The Shimazu Campaign Guide

[A$TAR-519]

Thank you for checking out this post and please leave some ideas or tips for me.

I'm currently on my 2nd campaign as the Shimazu and I've been building a super Economy whilst carefully picking my fights. I've already taken over both of the islands and control 3 of the trade nodes (2 incense & 1 silk). And I've upgraded all my farms & have been using my metsukes to over-watch my most profitable towns. Currently I'm faced with a dilemma of where to attack next. I am currently allied with Mori with +158 relationship and I am also very friendly Date with +130 relationship. Should I cancel my alliance with Mori and prepare for war with them? Or should I land a stack of army elsewhere?

Please let me know of your thoughts and or suggestions. All inputs are welcome! Thank you all for your time and attention towards this post~

Sincerely
Tian

[AnonMilwaukean]

My advice is to try and obtain more info.

Use Ninja to try and see what the armies of the two (Mori and Date) are like, and try and think about which will give you more trouble.

And since you are on good terms with them, sail close to where you think their navies would be and figure out exactly where they are and how strong.

Lastly, try and consider which one would be a greater threat to your economy... if one has a much better navy than the other, that might be the side to avoid since you do already have 3 trade nodes going and don't want to have to guard them with big navies of your own.

That's all I got.

[ScottishAdam]

That is some serious cash you are generating there. Is this on easy? I would continue my friendship and alliance with those 2 clans and send a large naval force with a huge army to another part of japan. Not sure what the tactical advantage would be with this method but it would be fun to turn up on unfamilar shores with a very powerful army. That would show those clans who is boss

[A$TAR-519]

Thanks for the tip, and I do agree that I shall spy more and gather more information before making my strike.

[A$TAR-519]

I'm currently playing on Normal/Normal, I never play easy

I'm thinking of landing some full stacks to the east of the 2nd island and begin conquering there, because the clan there is weak with only 2 province. I'll split the country in half and use my navy to transport units that I am building on the main island. I've specialized all the cities to building specific unit types whilst upgrading all my farm, port, and road with good trade relations to mostly all of the clans which is why my income is very high. Thank you for your input and thoughts

[roxunreal]

I still consider myself somewhat new to the game, having only played through the Uesugi campaign on Normal difficulty (which I completed in my third try). I then tried Hattori on hard but after failing three times within the opening 10-ish turns, I thought I'd try something easier on Hard difficulty, and the choice was Shimazu.

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Our expansion commenced by swiftly conquering Osumi, Hyuga and Bungo. Shoni and Sagara clans then allied against us and started a war. We managed to destroy Shoni's attacking force and pressure them into a peace treaty. Having secured our north flank, we dealt with the Sagara, though it was a close gamble - not the fight itself but the strategy/army movement, by moving our army from Bungo we managed to draw them to go for it rather than our capital Satsuma which was largely defenseless. They could not reach all the way to Bungo in a single turn, but we could get our army back into it before them, once they took the bait. They attacked, got repelled, and were bribed and destroyed a turn later. We build up several units to leave garrisoned in this pesky place while we crossed over into Higo with the bulk of our army and took it for ourselves, driving what remained of the Sagara snakes into the sea to be lost in history.

We used our first period of peace to build up more forces to later invade northern Kyushu. This invasion came sooner than anticipated as we saw Mori expanding more and more westwards. Coming into conflict with the Mori was not an option as our relations with them were good and we planned to use them as an ally. Having built up around half a stack of our splendid Shimazu Katana samurai, we promptly invaded Shoni and soon found entire Kyushu rightfully under our control, apart from Buzen which the Mori already expanded into before us. We then allied with the Mori, an alliance which would last for many years. With entire Chugoku being crossed off our worry list for some time, we focused on Shikoku, as Chosokabe thought it would be a good idea to declare war on us. Due to their poor strategy, we outmaneuvered them and managed to snatch all their lands from under them without even having to fight the bulk of their army, which was somewhere in the western forests of Tosa province when we captured their last city. We were moving around Shikoku with our armies too fast without consolidating, so we had two rebellions to fight off, as well as defeating Miyoshi clan which was Chosokabe's ally. We cornered Miyoshi on Awaji island and made them our vassal, which they would remain for decades with a few brief interruptions that were promptly rectified on our part. During the Shikoku campaign we also got a hold of no less than ALL the foreign trade nodes, even the one on Hokkaido which was for some reason unoccupied. We only had to fight for one or two north of Kyushu which were occupied by Miyoshi and another clan we were at war with but which never made it to our borders before Mori destroyed them.

Having Kyushu and Shikoku under our control, we decided to wall ourselves in for the time being and develop. A period of internal strife followed as we converted the clan to Christianity. We were also developing the arts, going down the sword skill line of Bushido and down all lines of Chi arts, giving priority to the economic/farming lines, but also to religious and shinobi lines. After several years passed most of the clan was converted. Mori broke our alliance, which came at about the right time as the next thing we did was have the three armies we built up invade Mori on three fronts. Among these were our elite Katana samurai forces from Satsuma with improved armor and training. Our first army crossed over at Buzen, the other two landed from Shikoku to Bingo and Bizen. We saw Mori crumble in shock as we snatched their cities from under their feet and then watched their armies break apart on their own walls manned by our men. Mori soon requested a peace treaty, but we ignored their pleas until the crown jewel of Chugoku was under the Shimazu flag - Iwami, with its gold mine. By the time we negotiated a deal to end the war - for which we also extorted a lovely payment - Buzen, Nagato, Suo, Iwami, Aki, Bingo, Bitchu and Bizen became lands of the Shimazu, effectively enlarging our domain by a third.

As a period of relative calm ensured, we focused on converting our new holdings to Christianity, and fought two more defensive wars with Mori, as well as rampant Wako piracy. We developed the Namban quarter in Bungo and started building Namban trade ships, the power of which was rarely contested and only once ever defeated (a single damaged Namban ship by a large Mori fleet with cannon bune included). The Mori were never much of a threat and repelling them was relatively easy. Their lands diminished to a pathetic non-entity compared to their former selves, and after the last war we watched them struggle for their very existence against the Hatakeyama and Oda. Meanwhile, we had other more daring plans. We sent an army on an epic voyage far to the north west, and landed on Sado island. Defeating the resident Honma lords, we now controlled two out of Japan's three strategic gold mines. Having already upgraded all our farms, markets and criminal syndicates, a time of plenty ensured, during which our seasonal income at times went up to 9000 koku. It was during this time that we built a legendary kenjutsu school in Bizen, a Mizu Shobai district in Sanuki, upgraded a lot of towns into strongholds and castles, and built many churches to speed up Chi research. This was our golden age of prosperity during which we amassed over 80,000 koku, but a period of unprecedented darkness and suffering loomed on the horizon.

Mori declared war again, having managed to rise up from their crippled state, obliterate Hatakeyama and expand greatly into the Kansai region. Still, the Mori were no big threat on their own, few have not lost count of how many of their daimyos met their end at the hands of our shinobi and geisha. However, even from the onset of our expansion, most of Japan hated us in their envy for our progress, Mori being our only real friend, but those days were long past. The once-largest Oda clan perished from existence between the Mori and Takeda, and further in the east, Hojo expelled the Date from Honshu. Ikko Ikki disappeared before we even had the time to notice them. Whispers in the wind gossiped about an imminent Takeda attack as well. Time was ripe for preemptive endeavors, but our initiative came later than needed. Takeda landed by ship at Iwami, and Hojo allied with them and declared war. Soon enough Takeda's invading army turned to ash and pieces of their fleets littered Honshu's northern shorelines. In a risky move, a great Shimazu army of thirty units, half of them samurai bowmen, landed on Izu peninsula in a surprise attack. In one swift and precise move, we managed to tear out the beating heart of the massive Hojo domain, and put under our control the last remaining gold mine on Honshu that was beyond our grasp. But Hojo will be coming for its heart....

The Shogun managed to rally all the remaining clans against us. In reality that meant little, as the only one which was not in open war against us was Miyoshi. They too soon declared war, but still remained on their island with their pitiful 30 ashigaru units, while one of our armies composed of naginata samurai and experienced yari ashigaru stood guard on the other side of the strait from Awaji. Meanwhile all out chaos and carnage dominated in west Kansai. Innumerable battles between the Shimazu on one side and the Mori, Takeda and Hojo on the other side raged across Izumo, Hoki, Mimasaka, Harima and Settsu, and rebellions followed in their wake. The two opposing sides were very evenly matched, Shimazu just barely commanding victories in battles, but with massive losses, units sometimes losing more than half their men, and armies losing up to a third of their entire less-elite units. Some great battles to be remembered for all times were fought, such as one where two units of katana samurai, one unit of yari samurai and a small but godlike katana hero unit held a tiny but steep hill in defense from an attacking stack and a half large Hojo/Takeda army. But the Hojo army were already battle worn remnants of whole units, and Takeda's army was in large part an ashigaru and bow samurai one. We managed to completely lose the katana cavalry units charging into the back and shattering our enemies forces that tired to take the hill from our few brave men, but in the end the aggressors were broken and routed like the cowards that they are.

Takeda landed another army beyond our lines, this time at Nagato, which it conquered. One of our top armies chased them down and finally cornered and destroyed them at Suo, before departing east to the front line where they were greatly needed.

The defense of Izu was another matter. Swarms of enemy agents converged on it and in time dispatched the three agents attached to our forces there, and afterwards continuously harassed and crippled our forces. Two large Hojo armies broke on Izu's walls, showered by death from numerable and some of the finest samurai bowmen in Japan defending it. However, the third time no less than FOUR combined Hojo/Takeda armies arrived. They had over 7000 men arriving in an endless stream of reinforcements and were also very heavy on bowmen. We had a dozen bow samurai units and a few katana and naginata units, and they were under full capacity, not having the time to fully replenish their losses. After what was by far the most massive battle on record, over two thirds of the invading forces lay dead below our walls, but in the end their sheer numbers proved overwhelming, and Izu was defended to the last man. Hojo got its heart back, but does it have enough blood remaining to pump it?

The loss of Izu brings us to the present moment. West Kansai lies in ruins and chaos, our armies took a serious toll but are still there, our agents dominant over theirs, and our lines are holding. Replenishing our armies is a chalange as the war emptied our coffers to under 10,000 koku, and our income was in the negative for a time, but has slowly rebounded to around 5-6000 koku since. The Ashikaga Shogunate is just next door, but they will be dealt with at a later date, for now weakening Hojo and Takeda as much as possible is the utmost priority. Meanwhile our army from Sado island landed in Echigo, defeated a Hojo stack and a half, but has remained there since, trying to subdue the rebellious population and repel enemy agents. I fear that plans will shift from conquering parts of north Japan with this army to just rampaging through it, leaving anarchy and rebellion in our wake to be dealt with at a later time, but depriving Hojo from the funds and supplies of these provinces and perhaps stretching their forces. This was originally the plan for our missionaries, but those were promptly dispatched by Hojo agents. Conquering Kansai will be straightforward, if very hard. Our Shikoku army has finally besieged Miyoshi in a final attempt to remove the threat of a backstabbing attack from them. After that the army will proceed via sea into Kii to open a front in southern Kansai. Although we would love nothing more than to retake Izu, for the time being we simply cannot spare the forces....

[Nivea for Men]

really nice guide!

[mrspidey]

My first campaign in Shogun 2 was with the Shimazu on normal. One of the first things I learned was: Never trust the Sagara!
While my Daimyo was mopping up the east coast of Kyushu, I had brokered an alliance with the Sagara by way of marriage. The very next turn, while my army was still occupying Bungo, the Sagara showed up at Satsumo and took my capital.
Backstabbing Bastards! I should've known.
So I did what every proper Daimyo would do. I marched my army from Bungo to Higo and took their capital in return.
That made them *** their pants and they sued for peace immediately. Like I would ever agree to that after the stunt they had just pulled.
The next turns, i marched on Satsumo and besieged Kagoshima castle. The Sagara offered battle and were wiped out.
That must have served as an impressive example of how I rolled, so the following alliance with the Shoni turned out to be long-lasting and extremely beneficial to both of us. We split up our conquest of Nippon with me taking Shikoku and the Shoni working their way up the mainland.
When I was economically ready, i established a beachhead in Harami from where i managed to secure the iron-rich province next to it, since i needed the iron for my Kenjutsu schools. It was a close call. I beat the Shoni to it by one turn. In the next years, I slowly took the provinces between Harami and Kyoto and eventually forced RD on my own terms by taking Kyoto. My six-star ninja who had traveled with my forces all the way from Hyuga, softened Kyoto up a bit by assassinating Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and one of his brothers right after I had send a huge tribute for annual festivities to the Shogunate. It kinda felt like a Red Wedding, now that I think about it.
Later, my super ninja even got to assassinate Tokugawa Ieyasu, which I found hilarious.

My alliance with the Shoni had been so strong, that i managed to win the campaign before they declared war on me.

Important things for a sucessful Shimazu campaign:
-trade posts! Make use of them!
-don't expand too fast. It makes your allies and trade partners nervous and overstretches your military might. Switch between years of aggression and years of consolidating power and economy.
-don't bother with vassals before Realm Divide. After RD, make heavy use of them for trade
-Going Kyuushu -> Shikoku -> Harami/Settsu is a great way of getting right in Kyoto's face before RD kicks in.
-play to your strengths (Trade and Katanas)
-screw the Sagara
-expect heavy crisis management in Bungo for religious reasons.

[mrspidey]

Afterthought:
If I could change one two things about S2's diplomacy it would be this:
-allies with good rep should not be affected by RD
-vassals should not get nervous when you expand too fast. Seriously, they've already been conquered, they have nothing to fear from me...This becomes very annoying after RD, because your new vassals regularly declare war on yu because you scare them too much...