A broken mod stack can take down an otherwise perfect campaign in seconds, and most players hit the wall the moment a total conversion collides with an overhaul they never realised overlapped. Getting the Shogun 2 mod load order right is the single biggest lever you have over stability, save compatibility, and whether the game even launches on the Complete Edition client. This guide lays out the exact rules the community has settled on after more than a decade of modding, plus the small set of checks that catch 90% of the failure cases before they ruin a turn-30 save.
Why Mod Load Order Matters in Shogun 2
Shogun 2 loads mods from the bottom of the list upward, which means the last mod enabled wins when two files touch the same data table. That single rule is the source of most "mods not working" reports, because players enable a small unit pack above a large overhaul and silently lose every stat change the pack introduced. Worse, two overhauls that both rewrite unit_stats or building_effects will produce a hybrid no modder ever tested, which is the most common cause of a CTD on campaign load.
| Position in load order | File that "wins" on overlap | Typical symptom a player sees | Data table affected | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small unit pack placed above a large overhaul | The small unit pack | Pack's stat changes silently overwritten; unit roster still loads | unit_stats | Move the unit pack below the overhaul so the overhaul's stats are applied last |
| Two overhauls both rewriting the same file | The mod listed last in the launcher | Hybrid stat set no modder ever tested; frequent CTD on campaign load | unit_stats or building_effects | Disable one overhaul or patch one to read from the other via merge instead of full rewrite |
| Cosmetic/UI mod placed above a save-affecting mod | The cosmetic mod | UI string hot-swap mid-campaign, save hash mismatched | ui_strings | Move cosmetic mods to the very top; reserve bottom slots for data-rewriting mods |
| Any mod added or removed after a save is created | N/A — save rule overrides load rule | "Save corrupted" on next campaign load, even if the new mod only touched ui_strings | Whole save bundle (hash of pack list) | Start a new campaign; treat the mod list as part of the save per Steam Workshop convention |
The other reason order matters is save data. Once a save is created with a given mod set, that save remembers the hash of the loaded pack list. Adding or removing a mod mid-campaign is the fastest way to invalidate the save entirely, even if the mod in question only touched a UI string. The community's standing rule, repeated across the Steam Workshop comments, is to treat the mod list as part of the save: change one, expect to start a new campaign.
The Three Layers of a Mod List
Every Shogun 2 mod list, however large, breaks down into three functional layers. The base game is layer zero; the mods sit on top in a strict pecking order that, if violated, produces silent overrides or hard crashes.
| Layer | What Belongs Here | Examples | Rule of Thumb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Framework mods, scripting libraries, PFM compatibility patches | S2 Editor Fix, DarthMod frameworks (legacy) | Always load first; nothing depends on them but everything may depend on them |
| Data | Overhauls, total conversions, campaign mods, balance patches | DarthMod Shogun 2, Radious, Sengoku Jidai | One per game type; never stack two overhauls |
| Cosmetic / Content | Unit packs, reskin mods, UI tweaks, blood/gore, music swaps | Saints and Heroes, Sengoku Jidai unit pack, Blood Pack | Load last; safe to layer many, but watch for shared unit IDs |
The "Last Wins" Rule in Practice
Consider a stack with a balance overhaul that reduces Yari Ashigaru melee attack from 9 to 7, and a unit pack that gives a new elite Yari Samurai with a base attack of 16. If the unit pack loads above the overhaul, the overhaul's debuff never applies to the new unit because its stats are written fresh. If the pack loads below the overhaul, the overhaul's melee attack modifier applies to the new unit and the elite ends up at 14, which is rarely what either modder intended. Total conversion projects like Sengoku Jidai overwrite so much of the base schema that the order is essentially forced: the conversion goes at the very top, with nothing but cosmetic mods above it.
How Shogun 2 Mod Compatibility Actually Works
Compatibility is not a property of any single mod. It is a property of the pair of mods in your list, plus the game version you are running. The 2011 Steam build, the 2013 Complete Edition on Steam, and the 2025 Complete Edition rebuild all share the same Workshop item IDs in many cases, but the underlying data files are not byte-identical. A mod compiled against the 2011 build can load on the Complete Edition, but it can also touch a table that has been moved, renamed, or removed in the rebuild, which is the second most common cause of "mods not working" reports after load order errors.
This is why the Complete Edition store page explicitly lists the rebuilt localisation, the new 4K interface, and the promoted minor factions as changes that may affect older mods. None of those changes are advertised as "mod-breaking," but every one of them touches data files, which means a mod that edited one of those tables can quietly fail to apply.
The Compatibility Matrix at a Glance
The table below summarises the pairings the community has tested most often. Treat "Known good" as a strong default, "Risky" as "test on a throwaway save," and "Broken" as "do not combine."
| Mod Type | Framework/Utility | Overhaul | Total Conversion | Unit Pack | UI/Cosmetic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Framework/Utility | Known good | Known good | Known good | Known good | Known good |
| Overhaul | Known good | Broken | Broken | Risky | Known good |
| Total Conversion | Known good | Broken | Broken | Known good (sibling packs only) | Known good |
| Unit Pack | Known good | Risky | Known good (sibling packs only) | Risky | Known good |
| UI/Cosmetic | Known good | Known good | Known good | Known good | Known good |
The single hardest pairing is overhaul + overhaul. Stacking DarthMod and Radious, for example, does not give you a "double overhaul"; it gives you whichever one loads last winning every contested stat, while both mods' script files run simultaneously and stomp on each other. The result is usually a softlock on the loading screen or a CTD two turns into the campaign.
Version Drift Between Legacy and Rebuilt Clients
A subtler problem is version drift. The Workshop for the 2011 build is at app/201270 and the Complete Edition Workshop is at app/3846830. When you subscribe to an item in the legacy browser, Steam sometimes pushes that subscription to the rebuilt client too, which is great for continuity but terrible for troubleshooting because the mod you see enabled is not the one the rebuilt client is actually parsing. The fix, when the rebuilt client behaves oddly, is to unsubscribe in both browsers and resubscribe from the one you intend to play on.
Building a Working Shogun 2 Mod Stack Step by Step
Building a working stack is less about clever tricks and more about following a sequence that catches every common failure mode before you start a campaign. The five steps below are the routine the r/Shogun2 regulars use when they swap mod lists between playthroughs, and it has the highest success rate of any workflow posted to the subreddit in the last two years.
Step 1: Pick the Game Branch First
Before subscribing to a single mod, decide which client you will launch: the 2011 build or the Complete Edition rebuild. The two share most Workshop items, but their data folders are not identical, and mods that touch UI scaling, voice acting lines, or faction promotion data are the ones most likely to break across branches. If you play both, expect to maintain two parallel mod lists rather than one shared one.
Step 2: Subscribe in Layers, Not in Bulk
Subscribe to foundation mods first, then data mods, then cosmetic mods. This lets you boot the game between layers to confirm the foundation set works before piling content on top. The most common mistake is subscribing to twenty items in one sitting and then having no idea which one caused the crash.
Step 3: Read the Description, Especially the Last Paragraph
Modders almost always post a "Load order" or "Compatibility" note in the description. If it says "load above all other mods," it means it. If it says "incompatible with DarthMod," it means it. Skipping the description is the single biggest cause of avoidable crashes.
Step 4: Start a Short Test Campaign
Before committing a 50-turn Shimazu campaign to the stack, start a 10-turn Oda or Tokugawa run as a canary. If the load works, the first battle works, and the first turn end works, the stack is almost certainly stable for the long haul. If any of those three fails, the problem is almost always in the top two mods on the list.
Step 5: Save the Mod List as a Collection
Steam lets you save a mod list as a Collection, which is a snapshot of subscribed items at a moment in time. Treat each successful stack as a Collection, name it after the campaign you are about to play, and never edit a Collection mid-campaign. The day you "just add one more mod" is the day the save stops loading.
Common Shogun 2 Mod Failures and How to Fix Them
Even a well-built stack will hit a problem sooner or later. The good news is that the failure modes for Shogun 2 modding are narrow enough that the same handful of fixes catches the vast majority of cases. If you work through this list top to bottom, you will resolve most "mods not working" reports without ever needing to post in a forum.
The "Mod Is Enabled but Does Nothing" Failure
This is the textbook "last wins" symptom: the mod is checked in the launcher, the mod is in the right folder, but none of its changes appear in-game. The cause is almost always that another mod above it in the load order is overwriting the same data table. The fix is to move the affected mod up the list, ideally above any mod that touches the same data file. Unit packs that add a single new regiment are the most common victim because their changes are easy to silently overwrite.
The "Crash on Campaign Load" Failure
A crash on the campaign loading screen, after the brief and the faction selection, almost always means a script conflict between two overhauls or a total conversion that has been placed below a smaller mod that touches campaign-level data. The fix is to disable the top half of your mod list and re-enable mods one at a time until the crash returns, then move the offending mod to the top or remove it.
The "Save Will Not Load After Adding a Mod" Failure
Saves in Shogun 2 bind to the mod list hash, so adding even a cosmetic mod invalidates older saves. The fix is to start a new campaign with the new mod list; the old save is gone. Players who want a long campaign with a stable stack should finish the campaign before changing anything in the mod list, and the r/Shogun2 veterans often keep a "frozen" Collection of mods for exactly this reason.
The "Mod Works on Legacy but Not on Complete Edition" Failure
The 2025 Complete Edition rebuild changed the data folder structure slightly, which means a mod that edited a path inside data/text or data/ui may be writing to a file the rebuilt client no longer reads. The fix is to wait for the mod author to push an update, fall back to the legacy client, or remove the mod from the stack. The mod troubleshooting workflow in our Complete Edition mod guide walks through the path-check routine in detail for players who want to patch older mods by hand.
Advanced Load Order Tactics for Power Users
Once the basics are stable, there are a handful of advanced tactics that experienced modders use to push a stack further without breaking it. None of these are essential for a vanilla-plus playthrough, but for a heavily modded Realm Divide run with three or four packs enabled, they are the difference between a working campaign and a lost weekend.
Pin a Total Conversion at the Top with a Dummy Cosmetic Above It
Total conversions like Sengoku Jidai overwrite so much of the base schema that placing any data mod above them produces unpredictable results. Cosmetic mods are an exception, because they touch only texture, sound, and UI files that the conversion does not normally rewrite. The community pattern is to place a known-safe cosmetic mod (a reskin, a blood pack, a music pack) at the very top so the conversion's UI changes still apply, and so the cosmetic mod is one of the last things the engine reads.
Use a "Compatibility Shim" Mod for Pairs That Almost Work
Some modders publish tiny "compatibility shim" mods that exist solely to resolve a conflict between two larger mods. These are usually 1-2 KB files that override a single stat or remap a unit ID, and they have to load above both of the mods they reconcile. The pack-file editing and DB editor walkthrough is the right place to start if you want to author a shim of your own rather than waiting for one to be published.
Keep a "No Mods" Baseline Save
The single most useful habit is keeping a clean baseline save with no mods enabled, refreshed every few patches. When something goes wrong, a baseline save lets you confirm that the base game still launches and still loads saves, which separates "Shogun 2 is broken" from "your stack is broken." The same logic applies to a baseline mod list of one or two known-safe items; if even that fails, the problem is in the game files and not the mods.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct Shogun 2 mod load order for overhauls and unit packs?
Overhauls and total conversions go near the bottom, with unit packs, reskins, and UI tweaks stacked above them. Because the last enabled mod wins in Shogun 2, the rule is simple: the mod whose changes matter most to you should be at the top of the list, and any mod that depends on a base schema should sit below every overhaul. This sequencing keeps a stable Shogun 2 mod load order for the vast majority of stacks.
Why do my Shogun 2 mods stop working after I enable another one?
Almost always a load order conflict. Two mods touching the same data table will fight, and the one higher on the list wins silently. Move the affected mod above the other and reboot, or check the description of the new mod for a compatibility note. This is the most common Shogun 2 mods not working fix and it resolves the issue more than nine times out of ten.
Can I switch from the 2011 build to the Complete Edition and keep my mods?
Mostly, but expect to rebuild the list. The 2025 rebuild touched localisation, UI scaling, voice acting, and the minor-faction roster, so mods that edited any of those tables need a fresh copy or a patched version. The legacy Workshop at app/201270 and the Complete Edition Workshop at app/3846830 carry overlapping but not identical items, so the safest workflow is to resubscribe from the Workshop that matches the client you launch.
Are Shogun 2 total conversion mods compatible with unit pack mods?
Only if the unit pack was made as a sibling of the same conversion. A total conversion like Sengoku Jidai replaces the entire faction and unit roster, so a unit pack built for the base game will load files that no longer exist in the conversion's data folder. Sibling packs published by the same author are explicitly designed to load above the conversion, while third-party packs are not. This is the most common pitfall in the Shogun 2 total conversion mods workflow.
Will adding mods break my existing campaign saves?
Yes, in nearly every case. Shogun 2 binds the save file to the mod list hash, so adding, removing, or reordering mods invalidates the save. Finish the campaign with a stable stack before changing the stack, and treat each campaign as paired with one specific mod list. The same rule applies in reverse, and a clean restart is the only reliable Shogun 2 mods not working fix once a save has been invalidated.