Total War: Shogun 2 is still widely considered by many to be one of the best Total War games out there.
While most Total War releases focus on expanding scopes and basically making everything larger and more epic, Shogun 2 took the opposite approach.
The Creative Assemble got back to their roots, revisiting 16th century Japan – which was also the setting of the very first Total War title.
Whether you’re new to the series or a veteran looking to revisit an old classic, these mods are genuinely must-try add-ons for your next Shogun 2 playthrough.
To start off, here’s a simple quality of life mod that’s an easy install.
It has become a necessity for pretty much any RTS game, and Total War: Shogun 2 is no different.
The Extended Camera Minimod makes things just a bit easier to manage and see as you play, especially in a game of this scale.
It lets you zoom the camera out a bit more, making it easier to get that macro view of all the units you have deployed. Of course, you’ll also be getting a better view of the terrain and battlefield, so it’s easier to plan out your next moves.
There is a good amount of scale to this game compared to many others.
The downside to this is that looking at copy-pasted units over and over can easily get tiring. Hold on though, as there’s a bright side here!
That also means that adding a bit of variety goes a long way. And you’ll want to get started updating that with a personal favorite: the Daimyos & Generals mod.
This mod is actually a compilation of many little mods, each affecting at least one of the playable daimyos in the base game.
With the mod installed, each of the daimyos will now have unique artwork, all being more historically accurate and of higher quality than the originals.
Instead of only focusing on daimyos and generals, Furinkazan actually aims to provide each unit, agent, and historical character their own unique portrait.
The mod basically takes artwork from a different, more obscure historical simulation game, and then “transplants” them onto Shogun 2.
This is also a great way to make your experience more immersive, as the mod adds a touch of personality to each of the characters.
On the topic of immersion, there are tons of mods out there to help with that.
Basically making Shogun 2’s realism & accuracy even better than in vanilla.
FoTS Tactics and Uniforms is a variety mod that helps with realism too, adding tons of different variations to unit appearances.
The tiniest details are changed in the mod to add more head variations, as well as different armor, trousers, and uniform options to much of the units in the game.
The designs found here were actually based on the historical book “Japanese Military Uniforms 1841-1929” by Nakanishi Ritta.
So that should be an added bonus if historical accuracy is your thing.
Another great immersion mod – the Invisible Battle UI by yobi_uk.
This was actually inspired by an older one from popular Shogun 2 modder BullGod, but that one seems to have been discontinued (as of this writing).
In any case, this one works just as well! It removes many of the messy UI elements from the battle menus.
Not only does this make combat more immersive by keeping your attention on what’s happening, but it also makes the remaining details much easier to understand.
It goes for a more minimalistic look overall, giving you a much cleaner UI to work with.
Visuals aren’t the only aspect that affect immersion.
Though more often overlooked, sound plays just as big a part in giving you the most authentic Total War experience.
With that, you might want to give the New Japanese Speech Fix a shot.
Modder Wind noticed some errors in the Japanese recordings spoken by some of the units. So he took it upon himself to replace them with more accurate sound files.
While you might not even speak Japanese, having this installed will at least make the game’s audio more accurate.
While there’s much to do and explore in Total War games, one of the biggest aspects of any title in the series is always battle.
Even outside of playable campaigns, many Total War fans enjoy staging large-scale battles with some friends. Just to be able to play around with everything the games have to offer.
Well battles look just a bit more intense with the GBJ Blood Mod: The Samurai Blood mod by Apis in Memphis.
This mod replaces blood textures to make blood on both units and other surfaces look much more realistic. Vanilla can’t touch this!
3 Skill Points per General Level is similar to the previous mod, but it addresses how generals level up throughout your playthrough.
And you can probably guess from the title, your generals earn 3 skill points for every level they gain.
This differs from the original 2 skill points given on levels 2, 3, and 4 in the vanilla version – making it possible to gain a max of 15 skill points instead of the original 12.
Enough math though. This isn’t school!
The mod basically lets you get more upgrades for your generals overall, with some given at a faster rate as well.
Another great way to expand your Shogun 2 experience is playing through some of the custom maps that the community has created throughout the years.
Lakeside Castle is a great example of a map that would be tons of fun to play around with, especially if you’re playing with friends.
The map features a beautiful green terrain with a sprawling mountain range for a backdrop.
What makes this interesting is that there’s only one large castle at the foot of the mountain, which you’ll obviously be tasked with defending against attacking armies.
If none of your friends are interesting in playing Shogun 2, don’t worry.
There are custom maps that can make your solo campaign better as well.
The Expanded Japan map mod expands the vanilla map, adding some historical provinces and factions that weren’t included in vanilla.
All-in-all, the mod adds 97 new regions and over 100 new factions, giving you much more to explore.
Changes have been made to some of the existing regions in favor of historical accuracy as well, so that in itself should be enough to give you a different Shogun 2 experience.
As with any other Total War game, there’s loads of fun to be had in Shogun 2 by exploring the many additional units available through modding.
The AUM-SHO pack is one of the most popular, allowing you to maximize over 20 new units in the game.
The units are a mixure of new additions as well as unlocked units, while some even feature added abilities making combat even more dynamic than before.
And that’s not all you get from the pack! It also includes a few new ships to play around with as well.
You might eventually get tired of all the smaller mods you’ve tried. You may wnat something a bit more expansive.
If that’s the case, you’re going to need an overhaul mod – and lucky for you, there are a bunch for Shogun 2.
DarthMods have become (arguably) one of the most popular mod types in the entire Total War series. And Shogun 2 has its own version as well.
Other than integrating a couple of graphics mods and gameplay changes, DarthMods are typically known for their AI improvements too.
If you’re looking for a more challenging playthrough, DarthMod is a good place to start.
You’ll find the enemy AI isn’t as easy to outsmart throughout your campaign. They might even catch you off guard every now and again if you’re not careful.
Zen is another popular Shogun 2 mod, and is the first of the two realism overhauls on this list.
As explained by the team:
“Zen is an overhaul which attempts to create a more historically accurate unit roster for both common and clan specialty units, as well as rebalance all units so that each has a distinct purpose, as was the case with the original Shogun.”
Many units have been tweaked to make each of them stand out more in battle, so you’ll be forced to try new strategies to figure out what works best with these fancy-shmancy updated stats.
Realism+ is another great mod for a more realistic playthrough, making some major tweaks to existing Shogun 2 systems in favor of realism and immersion.
It makes battles feel more real by making them longer, allowing the mod to showcase some of the unique battle animations it offers.
There are a lot of rebalances implemented in the campaign as well, covering everything from building stats to cultural influences.
Overall, Realism+ tries to find a balance between realism and engaging gameplay.
You’re sure to get a unique experience here either way.
Ultimate Immersive Mod is another great overhaul option, and is a wonderful starting point if you just started playing Shogun 2 for the first time.
As explained by the modder himself, Ultimate Immersive wants you to have an immersive experience.
But it doesn’t want to overcomplicate things so that anyone could get into.
The mod combines a number of different smaller ones, including 12 Turns per Year, Expanded Japan Map, Diplomacy Tweaks, and Alternate General Skills Tree to make for a completely different campaign.
3. Radious Total War Mod – Fall of the Samurai version
Radious has become another well-known name in the Total War modding community, and their Shogun 2 mod is one of the most popular as well.
What separates this overhaul from the rest of the pack is its “modular” nature, incorporating many different submods that are each toggleable.
This allows you to create your own unique Shogun 2 experience.
Installing the mod as a whole will give you access to a host of different options, each of which you’ll be able to enable or disable depending on your preferences.
TROM is yet one more popular overhaul mod that offers its own unique take on the Shogun 2 campaign.
As with similar mods, TROM introduces some new units, battle mechanics, buildings, and even technologies for you to discover and explore.
Other aspects touched on here include improved AI and battle mechanics, with the goal of improving your overall gameplay experience without really changing much of the vanilla version.
What sets this mod apart is the extended timeline, as the campaign now runs to 1940!
You’ll be staring at a computer screen for weeks on end just to finish this one.
MoS is one of the most expansive overhaul mods you can get for the game.
It will drastically change your playthrough by adding a number of changes to make systems and typical battle mechanics even more complex than before.
The mod also features an extended map, tons of new units, buildings, battle stats, and a completely revamped tech tree as well.
Shogun 2 will absolutely feel like a completely new game with MoS installed. And you’ll be spending just as much, if not more time, discovering everything it has to offer.
