This is the most defensible argument. A 40-year-old lawyer with two kids loves Total War but doesn't have 60 hours to grind a campaign. They want to see the explosions, hear the "BANZAI!" charges, and roll over Tosa with a massive treasury. For them, the trainer is an accessibility tool—a way to skip the "spreadsheet simulator" aspect and jump to the "dudes dying in mud" aspect.
Introduction: The Irony of the Unfair Advantage total war shogun 2 fall of the samurai trainer
It is a game about inequality. A single modern artillery unit can rout an entire traditional samurai army. A naval bombardment can flatten a fortress before the first sword is drawn. This is the most defensible argument
Do you play to be tested? Keep the trainer closed. Do you play to play god? Download it. Just scan the .exe with three antivirus programs first. For them, the trainer is an accessibility tool—a
Mid-game, regardless of your allegiance (Imperial or Shogunate), every other clan on the island turns on you. This "Realm Divide" mechanic is designed to stress-test your logistics. Without a trainer, you watch your veteran armies get shredded by modern firepower. With a trainer, Realm Divide becomes a boring mopping-up operation.
So why would anyone download a trainer —a piece of third-party software that gives the player infinite money, god mode units, and instant building—to play it?