Campaign finished. Here's how things stand in Europe
and in Asia
I survived a couple of huge wars with Lotharingia, but was never really able to press my advantage because they outnumbered me to a huge degree. I finally caught a huge break in the last war with them when Bulgaria finally attacked them instead of being buddies. Asturias made a ton of progress on the reconquista, and the Umayyads pretty much collapsed besides their substantial American holdings (Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil). The Muslim realms stayed pretty fractured and messy for the whole game, I think the way they export those realms from CK2 ends up with a ton of cores of different people so there were a lot of revolutionary nations. Ghana stayed pretty serious but never really got out of West Africa. Manchu ran hogwild over Central Asia. My goal in this campaign was to work my way over to India via East Africa before getting smashed to pieces by Lotharingia. For people who haven't really looked at the 867 start in CK2 much, Arborea is basically just a country that is independent on Sardinia, and getting started required a no-CB war, some forced Vassalizations all while trying to dodge Byzantines in the boot and Italy to the North. The Russian kingdoms never really got it going, although they were briefly united in PUs under a single king before that broke. I wish that had kicked in so there would have been a power in the north that I could rely on, but it was not to be.
So, first off, I never actually took the Administrative idea chain. It was actually the Economic idea chain instead. That's how my income skyrocketed over the course of the last couple updates, which is how I was able to afford pretty large armies despite having a lot of fairly poor territory and somewhat minimal trade-protecting navies.
Additionally, I now have Wealth of Nations! This opens up a few things for me. Most notably, I now have Fervor points as a Reformed nation. I can use these to boost morale, trade, or relations / reduce revolt chance. I can do any combination of these, but they all cost monthly fervor, so you can usually only afford one at a time (and not always even then). There are also some new peace options, none of which I expect to really use, and I have the ability to move my trade port from my capital if I wish. My capital is the trade center of a trade node named after my capital and also my nation, so I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to do this.
So, with that out of the way, on to the reports!
A Balkan Empire
Bulgaria was formally assimilated into the borders of the Republic of Ragusa. Almost immediately, the armies marched westward to subjugate the newly-freed nation of Croatia. After another short and successful war, Ragusa became the de facto administrator of Croatia, even directly incorporating some of its lands as part of the deal. Diplomats went to work, easing progress toward the complete assimilation of the latest vassal.
Then, word came from much farther west. Spain had declared Ragusa to be its newest rival. It seems the Spanish had chosen to side with the French, perhaps fearing the establishment of a new successor to Rome. The best replacement the Republic could find was Ryazan, which had carved a rather interesting nation for itself out of the rubble of Crimea.
Developments elsewhere included Milan being forced to release Venice after losing a war (a single province not especially close to the city of Venice itself); the Papal States also losing a war and having to release Ferrara, happily cutting papal territory in half; and the second Ottoman conquest of Byzantium, leaving the Ragusans wondering why they bothered to return Edirne to Cyprus.
Displeased by this latest development, Ragusa declared war on the Ottomans the moment the previous truce ended (at this point these truces were little more than cease-fires). The Mamluks took the opportunity to attack as well, and the Ottomans continued to be eaten from both sides. It was a race between the Croatians and the Egyptians to see who could claim more Ottoman territory the fastest, reminding some historians of the splitting of Jingzhou following the Battle of Jiangling in southern China centuries prior. And as in centuries past, the victors would likely soon be at battle with each other.
For now, however, Ragusa satisfied itself by taking the most recent Ottoman conquests, happy to rob the Mamluks of the opportunity to take Cyprus.
Ragusan conquest of the Balkan peninsula was nearly complete.
A Quick Voyage Around the World
Let us pause for a moment to see what's going on elsewhere. All that talk of the Three Kingdoms period makes me wonder what's going on in China these days. Why don't we hop in a ship and take a nice voyage over to Shanghai and meet the Ming emperor? It'll be a grand time!
.........
On second thought, never mind. 'Tis a silly place.
Hurry, Back to the Balkans
Five years pass, and Ragusa attacks again, seizing Athens and Naxos. The Mamluks had taken border territory in their last engagement as well. It was truly a race to the Straits of Marmara. Meanwhile, Ragusa assimilated Croatia, leaving only a single province of Croatian culture still under foreign rule -- Istria, yet belonging to Hungary. This too must be resolved.
During this period, the Republic refocused internal development on refitting its military. Special attention was paid to the Quality of armed forces, both land and sea, leading to various upgrades of materials and leadership. Unfortunately, this effort slowed technological advancement as funds were instead directed toward making the existing tools the best they could be. However, the Council wisely believed that if they could establish a culture of expecting only the best for the military, this would continue through future generations with the next set of cannon and ship designs.
Another five years pass, and the final war was declared on the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The Muslims could offer no resistance, and Ragusa took the the last of the Greek territories. Finally, Constantinople was back in the hands of Christendom! Truly, Ragusa's claim as inheritor of Rome could now be considered to have true merit.
Diplomatic consequences were harsh, however. Ragusa was forced to abandon its ally Ryazan upon learning of Muscovy's intention to conquer and annex the entire nation; defending Ryazan from Muscovy simply made no strategic sense for the Republic, particularly when considering the cost of such an endeavor. Possibly fearing betrayal itself, Poland abandoned the alliance and formally declared Ragusa to be a rival. Would every nation of power declare its intent to prevent the reestablishment of Rome?
Fortunately, Ragusan leadership had the foresight of wooing Great Britain into an alliance. With Switzerland and Bohemia also included, Ragusa's enemies would still have to think twice before attacking. Unless those enemies were the combined might of France and Spain, in which case they can pretty much have whatever it is that's striking their fancy.
Unable to consider the remaining provinces of the Ottomans to be an actual rival any longer, Ragusa switched its focus to Hungary. While France or Spain perhaps made more sense, Ragusa still wanted to unite the final Croatian province with the rest of the empire. A Mission to take Istria quickly surfaced, and war was declared, with Switzerland joining in the attack.
Precisely as hoped, the Papal States and Siena responded to Hungary's call to arms. At last, Ragusa could strike a harsh blow in the Italian peninsula without involving France or Holy Rome!
Things did not progress quite so swimmingly, however. While Ragusa focused on ensuring its troops wore the finest of uniforms, the Papal States had made a number of additional technological advancements. Their weaponry far outshone the Croatian armaments. Ragusa was forced to throw thousands of bodies and hundreds of ducats in mercenaries at the armies of the pope, suffering a number of losses before finally overwhelming Rome's troops through attrition. Even the battles in Hungary showed mixed results, though Ragusan forces eventually prevailed there as well.
Eventually the papal armies were routed, her ships sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean. It was only a matter of time before the terms of surrender would be administered...
'So you say you want a revolution...'
Believe it or not, in over a thousand hours of playing EUIV this is the first time I've ever seen Revolutionary France appear. Broke my alliance with the Ottomans when they called me into a war against Bohemia, Russia, and the Papal State and I realized that their troops were so bad that despite me winning battle after battle they lost so many that it ended up being a wash. Once I capture Paris I'm going to connect up my western borders to make them look better (I vassalized Savoy and Switzerland, which is why my borders currently look so weird.), vassalize Bavaria, and then I'm going to turn my attention east and try and go on a massive conquering spree, ideally getting my eastern borders all the way to around Danzig. Current highest point gainers are 1. Me 2. Ottomans. 3. Spain 4. Russia 5. Portugal 6. the Papal State 7. Revolutionary France. (Also my biggest Colonial Nation, New Netherlands, is tied with about five other countries for fifth in points-per-month gained. I'm so proud.)
The war with the Papal States and Hungary continued for awhile longer, but it was simply a matter of besieging cities and forcing surrender. In the end, Ragusa took Siena, Ancona, and Torontal from the defeated allies while returning a core each to Switzerland and Austria, both taken from the northern reaches of papal holdings. Another war or two could complete the subjugation of the Papal States, forcing the Pope to bow to the Reformed faith, if Ragusa can manage it.
However, the technological backwardness of the Balkan state was revealed, and it desperately needed to turn things around before it got out of hand. Ragusa focused all its efforts on advancing technology, minimizing its use of treasury and governmental power for any other purpose. As the years passed, Ragusa soon caught up to the Mamluks in military tech and were only slightly behind the nations of Western Europe. Her manpower was restored, and national unity was as strong as it had ever been.
During this period, Great Britain lost a minor war to Denmark, and Switzerland lost some major wars, giving up territory to neighbors including France. Ragusa was unable to intervene in either war due to the necessity of focusing on modernization and recovery. Regrettable, but that is the cost of being the sole defender of all Christendom against the horrifying united Islamic Empire of the Mamluks.
But perhaps that fear was misplaced, for the strategic abilities of the Mamluk emperor seemed quite suspect. It was at that moment, the height of Ragusan strength, that the Muslims declared Holy War for Constantinople.
The First Great Clash
The first two years of the war were characterized mostly by stalemate. A Mamluk force of about 33,000 crossed the Straits and beseiged Constantinople. The Ragusan army responded in force, with the full might of her 62,000 soldiers launching an offensive. With equal technology, it came down to Ragusa's skilled general and the military's focus on Quality. And I suppose the nearly 2-to-1 odds helped. The Mamluks were routed, fleeing back into Turkey to lick their wounds.
However, Ragusan forces were unable to follow. The Mamluk navy had blocked the Strait while sending the majority of its navy to blockade the ports of the Ragusan navy. The merchant republic had little chance of victory; while the numbers were close, the Mamluks had several more large ships and a more modern navy in general. So, the merchant republic did what merchant republics do. Ragusa took out a massive loan of over 700 ducats and went on a ship-building spree. Over two years, another five capital ships and another thirty-five modern galleys were constructed in a flurry within the Adriatic region.
When the time was finally right, Ragusa's navy struck. The Mamluks seemed surprise by this sudden navy and were fairly quickly obliterated, nearly the entire armada decorating the sea floor of the Mediterranean. It was quite possibly the largest single clash of ships in the Sea's long history, and it ended in total victory for Republican forces.
Following this, the Croatian armies were free to charge into Turkey. The Mamluks responded and lost the initial clash, but eventually they were able to bring in more soldiers and pushed the Croatians back across the straits. The cost of the war quickly became horrific; Ragusa's manpower depleted alarmingly fast, and a sufficiently-sized army of mercenaries would be hellishly expensive, not to mention difficult to acquire given the size of the armies now being fielded. The mercenaries should have already been brought in to help take the brunt of the casualties, but alas, it was too late to do anything about that.
However, most of the battles had gone Ragusa's way, and nearly half of the great Mamluk empire was now under blockade. The weary Muslims were ready to accept defeat, knowing that in the long term, they had no chance of victory without a navy. Ragusa was able to secure a relatively favorable peace deal.
It wasn't a total victory, but it was an important first step toward dismantling the oversized Arabic empire. Still, Ragusa would need a considerable amount of time to recover Manpower.
Precarious As Ever
While all of this was going on, Poland and Lithuania were busy merging into a gigantic united Commonwealth nation. For now, this posed little threat to Ragusa, as they were busy quelling the rebellions that tend to follow such massive political shifts. However, the Commonwealth retained Poland's declared rivalry of Ragusa; there would be no alliance or friendship between the neighboring juggernauts. With luck, the titan would keep its focus elsewhere, as that's another great enemy Ragusa simply can't afford to handle.
Meanwhile, Spain and France continued its disturbing alliance, leading to the French conquering ever more territory from Holy Rome. Ferrara, Switzerland, and a restored Venice all lost land to the big blue bully, and relations plummeted further as Ragusan intelligence learned of French intentions to take her northern Italian provinces. War with France was almost certainly on the horizon, and Ragusa's only hope lay in her navy. Would it be enough to force the French to back down?
Searching for extra security against these threats, Ragusa found new allies in Sweden and Qara Qoyunlu. The Swedes would hopefully help deter the Commonwealth and the occasionally belligerent Denmark, while Qara Qoyunlu would be a great asset in future wars against the Mamluks, helping to beseige the massive amount of territory still held by the empire. The Spanish seemed to be crumbling under the weight of rebellion, losing Sardinia, Algiers, and half of Sicily, so they too could be ignored for the time being. Perhaps Ragusa's navy and her allies would be enough to persuade the French to continue looking elsewhere for just awhile longer. The Personal Union with Bavaria was still active, however, and French power would only grow in the coming years.
The independent Sicily was ultimately too good an opportunity to pass up. Ragusa wasted little time in forging a claim, hiring a few mercenaries, and storming the island to conquer the formerly Spanish province. The island of Sicily was now split, with the western half previously converted to Castilian culture. Would Ragusa get an opportunity to drive the Spanish out of the Mediterranean completely? Malta in particular was proving quite desirable for the Ragusan elite, yearning for a safe and friendly vacation spot.
Soon, Ragusa would forge a claim on lands just to the east of Alexandria. By conquering a swath of Egypt all the way to the Red Sea, Ragusa could split the Mamluk empire in half, all but guaranteeing its eventual collapse to rebels and invaders. This could be done in a single war. God willing, the height of Ragusan ambition would soon be realized!
NOTES: Dat Trier. Fez hilariously broke away from Spain shortly following its conquest of Morocco. I kind of want to go after Sardinia, but frankly I probably have better things to do right now. The release of Tripoli splitting off western Mamluk territory means they'll probably lose it before too long; I'd love to see Tunisia rebel. If I can get 100% Warscore I could release the Ottomans (most of Turkey) or Syria (the entire chunk of territory just south of Turkey), but then I can't get anything else. My real goal isn't to break the Mamluks further, as frankly I no longer care about them. I just need to get into the Red Sea and start taking control of some more trade routes.
Trade is probably going to be my next idea group since I'm going to need its benefits to really control the number of nodes I need to control. I'm not sure I'll be able to simply take them with military force since I expect France and the Commonwealth to keep me very busy in the latter half of the 1600s.
Nice to see Austria mounting a little bit of a comeback. They still love me, so I can always ally with them if they manage to recover their strength. I refuse to ally with the Holy Roman Emperor any more, though; it drags me into constant useless wars, most of them somehow involving France, and does me little good defensively since only the actual Emperor can join in my wars.
Britain is annoyingly weak. Their navy was obliterated by Denmark, and they have little in the way of overseas possessions. In this state, they're going to be exactly zero help against France. They really need to get it together, or I'm going to have a tough time of it soon. I could just sell off some of my Italian territories, but really that's just a temporary (and distasteful) solution. One way or another I'm going to have to beat France. Maybe if I grab the rest of Italy and most of Egypt (minus the Mamluk capital of Cairo) I can boost my funds and manpower enough to put up a real fight. Right now it's 63,000 vs 100,000 and a -1 tech disadvantage. I don't especially like those odds against France. And they somehow keep several great alliances, too.
The 1.6.2 patch just dropped today. It puts the AE reduction rates back to 1.6.0 levels. I don't know how much it'll help France. It probably won't hurt me much as long as I'm fighting the Mamluks, but I'll have to pay a lot more attention to it. I could take the Policy that reduces how much AE you get from war at a cost of 1 DP per month. It's only about a 5% reduction though, so it's probably not worth it still...
So, rock solid unit build for the first couple hundred years. 8 infantry, 2 cav, 10 cannons. The AI never wants to haul around that many cannons, and they almost never upgrade their forts, so you'll also siege super damn fast. 10 cannons give you the +5 on a level 2 fort.
Funny thing is I didn't have anything to with this. Still, first colony I've ever seen successfully declare independence. Even if they turned into a monarchy. Not much of a revolution, then. Still, it's not that weird considering Portugal has no major allies. Oh and you see that war going on... well...
I mean at least the end of this game is staying interesting. Russia has seriously slowed down my plans to invade Bohemia. The main problem is that it takes years, literally years, for most of the Russian troops to finally start getting close enough to fight, and unless I destroy their armies they're pretty unwilling to negotiate, tons of warscore or not. Also massive coalitions and what not also put a damper on my expansion plans. This is the second of two massive wars, and the result:
Saxony and Bavaria (Bavaria is actually really useful, since they have about 25 regiments and can thus clean up small army stacks without me having to constantly micro-manage and hunt them down.) are my vassals, and I might be able to vassalize Poland and sneak in one last war to take a ton of provinces and get my western border as Danzig and return all of Poland's cores. Also the score standings, which are unlikely to change in the last few years of the game are as follows:
For reference the total combined army of my Dutch Empire include:
1. Approximately 350 regiments under my direct control
2. Approximately 40 additional regiments from Bavaria and Saxony
3. 41 regiments from New Netherlands, 26 from Nova Hollandia, 17 each from Nova Frieslandia and California, and 10 from New Antwerp.
So in total I have about 500 regiments in my SOI, or about half a million soldiers, which is equivalent to how many I usually end up with as Russia or the Ottomans.(Although to be fair. generally all of those are under my direct control, not with subject nations.) Also my total income is about 600 ducats a month, with a net income of about 150 ducats a month. (Keeping army maintenance at max with the hugest level advisers I can get.) I thought about trying for the Grand Armada achievement but that just feels like a pain. Oh, and I also built the Kiev Canal, the least strategically useful of all the canals. I had to spend the money on something.
Netherlands is OP, even when not formed from Burgundy.
Dutch Republic
If you do not have the DLC, then the Dutch Republic is just another normal republic type with no special abilities.
First of all, the Dutch Republic do not get the normal election events. Instead they operate on a unique set of rules. They have a unique mechanic which is called “Statists vs Orangists”, which is how much power each side has in the Republic.
When the Statists are in power, you get +10 naval force limits and +5% trade power, while your republican tradition increase quickly, and when the Orangists are in power, you get +25% land forcelimits, and 10% cheaper stability, while the republican tradition does not increase by normal means.
If Statists are in power, then an election will be held if it has been at least 4 years since last election. You get two random candidates to pick from, one that will strengthen the Statists and one that will strengthen the Orangists.
If the Orangists are in power, then the current ruler is in power until he or she dies, or statists comes into power again.
You can not directly change the support for either of these, but there are a large set of events associated with the republic, that will impact the support.
Of course, it is now easier for the Netherlands to get the event allowing you to pick the Dutch Republic government form, as it will trigger within a decade or two after forming the nation.
Ideas & Policies
We added quite a lof of new modifiers that are used for ideas, policies and other parts of the game.
build_power_cost, global_ship_repair,vassal_forcelimit_bonus, years_of_nationalism, accepted_culture_threshold, culture_conversion_cost, diplomatic_annexation_cost and ship_durability.
There has been some minor tweaks to some existing ideagroups, most notably:
Grand Army is now 20% land forcelimits (down from 25%)
National Conscripts is now 10% faster regiment recruitment speed instead of +25% global manpower.
Consolidated infantry, cavalry and artillery cost ideas in Quantity into a single regiment cost idea.
Added ideas to Quantity: Forced Labor System (-20% building power cost) and Expanded Supply Trains (-10% land attrition).
Religious Ambition is now 25% cheaper culture conversion.
We added 3 new ideagroups. Humanism, Influence & Naval, with Maritime being the new name for the old naval ideagroup. Some ideas have been moved there from other ideagroups.
Humanist Ideas - ADM
Tolerance: +25% Religious Unity
Local Traditions: -2 Revolt Risk
Ecumenism: Heretic Tolerance +3
Indirect Rule: -10 Years Less Nationalism
Cultural Tiers: 50% less required for losing and gaining accepted cultures.
Benevolence: +0.33 Better Relations over Time
Humanist Tolerance: Heathen Tolerance +3
Bonus: -10% Idea Costs
Influence Ideas - DIP
Tribute System: +25 Vassal Income
Claim Fabrication: -33% Fabricate Claims Time
Integrated Elites: -25% Diplomatic Annexation Cost
State Propaganda: -10% AE
Diplomatic Influence: +5 Diplomatic Reputation
Postal Service: -25% Envoy Travel Time
Marcher Lords: +33% Forcelimits from Vassals
Bonus: Diplomatic Upkeep +1
Naval Ideas - MIL
Boarding Parties: +1 Leader Naval Shock
Improved Rams: Galley Power +10%
Naval Cadets: +1 Leader Naval Fire
Naval Glory: +100% Prestige from Naval Battles
Press Gangs: -10% Naval Maintainance
Oak Forests for Ships: Heavy Ship Power +10%
Superior Seamanship: +10% Naval Morale
Bonus: Ship Durability + 10%
Dutch Republic
If you do not have the DLC, then the Dutch Republic is just another normal republic type with no special abilities.
First of all, the Dutch Republic do not get the normal election events. Instead they operate on a unique set of rules. They have a unique mechanic which is called “Statists vs Orangists”, which is how much power each side has in the Republic.
When the Statists are in power, you get +10 naval force limits and +5% trade power, while your republican tradition increase quickly, and when the Orangists are in power, you get +25% land forcelimits, and 10% cheaper stability, while the republican tradition does not increase by normal means.
If Statists are in power, then an election will be held if it has been at least 4 years since last election. You get two random candidates to pick from, one that will strengthen the Statists and one that will strengthen the Orangists.
If the Orangists are in power, then the current ruler is in power until he or she dies, or statists comes into power again.
You can not directly change the support for either of these, but there are a large set of events associated with the republic, that will impact the support.
Of course, it is now easier for the Netherlands to get the event allowing you to pick the Dutch Republic government form, as it will trigger within a decade or two after forming the nation.
Ideas & Policies
We added quite a lof of new modifiers that are used for ideas, policies and other parts of the game.
build_power_cost, global_ship_repair,vassal_forcelimit_bonus, years_of_nationalism, accepted_culture_threshold, culture_conversion_cost, diplomatic_annexation_cost and ship_durability.
There has been some minor tweaks to some existing ideagroups, most notably:
Grand Army is now 20% land forcelimits (down from 25%)
National Conscripts is now 10% faster regiment recruitment speed instead of +25% global manpower.
Consolidated infantry, cavalry and artillery cost ideas in Quantity into a single regiment cost idea.
Added ideas to Quantity: Forced Labor System (-20% building power cost) and Expanded Supply Trains (-10% land attrition).
Religious Ambition is now 25% cheaper culture conversion.
We added 3 new ideagroups. Humanism, Influence & Naval, with Maritime being the new name for the old naval ideagroup. Some ideas have been moved there from other ideagroups.
Humanist Ideas - ADM
Tolerance: +25% Religious Unity
Local Traditions: -2 Revolt Risk
Ecumenism: Heretic Tolerance +3
Indirect Rule: -10 Years Less Nationalism
Cultural Tiers: 50% less required for losing and gaining accepted cultures.
Benevolence: +0.33 Better Relations over Time
Humanist Tolerance: Heathen Tolerance +3
Bonus: -10% Idea Costs
Influence Ideas - DIP
Tribute System: +25 Vassal Income
Claim Fabrication: -33% Fabricate Claims Time
Integrated Elites: -25% Diplomatic Annexation Cost
State Propaganda: -10% AE
Diplomatic Influence: +5 Diplomatic Reputation
Postal Service: -25% Envoy Travel Time
Marcher Lords: +33% Forcelimits from Vassals
Bonus: Diplomatic Upkeep +1
Naval Ideas - MIL
Boarding Parties: +1 Leader Naval Shock
Improved Rams: Galley Power +10%
Naval Cadets: +1 Leader Naval Fire
Naval Glory: +100% Prestige from Naval Battles
Press Gangs: -10% Naval Maintainance
Oak Forests for Ships: Heavy Ship Power +10%
Superior Seamanship: +10% Naval Morale
Bonus: Ship Durability + 10%
Naval ideas getting BTFO
Yeah, Humanist easily replaces Economics as the first idea group to pick up. That idea group is just ridiculously good.
So, rock solid unit build for the first couple hundred years. 8 infantry, 2 cav, 10 cannons. The AI never wants to haul around that many cannons, and they almost never upgrade their forts, so you'll also siege super damn fast. 10 cannons give you the +5 on a level 2 fort.
Dutch Republic
If you do not have the DLC, then the Dutch Republic is just another normal republic type with no special abilities.
First of all, the Dutch Republic do not get the normal election events. Instead they operate on a unique set of rules. They have a unique mechanic which is called “Statists vs Orangists”, which is how much power each side has in the Republic.
When the Statists are in power, you get +10 naval force limits and +5% trade power, while your republican tradition increase quickly, and when the Orangists are in power, you get +25% land forcelimits, and 10% cheaper stability, while the republican tradition does not increase by normal means.
If Statists are in power, then an election will be held if it has been at least 4 years since last election. You get two random candidates to pick from, one that will strengthen the Statists and one that will strengthen the Orangists.
If the Orangists are in power, then the current ruler is in power until he or she dies, or statists comes into power again.
You can not directly change the support for either of these, but there are a large set of events associated with the republic, that will impact the support.
Of course, it is now easier for the Netherlands to get the event allowing you to pick the Dutch Republic government form, as it will trigger within a decade or two after forming the nation.
Ideas & Policies
We added quite a lof of new modifiers that are used for ideas, policies and other parts of the game.
build_power_cost, global_ship_repair,vassal_forcelimit_bonus, years_of_nationalism, accepted_culture_threshold, culture_conversion_cost, diplomatic_annexation_cost and ship_durability.
There has been some minor tweaks to some existing ideagroups, most notably:
Grand Army is now 20% land forcelimits (down from 25%)
National Conscripts is now 10% faster regiment recruitment speed instead of +25% global manpower.
Consolidated infantry, cavalry and artillery cost ideas in Quantity into a single regiment cost idea.
Added ideas to Quantity: Forced Labor System (-20% building power cost) and Expanded Supply Trains (-10% land attrition).
Religious Ambition is now 25% cheaper culture conversion.
We added 3 new ideagroups. Humanism, Influence & Naval, with Maritime being the new name for the old naval ideagroup. Some ideas have been moved there from other ideagroups.
Humanist Ideas - ADM
Tolerance: +25% Religious Unity
Local Traditions: -2 Revolt Risk
Ecumenism: Heretic Tolerance +3
Indirect Rule: -10 Years Less Nationalism
Cultural Tiers: 50% less required for losing and gaining accepted cultures.
Benevolence: +0.33 Better Relations over Time
Humanist Tolerance: Heathen Tolerance +3
Bonus: -10% Idea Costs
Influence Ideas - DIP
Tribute System: +25 Vassal Income
Claim Fabrication: -33% Fabricate Claims Time
Integrated Elites: -25% Diplomatic Annexation Cost
State Propaganda: -10% AE
Diplomatic Influence: +5 Diplomatic Reputation
Postal Service: -25% Envoy Travel Time
Marcher Lords: +33% Forcelimits from Vassals
Bonus: Diplomatic Upkeep +1
Naval Ideas - MIL
Boarding Parties: +1 Leader Naval Shock
Improved Rams: Galley Power +10%
Naval Cadets: +1 Leader Naval Fire
Naval Glory: +100% Prestige from Naval Battles
Press Gangs: -10% Naval Maintainance
Oak Forests for Ships: Heavy Ship Power +10%
Superior Seamanship: +10% Naval Morale
Bonus: Ship Durability + 10%
Naval ideas getting BTFO
Yeah, Humanist easily replaces Economics as the first idea group to pick up. That idea group is just ridiculously good.
What catches your eye about Economics? Just curious, I usually get it later on if I want to get a little more production edge, but I usually start with a diplo idea and then get offensive right now.
Dutch Republic
If you do not have the DLC, then the Dutch Republic is just another normal republic type with no special abilities.
First of all, the Dutch Republic do not get the normal election events. Instead they operate on a unique set of rules. They have a unique mechanic which is called “Statists vs Orangists”, which is how much power each side has in the Republic.
When the Statists are in power, you get +10 naval force limits and +5% trade power, while your republican tradition increase quickly, and when the Orangists are in power, you get +25% land forcelimits, and 10% cheaper stability, while the republican tradition does not increase by normal means.
If Statists are in power, then an election will be held if it has been at least 4 years since last election. You get two random candidates to pick from, one that will strengthen the Statists and one that will strengthen the Orangists.
If the Orangists are in power, then the current ruler is in power until he or she dies, or statists comes into power again.
You can not directly change the support for either of these, but there are a large set of events associated with the republic, that will impact the support.
Of course, it is now easier for the Netherlands to get the event allowing you to pick the Dutch Republic government form, as it will trigger within a decade or two after forming the nation.
Ideas & Policies
We added quite a lof of new modifiers that are used for ideas, policies and other parts of the game.
build_power_cost, global_ship_repair,vassal_forcelimit_bonus, years_of_nationalism, accepted_culture_threshold, culture_conversion_cost, diplomatic_annexation_cost and ship_durability.
There has been some minor tweaks to some existing ideagroups, most notably:
Grand Army is now 20% land forcelimits (down from 25%)
National Conscripts is now 10% faster regiment recruitment speed instead of +25% global manpower.
Consolidated infantry, cavalry and artillery cost ideas in Quantity into a single regiment cost idea.
Added ideas to Quantity: Forced Labor System (-20% building power cost) and Expanded Supply Trains (-10% land attrition).
Religious Ambition is now 25% cheaper culture conversion.
We added 3 new ideagroups. Humanism, Influence & Naval, with Maritime being the new name for the old naval ideagroup. Some ideas have been moved there from other ideagroups.
Humanist Ideas - ADM
Tolerance: +25% Religious Unity
Local Traditions: -2 Revolt Risk
Ecumenism: Heretic Tolerance +3
Indirect Rule: -10 Years Less Nationalism
Cultural Tiers: 50% less required for losing and gaining accepted cultures.
Benevolence: +0.33 Better Relations over Time
Humanist Tolerance: Heathen Tolerance +3
Bonus: -10% Idea Costs
Influence Ideas - DIP
Tribute System: +25 Vassal Income
Claim Fabrication: -33% Fabricate Claims Time
Integrated Elites: -25% Diplomatic Annexation Cost
State Propaganda: -10% AE
Diplomatic Influence: +5 Diplomatic Reputation
Postal Service: -25% Envoy Travel Time
Marcher Lords: +33% Forcelimits from Vassals
Bonus: Diplomatic Upkeep +1
Naval Ideas - MIL
Boarding Parties: +1 Leader Naval Shock
Improved Rams: Galley Power +10%
Naval Cadets: +1 Leader Naval Fire
Naval Glory: +100% Prestige from Naval Battles
Press Gangs: -10% Naval Maintainance
Oak Forests for Ships: Heavy Ship Power +10%
Superior Seamanship: +10% Naval Morale
Bonus: Ship Durability + 10%
Naval ideas getting BTFO
Yeah, Humanist easily replaces Economics as the first idea group to pick up. That idea group is just ridiculously good.
What catches your eye about Economics? Just curious, I usually get it later on if I want to get a little more production edge, but I usually start with a diplo idea and then get offensive right now.
Well in general, I like starting with a Administrative Idea as those points are perhaps the most valuable in the game so getting that small cost reduction for having ideas from those groups for that tech is appealing.
The biggest draw to Economics specifically is probably the inflation reduction as with that you normally don't need to worry about inflation for the rest of the game, and you don't need to dump admin points to reduce it. At most, just pick inflation reduction adviser if things get out of hand.
And of course the small boost to income will pay off with fielding a larger army or building improvements.
Edit: Oh, and it will make it easier to field more/better advisers quicker for more monarch points.
The next idea is usually something from diplomatic line, either diplomacy or exploration depending. I don't pick up offensive or quality till at least the 3rd or maybe 4th.
It usually depends on where I have the biggest surplus of points, and how far along the tech/building improvements are for them.
I like starting with Dip first because I want to keep advancing Admin tech to get to the second idea tree, and early on you tend to get as much out of production increases as you do trade increases.
But Humanist is so good, it's worth changing almost any starting strategy in order to accommodate it. I kind of wonder if there are some other significant balance adjustments that'll make it not be quite as amazing as it looks on paper, because wow.
Triptycho: A card-and-dice tabletop indie RPG currently in development and playtesting
I'm not sure I ever get economic ideas. I rarely get more than one admin idea unless I end up swimming in excess admin points. Generally I'd always get either religious or innovative, although with expansion being switched over to admin that's pretty tempting if I can be a major colonial power. Admin ideas are a theoretical pick for me because of the great reduced coring cost benefit, or if I use tons of mercs. I've never liked economics because it is very rare that money is the main thing hampering my expansion. Also because if you do want tons of money it's almost always better to go for trade, unless you're a landlocked nation in an awful trade node. Free inflation reduction is nice though, especially because it lets you just take all of those "50 monarch points for .5 inflation" events for tons of extra monarch points over time.
I'd only get humanist second or third if I was starting in a mixed religion area like the Middle East. Otherwise its not worth it until you've hit the Reformation or your main targets for expansion are heretic/heathen.
I always get a military idea first because generally I play OPMs or non-western so I need to get as much out of my limited troops as possible in the opening against Ottomans/Timurids/France/Austria/etc, and I'm using all my diplo and admin on peace treaties/annexations/coring in the initial expansion phase, and generally you always have extra MP because there isn't anything to spend the extra on if don't use harsh treatment much.
I agree that money making ideas are not very good because you get plenty of money from conquering more provinces.
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"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
I usually start with trade, because not only does it help you out with gold, it gives you a ton of extra boats. And naval supremacy is usually really really important (not always)
So with my Netherlands game finally coming to a close, I thought about going for another achievement run. This time I'm going for Sweden is Not Overpowered. I've done very well in a previous Sweden Ironman game (Taking out Russia and actually colonizing Siberia for myself.) but I never actually got all of the Baltic coast. It took a bit of luck to win my independence war against Denmark, Norway, and Lithuania (Novgorod is willing to give Lithuania military access; who knew?) But thanks to being really really lucky and having the lithuanian general die while in the middle of my territory and thanks to having a four shock general I managed to win the war without even taking any loans. (I declared independence on day one.) Few years have passed and I'm allied to Austria, Poland, and Muscovy. Current map looks like:
Three guesses as to who joined the HRE...
Short term goals: Grab as much of Novgorod as I can before Muscovy gets a chance to take all of it. Also conquer Riga and the Livonian Order. (Right now I'm only at war with them so that Austria can't ask me for unlawful territory.) Midterm goals: Finish conquest of Scandinavia. Long-term goals: Find opportunity to backstab Poland and Muscovy.
By conquering a swath of Egypt all the way to the Red Sea, Ragusa could split the Mamluk empire in half, all but guaranteeing its eventual collapse to rebels and invaders. This could be done in a single war. God willing, the height of Ragusan ambition would soon be realized!
God, it seems, was not willing.
The Second Great Clash Begins
Ragusa's conquest of Messina (via a recently-independent Sicily) was too much of a provocation for Spain. Bolstered by its alliances with France and Portugal, and sensing that the Croatians had not yet fully recovered their military resources from the battles with the Mamluks, the Spaniards declared war: a reconquista of Sicily. Allies of both sides responded to the Call to Arms, and the scene was set for a truly epic clash.
Spain, France, Portugal, Bavaria, and Brabant -vs- Ragusa, Great Britain, Sweden, and Qara Qoyunlu
A few things limited the scope of the war from becoming truly fearsome in scale. Portugal was dealing with various insurgents and was not in top shape to fight a war; further, their relations with Ragusa were fairly cordial, thus the Portuguese had little interest in committing to a full-scale assault. Qara Qoyunlu on the other hand was shut off from the Mediterranean by the Mamluks and thus unable to join the battle in any capacity whatsoever.
The first clashes actually happened in the colonies, of all places. How the colonies got such quick word of the breakout of the conflict is unknown, but French colonial forces battled British colonial forces, enjoying fairly consistent victories in both land and sea. Shortly thereafter, the French Armada met the still-under-reconstruction British Armada and sank it ruthlessly, leaving Britain once more without any navy whatsoever and no way to send its 24,000 troops to aid in the war.
Sweden's relatively small navy was smarter, avoiding the French death boats, but this also kept them pretty much unable to intervene in any meaningful manner.
That meant Ragusa was forced to engage Spain and France on its own. 63,000 Croatian soldiers somehow had to hold off 120,000 French troops and another 40,000 Spanish soldiers. What could be done?
The Battle for Italy
Republican forces met the Cosmopolitaine vanguard in Parma in the northern reaches of Italy. The full might of Ragusa's troops were on display, and the French vanguard was routed. Victory celebrations were short-lived, however, as a hundred thousand reinforcements were en route. Any further battles would result in certain crushing defeat for the Balkan troops. So, Ragusan diplomats negotiated military access with Venice, and the entire Republican army was evacuated across the Adriatic to Istria.
Meanwhile, the fearsome Ragusan Armada was put into action. As with the war with the Mamluks but a few years prior, it would be the navy upon which all hopes of the Republican Empire would be placed. The fleet lived up to its recently-acquired reputation, sinking a Spanish fleet that comprised about half its navy in a single engagement, then doing the same to a small French navy that had stupidly sailed about the inner seas. The arrogant Westerners clearly had thought little of the galley-armed Balkan navy, and they had paid for it dearly.
While these victories lifted the spirits of the Republic, the grim truth was that Italy was destined to fall. Over a hundred thousand French, Spanish, and Bavarian troops poured through the peninsula, having acquired access through the despicable Papal States, and were busy besieging every major Croatian city. Before long, the entire peninsula had fallen.
Things were looking grim for Ragusa. However, the enemy had unwittingly walked into a cunning trap...
Counter-attack
While the enemy were busy occupying Italy, Ragusa's army had busied themselves taking Palermo and Malta. These provinces didn't seem especially critical, but they would prove to be the cornerstone of the Croatian counter-attack.
A Spanish force of 30,000 confidently strolled onto Messina and besieged it, soon taking the desired province and seemingly turning the war sharply in their favor. However, at about that time, the entire French army pulled back. Having taken Italy, they saw little reason to stick around. And because Austria hated the French so deeply, they did not permit them access to reach Ragusa's Balkan heartland. Apparently bored, the French just up and went home.
And that's when Ragusa struck. First, a force of 11,000 French parked in Venice were blocked from retreat back to the mainland, and 40,000 Ragusan soldiers were shipped into Venetian ports. The French army was routed to a man. Meanwhile, Catalonian islands to the west were also put under siege. With the army split in so many places, the talented Mistokral himself joined the fray, leading the besieging force.
At the same time, a few ships were pulled from the blockade of French and Spanish Mediterranean territory in order to block the Italian strait. Then, a force of 56,000, which had been quietly waiting in Malta following the rescue of Venice, quickly shipped over to Palermo.
The Spanish were trapped. They fought fiercely, but they were badly outnumbered and stuck in unfavorable terrain. The Croatians prevailed, and the Spanish force, consisting of about half their entire army, was completely wiped out. Ragusa besieged Messina and retook it, turning the war sharply back in her favor. Catalonian islands farther to the west were also taken, and French Corsica was put under siege.
Meanwhile, the Republican navy had destroyed another large French force, leaving it with fewer than 25 warships still patrolling British seas, as well as a Portuguese navy that had tried to come to the aid of the trapped Spanish army. At this point, Ragusa had undisputed dominance over the sea. With France's main forces unable to push further into Ragusa's lands, everything now seemed to be in place for an unlikely Croatian victory.
The Final Battles
Brabant's contribution to the war, a total of 9,000 troops, had foolishly wandered into Venice much the same as the French forces had previously. They were dealt with much the same. However, the remaining Spanish soldiers, numbering around 24,000, and the Bavarian force, numbering just over 30,000, had secured access through Hungary and attacked Ragusa's northern heartland. The war was again in serious jeopardy.
The Republican forces responded quickly, shipping the remaining soldiers from Sicily to Croatia and engaging the Bavarian army. Thankfully, the Spanish were too cautious to join with the Bavarians, and the Croatians defeated, chased, and utterly routed the German force. After spending some time to recover, a final assault was launched against the besieging Spanish army. Once again, Ragusan troops prevailed, and the Spanish were driven all the way back to France.
For a moment, Ragusa considered continuing the war. By further exhausting France and Spain, perhaps greater concessions could be won, making all this effort and expense into something truly worthwhile. Everything seemed to be going well, after all.
However, word soon reached the Mistokral that Sweden was under siege. It seems France had pulled back its forces because the Swedes were happily laying siege to Brittany. Galled by this, the entire French army transported to Swedish lands and lay siege to almost every Swedish city of note. If they proved successful, Sweden would likely back out of the battle, losing a substantial amount in the process and re-exposing Ragusa to the danger of the big blue bully.
It was time to end this and move on; this war had dragged for over a decade. What concessions could Ragusa win from the Spaniards?
Favorable ones! Now all of Sicily and Malta belonged to the Republic, and just for grins, Sweden got itself some French colonial property in South America. Because why not?
To reduce the diplomatic fallout, Ragusa enacted a Policy granting a reduction of Aggressive Expansion penalty shortly before negotiating the peace deal. This was not a simple short-term decision, for the next war lay on the horizon...
Heading Straight to Clash #3
Ragusa came out of this battle in a relatively good position. Spain, France, and Portugal now lack navies of note, which should keep them busy (and poor) for some time while also keeping Britain from being at too great a disadvantage. And with the five-year truce, the Republic has time to rebuild and focus elsewhere for awhile.
And speaking of elsewhere, a fabricated claim on northern Egypt was complete. The Mamluks had not restored their navy. After perhaps a year of recovery, Ragusa would be ready to strike, at last prepared to win sea access to the Indies. But this time, Ragusa could not rely on its navy; she would have to strike the very heart of Egyptian territory, conquering land adjacent to the very capital of the Mamluks. And she would have to do this without the benefit of allies, for the terrified Qara Qoyunlu will not join in any offensive wars.
Will Ragusa's good fortunes continue? Or will this latest act of aggression spell decline for the Balkan Empire? It was time to see if the claims of being the successor to Rome are valid, or merely the hubris of an arrogant young nation.
NOTES: France inherited Bavaria almost immediately after the war's end. Now they are even more frightening and also have the worst borders ever. Not much else has really changed. This 15-year update took me over two hours of gameplay thanks to how meticulously this war had to be fought. It was fun and engaging, but exhausting!
I wonder if Sweden can even core that territory. It might be the care instance where they'll just sell it back because they literally can't do anything with it. Also with the latest patch update Castille and France no longer seem to want to be allies at the start meaning you won't get that unholy alliance often again in the future.
Yeah, it is. I only took Blekinge from Denmark in my war if independence, but I still ended up being too big to join the empire. I had to get rid of all my Finnish territory and also sell them one additional province that they didn't start with a core on to be small enough to join at +200 relations with Austria. I wanted to join the empire because in my previous Sweden game it was super blobbed Austria with about 200,000 men that stopped me from taking the german coast. Now that won't really be an issue even if Austria does get lucky and come out on top of France. Also HRE bonuses are amazing, and maybe I might someday have a chance of being Emperor.
Holy hell I fought a war with those Mongol bastards. But there wasn't much I could do, Bohemia gave up before I could help them. I waited for them in the mountains to even the odds and actually won a few big battles, but they outnumber me 3 to 1 and are just way way stronger. They took a couple more pieces of Denmark in the peace deal. I should have been working on becoming emperor and unifying Europe, if only I had known.
Also those orange guys that rule over India have Ottoman ideas, so thats a thing. I managed to snatch Ceylon away from them, but thats all.
I love me some EU4, but I've been having the issue lately that I just can't get interested in a game because I'd rather have the next expansion/patch 1.7 first. The new idea groups, the expansion of republic mechanics, the tech changes, they all add up to me just wanting to wait. Which is incredibly frustrating since EU4 is generally the game I would most like to play of late.
Anyways my Sweden game goes well:
The one real remaining tough but to crack is going to be Poland.They're allied to Austria so it'd probably be best if I called Austria into a seperate war so Austria can't defend them. After that I just vassalize Denmark and Norway, conquer the few remaining coastal German states and finish off the Livonian order, and I'll be undisputed master of the Baltic. Also France went Protestant again; two games in a row now!
So vassilizing Denmark and Norway might have made some people angry...
Okay so it made a lot of people angry. Now, I'm allied to France so I'm not super worried about the coalition but I should still probably only go to war against Muscovy for the next decade or tw-
Ooooo nevermind.
It seemed the newly-subjugated Spanish Sicilians had little intention of simply lying back and accepting their fate. The moment Ragusa began moving her armies to Rhodes and Cyprus to prepare for the assault on the Mamluks, the rebellions began. Thousands of rebels rose up in arms, and Croatian forces were forced to pull back and deal with them. While the rebellion was quashed successfully, thousands of soldiers perished in the fighting. It took most of Ragusa's remaining manpower to refill her ranks. War with the Egyptians would have to wait.
Five years passed, and the truce with France and Spain had run its course. Ragusa braced for another impending assault, and indeed, Europe soon burst into flames once more. Only, this time the Balkan Empire was not involved...
No better opportunity would present itself. While Spain and France busied themselves battling each other, Republican forces sailed southeast to the shores of Egypt.
The First Invasion of Egypt
The Mistokral secured an alliance with Tripoli and launched an all-out invasion on the empire of the Mamluks. The Egyptians had rebuilt their navy in the years since the last conflict, and thus the war began much like the last one -- on the waves of the Mediterranean. Massive armadas clashed, and once again, Ragusa emerged victorious, sinking the second Egyptian Armada and achieving total naval dominance.
That wouldn't be enough this time, though. Ragusa needed to invade and conquer territory. While the Egyptians busied themselves with Croatian ally Qara Qoyunlu, the Republican Army made landfall east of the city of Alexandria. The army split, besieging much of northern Egypt as well as Sinai. Soon, however, an Egyptian army marched toward the Balkan invaders, bolstered by another army from Oman to the south. It was a bitter battle that cost thousands of lives, but once more, Ragusa won the day. Another battle or two would follow, but the damage had been done. The Egyptians fell back and contented themselves with laying siege to Qara territory while Ragusa simply grabbed land in and around Egypt. Soon, peace was enforced; Ragusa had cleanly won the second war against the mighty Mamluks.
At last, the Balkan Empire had acquired access to the Red Sea. She could now influence trade from the Gulf of Aden, ensuring that trade would continue to flow through Alexandria, Constantinople, Ragusa, and Venice.
Meanwhile, France was beating the bejesus out of most of the rest of the world largely by itself and would eventually annex Holland. The nation itself would still exist, but only in the Americas.
The Second Invasion of Egypt
The war was costly on an already-depleted manpower reserve. Ragusa was forced to wait a decade before making any further moves. Fortunately, her enemies were in no position to strike either; most of Europe had been demolished by France, and France was busy fighting a distant war with Orissa, a nation that had risen to considerable power in India. The thought of French control of the Indes was terrifying, but there was little the Republic could do about it at this point.
The truce with the Mamluks had come to an end, and the Mistokral decided to take a gamble and aim for a less costly war with the Mamluks. Qara Qoyunlu was no longer available, as Ragusa had refused to help in a war against Muscovy (because war with Muscovy is utterly foolish). However, with the Mamluk empire divided and her navy not yet rebuilt, this would prove a much easier war to fight than the last. Croatian forces were bolstered by a number of mercenaries to help ease the cost in lives, and the second invasion was completed fairly swiftly. Ragusa gained more territory in the southeast, but once again manpower depleted, and the war had to be brought to a close before even more Egyptian land could be grabbed.
Still, the outcome was quite positive overall. Ragusa gained a second port on the Red Sea, and the Mamluk empire was further divided, so much so that many of their provinces suddenly became administered as though they were distant overseas colonies. And that provided Ragusa with a free casus belli for a number of adjacent Egyptian provinces. Unfortunately, Ragusa's Egyptian territory was also distant overseas. The Empire needed to establish a connection by land from Constantinople through Turkey, down the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, and finally to Egypt proper. This would make another good long-term goal and would happily serve to improve Croatian control over the Constantinople and Alexandria trade nodes in the process.
Unwilling to sit still for very long given that France remained occupied, Ragusa charged into the Republic of Ramazan under the guise of a trade dispute. This province would help in forming that land bridge and would not require an additional war with the Egyptians. Mercenaries did most of the work, and Ramazan fell with little resistance.
Interlude -- A Look at North America
What's going on in North America during this period?
Spain and Portugal are really industrious! They've already settled the west coast of North America. Still, there's something about this map that seems a little... off somehow. Backwards, even...
During this period, Ragusa constructed a number of new buildings, including a University in southern Croatia and a Cathedral in Constantinople, hoping to one day be able to convert the heathens to the Reformed faith.
Strategery and Freedom Fries
Word reached the Mistokral -- France had signed for peace with Orissa. It had failed in its conquest attempts. It seems the Indians had managed to sink every last one of the French transport ships. With no possible way to win the war, France had given up.
While it was great news that India had resisted the French menace (making them quite possibly the first nation to do so successfully since before the Hundred Years' War), this meant that France was now free. And it was allied with Spain, Sweden, and the Commonwealth. And French eyes were set upon Ragusa's North Italian territories, upon which France had claims. What could be done? The Balkan Empire, for all its might, could only offer France resistance on sea. With its allies in play, any resulting war would be a total slaughter. And with its transport ships destroyed, France was certain to come after an adjoining land power next.
Desperate, Ragusan officials began pouring over Italian documents, preparing for the emergency strategy of selling the provinces to someone else and letting them deal with the French. In the process, they made a very interesting discovery. France's claims would soon be void. If Ragusa could hold out until October of 1681, the French would have no further excuse to invade the Republic and would likely be persuaded to look elsewhere for prey. However, it was only 1673. How could the Croatians keep the French at bay for that long?
That's when the Mistokral put together a brilliant piece of anti-French strategery. The most effective tool for keeping France from attacking is the peace treaty, for violating a treaty has many terrible consequences for a nation. However, getting a treaty requires being at war, and direct war with France is exactly what Ragusa needed to avoid.
Fortunately, the Poles had issued an embargo on the Republic. So, Ragusa forged an alliance with Muscovy, then declared a Trade War on the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth brought her allies France, Denmark, and Ferrara into the fray. Because Trade Wars are more about winning battles than conquering land, Ragusa declined to call Britain and Sweden to arms, as they would fall before the might of the Danes. Instead, Ragusa and Muscovy attacked the Commonwealth together, winning battle after battle, eliminating most of the Polish forces and moving things in a very good direction for Ragusa's goals.
It wasn't long before the allies showed up, however. The armies of Denmark and France were too much to deal with. Muscovy took them on directly, but Ragusa had to pull her armies back, securing them in southern Greece, protected by Ragusa's fearsome armada.
Denmark responded by sending a large navy into the Mediterranean to engage the Croatian fleet. However, they were no match for the inland sea veterans, and finally, Denmark's unbeatable navy was dealt a fatal blow. The Croatians lost only half a dozen ships in the process of sinking over seventy-five Danish warships just off the coast of Ragusa's capital. Croatian treasure-hunters would be diving the gulf for many years to come.
Unfortunately, the war overall began to take a sharp turn for the worse. Muscovy was losing a lot of battles, and a good half of Ragusa's territory was occupied by French and Danish forces. The Commonwealth had managed to pull another army together and was contributing to the carpet sieges. Due to the overwhelming numbers of their combined forces, the Poles were only willing to accept peace if Ragusa returned Malta to Spain and paid a considerable number of ducats.
Well, that just wouldn't do. This entire war was fought in order to keep from losing any territory! And that's when the Mistokral's second brilliant idea came into play.
With the enemy navy defeated, Ragusa's army was free to sail. The Croatian forces launched a marine invasion of Ferrara. Danish forces came around to intervene but were persuaded to go elsewhere when further reinforcements were brought to Italian shores. It was a race against time, but the combined might of the massive siege force and the naval blockade soon brought Ferrara to its knees.
Ragusa secured peace with Ferrara by demanding vassalization and around a thousand ducats. Ragusa then immediately sent a peace envoy to the Commonwealth, offering to release Ferrara from vassalhood in order to end the war. The Commonwealth accepted, and the peace treaty was signed.
Ragusa now had a treaty with France that would last until 1481. However, there were still some months between the end of the treaty and the loss of the final of the two claims. Would France mobilize fast enough to pursue the territory? Or would the blue bully be otherwise engaged in some other nonsense war?
Unable to do anything about that for now, Ragusa refocused on internal development and recovery, for manpower had once again been completely drained...
Meanwhile, France was beating the bejesus out of most of the rest of the world largely by itself and would eventually annex Holland. The nation itself would still exist, but only in the Americas.
The number of times I've done this to England, leaving them with only a few American provinces likely in the Caribbean or South America. Basically one of my main strategies as any coastal country in Europe has become to conquer the British Isles. Mainly because a.) England is a laughable joke that can easily be made to roll over and b.) Nobody really cares if you conquer the British isles, so there's little risk of getting into bad diplomatic positions by doing so.
Anyways, got the Sweden is not overpowered achievement:
I had to fight pretty huge coalitions to take Poland's coast, but I didn't really care because of these guys:
Basically by having been in a never-ending state of war for the entire game, I had managed to max out my army tradition, meaning for the past fifty years I've had generals even France would envy. Currently it's 1617 and I've expanded into Scotland, taken a ton of land from both Muscovy and Lithuania. (And also have a huge vassal Ukraine with all their cores.) and have started colonizing North America, mainly by stealing all of Great Britain's colonies. Also the maxed out army tradition meant I almost immediately got the Swedish Military Reform event after the turn of the century. (And I also got a generic military reform event at around the same time which gave my armies +20% morale for ten years.) Even now the only thing that slows down my war machine is coring times and truce timers. Basically my final verdict is that yes, Sweden is overpowered. Gonna keep playing because it's fun being Swedish Napoleon and conquering all of Europe.
I think the saddest part about England's reliable underperformance is that in theory they should be one of the things holding France back from expanding as they please. France is scary enough without getting a fail-assist from England.
In a lot of Paradox's recent developer stuff they've mentioned they think England is too weak and have been trying to figure out a way to make them do a bit better.
I just bought this game after playing CK2 and I love it. More than CK2.
I try to jump in without any reading or tutorials and so far so good.
I started as the Malmuks and have pushed my way down the Arabian penninsula and the eastern coast of Africa... I'm one of the stronger nations on the map right now after about 30 years, with plenty of troops and a decent economy.
It actually seems... too easy. Is there a way to crank up the difficulty? Malmuks were rated average-to-hard when I picked them
The Mamluks are likely to get more challenging as things go because of your technological disadvantage. Expect to have some serious challenges from Spain and the Ottomans, maybe even France, before too long.
For the other side of things, check out my Ragusa playthrough. With a Balkan nation about half the size or less, I've managed to run all over a Mamluk empire that spread all the way from Tunis to the western edge of Turkey and down through Ethiopia.
Fellow Arabs can't put up a fight against you, and Europeans start out slightly disadvantaged against you, but that won't last beyond the first hundred years. Prepare for things to get rough. You may even want to try to conquer a European province somewhere (or even better, Berber territory adjacent to Portuguese or Spanish conquests) and prepare to Westernize, though that's likely to cost you a big chunk of your empire from rebellion and conquest during your times of weakness.
Fleur de Alys on
Triptycho: A card-and-dice tabletop indie RPG currently in development and playtesting
Interesting. I haven't eyeballed what counts as a western province yet. I'm currently trying to vassalize the tiny strip of independent states that separate myself from the Ottomans, as they aren't putting up with my shit. I wonder if Georgia counts.
So should I continue my expansion while I am preeminent? Or should I save up my resources for the inevitable rainy day? I don't really have any serious competition from the east. It's all going to come from the northwest
I don't see any negatives to expanding as much as you can. If you decide to Westernize, and your size causes a big problem with that, you can always release a bunch of vassals first, then re-integrate them later when you've finished. I know you've avoided reading, but I strongly recommend checking up on Westernizing (1.6 version -- the one that gives +10 revolt risk). It's not especially cut and dry in terms of whether you should do it or how best to go about it (or even how to trigger the option).
Also, if you continue progressing in that direction and get yourself a shared border with the Ottomans, things are going to suddenly become very interesting for you.
Triptycho: A card-and-dice tabletop indie RPG currently in development and playtesting
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and in Asia
I survived a couple of huge wars with Lotharingia, but was never really able to press my advantage because they outnumbered me to a huge degree. I finally caught a huge break in the last war with them when Bulgaria finally attacked them instead of being buddies. Asturias made a ton of progress on the reconquista, and the Umayyads pretty much collapsed besides their substantial American holdings (Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil). The Muslim realms stayed pretty fractured and messy for the whole game, I think the way they export those realms from CK2 ends up with a ton of cores of different people so there were a lot of revolutionary nations. Ghana stayed pretty serious but never really got out of West Africa. Manchu ran hogwild over Central Asia. My goal in this campaign was to work my way over to India via East Africa before getting smashed to pieces by Lotharingia. For people who haven't really looked at the 867 start in CK2 much, Arborea is basically just a country that is independent on Sardinia, and getting started required a no-CB war, some forced Vassalizations all while trying to dodge Byzantines in the boot and Italy to the North. The Russian kingdoms never really got it going, although they were briefly united in PUs under a single king before that broke. I wish that had kicked in so there would have been a power in the north that I could rely on, but it was not to be.
So, first off, I never actually took the Administrative idea chain. It was actually the Economic idea chain instead. That's how my income skyrocketed over the course of the last couple updates, which is how I was able to afford pretty large armies despite having a lot of fairly poor territory and somewhat minimal trade-protecting navies.
Additionally, I now have Wealth of Nations! This opens up a few things for me. Most notably, I now have Fervor points as a Reformed nation. I can use these to boost morale, trade, or relations / reduce revolt chance. I can do any combination of these, but they all cost monthly fervor, so you can usually only afford one at a time (and not always even then). There are also some new peace options, none of which I expect to really use, and I have the ability to move my trade port from my capital if I wish. My capital is the trade center of a trade node named after my capital and also my nation, so I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to do this.
So, with that out of the way, on to the reports!
A Balkan Empire
Bulgaria was formally assimilated into the borders of the Republic of Ragusa. Almost immediately, the armies marched westward to subjugate the newly-freed nation of Croatia. After another short and successful war, Ragusa became the de facto administrator of Croatia, even directly incorporating some of its lands as part of the deal. Diplomats went to work, easing progress toward the complete assimilation of the latest vassal.
Then, word came from much farther west. Spain had declared Ragusa to be its newest rival. It seems the Spanish had chosen to side with the French, perhaps fearing the establishment of a new successor to Rome. The best replacement the Republic could find was Ryazan, which had carved a rather interesting nation for itself out of the rubble of Crimea.
Developments elsewhere included Milan being forced to release Venice after losing a war (a single province not especially close to the city of Venice itself); the Papal States also losing a war and having to release Ferrara, happily cutting papal territory in half; and the second Ottoman conquest of Byzantium, leaving the Ragusans wondering why they bothered to return Edirne to Cyprus.
Displeased by this latest development, Ragusa declared war on the Ottomans the moment the previous truce ended (at this point these truces were little more than cease-fires). The Mamluks took the opportunity to attack as well, and the Ottomans continued to be eaten from both sides. It was a race between the Croatians and the Egyptians to see who could claim more Ottoman territory the fastest, reminding some historians of the splitting of Jingzhou following the Battle of Jiangling in southern China centuries prior. And as in centuries past, the victors would likely soon be at battle with each other.
For now, however, Ragusa satisfied itself by taking the most recent Ottoman conquests, happy to rob the Mamluks of the opportunity to take Cyprus.
Ragusan conquest of the Balkan peninsula was nearly complete.
A Quick Voyage Around the World
Let us pause for a moment to see what's going on elsewhere. All that talk of the Three Kingdoms period makes me wonder what's going on in China these days. Why don't we hop in a ship and take a nice voyage over to Shanghai and meet the Ming emperor? It'll be a grand time!
.........
On second thought, never mind. 'Tis a silly place.
Hurry, Back to the Balkans
Five years pass, and Ragusa attacks again, seizing Athens and Naxos. The Mamluks had taken border territory in their last engagement as well. It was truly a race to the Straits of Marmara. Meanwhile, Ragusa assimilated Croatia, leaving only a single province of Croatian culture still under foreign rule -- Istria, yet belonging to Hungary. This too must be resolved.
During this period, the Republic refocused internal development on refitting its military. Special attention was paid to the Quality of armed forces, both land and sea, leading to various upgrades of materials and leadership. Unfortunately, this effort slowed technological advancement as funds were instead directed toward making the existing tools the best they could be. However, the Council wisely believed that if they could establish a culture of expecting only the best for the military, this would continue through future generations with the next set of cannon and ship designs.
Another five years pass, and the final war was declared on the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The Muslims could offer no resistance, and Ragusa took the the last of the Greek territories. Finally, Constantinople was back in the hands of Christendom! Truly, Ragusa's claim as inheritor of Rome could now be considered to have true merit.
Diplomatic consequences were harsh, however. Ragusa was forced to abandon its ally Ryazan upon learning of Muscovy's intention to conquer and annex the entire nation; defending Ryazan from Muscovy simply made no strategic sense for the Republic, particularly when considering the cost of such an endeavor. Possibly fearing betrayal itself, Poland abandoned the alliance and formally declared Ragusa to be a rival. Would every nation of power declare its intent to prevent the reestablishment of Rome?
Fortunately, Ragusan leadership had the foresight of wooing Great Britain into an alliance. With Switzerland and Bohemia also included, Ragusa's enemies would still have to think twice before attacking. Unless those enemies were the combined might of France and Spain, in which case they can pretty much have whatever it is that's striking their fancy.
Unable to consider the remaining provinces of the Ottomans to be an actual rival any longer, Ragusa switched its focus to Hungary. While France or Spain perhaps made more sense, Ragusa still wanted to unite the final Croatian province with the rest of the empire. A Mission to take Istria quickly surfaced, and war was declared, with Switzerland joining in the attack.
Precisely as hoped, the Papal States and Siena responded to Hungary's call to arms. At last, Ragusa could strike a harsh blow in the Italian peninsula without involving France or Holy Rome!
Things did not progress quite so swimmingly, however. While Ragusa focused on ensuring its troops wore the finest of uniforms, the Papal States had made a number of additional technological advancements. Their weaponry far outshone the Croatian armaments. Ragusa was forced to throw thousands of bodies and hundreds of ducats in mercenaries at the armies of the pope, suffering a number of losses before finally overwhelming Rome's troops through attrition. Even the battles in Hungary showed mixed results, though Ragusan forces eventually prevailed there as well.
Eventually the papal armies were routed, her ships sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean. It was only a matter of time before the terms of surrender would be administered...
Believe it or not, in over a thousand hours of playing EUIV this is the first time I've ever seen Revolutionary France appear. Broke my alliance with the Ottomans when they called me into a war against Bohemia, Russia, and the Papal State and I realized that their troops were so bad that despite me winning battle after battle they lost so many that it ended up being a wash. Once I capture Paris I'm going to connect up my western borders to make them look better (I vassalized Savoy and Switzerland, which is why my borders currently look so weird.), vassalize Bavaria, and then I'm going to turn my attention east and try and go on a massive conquering spree, ideally getting my eastern borders all the way to around Danzig. Current highest point gainers are 1. Me 2. Ottomans. 3. Spain 4. Russia 5. Portugal 6. the Papal State 7. Revolutionary France. (Also my biggest Colonial Nation, New Netherlands, is tied with about five other countries for fifth in points-per-month gained. I'm so proud.)
In other news, anyone interested in the CK2-EUIV converter should check out this mod:
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?784371-The-CK2-EU4-Converter-Improvement-Project&highlight=converter+improvement+project
It is a mod for CK2 that smooths out a ton of the oddities of the converter and tries to maximize everyone getting some sort of appropriate ideas and a few other things.
The war with the Papal States and Hungary continued for awhile longer, but it was simply a matter of besieging cities and forcing surrender. In the end, Ragusa took Siena, Ancona, and Torontal from the defeated allies while returning a core each to Switzerland and Austria, both taken from the northern reaches of papal holdings. Another war or two could complete the subjugation of the Papal States, forcing the Pope to bow to the Reformed faith, if Ragusa can manage it.
However, the technological backwardness of the Balkan state was revealed, and it desperately needed to turn things around before it got out of hand. Ragusa focused all its efforts on advancing technology, minimizing its use of treasury and governmental power for any other purpose. As the years passed, Ragusa soon caught up to the Mamluks in military tech and were only slightly behind the nations of Western Europe. Her manpower was restored, and national unity was as strong as it had ever been.
During this period, Great Britain lost a minor war to Denmark, and Switzerland lost some major wars, giving up territory to neighbors including France. Ragusa was unable to intervene in either war due to the necessity of focusing on modernization and recovery. Regrettable, but that is the cost of being the sole defender of all Christendom against the horrifying united Islamic Empire of the Mamluks.
But perhaps that fear was misplaced, for the strategic abilities of the Mamluk emperor seemed quite suspect. It was at that moment, the height of Ragusan strength, that the Muslims declared Holy War for Constantinople.
The First Great Clash
The first two years of the war were characterized mostly by stalemate. A Mamluk force of about 33,000 crossed the Straits and beseiged Constantinople. The Ragusan army responded in force, with the full might of her 62,000 soldiers launching an offensive. With equal technology, it came down to Ragusa's skilled general and the military's focus on Quality. And I suppose the nearly 2-to-1 odds helped. The Mamluks were routed, fleeing back into Turkey to lick their wounds.
However, Ragusan forces were unable to follow. The Mamluk navy had blocked the Strait while sending the majority of its navy to blockade the ports of the Ragusan navy. The merchant republic had little chance of victory; while the numbers were close, the Mamluks had several more large ships and a more modern navy in general. So, the merchant republic did what merchant republics do. Ragusa took out a massive loan of over 700 ducats and went on a ship-building spree. Over two years, another five capital ships and another thirty-five modern galleys were constructed in a flurry within the Adriatic region.
When the time was finally right, Ragusa's navy struck. The Mamluks seemed surprise by this sudden navy and were fairly quickly obliterated, nearly the entire armada decorating the sea floor of the Mediterranean. It was quite possibly the largest single clash of ships in the Sea's long history, and it ended in total victory for Republican forces.
Following this, the Croatian armies were free to charge into Turkey. The Mamluks responded and lost the initial clash, but eventually they were able to bring in more soldiers and pushed the Croatians back across the straits. The cost of the war quickly became horrific; Ragusa's manpower depleted alarmingly fast, and a sufficiently-sized army of mercenaries would be hellishly expensive, not to mention difficult to acquire given the size of the armies now being fielded. The mercenaries should have already been brought in to help take the brunt of the casualties, but alas, it was too late to do anything about that.
However, most of the battles had gone Ragusa's way, and nearly half of the great Mamluk empire was now under blockade. The weary Muslims were ready to accept defeat, knowing that in the long term, they had no chance of victory without a navy. Ragusa was able to secure a relatively favorable peace deal.
It wasn't a total victory, but it was an important first step toward dismantling the oversized Arabic empire. Still, Ragusa would need a considerable amount of time to recover Manpower.
Precarious As Ever
While all of this was going on, Poland and Lithuania were busy merging into a gigantic united Commonwealth nation. For now, this posed little threat to Ragusa, as they were busy quelling the rebellions that tend to follow such massive political shifts. However, the Commonwealth retained Poland's declared rivalry of Ragusa; there would be no alliance or friendship between the neighboring juggernauts. With luck, the titan would keep its focus elsewhere, as that's another great enemy Ragusa simply can't afford to handle.
Meanwhile, Spain and France continued its disturbing alliance, leading to the French conquering ever more territory from Holy Rome. Ferrara, Switzerland, and a restored Venice all lost land to the big blue bully, and relations plummeted further as Ragusan intelligence learned of French intentions to take her northern Italian provinces. War with France was almost certainly on the horizon, and Ragusa's only hope lay in her navy. Would it be enough to force the French to back down?
Searching for extra security against these threats, Ragusa found new allies in Sweden and Qara Qoyunlu. The Swedes would hopefully help deter the Commonwealth and the occasionally belligerent Denmark, while Qara Qoyunlu would be a great asset in future wars against the Mamluks, helping to beseige the massive amount of territory still held by the empire. The Spanish seemed to be crumbling under the weight of rebellion, losing Sardinia, Algiers, and half of Sicily, so they too could be ignored for the time being. Perhaps Ragusa's navy and her allies would be enough to persuade the French to continue looking elsewhere for just awhile longer. The Personal Union with Bavaria was still active, however, and French power would only grow in the coming years.
The independent Sicily was ultimately too good an opportunity to pass up. Ragusa wasted little time in forging a claim, hiring a few mercenaries, and storming the island to conquer the formerly Spanish province. The island of Sicily was now split, with the western half previously converted to Castilian culture. Would Ragusa get an opportunity to drive the Spanish out of the Mediterranean completely? Malta in particular was proving quite desirable for the Ragusan elite, yearning for a safe and friendly vacation spot.
Soon, Ragusa would forge a claim on lands just to the east of Alexandria. By conquering a swath of Egypt all the way to the Red Sea, Ragusa could split the Mamluk empire in half, all but guaranteeing its eventual collapse to rebels and invaders. This could be done in a single war. God willing, the height of Ragusan ambition would soon be realized!
NOTES: Dat Trier. Fez hilariously broke away from Spain shortly following its conquest of Morocco. I kind of want to go after Sardinia, but frankly I probably have better things to do right now. The release of Tripoli splitting off western Mamluk territory means they'll probably lose it before too long; I'd love to see Tunisia rebel. If I can get 100% Warscore I could release the Ottomans (most of Turkey) or Syria (the entire chunk of territory just south of Turkey), but then I can't get anything else. My real goal isn't to break the Mamluks further, as frankly I no longer care about them. I just need to get into the Red Sea and start taking control of some more trade routes.
Trade is probably going to be my next idea group since I'm going to need its benefits to really control the number of nodes I need to control. I'm not sure I'll be able to simply take them with military force since I expect France and the Commonwealth to keep me very busy in the latter half of the 1600s.
Nice to see Austria mounting a little bit of a comeback. They still love me, so I can always ally with them if they manage to recover their strength. I refuse to ally with the Holy Roman Emperor any more, though; it drags me into constant useless wars, most of them somehow involving France, and does me little good defensively since only the actual Emperor can join in my wars.
Britain is annoyingly weak. Their navy was obliterated by Denmark, and they have little in the way of overseas possessions. In this state, they're going to be exactly zero help against France. They really need to get it together, or I'm going to have a tough time of it soon. I could just sell off some of my Italian territories, but really that's just a temporary (and distasteful) solution. One way or another I'm going to have to beat France. Maybe if I grab the rest of Italy and most of Egypt (minus the Mamluk capital of Cairo) I can boost my funds and manpower enough to put up a real fight. Right now it's 63,000 vs 100,000 and a -1 tech disadvantage. I don't especially like those odds against France. And they somehow keep several great alliances, too.
The 1.6.2 patch just dropped today. It puts the AE reduction rates back to 1.6.0 levels. I don't know how much it'll help France. It probably won't hurt me much as long as I'm fighting the Mamluks, but I'll have to pay a lot more attention to it. I could take the Policy that reduces how much AE you get from war at a cost of 1 DP per month. It's only about a 5% reduction though, so it's probably not worth it still...
Funny thing is I didn't have anything to with this. Still, first colony I've ever seen successfully declare independence. Even if they turned into a monarchy. Not much of a revolution, then. Still, it's not that weird considering Portugal has no major allies. Oh and you see that war going on... well...
I mean at least the end of this game is staying interesting. Russia has seriously slowed down my plans to invade Bohemia. The main problem is that it takes years, literally years, for most of the Russian troops to finally start getting close enough to fight, and unless I destroy their armies they're pretty unwilling to negotiate, tons of warscore or not. Also massive coalitions and what not also put a damper on my expansion plans. This is the second of two massive wars, and the result:
Saxony and Bavaria (Bavaria is actually really useful, since they have about 25 regiments and can thus clean up small army stacks without me having to constantly micro-manage and hunt them down.) are my vassals, and I might be able to vassalize Poland and sneak in one last war to take a ton of provinces and get my western border as Danzig and return all of Poland's cores. Also the score standings, which are unlikely to change in the last few years of the game are as follows:
For reference the total combined army of my Dutch Empire include:
1. Approximately 350 regiments under my direct control
2. Approximately 40 additional regiments from Bavaria and Saxony
3. 41 regiments from New Netherlands, 26 from Nova Hollandia, 17 each from Nova Frieslandia and California, and 10 from New Antwerp.
So in total I have about 500 regiments in my SOI, or about half a million soldiers, which is equivalent to how many I usually end up with as Russia or the Ottomans.(Although to be fair. generally all of those are under my direct control, not with subject nations.) Also my total income is about 600 ducats a month, with a net income of about 150 ducats a month. (Keeping army maintenance at max with the hugest level advisers I can get.) I thought about trying for the Grand Armada achievement but that just feels like a pain. Oh, and I also built the Kiev Canal, the least strategically useful of all the canals. I had to spend the money on something.
Netherlands is OP, even when not formed from Burgundy.
Ottoman state effect -33% to costs.
Have a claim? -25%
Admin tree -25%
Fill both Admin and Expansion and you can get another 15% off.
Now to test this and see how it rounds the remainders.
Anyways, Dev Diary time!
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?787078-Europa-Universalis-IV-Res-Publica-Dev-diary-2-Dutch-Republic-amp-Ideas
Naval ideas getting BTFO
Stop trying to fight me, I'm just going to sit on your gold mine in the mountain and use you for money.
Yeah, Humanist easily replaces Economics as the first idea group to pick up. That idea group is just ridiculously good.
Der is never enuff dakka.
What catches your eye about Economics? Just curious, I usually get it later on if I want to get a little more production edge, but I usually start with a diplo idea and then get offensive right now.
Well in general, I like starting with a Administrative Idea as those points are perhaps the most valuable in the game so getting that small cost reduction for having ideas from those groups for that tech is appealing.
The biggest draw to Economics specifically is probably the inflation reduction as with that you normally don't need to worry about inflation for the rest of the game, and you don't need to dump admin points to reduce it. At most, just pick inflation reduction adviser if things get out of hand.
And of course the small boost to income will pay off with fielding a larger army or building improvements.
Edit: Oh, and it will make it easier to field more/better advisers quicker for more monarch points.
The next idea is usually something from diplomatic line, either diplomacy or exploration depending. I don't pick up offensive or quality till at least the 3rd or maybe 4th.
It usually depends on where I have the biggest surplus of points, and how far along the tech/building improvements are for them.
But Humanist is so good, it's worth changing almost any starting strategy in order to accommodate it. I kind of wonder if there are some other significant balance adjustments that'll make it not be quite as amazing as it looks on paper, because wow.
I always get a military idea first because generally I play OPMs or non-western so I need to get as much out of my limited troops as possible in the opening against Ottomans/Timurids/France/Austria/etc, and I'm using all my diplo and admin on peace treaties/annexations/coring in the initial expansion phase, and generally you always have extra MP because there isn't anything to spend the extra on if don't use harsh treatment much.
I agree that money making ideas are not very good because you get plenty of money from conquering more provinces.
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
The real scary part:
Three guesses as to who joined the HRE...
Short term goals: Grab as much of Novgorod as I can before Muscovy gets a chance to take all of it. Also conquer Riga and the Livonian Order. (Right now I'm only at war with them so that Austria can't ask me for unlawful territory.) Midterm goals: Finish conquest of Scandinavia. Long-term goals: Find opportunity to backstab Poland and Muscovy.
hope that Finland is a vassal.
God, it seems, was not willing.
The Second Great Clash Begins
Ragusa's conquest of Messina (via a recently-independent Sicily) was too much of a provocation for Spain. Bolstered by its alliances with France and Portugal, and sensing that the Croatians had not yet fully recovered their military resources from the battles with the Mamluks, the Spaniards declared war: a reconquista of Sicily. Allies of both sides responded to the Call to Arms, and the scene was set for a truly epic clash.
Spain, France, Portugal, Bavaria, and Brabant -vs- Ragusa, Great Britain, Sweden, and Qara Qoyunlu
A few things limited the scope of the war from becoming truly fearsome in scale. Portugal was dealing with various insurgents and was not in top shape to fight a war; further, their relations with Ragusa were fairly cordial, thus the Portuguese had little interest in committing to a full-scale assault. Qara Qoyunlu on the other hand was shut off from the Mediterranean by the Mamluks and thus unable to join the battle in any capacity whatsoever.
The first clashes actually happened in the colonies, of all places. How the colonies got such quick word of the breakout of the conflict is unknown, but French colonial forces battled British colonial forces, enjoying fairly consistent victories in both land and sea. Shortly thereafter, the French Armada met the still-under-reconstruction British Armada and sank it ruthlessly, leaving Britain once more without any navy whatsoever and no way to send its 24,000 troops to aid in the war.
Sweden's relatively small navy was smarter, avoiding the French death boats, but this also kept them pretty much unable to intervene in any meaningful manner.
That meant Ragusa was forced to engage Spain and France on its own. 63,000 Croatian soldiers somehow had to hold off 120,000 French troops and another 40,000 Spanish soldiers. What could be done?
The Battle for Italy
Republican forces met the Cosmopolitaine vanguard in Parma in the northern reaches of Italy. The full might of Ragusa's troops were on display, and the French vanguard was routed. Victory celebrations were short-lived, however, as a hundred thousand reinforcements were en route. Any further battles would result in certain crushing defeat for the Balkan troops. So, Ragusan diplomats negotiated military access with Venice, and the entire Republican army was evacuated across the Adriatic to Istria.
Meanwhile, the fearsome Ragusan Armada was put into action. As with the war with the Mamluks but a few years prior, it would be the navy upon which all hopes of the Republican Empire would be placed. The fleet lived up to its recently-acquired reputation, sinking a Spanish fleet that comprised about half its navy in a single engagement, then doing the same to a small French navy that had stupidly sailed about the inner seas. The arrogant Westerners clearly had thought little of the galley-armed Balkan navy, and they had paid for it dearly.
While these victories lifted the spirits of the Republic, the grim truth was that Italy was destined to fall. Over a hundred thousand French, Spanish, and Bavarian troops poured through the peninsula, having acquired access through the despicable Papal States, and were busy besieging every major Croatian city. Before long, the entire peninsula had fallen.
Things were looking grim for Ragusa. However, the enemy had unwittingly walked into a cunning trap...
Counter-attack
While the enemy were busy occupying Italy, Ragusa's army had busied themselves taking Palermo and Malta. These provinces didn't seem especially critical, but they would prove to be the cornerstone of the Croatian counter-attack.
A Spanish force of 30,000 confidently strolled onto Messina and besieged it, soon taking the desired province and seemingly turning the war sharply in their favor. However, at about that time, the entire French army pulled back. Having taken Italy, they saw little reason to stick around. And because Austria hated the French so deeply, they did not permit them access to reach Ragusa's Balkan heartland. Apparently bored, the French just up and went home.
And that's when Ragusa struck. First, a force of 11,000 French parked in Venice were blocked from retreat back to the mainland, and 40,000 Ragusan soldiers were shipped into Venetian ports. The French army was routed to a man. Meanwhile, Catalonian islands to the west were also put under siege. With the army split in so many places, the talented Mistokral himself joined the fray, leading the besieging force.
At the same time, a few ships were pulled from the blockade of French and Spanish Mediterranean territory in order to block the Italian strait. Then, a force of 56,000, which had been quietly waiting in Malta following the rescue of Venice, quickly shipped over to Palermo.
The Spanish were trapped. They fought fiercely, but they were badly outnumbered and stuck in unfavorable terrain. The Croatians prevailed, and the Spanish force, consisting of about half their entire army, was completely wiped out. Ragusa besieged Messina and retook it, turning the war sharply back in her favor. Catalonian islands farther to the west were also taken, and French Corsica was put under siege.
Meanwhile, the Republican navy had destroyed another large French force, leaving it with fewer than 25 warships still patrolling British seas, as well as a Portuguese navy that had tried to come to the aid of the trapped Spanish army. At this point, Ragusa had undisputed dominance over the sea. With France's main forces unable to push further into Ragusa's lands, everything now seemed to be in place for an unlikely Croatian victory.
The Final Battles
Brabant's contribution to the war, a total of 9,000 troops, had foolishly wandered into Venice much the same as the French forces had previously. They were dealt with much the same. However, the remaining Spanish soldiers, numbering around 24,000, and the Bavarian force, numbering just over 30,000, had secured access through Hungary and attacked Ragusa's northern heartland. The war was again in serious jeopardy.
The Republican forces responded quickly, shipping the remaining soldiers from Sicily to Croatia and engaging the Bavarian army. Thankfully, the Spanish were too cautious to join with the Bavarians, and the Croatians defeated, chased, and utterly routed the German force. After spending some time to recover, a final assault was launched against the besieging Spanish army. Once again, Ragusan troops prevailed, and the Spanish were driven all the way back to France.
For a moment, Ragusa considered continuing the war. By further exhausting France and Spain, perhaps greater concessions could be won, making all this effort and expense into something truly worthwhile. Everything seemed to be going well, after all.
However, word soon reached the Mistokral that Sweden was under siege. It seems France had pulled back its forces because the Swedes were happily laying siege to Brittany. Galled by this, the entire French army transported to Swedish lands and lay siege to almost every Swedish city of note. If they proved successful, Sweden would likely back out of the battle, losing a substantial amount in the process and re-exposing Ragusa to the danger of the big blue bully.
It was time to end this and move on; this war had dragged for over a decade. What concessions could Ragusa win from the Spaniards?
Favorable ones! Now all of Sicily and Malta belonged to the Republic, and just for grins, Sweden got itself some French colonial property in South America. Because why not?
To reduce the diplomatic fallout, Ragusa enacted a Policy granting a reduction of Aggressive Expansion penalty shortly before negotiating the peace deal. This was not a simple short-term decision, for the next war lay on the horizon...
Heading Straight to Clash #3
Ragusa came out of this battle in a relatively good position. Spain, France, and Portugal now lack navies of note, which should keep them busy (and poor) for some time while also keeping Britain from being at too great a disadvantage. And with the five-year truce, the Republic has time to rebuild and focus elsewhere for awhile.
And speaking of elsewhere, a fabricated claim on northern Egypt was complete. The Mamluks had not restored their navy. After perhaps a year of recovery, Ragusa would be ready to strike, at last prepared to win sea access to the Indies. But this time, Ragusa could not rely on its navy; she would have to strike the very heart of Egyptian territory, conquering land adjacent to the very capital of the Mamluks. And she would have to do this without the benefit of allies, for the terrified Qara Qoyunlu will not join in any offensive wars.
Will Ragusa's good fortunes continue? Or will this latest act of aggression spell decline for the Balkan Empire? It was time to see if the claims of being the successor to Rome are valid, or merely the hubris of an arrogant young nation.
NOTES: France inherited Bavaria almost immediately after the war's end. Now they are even more frightening and also have the worst borders ever. Not much else has really changed. This 15-year update took me over two hours of gameplay thanks to how meticulously this war had to be fought. It was fun and engaging, but exhausting!
Also those orange guys that rule over India have Ottoman ideas, so thats a thing. I managed to snatch Ceylon away from them, but thats all.
3DS: 0963-0539-4405
Anyways my Sweden game goes well:
The one real remaining tough but to crack is going to be Poland.They're allied to Austria so it'd probably be best if I called Austria into a seperate war so Austria can't defend them. After that I just vassalize Denmark and Norway, conquer the few remaining coastal German states and finish off the Livonian order, and I'll be undisputed master of the Baltic. Also France went Protestant again; two games in a row now!
I think they just more actively do the quests that pop up for Portugal to grab their provinces.
Okay so it made a lot of people angry. Now, I'm allied to France so I'm not super worried about the coalition but I should still probably only go to war against Muscovy for the next decade or tw-
Ooooo nevermind.
It seemed the newly-subjugated Spanish Sicilians had little intention of simply lying back and accepting their fate. The moment Ragusa began moving her armies to Rhodes and Cyprus to prepare for the assault on the Mamluks, the rebellions began. Thousands of rebels rose up in arms, and Croatian forces were forced to pull back and deal with them. While the rebellion was quashed successfully, thousands of soldiers perished in the fighting. It took most of Ragusa's remaining manpower to refill her ranks. War with the Egyptians would have to wait.
Five years passed, and the truce with France and Spain had run its course. Ragusa braced for another impending assault, and indeed, Europe soon burst into flames once more. Only, this time the Balkan Empire was not involved...
No better opportunity would present itself. While Spain and France busied themselves battling each other, Republican forces sailed southeast to the shores of Egypt.
The First Invasion of Egypt
The Mistokral secured an alliance with Tripoli and launched an all-out invasion on the empire of the Mamluks. The Egyptians had rebuilt their navy in the years since the last conflict, and thus the war began much like the last one -- on the waves of the Mediterranean. Massive armadas clashed, and once again, Ragusa emerged victorious, sinking the second Egyptian Armada and achieving total naval dominance.
That wouldn't be enough this time, though. Ragusa needed to invade and conquer territory. While the Egyptians busied themselves with Croatian ally Qara Qoyunlu, the Republican Army made landfall east of the city of Alexandria. The army split, besieging much of northern Egypt as well as Sinai. Soon, however, an Egyptian army marched toward the Balkan invaders, bolstered by another army from Oman to the south. It was a bitter battle that cost thousands of lives, but once more, Ragusa won the day. Another battle or two would follow, but the damage had been done. The Egyptians fell back and contented themselves with laying siege to Qara territory while Ragusa simply grabbed land in and around Egypt. Soon, peace was enforced; Ragusa had cleanly won the second war against the mighty Mamluks.
At last, the Balkan Empire had acquired access to the Red Sea. She could now influence trade from the Gulf of Aden, ensuring that trade would continue to flow through Alexandria, Constantinople, Ragusa, and Venice.
Meanwhile, France was beating the bejesus out of most of the rest of the world largely by itself and would eventually annex Holland. The nation itself would still exist, but only in the Americas.
The Second Invasion of Egypt
The war was costly on an already-depleted manpower reserve. Ragusa was forced to wait a decade before making any further moves. Fortunately, her enemies were in no position to strike either; most of Europe had been demolished by France, and France was busy fighting a distant war with Orissa, a nation that had risen to considerable power in India. The thought of French control of the Indes was terrifying, but there was little the Republic could do about it at this point.
The truce with the Mamluks had come to an end, and the Mistokral decided to take a gamble and aim for a less costly war with the Mamluks. Qara Qoyunlu was no longer available, as Ragusa had refused to help in a war against Muscovy (because war with Muscovy is utterly foolish). However, with the Mamluk empire divided and her navy not yet rebuilt, this would prove a much easier war to fight than the last. Croatian forces were bolstered by a number of mercenaries to help ease the cost in lives, and the second invasion was completed fairly swiftly. Ragusa gained more territory in the southeast, but once again manpower depleted, and the war had to be brought to a close before even more Egyptian land could be grabbed.
Still, the outcome was quite positive overall. Ragusa gained a second port on the Red Sea, and the Mamluk empire was further divided, so much so that many of their provinces suddenly became administered as though they were distant overseas colonies. And that provided Ragusa with a free casus belli for a number of adjacent Egyptian provinces. Unfortunately, Ragusa's Egyptian territory was also distant overseas. The Empire needed to establish a connection by land from Constantinople through Turkey, down the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, and finally to Egypt proper. This would make another good long-term goal and would happily serve to improve Croatian control over the Constantinople and Alexandria trade nodes in the process.
Unwilling to sit still for very long given that France remained occupied, Ragusa charged into the Republic of Ramazan under the guise of a trade dispute. This province would help in forming that land bridge and would not require an additional war with the Egyptians. Mercenaries did most of the work, and Ramazan fell with little resistance.
Interlude -- A Look at North America
What's going on in North America during this period?
Spain and Portugal are really industrious! They've already settled the west coast of North America. Still, there's something about this map that seems a little... off somehow. Backwards, even...
During this period, Ragusa constructed a number of new buildings, including a University in southern Croatia and a Cathedral in Constantinople, hoping to one day be able to convert the heathens to the Reformed faith.
Strategery and Freedom Fries
Word reached the Mistokral -- France had signed for peace with Orissa. It had failed in its conquest attempts. It seems the Indians had managed to sink every last one of the French transport ships. With no possible way to win the war, France had given up.
While it was great news that India had resisted the French menace (making them quite possibly the first nation to do so successfully since before the Hundred Years' War), this meant that France was now free. And it was allied with Spain, Sweden, and the Commonwealth. And French eyes were set upon Ragusa's North Italian territories, upon which France had claims. What could be done? The Balkan Empire, for all its might, could only offer France resistance on sea. With its allies in play, any resulting war would be a total slaughter. And with its transport ships destroyed, France was certain to come after an adjoining land power next.
Desperate, Ragusan officials began pouring over Italian documents, preparing for the emergency strategy of selling the provinces to someone else and letting them deal with the French. In the process, they made a very interesting discovery. France's claims would soon be void. If Ragusa could hold out until October of 1681, the French would have no further excuse to invade the Republic and would likely be persuaded to look elsewhere for prey. However, it was only 1673. How could the Croatians keep the French at bay for that long?
That's when the Mistokral put together a brilliant piece of anti-French strategery. The most effective tool for keeping France from attacking is the peace treaty, for violating a treaty has many terrible consequences for a nation. However, getting a treaty requires being at war, and direct war with France is exactly what Ragusa needed to avoid.
Fortunately, the Poles had issued an embargo on the Republic. So, Ragusa forged an alliance with Muscovy, then declared a Trade War on the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth brought her allies France, Denmark, and Ferrara into the fray. Because Trade Wars are more about winning battles than conquering land, Ragusa declined to call Britain and Sweden to arms, as they would fall before the might of the Danes. Instead, Ragusa and Muscovy attacked the Commonwealth together, winning battle after battle, eliminating most of the Polish forces and moving things in a very good direction for Ragusa's goals.
It wasn't long before the allies showed up, however. The armies of Denmark and France were too much to deal with. Muscovy took them on directly, but Ragusa had to pull her armies back, securing them in southern Greece, protected by Ragusa's fearsome armada.
Denmark responded by sending a large navy into the Mediterranean to engage the Croatian fleet. However, they were no match for the inland sea veterans, and finally, Denmark's unbeatable navy was dealt a fatal blow. The Croatians lost only half a dozen ships in the process of sinking over seventy-five Danish warships just off the coast of Ragusa's capital. Croatian treasure-hunters would be diving the gulf for many years to come.
Unfortunately, the war overall began to take a sharp turn for the worse. Muscovy was losing a lot of battles, and a good half of Ragusa's territory was occupied by French and Danish forces. The Commonwealth had managed to pull another army together and was contributing to the carpet sieges. Due to the overwhelming numbers of their combined forces, the Poles were only willing to accept peace if Ragusa returned Malta to Spain and paid a considerable number of ducats.
Well, that just wouldn't do. This entire war was fought in order to keep from losing any territory! And that's when the Mistokral's second brilliant idea came into play.
With the enemy navy defeated, Ragusa's army was free to sail. The Croatian forces launched a marine invasion of Ferrara. Danish forces came around to intervene but were persuaded to go elsewhere when further reinforcements were brought to Italian shores. It was a race against time, but the combined might of the massive siege force and the naval blockade soon brought Ferrara to its knees.
Ragusa secured peace with Ferrara by demanding vassalization and around a thousand ducats. Ragusa then immediately sent a peace envoy to the Commonwealth, offering to release Ferrara from vassalhood in order to end the war. The Commonwealth accepted, and the peace treaty was signed.
Ragusa now had a treaty with France that would last until 1481. However, there were still some months between the end of the treaty and the loss of the final of the two claims. Would France mobilize fast enough to pursue the territory? Or would the blue bully be otherwise engaged in some other nonsense war?
Unable to do anything about that for now, Ragusa refocused on internal development and recovery, for manpower had once again been completely drained...
Anyways, got the Sweden is not overpowered achievement:
I had to fight pretty huge coalitions to take Poland's coast, but I didn't really care because of these guys:
Basically by having been in a never-ending state of war for the entire game, I had managed to max out my army tradition, meaning for the past fifty years I've had generals even France would envy. Currently it's 1617 and I've expanded into Scotland, taken a ton of land from both Muscovy and Lithuania. (And also have a huge vassal Ukraine with all their cores.) and have started colonizing North America, mainly by stealing all of Great Britain's colonies. Also the maxed out army tradition meant I almost immediately got the Swedish Military Reform event after the turn of the century. (And I also got a generic military reform event at around the same time which gave my armies +20% morale for ten years.) Even now the only thing that slows down my war machine is coring times and truce timers. Basically my final verdict is that yes, Sweden is overpowered. Gonna keep playing because it's fun being Swedish Napoleon and conquering all of Europe.
I try to jump in without any reading or tutorials and so far so good.
I started as the Malmuks and have pushed my way down the Arabian penninsula and the eastern coast of Africa... I'm one of the stronger nations on the map right now after about 30 years, with plenty of troops and a decent economy.
It actually seems... too easy. Is there a way to crank up the difficulty? Malmuks were rated average-to-hard when I picked them
For the other side of things, check out my Ragusa playthrough. With a Balkan nation about half the size or less, I've managed to run all over a Mamluk empire that spread all the way from Tunis to the western edge of Turkey and down through Ethiopia.
Fellow Arabs can't put up a fight against you, and Europeans start out slightly disadvantaged against you, but that won't last beyond the first hundred years. Prepare for things to get rough. You may even want to try to conquer a European province somewhere (or even better, Berber territory adjacent to Portuguese or Spanish conquests) and prepare to Westernize, though that's likely to cost you a big chunk of your empire from rebellion and conquest during your times of weakness.
So should I continue my expansion while I am preeminent? Or should I save up my resources for the inevitable rainy day? I don't really have any serious competition from the east. It's all going to come from the northwest
Also, if you continue progressing in that direction and get yourself a shared border with the Ottomans, things are going to suddenly become very interesting for you.