Shogun II - where to start

[Gusington]

Oh good. Looks like my current thrashing will have prepared me well. In general I am better at games with melee combat and have more difficulty with ranged.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

The difficulty comes more on the strategic map than in the tactical battles.  I guess it depends on your playing style.  I tend to turtle in my fortifications and keep my units somewhat dispersed between provinces and then use interior roads to concentrate a large force and strike.  That's much more difficult in ROTS as most provinces don't start with a castle.  On the tactical map, your defence is on a hilltop with a few buildings with some fences but no walls so there's no real advantage to the defenders.

The roads between each province start as unimproved dirt tracks so armies move very slowly.  There is also a lot more forest cover so ambushes are more frequent.  Add in small economies so you never have enough money and the return of the dreaded Realm Divide and it's a whole new ball game.

[Gusington]

The strategic map, at least for me playing for the Shogun in Fall of the Samurai, is key for me losing this campaign as well. From the very beginning the Emperor had an advantage in numbers and I was surrounded by enemies. I think I only had 10 turns or so when I was not in a constant state of war. I hold my own defensively but never could mount an effective offense against 4-5 enemy clans at a time. Then I got angry and started looting the few provinces I could take for a cool 20k-30k, but that would lower my rep and everyone who hated me despised me even more. There was no winning.

So now I am down to one heavily defended province. The last few turns will be like a Japanese steampunk version of the movie Downfall. Just need Bruno Ganz to lose his mind and I'll be set :/

[Sir Slash]

SDR's right about ROTS. Armies move so slowly that if you let an enemy get past you, you're screwed. Moving by ship is faster, but if you don't have naval superiority, you're screwed. The very limited type of ships means naval battles are all about numbers and if you don't start early enough you have to play catch-up which can get very expensive and with a limited economy can suck-up all your funds. Better keep some old save games just in case.