Shogun 2 is hands down the best game in Total War franchise, and the pinnacle of Shogun 2 gameplay resides in its Multiplayer Avatar Conquest battles. The extreme customisation permitted by the veteran system greatly expands the depth and breadth of the already solid Shogun 2 gameplay, in this franchise first (and never repeated) of Avatar Conquest mode.

It is a pity that such a wonderful game mode of Avatar Conquest is so underappreciated. This is surely due in part to its steep learning curve. The amount of play diversification achieved by the game mode's veterans means experienced human players can pose a great threat to new players.

Having a systematic approach to Avatar Conquest battles is an effective shortcut to victories, especially for new players. After years of Shogun 2 Avatar Conquest experience, I would love to share my methodology of 鹏流兵法, The Large Fabulous Bird Flow Art of War.

The Large Fabulous Bird Flow Art of War is a school of Shogun 2 gameplay - a system that utilizes the combination of Skirmishers, Yari Wall, Melee in columns and an encompassing formation that mimics a flying Large Fabulous Bird to win games. Many players have been very successful using this The Large Fabulous Bird Flow system. It is systematically stronger and more advanced than typical "ad hoc" multiplayer strategies out there.


This guide will be divided into several parts trying to cover these topics:

• The Basics
  
• Getting Started
  
• The Large Fabulous Bird Flow Art of War
  
• The Formation
  
• The Principles
  
• Planning and Execution

Originally posted by 孫子:

知己知彼，百戰不殆。

Originally posted by Sun Tzu:

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

Before diving into the LFBF details, we must get familiar with the Avatar Conquest mode, to know what kind fight we are getting into. There are a lot of well-written guides covering the basics of Shogun 2 Avatar Conquest gameplay.

You can skip this session if you are familiar with all topics present in this checklist:

• Control Basics
  
• Unit Basics
  
• Rock Scissor Paper Relationship
  
• Basic Meta and Spam strategies
  
• Game Mechanisms
  
• Retainer Upgrades
  
• Veteran Upgrades
  
• General Upgrades

Here you can fine some of the useful resources:

• TripleZHacker's Unit Tier List
  
• TripleZHacker's Retainer Guide
  
• TripleZHacker's General Build Guide
  
• TripleZHacker's Army Composition Guide
  
• Chaos's Not So Complete Guide
  
• Lvl 5 Weeaboo's Avatar Conquest Basics
  
• Kav's Community Guide
  
• Zaript's You Only Level Once DLC Units Guide
  
• Akfiz's Veteran/General Upgrades Guide

Avatar Conquest is a brutal mode, especially for new players. When you create your first new avatar, your general will have no experience nor skill points nor veterans, and the available recruits are limited to some basic units like the Ashigarus until you capture more prefectures on the strategical map.

Do not be scared if you are faced off against a higher levelled avatar. Although he would have a stronger general, his general will cost as much as 1800 koku, leaving him with as little as 3200 koku to spend on the rest of his army. Your army will most likely to be bigger!

There are several important DLCs for avatar conquest new players, as they provide crucial veterans such as Fire Cav, Mounted Gunners, Tercos, Bullet Proof Samurai, etc. These units are very handy for new starters, and especially useful before you get all your units unlocked and build up your proper veterans.

You will have to rely solely on your skills and (if available) these powerful units to win the first few battles. Be prepared!



Utilize power units to negate enemy's strength

These units can be very handy early on securing crucial wins and progress.

• Long Yari Ashigaru
  
  
  Effective Yari Wall to stop enemy blobs.
  
  One of the most important units in the game.
  
  The best and most cost-efficient tactical leverage.
  
  Completely out-ranks normal Yari Ashigarus
  
  The usage of Yari Wall will be discussed in later sections.
  
  
  
• Portugese Tercos
  
  
  Equalizer - when facing overpowered veterans you just shoot them down with 2 volleys.
  
  The best matchlock unit in game. With higher reload and accuracy, they win trades against other skirmishers most of the time.
  
  High Armour enables trading against bow units.
  
  Available from start of game.
  
  
• Mounted Gunners/Donderbuss
  
  
  Equalizer mobile version.
  
  The best unit to obtain cavalry superiority.
  
  When facing strong Cavalry/General, just zone them and snipe them.
  
  Can be very effective at dealing with rushes.
  
  People will whine about how good you use these two units.
  
• Fire Calvary
  
  
  Better version of Yari Cavalry.
  
  The most cost-effective Cavalry unit in game.
  
  Scale with attack/defense upgrades very well.
  
  Enables hammer and anvil strategy.
  
  Available from start of game.
  
  
  
• Onna Bushi Heroine
  
  
  Cheap strong cavalry with bows
  
  Game-changing utilities especially for end games.
  
  Affordable bow cavalry functionality for early game.
  
  Strong melee but not so good charge. Can be very cost-efficient charge into stationary cavalry fights.
  
  Female warriors, it is OK to simp if she is a Onna Bushi Heroine.
  
  
• Shizugatake
  
  
  The strongest cavalry.
  
  Cavalry superiority costs 1500 koku.
  
  Beats lvl 10 Melee General 10 out of 10.
  
  Second Wind ensures late game efficiency.
  
  Available from start.
  
  
  
• Tanegashima
  
  
  Equalizer lesser size.
  
  Very useful for early games, especially when Tercos are not available.
  
  Comes with +25 range, outranges normal matchlocks.
  
  High armor enables trading against bow units. Can tear through 3 bow ashigarus easily.
  
  Sensational to snipe generals.
  
  
• Daikyu
  
  
  The best bow unit in game.
  
  Long range, high damage.
  
  Available from the very beginning.
  
  Better armor enhances trading against other bows.
  
  Can be upgraded into a powerhouse.
  
  
  
• Bulletproof Samurai
  
  
  The most versatile unit throughout the game.
  
  Bulletproof, anti cavalry, solid melee and high armor.
  
  Provides tremendous momentum, especially handy for capturing side dojos. Great at creating chaos.
  
  Able to soak matchlock fire at range without devastating casualties.
  
  Can be upgraded into absolute mad lads, virtually nothing can stop them.
  
  
• Warrior Nuns
  
  
  Early game powerhouse.
  
  With high attacks, Nuns are good at fighting strong infantry/cavalry.
  
  Available from start of game.
  
  Poor scalability due to lesser size. Recommend to switch to proper units as soon as possible.
  
  
  
  
• Wako Raiders
  
  
  Strong katana infantry with Kisho deployment
  
  Very cost effective, as cheap as 550 koku.
  
  Speedy dojo capture.
  
  Amazing scalability can be upgraded into absolute mad lads.
  
  Vulnerable against cavalry, make sure you control the field when deploying them.
  
  
  
• Example Small Funds Army
  
  
  
  This army is small but complete. Armed with the best matchlock in game, it poses formidable threat to enemy units; backed by Long Yari Wall and Nuns, it can take cost-effective trades all day; supported by solid cavalry with roaming yari ashigaru , it has competitive field control to secure side dojos. This army is absolutely versatile.

Planning a starting route to try to capture key buildings as soon as possible can make your progress a lot easier. For example, if you are more into hammer and anvil play style, you might want to capture multiple horse prefectures asap. Remember to join a clan to accumulate Clan Tokens. These are useful when upgrading high-leveled veterans.


Plan your mid game too. You will need some veterans for your army setup. You need to accumulate veteran experience and clan tokens as early as possible. Usually the LFBF suggests new plays get these veterans asap: 4 matchlocks, 2 bows, 4 Yari Ashigarus, 6 Katana Samurai/Ashigarus, 4 Yari Cavs, etc. to ensure key units can be brought on every game (i.e. bring 2 matchlocks, 1 bow, 2 yari ashigaru and the long yari ashigaru, 3 katanas, and 2 yari cavs etc.). As soon as your army take form it gets easier and easier to win games.


Be brave! Do not worry about matchmaking. Plenty of noobs play and plenty of people who think they are good are actually noobs, too. Shogun 2 is a fast-moving game where anyone can lose and where mistakes are natural. You just need to find your own style and roll with it! Also, even losing games reward experience and sometimes the prefecture; Soon you will get the hang of it and progress enough to no longer being the underdog. Remember that opportunities to learn come more readily from losses than from wins.




Good luck and have fun to your Sengoku Jidai adventures!
Of course everyone enjoys this game better when winning. That's why we are here getting to know The Large Fabulous Bird Flow, a systematic approach that can help you win Shogun 2 games.

Next to The Large Fabulous Bird Flow fundamentals.

The Large Fabulous Bird Flow army usually consists of 3 - 4 Battle Units as the core supported by Auxiliaries in a typical large funds settings. The Battle Unit is the very fundamental component of an LFBL army.


The Battle Unit usually consists of a line of Matchlocks - with their indiscriminate killing power and solid field control, a tight formation of Yari Wall - with their strategic leverage and solid mass, and a unit of Katanas - with their superior attributes to deliver the decisive blow.



To illustrate how Battle Unit works, here is a fully decked out luxurious battle unit with highest settings possible.



The Basic Form of Battle Unit

• Matchlocks
  deliver the devastating killing power
  
  The single most tactical unit in this game. With the ability to kill the most formidable fighters with only few volleys, it totally revolutionizes the game. The long reload time makes it is hard to use, as although they pack a punch, they could be forced out of positions easily.
  
  
  A fully-decked out matchlock is capable of delivering as much as 100 kills even before the engagement takes place, rendering the most expensive melee units useless. The key is to be able to secure their position. They can accumulate crippling damage in short time. The threat and field control generated by this killing power is formidable.
  
  Matchlock is very weak when getting overwhelmed; therefore it is important to support your matchlocks with field control and momentum.
  
  

  Originally posted by 俗語:

  上帝造人，銃彈平其貴賤

  Originally posted by Proverb:

  God created man, Sam Colt made them equal.

  
  It is common people bring stronger veterans to Avatar Conquest battles. Picking them off using matchlocks is the key to your victory. With matchlocks' indiscriminate killing power, the enemy's overwhelming strength can be equalized properly. Ideally you only engage after the removal of powerful enemy veterans. A great time to shoot them down is when the enemy is tied down with your Yari Walls.
  
  
• Yari Wall
  Cheap wall to hold off enemy blobs.
  
  As Yari Wall increase the mass and density, enables several ranks of Ashigarus to poke at once, it is one of the strongest leverages to exist in the game, the single most cost-effective unit. With as little as 520 koku you can get one of the strongest fighters in the game, as long as they do not get out-flanked and maintain a reasonable morale with inspire or dojo buffs.
  
  
  They are solid at holding enemy charges. Ideally you can tank a blob of enemies with the Yari Wall and hold them there stationary, then you can either shoot them with matchlocks or charge in with melee grinders in the flank, depends on your preference. Maintaining a solid morale is important for Yari Walls, and they enjoy exponential return on Attack attributes as they can poke together in Yari Wall forms.
  
  Yari wall is weak if getting flanked, overwhelmed, and/or under range fire; therefore it is important to support your Yari wall with field control and momentum.
  
  

  Originally posted by 吳殳:

  槍為諸藝之王，以諸器遇槍立敗也。

  Originally posted by Wu Shu:

  Yari is the best. The other arms simply can not compete.

  
  The Yari Wall can hold enemies off with their Superior density and mass as long as the flanks are secured, creating opportunities for matchlocks and/or melee to exploit. After leveling up and investing in defense and attack attributes, the Yari Wall becomes a formidable killing machine which is very hard to break from the front.
  
  
• Melee Grinder
  Melee unit with high stats win decisive fights.
  
  With their high attributes, ideally charging in from the flanks, Melee Grinders are the ones deliver the decisive blow in the most humble and straight forward means which requires no APM. They are also potentially the most vulnerable units that need protection from range volleys and cavalries charges, therefore it is recommended to use combined arms to cover and create situations for these chads.
  
  
  They are great in delivering counter attacks and/or the final decisive blow. With their high attributes, they can easily overwhelm the enemy infantry when used right. When used defensively, they are the first choice to support the Yari Wall by securing each others' flanks. There is not too much trickery in their usage: protect them right, wait for the favorable situation, find a good angle, charge in with a solid formation, and win with their superior min-maxing stats.
  
  Even the strongest melee grinders becomes vulnerable without the protection of other units, especially when exposed to skirmishers or cavalries alone; therefore it is important to support your melee grinders with field control and momentum.
  
  

  Originally posted by 孫子:

  凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。

  Originally posted by Sun Tzu:

  In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory

  
  When the enemy is already weakened and encircled, and the winning condition is secured, the melee units can rush in from the right angle to deliver the killing blow, overwhelm the weakened enemy. The enemy player would always be able to adjust and counter charge unless the enemy units have already gotten involved in melee battles. Charge the enemy but without getting charged is the essence of melee engagement, and the indirect methods will be needed.
  
  
• Coordination
  Coordination is everything.
  
  Units must be used together and support each other, otherwise the whole play falls apart. A combined arms army is not going to be stronger at melee than a Naginata spam army, but you have all the tools to create the right situation and compete where the enemy is weakest; for example, getting shot for free while being held at bay by Yari Walls.
  
  
  Units with coordination have overall the most cost-effective utility to secure the most field control and generate the most momentum against more diverse scenarios. Using the combined arms Battle Unit with good coordination, you can work along with the assets in mechanism such as terrain, dojos to gain the strategical advantage and create a healthy environment for your army where everybody can do what they are good at.
  Coordination is everything.
  
  

  Originally posted by Caesar:

  Apes alone weak. Apes together strong.

  
  Proficient coordination in Battle Unit ensures the 1+1+1>3 effect where the combination of Matchlock, Yari Wall, and Melee can be leveraged to fight bigger/stronger forces. Detailed maneuvers will be discussed in the next section.

There are always choices for each component. Depending on your budget and strategical intent, choose your components and build your Battle Units; ranging from humble vanilla to fully decked out lvl 9, Battle Units come in with different price tags and specs.


Matchlocks Tierlist

• Portuguese Tercos
  lvl 2: 2*reload
  lvl 5: 2* reload 2* accuracy 1*range
  Killer stats and armor, able to trade against bows
  Slightly more expensive
  
  
• Matchlock Ashigaru
  lvl 5: 2*reload 2*accuracy 1*range
  Superior army size, Cheaper price
  Strong against matchlocks, weak against bows
  
  
• Matchlock Samruai
  lvl 2: 2*reload
  lvl 5: 2* reload 2*accuracy 1*range
  solid stats and armor, able to trade against bows
  
  
• Matchlock Hero
  lvl5: 2*reload 2*accuracy 1*range
  Always have +25 range, outrange normal matchlocks
  High armor, able to trade against bows
  
  
• Matchlock Monks
  lvl2: 2*speed
  lvl5: 2*reload 2*accuracy 1*range
  Excellent stats but poor armor,
  Temporary +25 range, outrange normal matchlocks
  
  
• Heavy Gunners
  lvl2: 2*speed
  lvl5: 2*reload 2*accuracy 1*range
  Impale, knock over, shred cavalries/blobs.Too expensive

Matchlocks Ashigaru are the most commonly used unit, due to their cheap price and extra unit size. As cheap as 619 koku you can have a unit of formidable 125 range matchlocks. Matchlock Samurais are actually preferred with their better attributes and adequate armor, if budget is abundant you can upgrade them to 125 range. Although Monks can reach 150 range temporarily matching the range of regular bows, it gets shredded by bows, making it less viable despite the amazing potential granted by its attributes. Cheaper matchlocks are already deadly enough, also making luxury matchlock units more obsolete.

Yari Walls

• Long Yari Ashigaru:
  Long Yari works the same way as Yari Wall but significantly better.
  More ranks of ashigaru can poke together when formed Yari Wall
  Can be strategically effective at any level
  
• Yari Ashigaru:
  lvl 5+: 2*attack 2*defense 1*morale
  You can only field one Long Yari, the rest will be normal
  When leveled up, it steamrolls through weaker units
  Vanilla Yari Wall only holds enemies off, cannot kill efficiently

Depend on your playstyle, you can either invest or save in the use of Yari Walls. If you want to rely on the steady and deadly pushes, at least get lvl 5+ Yari Walls, invest as much as 2k koku; if you want to be more elusive and mobile, instead of relying on the clumsy phalanx, just get 3 vanilla ashigaru as cheap as 954 koku. The strength of pike wall is very tricky, every bit attack bonus can change the fighting outcome drastically; sometimes they are vanilla and weak, only holds enemy off for a short while, kills nobody, while other times fully decked out ashigaru wreck havoc, steamrolls through anything in front of them, even hero units melt.

Melee Grinder Tierlist

• Wako Raiders:
  lvl 9: 4*attack 2*defence 2*charge 1*banzai
  Most cost efficient Katana fighters
  Demolishes melee fights
  Unique unit, can only field one.
  
  
• Loan Sword Ashigaru:
  lvl 9: 4*attack 2*defense 2*charge 1*banzai
  Extra party size
  Cheap price, with retainers it can be very cost efficient
  
  
• Nodachi Samurai:
  lvl 2: 2*attack
  Comes with banzai ability
  Cheapest banzai katana
  
  
• Katana Samurai:
  lvl 5: 2*attack 1*morale 1*defense 1*armor
  lvl 9: 4*attack 2*defense 2*charge 1*banzai
  Amazing stats, but too expensive to field
  lvl 5 has no banzai, could route under matchlock fire
  
  
• Naginatas:
  Naginatas are generally less cost effective
  Too expensive to get banzai
  Miss the strategical purpose of grinding

Most of the time you see people deploy lvl 9 Loan Sword Ashigaru, as they are so cost-efficient. Vanilla Nodachi can be a handy choice if you want to save some kokus on Melee Grinders. At the cost of weaker grinding power, you can invest the resources on other functionalities. I always love Katana Samurai for their aesthetics, but most of the time they are too expensive, unless playing with Ultra funds. Naginatas are generally much less cost-efficient to be used as the major grinding power in LFBF system, their anti-cav and ridiculous defense attributes essentially are wasted in fulfilling the role of Melee Grinders.


The basic maneuver is very simple for single battle unit given the right attribute-minmaxing and engagements, though the coordination between multiple battle units can be exponentially more complicated.

• Defensive Maneuver
  
  Ideally you want to secure a good position and shoot your enemy to death, the enemy will charge at you desperately. Free win is incoming, you simply execute:
  
  
  1. Matchlock volley
     
  2. Yari Wall tank the charge
     
  3. Melee unit find a good angle to either defend to counter attack
     
  4. Adjust matchlock position and shoot between gaps
  
  
• Offensive Maneuver
  
  Sometimes you want to feel extra manly and assertive, to dominate your enemy not with matchlock fire but with close quarters, or even worse, you are actually the desperate one charging into your inevitable defeat. Don't think too much, you need to pull off:
  
  
  1. Matchlock volley
     
  2. Yari Wall initiate the charge followed by melee units protecting its rear. Form Yari Wall before contact,
     
  3. Grind through the melee, or finish it with hammer and anvil cavalry strike.
     
  4. Matchlocks look for late game skirmish potentials
  
  
• Tactical Withdrawing
  
  It is very important to be able to withdraw from a dicey situation, however this is always overlooked. People mostly plan for how they win, but do not plan how to work out a tough situation. The key of a tactical withdrawal is to protect your units with each other. In few words:
  
  
  1. Fire Power stops all chasers
     
  2. Cavalry stops katana chasers
     
  3. Yari stops cavalry chasers
  
  
• Endgame Compatibility
  
  Since all battle units have similar component and usage, you can replace them with each other effortlessly. This feature can be very handy for late game situations, where you always find some units broken, a battle unit missing the matchlock or all melee grinders are dead. Simply tear it apart and rebuild your new battle units. In the late game, if the opponent's army lack a certain component, you can surely and easily exploit to your assured victory. As long as your army is still functionally intact while the opponent is not, your enemy cannot exploit you as much as you could in return.

Coordination and maneuver between battle units are exponentially more complicated as it is more about the outline of shape and momentum, rather than the detail of attributes and engagements.

• Between Battle Units
  
  With multiple battle units, the maneuver can be exponentially more diverse and complex. You can flap, swing, hang, glide, catch, knock, flip, roll, dive, all sort of things with that bird wing maneuver. It is hard to describe but you will know it when you win with it, you feel it when the shape of your army is fabulous.
  
  
  • Flap: Spread Battle Units to maximize control
    
  • Swing: Swing Battle Units to one side to change angels
    
  • Hang: Hang a single Battle Unit at the far end to distract
    
  • Glide: Glide Battle Units around the enemy to encroach
    
  • Knock: Knock enemy in between your Battle Units
    
  • Flip: Invert the front and rear by diving aggressively
    
  • Roll: Invert the front and rear by rotating defensively
    
  • Dive: Dive with all Battle Units
  
  The shape shifts constantly and endlessly.

The Battle Units must be supported by various Auxiliaries. These units although weak on their own, cannot pose any real threat against strong enemy force alone, they work along with other units to create initiatives for plays, exploit the enemy, accumulate damage into winning conditions.

• Fodder
  
  Cheap units to initiate trading, support cavalry fights, or holding significant positions, one of the most important roles in the system. The virtue is to be as cheap and as leveraging as possible. Strategically they can be used effective against rangers, roamers, and hammers.
  
  Fodder units are essential to fighting for field control too. They can be leverage capturing side dojos, or stationary guards to defend your rear. Without them your gameplay will be a lot narrower and riskier. Although they are called fodders, but DO NOT WASTE their lives, make sure their efforts secure you the strategical upper-hand.
  
  Naginata Attendants
  These units have solid armor and defense, can take advantages in trades against cavalry and ranged units in melee. One of the most frequently used fodder units with their impeccable 220 cost.
  
  Sword Attendants
  Lack of anti-cavalry making them strategically inferior, securing less field control against enemy cavalries. Tactically they are slightly stronger with better attack and charge. They are also even cheaper at 200 koku.
  
  Yari Ashigaru
  Solid fodder unit, but more expensive. With larger size, faster speed, yari wall formation and superior anti-cavalry, they are more versatile at fighting for field control and capturing dojos.
  
  Light Calvary
  One of the most skillful unit in shogun 2. Can be used to scout hidden enemies; to flank or even kamikaze charge and cause devastating damage; to chase down ranged cavalries with their extra speed etc.
  
  Bulletproof Samurai
  Technically they are the best at soaking up enemies fires as they can handle bullets. However, their steep price at 900 and amazing potentials at other roles making fodder a less viable option role for them.
  
  
• Flanker
  
  Versatile units on the flank, good at supporting cavalry, securing side dojos, distract enemy forces and flanking in mid/late game. One of the most aggressive roles in the system. Elusive throughout the whole game, and walk in from the flank to close it.
  
  Although they do not have best melee stats, they can trade with most of the units effectively except for melee grinders.Use them well they can initiate favorable fights over and over again causing depress and fury in enemy's mind. Without them it would be much harder to maintain map control and initiate trades effectively.
  
  Bulletproof Samurai
  The best flanker. With bulletproof property, they generate incomparable momentum, even possible to halt mounted gunners/donderbuss. Level up to 6+, they win melee trades against most other units making them literally unstoppable.
  
  Yari Samurai
  Cheaper version of bulletproof samurai. Although they are vulnerable against matchlocks, they straight up beat any cavalry and bully fodder units with their adequate melee attributes.
  
  Nuns
  Their superior melee attribute means they can shred through pretty much anything. However, their smaller unit size and low armor making them less viable compare to other top options.
  
  Naginata Warrior Monks
  Feels like nuns with larger size and lesser melee attributes. Face the same consequences as Nuns that low armor making them vulnerable to charges and ranged fires. Also they are significantly more expensive.
  
  Naginata Samurai
  Their attributes just cannot cut it most of the time. Giving them upgrades making them too expensive. They also run slower.
  
  Marathon Monks
  This unit was designed to be a flanker who run around with their exceptional stamina, but the extra price makes them obsolete.
  
  
  
  
• Hammer
  
  Heavy Cavalries for hammer and anvil tactics. They are the most effective and devastating hitting force given ample field control, especially in late games. The fight for cavalry superiority can be gruesome, and without the cavalry superiority to allow them running around, they are pretty much useless.
  
  In late games they are also essential to clean up the already-weakened and losing enemies to avoid them from regrouping. It is very important to preserve your hammer instead of throwing it away early. Without them in the late game you will find very hard to capitalize on your advantage, instead the enemy could come back and regroup over and over.
  
  
  Fire Calvary
  The best cavalry. Most cost effective and with proper upgrades they become cavalry powerhouse that good at fighting both non-spear infantry and cavalries.
  
  Yari Calvary
  The second best cavalry. Without cavalry superiority, the utility of cavalry play is heavily penalized. Cost effective Yari Calvary is the most efficient way at gaining cavalry superiority.
  
  Great Guards
  Technically they are the best cavalry, however the steep price and extra retainer cost makes them obsolete. However, they are actually really strong and easy to use.
  
  Shizugatake
  Actually this is the strongest cavalry, with 2 Hit Points, high armor, and amazing attack and charge, they straight up beat any cavalry. Even melee general cannot compete.
  
  Katana Calvary
  The best counter-infantry cavalry, with their unmatched attack and charge, solid mass and armor, they can deliver devastating blow. However, Yari Calvary can do the same and they are even better at gaining cavalry superiority.
  
  Naginata Warrior Monk Calvary
  The in-between option between Yari Calvary and Katana Calvary. Usually they are rendered obsolete by their lack of specialty, however it also makes them extra effective.
  
  
  
  
• Roamer
  
  Mounted range units for field control. They can score free kills all day given the right situation, creating the defensive initiative that force the enemy to advance. They are great at taking out other mobile forces such as flankers and hammers, or enemy roamers. They can make cavalry fights much more proactive by drawing the enemy into the unfavorable fights or give up free kills.
  
  They are one of the most versatile role. In early game they harass and start the fight, in mid game they support with their firepower and help overwhelming the enemy locally, in late game they can get free kills with their ammo left or charge in just like hammers. Without them it would feel much more clumsy.
  
  Mounted Gunners
  The best roamer with no doubt. Hits hard, run fast, shoots relatively accurately. Given t he right tempo and rhythm it can delete important units especially cavalries from afar. It out-class bow cav by killing power, and it out-class donderbuss by its range.
  
  Bow Calvary
  The most versatile roamer, backed with proper support, it can stay toe to toe against a Mounted Gunners. However it kills relatively slowly, making it much more trickier to use.
  
  Donderbuss
  The range makes it rather ineffective since you have to walk up to deal the damage. If the enemy has proper field control, donderbuss can potentially have a bad time. However they kill so fast with shrapnel they are still very effective, just not as versatile.
  
  Mounted Samurai
  Cheaper version of Bow Cavalry with smaller size, with their solid attack they can be used as naginata cavarlies committing drive-bys and hit and run against enemy stragglers.
  
  Yoritomo’s Yabusame Cavalry
  They are supposed to be good with their 200 range on paper, but actually very ineffective since they kill too slowly while being too expensive.
  
  Mounted Samurai Hero
  A weaker version of Yoritomo's Yabusame having 175 range. The smaller size makes their firepower extra weak, and their sub-par melee stats render them a bunch of soft virgins.
  
  

• Ranger
  
  Long range bow securing field control for the army. They are used along with and against matchlocks. They are also very good at sniping Yari Walls afar. However, they need strong field control and support to avoid being charged head on as they do not have enough stopping power unlike Matchlocks.
  
  Used in combine with matchlock is very important. Matchlocks and bows go hand in hand; they support each others' field control, compensate each others' weakness; Matchlock are fast at killing but come with shorter range and require direct sight, bows are much slower but have longer range and can fire over an arc. Without them your matchlocks it would be much more passive to defend as matchlocks would be out-ranged and pushed out of positions.
  
  Daikyu Samurai
  The best bow unit, with the extra damage, range, armor and size. They scale very well with reload, accuracy, range and damage ugrades. After leveling up, they are the Giga Chad of rangers.
  
  Bow Samurai
  Solid and versatile bow unit, cheap enough to trade or sacrifice. Essential if you want to play a trade-oriented campy army. With upgrades they can suppress bow warrior monks, despite being much cheaper.
  
  Bow Warrior Monks
  They are strong, but also have significant weaknesses. Lower armor and smaller size making them ineffective at trading compare to armored bows. Daikyu Samurai cost the same but are arguably better.
  
  Bow Ashigaru
  Much stronger than most people expect. The extra size and solid stats after leveling up enable them dishing out crazy amount of damage. Their range cannot be upgraded at level 5 and lower armor make them somewhat inferior.
  
  Bandits
  Fun units tricky to use. They are essentially smaller size bow ashigaru. Too tricky to describe, but they can be effective.
  
  Fire Rockets
  They are mostly used as bows, but they are pure virgins. Too expensive to deploy and require a retainer. In fact, I have never lost a single game against this unit. Whoever deployed this unit has always been a pushover.
  
  
  
• Flexer
  
  Fancy unit to flex your competency, show off your skills. You want to look good. You want to intimidate your enemy by peacocking flamboyantly. Just like Caesar dressing in red robes flipping enemies off at close range to inflict dominance, you bring the most cost-ineffective units to show your enemy who is the boss.
  
  No matter how sexy they look or how crazy the attributes are, they still fulfill certain roles in the same way. The archetype will not change. They are just better at their specialty and can be leveraged in even more extreme ways. Without them, you would have much limited ways to show off your prowess.
  
  Onna Bushi Heroine
  The most versatile and cost effective good looking hero units. Looks beautiful with their makeups, shoots reasonably well, and has melee attributes capable of taking down melee general after leveling up. Ride along with your general romantically and slay enemies together, fulfill your darkest romance fantasy.
  
  Tokitaka’s Tanegashima
  Avoid getting shot by matchlocks. They are capable of dishing out a lot of accurate shot with their amazing accuracy and reload and range.
  
  Kiyomasa’s Katana Cavalry
  They are capable of wreaking havoc on dense enemy formation just like Katana Cavalry, and they make Melee Generals look like virgins.
  
  Gozen’s Hime Heroines
  They look good. Their solid stats also means they are very good at grinding long fights. They are also pretty cost effective.
  
  Katana Hero
  The best looking unit in game. The most specialized unit in game too. I love using them chopping off other hero units' heads with 0 casualty. The pure way of skills.
  
  Hanzo's Shadow
  They are used like Katana Hero but much more expensive. Potentially you can get amour piercing with them and turn them into absolute killing machines, but enemy can just shoot them down or charge them with cavalries.

To deploy or not to deploy, that is the question. LFBF usually recommend to bring a small but complete army to ensure most proactive gameplays. In cases of you want to save money and have focus on certain aspect of the gameplays, you should downgrade the component to the lowest grade instead of totally ditching it.

With the extra tools you brought, not only you have exponentially more ways to coordinate and use the combined arms, but also you would be more versatile at exploiting enemy in otherwise impossible situations. This is one of the essentials to the philosophy of LFBF Art of War, to exploit with combined arms rather than to trade in man fights. You have to win in a way of exploiting to win decisively instead of win in a coin-flipping fashion.

However this is not always the case. Given certain conditions known, it is reasonable to focus so hard on a certain portion of the gameplay to ditch the other portion. However this can be very risky, as you not only expose your self to potential exploits due to incomplete army functionality. You would have to play extra desperately and risky.

• Coordination with the Main army
  
  Every Auxiliaries role has its own ways to coordinate with the Battle Unit. They can force the enemy to turn or distract to create openings for the Battle Unit; or provide firepower support and cover for the Battle Unit; or even commit the extra mass and momentum to overwhelm with the Battle Unit. Auxiliaries set up the attack, cover the retreat, clean up the fight. Therefore, the use of Auxiliaries is essentially the essence of the LFBF gameplay.
  
  
• Coordination with other Auxiliaries troops
  
  Auxiliaries troops can support and compensate each other very well. Any extra role involved can totally tip the scale of local battles. Most of the time Auxiliaries troops are spread around your core. It is important to keep them mobile and coordinated, constantly finding exploits and gather small amount of advantage, until the game is so favored that you have already won without taking the actual fight.
  
  
• Game plan for Auxiliaries troops
  
  Every Auxiliaries role has the job it is good at. Everybody is doing their job and they work together to get free kills, exploits by distracting, harassing, skirmishing, disorienting, bullying weak units, taking the side dojos, and generating and accumulating advantage into winning condition eventually.
  
  
• 奇正之變，不可勝窮
  
  The Battle Unit core is like the Yang. It is strong, bulky, and direct. The Auxiliaries is like the Yin. It is elusive, mobile, and indirect. As Suntzu once said, the shift and change between these are endless, one of the many good reasons why we enjoy this game so much.
  
  

  Originally posted by 孫子:

  戰勢不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮也。

  Originally posted by Sun Tzu:

  In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack—the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination gives rise to an unending series of maneuvers.

Usually an standard army is composed of 3 core units, along with a solid ranger, 2 heavy cavalry as the hammer, a gun cav and/or a bow calv as roamer, with some units flanking and most importantly the fodders.

This Army would ensure you have the right tool to face most of the situations on most of the maps:

• Facing Bows:
  
  Using your own ranger, accompany the usage of terrain, it is easy to stand off and stare at each other with a equilibrium in field control. You can then try to distract using fodder or force enemy bows to turn with flanking or roaming auxiliaries, taking the skirmish upper hand.
  
  If the equilibrium cannot be maintained that the enemy has bows stronger than yours, you can still trade against him for short most of the time, given it takes time to muffle your bow and deal actual damage. During this, you can spread and try out-position your enemy, and close the game in standard ways.
  
  If the enemy is straight up bow spam, he would lack of proper bulk, and you would be able to easily rush it down. Wedge formation push through with the hammer can easily mess them up. Watch out the terrain, as it can render your momentum useless and your finest warriors into flesh targets.
  
  
• Facing Matchlocks:
  
  Rangers can easily out range any matchlocks. As long as you can secure a safe position for bows to spill off arrows supported by your matchlocks, whenever the enemy matchlocks walks close, they would take the first volley. As soon as the first volley you can relocate and get free kills again.
  
  

  Originally posted by SunLisa:

  矢銃相適，長短相用，緩急遠近，可輔之。

  Originally posted by SunLisa:

  Arrows and Matchlocks go hand in hand. The range of arrows and the intensity of matchlocks compensate each other. You have to support them with each other.

  
  Roamers and hammers can be positioned to threat Matchlocks and force them to turn, which render them ineffective as your matchlocks can now walk in from the other direction and push enemy matchlocks out of positions.
  
  
• Facing Infantry:
  
  With the combined arms your can threat your enemy's charge over and over again: stopping katanas using cavalry, threatening cavalries using roamers and flankers, while repositioning your matchlocks over and over again.
  
  When enemy is bulky, it is important to have extra elusive shapes, diving and rolling constantly and endlessly; Covering your at least one of your flanks is another crucial element to a success anti-rush maneuver.
  
  Always play safe against a rush build army. If you can shoot them down with matchlocks, do so. Although Yari Wall with the right support can stop rush but it is much more risky as enemy cavalries could wrap around and route one of the Battle Units when engaged.
  
  
• Facing Cavalry:
  
  A solid front with the Battle Units means there is too much momentum for any cavalry to break through. The matchlock can shoot devastating volleys. Yari Wall can deny most kamikaze charge initiatives. Enemy cavalries would most likely have to go around.
  
  Track them down using your flanker and roamers. With a wall of armored polearms, you cavalries can retreat to cover and take favorable fights even when under-funded. Under constant arrows and bullets rain, their cavalry would be very desperate or frustrated and give up fighting for aggressive positions.
  
  When facing strong cav pull through spams, it is important to use terrain and stationary spears. Ideally you want a forest on a hill, all your spears are stationary and having their corners covered by each other, a layer of gunners behind and you should be relatively invulnerable to cavalries.
  
  
• Facing Anything in Between:
  
  Shogun2 gameplay is a continuous spectrum, and the play can be anything in between ranging from the extreme rushy to extreme campy to extreme gimmicky. You should always try to find local favorable fights using your own sense and judgement. Every build has weakness, and your build is the most balanced one. This means although the enemy is stronger than you in certain aspects, it must be weaker than you in a lot of other aspects.
  
  Attribute min-maxing is a legit aspect of the gameplay. Level up your veterans effectively and spend your funds wisely to have a bulky army. Most of the times Ashigaru army is the most prevalent option since it is the most cost-effective one and got the most bulk with Trading Post and Inspiring Orator.
  
  
  The build determines your play, and your play determines the outcome. There is always a way to exploit and to win. You might have brought a relatively rushy army only to find out enemy is even more rushy, you would need to reverse your plan and a relatively more campy style if you brought skirmishing tools and create situations to exploit using them.

In nearly any game, the Standard Battle Process applies, just like chess openings, in Shogun 2 you do certain set of moves in series. There are many various openings in LFBF facing different types of enemy plays depending on how rushy/campy they are. Although the details are slightly different, the idea of fighting for field control remain the same.

• Spread Out
  
  Like a bird to flap its wings to propel itself into the sky, your army need to do the same in the start of the game. Form a wide but solid front line to maximize your field control. Move forward asap to capture the dojos.
  
  
• Stand Off
  
  If the game is not a total push over, i.e. neither player exposed or capitalized significant flaws in gameplay, the game turn into a stand off where both players have proper field control. The gameplay somewhat stabilizes. During this phase, skirmishes happens and the APM gets distributed more to Auxiliaries to start harassing and distracting.
  
  
• Shapeshifting
  
  Adjust your shape as soon as the field control heatmap changes. Advance where you can do so to keep squeezing your enemy, and back off where it is too tough to avoid meaningless casualties. Encroach the enemy, surround the enemy, pick the enemy apart, make the enemy helpless.
  
  
• Engage
  
  Either the enemy charges in desperately, or your charge in to assert dominance, this is the moment all the prep work pays off. A series of micro management happens like a symphony. Yari Wall hold and Mathclocks fire in between, Melee fights reserve and hammers ready to deliver the devastating blow.
  
  
• Reorganize and Re-engage
  
  Sometimes the game isn't over, and you would need to reorganize whatever you have left into functional battle units, maximize your field control and plan for the next favorable engagement.
  
  
• Cleaning Up and Winning
  
  If everything falls to plan, by now all enemy has either routed or going to route. All you need to do is clean up the battlefield with your mobile force and enjoy your win.

Originally posted by 孔子:

工欲善其事，必先利其器。

Originally posted by Confucius:

One must have good tools in order to do a good job.

Every unit has a role to fulfill, and one must bring the right units to the fight, just as a craftsman would prepare his tools. Level up your veterans properly just like the craftsman sharpen his tools.

This is an ever-evolving topic as new usage of units are still being developed even after 10 years. Under different circumstances, the exact same unit can be used in totally different ways to gain strategical advantage.

However the underlying philosophy does not change: You need some "sharp tools" to make your job easy. They can create you the comparative advantage which can be exploited to achieve winning condition.

On the other hand, dull tools are better than no tools. Ideally you would want to bring a comprehensive and versatile toolbox, an army as balanced as possible, to avoid situations where you do not have the right tool to deal with.

Originally posted by 司馬遷:

忌數與齊諸公子馳逐重射。孫子見其馬足不甚相遠，馬有上、中、下、輩。於是孫子謂田忌曰：「君弟重射，臣能令君勝。」田忌信然之，與王及諸公子逐射千金。及臨質，孫子曰：「今以君之下駟與彼上駟，取君上駟與彼中駟，取君中駟與彼下駟。」既馳三輩畢，而田忌一不勝而再勝，卒得王千金。

Originally posted by Sima Qian:

Once, Tian Ji was invited to participate in a horse-racing event hosted by the king and Sun Bin proposed a strategy for Tian Ji to win. Tian used his inferior horse to race with the king's best horse, his average horse to race with the king's inferior horse, and his best horse to race with the king's average horse, winning the latter two out of the three races. The king was impressed by Tian Ji's victory and Tian told the king that he won the race after following Sun Bin's suggestion. Tian recommended Sun Bin to the king and the king appointed Sun as a military strategist and advisor.

The order of engagements is essentially the same mix-matching puzzle as the age old horse racing. You have to mix-match your assets in a smart way so you can accumulate enough local advantage at reasonable cost and turn it into a winning condition. In the end you should have enough strategical coherence to still be able to hold a good position and clean up with the remaining cavalries, instead of throwing cavalries away at first at the enemy's yari ashigarus.

This princinple can be seen throughout much of the micro management aspect of gameplay, for example: holding charge using Yari Wall and charge in with your own melee; using fodders to distract enemy skirmishers to pull off the first volley; light cavalry take the charge first then charge using yari cavalries, etc. Essentially you are taking the strategical trade that you sacrifice your inferior horse to create plays for your average horse and best horse.

Originally posted by 孫子:

勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。

Originally posted by Sun Tzu:

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has
been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory

If a fight does not lead to the winning condition, it does not make sense to take the fight. This is one of the most common mistakes people make, resulted by not having a complete plan about the game and they turned desperate facing the well-composed enemy hastily charged into their irrational loss.

Sun Tzu told us the principle that secure yourself a un-loseable situation at first. For example, utilizing terrain advantage with dojo buffs to solidify your position, then seek the advantage with your Auxiliaries and try establish the winning condition; keep shifting your shape and encroach the enemy constantly, until the destined to defeat enemy seek the unfavorable fight first.

When you take a fight you should have it clearly planned that if you are winning or losing this fight, what is the trade off of it, and most important, what next: is it a sound victory? It is perfectly OK to lose fights as long as you can gain more advantage somewhere else. But you have to win first then take the fight.

Originally posted by 孫子:

故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之遠，遠而示之近。

Originally posted by Sun Tzu:

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

The use of auxiliary troops is very deep and an extremely important component to the outcome. it can confuse, distract, lure the enemy into the wrong situation. As most of the Auxiliaries are relatively mobile, they can shift and confuse fast enough that enemy can hardly judge and react properly.

This is the essence in attacking that you have you hit where the enemy not expecting, just like in a boxing match. You have to have the right setup, and the right setup has to be elusive. If you wanna hit from the right, hang your roamers and hammers on the left. Be water with your Auxiliaries.

Originally posted by SunLisa:

鯤鵬之變，不可勝窮。

Originally posted by SunLisa:

The shape shifts constantly and endlessly between the Bird shape and Fish shape.

According to Zhuangzi, the mythical creature can shapeshift between the form of Large Fabulous Bird and the form of Large Fabulous Fish The Bird shape and the Fish shape represent the shifting of your formation defensively and offensively accordingly.

The defensive shape:
Fish shape
Triangle

The offensive shape:
Bird shape
Wide concave

Except these extremes, there are everything and anything in between; Fish and Bird shape can even coexist, i.e. having a more defensive left flank and a more offensive right flank. The shapeshifting enables many advanced maneuvers that turn a defensive position into a surrounding winning position. The high level art of shapeshifting enables local advantage and it is nearly magic to see victory emerges out of nowhere.

Originally posted by 孫子:

故上兵伐謀，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。

Originally posted by Sun Tzu:

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

Sun Tzu told you so, don't play siege mode.

The most important way to win is deny the enemy's plan. To stop what he is doing now might not be necessary, but to stop him from winning in the end is important. you need to be able to read your opponent's strategical plan and adjust accordingly to undermine it.

If the enemy is planning for a rush, you have to plan shielding and deflecting responsively; if the enemy is planning for a camp, you have to stop them from getting into the favorable positions having control.

Sometimes you would find yourself losing the fight. In that case, you should try to undermine the enemy's ability to close this game as much as possible, taking out the enemy's field control by exterminating his cavalry and skirmishers. In the endgame if you can setup a strategically coherent army while your enemy's army is functionally broken, a structural come back would be inevitable.

Originally posted by 趙州從諗:

萬法歸一，一歸何處？

Originally posted by Zhaozhou Congshen:

All things return to the one—to where does the one return?

All emerge into the one true way of playing Shogun 2, the most strategical capable and aesthetically balanced way of playing Shogun 2, the unbeatable way, the Final Form of The Large Fabulous Bird Flower Art of War.

The way cannot be described, but can only be experienced. Go matchmaking with your Avatar, feel the one true way of playing Shogun 2, playing Total War, the combined arms, the cyber MMA, the electronic boxing, the Large Fabulous Bird Flow Art of War.

In the end, it is just a game. You have to play to enjoy it. I hope you have fun, even when losing. Just play it!

Throughout the years, both the variety and efficacy of LFBF builds have developed a lot. During different eras the arms race intensified in particular components, making the whole builds system overall more diversified, specialized and optimized. Depending on the map, strategem and your plan, you can draw variations from any LFBF prototypes.



The original build used in late 2016. As LFBF style was only practiced by myself and it was systematically superior, at that point of time, the specialization in a solid core could already ensure such invincible strength and bulk, domination and unfaltering victory.

• Lvl 5 Katan Samurai has solid attack and defense with relatively cheap price, although lacking number and banzai makes them less robust to morale shock.
  
• Solid Yari Wall systematically created more momentum than typical min-maxing builds at that time, although it may be deemed as clumsy under today's standard.
  
• Bulletproof samurai is most likely uncontestable in the flanks, clinically dominate and overwhelm the enemy at will.
  
• Double cavalry squads ensure cavalry superiority and strong initiation. Hammer and anvil is one of the oldest trick in the book.

The dominating meta in early 2017. As LFBF style has already been adopted by many players, the arms race in the core intensified. In order to save the money to get 200 ranged bows, Ashigaru based armies became the meta. Compared to 175 bows, this army can force the enemy to attack and exploit the defender's advantage.

• Inspiring Orator saves -10% cost of Ashigaru units. By allocating the saved funds to other components, the arms race can be won to secure a small advantage.
  
• Matchlocks Ashigarus are as effective but even cheaper than the samurai counterpart. The vulnerability of low armor can be mostly compensated by the Daikyu samurai.
  
• Loan Sword Ashigarus have larger unit size with banzai at level 9, meaning they are more robust than the samurai with a cheaper price.

As the arms race of the core matured, the arms race on the flanks started.


Got bored of arms race. General armed with both armor piercing melee and range, cuts through anything. The way of purity.



With 7 matchlocks acquiring impeccable map control, 2 bows can trade effectively with a bulky ashigaru army to support. This build is very bulky.


6 matchlocks and 1 bow, although skirmishing power is not as extreme as the previous build, it is still as deadly. With 4 cavalries roaming with unlimited map control from the 6 matchlocks, winning is mostly ensured.


Samurai core although lack of grinding power compare to ashigaru bulky build, however it is lighter with less units. With 1 unit you can fend off cavalry also fighting some infantry (after weakened by matchlock volleys). Although weaker it is still viable.


With armor piercing general and annoying bow cavs, 6 matchlocks and bulky ashigaru core, simply good.

Thank you for reading! I hope you win a lot!

Many people have defeated me with my own style and I am very proud of it.

I hope you become one among them too sincerely!

GLHF!

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