Shimazu Strategy Plans

**Stinger123** · 12-28-2008, 20:56

I would like to know other people's strategys for playing as the shimazu.
My tactic would be to build your economy and defenses, then form a string of alliances with mori and imagawa?(light blue, not sure of name) to stay safe for a while. Once I had a huge army and all my cities had Legendary farmland, I built up a citadel in my capitol, then focused on defense as the mori and Hojo decided to let loose on me. After fending them off for a couple of turns, during which i gained my first geisha, I let mori destroy hojo, leaving just me, mori, and Imagawa (and rebels). This is pretty much the last phase of the plan here, use the geisha to wipe out the mori (he had no heirs in my campaign) and Imagawa leaders, then it is just a matter of rampaging through the campaign map crushing the rebels. WARNING: I did not win, as my daimyo died of sickness(crap) and all the other heirs had also died of the same problem. but not before securing about 80% of the map.
Note: this is on the campaign world map, not battles.

**caravel** · 12-28-2008, 22:42

With Shimazu it's easy enough to work from "west" to "east". You can simply oust Imagawa and then go after Mori and Takeda. At this point it's just a case of moving "eastwards". If you want something more challenging then try playing as Imagawa, Hojo or Oda, I find these to be more difficult anyway.

**Drisos** · 12-29-2008, 11:13

When Shimazu, be aggressive. If you're not, you'll end up with only small territory, few troops, and few money against an opponent that owns half the map that will simply overrun you.

I'd say:

- Spend all your money from the first years into troops. Troops only.

- Invade Chikugo first turn.
- Make sure you kicked the Imagawa out in at maximum 2 years.
- Keep peace with Mori for a now. He's not a threat and not a good target either. Instead, attack and conquer Shikuko. (Iyo+Tosa+Sanuki+Awa) You can decide to leave Awaji for now, if you want to avoid contact with Oda or whoever dwells in Kawachi.
- Build a mine in Iyo.
- Now start attacking Mori. Conquer, conquer, conquer, and build mines in Aki and Harima.

What I do: Don't build improved farmlands anywhere, don't use spies, don't build up a new training region from the start.. instead use Tosa and Mimasaka (and of course Satsuma). Don't put too much money in better troops in the very beginning.. wait with that until you've conquered enough do that both that and train lots of troops.

This is all how I'd do it... There's of course many more ways to victory. But I'm sure some part of this info might be helpful.

Good luck!

**Agent Miles** · 12-29-2008, 15:46

I took a strategy based on geography. The first turn you must build a castle in Nagato and the province across from the rebel island to secure these two points. Put a yari ashigaru in both castles and then attack Chikugo with everything else. I took all three Imagawa provinces for the loss of 42 men. Then take Iyo. You now only have to defend two provinces. I built ports in all provinces and saved up so that when the Portuguese arrived I instantly built traders in all eleven provinces. Now I could afford four stacks, three led by sons and one for my daimyo. Put one stack in Iyo and three in Nagato. Attack the province to the south of Nagato with two stacks. The AI will run. Wait out the castle garrison for an easy victory. Now leave one stack as temporary garrison until you can send in ashigaru and send the other stack with the one in Nagato to repeat this trick in the next province. You can zigzag your way east maintaining a three province border for some time. These provinces have iron for armories so I take them before I take out Shikuko. Usually I run into Uesugi at this time. Kill their daimyo in combat and the east turns rebel.

**Stinger123** · 12-30-2008, 08:49

ok, I have tried all of these strategys, and they all work extremely well. Thanks for the strategys, they really help.

**Drisos** · 12-30-2008, 11:58

Why the castles, Agent Miles? They'll cost 500 Koku each, so 1.000 Koku in total. On expert this will be all of you starting money. And I don't see how castles would help at all in the defence? Leaving 1 Ashigaru in the region is the same, wether there's a castle or not.

(Right?)

**Agent Miles** · 12-30-2008, 13:18

I have the Eras version where the first level castles are only 250 koku on expert. If you build it, they won't come (the rebels or the Mori that is). It's a speed bump for the AI that they just stay away from. Besides, you have what you need to take out the Imagawa provinces. This works flawlessly for me.

**Drisos** · 12-30-2008, 13:26

Oh wait... I think they're 250 koku in my version as well. Can't check right now. Hmm.. I'm in doubt.
Whatever- so it's just something that influences the AI to not attack? Sounds intresting.

**Martok** · 01-04-2009, 07:45

Interesting; I wasn't aware of this either. Has anyone else been able to determine whether castles help deter AI from attacking? (And if so, does this only apply to the human player, or to all clans?)

**Agent Miles** · 01-05-2009, 19:56

I’m hardly a Dojo on this, but I played this faction about a dozen times trying different things. If I built castles, I did not get invaded. If I did not, then I eventually got invaded. I am now exploring the Mori faction and the same trick seems to work. I think if you start building other structures without a strong force as garrison, then the AI will invade for the plunder.

**caravel** · 01-05-2009, 20:40

True. When I build castles I tend not to get invaded as much either. Perhaps a province without a castle is simply seen as an easy target by the AI?

**gollum** · 01-06-2009, 21:21

The building costs and building times were halved in MI - in version 1.0 and 1.12 its 500 koku. I actually like it better the v1.0 and v1.12 way, you really need to invest time and money in getting finaces to work beyond the feudal level - its just that the AI is blitzing in hard and there is little time and scope to turtle at least until you are secured border and income wise - that could mean literally half Japan.

In v1.0/1.12 the port costs 1500 koku and trading posts 1000 koku - you needed to pay plenty to get those guns and extra koku and the Harima/Nagasaki/Bizen natural ports mattered.

In MI turtling is somewhat more viable for the player due to the cheaper/faster built buildings that pay back sooner and render the campaign pace somewhat more tuned with the buildings the player can afford. The downside is that in the long run the player ends up building all buildings available too easily - that is there is no sense of strategic goals as it was originally intended (that is you go either for well trained troops or armored troops or trade and guns and churches not all of them at once).

I won campaigns even turtling as the Shimazu in Kyushu this way - you can actually make lots of monies fast from a handful of provinces as Agent Miles says. This would be suicidal at best in v1.0 v1.12 - Shimazu can survive only if by 1540 is in Kyoto or past it. Otherwise you are facing the purple death - ten to fifteen full stacks coming at you with all their might.

But thanks to the ease with which Daimyos die and AIs lack of attention to heir units this can also be overcome with a staunch defence - especially if you play with the timer on that does not enable numbers to come to bear.

Shogun actually needed a few more clans to shine and slightly less overall agricultural income.

More clans would mean less starting provinces for all and more competition for a clan to rise as regional power - even if you d be tempted to kill off neighbours your other neighbours might put an end to it all when you hurt (that is when you take the risk of invading with token home garrisons etc).

I would add, the Takeda of Aki that were very much a different clan than the Takeda of Kai - the CHosokabe (that were actually considered as the game files revealed based in Shikoku) one of the Kyushu clans in place of teh Kyushu Imagawa (the Ryuzozi i think in that area), one of the Shimoza/Kazusa powerful clans to take over Shimosa/Kasuza (they had nothing to do with Hojo) - place Hojo in Sagami/Musashi and add one of the Mutsu/Dewa clans next to the Uesugi - and also the Asai or Asakura and the Hosokawa to partake what is Oda territory in Shogun.

Drop the rich provinces from 600 koku to 400 koku about so that the player cant afford an army to conquer the country without some additional economic investment (trade/christianity or farm upgrades and mines) and we are in business.

By the way the v1.0 v1.12 can be played only with copies of the original that is now available only second hand - it is not available with Warlords edition or eras (that is again Warlords edition) much like MTW is not available in the v1.0/1.1 anymore other than second hand.

However Warlords edition has unit and building data in easily editable txt.files - it means all this can be easily altered to suit ones preference.

!it burnsus!