Europa Universalis IV
- Thread starter ceemuk
- Start date
Soldato
Played this for the first time in an age last night and maaaan did I suck 
I played Portugal first and after I broke my alliance with Castille (they were being blobbed by France and Aragon) I had Morocco declare on me, France and Florence despite previously fighting for them, both broke alliances with me then for some bizarre reason my army went garbage. Had 12k more troops, defending, same tech level and a 2 star general and they mauled me and took all my territory. **** You game, rage quit
So went Castille and within about 60 years both my kings had died and I was stuck as a junior in a PU to France who had went instant murder ball and already took back all of traditional France, must have Burgundy and some of Aragon and no one could lay a glove on them. Second rage quit
I've had brilliant games as Florence, England, Muscovy, Georgia, Ottoman, Holland, China (Ming I think) Brandenburg, France but I've always struggled with Poland, Austria, Portugal and Castille which are held up as relatively "easy" starter nations which is rather irritating.
I played Portugal first and after I broke my alliance with Castille (they were being blobbed by France and Aragon) I had Morocco declare on me, France and Florence despite previously fighting for them, both broke alliances with me then for some bizarre reason my army went garbage. Had 12k more troops, defending, same tech level and a 2 star general and they mauled me and took all my territory. **** You game, rage quit
So went Castille and within about 60 years both my kings had died and I was stuck as a junior in a PU to France who had went instant murder ball and already took back all of traditional France, must have Burgundy and some of Aragon and no one could lay a glove on them. Second rage quit
I've had brilliant games as Florence, England, Muscovy, Georgia, Ottoman, Holland, China (Ming I think) Brandenburg, France but I've always struggled with Poland, Austria, Portugal and Castille which are held up as relatively "easy" starter nations which is rather irritating.
Soldato
Castille should be easy, as you get a pretty much guaranteed PU over Aragon and Naples.
You'll want to backstab Portugal early on, take some territory. Then vassalise them as soon as you can so they colonise the new world for you.
Ally/RM Austria and/or Burgundy as strategic partners against France.
Gank France as soon as you can before they blob too much, with PU subjects, and an alliance with Burgundy/Austria, you should be able to take France out reasonably easily. You can feed Aragon some French clay as well and you'll inherit it later when you integrate them to form Spain.
Think you have to keep Aragon under a certain size though.
Austria should be reasonably simple too as you can enforce a PU over Bohemia right away, and there is a very good chance of getting another one over Hungary. Not much should be able to touch you.
Easier if France doesn't all Castille, then you can ally Castille and use them to batter France down earlyish.
You'll want to backstab Portugal early on, take some territory. Then vassalise them as soon as you can so they colonise the new world for you.
Ally/RM Austria and/or Burgundy as strategic partners against France.
Gank France as soon as you can before they blob too much, with PU subjects, and an alliance with Burgundy/Austria, you should be able to take France out reasonably easily. You can feed Aragon some French clay as well and you'll inherit it later when you integrate them to form Spain.
Think you have to keep Aragon under a certain size though.
Austria should be reasonably simple too as you can enforce a PU over Bohemia right away, and there is a very good chance of getting another one over Hungary. Not much should be able to touch you.
Easier if France doesn't all Castille, then you can ally Castille and use them to batter France down earlyish.
Soldato
I've read the various guides, watched videos and seen how easy they are in principle but those relatively easy nations I seem to always **** up every single time. I've made Georgia huge, Brandenburg formed Germany, Florence to Italy, formed Holland etc etc so I can play the game well but I seem to continue to mess up those easier ones for some reason.
Soldato
Tried the Bohemia PU trick all last night and it is so freaking difficult. Getting the event to fire is difficult enough but you are then relying on them having bad alliances to be able to take them and the right enemies so you can drag them into the war with you (as Hungary will never, ever commit) because you can't take them solo without going into truly toxic debt.
The one time I managed to pull it off my debt was so toxic I had to declare bankruptcy to clear it and then Bohemia promptly rebelled against being under the PU as my legitimacy tanked and my manpower was ruined.
It's possible but very, very difficult.
Soldato
Last time I played as Austria and did the PU trick on Bohemia it was pretty trivial to beat them, but I must confess I haven't tried it in a while.
I think you start with a gold mine, throw some diplo points into developing it and your income should go up nicely.
I think you start with a gold mine, throw some diplo points into developing it and your income should go up nicely.
Soldato
Aye per point you increase your income by .50 ducats p/m which is a nice increase and I tried that. Perhaps I've just been unlucky with the alliance webs that have been there each time that I've played and the event has triggered.
What other ways are there to boost income?
I reduce my army maintenance when not fighting, stand down forts when not fighting, use merchants and trade fleets, now I've got the mine trick but what else? I was making a healthy 4 ducats a month in the lead up to the war but as soon as you are fighting and you have to reinforce (costs go up) you're maintenance is at full then chuck in the Merc maintenance and just as quickly I'm losing 5-10 ducats a turn and if I don't win fast I find my debt spiralling.
Man of Honour
A number of things. If you've got the right expansion you can grow your estates/provinces using your points. Basically improving your tax/production income with adm/dip points, like you do with the goldmines. You can also use your estates for free cash every so often which helps.
Soldato
Aye use all those tactics as well, I just watch games and people seem to have a metric tonne of money and it makes me wonder if I'm missing something stupidly obvious.
Soldato
Aim to own one of the end trade nodes if you can. As Austria Venice is probably fitting this bill quite nicely for you.
By own the trade node, I mean own as many provinces in the trade node as possible, especially the centres of trade (can see these on the trade map mode).
Early game I don't bother with trade ships at all, they are just targets in wars, instead I prefer land development buildings. Ideally develop one of your provinces for the renaissance after 1450 instead of waiting around for it (also boosts your income). However you'll want Mil Tech 4 as early as you can get it, so save those military monarch points up.
You don't need to collect trade in your capitals trade node, but I doubt it will be in the Venice trade node as well, so you would need to use a merchant to collect trade there.
Trade is one of the best ways to earn more cash, and by using your merchants well you will gain more money, especially by directing trade to good end nodes.
After getting PU on Bohemia, getting the Burgundy inheritance to fire is a good goal to aim for, this will give you much of the lowland provinces, which are in the north sea trade node. This is probably the most lucrative trade node in the game, and again you want to own as much as of this as you can.
If you do wind up with the lowland provinces, you'll want to move your capital there sooner or later to avoid the dutch revolts.
By own the trade node, I mean own as many provinces in the trade node as possible, especially the centres of trade (can see these on the trade map mode).
Early game I don't bother with trade ships at all, they are just targets in wars, instead I prefer land development buildings. Ideally develop one of your provinces for the renaissance after 1450 instead of waiting around for it (also boosts your income). However you'll want Mil Tech 4 as early as you can get it, so save those military monarch points up.
You don't need to collect trade in your capitals trade node, but I doubt it will be in the Venice trade node as well, so you would need to use a merchant to collect trade there.
Trade is one of the best ways to earn more cash, and by using your merchants well you will gain more money, especially by directing trade to good end nodes.
After getting PU on Bohemia, getting the Burgundy inheritance to fire is a good goal to aim for, this will give you much of the lowland provinces, which are in the north sea trade node. This is probably the most lucrative trade node in the game, and again you want to own as much as of this as you can.
If you do wind up with the lowland provinces, you'll want to move your capital there sooner or later to avoid the dutch revolts.
Soldato
No one has listed anything I haven't already been doing so possibly I've just had some bad luck, going to have another try this evening and see how it goes.
Soldato
Soldato
Go for it 
I don't think I particularly execute wars very well which I know is my main weakness, that and I know some of the subtleties that longer term players know probably still pass me by but I'm pretty comfortable i at least hit they key points.
I don't think I particularly execute wars very well which I know is my main weakness, that and I know some of the subtleties that longer term players know probably still pass me by but I'm pretty comfortable i at least hit they key points.
Soldato
Perhaps you'd like to compare positions at say 1500?
Soldato
Depends, I'm literally just playing to trying to execute the Bohemia PU but if I get that far I'll share it.
Soldato
For my ref, who does your bohemia normally ally?
Soldato
Almost every time it's been Poland and when it's not it's Saxony and one or two smaller nations.
Soldato
I had 4 goes in total before I got it. I have not really played in a few months though, so I am very rusty
Attempt #1 - I lost the war as I didn't play well.
Attempt #2 - I missed out on the declaration of war as Bohemia got an heir a few days before I could declare it.
Attempt #3 - I lost again, but I think I was a bit unlucky in having my sieges take ages, and AI sieges finishing fast.
Attempt #4 - I got the union by July 1453
The basic strategy that seemed to work well is:
1. Delete ships they are kind of pointless here.
2. Set monarch focus to Military, for some reason it starts as admin despite your ruler being a 6-2-2.
3. Hire a mil adviser, preferably 5% discipline.
4. Get both stacks to size 12, with a general on at least one of them (maybe both but it will slow down mil tech 4. Mil tech 4 gives you a big advantage over enemies still on 3). The nobility have too much influence so just hire one or two using points. You start with 4 cav so go all inf. Add at least 1-2 mercs in each stack.
5. Camp your armies out near Tirol.
6. Use the nobility and clergy actions to get some points, should be able to get 100 mil points from nobility, and 50 admin from the clergy. Save the burghers until after 1450 so you can develop cheaper (I was developing Tirol for the gold mine).
7. RM Bohemia, Hungary, Castille.
8. Ally Hungary, Castille, but not Bohemia.
9. I did not lower any maintenance as the war can start quite early.
10. When Bohemia has a von Habsurg on the throne, then claim throne.
11. On the next month, declare war.
12. If Bohemia ally Poland it may not work, but for anyone else, should be OK.
13. Rush down everyone except for Bohemia. You may lose Wien to a siege, but you want to get it down to you vs Bohemia as fast as possible. Peace out smaller nations for cash/war reps.
14. My Bohemia was allied to Ferrara and Ljuneberg, I didn't see them ally Poland in any of my attempts.
15. By the end of the war I'd not only won it, but I had also defeated a couple of stacks of noble rebels, and some heretics. I had 2-3 loans, but that is a small price to pay for a union over Bohemia.
Attempt #1 - I lost the war as I didn't play well.
Attempt #2 - I missed out on the declaration of war as Bohemia got an heir a few days before I could declare it.
Attempt #3 - I lost again, but I think I was a bit unlucky in having my sieges take ages, and AI sieges finishing fast.
Attempt #4 - I got the union by July 1453
The basic strategy that seemed to work well is:
1. Delete ships they are kind of pointless here.
2. Set monarch focus to Military, for some reason it starts as admin despite your ruler being a 6-2-2.
3. Hire a mil adviser, preferably 5% discipline.
4. Get both stacks to size 12, with a general on at least one of them (maybe both but it will slow down mil tech 4. Mil tech 4 gives you a big advantage over enemies still on 3). The nobility have too much influence so just hire one or two using points. You start with 4 cav so go all inf. Add at least 1-2 mercs in each stack.
5. Camp your armies out near Tirol.
6. Use the nobility and clergy actions to get some points, should be able to get 100 mil points from nobility, and 50 admin from the clergy. Save the burghers until after 1450 so you can develop cheaper (I was developing Tirol for the gold mine).
7. RM Bohemia, Hungary, Castille.
8. Ally Hungary, Castille, but not Bohemia.
9. I did not lower any maintenance as the war can start quite early.
10. When Bohemia has a von Habsurg on the throne, then claim throne.
11. On the next month, declare war.
12. If Bohemia ally Poland it may not work, but for anyone else, should be OK.
13. Rush down everyone except for Bohemia. You may lose Wien to a siege, but you want to get it down to you vs Bohemia as fast as possible. Peace out smaller nations for cash/war reps.
14. My Bohemia was allied to Ferrara and Ljuneberg, I didn't see them ally Poland in any of my attempts.
15. By the end of the war I'd not only won it, but I had also defeated a couple of stacks of noble rebels, and some heretics. I had 2-3 loans, but that is a small price to pay for a union over Bohemia.
Soldato
So had a blast just there, just now actually, got into the war but I brought Saxony and Brandenburg with me. Eventually won (4 loans) but frustratingly even at 100% war score it won't let me PU them saying it requires more than 100% war score 
Soldato
hmm that's not right, it's like 86%, did you declare directly on Bohemia?
I could not bring in any allies myself, how did you get Saxony and Brandenburg to join?
I could not bring in any allies myself, how did you get Saxony and Brandenburg to join?