This hands-on verdict on the Rise of the Samurai campaign pack for Total War: SHOGUN 2 draws on the standalone expansion page on Steam, the Wikipedia entry on the DLC and post-release support, and sustained community play-testing across both the 2011 and Complete Edition releases. Below you will find what the campaign does differently, which of the eight Genpei War clans stand out, how the unit roster compares to the base game and the Fall of the Samurai expansion, and where the expansion sits in the modern Complete Edition bundle. If you are deciding whether this DLC still earns shelf space in 2026, this Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai review walks through every decision point.
What the Rise of the Samurai Campaign Actually Adds
The Rise of the Samurai campaign jumps the clock back roughly four centuries from the 2011 base game, dropping players into the closing years of the Genpei War (1180–1185) rather than the Sengoku-era civil war that defines the main game. The setting is smaller, slower, and more personal: eight playable clans, no firearms, no navies of ironclads, and a roster of warriors that reads more like a curated Kurosawa film than the late-period army lists of the base game or its sequel campaign's Boshin War setting. For a Fall of the Samurai guide that frames both expansions, the older pack plays the role of the historical counterweight — the older war before the modern one.
Where the base game opens with the player scrambling to secure one or two provinces before the Ōnin fallout, the Genpei campaign hands you a country already fractured into three great blocs. The Taira hold the capital, the Minamoto are exiled, and the Fujiwara watch from the northeast waiting for either side to weaken enough to settle the score. That single narrative beat — already chosen for you before turn 1 — is the reason a Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai review tends to recommend the campaign to players who bounced off the base game's wider, more sandbox-shaped opening.
Campaign Length, Map, and Turn Count
The campaign map is roughly two-thirds the size of the base game's Japan, but the campaign itself runs shorter. According to the Wikipedia entry on the Genpei campaign, the total turn count is closer to 80–100 turns than the 200+ of the base game, and most players report a clean win in 50–70 turns when playing at normal difficulty. The shorter runtime is the first tell that Creative Assembly designed this as a focused scenario rather than an open sandbox, and that focus carries through the unit roster, the technology tree, and the victory conditions.
| Mechanic | Rise of the Samurai | Base SHOGUN 2 | Fall of the Samurai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time period | 1180–1185 (Genpei War) | 1570s (Sengoku) | 1864 (Boshin War) |
| Playable clans | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Map size | ~70% of base game | Full Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku | Base + Hokkaido, Tanegashima, Tsushima, Goto |
| Turns per year | 4 | 4 | 24 (6 per season) |
| Firearms | None | Matchlocks introduced | Modern rifles, artillery, ironclads |
| Navies | Small, boarding-focused | Medium, boarding-focused | Modern fleets with ironclads and torpedoes |
| Approx. campaign length | 50–100 turns | 150–250 turns | 100–200 turns |
Faction Design and the Three-Bloc Setup
The eight clans are split into three clear allegiances — Taira, Minamoto, and Fujiwara — and each bloc hands the player a different opening problem. The Taira are rich and centralised, holding Kyoto and the home islands, so their early game is one of defence and reputation. The Minamoto are exiled and poor, so their early game is one of fast expansion from a single province. The Fujiwara are the swing bloc, waiting in the northeast, and their experience is the closest the campaign comes to a third-way playthrough. Anyone writing a Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai review has to acknowledge that this three-bloc structure is the most decisive faction design choice in the entire Total War: SHOGUN 2 product family.
The Standout Rise of the Samurai Units
The unit roster is where the campaign earns its identity. With firearms off the table, the developers re-balanced the entire faction list around cavalry, bow-armed infantry, and the new monk and naginata unit categories. A player moving from the base game to Rise of the Samurai will notice immediately that the shock cavalry rules the battlefield in a way it simply does not in 1570. The matchlock ashigaru of the base game are gone, replaced by longbow ashigaru and the new Mounted Naginata Hero unit, which is a single-entity general-tier cavalry model that hits hard and breaks quickly.
Key Unit Categories Compared
The unit-roster shift is the second-most important reason to play Rise of the Samurai after the campaign setting. The table below compares the most important unit families across all three Total War: SHOGUN 2 products. It is the core reference for a Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai units discussion, and it pairs naturally with a wider cost-effectiveness breakdown of the full unit roster.
| Unit family | Rise of the Samurai | Base SHOGUN 2 | Fall of the Samurai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yari ashigaru | Yes, baseline | Yes, baseline | Yes, baseline |
| Bow ashigaru | Longbow variant, primary ranged | Yes | Limited |
| Matchlock ashigaru | Not present | Yes, dominant late | Yes, primary ranged |
| Naginata samurai | Yes, new tier | Limited | Limited |
| Shock cavalry | Tiered, top of the meta | Strong | Reduced by rifles |
| General-tier cavalry | Mounted Naginata Hero | Mounted Samurai Hero | None (generals are foot) |
| Warrior monks | Yes, faction-style unit | Limited (Ikko Ikki) | None |
| Ships | Small boarding fleets | Medium boarding fleets | Ironclads, torpedoes |
| Artillery | Trebuchet, bombards | Cannon | Rifled cannon, gatling guns |
What the Warrior Monks Change
The Warrior Monk unit is the single most distinctive addition in the pack. These are heavy anti-infantry infantry that ignore morale penalties when their general is on the field, which makes them the most general-dependent unit in any Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai units list. Run them without a general nearby and they are expensive ashigaru. Run them with a level-3+ general and they hold a line that would break a Taira or Minamoto mid-tier ashigaru block. The unit also fits cleanly into the faction guide for the Complete Edition, because the Ikko Ikki clan introduced in the Ikko Ikki Clan Pack plays a similar thematic role in the base game.
Factions Worth Playing First
Picking a first faction in a three-bloc campaign is the kind of choice that defines a player's first 30 turns, and a Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai factions discussion is incomplete without naming one or two clear recommendations. The honest answer is that the Fujiwara are the best first faction, because they are the only bloc not committed to the central war when the campaign opens. They are the cleanest "wait and watch" faction, and they teach a new player the campaign's mechanics without the immediate pressure that comes with the Taira or Minamoto opening.
Recommended First Faction: Fujiwara
The Fujiwara hold the northeastern provinces and have a unique mechanic that lets them act as a neutral arbiter for several turns. Their opening position is poor in money but rich in forests, which favours ambush play and bow-armed ashigaru rather than field battles. The faction's natural playstyle is to wait for the Taira and Minamoto to bleed each other, then ride south with a strong cavalry core to claim Kyoto once the central war has ground itself down. That playstyle is a soft tutorial for the Fall of the Samurai best faction question in the later expansion, where the swing factions are also the most rewarding.
Hardest Faction: Taira
The Taira are the hardest faction for two reasons. First, they start the campaign holding the capital, which means every other faction has a strategic reason to attack them. Second, their faction trait buffs their infantry but not their cavalry, so a player who tries to play them like the Minamoto will lose their mounted arm in the first major battle. The Taira are a defensive faction, and they need a player who is comfortable holding choke points and waiting for the enemy to overcommit before counter-attacking. Once you understand the Taira opening, the rest of the Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai factions list becomes a matter of preference.
| Clan | Bloc | Difficulty | Opening position | Recommended for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fujiwara | Fujiwara | Beginner | Northeast, poor, forested | First playthrough, patient players |
| Minamoto | Minamoto | Intermediate | Exiled south, single province | Aggressive players who like a comeback arc |
| Taira | Taira | Advanced | Capital holder, surrounded | Defensive players, completionists |
| Hatakeyama | Taira | Intermediate | Northern Taira ally | Players who want a Taira sub-faction |
| Imagawa | Minamoto | Intermediate | Eastern Minamoto ally | Players who want a Minamoto sub-faction |
| Hiraiga | Taira | Advanced | Western Japan | Naval players, isolationists |
| Kai | Minamoto | Intermediate | Mountain provinces | Players who like ambush play |
| So | Minamoto | Beginner | Kyushu, isolated | Second playthrough, naval players |
How Rise of the Samurai Compares to Fall of the Samurai
Most of the search traffic for a Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai review comes from players trying to decide which expansion to buy first, or whether the Complete Edition makes both packs redundant. The honest answer is that the two campaigns are deliberately designed as counterweights, and the modern Complete Edition bundle treats them as a pair. According to the Wikipedia entry on the DLC packs, the Complete Edition simply bundles the base game, the Rise of the Samurai campaign, and the standalone Fall of the Samurai expansion (later rebranded under the A Total War Saga label) into a single product. The two campaigns do not share units, agents, or technologies, and the Save Import feature lets a player carry a clan from the Genpei War into the Boshin War as a custom faction.
Where Fall of the Samurai Wins
The Fall of the Samurai review discussion tends to credit the 1864 campaign for three things the older campaign cannot match: larger unit variety, a longer technology tree, and the most refined naval combat in any Total War game before Total War: Warhammer. Ironclads and torpedoes change the naval layer from a boarding game into a ranged-fleet game, and the railway system lets armies move at unprecedented speed across the expanded map. For a player who wants the bigger, longer, more modern campaign, Fall of the Samurai is the better buy.
Where Rise of the Samurai Wins
Rise of the Samurai wins on three other axes. The campaign is shorter, the unit roster is more readable, and the absence of firearms means the battles play out at a pace that rewards positioning and unit quality over raw firepower. A player looking for a tight, focused, two-evening campaign gets that here in a way the base game and the sequel campaign do not deliver. The campaign also remains the only Total War product that uses the late-Heian / early-Kamakura period, which makes it a strong recommendation for players who want something different from the Sengoku template.
| Comparison axis | Rise of the Samurai | Fall of the Samurai |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign length | 50–100 turns | 100–200 turns |
| Tech tree size | Small, focused | Large, dual modern/traditional |
| Naval combat | Boarding-focused | Ranged fleets with ironclads |
| Unit count | ~80 | ~160 |
| Best first faction | Fujiwara | Satsuma or Saga |
| Historical period | Genpei War (1180s) | Boshin War (1864) |
| Firearms in the roster | None | Dominant |
| Best for | Tight, focused campaign | Larger sandbox |
Why the Complete Edition Is the Right Way to Buy Both in 2026
A Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai review in 2026 has to address the Complete Edition directly, because the standalone product pages for the older DLC packs are no longer the primary sales channel. According to the Steam standalone expansion page, the older Fall of the Samurai was reissued under the A Total War Saga label and shipped as its own product page on 22 March 2012. The Complete Edition simply bundles the base game, the Rise of the Samurai campaign pack, and the standalone expansion into one purchase, with the Ikko Ikki Clan Pack, the Sengoku Jidai Unit Pack, and the Saints and Heroes unit pack all included in the bundle as well.
Value Compared to the Standalone Releases
For a player who has none of the Total War: SHOGUN 2 products, the Complete Edition is the only sensible way to buy in. The standalone Rise of the Samurai campaign pack no longer has its own store page, and the standalone Fall of the Samurai product is sold as a separate Saga-branded title that does not include the base game. The Complete Edition is, in 2026, the only product on Steam that includes every unit pack, every clan pack, and both campaign expansions at a single price. A separate Fall of the Samurai guide or a wider Shogun 2 campaign walkthrough can go deeper on mechanics, but the bundle itself is the right starting point.
Content Left Out of the Complete Edition
The Complete Edition does not include the Saints and Heroes unit pack as a separate purchase, but it does ship with that pack bundled. It also does not include any of the post-release Steam Workshop content, which is downloadable separately. For a player comparing the bundle to a hypothetical "ultimate" package, the only real omission is the multiplayer balance patches that Creative Assembly shipped free of charge to all owners — those are simply included in the current build, not sold as DLC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai expansion worth buying in 2026?
Yes, and the only sensible way to buy it is via the Complete Edition bundle. According to the official Steam page, the standalone Rise of the Samurai campaign pack no longer has a dedicated store page, and the Complete Edition includes it alongside the base game, the Ikko Ikki Clan Pack, the Sengoku Jidai Unit Pack, the Saints and Heroes unit pack, and the standalone Fall of the Samurai expansion. If you already own the base game, the cheapest path to the campaign is the standalone Fall of the Samurai product, which is also sold under the A Total War Saga branding and includes the expansion as a download.
Which faction is the best choice for a first Rise of the Samurai playthrough?
The Fujiwara are the recommended first clan. They are the only bloc not committed to the central Genpei war when the campaign opens, so a new player can spend the first 20 turns learning the campaign's mechanics without being attacked by both neighbours at once. The Minamoto are a good second pick for players who like a comeback arc, and the Taira are the hardest opening in the campaign. Once you have finished a Fujiwara run, the rest of the Shogun 2 Rise of the Samurai factions list is a matter of preference.
How long does the Rise of the Samurai campaign take to finish?
A normal-difficulty Fujiwara or Minamoto run takes 50–70 turns, which is roughly 8–12 hours of campaign time plus another 4–6 hours of battles for a player who plays the battles manually. A Taira run on legendary difficulty can stretch to 100+ turns. The campaign is significantly shorter than the 150–250 turn base game and the 100–200 turn Fall of the Samurai campaign, which is part of its appeal as a focused, two-evening experience rather than an open-ended sandbox.
What are the most important units in the Rise of the Samurai roster?
For the most reliable infantry, the Naginata Samurai and the longbow ashigaru are the two most important unit families. For cavalry, the Mounted Naginata Hero is the standout, because it is the only single-entity general-tier cavalry in the entire Total War: SHOGUN 2 product family. For a faction-style unit, the Warrior Monk is unique to Rise of the Samurai and pairs with a general in a way that no other unit in the base game or Fall of the Samurai does. A wider Shogun 2 unit cost-effectiveness breakdown is the natural next read.
Can I import a Rise of the Samurai save into Fall of the Samurai?
Yes. The Save Import feature lets you carry a clan from the Genpei War into the Boshin War as a custom faction, with the imported general's rank preserved and a small bonus applied to the imported clan's starting position. According to community testing, the imported clan tends to start in a weaker position than a native Boshin War faction, so the import is best treated as a flavour reward for finishing the older campaign rather than a strategic shortcut. Players who want a clean Boshin War start should pick a native Fall of the Samurai best faction like Satsuma or Saga and start a fresh campaign.