, father!"

Takamoto: "A second unit of Yari Ashigaru walked into our trap! See ya!"

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Motonari: "Our timing has improved - three units made contact within 2 seconds. But this one also has room for improvement. We should have at least one group approaching from their back, so they can't escape so quickly. Now we have to use cavalry to run down the fleeing men."
Takamoto: "I see..."
Motonari: "What are you waiting for? Go running down the fleeing men!"
Takamoto: "Yes, father!"

Takamoto: "Father, the Amako Yari Cavalry is charging toward you!"

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Motonari: "Hm, you were on their east, but they charged south. This is unexpected... There is no time to lay a trap. So we will use our best spear units to take the charge while the Ashigarus provide supports from the flanks!"

Takamoto: "No cavalry beats Yari Samurai!"

Note: The Amako Yari Cavalry started fleeing before our two Ashigaru units made contact. But we also lost about 20 Yari Samurai from the initial charge.

Takamoto: "Amako only has their Bow Ashigaru and Yari Samurai in the forest. Is it time to signal full assault?"
Motonari: "Try lure the archer out, too. It just takes a little more patience. Here is the tip: [B]Walk 10 steps, wait until they stop to pull the bow. Walk again."

Takamoto: "The Amako Bow Ashigaru is out of the forest!"
Motonari: "Not far enough - we need some time to destroy them before their Yari Samurai arrives."

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Motonari: "Bow Ashigaru grab their attention, bodyguards, charge with me!"
Takamoto: "Taste this!"

Takamoto: "The Bow Ashigaru is gone! Their Yari Samurai captain marched downhill!"

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Motonari: "Even if they are samurai, seeing all his other men defeated, their minds are already shaken. Give them some arrows and they will start fleeing."

Takamoto: "Yes, we won!"
Motonari: "Under 10% casualty, not bad. What did you learn from the battle, my son?"
Takamoto: "Hm, I learned that any foe can be divided and conquered!"
Motonari: "Very true. There is one exception though. If you bring too many ranged units, the enemy will directly come to you. Then there is no time to divide them."

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Takakage: "Father, brother's victory is great. But the enemies are so stupid and predictable... it is almost an insult to our intelligence."
Motonari: "That's also unfortunately true. Once we understand their pattern, they are just 3-year old children, waiting to be spanked to cry and kicked to fly."
Motoharu: "Is that what you did to us, father?" :uhoh:

Takamoto: "Father, there are some Amako army leftover from our battle."
Motonari: "Indeed. Let's give chase. You come with me. We don't need anybody else to win."
Takamoto: "Why?"
Motonari: "We need to conserve energy for our infantry. Our goal is to reach the castle this season!"

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Takamoto: "NO! I lost 2 bodyguards!"
Motonari: "Don't be afraid of minor loss! You will get them back quickly."
Takamato: "They are people, too!"
Motonari: "Just treat them like a number!"

Takamoto: "Oh yes! I have become a 2-star general. Does that make me famous?"
Motonari: "Not yet. We need to have a lot more battles. Now to the castle!"
Takamoto: "Wait... what retainer should I pick? How about this sword?"
Motonari: "What the... the Sword of Amaterasu the Okami? Lucky bastard... Well, I got something nice, too: +1 honor and +1 field attack."

Note: Auto-resolved the second battle to accelerate the interview process.

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Takamoto: "Yes! We reached the castle!"
Motonari: "In fact, I reached the castle, you and the infantry ran out of steam. But you are still close enough to join the siege as reinforcement."
Takamoto: "We assault right away?"
Motonari: "Why not, do you want to wait for Amako's reinforcement to arrive and wipe us out?"
Takamoto: "No!"

Note: After leveling up the generals to lv 2 (2 points go to strategist), combined Mori Takamoto with the infantry and ordered them to march toward the castle.

Takamoto: "Let's attack!"
Motonari: "Oh wait, I forgot something important. We have to sign trade agreements before we expand."
Takamoto: "Before or after we expand, does that make a difference?"
Motonari: "A small difference. Trade partners are naturally jealous. They don't like us to make more money than them out of it. So the smaller and less resourceful we are, the better the deal."
Takamoto: "I see..."
Motonari: "But when we grow extremely powerful later, the fact that we have the resources they want may give us a better deal.

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Takamoto: "Kikkawa is willing to pay us to trade!"
Motonari: "We need a lot of money at the beginning to boost our army. Let's sell military access to them, starting with 5 seasons."
Takamoto: "Wouldn't that be risky?
Motonari: "The Daimyos magazine gives Kikkawa a Weak military power ranking. As long as we stay ahead of them, they should not get the wrong ideas. Besides, now they have their miliary access to us, if they attack, they are going to be looked down by all other clans. The military access actually functions like an implicit peace pact. Besides, when they buy our military access, they will have no money left to hire more army! So they will stay weak and fall behind us."
Takamoto: "I see!"

Takamoto: "So now we are selling military access to Ouchi, too?"
Motonari: "Although they are our allies, they are still interested in military access. So why not? We have no intention to attack Ouchi in a short time. So we can use their cash. This also keeps their military power down for the beginning, when we are most vulnerable."

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Takamoto: "Finally we can start the castle assault. There is a unit of Bow Ashigaru defending the castle. How do we approach this?"
Motonari: "We can use some units as a distraction, while attacking them from the opposite side."
Takamoto: "So... they just and still and let us shoot them like this?"
Motonari: "They will eventually move. The key is shoot 2 volleys and wait for the next unit to come close."
Takamoto: "I see!"

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Takamoto: "Father, what if all sides of the castle is defended by archers?"
Motonari: "Then we have to deplete their arrow."
Takamoto: "How?"
Motonari: "Any fast unit can do this, watch me..."

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Takamoto: "So you WALK into their range, wait until they fire the arrows, and quickly run back and exit their range?"
Motonari: "Exactly. If you are concentrated and turn back as soon as you see their arrows, you can avoid casualty. The arrows of the defenders are limited. A standard Bow Ashigaru unit has 20 arrows, so... darn it!"
Takamoto: "Haha, father lose a bodyguard!"
Motonari: "Yeah, don't talk while you're fighting!"

Takamoto: "Father, Amako's Bow Ashigaru's morale was shattered when they run out of arrows!"
Motonari: "Yes, that's realy odd. But that makes little difference, since they cannot rout while they are already in the castle."

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Takamoto: "What happens next?"
Motonari: "Deplete our archers' arrow to maximize their kill. Then storm with our melee units."

Takamoto: "Ah... easy victory! Let's continue to push forward!"
Motonari: "Good job. But we don't have enough men power to push forward AND leave enough garrison in this new province. Let's take a short break and let the reinforcement from Aki to catch up."

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Takamoto: "Yeah! Vacation!"
Motonari: "Soon we will face a powerful Amako army. We must be ready."

This concludes Chapter 1 of our story. :bow:

Chapter 02. Battle of Izumo Port

Motonari: "Boys! The first step is always the most difficult, but we made it. Let's continue the good battles!"
Motoharu: "Amako must be furious that we robbed their gold mine. Buhahaha..."

The Mori clan grabbed Amako's Gold Mine, but there were still weak. They need to get a large army as soon as possible.

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Takamoto: "We received a mission! We can build cheaper ships if we understand the Way of the Sea."
Takakage: "Hm, ships are quite cheap to build. A Medium Bune has a similar price as Bow Ashigaru. I say we just inore this."

Takamoto: "We do not have enough units to maintain order in Iwami. We must hire as many units as posssible.
Motonari: "Indeed, we have to make money to allow us to hire more units."
Takamoto: "What are the ways to make money?"

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Takakage: "Brother, don't forget we can sell military access to neighbors."
Motoharu: "If we have no intention to attack the neighbor, we may as well sell them."
Katamoto: "They paid huge cash just like that?
Takakage: "Yes. They... really like to visit us."

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Motonari: "Actually, there is a way to attack someone even after we sell them military access. But we don't have to do that... yet."

Motoharu: "Thanks to Ouchi and Kikkawa, we can upgrade the Hallowed Ground in Aki. There are two options."
Takamoto: "We can upgrade that to a Pilgrim Hostel, which gives more morale to units and better monk agents, or a Mountain Hermitage, which produces better Warrior Monks."

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Takakage: "Warrior Monks are just too far away. But we will be hiring monks very soon. If they start with Rank 3, we can make wonderful things happen quickly."
Motonari: "Exacty. Upgrade to a Pilgrim Hostel!"

Motonari: "Boys, I have a strong feeling that the Kikkawa cannot survive past this winter."
Motoharu: "Yes. They just lost a battle to the Matsuda clan. We can see their army fell to the ground from AKi."
Takakage: "So we should sell them Infinite Military Access!"
Takamoto: "Hm, did we make them weak because we have exhausted their cash reserve every season?"
Motonari: "Maybe. Any clan who buys Mori's Military Access would receive The Curse of Mori - they will not have enough money to hire army!"

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Takakage: "Father! I think I am ready to serve the clan as a general!"
Motonari: "Good! So you and Motoharu, whenever he is ready, will be responsible to lead our clan's second army. Get a good balance between Yari and Bow and wait for oppurtunity. We have to be ready when the opportunity arises!"
Takakage: "Yes, Father!"

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Motoharu: "Father, two big news! The Kikkawa clan has been eliminated by the Matsudo clan. Matsudo has quite a large army in Bingo. But our Aki is rather defenceless."
Motonari: "We would love to fight Matsuda, but not right now. Survival is key - we have to befriend them."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...6&d=1331384316

Motoharu: "And Amako's arge army has arrived!"
Motonari: "This we have to fight, right now. Takamoto, come with me!"
Takamoto: "To battle!"

Takamoto: "The Amako Daimyo is here! We have 5 Yari and 5 Bow, they have 6 Yari and 4 Bow."
Motonari: "Yes. But we do not have to face them all at once."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...7&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "Right, father. We can easily call up their Yari Ashigaru units one by one to destroy."
Motonari: "Why don't you in charge of setting up the trap? From time to time,, I need some exercise. I will be the bait."
Takamoto: "Be careful!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...1&d=1331384316

Motonari: "Now the first unit is here... but what kind of trap is this?"
Takamoto: "Sorry, father. The Amako Yari Ashigaru suddenly decided to turn back, so we have to charge with whatever we have."
Motonari: "Hm... suddenly turn back? That's unexpected. Perhaps this is because I lead them pass a forest, and that charged their behavior pattern."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...2&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "So... father, are you saying this is your fault?" :rolleyes:
Motonari: "How dare you! 20 more men died because they did not have proper support. We could have let them go back and draw them out again."
Takamoto: "Understand!"

Takamoto: "How about this trap, father?"
Motonari: "The enemy fled almost instantly - we lost 1 man to destroy their 150. Keep up the good work!"
Takamoto: "Thank you, father!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...3&d=1331384316

Motonari: "Another good trap! Nobody escapes a perfect trap!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...4&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "We have baited and trapped all of their six Ashigaru units."
Motonari: "So we have to lure their Bow Ashigaru now."
Takamoto: "I volunteer... to hide in that forest so I can charge into their bows!"

Motonari: "One bow unit down! Takamoto, what are you waiting for?"
Takamoto: "Sorry! I am coming!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...5&d=1331384316

Motonari: "That's their last two bows. Watch out, the Amako daimyo is charging toward you! Pull back!"
Takamoto: "Yes, father! Let our spear handle him!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...6&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "Our spear units are too slow! The Amako daimyo is charging toward us, some of our Bow Ashigaru is in danger!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...7&d=1331384316

Motonari: "It is too late to pull back the bows. Let them fight!"

Takamoto: "The Amako daimyo is defeated by our superior numbers!"
Motonari: "Argh, 60 more men died by a simple mistake. Rally!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...8&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "We still won a good victory. Amako's daimyo is dead! We destroyed their main army!"
Motonari: "The end of Amako is near. Let's take their weakly defended castles before they regain their strength!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...9&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "Our victory completely turns the tide of the war... Hey, somebody actually made a monument for us!"
Motonari: "There is no time to stay and look! Keep pushing forward!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...0&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "We reached Amako's castle! They have some reinforcements nearby."
Motonari: "Too bad you had to arrive as reinforcements from the far corner, so we cannot simpy intercept them on their way to the castle. Regardess, this should be an easy fight."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...1&d=1331384316

Motonari: "Good, we were able to intercept our of the Bow units before they reached the castle. So there is one more unit left."
Takamoto: "Please let me try to draw out their arrows!"
Motonari: "Go ahead!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...5&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "Father, those Bow Ashigaru chase after me and has come OUT of their castle!"
Motonari: "Ha! Easy for us!"

Note: Before patches it was very easy to draw out Bow Ashigaru from castle. Now they almost always remain stationary in the castle. In this battle, the Amako Ashigaru was moved from one wall to another (since our army changed position). Maybe that triggers them to become mobile instead of stationary.

Takamoto: "Now there are no Bow units in the castle. We can take our sweet time to shoot them."
Motonari: "Yes. And most of them do not even move. Maybe the castle is too small."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...6&d=1331384316

Takamoto: "We kiled them all without even breaking the castle's gate."
Motonari: "Just one last Amako province left!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...7&d=1331384316

This concludes Chapter 2 of our story. :bow:

Chapter 03. License to betray

Motonari: "Takakage, there seems to be some changes happening in Ouchi's lands. What is it?"
Takakage: "Our trade fleet spotted Otomo's army - they have landed in Ouchi's territory!"
Motonari: "Who is going to win?"
Takakage: "Otomo's army is small, but Ouchi's army is smaller! They have been affected by the curse of Mori's Neighbor."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...3&d=1331445979

Motonari: "This is the moment we have been waiting for. Prepare an army as soon as possible!"
Motoharu: "Father, please let me help!"
Motonari: "Sure!"

Previously...

Motonari: "We do not have army to deal with Matsuda, so we may as well be friends for now. I know the Matsuda daimyo has a daughter. Who volunteers?"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...3&d=1331445979

Takakage: "Since I am now in charge of Aki's defence, I volunteer to marry Matsuda's daughter!"

Motoharu: "Poor Takakage, a Shrewish wife..."
Takakage: "For the sake of the family, I have to endure..."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...4&d=1331445979

Note: While a Shrewish wife is a really bad wife to have in reality, in STW2 this is one of the more practical wives. The -loyalty penalty is usually negligible. The +5% movement bonus can sometimes make differences of reaching the next castle in the season or not.

Back to now...

Motoharu: "Takakage, father asks us to get an army, but we have no funds. Let's borrow from Matsuda, shall we?"
Takakage: "A good idea. Our clans' are at very good terms. They will pay good price. And there is no risk of getting a surprise attack."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...4&d=1331445979

Motoharu: "Takakage, good news. Father and brother has taken Amako's last castle! Amako is history!"
Takakage: "I heard that Amako attempted to setup an ambush in the forest of Izumo, but father simply ignored them and directly go for the castle. As Amako lost their last castle, those ambush army disappeared instantly."
Motoharu: "Hot brilliant the Amakos..."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...5&d=1331445979

Motoharu: "Great, father has arranged more funds for us from our new neighbor Yamana clan."
Takakage: "Yamana's lands are of now strategic importance to us. So we may as well sign an alliance with them to really secure our relations. Then we can direct our army elsewhere.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...6&d=1331445979

Motoharu: "Hm... the infrastructures in our new provinces costs a lot of money. We still need more funds!"
Takakage: "Let's sell military access to Otomo, then!"
Motoharu: "Wait, don't we WANT to fight them soon? This is going to hurt our reputation."
Takakage: "Father mentioned that there is a way to declare war with a justified reason... I wonder how?"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...7&d=1331445979

Motoharu: "Wow. We are just selling military access to everybody. And 5 turns is just the beginning. We will follow up with 10 turns and 20 turns!"
Takakage: "That's unfortunately the only way to make fast cash to rush for Trading Ports. We are also close to get 5 Sake Dens, and then we will demolish most of them to make room for 5 Buddhist Temples. By the time we have 5 Ninjas and 5 Monks, who start at rank 3, no one in Japan can stop us!"
Motoharu: "I see!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...8&d=1331445979

Motoharu: "Takakage, Ouchi has been destroyed by Otomo! We missed the chance to sell them inifinite military access..."
Takakage: "Too bad! But we can still sell Otomo that."
Motoharu: "Are you sure we can attack them later without public scrutiny?"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...9&d=1331445979

Takamoto: "Father. Our army in Aki is ready to attack Otomo. We can declare war now!"
Motonari: "There is no need to declare war. Let Shoni pay us to help them fight Otomo."
Takamoto: "Oh nice, 2480 extra koku!"
Motonari: "And there is no diplomatic penalty at all!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...0&d=1331445979

Takamoto: "We started a war on Otomo, who just bought our infinite military access... and they don't care? Why is this happening?"
Motnari: "Because we ony help Shoni to fight them. We did not declare war on them."
Takamoto: "But we did declare war on them?"
Motonari: "Don't you get it? We did not!" :rolleyes:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...1&d=1331445979

Note: It seems that as long as ANY clan (say clan A) is at war with any other clan that is NOT currently our enemy (clan B), we can declare war on clan A without any kind of punishment, by asking clan B to allow us to help in their war. And we usually get paid by clan B as well!

Motoharu: "Good! If we dump the infantry, we can lay siege on Otomo's Suo castle this season!"
Takakage: "And we can sabotage Otomo's army on the field, so we can easily steal their Nagato castle, too!"
Motoharu: "We can defeat Otomo without any major battle!" :laugh4:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...2&d=1331445979

Maltz you have done it again.

You show a great way to profit and expand with Mori. The opening is such a cluster.... because of so many neighbours.

I had never thought about access as an implicit agreement not to attack; bonus on top of the money you wheedled from them :)

The game does develop along similar lines each time; I used the same "support ally" dodge to attack Ouchi to save my ally Shimazu.

:bow:

Takamoto: "Father, Motoharu and Takakage will add two provinces to our territory soon!"
Motonari: "Indeed. That will expose us to both the Shoni clan immediately, and the Chosokabe clan in the future. What do you think we should do diplomatically?"
Takamoto: "Definitely not fighting them both at the same time."
Motonari: "Our clan is not very powerful yet. We need to put a lot of trade ships into our foreign trades business, which will provide the income to enable us to build a powerful army."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...3&d=1331446010

Takamoto: "So we befriend with both clans first... Don't both their daimyos have unmarried daughters?"
Motonari: "Only true for Chosokabe. Shoni's daughter has been married to someone else. Befriending Shoni is now particularly tricky, because they are bound to convert to Nanban's religion very quickly. So we have to act fast, or it would be hard to ally with them. We already lost the oppurtunity to marry their daughter."
Takamoto: "So let's ally with Shoni now!"
Motonari: "And don't forget to get them someone else to hate! Friendly diplomacy only works if our friend has another enemy.

Takamoto: "How about Chosokabe? Do we ally with them as well?"
Motonari: "That would be dangerous - what if they start a war with Shoni? Then we will have to break alliance with one of them and suffer from dishonor. These two clans are close to each other, so war is certainly possible."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...4&d=1331446010

Takamoto: "So only marriage with Chosokabe... got it. That will give Motoharu a wife!"
Motonari: "Remember, friendly diplomacy works only if we don't make too many friends!"
Takamoto: "How many more "friendly diplomacy works only if..." do you have?
Motonari: "About seven or eight."

Takakage: "Congratulations, brother. You have been arranged a marriage!"
Motoharu: "You know, sometimes I wonder whether we can ever have the freedom to choose our wife."
Takakage: "You can always have a legit mistress, you know. That's what my Shrewish wife deserves..."
Motoharu: "I didn't hear anything."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...5&d=1331446010

Note: Mori Motoharu had a historically famous ugly wife. Motoharu was however very loyal to his wife. Motoharu said, "looking at a beautiful woman for three days makes me bored; looking at an ugly woman for three days gets me used to it." He ended up having six children with his wife.

Takakage: "Look on the bright side, now we can spend more time together on the battlefield!"
Motoharu: "Yes. Let's take that Suo castle!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...6&d=1331446010

Motoharu: "Great! Now all we need to do is to steal the Nagato castle while Otomo's army is away."
Takakage: "That has been arranged. Foolish Otomo left almost nobody defending the castle."
Motoharu: "Nice! But we still had to take care of Otomo's army on the field."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...7&d=1331446010

Note: Tried two approaches to this:

(A) Take Suo, then Nagato (as depicted in the walkthrough). The Otomo army remains on the field, and had to be killed off by the Nagato army.

(B) Take Nagato, then Suo. The Otomo army vanishes.

While (B) seems to be an efficient solution, (A) turns out to be better because (1) Defeating Otomo's remaining army creates "military crackdown", which enables us to leave no garrison in Nagato - this army will be needed elsewhere as the story will later reveal; (2) One extra fight brings more experience to soldiers; (3) Suo can be taken one turn earlier for a little extra profit.

Motoharu: "Nagato is ours!"
Takakage: "Strangely, we did not lose anybody. Those defending Matchlock Ashigaru must have terrible aims..."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...8&d=1331446010

Takamoto: "Father, an Ashigaru captain led a perfect assault on the Nagato castle. Shall we promote him?"
Motonari: "Eventually we will have a powerful navy, and we need extra generals to lead those fleets. Maybe this is a good start."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...9&d=1331446010

Note: There seems to be two kinds of promotion events. The first kind happens at the beginning of a season. The new general appears in the capital. The second kind happens immediately after a victorious land battle (naval battles never work for me) led by a non-general. The new general appears with the army that fought the battle. Both events are random. If we are in great need of new generals, we can satisfy the second condition in an auto-resolve battle. Simply repeat the auto-resolve battle until the promotion takes place.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HopAlongBunny

I had never thought about access as an implicit agreement not to attack

---

Offering military access porbably sends the message to AI that "this human has no intention to attack you". Maybe that's why they love to pay for the peace of mind. As for whether the AI will be less likely to attack us after they get our military access... it is probably because they have been made poor by purchasing our military access.

Once we stop selling them new access and they are again free to accumulate their military strength, they probably will still declare war if they think you are the softest neighbor they have. The AIs seem to ignore the huge diplomatic hit they receive for attacking whom they have military access to.

Takakage: "Brother, the new general's name is Kuchiba Yorinobu (口羽頼信)!"
Motoharu: "Sounds just like another random Joe... So he is goin to finish off the Otomo army in the field?"
Takakage: "Yes. We outnumber the Otomo army. Let's wish him good luck!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...5&d=1331596488

Takakage: "Yorinobu won easily!" (auto-resolved)
Motoharu: "That was quick. So now the Nagato province is celebrating the military crackdown of Otomo. Nice."
Takakage: "Yes. We can combine Yorinobu's men into our army."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...6&d=1331596491

Motoharu: "It is good to merge with Yorinobu's men and make a powerful army. But we have nothing to attack."
Takakage: "Actually we might have to hurry. Our ninja reported that Matsuda clan has sent a scout army into our territory."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...7&d=1331596491

Motoharu: "They wouldn't just send army to patrol the field for us. Something big might be coming. Can you ask your nice wife to confirm that her family's possible invasion?"
Takakage: "Do you really want to let Matsuda know we are prepared?"
Motoharu: "I like you, Takakage." :yes:

That concludes chapter 3 of our story. :bow:

Chapter 04. Self-fulfilling prophecy of attack

Motoharu: "A large army at the border plus an intelligence report from "our sources"? They spell war on the frontpage headline."
Takakage: "So this is what we get from Matsuda? I sacrificed my virginity for this shrewish wife, and this is how they repay us? Trying to stab us in the back?"
Motoharu: "Takakage, aren't you happy that you are justified for a divorce?"
Takakage: "I... actually like her. She is annoying when she complains. But at night..."
Motoharu: "Let's just drop this topic and rush to war!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...8&d=1331596491

Takamoto: "Father, the Matsuda clan is suddenly much less to friendly to us due to Threats of Attack (-72). What is this?"
Motonari: "This is a self-fulfilling prophecy to make sure that they do attack later."
Takamoto: "Does not make any sense. We are much more powerful than them, enjoys a good relationship with them, and we are their only trade partner. So they want to fight their only friend like this?"
Motonari: "Maybe they saw that our Aki province was temporarily undefended, and thought they would have a chance."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...9&d=1331596491

Takamoto: "But they have no way to hold it even if they could steal it."
Motonari: "Son, the smart men would pretend that they are friends with you as long as you can help them. But they will betray you in a heartbeat when you have no use to them anymore. The stupid men, like the bunch we are facing now, just make decisions from a roll of a dice. Would you prefer to fight the smart men or the stupid men? Just beat their crap out!"

Takamoto: "So... how do we fight the stupid man?"
Motonari: "How about selling them our infinite military access?"
Takamoto: "They would buy it even if they plan to attack us?"
Motonari: "I am not sure. Does not hurt trying."

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...0&d=1331596491

Takamoto: "They paid 1110 koku! Maybe they thought this would lower our guard."
Motonari: "You probably over-estimated them. The truth is they always buy military access when you share borders with them."

Takamoto: "War is declared! Just like the threat said. Shall we call helps from our ally?"
Motonari: "If they join our side, what would they do?"
Takamoto: "Hm, Yamana and Shoni do not share any border with Matsuda."
Motonari: "Right, so there is no point to even ask. Plus, what if any of them refuse? Then we just had ourselves a new enemy."
Takamoto: "Understood!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...1&d=1331596491

Motoharu: "Puhahaha... stupid Matsuda, our ninja sabotaged his large army, so their daimyo could not move, but he still declared war."
Takakage: "Yes. If we did not sabotage him, he would have laid siege on us and assaulted the castle last season. We could win the battle, but would suffer some heavy losses. We prefer to fight them on the field as the attacker."
Yorinobu: "But... there is a small stack of Matsuda army who burned our Trading Port. That not only removes most of our trade income in the previous season, and our repair will not finish until the next season. That's thousands of koku of damage!" :wall:
Takakage: "Yeah. We were careless. We should have set up some kind of ambush in the forest."
Motoharu: "Well, it is not too late to kill them now!"

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/attac...2&d=1331596491

Lesson learned: Any small enemy stack not sabotaged would still proceed to sabotage our infrastructure.