As Shogun: How can I decrease "Shogun Influence"?

[Serzis]

Okay I know the op is satisfied with all your answers, but I think someone forgot to mention that when you do the spy mission "Shogun Forge Claims on Daimyo" or whatever it is called, and I believe you have to get CAUGHT, you instantly lose 10 shogun influence. So if you pause the game, have a good chunk of cash saved up, and don't have high spy efficiency you then try 3 or 4 times getting caught hopefully 3 times then you can declare war before the month ends. Although what other people said to do is much faster then to force others to give up their lands.

No, the influence drop of ten only depends on the success of the spy mission, for which reason it becomes important to hire ninjas. The infamy strike you receive, however, depends on possibility of discovery. If discovered, the infamy penalty is 8. If you are undiscovered, it is 5. The penalty for undiscovered success might have been possible to modify, but I'm not sure.

EDIT: Failure, discovered: no claim, 0 influence drop, 3 infamy
Failure, not discovered: no claim, 0 influence drop, 0 infamy
Success, discovered: claim, 10 influence drop, 8 infamy
Success, not discovered: claim, 10 influence drop, 5 infamy

 

[Zankor]

Ah Crap I thought you had to get caught for some reason. Well all I really intended to do was get the alternative info out on how to lower influence. Thanks for clearing that up though.

 

[Junuxx]

Sounds good. Obviously I have to learn this Personal Union-thing. But I don't think I like PU because you need to wait and it seems you have to be lucky. But I will try this in my next game.
Strategy is this, right?:
1) Royal Marriage
2) Claim Throne
3) Claim Throne Casus Belli
4) Go to war against target
5) Build up good Relations with target
6) Wait, wait, wait, until MY (!?) Daimyo dies, so that his successor can inherit my throne and target throne altogether?
7) Having now PU (hopefully I am not the Junior-Partner?), so that I can unify my two countries (?)

After point 4, it's a bit off. When you win the Claim Throne war, your victim is already the junior partner in a PU. There's no direct risk of becoming a junior partner yourself using Claim Throne (that risk only comes from the RM). You do restore good relations, and when your mutual ruler dies, you have a chance to inherit them. There's no need to wait to inherit before you do the second claim though. So it's more like RM, claim, war, PU, restore relations, second RM, second claim, second war, second PU, restore relations, wait.

 

[unmerged(293676)]

I thought daiymos insulted their way out of PUs regardless of your army size.

Am I mistaken?

 

[Zankor]

I'm not sure if i mistook insults as events, but I had no trouble maintaining a union for the over 100 years it took to finally inherit them.

 

[unmerged(293676)]

Yes, I appear to have been mistaken. Perhaps I was unaware of the army/economy mechanics with respect to PU insults at the time of my last PU attempt as a daimyos. Seemed too easy to be doable so I didn't overthink it. Sure enough, it's the fast way to Japan.

At any rate, to answer the op's question, lowing relations below 0 gives a -1 monthly influence modifier. High relations give a +1 modifier. Your prestige divided by 25 gives the value of another modifier. Therefore, for instance, with one other daimyo remaining, you need to have a prestige below 25 and the -1 modifier from relations for influence to decrease. Cancel missions and send insults in order to lower prestige.

Ninja-ing cores lower relations by 10. If you can afford the infamy, then pause, hire ninjas, get three cores, and declare war.