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Shu is a civilization that focuses on archers and siege units, with a good navy.
Strengths[]
Their archers are solid, having fully upgraded Arbalesters that also get +2 Line of Sight from their team bonus and shoot +2 extra arrows from the Bolt Magazine technology,. They also have fully upgraded Skirmishers.
Their economy is also good, as their lumberjacks generate food while cutting trees, which enables Shu to divert more Villagers to wood for making archers and siege weapons without having to worry about placing too many Farms. This bonus compensates for the lacking of Crop Rotation in the late game.
The Shu navy is also a force to reckon with, lacking only the Fast Fire Ship. Their Lou Chuans also benefit from the Bolt Magazine technology in their anti-unit attack mode. Their economic bonus is also helpful for accumulating wood. Lou Chuans also have better movement speed.
Shu also have Traction Trebuchets which in their case can be fully upgraded with siege Engineers while also having better movement speed. All their siege weapons have a better movement speed, enabling them to retreat and reposition in order to avoid being attacked or reach their target earlier. This is specially useful for Siege Ramsand Siege Towers, especially when they are fully garrisoned with infantry. In addition, they have the War Chariot as a second unique unit and a replacement for the Scorpion. Shu War Chariots cost food and gold and have two separate attack modes, Focus and Barrage, which the player can switch between depending on the situation. For example, if the opponent has a big and spread-out army, it is more convenient to use barrage mode, while if the opponent's army is in a compact formation, is better to switch to focus mode. Like the Scorpion, War Chariot projectiles deal pass-through damage
Their unique unit is the White Feather Guard, an infantry that has an attack that slows down the movement of enemy units for some seconds, making them better targets for their archers and siege weapons. White Feather Guards and the Spearmen line also have benefit from the Coiled Serpent Array technology, which gives them more hit points in groups, up to +15% with 30 units in a 15-tile area, making them more resilient in larger groups.
They are one of a few civilizations that can train a Hero type unit, Liu Bei, who has an aura around him that heals nearby units of the player except mechanical siege weapons in a range of 10 at a rate of 45 hit points per minute.
Weakness[]
Their cavalry are underwhelming, lacking Parthian Tactics, Bloodlines, the Hussar, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace. The lacking of Iron Casting and Blast Furnace also makes their Champions suboptimal, despite White Feather Guards and Halberdiers somewhat compensating by gaining resilience from the Coiled Serpent Array unique technology. This means their infantry are in general situational and often used more as a meatshield or cannon fodder for protecting their ranged units. The lack of good cavalry also means that a Shu Army lacks the mobility of many other armies in the game.
The Shu Monastery is mediocre, lacking several technologies like Herbal Medicine, Block Printing, Sanctity, and Redemption. Combined with weak cavalry, Shu will have trouble countering enemies' Mangonel lines.
The hero Liu Bei, despite being a powerful unit with an aura that heals units surrounding him, is expensive and is not always necessary for an offensive or healing the army, so the player must plan when to use him, as the gold and food needed to train him may be used for other troops or technologies.
Strategy[]
The Shu start is a little bit different from other civilizations. Instead of having six Villagers collecting food from Sheep, the player may opt instead for having five Villagers on Sheep and then the sixth, seventh, and eighth Villagers gathering wood, as they will start trickling some food that will help to sustain Villager production. This is critical considering their archer, naval, and siege focus, as they should accumulate wood early in order to pay for their main units, as all of them (except War Chariots and White Feather Guards) cost wood. Players, however, should not rely entirely on the lumberjack bonus for gathering food, as the food trickle is still slower than having Villagers gathering food from the usual sources.
The Shu early primary strategy in the Feudal Age is a regular archer rush, which in their case is favored by having better sighted archers and cheaper archer upgrades.
Shu is also well suited for a Fast Castle strategy followed by a War Chariot rush. For this, the focus in the Feudal Age should be on accumulating food fast for aging up (which the lumberjack bonus helps), then build two or three Siege Workshops and start spamming War Chariots. Much like with Scorpions, War Chariots work better en masse, especially if they are set to Barrage mode against a mass of enemy units. If the player decides not to go for War Chariots in the Castle Age, they have many other options to choose from. If they went for an archer rush in the Feudal Age, they should keep improving them in the Castle and Imperial Ages. A third mid-game option is a ram + infantry push, as their rams move faster, while the White Feather Guards and Pikemen gain more hit points in groups after researching Coiled Serpent Array. Any strategy from the Castle Age onwards may be supported by White Feather Guards, as their stunning ability helps ranged units to better target enemy units. This unit and Halberdiers also are good cannon fodder for protecting the frontline against cavalry, which is the main weakness for both archers and siege units. If the opponent starts to mass Skirmishers, White Feather Guards should be the infantry of choice for protecting archers.
Once in the Imperial Age, Shu should start to spam many Traction Trebuchets, as this unit is not only their replacement for the Trebuchet, but can also be used as ranged support against units. Once in the Imperial Age, the player should research Bolt Magazine as soon as possible, as this technology will make archers and War Chariots deadlier, especially if deployed in large numbers. Liu Bei heals nearby units, which can be really helpful for masses of wounded archers or infantry.
Regarding their navy, Lou Chuans should be used extensively in the Imperial Age, considering their movement speed boosted by the Shu bonus and Bolt Magazine.
Alliances[]
As an archer- and siege-focused civilization, Shu is a good ally for civilizations that have poor archers or siege units, providing ranged support for their allies. Shu can also complement other powerful archer civilizations thanks to their team bonus which provides +2 Line of Sight to all foot archers except skirmishers.
Armenians: The Shu team bonus applies to Composite Bowmen. The Armenian team bonus will give White Feather Guards and Halberdiers better Line of Sight.
Britons: They have a win-win synergy with the Shu. Their archers get better sight, and Archery Ranges work faster.
Bulgarians: Shu archer Blacksmith upgrades are already cheaper. With the Bulgarian team bonus, they will get them faster, allowing an earlier Archer rush in the Feudal Age. The Bulgarians do not gain much from the Shu team bonus, however, as they lack good archers. Shu may cover them in this area.- Celts: The Celtic Team bonus allows Shu to spam War Chariots and Traction Trebuchets faster. The Celts have mediocre archers, so Shu should cover them. The Celtic fast infantry can complement the lack of mobility of their Shu ally.
- Chinese: Chinese Chu Ko Nu benefit from the Shu team bonus. The Chinese improvement on Farms is always useful.
- Ethiopians: Ethiopian fast-firing archers with the Shu team bonus will be able to spot enemies earlier, enabling them to avoid unfavorable battles or spot their targets earlier.
- Inca: The Shu team bonus applies to Slingers. The additional Llama is always welcolme on team games.
- Italians: The Shu team bonus is quite helpful for Italian archers, including Genoese Crossbowmen. Despite lacking Iron Casting and Blast Furnace, the Condottiero is still a useful team bonus for Shu, as they provide a good answer to gunpowder units.
- Khitans: The Khitan team bonus is quite useful for the Shu, as it applies to White Feather Guards and Halberdiers, making both units more useful vs archers. The Khitans can also cover Shu's lack of cavalry.
- Koreans: The Korean team bonus allows Shu Villagers to spot resources and enemies earlier. The Shu team bonus is useful for the cheap Korean archers.
- Maya: The cheap Mayan archers and Plumed Archers will appreciate the extra Line of Sight. Shu already have fully upgraded Fortified Walls, so the Maya team bonus is quite helpful if going defensive.
- Persians: The Shu archer Line of Sight bonus applies to the Kamandaran-improved Crossbowmen of the Persians. Shu does not gain anything from the Persian team bonus, but Caravanserais will aid commerce in the late game, and the powerful Persian cavalry can cover Shu's lack of cavalry.
- Portuguese: The Shu team bonus applies to the Portuguese cheap Arbalesters. The Portuguese allow all technologies to be researched faster, which applies to the cheaper Shu archer upgrades at the Blacksmith and Archery Range. The Portuguese may also provide a long-term sustainable source of stone from the Feitoria, and can cover the Shu lack of gunpowder units.
- Saracens: Anti-building damage makes Shu Arbalesters more devastating. The Shu team bonus gives Saracen fully upgraded Arbalesters more Line of Sight, so this is a win-win synergy. Powerful Saracen Camel units can cover the weak cavalry of Shu.
- Vietnamese: Both players are able to improve Skirmishers to Imperial Skirmishers. The Vietnamese can see the initial locations of the opponents, and Vietnamese Rattan Archers and Arbalesters get better Line of Sight.
- Wu: The Wu team bonus allows for a more consistent start for the team, as Houses are built faster. Wu Fire Archers appreciate the extra Line of Sight from the Shu team bonus.
