Creative Assembly and SEGA released Total War: SHOGUN 2 on 15 March 2011, opening the campaign in 1545 and handing every clan the same win condition: take Kyoto and hold it. Nine clans ship in the base game, each with one signature discount, from Shimazu katana samurai to Mori warships. Fall of the Samurai is a separate standalone expansion set during the 1860s Boshin War, so its Gatling guns and ironclads never show up in the Sengoku campaign covered here.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Count your provinces from turn 10 onward
Count your provinces from turn 10 onward. Realm Divide fires somewhere between 13 and 18 provinces, so keep two full stacks and a war chest ready before you take the province that crosses the line, because you will not get a quiet turn afterwards.
2. Yari Ashigaru with the yari wall order will hold any cavalry charge in the game, but only if they are already braced
Yari Ashigaru with the yari wall order will hold any cavalry charge in the game, but only if they are already braced. The order takes a moment to apply, so set it as soon as you see horses moving, not after the charge starts.
3. Fight on high ground whenever the map offers it
Fight on high ground whenever the map offers it. Archers gain range shooting downhill and lose it shooting up, and infantry charging uphill arrive already tired, which turns a coin-flip battle into a comfortable win.
4. Build the dojo chain before you plan a samurai army
Build the dojo chain before you plan a samurai army. A katana dojo in one province only lets you recruit there, so a clan-wide samurai force means either several dojos or a lot of marching new recruits across the map.
5. Use Metsuke on your own provinces rather than only on the enemy
Use Metsuke on your own provinces rather than only on the enemy. Corruption grows with distance from your capital, and a metsuke stationed in a far province can pay for himself several times over in recovered tax income.
6. Keep general bodyguards out of melee until the enemy line is already breaking
Keep general bodyguards out of melee until the enemy line is already breaking. A dead general costs you the battle morale bonus immediately, and your whole army starts wavering at the worst possible moment.
7. Trade nodes generate income every turn you occupy them with a trade ship, and rival clans will raid them
Trade nodes generate income every turn you occupy them with a trade ship, and rival clans will raid them. Garrison a small escort fleet near your nodes rather than discovering the loss when the treasury figure drops.
8. Match your arts research to your actual plan
Match your arts research to your actual plan. If you are running a bow clan like Chosokabe, the Bushido reload and range arts change every battle, while Chi tax arts change the campaign map, and doing half of both leaves you behind in both.
9. Autoresolve is harsh on sieges
Autoresolve is harsh on sieges. Assaulting a maxed castle by autoresolve throws away units that a manual assault could preserve, so fight the ones that matter and autoresolve only the lopsided field battles.
10. Take Kyoto last, not first
Take Kyoto last, not first. Holding it for four seasons makes you Shogun and unlocks the Great Guard and the Nihon Maru, but it also puts a target on you, so arrive with the army that can hold it rather than the army that just barely took it.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Oda (A-Tier):
- Focus on Realm Divide combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Katana Samurai
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Shimazu (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Yari Ashigaru
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Total War: SHOGUN 2's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Realm Divide + Chi and Bushido arts research: Fame climbs as you capture provinces, and somewhere around 13 to 18 provinces every neutral and friendly clan turns on you in the same handful of turns. Combined with Chi and Bushido arts research, research splits into two branches that advance on separate timers.
Ashigaru and samurai unit tiers + Ninja, Metsuke and Monk agents: Ashigaru are conscripted farmers who cost a fraction of a samurai unit and rout once their morale cracks. When paired with Ninja, Metsuke and Monk agents, ninja assassinate enemy generals and sabotage armies, metsuke bribe units and stamp out corruption in your own provinces, and monks convert provinces or stir up rebellion in someone else's.
Castle sieges and province capitals scaling: Each capital upgrade adds another ring of walls an attacker has to break through before reaching the keep, and raises the free garrison that spawns to defend it. A maxed capital lets a small defending force stall a doomstack for several turns while your field army marches back.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Katana Samurai | Flanking archers, killing routing units and breaking enemy generals | The standard samurai melee unit, strong against other infantry and terrible against spears braced in a yari wall. |
| Yari Ashigaru | Anchoring the centre of the line and stopping cavalry charges cold | The cheapest infantry in the game and the answer to cavalry, because the yari wall order turns a rank of peasants into a hedge no horse will charge. |
| Bow Ashigaru | Volley fire from high ground and softening a line before contact | Cheap massed archers with poor accuracy and worse morale than bow samurai, made up for by numbers and the fire arrow order. |
| Matchlock Ashigaru | Punching holes in heavy samurai formations at short to medium range | Slow-reloading gunpowder infantry that hits far harder per shot than a bow but needs an unobstructed line of fire and dry weather. |
| No-Dachi Samurai | Shock charges into already engaged infantry and breaking a wavering line | Two-handed sword samurai with brutal attack and almost no armour, which means they win the first thirty seconds of a melee and lose anything longer. |
Location Efficiency
Kyoto (Turn 40 and later on a long campaign): The imperial capital and the campaign win condition. Take it and hold it for four seasons to be declared Shogun, which is also the point where every remaining clan stops pretending to like you.
Owari (Turns 1 to 15 as an Oda start): The Oda home province, sitting in central Honshu with Mino and Ise as immediate expansion targets. Its central position is a blessing early and a liability once Realm Divide turns every border into a front.
Kai (Turns 1 to 20 as a Takeda start): The Takeda home province, landlocked and mountainous with hostile neighbours on most sides. There is no safe direction to grow, which is why the Takeda cavalry discount matters so much from the first turns.
Satsuma (Turns 1 to 25 as a Shimazu start): The Shimazu home province at the southwestern tip of Kyushu, with a single land approach to defend. The safest opening on the map, at the cost of the longest march to Kyoto once you finally head north.
Tosa (Turns 1 to 20 as a Chosokabe start): The Chosokabe home province on Shikoku, separated from the main island by water. Clear the island first, then use naval movement to pick which mainland province you invade instead of grinding through a land border.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Expanding past 13 provinces with no reserve army, then discovering that every neighbour declared war in the same two turns.
- Sending Katana Samurai head-on into braced Yari Ashigaru, where the spear bonus cancels their entire melee advantage.
- Fielding Matchlock Ashigaru in rain or behind friendly infantry, so they spend the battle unable to fire.
- Ignoring the Chi branch entirely and running out of money halfway through the campaign with a large upkeep bill.
- Leaving conquered provinces without a Metsuke or a garrison, then losing them to rebellion while the field army is elsewhere.
Pro Quick Tips
- Count your provinces from turn 10 onward. Realm Divide fires somewhere between 13 and 18 provinces, so keep two full stacks and a war chest ready before you take the province that crosses the line, because you will not get a quiet turn afterwards.
- Yari Ashigaru with the yari wall order will hold any cavalry charge in the game, but only if they are already braced. The order takes a moment to apply, so set it as soon as you see horses moving, not after the charge starts.
- Fight on high ground whenever the map offers it. Archers gain range shooting downhill and lose it shooting up, and infantry charging uphill arrive already tired, which turns a coin-flip battle into a comfortable win.
- Start with Shimazu, switch to Oda when ready
- Invest in Katana Samurai above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Kyoto → Owari → Kai → Satsuma → Tosa. See our maps guide
- Realm Divide + Chi and Bushido arts research together are stronger than either alone
More Total War: SHOGUN 2 Guides
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Total War: SHOGUN 2 Overview
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Best Builds
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Tier List
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Walkthrough
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Beginner's Guide
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Weapons Guide
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Combat Guide
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Boss Guide
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Maps & Locations
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Crafting Guide
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 Classes & Characters
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