I'm lookin for some tips and tricks for Shogun 2 and FotS.

[Aceman3818]

Hello all. I have been a big fan of the Total War series for a long time now, but i have always had one Big problem. I not good at it!
Every time i see a new game come i get excited about the way it will play and after i buy it i always end my experience the same way, angry and frustrated.
I was hoping that buy joining this forum that i could find some help either through the forums or through 1on1 gameplay, just to get acquainted with how to best
manage my funds how how to raise and use a well balanced army. Thanks!

[econ21]

If you have not seen Frogbeastegg's guide, prepare for a great long read:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...-War-Shogun-II

There are other shorter and less comprehensive guides in the same sub-forum. This is my guide to Oda on normal:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...post2053329101

[Peasant Phill]

You can find tips about FotS on the FotS subforum.
Guides will be made when enough players have enough experience to take a stab at writing a guide.

[InsaneApache]

Sorry I can't help you on your quest.

Welcome to the . Org anyroad.

Ey up lad.

[Jarmam]

Hey Ace

If you don't have (or don't wish) to burn hours and hours on the game I would advise lauching up some skirmishes against the AI and play around with different units and different unit compositions mostly just to get a feel of what style of play you prefer (heavy infantry, blitzing, strong archer or rifle focus, cavalrybased, balanced or some other combination). Then pick a faction that seems to suit this style in terms of clan bonus - if its starting position is in the gutter then look for a clan whose starting area seems easy to grab and defend and use that to play around with your army creation, management, balancing and especially the economy of said game (this would be Chosokabe for Shogun 2 or the Julii/Brutii Romans for Rome).

Clichéed as it sounds the best way to improve basics is to practice, but I've found a lot of helpful tools in the toolbox of Starcraft's sensei Day[9]:
When you lose a battle and you're not exactly sure why, watch the replay. Heck, when you win a fight you weren't exactly sure of why, watch the replay just on 4x speed and look for what's happening that you aren't sure of why is happening. Often you will notice (and thus learn) things by watching your own fights without having to worry about actually managing your units or adapting to whatever is happening. (as a sidenote I hope the replays were fixed in the latest patch, since they've been pretty awful in Shogun 2 so far).

Along those lines I've found it helpful to state out my problems. When I first played Shogun 2 I picked Shimazu and Date as I was drawn to sword-based armies with maxed upgrades and these factions had both of those covered. As a result I would have a fearful stack of Samurai and go bankrupt in turn 30. Saying "I need to manage my economy better" is a good first step, but make sure to then just focus on that. If you're trying to improve 15 different areas you'll just confuse yourself. Look for a guide on how the economy of a TW game works and try to focus on applying the concepts of the guide to your play. Whether to use Samurai or Warrior Monk archers or 3 of each can wait for later - just use "archers" for now. It sounds silly, but it really helps to just spell out what exactly you're struggling with to yourself. It also makes it easier if you feel like searching for or asking others for tips and tricks if you know somewhat what you're looking for.

Once the basics start fleshing out, start making it clear to yourself roughly what you're aiming for. Do you want a win on Very Hard in any way possibly? A fast Domination win on Normal? Do you want an army based on the absolutely best of the best and not push out until you're there? Once you have a feel of what you're trying to achieve it becomes much easier to make a roughly sketched gameplan and its always easier to adapt if you have a basic model of what you're trying to achieve.
Example: In Shogun 2, are you trying to create 2 stacks of a combination of some +25 accuracy archers, +5 armor monks/swords/naginatas and +10 charge cavalry? From this the decisions you make start becoming easier to spot: Its expensive so you have to focus on development of your provinces. It takes a long time so you cannot be overly aggressive or attract too much attention before you're there. It's powerful in the late stages so you can afford to fall behind in province count as long as you're moving towards your goal. Take a look at the resource map and use it to find a faction or area that has the trade goods you need and some chokepoints you can aim at taking (like Buzen with Shimazu or Echigo/Fukushima as Date). You just won a big fight and the enemy's nearby town looks weak - but taking it will open up new backdoor routes into your homeland and its a lvl 1 keep and you're currently in a lvl 3 one with your main army - so leave it. Your plan is to survive with easy-to-hold-provinces and get rich and developed. Do you get the faster, cheaper castles-Chi Art? Well, you're aiming for economy and +accuracy upgrades so Chonindo for max Farms and +accuracy buildings is definitely the better choice here. Through this you also start noticing the weak spots in your gameplay more easily and once they're identified they're much easier to address. If you want something else, go through the same process and ask yourself why something is good or bad for the particular goal you have as such self-analysis can only be beneficial.

Good luck with it. If you made it through all that I leave you with this

[Peasant Phill]

@Aceman3818

I forgot to shamelessly promote my own beginners guide found here.

[S0ld13r]

(I know this is an old post, but for those who have trouble with RTS games I always have the same advice.. Hopefully this will help anyone else who's looking for tips on a future Total War rendition.)



For most RTS fans, some small measure of understanding of military tactics is required. In the case of Total War, much more so than usual. If you are consistently having problems, you might want to do some research into historical facts about military units and tactics for the relevant era.

Some pretty general rules of thumb:

Archers typically do well against infantry.
Cavalry typically excel against archers.
Infantry/pikemen typically counter cavalry units.

Keep in mind, this is very definitely not always the case.

When archers and riflemen are attacking on even ground, they will fire straight into the enemy lines. Keep your other units out of the line of fire, or you're creating your own casualties and wasting ammunition. Flanking maneuvers are almost always effective, unless you're against a player who can counter you. Generally, if you're up against AI, the computer won't be making a counter-offensive against a pincer-formation. Cavalry are excellent for flanking the enemy lines; sweep your horsemen in from one or more directions while the enemy is focusing on what is ahead of them, this disrupts their units and quickly breaks morale. Try to focus on leader units, such as generals. Armies break down without someone giving them direction. In any game with a morale system, focusing on this is generally the quickest way to break them down and end the battle with minimal casualties on your end. Sending the enemy running for their lives also leaves you to mop them up and gain easy XP.

Armies which focus on a single group are not necessarily at a disadvantage, as tactics plays a huge roll in military effectiveness. However, having a diverse variety in the make-up of your units allows for tactical flexibility and versatility. Ultimately, it will come down to game mechanics and your playstyle. Experiment, learn what works for you and what doesn't. It's good to get out of your comfort zone, so try a few things you don't normally go for. You might end up with a whole new idea of a winning strategy.