Chosokabe Campaign Guide

[Barsoom]

The Chosokabe are ideal for going Christian. Because Shikoku is an island you will have relatively few worries about invasions while you suppress the unrest that follows on conversion. Nanban trade quarters increase your trading potential from 3 to 5, reducing what is in my opinion the biggest drawback to the Chosokabe starting position.

After conversion you can use Christian missionaries to spread rebellions, opening up opportunities to make landfall while avoiding costly wars. An added advantage is that battles against rebels rarely result in memorable victories, so they don't drive up your fame, allowing you to take an extra province before realm divide. On legendary difficulty, I took all of Shikoku + Kyushu + 3 provinces at the southers end of the mainland + Sado, and I built five legendary buildings, all without triggering RD.

(I use Sado as a base for raids during realm divide. While I take all the provinces in the south for myself after RD, I launch an army from Sado to take vulnerable provinces at the other end of the map and turn them into vassals so I have someone to trade with. Plus it helps to screw up my opponents' economies.)

It is advisable to race to the trade nodes around the southern end of Japan before any others get there. If one gets taken before you can get there, park a ship next to them, then spam their owners with rebellions until they die. Try to take the other two trade nodes in the same way if you can, especially the iron trade in the far north - it is the only resource not available on/around the two southern islands, so if you take it you won't have to depend on others to build whatever you want.

[Steamloller]

Welcome to Steamloller Guide on how to steamroll the map in Shogun 2 with Chosokabe Clan.

Background: Starting in the Shikoku, the smallest of the main islands you are surrounded by weaklings who desperately need to be exterminated. The rich trade spots are nearby. Your clan bonus is extremely powerful giving you lots of money and halving the price of the most potent unit in the game - the archers. You were born to steamroll.

Rush the clans of Shikoku and Awa and kill them on the march. End of fun, enter the boring clicking. Build up start with roads then fleets to secure the trade spots around Kyushu. Then castles, rice fields, other. Lots of boring building, boring tech trees, boring agents.

Here comes a bit of fun. Load two stacks of armies on ships and conquer Kyushu from the south. End of fun. Even more boring building. Block all the sea routes with gargantic fleets. Dominate all of a sea trade. Build insanely powerful kingdom. Make piracy on your enemies’ sea routes. Prepare lots of stacks and invade from Kyushu and Honshu simultaneously. Steamroll the whole map.

Chosokabe is overly powerful clan. It has bonuses that would make 2 other clans superpowers. It has no significant obstacles. It has great starting position. It is no challenge. It is lame. It is boring.

[GuardianPL]

Well, it's hard to disagree with steamloller there, but despite obvious bonuses playing Chosokabe can be a bit tricky sometimes.

In any case (and to improve steamroll experience) I strongly recommend on setting yourselves on taking Kyushu. It's all there - very fertile soil, forge, fletchers and a library/academy site for tech boost. Also horsies and proximity to trade nodes.
The useless Ito province can be vassalized.

Once you're there, with the boost to farms' wealth you're laughing. I've got like 12k/turn playing on Hard now.

Despite its advantages no christianity for me - I'd gladly hang every single one of those self-righteous butchers on tree

[Steamloller]

I would not recommend two things in vanilla Shogun 2:
- converting to Christianity because you don't need it to acquire guns and it ruins your relationships, your trade and slows down the conquest greatly because you have to convert each end every province on your way
- making wassals behind your lines, because they will backstab you (which is btw unrealistic and quite stupid if you ask me)

[Barsoom]

Chosokabe is overly powerful clan. It has bonuses that would make 2 other clans superpowers. It has no significant obstacles. It has great starting position.

Chosokabe's starting position is its main obstacle. Your island position limits you to 3 trade agreements. The farm advantage compensates for that.

I would not recommend two things in vanilla Shogun 2:
- converting to Christianity because you don't need it to acquire guns and it ruins your relationships, your trade and slows down the conquest greatly because you have to convert each end every province on your way.

You can take trade agreements to 4 by building a Nanban trade port, 5 with Nanban quarters. Going Christian makes a huge difference financially because of that. So, Christianity doesn't ruin your trade, it expands trade by 25%.
Nanban trade ships also come in very handy to defend those trade nodes that are on the other side of an island you don't control initially. (Although Kyushu should indeed be your first target of expansion after your home island.)
Christian missionaries are extremely effective. Spread your religion in advance of your conquests, so the newly conquered provinces will already be majority Christian. Incite rebellions along the way so your main opposition will be rebels. You shouldn't even have to fight a proper war before realm divide. (Yes, I know, boring. But very effective.)

[Steamloller]

Chosokabe's starting position is its main obstacle. Your island position limits you to 3 trade agreements. The farm advantage compensates for that.

I believe that good old province bonus like "very rich fields" would do better. Once you win Kyushu your compensation turns into an overwhelming advantage. Let me remind you the most important factor that defines the steamrolling: tough at first, turns easy later. That was not supposed to happen in Shogun2. But it does.

You can take trade agreements to 4 by building a Nanban trade port, 5 with Nanban quarters. Going Christian makes a huge difference financially because of that. So, Christianity doesn't ruin your trade, it expands trade by 25%.

When I turned Christian everyone started to hate me and I have lost all of my trade agreements. Having 3/3 trade agreements is very good, having 0/5 is a ruin.

I agree though that the Christian clan campaign would be cool. That is why I wish there was one major Christian clan and more cool units and bonuses. Cool not over powerful. It is up to modders I guess.

[Barsoom]

Even if you win Kyushu, Chosokabe are still limited to trade from their home island. Any other clan that wins Kyushu will have better trade. Certainly with Kyushu you can make a lot of money from farms, but there's still trade to compensate for.

I've never found diplomatic relations an absolute block on trade before Realm Divide. Even hostile factions will trade if you pay them enough. I don't understand why you got stuck at 0/5.

Yes, steamrolling is still an option. We all game the system by halting before RD, building up economically, then attacking again when we feel strong enough. I've only once played a campaign where RD snuck up on me. (Playing as Hattori, my vassals expanded and I got RD in 1557. I still won but it was really tough due to constant financial crisis.)

[Steamloller]

...and this sure sucks. I'd rather rule over coalition of clans and win through vassalised victory. But I just don't get it why am I supposed to pay homage and give hostages to my vassals? I am their lord, it should be the other way round! So steamroling suits me better in the end.

[renegademoose]

I'm playing with the Chosokabe on legendary and i have the left half of the map and realm divide just kicked in.
Don't expand to quickly once you get on the main land because while its easy to take the unguarded castles you should make you sure your armies are advanced enough to fight everybody. It has become quite difficult

[renegademoose]

i like to steamroll

[homefry]

The enemy attempts to do naval invasions WAY too much. It's just too unnatural and not strategic. They are just coded to do naval invasions no matter the circumstances, which is more terrible than not doing naval invasions.

When RD hits and you own the whole western half of Japan, only the neighboring clans will attack from land. Even if there's only 1 province between you and another clan, that clan will attempt a naval invasion with a weak navy. I've destroyed 10 navies loaded up with units. And they only go for 2 provinces. Either that province on the island with the cavalry charge specialty or your capital.

Just park 2 large navies right near your border. As you move east along the land, your navy will follow along and it becomes way too easy.

[Necromas]

As far as army composition goes, I'm thinking just mass archers (say, 12 in a full stack), pop the general into stand and fight, and protect them with the high defense naginata samurai (and/or cannon fodder ashigaru in the earlier parts), with maybe one or two units of cav. Naginata samurai trained from an armor smith province should be highly resistant to friendly fire too. With that much bow power it should be possible to take most castles just by raining arrows on all the units inside until they all die or try to charge out, where they'll get screwed over by choke points trying to exit.

I think naval invasions are the one difficulty this clan really needs to overcome to succeed, and while they are really easy to deal with if you know what you're doing, they could definitely catch newbies off guard.

[MJWilliams]

Try going for north-eastern Honshu if you're finding Chosokabe boring. Get a couple of provinces on Shikoku (ally with Miyoshi if you don't feel like taking them out) then build a fleet and head for Hitachi (Satake starting area). The craftworks are essential for your bows and there's a wealth of specialist provinces within striking distance (Sagami, Kai, Izu etc). Going for Kyushu is all well and good but I find having two islands to manage and defend gets boring, chasing off endless pirate fleets and constantly worrying about naval landings.

If you head for Hitachi as early as possible you get to mix it up diplomatically and martially with the real big clans, and campaigns on Honshu are always more interesting in my opinion.

[Noif de Bodemloze]

I have conquered whole Island for Chocokabe, but I dont know where I should go next. Go to West and go war with Shoni and Sagara or to Mainland, where is waiting Oda, but not have war with it?

[SgtScooter]

I like to go west to the other island. The islands have many resources and are very easy to defend.

[Spirix]

As a helpful hint, I always go for taking over the initial island as fast as possible and then immediately try and secure the Buzen provence in the top left.

[MrHenry]

First time playing Shogun 2 and it feels so different, yet refreshing and spectacular I'm playing as the Chosokabe right now, ready to take the eastern province of the starting island.

[bin1127]

Played them as my first campaign on normal and close to finishing. A slight hitch because ashikaga aligned the whole japan against me so I have no trading partners and was nickel and diming for a good 20 turns before I wiped kyushu. But Oda is standing right in from of kyoto with 3 stacks lol. You can always count on oda on being a prick.

The lesson is that every campaign will end up as you vs the world in every TW game.

[DeMolay]

I have conquered whole Island for Chocokabe, but I dont know where I should go next. Go to West and go war with Shoni and Sagara or to Mainland, where is waiting Oda, but not have war with it?

Somehow , i always end up deciding to invade Kii or Settsu/Harima after taking Shikoku as going to Kyushu seems more trouble than it is worth

Kii is rich and close to Kyoto , not far from your land so easy to supply with troops from Awa , and it is easy to defend in vanilla shogun since as opposed to FOTS , ships cannot bombard your farms and buildings every turn and armies rarely if at all appear in your rear coming from Ise to Kii along the coastal road

[Fitzjeraldo]

I just finished it on VH for the first time with Chosokabe. It was very easy with my strategy. Take the home island first, recruit assassins and metsuke and leave them to level up, build economy for 100 turns + 3 large armies of sam/ashigaru, then boat them + 2 metsuke and 1 assassin, leaving 2 metsuke and 2 assassins on the home island, and invade kyushu. All home provinces except for one should have a market/sake den+upgrades, and only 1 province with sword school/yari drill yard etc.

During the 100 turns I obviously built up a lot of cash, which I could then use to bribe armies both at home and abroad, although I didn't have 1 single land invasion, I could have just bribed invaders and so didn't have to leave an army there to defend it. The assassins were there to kill any daimyo/heir in case I couldn't bribe them. Then the rest is easy, I fought only maybe 10 big land battles and lost only 1, and made new armies out of what I could bribe.

Newbish tacs I know but I beat it on VH so I'm happy. Commanding the sea is impossible on a higher difficulty level, the AI just recruits tons and tons of stacks, if I had 25% of the boats the AI had I would have been bankrupt so I just stayed out of it mostly.
I am sure the outcome would have been the same if I had chosen legendary, there's not much between them, worlds of difference between the clans however.

Now I just have to beat it on legendary, I might try a strategy of monks inciting revolts to clear a path.