This was written a few months back. we will clean it up, add and edit content hopefully making it better as time goes on. This guide will probably be of little to no interest for the more hardcore players. If however you are looking to get into it, it will hopefully be of some help (I hope).

Basics

As you may or not be aware, Shogun 2 uses a rock/paper/scissor system. It works as follows...

Spear beats horse...
Sword beats spear and bow...
Pretty much everything beats most Bow units at close range...
Cav beats melee (non spear) units...

Start with low fund matches and low star players
When you start Shogun 2, you will be given some veteran units. The rest you will have to unlock. Alot of players will have unlocked and leveled up veteran units which will be superior to yours. The best starting point here is to play games with low funds. This is because veteran units cost more money than normal units. By doing this you are limiting everyone creating a fairer more skill based battlefield. So, my suggestion, start with low funds.

The game operates with stars, new players have less stars. Avoid playing against silver or gold players. Start a room or join a room specifically built for lower level players 1-4 stars max. Doing this along with playing with low funds will help ease you into the game better. As you progress in stars and start to unlock veteran units, you can start moving up.

Cheat

A common method in Shogun 2's multiplayer is to have two players help each other unlock and increase ranks of units by allowing units to spam each other on opposite ends of the map and taking turns to concede. By doing so units for both players level up and campaign map portions unlock. This can be laborious but if you are really desperate to unlock units and upgrade them, this is a great method This isn't a bannable offense of anything, so don't worry about getting in trouble.

The avatar skill tree is separated into three main trees. Commanding, missile (bow) and melee (sword). You can use all of them at the same time however I would recommend sticking to one specifically as you can become extremely proficient in one aspect rather than a jack of all trades master of none. In shogun 2's multiplayer moral is an incredibly important mechanic. A game can be lost and indeed most are by routing rather than casualty loss. For this reason, I would recommend using command or bow rather than melee. As these operate at a distance rather than up close and personal reducing the chances of your avatar getting killed off. If your avatar dies, you will have an extremely difficult time winning. So, along with the skill tree, remember to keep your avatar alive and rally units whenever required.


Don't waste your time with stealth or siege units

Alot of new players try out the stealth units or waste money on siege weapons thinking they will do massive damage. This is not the case. Siege weapons barring fire-rockets are extremely inaccurate and costly. Do not waste your time with them. Likewise, in multiplayer, stealth units are all but useless. The only siege unit that is actually useful are fire-rockets (more on that later). Stealth units will be found out at a fair distance from the desired target and will inflict very little damage before being demolished.

Use loose formation and hide against artillery

With the introduction of fall of the samurai, shogun 2 players have to contend with artillery. Unlike siege weapons in Shogun 2, these are extremely accurate and will inflict lots of damage. Alot of players will try to camp and simply spam artillery for 15 minutes if possible. In situations such as this the best thing to do is to put your units in as thin a line as possible set at loose formation and place them in hidden tree spots so the opposing player can only guess your armies position. Your avatar cannot hide. Take this into account. Generally speaking, at the start of the match, if possible, place your army as far back as possible in order to be out of range and in as thin a line as possible.

Spear is your friend

Typical behavior for other players is to try flank with cavalry. The units targeted are usually bow, your avatar or melee units like Katana. To counter this, stick spear units directly behind them, as close as possible. As soon as a cavalry charged, simply move your melee of unit back and your spear unit forward. If your bow unit is set on skirmish, they will do this automatically. When a unit in Shogun 2 gets engaged in melee, it slows down and cannot instantly get away. cavalry use smaller units. Even very cheap units like "Yari ashigaru" can inflict massive proportionate unit loss to even the more stronger caverlry thanks to there "caverly bonus" stat.
Hit And Run

When fighting players that camp (and this will happen alot) a good way to bait or inflict damage is to send bow cav using a method called "hit and run".

By using the speed advantage you can hit melee units and move away from any danger because they can do anything about it. This is great for damaging melee cavalry units in particular. They have weaknesses though. Against masses foot archers, they will get beat. And if they get caught by melee caverly, they will get beat. So you need to keep a distance and outright run away if the melee cavaerly comes after you. Allot of the time the player will give up chase and run, at this point fire bow rounds. They will chase you, do the same again rinse and repeat.

The other advantage is the range of the bow unit. Most gun units, while they have superior fire power, have inferior range. Matchlock in particular route super easily and are prime targets for hit and run. It can be useful against Fall Of The Samurai units as well. But given the huge amounts of them, you wont route them or do massive damage to the unit size. Remember to set the unit on skirmish, avoid melee.

Fire-Rockets are your friend

This is a small but extremely powerful unit (see video at bottom of blog). While they do not have the range of other siege weapons, they have far higher accuracy and can move around as fast as bow units. For each game they will do about 4-5 shots and have a much higher range than bow units. The best way to use them I find, is to send them out with a cheap pike unit (to protect them from caverly) and specifically target grouped units. Even if they miss the specific unit you are targeting, they will hit other units in close proximity. For cavalry, they are devastating and can route them with only one or two strikes. If possible, don't waste your time hitting units split off from the rest of your opponents army. Especially if they are in a single line loose formation. This will most likely be a waste of ammunition.

Concentrate bow on melee and specifically cloth units

During most games you will have a big mash up. It's typical to put spear units in front followed by melee sword units at the back such as katana. Cloth units (monk/nuns) are also used, these units have the best melee in the game barring hero units. They are lethal at close range but have basically no armour of any kind. Keep your bow units at the back out of contact with the battle, ignore the pike units and specifically target cloth melee units first and foremost followed by melee samurai units such as Katana. Many players do not do this and simply waste bow on cheap spear units while the real threat demolished there army.

Cont part 2...

Cont...

Hero units are complimentary not the end of all ends

Alot of people think just using hero units will win the game. While it's true they are extremely powerful, they are also usually very limited in number. This makes them extremely vurnirible to missile troops and masses of troops. When using a hero unit, do not send it own it's own. Use it with other units. They act as a distraction and disperse the damage your hero units take. and specifically ignore the pike units and concentrate all fire on the sword.

Cover is your friend

If you use cover correctly you can fairly easily destroy "superior" forces used badly.

Unlike bow units, gun-power units do not have a huge arc. Therefor, they cannot simply shoot over hills or trees. On specific maps, provided you play correctly, you actually have a larger advantage than what the game perceives you to have. Whenever fighting Fall Of The samurai units, attempt to use high ground as cover, place units, slightly behind so, so the charge range they have is closer without being inflicted with a longer duration of missile attack. A typical method I like to use is placing two layers of Yari ashigaru in front (using retainers that increase moral) and placing cloth units at the back. This acts as a meat-shield with your cheap units taking most of the damage and your melee excelling units taking the least amount of damage. The other good news, if they attempt to intercept with cavery, your Yari ashigaru will destroy them while getting shot up with friendly fire. This is a case by case thing mind, it will not work every game.

This is just a quick run down of the units to give you an idea of how they are typically or best used. I want to stress just using tons of hero units or veteran units, do not mean you will win the game. Sometimes cheaper units can be much more usefull. This is a very diffrent game from playing against the AI in single player.

Spear Units


Yari Ashigaru - regardless of puny stats can be extremely important. They have a huge 200 unit size. This makes them ideal for allot of roles not just dealing with cavalry. For example, in games set at "low funds" many players will try to use veteran units and higher tier units. These being more expensive than normal units can make there army very small in size. By deliberately opting to use lower tier Yari Ashigaru you can simply swarm them with unit count in certain scenarios. Combining them with multiple retainers that maximize moral than make them an effective meat shield against FOTS firearm units. They can act as a barrier for many units you wish to protect such as bow units.

Warrior Nuns - These units have deadly melee. Like monk though they are extremely vulnerable to missile. It is usually best to keep these units at the back or hidden if possible rather than charging in at the start of a clash.

Yari Samurai - These units cost more than Yari Ashigaru but have a slightly smaller (160) unit size. The main benefit of these units is the sprint ability. By activating those when in range of missile units you can close in much faster reducing the chances of units routing and loosing larger causalities.

Naginata Samurai - These units have some of the best Armour in the game. When attacking massed archers or playing a siege, these units are excellent with excellent melee attack. They lack the speed of Yari Samurai though and are slightly weaker against Katana units.

Warrior Monks - Much like the Warrior Nuns, these units have deadly melee attack. And again, much like the Warrior nuns, being cloth units they are extremely vulnerable to missile fire. These units have less melee damage than nuns however they have better stats against cavalry.

Sword Units


Lonesword - These units have extremely poor Armour. However they are a cost effective melee. Ideal for low fund battles.

Katana - Katana have good melee damage and decent Armour. This is probably the sword class people use most. Due to the higher price point, it's still not a good idea to have them get shot up by missile units. They will do better than other sword units but it's still best to send Yari Ashigaru as they are around half the price and keep these guys focused on othermelee units.

No-Dachi Samurai - These are cloth units. Extremely vulnerable to missile attacks. However the charge they have is deadly as is there melee attack. I don't think it's a good idea to send these guys in first. I like to wait for a mash up to start, then send these units charging in as a shock tactic. In many cases the charge alone will units to route without the need for prolonged melee fighting.

Sword Attendants - These are extremely cheap units. They have terrible Armour and fairly mediocre melee. They can be useful for "low fund" games. But generally I don't bother with them.

Bow Units


Bow Ashigaru - Like Yari Ashigaru the main strength these units have over other units is it's size and cost. Other units such as Bow cavalry and Foot Samurai have better stats but a smaller unit count. Massed Bow Ashigaru can beat higher tier units with size. They also act as excellent defense and bait. The "hit and run" tactic mentioned in my previous blog can end up loosing more units when faced against massed bow Ashigaru. Likewise someone planning to play the game camping may put spear or gunpowder, rather than bow units in front with cavalry at the back or sides. By going in and taking a few pot shots then retreating behind other units, you can soften up an army before charging in or having them take the bait and charge at you. Gun-powder units lack the range of bow units. And some such as matchlock have very low moral. Excellent targets for bow. Likewise with cavalry, they have a very small size and with a simple few volleys you can cut the proportion down.

Bow Samurai- These are basically higher tier Bow Ashigaru. They have the ability to use fire and will in practically all cases, beat Ashigaru They are far more expensive though.

Foot Samurai - The main weakness of this unit is it's small size. Against Bow Ashigaru or Bow Samurai masses, they will be beaten. However the stats of this unit is superior. When not bothered by other bow units they will inflict larger damage against specific units. They are probably best units to target higher tier units such as nuns, monks and Katana.

Bow Monk - Like Foot Samurai, against masses of bow units, these guys will beat regardless of higher stats. These are the best bow units though. They have superior range making them the best bow unit for hitting armies steadily coming towards you are hitting players who opt to camp. With the extra distance the bow monk can hit units and retreat without the player able to do much about it unless he has a specific unit to counter it such as fire-rockets or other bow monks. When in a huge class, getting your bow monks to specifically target cloth units such as warrior monks, nuns or No-Dachi will inflict heavy casualties. These are fantastic but very costly units.

Matchlock


Matchlock act less as a killing machine and more as a "shock" unit. They excel at causing units to route. Almost any unit near the firing shots of these units will route after a sustained volley. These units are very useful and commonly used in matches using higher funds.

Cavalry


Light cavalry - These units are best used for low fund matches. Against any other cavalry, pike or even higher tier melee they will be defeated. Like all cavalry, keep them away from bow. These units can be useful for ambushes. Since they are low cost and low stat, the risk of loosing them isn't as bad as it would be with other units.

Monk cavalry - Excellent melee, like all monk units vurnible to bow units

Yari cavalry - These are probably the most used and most powerful cavalry outside of hero units. While units like Katana are superior in prolonged melee, these units have a superior charge and can end battle almost instantaneity upon making contact. These can be considered "shock" units as the majority of the time they act as routers rather than getting into melee.

Katana cavalry - Against Yari these units will get destroyed. However they have excellent melee and are deadly against foot units that are not spear. They are also slightly cheaper making them more cost effective when attempting to squeeze funds.

Bow cavalry - Like Foot Samurai these units will get destroyed by massed foot archers. The main advantage of this unit is it's mobility. With the "hit and run" mentioned in the previous blog post they are a fantastic harassment class. occasionally during a match a player will be so engrossed in a battle that he will fail to notice your bow cavalry sitting at the edge of his army whittling away units sat at the side or back. Try to always keep these units hidden or at the edges of the game map rather than straight head on.

Stealth And Siege units

As previously explained, do not bother with any siege unite barring Fire-Rockets. They cost allot of money, have poor accuracy and mobility. And allot of the time will be blocked by trees rendering them useless. Likewise stealth units like Kisho, Bandits and Wacko are almost entirely useless and not worth the time or effort.

These are one of a kind units that are unlocked by purchasing a DLC, typically the unique units from a clan.

Bulletproof samurai(sengoku jidai): Yari Samurai with better stats like naginata samurai like stats, when upgraded 2attack/4 defence this is a very formidable unit capable of fighting swords , its high stats and bonus vs cav makes it an extremely versatile, using advance rapidly can make it a very efficient dojo capper and gives it the potential to return to your main army before the melee fight begins, and its stats allow it to be used as either anti cav or a main line fighter.

Marathon Monk(sengoku jidai): A rather mediocre unit, the extra attack compared to a regular warrior monk is nice and the extra speed and fatigue resist are good if you have a task that for some reason a cav unit can’t do but a regular infantry unit is too slow for then you’ve got the right unit, however cases like these are rare to say the least.

Hand motar(sengoku jidai): please refer to offer advice about siege units, don’t mistake them for some kind of fire rocket, they have very low killing power and even against heavily crowded opponent they never get more than 20 kills per volley.

Heavy gunner(sengoku jidai): The small unit size limits what these can really achieve, and makes them very vulnerable to suicide cav and other bows and matchlocks since good players will target them. They are fairly good for stopping melee rushes however not much better than other matchlocks which are a lot cheaper and less risky.
(BTW Chief O’brien is wrong about matchlocks, they can get 100+ kills if left with a clear line of sight into a melee blob, although this can be difficult to arrange. I’ve had on warrior monk with nearly 300 kills and still half his ammo after a 2v2 with clannies)

Wako raider(sengoku jidai): considered by some to be the best DLC unit they are cheap with very good stats for their cost, they are the cheapest unit to get kisho training making the best dojo capper in the game. It’s good to think of them as a training ninja if you want to use stealth units, they have a decent unit size which over comes ninjas largest inherent weakness and are less of an investment.

Bandit(sengoku jidai): Don’t go for this, they have reload between ashigaru and samurai and their accuracy is equal to ashgarus, combinded with their unit size this makes them worse than either. Additionally they don’t have the melee stats to stand up if someone cav charges them to prevent dojo capping or aggressive skirmishing and kisho training will potentially leave them overextended making it very easy to waste your investment.

Long Yari Ashigaru(sengoku jidai): This is a really powerful unit, for some extra cost compared to a regular ashigaru you get a unit that can beat a katana samurai fairly easily (head on in spear wall). They should be treated like a regular yari ashigaru in game, despite the extra bonus vs I would recommend they’re used for blocking opposed to anti cav as the improved stats only makes a small difference against cav however it makes them much more efficient for stalling units and damaging them.

Fire cav(sengoku jidai): Stats wise this is somewhere between Great guard and Yari cav, with a good cost for their stats and no retainer requirement many people prefer them to either. I’d recommend using them primarily as a anti cav unit, to make best effect of their bonus vs cav and because it can get them into position for a hammer and anvil.

Daikyu Samurai(sengoku jidai): arguably the only competitive bow unit when not backed up with a hold firm spear wall, don’t be fooled by their deceptively low stats, the larger unit size and high armour makes them a better skirmishing unit than Bow monks and in my opinion the best skirmishing unit in the game especially when upgraded to 200 range. Their high bow damage in addition their previously mentioned unit size gives them excellent killing power from a good angle they can get about 200 kills and use up all their ammo, making the extra ammo upgrade a good option as it can potentially double that to 400 kills.

Mounted Gunners(sengoku jidai): A cav spammers dream these units are widely hated because before a recent patch they could get 600+ kills before running out of ammo. While they are no longer so exploitable they are still a very useful unit with all the advantages of bow cav while packing the fire power of matchlocks.

Donderbuss cavalry (Otomo clan): Frankly I don’t know who at CA sat up one morning and thought that the game needed a 800 koku unit that can get nearly 60 kills in a single volley. Their biggest disadvantage is the tiny range which can only be used against stationary units, as even infantry can close the distance before the volley. Counters are matchlocks because they outrange them and can do large amounts of damage before the donderbusses are able to shoot, and fast cav swarms (light cav/yari cav) who can out pace them, although this can require good micro as intelligent players shield the donderbusses with their own line/ cav. This unit is excellent and waiting for patch to fix them.

Portuguese Tercos(Otomo clan): These units have very good stats, their high armour makes them resistant to bow fire and they have the best reload/accuracy of all matchlocks (the hero unit aside). Despite this I’m uncertain what to make of the unit; they cost 50 koku more than warrior monk matchlocks and don’t have the increased range ability in terms of upgrade cost this is very good value however without that increased range they’ll lose in a matchlock skirmish and most players don’t allow their matchlocks to be caught in melee. Making this unit a personal preference really opposed to a definite good/bad choice.

Hero units (saints and heros)(vanilla S2): as a rule of thumb avoid these, the small unit size makes them vulnerable to bows and matchlocks making them very risky due to the high cost, and they usualy have a low payoff, Siegen’s swordmastsers will lose against their non-hero no dachi equivalents. The exception to this is when playing against low level, small funds battles, while this might seem counter intuitive new player are unlikely to have high lvl bows, matchlocks or even high attack swords to use against the heros making them a safer play. A possible exception are the hero yari and katana cav from the saints and heros pack, these can pack a lot of power and their speed makes them good ambushing units and able to run away from pesky skirmishers. Also Hanzo’s Shadows have incredible stats, the highest in the game by far and if not dealt with appropriately they can get 300+ kills before fighting to the last man, even when surrounded.

Moral

Moral does not work individually. When units around a unit route, other units that haven't routed, get lowered moral and they them self may succumbed to routing. Moral is dynamic. Depending on the specific situation, moral may lower or higher. If a unit is a aware that there flank is exposed, moral will lower. If they are under missile attack while engaged in melee, moral will lower. High and low ground will effect moral. If a unit close to routing returns to a massed army, it's moral will rise again. It's very important to take moral into account far more than single player. Human players are intelligent compared to the AI and will moral into account. Be easily wary of fire-arm units. These are incredibly effective at causing units to route.

Veteran Units


In Shogun 2's multiplayer you can re-name units. Typically if a player has a Veteran unit. They will re-color the unit or re-name the unit to make it apparent to them while playing. This also makes it apparent to you. If you see a unit that has been renamed something along the lines of "vet unit" Elite unit" or something along these lines, it's a higher tier unit meaning typically more of a threat over other units. They should also be prime missile targets over lower quality units.

Retainers


Retainers are basically "buffs" and "de-buffs". They can increase stats of units or lower stats of the opposing player.Alot of the strategy in Shogun 2's multiplayer comes before the actual battle itself. It's very much like a game poker. You must select what you think will work best against the other players hand. If you suspect they will use lots of missile units, use a retainer that lowers the reload time or accuracy. If you suspect they will use lots of cavalry, use a retainer that slows them down and reduces charge bonus. There are many retainers and many combinations to be used. A simple but effect "meat shield" method is to specifically use retainers that increase the moral of "Yari Ashigarui" units. This can be very useful for low fund matches when you can simply swamp a player with massed units. Some units such as Fire-Rockets, Kisho and great guard require a specific retainer to be used. As you level up your avatar, more retainer slots become available.


Thats it for now. If anyone wants to help me with this (someone who has grammar above a 5 year old) or would like to add or change content feel free to contact me.

Its a common mistake for new players to spend too much time on these, during a fight, especially as the aggressor, preset formations tend to deform rapidly and since most of the time the battle takes place outside of the deployment zone its best to redeploy your army considering the terrain after the timer elapses anyway. So consider this section of the guide entirely skippable...

However since you're still here I'll talk a little about how formations can be grouped.
Its best to consider groups by different unit types however it's important to remember that all of these formations can be used with each type as the situation demands.

Infantry

1) Long spread out lines; these tend to be used on open terrain when a player wants to flank, they usually don't offer the player much flexibility as they don't use reserves. Try and end the fight quick with this as otherwise you can end up over extended and be forced to watch as your line breaks in places.

2) Wave style reserves; this is the more conservative (although can easily be aggresive) way to play and you generally can't go wrong with it. Deploy in two or three lines and either reinforce failing areas, counter charge flanking units or pull them wide to flank. I'd recommend this for a beginner, probably you since you’re reading this.

3) Any formation offered for cav or missiles, these aren't listed here because they are usually less effective, for example weighted flanks are still usefull however due to infantry slower movement speed its more difficult to abort if you change your plans.

Cavalry

1) Weighted flanks; this is when you put more or even all of your cav force on a single in order to overwhelm and crush it, this requires that you be aggressive as otherwise your opponent can just attack the other flank and refuse to fight the stronger one.

2) Balanced; spliting your cav forces equally on each flank, this is the most basic obvious deployment for cav and I don't feel the need to go into great detail on it.

3) Cav behind your army; placing all your cav in one blob behind your army.

You might notice these descriptions are a lot shorter than for infantry, infact the only reason the weighted flank description is so long is because of infantry, the reason for this is simple. Cavalry is a lot faster than infantry, this means that formations can easily be adjusted and reinforced as you feel like it. The important thing however is to NOT spread out your cav too much. This may seem counter intuitive as usually the only way you can get a full surround on an enemy is by having better cav however this can leave your army vulnurable to your opponents cav and makes it more difficult to coordinate an attack.

Missile troops

1) Flanking forces; this involves spliting your missiles and putting them on one, or both, flanks. The idea behind this is that they can continue to fire even as the melee brawl starts, it also can counter larger numbers of bad missiles as players tend to clump up their missiles to fire back and don't just shoot your melee. This is usually the best option when your opponent has (more) weaker quality missile troops or a rush, however it requires you to be able to protect them, so usually isn't an option if you don't have cav superiority. Also note that it tends to require better positioning and isn't such an effective counter against many missiles if a good player controls.
(This is kind of like weighted flanks for cav or inf but it acheives different things so I thought I'd make a new one.)

2) Big line; exactly like inf but it acheives different things and so deserves its own analysis (and what an analysis :l ) . Pros: Hard to get wrong, provides large surface area for maximum effect. Cons: none really. I'd recomend this one.

Thats it really. Except for when to use which formation and postitioning. But positioning is worth a guide by itself and frankly both topics are better learned by playing the game and watching replays to see how you could have improved. Oh and because, and I can't state this one enought, I'm lazy.

Much of this was written before FOTS. No-Dachi's "Banzai" ablity is very useful against FOTS units as it temporarily makes the unit invulnerable to turning and routing. For that reason, I tend to use these over Katanas and other units when facing FOTS gun units. Just thought it was worth a quick mention.

Using a general to Bait.

Unlike the AI, the human opponent is fully aware of the importance of your general. This can be a
Huge disadvantage at times but also can act as an advantage in certian circumstances. Because of the important nature of the unit some players will be so focused on it they will developed tunnel vision and not notice what is going on around them. You run the risk of your general dying by doing stuff like this so it is a risk/high reward tactic. But if it works you can set up players like bowling pins ready to be knocked over. This can go horribly wrong but when it does work, it's can be very satisfying.


(more to be added)