Rise to power: How I learned to stop worrying and love Realm Divide

[The_Emperor]

Well my campaign went south with realm divide I knew it was coming but did not quite expect it.

Still my armies were of such quality (shimazu) that i pushed RD with Kyoto as the final province at the SAME TIME in my short campaign. That was quite a gamble.

It all started off well with my blitzkrieg assault on kyoto when the Shogun was away and could not move back due to my Ninjas at work, but the second I declare war, BAM another stack appears from thin air in his province! (without pressing end turn strangely enough just on the declaration itself).

My allies stayed with me and even joined the war against everyone else when it really kicked in! (after my vassals had turned on me)

victory came close and I rushed to fill my 25 provinces for victory, upon reaching 23 a fleet of Takeda ships landed an invasion force on a lightly garrisoned Kyushu. Now I fear its all over for the Shogunate as most of my armies are stuck in the middle of the mainland scrapping with the Oda or my Ex-Vassals.

Someone said that vassals made after realm divide are ok, is the same true of vassals made after kyoto?

[Dead Guy]

The Realm Divide diplo-penalty is initiated both when you reach the clan fame threashold AND when you capture Kyoto, regardless of if one of those things has happened already. So do both before setting up 'safe' vassals for post-RD trade, or make sure you've got some allies with ~150 relations before you divide. To clarify, if you set up vasslas after realm divide and then capture Kyoto, they'll start getting the penalty at that point. I've never captured Kyoto before the clan fame has kicked in so I don't know if it works the other way around, but I have set up vassals before capturing Kyoto, and the realm divide diplomacy counter started for them on that turn.

[The_Emperor]

Well with testing I can honestly say that on my campaign I forced it early with Kyoto being the final province required to make the push and it seemed a good way to take the initial brunt of RD and having a fully working citadel with all of its troop recruitment slots was VERY helpful in pushing my fight to near total victory.

My biggest headaches were naval power and I really regret not landing a strike force on the Chosokabe's main island to "liberate" them to help me out, strategically I had no interest in their island when my biggest battles were happening on the mainland and I am sure their navy would have been useful.

Still my biggest surprise was that Takeda strike force landing in the home provinces that really caught me off guards and was very well played by the AI.

[Zarobien]

I kind of hate how the AI drops all sence and goes for backstab when it comes...

I made alliance with Date clan before the realm divider. I pretty much saved them from Uesugi and 3 other clans they where in war with. They where on huge defencive and had 2 provinces left. I married their daughter to my family. I gave them money... And then they declared war to me; they have one stack of units and two provinces. I have 20+ provinces and about 4 stacks fighting in each corner... This is anoying; why would a clan backstab its savior, allied, family and faction that will crush whole clan in few turns. It doesnt matter much in tactical sence; I'm holding half of the map and fighting the other half. But it does brake the illusion that theres I in AI.