Europa Universalis IV

[Wulfburk]

How does this game compares to Victoria 2 and Crusader Kings 2? Never played any EU, but i like most paradox games like those 2 i mentioned and Hearts of Iron 3. Specially Victoria 2, one of my favorites...

[luftwaffe.be]

can't really say, as I have limited experience with those games. EU is similar to those, perhaps it's a bit simplified due to the large  time frame of the game. Nations in this game are more or less unique, re playability is high. I would certainly recommend it if you like the other paradox tittles

[Hjaldrgud]

bumpity bump.


Look at this. AI Kingdom of Aragon , ruler of the Mediterranean. It received the lucky nation bonus. It got the personal union with Naples, as Aragon often does. Then it turned surreal. Byzantium, a mere shadow of it former self, somehow miraculously managed to reconquer all of Greece and the islands around, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, parts of Ukraine and a small piece of land in Anatolia. This is the first time I've ever see the computer manage this. It's only mistake was a royal marriage with Aragon... Hungary did the same mistake. The result of this is a superpower which is almost unstoppable.. Unless my redcoats and my buddy's Castilian line infantry can tame it...

I can't wait for the "Art of War" DLC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qle8N_S-2v0

30 years War: Unique mechanics and events for the religious conflict that ravaged Europe.
Napoleonic Era: Fight for or against the revolution and create entirely new custom client countries on the map from your conquests.
Fighting with Armies: You can now sortie from sieges, transfer occupation to allies and give objectives to your subjects and allies.
Fighting with Ship: Entire Fleets can now be upgraded with one click, you can now mothball fleets to avoid paying maintenance, and your fleets can be set to automatically transport armies.
Marches: Turn your vassals into bulwarks against your enemies, getting less tax but strengthening their defenses.
Improved Diplomacy: Sell Surplus Ships, Fight for your subjects CB, Declare War in support of rebel factions in other countries and new peace options like give up claims and pay monthly war reparations.
Gameplay Enhancements: Build entire armies in one click, abandon cores that you no longer wish to fight for, and abandon entire idea groups that are no longer useful to your nation.

[LuckyOne]

Wow, that's one badass Aragon.

Also, did Bohemia inherit Burgundy?

And who wiped out the Ottomans?

[Mudzin]

Ukraine???!!! 

[Khaine]

And who wiped out the Ottomans?

The Mamluks obviously

[LuckyOne]

And who wiped out the Ottomans?

The Mamluks obviously

Somehow I think someone else was indirectly responsible for their demise.


Anyway here's an example of some classic mistakes (not) to make while learning the game. Here's three easy steps how to make your life miserable as Venice.

1. Don't ally France
2. Don't crush The Ottomans
3. Fight Austria to a standstill

Result:


Basically, every war I start somehow ends up dragging in Austria and then we fight each other until we both run out of manpower/cash/will to fight. Meanwhile the Ottomans are eating up everything and France is steadily blobbing. Also I failed to support Poland in the early game so they are slowly getting gobbled up by Russia (former Muscovy) and Crimea. Now it's just a matter of time before Spain and France (ridiculous choice of allies, I know, but there was nobody else) go to war with each other and I get eaten by the mean Ottoman war machine.

[luftwaffe.be]

playing as venice, you should kick austrian butt asap. As soon as the game starts try to ally with bohemia and bavaria and invade austria pushing them eastwards. If you don't you get situations like this: your income is declining, austria is a little bitch and the ottomans are knocking on your door .. 

[Hjaldrgud]

Wow, that's one badass Aragon.

Also, did Bohemia inherit Burgundy?

And who wiped out the Ottomans?

Yes, they inherited them. They ended up gobbling up France.

Combined effort of Byzantine and Aragon on Balkan and Mamluks from the Middle East.

[LuckyOne]

playing as venice, you should kick austrian butt asap. As soon as the game starts try to ally with bohemia and bavaria and invade austria pushing them eastwards. If you don't you get situations like this: your income is declining, austria is a little bitch and the ottomans are knocking on your door ..

Yep, but I made a mistake and allied Poland. That went quite well in the first war but then I lost my alliance with Poland and Austria, being the emperor, was impossible to beat on my own. After a disastrous war with France where they lost all their manpower supply I declared and tried to use the defensive advantage of the Alps as much as possible and I only managed a white peace in the end. Even with a ratio of 3 dead Austrians for every Venetian my manpower was slowly drained while Austria steadily regained theirs.

[Kubador]

A mod Veritas et Fortitudo is awesome for enhancing eu4 gameplay even further. Way more provinces, interesting mechanic additions and finally the buildings are worth their price. Check it on steam workshop.

I started my game as Poland in 1309 and didn't notice that I chosen a "what if" scenario (should have known that byzantine empire was tad too big) and now have a pain to even stand on fair grounds with byzantium. I had to ally with persia and wait for france to kill their military power and still I only managed to win 1 province and annul treaty - they have insane manpower. Turned protestant now and trying to weather the internal storm just to emerge with insane income and infrastructure. Next step is to swallow lithuania with minor russ dutches and then just make europe my bitch.

[LuckyOne]

Good news everyone! The Ottoman paper navy is no more!

The bad news: I have no idea what I'll do when they do get one not made of 200 year old ships. Well at least I can enjoy my dominance for a few decades while they rebuild...

This was probably my worst decision ever because now they'll just dominate me on the land AND the sea with their OP forcelimits. In the long run my trade will suffer a lot, but short-term I'll be swimming in cash...

[Ts4EVER]

I recently got this and I really like it, with one exception: It feels like every war is world war 1. As in, field battles don't count for much, cause even if you decisively defeat the enemy, you still have to occupy their country.

[LuckyOne]

I recently got this and I really like it, with one exception: It feels like every war is world war 1. As in, field battles don't count for much, cause even if you decisively defeat the enemy, you still have to occupy their country.

Yep, especially when you consider cascading alliances. You can pretty much start a Europe-wide war by declaring on a one province minor in the middle of nowhere. Although it used to be worse in EUIII, because there was no ticking warscore for holding a wargoal. Now you can basically win the war without fighting a single battle (or in my case, without winning a single battle ). And the AI is all too happy to take loans and hire a million mercenaries if you don't occupy all their provinces...

[Khaine]

If you use the Conquest CB you have to occupy provinces, however you can use Holy War or Trade Dispute CBs, where the goal is to show superiority, aka win more than 80% of all battles. Although you will have to occupy the provinces you want,  you are not forced to occupy lots of them.