OK I'm no Sun Tzu but I just got my royal Nipponese buttocks handed to me in my first campaign of Shogun 2.
I was playing as the Ikko Ikki and for a few days was doing very well, collected about half of the provinces needed to win.
Then, the campaign AI appeared to get smart. The Oda faction, who I was slapping around, adopted slash and burn tactics and regrouped in their last two provinces where they built up there army, retook all I had taken from them and then began taking my own home provinces. They allied with the Takeda who swooped in from the other end of the map, then the Asai, and I was knocked out of the game by 1555. Shameful display!
But I do love this game. It is deep and elegant and addictive so I am thinking of starting another campaign as the Ikko Ikki again (love the whole warrior monk idea - if I could I would become a jewish one).
So...should I bother reading the manual to get better? I've read that it's crap and I'm not a newcomer to the series. Any other advice? Either way I can see myself playing this game for a long long time. Besides what I mentioned above it's got that certain something, like a good (Japanese) woman.
Thanks all!
I doubt you need to read the manual if you aren't a newcomer. Plus the the tutorials should take care of all the new stuff.
I have yet to complete a full campaign but I'm on my second. In the first I got destroyed after an rival clan landed next to my capital and took it while at the other end of my territory my main army was destroyed after a ninja killed my general. It went downhill from there.
In my current campaign I overextended myself to early in the game and lost a couple territories I took. Now I am fighting the spread of Christianity throughout my territories all while fending off three different nations that have declared war on me. I've lost my entire navy and all my trade routes are being blockaded so I have to be really smart with my money. However, I've got a highly ranked General and a pimped out ninja who can kill just about anyone or sabotage any army.
One thing that has helped me stem the tide is allying myself with two other clans. Every once in a while I see them attack my enemies and for a couple turns it takes the pressure off of me.
Now if only characters wife would have some sons things would be looking up.
^Funny you mention alliances. The Asai were originally my vassal and I was so proud to watch them go rampaging across the map. Until they got wise and kicked my own butt :/
The Ikko Ikki are a bit tougher to play than some of the other clans in that their ashigaru units are piss-weak. I was able to win my campaign with them but it was a very close run thing. Use your monks and try to bribe weak provinces on the flanks of your enemy as much as possible. If you can keep your enemy off balance and moving to put down rebellions, it'll make rolling them up much easier.
Oh yeah, and if you think you've had if rough, wait until you experience the Realm Divide. Just remember, honour is easily forgotten once the spectre of debt rears its head. Learn to pillage and love it or you'll never survive the divide.
You guys are making it hard to hold out buying this title. I still think the original Shogun was the best of the series, probably because I liked the setting.
If the AI is that good, then it's worth a buy.
Still trying to picture Gus as a Jewish Monk Warrior.... :o
No honor eh SDR? I thought it might come down to that. Slick it's unfair to compare the original Shogun (which knocked my socks off) with the newer one...tech has come very far in a decade. The game is simply great...it really captures the imagination and makes me feel Japanesey. Get it!
I do fear the Realm Divide but I didn't get that far, although when I was eliminated there were ~7 big clans left. I am definitely going to play as the Ikko Ikki again because they are bad ass. This time I will use priests and skullduggery a lot more, and LOOT. Let's see where it gets me.
It goes to show how much I am enjoying the game when it beats me to a pulp and I go back to play the same faction again! I rarely do that.
Below is the closest I could find to what I could possibly look like as a jewish/Japanese warrior monk, mainly because he has a dog:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.printsofjapan.com%2Fimages%2FKuniyoshi_halberd_naginata.jpg&hash=7987eef806008c3fbc69fd0db2653e305e0bec6c)
That is so encouraging to hear that the AI was able to regroup and strike back from the death bed it was lying on. I still haven't completed my first game of Shogun 2 and unfortunately it was lost during my recent virus reformat issue. I should fire this game up again.
^Yes, yes you should.
My game sounds similar to SCDJ's in that I totally overextended myself while trying to wipe out the Oda, who were waiting with a nasty surprise in their last province that included some skilled generals, a full stack army and an alliance with the Takeda (who look very badass, btw...got to play them at some point). Damn that fog of war...I gotta get better at skullduggery so I don't get surprised like that again. I also want to use skullduggery in as many posts as possible.
Players really have to stop and think here because it looks like the AI has learned how to stop and think for a bit.
Awesome, I'll re-install it on my Steam account tonight then! You should try to get some more ninja's to wander the land and spy on people.
And the only Skull Duggery I know is this:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.wikia.com%2Fspeedracer%2Fimages%2Fa%2Fa1%2FSkull_Duggery.png&hash=499c9b7a031b4cc84e6f7c8880fc0d32a5ac0c32)
You tell me where he came from and I'll let you beat me in every game we play together. No fair peeking at the image link address either!
I'm not peeking. He looks to be from Speed Racer. The original.
My plan is to be a sneaky rat bastard in the next game and see where it takes me. I didn't want to rape, loot and pillage as it didn't seem right that the warrior monk faction would do that but now...WHATEVS.
^You are correct sir. That is Skull Duggery, a chap Speed had to beat in one of the episodes. Of course Skull raced to win whatever it took and if it meant skullduggery then it meant skullduggery. Hence his name.
Ok back on topic. No need to rape and pillage using your espionage units. Just do your recon but when war does break out then even as a bunch of monks, I still think it's ok to rape, burn, and pillage. :)
^I'm going to quote you there. And when I am taken up on war crimes charges I'll tell the tribunal I was just following your order.
I accept all responsibility for your actions my good man. I have committed so many computer game atrocities it's embarrassing but it was only against the ai opponents. I would never act like a beast against a human. :D
Remember, "Life is the emperor's currency. Spend it well."
When you go all Warhammer I can't help myself. Hopefully that will be enough of a reason for the tribunal. Time to slaughter some peasants.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishvirtuallibrary.org%2Fimages%2Fnuremberg_defendants.jpg&hash=fd2ff515d7e9b285f5a1b48e8926e7a9d3f5f0c9)
Quote from: Gusington on February 17, 2012, 10:40:12 AM
Slick it's unfair to compare the original Shogun (which knocked my socks off) with the newer one...tech has come very far in a decade. The game is simply great...it really captures the imagination and makes me feel Japanesey. Get it!
No silly man, I wasn't comparing Shogun I to Shogun 2. I was merely saying that out of all the TW games I've purchased, the only one that blew my doors off was Shogun I.
I'll have to pull the trigger on Shogun 2 during the next sale.
Between Gus' OP and a friend of mine from another forum applying persistent (yet gentle) pressure, it's becoming awfully hard to resist getting this. I just wish so badly that it didn't require Steam.
Of course, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride...
Quote from: Gusington on February 17, 2012, 12:00:13 PM
When you go all Warhammer I can't help myself. Hopefully that will be enough of a reason for the tribunal. Time to slaughter some peasants.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishvirtuallibrary.org%2Fimages%2Fnuremberg_defendants.jpg&hash=fd2ff515d7e9b285f5a1b48e8926e7a9d3f5f0c9)
You're on fire today Gus! You recognized my Speed Racer reference and my Warhammer reference. The world, suddenly, seems right again.
What can I say, we're all brothers here and [mostly] on the same wavelength!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 16, 2012, 10:54:26 PM
The Ikko Ikki are a bit tougher to play than some of the other clans in that their ashigaru units are piss-weak. I was able to win my campaign with them but it was a very close run thing. Use your monks and try to bribe weak provinces on the flanks of your enemy as much as possible. If you can keep your enemy off balance and moving to put down rebellions, it'll make rolling them up much easier.
Oh yeah, and if you think you've had if rough, wait until you experience the Realm Divide. Just remember, honour is easily forgotten once the spectre of debt rears its head. Learn to pillage and love it or you'll never survive the divide.
What is the Realm Divide you speak of. I haven't heard of it. It sounds menacing.
^I've only read about it so far, but once the player reaches a certain level of power, the rest of the clans unite against him. Carnage ensues. Beware!
Quote from: Gusington on February 17, 2012, 07:14:24 PM
^I've only read about it so far, but once the player reaches a certain level of power, the rest of the clans unite against him. Carnage ensues. Beware!
That can't be good.
Yes, realm Divide is nasty, especially if you aren't prepared for it. With the default version, every other clan in the game will eventually declare war on you as you get hit with a massive jolt to your relationship status and it keeps dropping by -4 every turn after that.
My adivce is to grab one of the realm divide mods from twcentre.net. The one I use still hammers you with the massive initial penalty, but doesn't add in the -4/turn after that. That way, if you made some strong alliances prior to the divide, it's possible your friends will stick by you. (The Date stayed allied with me when I won as the Takeda. The buggers backstabbed me when I won as the Ikko-Ikki though.)
The other adivce I'd give is to watch the progress bar that shows the level of interest the Shogunate has in you. When it fills, that's when the divide hits. I'd position armies around Kyoto just prior to that and grab it as the territory that'll drive you over the edge into Divide. Better to be the Shogun than fight the Shogun if everyone's going to come after you anyway.
The other sucky thing about the Divide is that you lose all of your trade when everyone declares war on you. That's why I recommend pillaging captured cities and taking the honour hit. It's the only way to maintain a positive cash flow. Besides you take an honour hit every time your clan declares bankruptcy and everyone's hostile towards you anyway, so there's no real downside to doing so. (Except if may piss off your few remaining allies if you do install one of the mods.)
Gus, use your monks to incite rebellion in other provinces. Don't waste cash trying anything else with them. It's best to park them in the target province and leave them there for a bit in order to convert the place to the Ikki sect. Even if your attempt to incite a revolt fails, it'll still make the place more likely to rebel later.
If you find that you're getting steamrolled by the AI, try creating a buffer zone by purposely causing a rebellion in one of your own provinces. Pull all your forces out and, if necessary, burn a few buildings like temples to get the locals all riled up. The enemy clan will have to deal with the peasant revolt army to get to you and they'll hopefully get banged up in the process, allowing you to counter-attack just after they've depleted themselves taking the rebel province.
^You my friend sound like a true Sun Tzu educated strategist. Impressive. Definitely not a shameful display.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on February 17, 2012, 01:24:21 PM
I'll have to pull the trigger on Shogun 2 during the next sale.
But didn't you hate Steam?
Anyway the Ikko-Ikki succumbed to the Oda in real life anyway.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on February 17, 2012, 10:29:10 AM
You guys are making it hard to hold out buying this title. I still think the original Shogun was the best of the series, probably because I liked the setting.
If the AI is that good, then it's worth a buy.
Still trying to picture Gus as a Jewish Monk Warrior.... :o
I know a small Jewish warrior monk. He can kick ass at lightning speed. Not quite a monk literally but very much the same.
If its your first run through try starting from the small southern islands. Samurai or bow advantage.
OK so my 2nd attempt at playing the Ikko Ikki is going better as the Oda have a ton of their own problems to deal with, I am using my agents more effectively (claimed Shimosa through skullduggery), I have eliminated the Takeda, etc. But I have made a new enemy in the Satsuke (sp?) and they have at least two huge armies. We are fighting a war of attrition in the northern part of the map. It's a see saw battle. In the meantime I am boosting my trade and attempting to get warrior monk capability as soon as possible...it feels like it takes forever to get the infrastructure in place to produce a good number of monks. I'm feeling once my armies are boosted with them, that will be a game turner.
I was a little disappointed with the warrior monks that the Ikko get. They are great on attack but very weak on defense and tend to get shredded by enemy archers. They've also got fairly small unit sizes sovthey get rendered ineffective easily. I prefered to build an armourer and churn out lots of ashigaru and archers instead. I'd but a few monks in my army but hold them in the 3rd rank and use then to charge only when the enemy was weakened or threatening to overwhelm me.
Disappointing eh? I agree they are great as offensive troops. I use them as 'storm troops.' I also tried grenade troops for the first time last night and they are great for lowering morale and breaking up units, especially rebels. If I can smash the Satsuke then I have a good chance of taking on the reigning Shogunate. I am moving an additional army towards their territory now to smash them [hopefully].
Speaking of which, I watched the Shogun go into action for the first time last night also. I can't remember who they went after but they laid down the smackdown on a clan bordering them.
My 'prominence' has also gone up another level, which I look at basically as a Countdown to Destruction. Really enjoying a lot of the new mechanics in Shogun 2. It seems all of the hype last year that it is the best TW game so far is true. Can't wait for Fall of the Samurai.
I know the AI in
Shogun 2 gets roundly praised, but can anyone comment specifically on how the AI handles diplomacy? Does it know when it's beaten and subsequently sue for peace? And on the flip side, does it know when it has the advantage and subsequently declares war on you (or another clan)?
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 24, 2012, 03:06:58 AM
I was a little disappointed with the warrior monks that the Ikko get. They are great on attack but very weak on defense and tend to get shredded by enemy archers.
In fairness, WM's were vulnerable to arrows in the original STW as well. Just sayin'.
I think diplomacy is decent enough.
From what I've seen so far it appears the AI can recognize strength on the other side of the border and act what a human would recognize as logically. I also haven't had any AI factions lose their mind and go all willy nilly crazy as happens in some TW games.
Quote from: Gusington on February 24, 2012, 10:11:41 AM
Disappointing eh? I agree they are great as offensive troops. I use them as 'storm troops.' I also tried grenade troops for the first time last night and they are great for lowering morale and breaking up units, especially rebels. If I can smash the Satsuke then I have a good chance of taking on the reigning Shogunate. I am moving an additional army towards their territory now to smash them [hopefully].
I guess disappointing isn't the right word. For me, the monk units don't deliver a good enough return on investment. They cost a fair whack of both time and money to produce, cost more in upkeep, and require you to build dedicated structures in order to gain access to them. It also takes a lot longer to refill their ranks after a battle compared to the cheaper yari ashigaru units.
I tend to play a rather defensive style tactically and I find I can win most battles by walking a massive spear wall of armored yari ashigaru with a buttload of archers behind them. The archers do a good job of either weakening the enemy melee units, taking out enemy archers, or goading the AI into attacking the spear walls.
I find them disappointing. Monk troops should be far more highly trained than other troops. They should have more advantage in attack, avoidance and hit points. Turning blows into near misses or glancing blows should show up in hit points based on a set weapon damage rate.
I don't know. That sounds like it's getting a liitle too fantastical for my tastes. Like you're talking a unit of a hundred Grasshoppers that all look like David Carradine (pre auto erotic incident).
I think the devs have struck a decent balance between historical accuracy and playability. Militant monks were fanatics who relied on their faith (shown as very high morale and charge bonus) who'd spend weeks before battle conducting elaborate curse rituals (shown in game as an enemy morale lowering war cry.). They were lightly armoured (weak defence rating).
I'd like to see either larger default unit sizes or a lowered recruitment cost (and better speed and endurance on the battlefield to defect thelack of armour.). Other than that, I think they're portrayed well.
Didn't get a chance to play last night but should be able to get some time in today and try and take out the Satsuke.
I think I like the whole idea of a warrior monk. Just add some extra armor. And of course now my standard question: can anyone recommend a good, non-Osprey book on Japanese warrior monks? There are tons on the samurai. Monks, not so much.
Don't know of any offhand. I did read a couple of books on the end of the Hojo Shogunate in Kamakura when emperor Go Dai Go wiped them out. There were quite a few warrior monks defending the Hojo clan in the gorge battle. Some good info there. If you have the NatGeo channel, look for a program called Warrior Graveyard (a bit like Deadliest Warrior except not geared for drooling retards). They did an episode about Samurai and had some warrior monks featured.
I think the only book I have on Sohei is Osprey. It's good, but brief.
However, looking over Amazon turned up a couple. The hardbound version of this is running just under $1000 so I suspect it's not too shabby. Paperpacks are a much more modest $23 or so: The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sohei in Japanese History
^Now we're talking. Thanks for the show recommendations too SDR.
OT - Jim you seem to have lost weight judging from your new avatar pic!
You're so thoughtful, Gus. Yes, I've been working out.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 25, 2012, 08:22:00 AM
I don't know. That sounds like it's getting a liitle too fantastical for my tastes. Like you're talking a unit of a hundred Grasshoppers that all look like David Carradine (pre auto erotic incident).
I think the devs have struck a decent balance between historical accuracy and playability. Militant monks were fanatics who relied on their faith (shown as very high morale and charge bonus) who'd spend weeks before battle conducting elaborate curse rituals (shown in game as an enemy morale lowering war cry.). They were lightly armoured (weak defence rating).
I'd like to see either larger default unit sizes or a lowered recruitment cost (and better speed and endurance on the battlefield to defect thelack of armour.). Other than that, I think they're portrayed well.
You might be right. I was thinking a warrior monk has probably 10 years daily training from a young age vs a regular army fodder < 1yr. Who knows.
Quote from: LongBlade on February 25, 2012, 12:56:16 PM
The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sohei in Japanese History
Looks interesting, added to wishlist (my shoppinglist)
Ikko Ikki is as far as i can recall the only campaign i've completed since Mtw....Loved the mechanics. Regarding troops, when you need the extra oomph yari sam seem to be the best for the koku invested.
Both starting areas for icky Ikko should of course be used and abused. The right area with iron should spit out kitted out ashugari and the capital with the archer bonus makes even the craptastic Ikko Ikki bow ashugari decent, imagine the sam and monk archers from that site.
^Hey look who it is. Welcome Fetrik!
Still slogging through the Ikko Ikki campaign, slowly expanding but it's a rough road.
BTW I have just finished a mini AAR for it and it should be published here kinda sorta soon.
Ty Gus. Your welcome just made a warm and wet stain in my pants... :P
:o
Oh, do tell? I guess i shouldn't ask but aside from the bad forum software i like WG. I assume there are other reasons but i shall try to stick, or be sticky wherever great games are discussed.
There are various threads around here in different forums that give the whole sordid history.
Kk... I was clicking around earlier but got stuck in the lingerie subforum... :-[
That's how we lost grandma.
^You mean that's how we found Grandma. Right?
Quote from: Fetrik on February 27, 2012, 02:12:24 PM
Oh, do tell? I guess i shouldn't ask but aside from the bad forum software i like WG. I assume there are other reasons but i shall try to stick, or be sticky wherever great games are discussed.
Lots of reasons, but the bottom line is we wanted to be the folks we could yell at in case the software didn't work. Which is both good and bad, as you might imagine ;)
I imagine a lot.. ;D
But enough derailing the thread. :-X
No worries - we don't worry too much about thread topic discipline here.
And welcome!
Thank you LB. Looking forward to reading your posts which i used to do long before i joined WG. If i remember correctly you screened new members so i never applied. lol
Quote from: Fetrik on February 27, 2012, 04:02:32 PM
Thank you LB. Looking forward to reading your posts which i used to do long before i joined WG. If i remember correctly you screened new members so i never applied. lol
Well, I screened forum applicants only to keep the spammers out. Everyone was let in so long as they looked like they had a real email address and name. It's when you got sadfjsdiron@spammerhellhole.cn that I knew I had a problem ;)
In any case, I'm glad you survived our initiation. And thanks for the kind words. We hope to provide many years of happy wargaming discussion.
So...I was beginning to feel my druthers and was beginning some serious expansion through central Japan when suddenly clans that declared war on me 5 years before finally woke up and went on then offensive. I lost three provinces tonight! Also took three Oda provinces. So I'm even. And I started looting. Things are getting ugly. Perhaps I was not meant to rule as a warrior monk. Any one have any suggestions for other clans to play?
Here's a basic but interesting article about the Sohei.
http://jp.learnoutlive.com/the-sohei/
Basically it says they took arms to protect themselves from bandits, samurai and other rival monks.
Also if they did not take arms to protect themselves, buddhism won't be as dominant in Japan as toady. Their growth and influence will be curtailed easily if they kept a pacifist stance.
Modern day Sohei fanboys (and girls):
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjp.learnoutlive.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F01%2Fsohei2.jpg&hash=7e1c7c5b48e8cff4f91320cb800f34372eb2c56d)
Quote from: jomni on February 28, 2012, 12:16:55 AM
Here's a basic but interesting article about the Sohei.
http://jp.learnoutlive.com/the-sohei/
Basically it says they took arms to protect themselves from bandits, samurai and other rival monks.
Also if they did not take arms to protect themselves, buddhism won't be as dominant in Japan as toady. Their growth and influence will be curtailed easily if they kept a pacifist stance.
Modern day Sohei fanboys (and girls):
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjp.learnoutlive.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F01%2Fsohei2.jpg&hash=7e1c7c5b48e8cff4f91320cb800f34372eb2c56d)
The guy on the far left (in blue) looks a bit like a friend of mine. But the odds are against it. He's likely older.
The guy on the left is me actually.
So now with almost the entire board arrayed against me I am thinking my game will end again in defeat. The Ikko Ikki may just not be for me.
Any suggestions on other clans you guys like playing as? I think I am going to establish a rule that I won't let myself purchase Fall of the Samurai until I win my first campaign in the original game.
Quote from: Gusington on February 28, 2012, 11:33:41 AM
The guy on the left is me actually.
Maybe you can teach me how to use a naginata sometime. I doubt my shoulders have much stamina, but I'd still enjoy learning, even if it kills me.
^I'll consider it once someone can tutor me on not getting my buttocks kicked in this game on non-sissy levels. The game is fierce!
Which reminds me, I have not had a successful campaign yet in Shogun 2. Also I have the Rise of the Samurai add-on and haven't played that scenario. And now Fall of the Samurai is coming.
I think I will start a Rise of the Samurai campaign, then play the main Sengoku Jidai campaign, thenFall of the Samurai. Makes a nice series. :)
^Me neither. Although on my current Ikko Ikki campaign I have lasted much longer than I did in my previous one, I am still about to lose. I have no allies and I am being raked across the coals by the Uesegi, the Satake and the Honma...of all clans no one ever suspects the Honma!
But I am in love with the mechanics and polish of this game and will definitely be coming back for more. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and choose an 'easy' campaign, as embarrassing as that is. I should probably embrace 'the way of the turtle' like I usually do also, and build, build, build until I have no choice but to fight.
Turtling is usually my style as well but that just doesn't work well with the Ikko-Ikki. You've got to be willing to take big losses and just keep pushing.
EDIT: I'd recommend trying out the Hojo clan if you want to play defensively. I found that campaign to be the easiest to win thus far. Cheap castles and defensive bonuses should suit you just fine.
^Thanks SDR.
Well it seems I have the whole "take losses" dynamic down. I thought last night that I was at the end, as I have the Uesegi, the Honma, and the Satake all smacking me around real good. I think I am down to three provinces, all of which are now rebelling, and every infrastructure facility I own is on fire. Not looking good.
That said the rebel troops are of poor quality and I slaughter them at every opportunity. The year is 1560...not sure that even if I survive this onslaught that I could reach my campaign objectives by 1575.
The game rocks though. It gives such cultural detail that it is impossible to not be totally immersed. Looks like my next choice in clan may be the Hojo as SDR recommends as I almost took them as my first campaign clan. Also looking at the Hattori (ninja) clan and the Takeda, but the Takeda are listed as 'Hard' difficulty.
I love the whole idea of the warrior monk so I was psyched to take over Japan as Ikko Ikki. But the game had other ideas :) Maybe I'll come back to them when I have improved.
Hey Gus. In my first campaign I had good luck with the Shimazu clan. They're close to the trade ports and get a spear troop bonus, very important early on. The only neighboring clans are the Sugara-- allied, and Ito that are at war with you. In my campaign, I beat the Ito & made them vassals then my allies the Sugara declared war on the Ouchi clan to the north. I honored the alliance & went to war with Ouchi, then the Sugara dropped out of the war and 2 turns later declared war on me. After my army was way up north fighting the Ouchi. Was it an AI thing or did those devious bastards set me up? Any game that can think more evilily than me scares me.
^I know! By far the best AI of the series. In my current game it is not as advanced...it's just pummeling me into submission.
Oda is ez mode if you survive the first two turns.
Two turns??
Yeah, you get assualted from both south and north. Been ages since i played but it's something like this. Kill rebels with 2/3rds of your army or they'll retreat. Go back to castle kill south fellas (forget name), strike north take provice then go back south and take all Imagawa lands.
Next step is either defend against Takeda or join them wile killing Ikko Ikki (ebil bad religion).
Sorry wrintgv this while sipping whiskey and cooking. :P
^I knew I liked you. It also sounds like you have been driving the AI in my current game.
Oh!!
What makes Oda is easy is of course their superior ashigaru.
Quote from: Gusington on February 29, 2012, 01:35:23 PM
^I knew I liked you. It also sounds like you have been driving the AI in my current game.
Haha! I knew practising on the Dominion 3 demo would pay off.
Do the Oda get a discount on those Ashigaru?
I think both cheaper and better.
Really? I'll need to research my clan choice better then, after my imminent annihilation as the Ikko Ikki.
In most cases you have to expand early. But as the Ikko i started building infrastructure. Defended vs the guy to the left and staying friendly with the guy to the right while building a huge fortress and upgrading the smith there. Then i struck south, after allying with Oda. Of course as Oda Ikky must die due to the religion dif.
^I did do that and lasted til ~1560. Too many little clans got killed off and because of the religious difference I became public enemy number one. The difficulty for the clan should probably be labeled 'Hard' because of the religious difference.
I was almost certain Ikko was labeled as difficult? heh.. Ahwell like i said earlier they're the only one i been interested enough in to finish a campaign.
For the people looking for a challenge. I was watching a few turns on a lp with Trom (The rights of man). Looked super hard and very fun.
Hmm maybe you're right...wouldn't that be a hoot...that I've been playing a 'hard' campaign this whole time without even knowing it.
OK so I'm at ~1565...I have about 40 turns left and after almost being snuffed out, I am on a tear.
I'm basically taking back everything that was taken from me and crushing the Satsume (?) clan that took it from me. But beyond that I know I cannot win, as the Oda are dominant with about 22 regions.
So on the one hand I am happy that my skill level increased and I wasn't snuffed out immediately like I was in my very first campaign. I am also annoyed that I can only act as a spoiler now to bigger clans. It would take a titanic effort with only one truly skilled general to achieve victory conditions by 1575.
Also haven't hit the Realm Divide event as I don't have enough provinces. I probably would if I took back absolutely everything and then took the provinces that are now rebel after seeing the Ikko Ikki kicked out.
It took time but I am finally getting the building dynamic, what is required to build what, how to balance expenses, etc. In this way Shogun 2 is by far the most demanding game of the series. No longer can a player just rely on utilizing game exploits to win while ignoring finances and citizens' happiness. The game demands you stop, think and plan.
With a defeat as the Ikko imminent, I'll need to research what other clans will fit my fondness for turtling. I know some of you guys mentioned a few above. I also don't agree with people that every faction is basically the same...the differences are more subtle than in other total war games but they are there.
With almost 40 hours in (but without a victory yet) I can confidently say that this is now my new favorite game. Not my favorite Total War game (mainly because of nostalgia) but it is excellent in every way. My once floundering hopes for the series are renewed!
Game's really been giving me trouble lately.
I decided to go back and finish my Rise of the Samurai campaign. I played for a few hours early in the day and then went off to do stuff. Fired the game up again in the evening and found that I couldn't load my campaign. All my DLC had disappeared.
I fired up Steam and verified the game cache. I'd somehow lost 10 game files which Steam redownloaded. I fired up the game again, but my DLC stuff was still gone. rebooted, verified cache again and this time the game worked. I played for a couple of hours and the same thing happened again the next day when I tried starting up the game. Went through the same process and found I could play, but after I'd grabbed about 20 provinces and was really on a roll, the game started locking up on me when I ended my turn. I tried going back to a prior save game, but the game crashes once it tries to process the Kaizoku pirates turn. Bloody annoying!
Quote from: Gusington on March 06, 2012, 01:52:14 PM
OK so I'm at ~1565...I have about 40 turns left and after almost being snuffed out, I am on a tear.
I'm basically taking back everything that was taken from me and crushing the Satsume (?) clan that took it from me. But beyond that I know I cannot win, as the Oda are dominant with about 22 regions.
So on the one hand I am happy that my skill level increased and I wasn't snuffed out immediately like I was in my very first campaign. I am also annoyed that I can only act as a spoiler now to bigger clans. It would take a titanic effort with only one truly skilled general to achieve victory conditions by 1575.
Also haven't hit the Realm Divide event as I don't have enough provinces. I probably would if I took back absolutely everything and then took the provinces that are now rebel after seeing the Ikko Ikki kicked out.
It took time but I am finally getting the building dynamic, what is required to build what, how to balance expenses, etc. In this way Shogun 2 is by far the most demanding game of the series. No longer can a player just rely on utilizing game exploits to win while ignoring finances and citizens' happiness. The game demands you stop, think and plan.
With a defeat as the Ikko imminent, I'll need to research what other clans will fit my fondness for turtling. I know some of you guys mentioned a few above. I also don't agree with people that every faction is basically the same...the differences are more subtle than in other total war games but they are there.
With almost 40 hours in (but without a victory yet) I can confidently say that this is now my new favorite game. Not my favorite Total War game (mainly because of nostalgia) but it is excellent in every way. My once floundering hopes for the series are renewed!
Thanks,
Gus. Or should I say "curse you"? :P
Between
Shogun 2, the release of
Legends of Pegasus later this year, and wanting a boxed copy of
Crusader Kings 2, I'm seriously starting to realize I may have no choice but to become a Steam whore.
Damn them.
^Shameful display! However it you've waited this long maybe it's smarter to wait for the S2 Ultimate Edition with Rise of the Samurai, Fall of the Samurai, the main game and all the DLC that is bound to be released in three months?
SDR that's weird. I am biting my tongue here, kinda like everyone does when a pitcher is on a roll with a no-hitter. But needless to say my tech problems with S2 have been minimal.