Another solid starting clan for its isolation. Also competition for trade routes is harder since you're farther away from the trade nodes than the Shimazu and other clans.ĭate. Only downside is that there tends to be a strong regional clans that form up on Kyushu, Shikoku, and the East which can halt expansion so you gotta move quickly. They've got the added bonus of starting in a 'Very Fertile' home province and can conquer neighboring provinces before subduing Kyushu and Shikoku and turning them into money-bag-islands. For similar reasons to play Shimazu and Chosokabe, they're west and close to trade routes. I also enjoy the reduced naval aspect as you're more focused towards conquering inland territories instead of maintaining fleets so it's one less thing.

You can also form alliances with the Imagawa and Takeda while you move eastward. That means you can raise armies in or around your home province and you'll get a brother/son to lead them without making them run across the map. Their home castle is in a good spot and there's plenty of territory to capture. I actually would recommend the Hojo clan primarily because they're in a pretty good position. A lot of AI armies will throw full stack armies at castles with a few bow samurai and get slaughtered. They're fantastic garrison units as they can pump a ton of arrows before enemy units reach them and do well in melee. They also have the added benefit of cheaper upkeep for Bow Samurai, possibly the most OP unit in the game. Similar pros to Shimazu in that they have an island basically to themselves, closer to trade routes and the west.

Only downsides is the Christian influence from the Otomo clan (which can lead to unrest) and once you head into late game, a lot of your family members will be spawning on Kyushu when you want them closer to Kyoto.Ĭhosokabe. You're also in the west which means you are among the first clans to get the European trade events and imported matchlocks if you desire. The northern side of the island has a lot of 'Very Fertile' farmland which makes farms much more profitable. My personal rankings on clan difficulty for vanilla Shogun 2.

Total war shogun 2 guide