So, I Transitioned From Empire & Napoleon to Shogun 2

[napoleon boneaparte]

I've always been the fan of lines of marching towards each other and pouring musket fire into the enemy, so, is there anything I should know about Shogun 2 combat? Like what unit normally forms the backbone of Shogun 2 armies? Should I treat bowmen more like line infantry or light infantry? Is artillery still a must for battles? And on that note, are there any mods that I should be aware about?

[You_Guess_Who]

So, I assume you only play Shogun 2 in the Sengoku Era, not RoTS and FoTS? Because pouring muskets sounds like you'll be at home at FoTS.

I bet the first thing you feel is the pace. Shogun 2 battles are blisteringly fast paced compared to ETW or NTW battles. The backbone of S2 Army are your most basic unit: Yari Ashigaru. Cheap, numerous, and have one ability that make them worthwhile: Spearwall. In thick enough formation, backed up by generals (because they have low morale), and protected in the flank, they can form an impenetrable wall of pikes. They would be your Anvil.
Only use Samurai as support and the flankers, the Hammer to your Anvil. Later on, you'll be able to field Matchlock Muskets - as a NTW player you should be familiar with their use. Only here, the battle is more melee-heavy, so they should be deployed in Pike-and-Shot tactics in conjunction with the melee troops. Muskets are also exceptional in siege defense.

Artillery are not dependable in Sengoku Campaign - too ineffective and not mobile; but are essential in FoTS Boshin Campaign.

About Mods, there are lots of choice, but that depends on how you like to use mods yourself, whether you like to mix-and-match modular mods or use a single unified collections.

There are various overhauls and startpos scenarios for starters, since they are not compatible with each others. The popular ones are Darthmod and Radious, but I wouldn't recommend them - pick those that are still actively supported by their modders, such as S2TR and MoS. But old TROM and RSM are quite good.

Also, there are Startpos Scenarios that can really change the campaign, such as Sekigahara Campaign, Morning Sun and Hayabusa Trilogy.

Lots of other independent mods:
-Better Maps (this is a must-have; for better siege maps, custom made)
-Saya and Ebira (gives sword sheaths and quivers - something strangely missing in vanilla, another must-have)
-Real Armies (the campaign flagbearer represents the unit it contains)
-Vastator Unit Style (for unit appearance variety)
- Mech_Donalds Battlefield Smoke Mod (better particle effects)
- BullGod Generals Mod (Better Daimyo appearance and additional sitting animation)
- Deadly Ambush (tighter ambush deployment)
- Recruitable Generals (self-explanatory)
- Wind Japanese Speech Fix (better japanese unit response in proper grammar)
- Colored Unit Card (better identification on the fly)
- Shaders DoF and notint
- S2TW Naval Mod
-S2TW Artillery

[Northern Musa]

I played NTW and ETW before Shogun 2, so I can tell you some of my impressions. First, I was surprised how much the scope has gotten smaller. Playing as a tri-continental empire to a local feudal warlord of a tiny confederation has massive differences. The map is large with a lot of regions. The region system is similar, but it is better organized. Also, check with the food system. This is an introduced feature in Shogun 2 you need to keep an eye on. Food lower than 0 will make your armies suffer attrition as well as decreasing public order.Agent action costs are something to be also be concerned with. Economy is really different. NTW and ETW factions have decent incomes from the beginning, but Shogun domains have all income less than 1k, and you will have to slowly develop your economy to bolster your military. Speaking of military, it is more action packed since melee combat takes place. Also, recruit cheap ashigaru units, not professional samurai units. Militia units in ETW and NTW are really bad, but in Shogun 2, they are handy since they can actually defeat professional units. Keep your spear ashigaru engaged in melee while your archers fire from the back. Also, the campaign movement ranges are really small. It take patience to transport your armies. That's for Shogun 2 main campaign, and I cannot speak for RotS since I haven't play much. But FotS should interest you since its only a few decades ahead of Napoleon. FotS also have similar approaches with Shogun 2. Similar economic system, slow movement range, and necessity of militia troops. Also, recruit spear militia as a counter against cavalry since FotS doesn't have square formation. Other than that, military tactics are similar, but you need to act more swiftly since the accuracy and reload rate are much higher than NTW and ETW. Cavalry is also more destructive and agile. And artillery... they have limited ammo, but a single volley can wipe a whole regiment. They are even more deadlier (unless they run out of ammo). Before I conclude, get some professional units for both campaigns later in the game even though I emphasized the importance of cheap units in the beginning of campaign, where your economy will be weak.