Newb Q's: Initial Diplomacy, Trade, Auto vs. Battlefield, Loyalty, Numbers

[TheLastDays]

1) Even after reading a couple diplomacy guides, including Dribb's, I am at a complete loss as to how to get started with diplomatic relationships. I am playing Chosokabe, so I initially don't have any contact with any clans off Shikoku. I conquer Iso by the first Winter, and Sanuki shortly after, and even that early, I've found it impossible to find a replacement trade partner for the Miyoshi clan, who are next on my list. Only the Mori ever offered me a trade agreement, which looked unfavorable to me, but I took it anyway. They broke the agreement a couple turns later. By the time I own Awa, or worse, Awaji, it seems my territorial expansion penalty is so high, no one will trade with me. Even clans with no resources said I had nothing to offer them.

What I am doing wrong? I've offered them payments over turns amounting to half the amount I'd gain in trade. Since my experience with the Mori, I've been reluctant to offer a single lump sum, seeing as they may well break the trade agreement a couple turns later. By the time I've found a worthy enough potential trade partner that I would offer marriage, it seems like everyone is paired up into multiple trade agreements, leaving me with no one to even potentially trade with! How do I cut this knot?

Well, money is always the key. Early on you can usually find a few trade partners without paying them, especially on easy but that changes quickly. You'll have to pay for your trade agreements. Keep in mind that it quickly pays off, not only because the trade income will increase over time but also because a trade agreement is the start of a new friendship, winning you an ally if played right. Thus you should try to use your trade capabilities on clans you do not intend to go to war with any time soon.

Don't use marriages for mere trade agreements though. Wait until you know who you are aiming to win as a long term ally and marry off your children to them. If you really don't get trade partners because they are all tied up already try using the diplomatic option of "Demand Trade Embargo" where you basically ask them to break a trade agreement with a trade partner. You'll have to invest money again though.

2) Without trade agreements, it looks to me like I DO derive some income from trade resources. Am I reading the Finance Summary window correctly? Am I getting some income from resources that I control but am not trading?

If you have resources that you are not trading to other clans, you sell them among your populace. This nets you less than foreign trade of course but I think it show up under trade in your finances.

3) For the sake of simplicity I am learning the strategic game by relying on Ashigaru and Auto-Resolve Battles. I realize that in the long term, battles will be more enjoying on the battlefield with a variety of units. I am wondering what the differences between Auto-Resolve and Battlefield, so I can anticipate how my strategy will have to change. I assume the main difference is that a good battlefield commander can win a bigger victory with a smaller force well played, for example, and that the quality of troops matters more on the battlefield.

It also seems to me that units gain XP roughly in proportion to their losses, or at the very least, no losses means no experience. Is this really so, and how will battlefield play affect my units' XP gains.

Are there Bushido Arts bonuses, like formations, that don't affect Auto-Resolve much?

Auto-resolve works quite well actually, calculating troop quality, morale, numbers, etc. A skilled battlefield commander can usually get results that are a bit better, which means he'll lose less man or could even turn close defeat (auto-resolved) into a victory when fighting it manually but rarely can you pound an enemy force into oblivion on the battlefield that would have defeated you single handedly in auto-resolve, like it used to be in previous Total War titles. At least that's my experience.

Troops collect XP for how many kills they do, methinks. Of course in melee that's usually equivalent to taking losses, especially in auto resolve.

Don't know about the Bushido bonuses. I'm not sure if auto-resolve takes into account what formations are available for the player and if it uses abilities like fire-arrows.

4) For a while I thougt I was seeing a bug, because when my general took skills or retainers that increased loyalty, it seemed their loyalty stayed the same or even dropped. Last night I moused over the loyalty of my main general, and found he had a -3 penalty for "Delusions of Granduer." What's the deal with that, why isn't it a Trait, how come I got no notification, and is there anything else like that I should worry about?

Well, as a general advice, keep a good eye on your generals. I'm not sure what you can do to up their loyalty, other than choosing the right skills and retainers and assigning them with a commission. Quick EDIT: There's a Chi-Art, I think it's called "Noh" that gives your generals +2 loyalty.

5) I really appreciate the various guides that have been posted here and in other forums, especially FrogBeastEgg's, but I really am a fan of the Brady/Ultima Strategy Guide format, with lots of reference materials, and especially hard numbers. The Encyclopedia is frankly disappointing in that regard, is not well organized, and appears to have no search function. It is quite vague, and leaves much unsaid. Are there tables of hard numbers compiled?

Dunno, sorry.

I'm sure someone else can give more insights into some of these topics. Welcome to the Org!