I wanted to write a short beginner's guide to my favourite clan in Shogun 2, the Otomo. I'll give you an overview of the clan's strengths & weaknesses, important units, useful research and strategies. Hopefully, you will find some useful information that will help you to enjoy playing this awesome clan.

The Otomo were the first to make contact with the Portuguese and quickly started to trade with them. From the Europeans they received gunpowder weapons as well as a new religion. Both are not necessarily compatible with Japanese traditions and may upset your neighboring clans quite a bit. But with the help of your foreign friends and Jesus Christ, you might have what it takes to become the next Shogun!

Strengths:

• matchlock units are available right from the start
  
• strategically advantageous starting position
  
• devastating european cannons
  
• expensive but superior ships
  
• vigorous missionaries

Weaknesses:

• foreign religion interferes with your diplomatic relations
  
• christianity is not established anywhere, it must be spread first
  
• low honor decreases the morale of your troops and the loyalty of your generals

Matchlock Infantry
Your matchlock guns are revolutionary, but not perfect. The available bowmen, however, are very skilled (especially the Samurai), can shoot faster and have a longer range. Perhaps you think it's better to rely on the bow and abstain from using the loud and "dishonorable" matchlock rifles, but make no mistake! If they're used correctly, your gunpowder infantry can crush the enemy morale and cut through their lines like a hot knife through a stick of butter.

Matchlock units are rather weak if they're used in field battles. They can fire up to two or three volleys at the approaching enemies, but then have to quickly retreat or defend themselves in melee which usually doesn't end well. They can also attack defending units behind castle walls, but will have many casualties due to their shorter range and the good cover of the defending troops. However, they truly excel in defense, standing on your castle's walls and scare away attacking units with their guns. Even Samurai lose their courage if they have to charge a castle which is defended by these units.

It's important to note that by default, only the first line of soldiers fire their guns, no matter if they're standing on an open field or on the battlements. The rest of the unit waits and replaces fallen comrades from the first line. More advanced matchlock infantry will have the ability to shoot in turns. But to avoid this, you can easily spread the line of soldiers by clicking and dragging your cursor while placing the soldiers behind the walls. This also makes room for a line of melee units behind the gunmen. This is very helpful once the enemy has overcome the walls.

Portuguese Tercos
These are elite matchlock units and one of my favourites. They are better marksmen and melee fighters than matchlock Samurai, have twice their armor and their accuracy is only surpassed by Tokitaka's Tanegashima (which come in very low numbers, though). They are expensive to recruit, but their wages are identical to what you have to pay the matchlock Samurais (150). As you can see in the picture below, they are quite effective.


European Cannons
These units can be imported as soon as you have the Namban Quarter. That means you don't need the Siege Workshop to recruit them. They are powerful and more accurate than Mangonels, but need a little more time to reload. One of their downsides is the low shooting arc. Their ability to shoot up a hill is very limited and they're useless while defending. But still, they can be very valuable in the right hands.

Namban Trade Ship
These ships are strong enough to destroy any of the enemy's Kobayas and Bunes. A single ship or groups of two are enough to counter most attacking fleets. They are expensive, but absolutely worth the money. However, they aren't invincible after all. If the Namban ship catches fire and your crew isn't able to extinguish it in time, they might surrender and you lose the ship. The greatest threat for your Namban ships are Bow Kobayas shooting fire arrows and Fire Bomb Kobayas. The first ones are especially dangerous if they start circling your ship. They are very small and thus difficult to hit with your cannons and they can shower you with fire arrows outside of the range of your matchlock guns. In addition to this, they are fast and don't have to rely on the wind to advance. If you do manage to get near the Bow Kobaya, you can quickly lower their morale with a few volleys from your muskets. Fire Bomb Kobayas are very dangerous as well, but they have to get very close to your ship in order to throw the bombs on it. That gives you the opportunity to take out their crew before they can attack. This makes the ship a controllable threat if you react soon enough.

Fire Rockets
These siege units are not unique to the Otomo clan, but since you will probably go for the Siege Engineer's Workshop line of buildings, they can be recruited along with the advanced gunpowder infantry. Unlike most other siege units they are very mobile and still have a decent range, allowing them to shower the defending enemy with highly explosive rockets and then quickly relocate. In addition to their offensive capabilities, they can also be extremely useful for defense. They can be placed behind the walls of your fortress just like any infantry unit (remember to click and drag the cursor to spread the line). Because of their low numbers, they take up only minimum space and can be used in conjunction with matchlock units to instill maximum fear into your enemies. Even if they can't attack walls, they are much more useful than Flame Bomb Throwers. Their effective range is much longer and they don't run the risk of bombing themselves while defending the castle.

Your first research goal should be "Tea Ceremony" which will reward you with a permanent +1 honor for your Daimyo. It can be learned relatively fast and you should get it before your first major attack or siege. Good morale is critical and easily decides the whole battle (see "Strategy" for more info). Another important upgrade is "Gunpowder Mastery" because it's essential for recruiting well trained gunpowder units, even if takes quite long to reach it. Other than that, I recommend a balanced research of both Bushido and Chi arts. You should regularly upgrade farming to sustain market buildings and castles. Don't forget that religious buildings improve the research of Chi upgrades!

A good first goal for your campaign is the island of Kyushu. But to accomplish this, you have to carefully decide your steps to avoid being defeated by the Shimazu or an other clan on the island. A side effect of the foreign religion is the decreased honor of your clan's leader. This also poses your main weakness. Your troops will have low morale at the start, but this problem can be solved over the course of the game. The lacking morale makes sieges and field battles very difficult, even if you have more units than your enemy. Additionally, your special starting units, the imported matchlock Ashigaru, are prone to run for their lives once they're forced to fight at melee range.

For the first seasons, you should avoid being overly agressive and mostly defend until your situation improves. However, you shouldn't hold back too much, either, because that allows one of the other clans to gain the upper hand on Kyushu. Try to take the enemy forts by surprise and with superior numbers. Defending a castle will be much easier for you than attacking it. As soon as you can, make use Katana & Bow Samurai as attack units for their better morale and defend your castles with Matchlock, Yari and Bow Ashigaru.

To take the island, start from Buzen and proceed anticlockwise to the south. Attack the Ito clan last because you have quite good relations with them. It may seems counterproductive to attack your only friend, but you need Kyushu as a foundation to conquer the rest of Japan. However, a very good idea is making the last remaining enemy clan on Kyushu an vassal. Vassals will further improve the honor of your Daimyo and make up for the foreign religion. This can be much more valuable for you than one additional region (you will collect tribute from your vassal anyway). It's also important to note that three regions on Kyushu are exceptionally fertile. Higo, Tsukushi and Hizen farms should always be the first ones to upgrade, since they'll earn you the most money.

Always remember to build chapels, especially in newly acquired regions. They help you to spread christianity and allow you to use more missionaries, which help to keep the resistance down if they're used in cities. All regions besides your own will have 0% christians, but thanks to the improved conversion rate of the Jesuit missionaries, they can be converted rather quickly. The Namban Quarter is very expensive, but also an incredibly important building. Build it as soon as you can afford it. You will also get an appropriate mission which rewards you with Portuguese Tercos (gunmen) upon completion. The namban Quarter is also used to build superior Portuguese ships. They allow you to seize the western trade posts and make huge profits. Make sure to have additional ships to keep your trade routes clear from pirates and the fleets of other clans. The Bungo region is also a good place to build the Siege Engineer's Workshop building line. Once you upgrade it to the Powder Maker, you will be able to recruit more Portuguese Tercos.

After you've conquered Kyushu, you can either invade Honshu, the main island, or take over Shikoku first (home island of the Chosokabe Clan). After you have successfully established your clan, you'll have good chances to win the game. Just remember to focus on your strengths and use them to their full extent. Have fun! :)