Choose your Shogun 2 clan by matching its army identity to the campaign map. Oda gives you inexpensive mass infantry but starts under immediate pressure; Shimazu offers a more contained, melee-focused opening; Chosokabe is the manual’s tutorial clan; and specialist choices such as Hattori, Ikko-Ikki, and Otomo require additional systems or downloadable content. There is no universally strongest clan. The right choice depends on whether you want cavalry, bows, ships, fortifications, stealth, monks, firearms, or a straightforward economy—and how much geographic pressure you are willing to manage.
What makes one Shogun 2 clan different from another?
Total War: SHOGUN 2 combines turn-based province management with real-time battles. Your clan choice affects both halves of that loop: the units and discounts available to your armies, and the neighbors, terrain, sea lanes, and political obligations around your starting provinces.
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The official Total War: SHOGUN 2 manual warns that “Not all clans and their starting positions are equal.” That is the key to reading every bonus in this guide. A cheaper unit matters only if your economy can support enough of it; a powerful navy matters only if you have land armies to capture and hold settlements; and a specialist unit can be decisive while still being vulnerable to the counter that defeats it.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallStarting geography is a difficulty modifier in its own right. Corner and island positions generally face fewer nearby land enemies in the opening turns, while central positions expose you to several rivals and competing diplomatic demands. The profiles below therefore pair every advantage with the strategic cost that comes with it.
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- Choose from 9 different clans and compete online and offline for the undisputed supremacy of Medieval Japan
- Play through the Main Campaign in single player or invite a friend online to play competitively or cooperatively in Campaign Multiplayer mode
- Developed according to Sun Tzu's principles in the Art of War, the Artificial Intelligence constantly analyzes its situation
- Build and govern cities, recruit and train troops, conduct diplomacy and manage your agents
- Improved land and naval battle gameplay, now with the ability to combine forces and attacks
Before choosing: edition and campaign checks
- Confirm clan availability. Hattori, Ikko-Ikki, and Otomo are associated with clan-pack content. Their presence depends on your edition and downloadable-content ownership, so check the faction-selection screen before planning a campaign around them.
- Decide what “easy” means to you. A protected island may reduce early land invasions but lengthen your route to the mainland. A central start may be dangerous yet provide faster access to rich provinces. Ease also changes with campaign difficulty, battle difficulty, and your experience.
- Expect version and reference differences. Faction guides describe broad identities, while exact bonuses can vary by edition or patch. Verify precise unit costs, research effects, and faction traits in the in-game encyclopedia.
Quick comparison of all twelve clans
| Clan | Primary identity | Main campaign cost | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oda | Cheap ashigaru and infantry economy | Central exposure and multi-front pressure | Players who like large, economical armies |
| Shimazu | Katana samurai and loyal generals | Sea access and slower mainland contact | Players wanting a contained melee opening |
| Takeda | Cavalry specialization | Mounted armies are less comfortable in siege-heavy situations | Players who enjoy mobility and flanking |
| Tokugawa | Ninja and diplomacy | Vassal obligations and political constraints | Indirect players who plan timing carefully |
| Hojo | Castles and siege discounts | Defensive investment can delay expansion | Patient, methodical fortifiers |
| Uesugi | Warrior monks | Northern challenge and lightly armored monks | Players who protect specialist infantry |
| Mori | Naval strength and cheaper ships | Fleet upkeep does not hold land by itself | Players who make sea control central |
| Chosokabe | Bow specialization on Shikoku | Ranged troops need protection in close combat | New players and archery-focused commanders |
| Date | No-dachi charge bonus | Far-northern start and long route to Kyoto | Players who build up before advancing south |
| Hattori | Kisho-trained units and infiltration | Central pressure and demanding tactical setup | Experienced stealth and deployment players |
| Ikko-Ikki | Warrior monks and distinct religious identity | Unconventional religion and diplomatic penalties | Players seeking a different social system |
| Otomo | Christian identity and early firearms | Separate faith and research path to learn | Players attracted to guns and religious change |
Which clan should you play?
Oda: inexpensive armies under constant pressure
Oda is built around cheap ashigaru and an infantry-led economy. You can field more bodies for the same treasury than a samurai-heavy rival, making the clan attractive if you enjoy winning through numbers, broad battle lines, and steady reinforcement. The cost is location: Oda’s central position places several potential enemies close to home. You must use diplomacy, garrisoning, and staged offensives to avoid fighting on multiple fronts at once.
Choose Oda if you want an economical mass-infantry campaign and are comfortable managing diplomatic pressure. It is a poor fit if you want a quiet, isolated opening.
Shimazu: a contained katana campaign
Shimazu begins in Kyushu and receives advantages for katana samurai, including cheaper katana samurai and increased general loyalty in the official faction reference. The island setting can reduce immediate land threats, giving you time to consolidate before confronting mainland powers. That protection has a price: sea access becomes strategically important, and the route to mainland opportunities can be slower than for a central clan.
Choose Shimazu if you prefer decisive melee battles and a relatively controlled opening. Plan your navy and eventual crossing rather than assuming the island alone will win the campaign.
Takeda: speed, shock, and mounted warfare
Takeda specializes in cavalry and reduced cavalry costs. Mounted armies can choose engagements, punish exposed flanks, and exploit victories across open terrain. The trade-off is composition: an army invested heavily in cavalry is less naturally comfortable in siege-focused situations, where walls, gates, and constrained approaches reduce room to maneuver. This is a strategic trade-off, not a claim that Takeda cannot conduct sieges.
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Choose Takeda if you enjoy mobility, reconnaissance, and attacking where the opponent is weakest. Keep enough infantry and missile support to prevent every battle from becoming a cavalry-only gamble.
Tokugawa: diplomacy and indirect power
Tokugawa is oriented toward ninja actions and diplomacy and begins as an Imagawa vassal in the faction reference. That relationship shapes your opening: you have political protection and obligations, but not complete freedom to expand on your preferred schedule. Neighboring powers and the timing of independence matter as much as battlefield strength.
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Choose Tokugawa if you like manipulating relationships, preparing covert actions, and waiting for the right moment to break or preserve an alliance. It is less suitable for players who want unrestricted conquest from turn one.
Hojo: castles, siege tools, and patient expansion
Hojo receives discounts connected to castles and siege units, encouraging a fortification-first campaign. A strong defensive network can make each border province harder to take and let you win wars by exhausting an attacker. The management challenge is opportunity cost: money spent on walls, garrisons, and siege equipment is money not spent on additional field armies or rapid expansion.
Choose Hojo if you enjoy turning territory into a long-term defensive asset and capturing settlements methodically. Avoid it if your preferred campaign is a fast, lightly defended rush.
Rank #3
- Choose from 9 different clans and compete on and offline for the undisputed supremacy of Medieval Japan. Gain experience to level up your own character-warlord as well as your generals and agents.
- Play through the Main Campaign in single player or invite a friend online to play competitively or cooperatively in Campaign Multiplayer mode.
- Developed according to Sun Tzu's principles in the Art of War, the Artificial Intelligence constantly analyzes its situation and reacts to your every move with greater precision and variety.
- A streamlined User Interface makes management of your kingdom much easier. Build and govern cities, recruit and train troops, conduct diplomacy and manage your agents - each feature is now introduced with comprehensive tutorials
Uesugi: powerful but vulnerable warrior monks
Uesugi’s identity is built around warrior monks, while its northern position is described as challenging. The reference warns that monks have low armor and need protection from archers. Their impact therefore comes from correct use: screen them, remove enemy missile threats, and avoid exposing them to sustained ranged fire.
Choose Uesugi if you want specialist infantry and are willing to build battles around their vulnerabilities. The clan rewards combined arms more than simply recruiting the largest possible number of monks.
Mori: make the navy part of your economy
Mori has naval strength and reduced ship costs. This can let you secure trade routes, move armies by sea, and create amphibious options that land-focused clans lack. Fleets still require upkeep, and ships cannot occupy provinces; naval control only becomes territory when an army lands and holds the ground.
Choose Mori if you want campaign decisions to revolve around sea lanes, trade, and coastal maneuver. Budget for land forces so that naval superiority produces real territorial gains.
Chosokabe: the tutorial-friendly archer clan
The official manual identifies Chosokabe as the tutorial clan. It starts in Tosa on Shikoku and emphasizes bows, giving new players a clear way to learn positioning, firing arcs, and the relationship between an island base and an eventual mainland invasion. Archery is powerful while the enemy is approaching, but ranged units need protection once the line is reached.
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Choose Chosokabe if you are learning the campaign loop or prefer controlling battles from range. Consolidate Shikoku, protect your archers with infantry, and plan the crossing rather than treating the island as the entire campaign.
Date: northern preparation and no-dachi charges
Date receives a no-dachi charge bonus and begins in the far north. The position can provide room to build an economy and army before facing the central powers, but the route toward Kyoto is long. Distance delays interaction with the heart of the map and makes reinforcement planning important.
Choose Date if you like developing safely before a long southern advance. It suits players who value a powerful opening charge and do not need immediate access to central diplomacy.
Hattori: concealment for experienced commanders
Hattori’s official faction description lists Kisho-trained specialist units, effective concealment, and a small increase to ninja action success. Those tools can create ambushes and unusual deployments, but the reference also identifies a pressured central start. Stealth does not remove the need to defend several approaches; it gives you more ways to prepare the engagement.
Choose Hattori if you already understand deployment, scouting, and agent actions and want to win through setup rather than straightforward lines. Confirm that your edition includes the Hattori clan pack.
Best Value
- The American, British and French nations played an important part in the story of the Boshin war and your relations with these foreign powers will be integral to unit recruitment and to advancing your technology trees.
- Thirty nine new land units, including modern ranged units - such as the Gatling gun and Armstrong gun - controllable in a new third-person mode.
- New port siege battle type, this new battle type triggers when attempting a naval assault on an occupied enemy port. The attacking fleet must sail into the harbour and capture the port, running the gauntlet of coastal gun defences.
- New land and sea unit interactions, during a land battle, armies can call in offshore artillery support barrages.
- Campaign map bombardments: offshore naval units can bombard armies and cities in adjacent coastal areas on the campaign map itself.
Ikko-Ikki: a campaign outside the usual religious model
Ikko-Ikki combines warrior monks with a distinct religious and research identity. The faction guide also notes diplomatic penalties, so neighboring clans may react differently to your expansion and beliefs. This makes the campaign less conventional than a standard Buddhist-clan run: social management and religious choices become strategic concerns alongside recruitment and battles.
Choose Ikko-Ikki if you want to learn a different political and religious system and do not mind diplomacy being harder. Check clan-pack ownership before selecting it.
Otomo: firearms and a Christian path
Otomo is described as a Christian faction with early access to firearms. Guns can change how you approach defensive lines and ranged damage, but the faction also follows a different religious and research path from the standard Buddhist pattern. You must learn those systems instead of assuming that a familiar technology route will apply.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to turn a faction bonus into a workable campaign plan
- Identify the army you actually want to command. Pick infantry mass, katana melee, cavalry, bows, ships, monks, stealth, fortifications, or firearms before looking at the headline bonus.
- Map the first five turns. Count nearby land borders, likely diplomatic contacts, and whether an island or corner start delays your first mainland war.
- Write down the counter to your strength. Archers need screens, monks need protection from missiles, cavalry need room, and fleets need armies that can take land.
- Reserve money for the weakness. Oda needs garrisons and diplomacy; Hojo needs investment discipline; Mori needs both fleet and army upkeep; Tokugawa needs political timing.
- Verify exact mechanics in your copy. Use the in-game encyclopedia for current costs, bonuses, and research effects, especially when a guide describes a clan-pack faction or an older version.
Is any clan objectively strongest or easiest?
No. The manual provides a general principle about unequal starts, not a ranked difficulty list, and the faction comparisons support tendencies rather than a definitive tier ranking. “Easy” could mean surviving the opening, learning battles, reaching Kyoto quickly, or managing the fewest special systems. Chosokabe is the official tutorial recommendation, while an experienced player may find Hattori’s central pressure manageable because concealment suits their preferred tactics. Judge a clan against your own definition of a comfortable campaign.
Quick Recap
A practical first-choice decision guide
- New to the series: Start with Chosokabe to learn the campaign and battle loop through bows and island consolidation.
- Want the simplest economic idea: Choose Oda and accept the central-map pressure in exchange for cheap ashigaru.
- Want a safer opening with melee troops: Try Shimazu, while planning sea access and the mainland crossing.
- Want the most movement: Choose Takeda for cavalry-centered flanking and engagement control.
- Want defense and sieges: Choose Hojo and build a border network before expanding.
- Want naval strategy: Choose Mori, but fund armies that convert sea control into provinces.
- Want stealth or unusual systems: Choose Hattori, Ikko-Ikki, or Otomo only after confirming the required content and accepting their added complexity.
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