Let's Play: Shogun 2 Total War

[IGdood]

Hello, short update guys. School has begun again and the workload is killing me.

Previously on Shogun Total War 2, The Saga of Furet's Archers and Rewjeo's Cult of Monkeys and eclipse's Wackass Cavalry and some Bomb Throwers, we were fending off a sally-forth attack and won. Therefore, Mino belongs to the Shimazu now.

Masuyuki levels up, as was his father's example and his grandfather's example.

This is one ability that I haven't used before: Stand And Fight. Basically, the general and his guards will dismount and form a square, with the general sitting on a stool in the middle. All surrounding troops will receive combat bonuses. Usually used as a "Last Stand" resort.

How a groom helps you fight better, I don't know.

It would appear that the Kiso have arrived to avenge their ally Saito's downfall. Too bad.

Annnnd Tadakane has landed on the wrong coast.

Healing the army....

Geisha making her way...

At this point I've installed my mod, and this is the result. New units unlocked.

Sword Ashigaru, basically the Ashigaru version of the katana samurai. Assault troops, unskilled, but wielding a dangerous weapon. Fuck, they don't even own the swords they carry.

Onna Bushi, previously a garrison-only unit. Basically an inferior version (EVER SO SLIGHTLY) of Naginata Samurai, and they're girls. Of course i'll have a few girls on my team.

Samurai Retainers, a small unit version of Katana Samurai with somewhat better stacks, but as I am Shimazu our Katana Samurai are on equal footing with the retainers, and therefore, retainers are unnecessary.

Katana Ronin, the katana version of Yari Ronin. Smaller unit size, but even better stats (by only a few points) than the Shimazu Katana Samurai.

Matclock Warrior Monks, Rewjeo's answer to the Snipelockes.

Warrior Monk Cavalry, Rewjeo's answer to all of eclipse's cavalry.

Bow Wako, haven't compared with the Bow Ashigaru but they're pirates.

Katana Wako, the pirate version of katana samurai. They wear sleeveless armor.

Edited April 5, 2011 by skitarii

[Rewjeo]

Darn, you figured out one of my cult's secrets...

And what's this blasphemy about school taking higher priority than Shogun 2?

[eclipse]

If you're gonna die, look FABULOUS (my groom theory).

[IGdood]

Darn, you figured out one of my cult's secrets...

And what's this blasphemy about school taking higher priority than Shogun 2?

School always takes a higher priority, heheheh.

If you're gonna die, look FABULOUS (my groom theory).

I see, I'll take that answer. xD

Okay, so I know I haven't been updating as often recently, you can think more organic chemistry and C++ coding for that. Anyways, here's an update for you guys today.

So, I've also figured out a way to deal with unit variety so more forumers can participate in future LPs. Basically, I'll use Fire Emblem's deployment system (and pretty much every other SRPG). I'll have 2 (or maybe more?) full-stack armies running around together back-to-back. I'll rotate between units on active deployment and backup. That way I can show off more units so LPs won't get too boring focusing on the same set of units all the time. I can also sustain invasions and assaults better this way, since injured/decimated units can be rotated out for healing while fresh ones come in. This could lessen de-leveling from replacing (although leveling may slow down too)

I've also been testing the living shit out of Empire Total War. I have no idea why it's crashing, but after deactivating a mod or two and resetting the graphics settings back to high AND deleting all previous game-saves, the crashing seems to have stopped. Corrupted gamesaves? I shall never know. Perhaps we can return to it after I finish up the Shogun 2 LP? However, I've found a pretty nifty mod for Medieval 2 Total War......or we can go to Rome.

Yukikata has finally made a landing, and will proceed to reinforce our daimyo at Mino.

Hey look it's the Date!

Enemy metsuke attempts to prosecute my monk. Too bad, OBJECTION!

Our geisha Tadakane wreaks havoc on the surrounding enemy generals.

I put the Oda back on their feet. Hopefully they won't be slaughtered again.

Yukikata has arrived, in time to help replenish a garrison that had fended off the Date in an unexciting, screenshot-unworthy battle.

The Chosokabe main army has ventured off to Oda lands. I take the opportunity to wipe out their last province with a meager force.

Ah, Loan Sword ashigaru! Basically like a shittier version of the katana samurai.

I split up my army into three forces, each with a bow unit and an escort of melee troops.

INCOMING ARROWS GO GO GO

Fucking Chosokabe archers are lethal.

Anyone thinking of an Amelia moment?

Loan swords, ready to carve up some enemies.

Ah shit, MONKS!

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow... OW.

That monk was killed literally a second later.

Luckily, I had my bowmen shoot the monks from afar.

The enemy are retreating. Give chase!

DIE, archers, DIE!

Unimpressive kills....

More vassals = more money from trade agreements. You know which one I'll pick.

And I am treated to a short clip of the Chosokabe samurai archers getting pwned by cavalry.

Heheh, Rewjeo's answer to Furet's Snipelockes.

I was looking forward to using an Onna Bushi unit...but they only have 60 people...maybe a subsequent mod can boost it to 120? Ah well, they'll be like a trophy unit of sorts.

Rewjeo's answer to eclipse's cavalry.

Tadakane leveled up! I pick traits that'll make her kill even more efficiently.

Edited April 10, 2011 by skitarii

[Rewjeo]

Matchlock monks *should* be awesome. Extra morale breaking power behind a morale breaking weapon? Yes please!

[IGdood]

You guys ready for an update? :P

Ah, let the peasants be drunk. It's okay for the lower rungs to get wasted. They'll be better ashigaru in the end. I hope....

Think Fire Bomb throwers, except a lot bigger, stationary, long-ranged, and meaner.

Damn Satomi hanging out around Oda lands...

I decide to attack, with the Oda helping me.

Masuyuki seems to be a bit more merciful than his forefathers.

Nice day.

Matchlocks? No match for my archers. (and the Snipelockes, of course.)

A steady, systematic advance is a good way to start off a battle.

Fire all rockets!

Those yari cavalry think to charge our lines? Preposterous.

While I decide to soften up the Satomi from afar, Oda has charged in all their forces. Oh well.

I'm sure Oda doesn't mind some unfriendly fire.

Shoot 'em all, Arrer Boyz!

Shit.

Failure to retreat in time. Damn my slowness.

More cavalry? Just shoot 'em all!

Meanwhile, the Snipelockes open fire.

Here we see some some naginata samurai celebrating. Yeah, basically the battle's over, the Oda wiped them out.

I thought this saying made sense....

Meh.

Meanwhile, Yukikata levels up fighting boring battles and gets a pretty cool looking item.

Tadakane continues to explore for us....

One of the mods that unlocks units has been updated, and now we have this guy.

Finally, I roll out a yari hero to the field. He's basically a giant middle finger to all cavalry and anything without a katana.

Masuyuki continues his way east.

Yay, sumo tournaments now exist.

Now to research the final military technology, which will boost up all my soldiers' stats a bit.

I take out the Kiso, and make them my vassal for the lulz.

The second army has been formed, and will set sail due east. They should arrive in 4-5 turns.

March!

Some tiny Date force tries to stop us. I'd like to see them try (and fail.)

Trololol!

I wish the weather was fair like this in my area.

Here's a feature that we haven't seen before, or maybe you have in Empire Total War. Defensive structures. Basically, if an army has been staying put for more than 1 turn and is attacked, some units can deploy structures in a defense.

Archers can deploy screens, which provide some cover and block all movement, so enemies charging must go around.

Gunners can deploy bamboo fences, which block enemies but also lets them fire through.

Thanks to the cliffs, the enemy can only attack me in one little chokehold.

The battle is as straightforward and one-sided as battles go, but I recorded a video (and practicing strategy whilst recording, aka keeping a balance of preserving units and trying to make videos look good.)

Edit: Vid here!

Edited April 11, 2011 by skitarii

[Rewjeo]

I'm liking the cult focus in your second army.

I find ironic you had to recreate the Oda clan despite the fact that in real life Oda Nobunaga did basically all of the uniting of Japan and was probably offered the position of Shogun.

Edit: Holy cow, those rockets are terrifying! I'd sure run if someone was shooting those at me.

And you are very good at making the battles interesting for us to watch. Most of the time videos are more like what the player wants it to look like for strategy, but you made it so that we got to follow along like an arrow and see the fire rockets fly towards "us."

Oh, and this game's music is awesome. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it soon...

Edited April 11, 2011 by Rewjeo

[IGdood]

I'm liking the cult focus in your second army.

I find ironic you had to recreate the Oda clan despite the fact that in real life Oda Nobunaga did basically all of the uniting of Japan and was probably offered the position of Shogun.

Edit: Holy cow, those rockets are terrifying! I'd sure run if someone was shooting those at me.

And you are very good at making the battles interesting for us to watch. Most of the time videos are more like what the player wants it to look like for strategy, but you made it so that we got to follow along like an arrow and see the fire rockets fly towards "us."

Oh, and this game's music is awesome. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it soon...

Heheh, there are quite a few more monks than usual, but there will be some cavalry and samurai (and of course, meatshield ashigaru) to back things up.

Historically, the Oda clan was a pretty damn miracle in surviving. In-game, they start out with only one province (?) and surrounded on all sides, and 10 times out of 10 (usually) they will be wiped out in one turn. Hell, players are having a hard time with the Oda.

I'd stain my undergarments if I saw a storm of arrows/rockets flying at me. I am trying to use the pause function less during video recording, although that seems to lead to more ranged units getting charged by cavalry...or infantry. Ah well.

I hope you get it soon, it's pretty good..

So I forgot to post the statistics for the last battle. Here you go.

Masuyuki levels up as a result.

More points to infantry, as the army is mainly composed of infantry.

One point into field attacker, as while my specialty is in defense, sometimes going on the offensive is required.

Tadakane continues to explore for us.

Taking minimally garrisoned provinces is boring.

Who the fuck are you? Small fish trying to take on the big Shimazu clan?

One of my vassals got replaced by the Asai, hm. Time to kill 'em all.

OBAMA?

The second army has arrived! ARE YOU READY GAIZ? YEAH! PUT YA GUNS ON! YEAH!

Next stop, Izu.

Meanwhile, Masuyuki is going to try and stomp out the Satomi clan.

And they sally out!

Really foggy day.

Video update here!

I actually hope you guys watch my videos in HD, preferably 780 p.... that way you can read some of the unit text and get a feel of what's going on, but watching it embedded on the forums is fine too....

So, I'll try to type out what happened....or at least why the hell some things were done idiotically...

I've set up all ranged units to the front, expecting some sort of arrow duel with the enemy bow wako.

So, it starts off with the rocket troops thinnking out their ranks, unfortunately as it was a big battle and FRAPs was recording it was lagging very heavily and commands were going slower than I expected. Also, with more lagging some of the sounds don't really play out, which sucks. Oh well. So I was expecting the cavalry that were charging the Snipelockes to rout, but as they got closer they didn't, so that's why I sent some units (including the Great Guard) to hold them off, which they did...sorta.

That alone threw my left flank into chaos, sorta, and I did not notice that the Leech's Bomb Throwers got caught into the melee until it was too late. Either way, Furet's men did not have a good day. Meanwhile, more incoming cavalry disturbed my other ranged units, causing them to fall back instead of firing. My ashigaru held off their cavalry, but were subsequently being shot up by the enemy archers.

In other words, things get fucked up beyond all reasoning as the enemy uses mixed forces to attack my own, aka mixing in katana samurai with their yari ashigaru. Recall that katana samurai beat infantry, and yari troops beat cavalry. I did try to use counters (my own katana samurai and katana cavalry) but unfortunately the enemy's soldiers were all bunched up together, as were my own. It became a slaughterfest (with eclipse's cavalry doing the dying) and Furet's Facebeaters kicking ass.

At some point or another, most of my ranged units were caught in a melee/shot to bits, but they stayed and did not run. The lag did not help, as things responded really slowly. If you look at the bar on the radar map, it says I have the advantage, which means I'm doing something right. The Bow Hero was cut down to a man, trololol. Also, the yari ashigaru I sent at the archers were all slaughtered, but it did buy some time, I hope...... I had forgotten about my Katana Hero all the way on my right flank, if I remembered about him earlier I would've lost a less forces.

However, the ranged units were not totally useless in this battle. They took shots at enemy soldiers far away from our own. The matchlocks, however....... seemed to be a katana magnet for the enemy.....

Here are the numbers. The Shimazu katana samurai kicked the most ass (and suffered relatively less), being superior to enemy katana samurai and the mixed-in yari forces. Everyone else had worse kill-death ratios, and of course, the yari ashigaru were cut down as they were meatshields. The Kisho ninja did okay, as they were at the back of the melee mobs but they did throw an occasional grenade or two. All the bomb throwers were killed, well the remaining 2 did not count as a unit and it was subsequently destroyed, SORRY LEECH.

This was expected.

More conquering done, more vassals.

That's a strange color.

Well, I would've had less casualties if I mastered this earlier...

Remember Izu, the province Yukikata's army was going to go after? Well the Oda conquered it, and is steamrolling east at a rapid rate.

Of course, I can't let myself lose to a vassal, right?

It's the Ogigayatsu clan...damn it's hard to spell. Forward, second army!

The Ikko-Ikki exist again. This is a funny minor clan compared to the rest. They have their own religion, Ikki Buddhism. It's not the regular Shinto Buddhism everyone else follows nor is it Christianity. The Ikko Ikki are also the only clan able to train Naginata Monk Cavalry and Matchlock Monks in the unmodded version of Shogun 2 Total War. I've also read on the forums they their yari ashigaru resemble monks, basically the whole clan is like Rewjeo in the flesh. Speculation on the forums seems to agree that this clan might be involved in DLC (downloadable content) in the future.

Masanaga, Masuyuki's son, has come of age.

15 years old, no abilities. I put him on a ship and send him to wherever the first great army is.

Annnnd the Ogigayatsu are under siege!

We'll wait here, I have some units to exchange out for better versions.

Trololol what?

The Ogigayatsu are sallying forth! And the Oda are too far away to help....

Stay tuned for more!

Edited April 11, 2011 by skitarii

[Rewjeo]

All you need now is Katana Warrior Monks and I can dominate your armies!

lol, all the Ogigayatsu (? Seriously, what is that name?) clan has is a bunch of generals and some weakened ashigaru.

I'm working on building a computer that can run this game (my current computer can't run MINECRAFT. I need the upgrade.) but is cheap... I have quite a few things I'm looking at right now, though, so hopefully soon... Would it be worth me running my own S2 LP if/when I get it?

[IGdood]

All you need now is Katana Warrior Monks and I can dominate your armies!

lol, all the Ogigayatsu (? Seriously, what is that name?) clan has is a bunch of generals and some weakened ashigaru.

I'm working on building a computer that can run this game (my current computer can't run MINECRAFT. I need the upgrade.) but is cheap... I have quite a few things I'm looking at right now, though, so hopefully soon... Would it be worth me running my own S2 LP if/when I get it?

Yup, they're planning on adding those, the ronin versions, and maybe the ashigaru versions? Heheh.

And that name...well it gave us a bit of a run for our money, but that probably because I was unused to the second army.

Hm, I think by the time you build your gaming rig there should be deals for Shogun 2 + other total war packages, so keep an eye out for those. It should be worth it as long as you're not playing a clan that I've already LP'd.

So here's an update for you guys, hopefully I finish typing before I leave for school!

So, the Ogigyatsu were sallying out, and here we are. A few screenies before another disastrous video (of sorts).

Matchlock Monks! I think I have to say the SNipelockes look cooler.

Mounted Bow Warrior Monks, heheh.

Katana Wako, being the badass motherfuckers (with inferior stats to katana samurai) that they are,

Our yari hero, too cool to wear a helmet like the others.

Our Fire-Bomb Mangonels, a spiritual successor to the Leech's bomb throwers?

And the video.

So we have our rousing speech from Yukikata, followed by bombing from the mangonels as the enemy advanced. I realized that the enemy archers outranged our matchlocks, and the first few volleys really took out some of our matchlocks....hell, 1/4 of the Snipelockes in the second army got taken out by fire arrows.

You can see some of the horse archers going into a circle, this ability is called the Swooping Crane, where horse archers circle around and are able to fire at enemies in a 360-degree radius. They don't volley fire, but rather pour a constant stream of arrows. It also helps them dodge arrows a bit.

So I pretty much sent someone to counter every melee enemy unit heading our way. Somehow I managed to miss the enemy cavalry, who then proceeded to cut up Furet's/Rewjeo's men for some reason...is it the accent? They always attract cavalry and stuff. Oh yeah, if you hear female voices, its the Onna Bushi talking. The naginata monk cavalry as well as the katana cavalry were pretty useful here, intercepting archers and the like, although some of them got caught up with enemy yari ashigaru. Not good.

Pretty heavy casualties due to my inexperience with this army, but things will get better. We were outnumbered anyways.

Wait..what?! Masayuki is dead? Had I known, I would've converted to Christianity just to get cannons!

Well, at least there is potential in this young man. Should I make him a good commander or a good warrior?

Well he'll take over our first army from now on.

So, we're going to move northwest for a bit.

Annnd we steamroll on with our second army....now that everyone's patched up.

His triumphs weren't much compared to Takahisa (first daimyo) and Yoshihisa (our second epic daimyo)

Moving on~

While not needed, it's nice to know people want to sign up as ashigaru and die for the honor of the Shimazu.

[Rewjeo]

Hey, can I just point out that despite being only a sixth of the army, my cult got a third of the kills?

I don't have time to watch the video now (school) but I'll definitely watch it when I get back... in 12 hours...

Edit: If this is SF video #3, then what's #4 that I got linked to at the end of the video?

Edited April 13, 2011 by Rewjeo

[IGdood]

Heh, #4 is video I uploaded but will be described in the coming update. As of now, I have to study and won't be updating until maybe 2-3 hours later. So, this is something you guys might know already...but...

My updates are usually a day behind my actual playing.

I get a message saying we have a food shortage. Wtf? It seems that the new provinces I've conquered have upgraded their castles (which consumes more food), but not their farms. No wonder the enemies seem to be wracked with strife and rebellion.

Hey look, another suicidal Date army.

So uh, due to trees and spacing issues, some of our archers will not be deploying with defensive screens today.

Enemy consists of mostly katana infantry, I don't see a yari....oh wait there's one.

I expect my vassals to do most of the dying today.

I never get tired of taking shots like these, pun intended.

Arrer Boy: Oi, ye munks of Roo-jee-oh, I bet I can shoot wun of 'em rawkets out da sky before you can!

Monk: Check your stats before you talk.

Not even Raven can dodge this.

Yari Ashigaru: Your feeble attempts to kill more than half of us in this battle is...umm...weaker than my sword arm!

That general looks very appetizing right now.

A very stupid one too, now he's sandwiched between naginata samurai and yari ashigaru, both effective at killing cavalry.

Except a few idiot rocket troopers decide that it's okay to shoot our own men.

Furet's Snipelockes shoot at things.

But there's nothing in front of them!

It's a one-sided battle, but a good break from all those heavy casualty battles an update back.

And the enemy bow hero reveals himself, sniping our own hero. FORWARD, PINEAPPLE HUGGERS. SHOW THAT BASTARD COLD STEEL!

Of course, the ninja will hold off anyone who attempts to intercept the pineapple huggers.

6 Huggers go down in one volley.

Hugger: I'll cut that pineapple helmet of yours down to size! Not once, not twice, but FOUR TIMES.

Which he does so, before getting headshotted by a bullet from a group of matchlock ashigaru trying to save their hero before becoming AN HERO'd.

The rest of the huggers cut through the matchlocks anyways.

Well, that's one hero down.

I've never seen a yari ashigaru unit with kill ratios like that.

I spit on your dead body.

Now I can build a legendary market building.

I build a Famous Temple in Satsuma, which is like the legendary version of temples. I forgot to do that earlier, hence why the monks in Rewjeo's second army are so low-leveled. trolololol.

Masanaga has arrived!

Yukikata says MOVE OUT.

CAPTURED

The Hojo are back!

Masanaga has joined up with the first divine Shimazu army.

Fuck Hojo.

The legendary merchant building will make any province rich.

Hey look a Hojo army.

Except Oda took their last province, which means that army dissolves. Pwnt.

Second army sieges Ichihara, some coastal province.

Meanwhile, Masanaga moves East.

Annnnnd they sally forth. Doesn't this situation look familiar? Like Ogigayatsu familiar? Well, I'm not letting the same situation happen again. 1000 casualties? Bullshit.

So right now I've kinda figured out the strength of the second army. Lacking in archers and having the majority of ranged units being matchlocks, we won't last in an archer duel with the enemy. Instead, this whole army is made up of shock troops. All melee units will head on a dead-on charge against enemy archers, with the cavalry archers harassing whoever is exposed. The mangonels are just there to blow shit up and kill off enemy morale, while the matchlocks will run up and shoot archers (provided they're not being shot) because of this, I won't use fire-by-rank too much since it requires a set up time. Rewjeo's Matchlock Monks, while not having as much armor as Furet's Snipelockes, do have an ability called Increase Range. Basically it makes them shoot almost as far as archers, which is fucking hilarious.

So basically, the first army focuses on archery and ranged duels (defensive), but this army is more on wearing down enemy soldiers where possible and full-on charging. Basicaly it relies on blitzing + morale-killing, which is a tactic I seldom use (I rarely have this many cavalry in my armies)

So this is the plan I've implemented in the battle.

Now this is what happened:

The mangonels start off bombing the enemy, but the hill gets in the way so they are rendered useless for the rest of the battle. Not wanting to get shot by archers, I send off all melee infantry straight at their archers. I don't give a damn about those yari ashigaru, the cavalry archers can wear them down. The matchlocks were a bit of a mixed case, I gave them a target, and hope they were smart enough not to shoot melee units who were blocking their way.

You can see I move the Naginata Monk Cavalry to the side, ready to sweep in and gallop past enemy yari ashigaru and straight at their archers.

Also, you can hear the new pain sounds I downloaded from the Loan Sword Ashigaru who were being shot. You can also see an epic fail when all the Onna Bushi and some Katana Wako basically charged (AND MISSED) some yari ashigaru who were heading for the horse archers.

The rest of the battle was pretty much pursuing the routers with cavalry, and just looking at the trail of bodies.

I thought this screen was really epic, and reminded me of Soulblighter from Myth 2.

Win.

Edited April 13, 2011 by skitarii

[Parrhesia]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d86/whoami55/Lets%20Play%20Shogun%202%20Total%20War/Shogun22011-04-1120-30-26-65.jpg

"AHA! THE CHAMBER POT OF YOSHIHISA IS SAFELY...OVER THERE SOMEWH-hluurgh!"

"BLAAAAAAAAAAORGH"

[Rewjeo]

Lol, my Naginata Monk Cavalry got nearly 1,000 kills in that battle. And, strangely enough, the first bow cavalry unit always gets more kills than the second....

How useful have the naginata monks been?

And if this is how my cult is UNDERleveled, wait until you're churning out high level ones

[IGdood]

"AHA! THE CHAMBER POT OF YOSHIHISA IS SAFELY...OVER THERE SOMEWH-hluurgh!"

"BLAAAAAAAAAAORGH"

Furet, you always know how to make my day.

Lol, my Naginata Monk Cavalry got nearly 1,000 kills in that battle. And, strangely enough, the first bow cavalry unit always gets more kills than the second....

How useful have the naginata monks been?

And if this is how my cult is UNDERleveled, wait until you're churning out high level ones

Well, considering that melee cavalry get most of their kills running down enemies that have already lost their will to fight, you should maybe divide the numbers by 3. The quotient would be the approximate amount of kills obtained while in a straight fight with the enemy. As for the first bow cavalry unit always killing more, I have no idea why.

The naginata monks are basically a offensive version of the naginata samurai. Speedier, higher morale, able to scare others, a lot less armor, higher attack rating, they're pretty well-rounded, but fall quickly to archers.

And well your cult is pretty high-leveled with a few units.

Tralalalala update.

Ninja goes killing. Also, someone said that the person who voices the ninja (or was it the battlefield ninja?) also voices Gaara from Naruto.

Winter halts our invasion, as attrition is rather undesirable.

New clans, new enemies (and later vassals)

Hey, it's Hitachi, that electronics company.

The First Divine Army encounter......weak Date army not worthy of a screenshot-battle.

Getting married already, Masanaga?

Legendary merchant building = legendary money?

The fleet shall explore the Date coasts and scout out the place.

Raising the Uesugi from the dead.

Rank up! No sweat!

Moving on now..

Time to besiege the rebels at hitachi.

Meh, they offered no resistance and are promptly replaced by the Satake clan.

So, Sado is where the Honma clan cower? I'll make that their final resting place.

Whoa, it's Fukushima...

Tadakane has some fun stripping in front of men and then pulling s knife out of nowhere and pwning them.

The Date lands are practically devoid of armies. They seem to have given up.

Conquered.

Making the Hojo my vassal.

Even the Hattori.

The First Divine Army and the Second Shock Army meet and shake hands.

Fukushima rebels. Whatever, I need to crush the Date.

Yukikata, seeing his master's example, decides to get married too. To someone about a third his age, which is like...13? I think. Loli.

So many vassals, but that's my job as the Shimazu Shogunate.

Really, what happened to the Date armies?

Wow, this guy's like...5th gen now?

Did the Mogami invent origami?

Wait, I'm Shogun...so why does this event make it seem like I'm separate from my clan?

More land...

The Date are no more....they didn't even have one army to resist...

Ugo was their last province.

I get a dilemma to hold a cherry blossom festival, and it gives me a cinematic. Out of nowhere.

Navy is ready to take Masanaga to Sado to finish off the Honma.

A rebellion destroys a vassal. I send the Second Shock Army down to subdue the rebels.

Meanwhile, the Uesugi take Fukushima.

What the fuck? Looks like the invasion of Sado needs to be postponed so I can replenish.

A few turns of wasting my time later.... hey look, 2 armies!

The Second Shock army decides that it will go for an assault, confident that its veteran troops can triumph over these green recruits.

So, I go on to talk about this video..... Yukikata gives a speech, yada yada yada.

The gates of the castle were already destroyed; the rebels don't repair anything, so that's one reason I decided to go for a siege assault.

I deployed my mangonels really close to the castle to utilize their range. I had them bomb the archers as well as the clustered groups of infantry to soften them up. I mean, by brute force and troop quality I would win, but still, I wanted to minimize casualties. It must've been playing FE that I learned to preserve my men, sorta. My forces were split into two groups, with the loan swords and naginata monks at the other side. I had dismounted all my cavalry, removing their weakness to yari and also making them a smaller target so they won't be shot up by arrows as easily. So instead of sending my archers first, I rushed my infantry forward to take arrows in the face before moving my archers up to provide covering fire.

Unfortunately, for the other assault team, the matchlocks can't arc their shots over the walls, so I just sent them to the walls edge and hope that they would shoot at something, somehow. Instead they took arrows to the face, but that's okay, it means my melee troops (especially the low-armored monks) can get in there quickly.

There isn't much else to discuss about this battle, really.

Very good kill ratio for a siege assault. Naginata Monk kills are over the roof.

[Rewjeo]

Never doubt my cult. Ever.

What's left now? Backstab your vassals?

[IGdood]

No, Rewjeo. I've no wish to kill off everyone. I'd like to move on from Shogun 2 actually, having discovered a ton of new units for Empire Total War and a really awesome mod for Medieval 2 Total War. This is the end of the Ashikaga era, and we have ushered in a new Shimazu era.

The Second Shock Army gets to keep Miyagi. They earned it.

While practically useless by now, it's good to bask in just how powerful we are. Also, I just noticed that Shimazu is green, and so is this website.

The First Divine Army has arrived on the island of Sado.

I up Masanaga's defense, just in case.

And a doctor, although he's young. Both retainer choices sucked.

The garrison at Sado decides to sally out, with nearly maxed out Ashigaru. This battle should be fun. Well, the second stack could use some more experience levels, but eh.

I thought this loading screen quote seemed to apply to the Honma.

So what happened? Let's see.

I set up my forces with defensive screens, with cavalry at the edges (later sent out to the far edges to prepare for flank and rear attacks). I had my katana samurai stand at the edges next to the archers just in case someone got too close. This way they won't be bogged up by the defensive screens if they were positioned right behind the archers.

As usual, the enemy archers just love to shoot up Furet's soldiers. For some reason, they don't target Rewjeo's warrior monk archers, despite monks having less armor and overall being more accurate than the Arrer Boyz and the Snipelockes. So, while the enemy yari ashigaru were running forward, I engaged as many as I can with my melee infantry, and sought to look for loopholes with the cavalry. The kisho ninja were shot to bits, as well as one unit of katana samurai (they survived, well some of them). The Snipelockes also were whittled down to a third of their original number.

My forces defeated the enemy yari ashigaru with time, and pursued them. You can see Tino's Horsemen (aka Great Guard) managing to circle to the rear and charge some archers, whie the Katana Cavalry were caught up with some yari ashigaru. I totally did not expect enemy reinforcements to come from my rear, and you can see Furet's Arrer Boyz being cut down mercilessly and I almost lost Masanaga (good thing for +4 defense) to some yari ashigaru. You may notice I was calling my men back, and it ended up with the bow ashigaru holding off some enemy forces in melee.

However, the First Divine Army won in the end.

The numbers. That's not a bad ratio, really shows off how elite our army is. I was very, very surprised at the kill ratio for one of the yari ashigaru units.

The enemy are holed up in their castle. KILL THEM ALL!

[IGdood]

I believe this video explains it all.

The Kisho die, the yari ronin are wiped out. Otherwise, everyone else seems to be alive and well. Just enjoy this like a cinematic.

Not gonna get a vassal in the form of the Honma......Sado belongs to US now.

All lands now belong to the Shimazu or its vassals. We are done with this Let's Play.

Comments on units and such:

Bomb Throwers - I'm sorry Leech, they didn't make it to the endgame. However, they were really good when placed behind bow units or other melee infantry, grenading the enemy before the lines clash.

Face Beaters (Katana Samurai) - Wins melee battles, probably the only reason the ranged units aren't cut to bits by enemy melee units.

Spear Cretins (Yari Cavalry) - Great general hunters, but replaced by Great Guard.

Pineapple Huggers (Katana Cavalry) - Eats Face Beaters for breakfast, as well as other archers. When dismounted will eat yari units for breakfast.

Tino's Horsemen (Great Guard) - Bonus against cavalry, able to hold their own against infantry, and buffing allies. Tends to eat generals for breakfast.

Arrer Boyz (Bow Samurai) - They are certainly an improvement over the regular Bow Ashigaru, but with 40 less men and being outclassed in all aspects except melee skills and armor by Rewjeo's Bow Monks, I have a hard time deciding how good they are. The enemy just loves to target them with both arrow and sword, but the fact that they manage to not die immediately in a melee does say something about these guys.

Bowmaster (Bow Hero) - I find this guy to be my go-to guy for sniping enemy archers and/or tough units. Veteran units die to arrows just as easily as green recruits. This guy just lets off volley after volley with his disciples, and somehow manages to survive cavalry charges unlike every other archer.

Snipelockes (Matchlock Samurai) - Rapid volley + fire by rank = the movie Zulu, if anyone's watched it. They destroy armored units that archers have trouble touching, but given their limited range and poor melee ability they take some time to get used to.

Rewjeo's Cult

Naginata Warrior Monks - Basically versatile all-purpose units, able to stand up to anything in a straight on melee, although they will lose in a straight on fight with katana samurai. Can do War Cry to destroy enemy morale, or cause wavering units to flee in terror. Worth their weight in koku, aka rice. Too bad they don't wear armor, and are too hardcore to wear shoes.

Naginata Warrior Monk Cavalry - While coming in quite late, they're like katana cavalry with less armor and a small bonus against enemy cavalry. They can do war cry too, which is useful, especially with the morale penalties incurred form fighting cavalry and getting charged. They actually last longer than I expected, but it could be because I tend to give most of my units armor upgrades.

Warrior Monk Archers - Despite having only 100 men, their high range and high-as-fuck accuracy just destroys everyone. The enemy seems to avoid fighting them, choosing to kill Arrer Boyz for some reason. I have no idea why, but that's the main reason why they get the most kills, since nobody ever bothers to type them up in melee. Although they do drop a LOT quicker than the Arrer Boyz if they do get caught in a melee. I mean Arrer Boyz can fight off yari ashigaru, but the archer monks.....nope.

Matchlock Monks - So they have an ability called Increased Range, which pretty much puts them on par with regular bow units in terms of range. However, being matchlocks, range isn't too big a deal since with the massive amount of melee in this game its hard to get a pretty clear shot, and you can't really arc your bullets over your soldiers anyways. Their reloading skill is fast, but they lack the Rapid Volley ability, so the Matchlock Samurai seems to be winning out in this department. Plus, they have inferior melee ability and armor.

Warrior Monk Bow Cavalry - Superior in every way to regular Bow Cavalry (the samurai variant) Horse archers are not meant to be shot at, and these guys just have better offensive capabilities, which is what horse archers are all about.

Other, loveable generics that only I seem to care about. Jk. I noticed that I didn't name any of my own generics, which is funny. I seem to have forgotten all about it.

Yari Ashigaru - Unupgraded and untrained = speed bump. Trained and upgraded, they are a roadblock, but will lose to most units except cavalry. Needs yari wall to survive, but if used properly, they can even hold off katana samurai.

Loan Sword Ashigaru - Cheap counter to Yari troops and something that you can hurl at all those enemy archers. Can also deal damage to katana samurai, but will still lose.

Bow Ashigaru - Archers are just dangerous in this game. Therefore, bow ashigaru are practically a necessity in anyone's army. Yes, you can use bow samurai, but they have 40 less men and will not last too long under concentrated fire. Bow Ashigaru have 40 more men to lose, although they may run away earlier. But, that's why you upgrade your bow dojos and put a general nearby.

Matchlock Ashigaru - Not useful if you have Samurai Matchlocks or Matchlock Monks, but if you want something cheap that can decimate armored units and scare off other enemies, these guys fit the bill. Not much to say about them though.

Bow Wako - Didn't use them, but judging by stats they're like bow ashigaru with better morale.

Katana Wako - Tends to kill just as much as Katana Samurai, but dies more often. That's what you get for wearing sleeveless armor.

Naginata Samurai - Slow, heavily armored, and basically there to take arrows in the face while they run into enemies and act as a huge roadblock. Also quite versatile, but if you want enemies to die quickly, get warrior monks or katana samurai.

Light Cavalry - Yari cavalry with worse stats, lower costs, and better speed. Tends to be too fragile to use effectively.

Yari Samurai - Naginata are better as roadblocks, Katanas are better in killing infantry. They're dedicated anti-cavalry, but Yari cavalry/Great Guard does an even better job. So why even bother? Well, they have rapid advance and can rush at archers faster than anyone else, although with that mod I downloaded everyone has rapid advance, which makes these guys essentially, useless. Well maybe not, they can really tie up so many units faster than naginata ever can.

Yari Ronin -Yari samurai with better stats, and fewer men, and no rapid advance. Why did I even use them in the first place? Oh right, they spear through cavalry like a boss and can beat up ashigary.

Katana Ronin - Katana Samurai with better stats, on par with the Shimazu's Katana Samurai, but with fewer men. Tends to cut through enemies.

Bow Cavalry - Yes, they have better armor than the bow warrior monk cavalry. But cavalry are large targets, so they're already doomed from the first place if someone decides to shoot them. Warrior Monk Bow Cavalry are just superior. Cannons - Didn't get a chance to use them.

Mangonels - Throws flaming bombs and seems to be quite accurate for a siege weapon. Disorganizes enemies by throwing them everywhere, and kills in spectacular fashion. Outclassed by the Rocket Troops, who are more mobile and able to fire quicker despite having less ammo.

Rocket Troops - Mangonels on foot. Able to let loose volley after volley, arching shots over your own troops' heads in the heat of battle. Can also be effectively protected due to small unit size.

Kisho Ninja - Badass voice actor, really great stats. They combine the bomb thrower's bombs, flashbang grenades that debuff enemies, the abilities of the katana samurai, and stealth in one tiny package. Weakness is lack of armor, and too bad they did not survive the final battle.

Katana Hero - What can I say, I don't even need to micromanage this guy. I let loose, and have him buff allies. End of story.

Yari Hero - I haven't used him that much, and he always ends up away from melees....or in the back of the battle line while everyone in front of him is hacking away.

Onna Bushi - The only female unit in the game has stats that are between Naginata Warrior Monks and Naginata Samurai, but still inferior to both. Who cares, they're voiced by the voice actress who voiced Noodle from the Gorillaz.

No-Dachi Samurai - These guys are...well....heheh...a combination of high attack power, the charging power of cavalry, the amount of men in a samurai unit (160), and literally almost no defense, and fucking high morale. When fighting with katana samurai, both sides drop like flies. With their banzai ability, it makes their attack go up even further and they just slice and dice and slice and dice and get sliced and diced and sliced and diced. Also, they're too badass to wear helmets.

NOW, my fellow forumers, I ask you. I've got 2 possible Total War LPs that I can follow. With Empire Total War fixed (I think) and not crashing, I can rebuild our USA campaign or start a new one altogether as another country. Empire Total War is based on 1700s-1800s European gunpowder warfare, think Mel Gibson's The Patriot.

I've also downloaded a mod for Medieval 2 Total War called Thera: The Great Torment. What is Thera, you ask? Okay, think LOTR Orcs vs. Samurai vs. Chinese medieval soldiers vs. Greek hoplites/Spartans vs. Roman Legionnaires vs. Werewolves(????!) vs. Medieval Knights/Europeans vs. Renaissance Gunpowder Age soldiers vs. Native Americans (Aztecs and other tribes) vs. Dark Age (that is, not so Medieval, not so Roman era) Europeans (Like Gauls, Celts, etc.) vs. a ton of other stuff.

Edited April 16, 2011 by skitarii

[Rewjeo]

Nothing to say about my cult? Fine then.

As someone following the game, I imagine it would be nicer to have it take place in a real wold that we know well than one that's completely new, so I guess I vote Empire next.

[eclipse]

Do whatever you feel like. . .I will be amused regardless.

Now, the story of the Pineapple Huggers. . .

One day, someone I knew came in wearing a shirt that said "Hug a Pineapple", with a cartoony pineapple on it. It was meant to be a cheeky, silly insult. The Pineapple Huggers took that shirt seriously, and became that much tougher for it. Hug a pineapple to see why.

[IGdood]

Nothing to say about my cult? Fine then.

As someone following the game, I imagine it would be nicer to have it take place in a real wold that we know well than one that's completely new, so I guess I vote Empire next.

Sorry Rewjeo, I lost internet access when I was typing about your cult. You sure you weren't trying to censor me and shut me down?

Editing the earlier post.

Got it. One vote for Empire.

Do whatever you feel like. . .I will be amused regardless.

Now, the story of the Pineapple Huggers. . .

One day, someone I knew came in wearing a shirt that said "Hug a Pineapple", with a cartoony pineapple on it. It was meant to be a cheeky, silly insult. The Pineapple Huggers took that shirt seriously, and became that much tougher for it. Hug a pineapple to see why.

I've touched a pineapple before, it's okay. No wonder they love their katanas.

Edited April 16, 2011 by skitarii

[General Herpus Derpus]

Empire, If you continue as the US I'll take either light dragoons or long rifles.

[IGdood]

Voting time over, so Empire it is.

[IGdood]

Got some new news today.

So the game got patched, updating the graphics.

There will also be new DLC involving the Ikko-Ikki clan, which is basically a whole clan of Rewjeo-themed....err...i mean monk-themed units.

Hell, even their fucking ashigaru look like monks.

Will be buying that, and possibly doing another LP on this?

AND WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK. WARRIOR NUNS. WITH NAGINATAS. OKAY I AM FUCKING BUYING THIS DLC. HOOOLY SHIT.

Edited May 9, 2011 by skitarii

[Rewjeo]

So I've basically already claimed all of the units in this DLC?

HELLZ YEAH

Anyways, do this!

Edit: Unfortunately, this patch appears to have nerfed the shit out of my cult. Sad day.

Edited May 10, 2011 by Rewjeo