Europa Universalis IV

ancapailldorcha

I think I'm going to try to give this ago. I started an Ironman Portgual game but it's odd that despite playing other Paradox titles, I've no idea where to begin.

I found a playlist where Arumba teaches someone the game but it'll take me ages to get through it.

Any advice? I own all of the DLC.

kowloon

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I think I'm going to try to give this ago. I started an Ironman Portgual game but it's odd that despite playing other Paradox titles, I've no idea where to begin.

I found a playlist where Arumba teaches someone the game but it'll take me ages to get through it.

Any advice? I own all of the DLC.

As mentioned in a politics thread, that's my barrier to a lot of Paradox games. I have the games but don't want to start on a long game because there's a new DLC on the horizon that will change the game. I've had EUIV in my library for quite a while but haven' touched it for this reason. First World problem.

ancapailldorcha

kowloon wrote: »

As mentioned in a politics thread, that's my barrier to a lot of Paradox games. I have the games but don't want to start on a long game because there's a new DLC on the horizon that will change the game. I've had EUIV in my library for quite a while but haven' touched it for this reason. First World problem.

Well..... I own the damned thing now. Might as well learn it. I got CK2 as well for about ten times the price that it was on that humble sale.

kowloon

I bought a package a few years back with every Paradox game on Steam in it, ended up with three or four copies of EU3 between all the giveaways and sales that included it. CKIII announced the other day, and I'll buy that too because I'm stupid.

Colonel Claptrap

Quill18 has a 7 part Castille tutorial that you can easily blast through in 3 hours or so.

Castille is similar to Portugal.

ancapailldorcha

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

Quill18 has a 7 part Castille tutorial that you can easily blast through in 3 hours or so.

Castille is similar to Portugal.

I saw those. My only issue is that Quill's tutorial is a few years old and is on an older build of the game, predating some of the DLC's. Might try regardless though.

Shiminay

It's such a complex game though, it's useful to have some manner of jumping off point I think.

kowloon

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

Quill18 has a 7 part Castille tutorial that you can easily blast through in 3 hours or so.

Castille is similar to Portugal.

The kingdoms in and around Spain were my starting point in EU3. Always interesting, although the pirate fleets got tedious.

ancapailldorcha

I opted for Castile Ironman though I didn't get far before having to save scum. Took Granada, converted Granada and cored it. Did the same for a few Moroccan provinces which rebelled. Put those down which cost all my manpower and then Granada decided to be Sunni again and rebelled which wiped out my armies and left me with marauders. I thought this would be easier due to my having played Crusader Kings 2.

Colonel Claptrap

You inspired me to start my own campaign - as Portugal.

I've taken over much of Morocca although Tunis and her allies have become a major thorn in my side. Having big brother Castille at my side is invaluable.

Decided to take a break from gobbling north Africa and started the colonial game. So far I'm following the Portuguese missions to colonise west Africa and the Cape. Soon I will turn my attention on Brazil.

Not sure what my end goal is really. I fired up Portugal to familiarise myself with the game after 2 years away. Hadn't really planned on getting this far.

ancapailldorcha

Good man!

Yeah, I'm having more fun now that I've a better idea of how unrest works. I got the Iberian wedding so now I have to pray that my personal union with Aragon holds out until I can tech up to form Spain and absorb them.

Colonel Claptrap

Are you playing with any DLC?

I'm playing vanilla but feel I could sink a hundred hours into this game before wanting to add some DLC flavour.

I wonder if Ireland is any fun. I've played noob island a dozen times in CK2.

I've started watching quill18's Italian empire series. Picking up lots of great tips.

I'm terrible at warfare. I need to get a better understanding of combat width and terrain penalties. I'll see can I find a detailed tutorial video. A lot of them are out of date. For example they don't reflect the massive change to forts in the common sense expansion.

ancapailldorcha

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

Are you playing with any DLC?

I'm playing vanilla but feel I could sink a hundred hours into this game before wanting to add some DLC flavour.

I wonder if Ireland is any fun. I've played noob island a dozen times in CK2.

I've started watching quill18's Italian empire series. Picking up lots of great tips.

I'm terrible at warfare. I need to get a better understanding of combat width and terrain penalties. I'll see can I find a detailed tutorial video. A lot of them are out of date. For example they don't reflect the massive change to forts in the common sense expansion.

I bought both this and CK2 and the whole suite of DLC when they were half off. Then CK2 went on the Humble Bundle for a tenth of the whole price including DLC.

The whole noob island thing doesn't apply so much I think as one mistake and it's game over. Castile, Portugal and the Ottomans are the recommended starts.

I'm using this playlist to learn the game. It is from this year and much shorter than most though it's still about 10 hours viewing.

Trade is the one thing I can't see myself getting. It looks so messy and yet is of the utmost importance.

TheChrisD

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

I wonder if Ireland is any fun. I've played noob island a dozen times in CK2.

Very different in EU4 though, since England is a damn powerhouse early on. While you can conquer the island (except for Dub) relatively quickly, you need some good RNG, a supremely powerful ally, or some general cheese with forcing England to do naval landings to beat them.

Sciprio

I dip in and out of this game. I started first without able to get a decent economy and gaining territories. I tried the tutorial at first a few times and got a bit of an idea but the trade killed me. I have always wanted to play as Ireland and can't or haven't tried any others.

In my current game as Munster, i have united Ireland, Drained the British manpower in war by supporting rebles and attacking when they are already at war and claimed and capured two provinces.(Ashshire, and the province below with a star fort and the one to the right). I've split the island of britian half as england captured it all. I also built up a stong navy of heavy ships so they can't cross from scotland into ulster.

They are a lot bigger and have taken a good bit of china. Their war wariness over 6.5 and they were begging for a treaty but i seen most rebels keeping them occupied and take most provinces, wearing down their manpower to 0!

Scotland was their ally but now only one small island in the shetlands and are now a vassal of mine i couldn't be arsed to capture them. Next fight i might get them to release the rest of scotland, make peace then attack scotland. Then capture the rest of England,Wales shortly after:P

Good game though, I went from barely able to have a profit in money to taken other provinces and now going out taken stuff and all while still turning a profit. I know i'll get my stuff smashed soon and it'll end, Loving this game and am still getting used to it but it's a sinker of time just like the Civilization,Total War games before it.

Colonel Claptrap

Just realised I've been playing for 110 years with 2 of my merchants sitting idle, not pushing any trade.

So many wasted ducats!

ZeroThreat

So, I've played Crusader Kings II quite a bit in the past. EU4 has been in my Steam library for several years but I never got round to it.

Which game would most people consider better?

ancapailldorcha

ZeroThreat wrote: »

So, I've played Crusader Kings II quite a bit in the past. EU4 has been in my Steam library for several years but I never got round to it.

Which game would most people consider better?

I hate to prevaricate but it depends.

Crusader Kings 2 is a game about characters. You only control one person at a time, moving to their heir when they die. The gameplay is tighter with a much bigger focus on managing your empire, titles and vassals who will be plotting against you.

Europa Universalis IV is a game about nations. It has more going on but each mechanic is a bit less developed. It has better technology than CK2 and is focused on a time of discovery and change in Europe and this is reflected in the game. Expansion is much more crucial to EU4 than CK2 and once you get so far, it gets arguably a bit less interesting.

You could give EU4 a go if you fancy it. I've not played it enough to say if it's better than CK2 or not though.

Sciprio

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I hate to prevaricate but it depends.

Crusader Kings 2 is a game about characters. You only control one person at a time, moving to their heir when they die. The gameplay is tighter with a much bigger focus on managing your empire, titles and vassals who will be plotting against you.

Europa Universalis IV is a game about nations. It has more going on but each mechanic is a bit less developed. It has better technology than CK2 and is focused on a time of discovery and change in Europe and this is reflected in the game. Expansion is much more crucial to EU4 than CK2 and once you get so far, it gets arguably a bit less interesting.

You could give EU4 a go if you fancy it. I've not played it enough to say if it's better than CK2 or not though.

Pretty much this!. CK2 is about dynasties and ruling as a family but if your interested in playing as nations and using armies to take over the world then EU4. I have both but only really played EU4 as thats more my interest but i'll get around to CK2.

EDIT: I've nearly taken over all of the UK so far. :P
https://imgur.com/jPKdyEz

TheChrisD

Sciprio wrote: »

EDIT: I've nearly taken over all of the UK so far. :P
https://imgur.com/jPKdyEz

2019, eh? Well, it's impressive you did it even if it took about 400 years longer :pac:

Sciprio

TheChrisD wrote: »

2019, eh? Well, it's impressive you did it even if it took about 400 years longer :pac:

I'm fairly new to this game myself but at least now i can have and maintain a postitive income and expand unlike before. They used to destroy me alot before so it's nice to have them weaker for a change. I should finish them off in the next war or two. Looking forward to it! :pac:

Colonel Claptrap

My Portuguese game sort of fizzled out around 1720. I had colonised a good chunk of Brazil and Africa as well as completing most missions.

The game then got very repetitive where I was pulled into many inconclusive wars started by Spain. It all got a bit samey so I quit.

Started up a fresh game, hoping to get the African Power achievement - own all Aftican provinces as Kongo. I'm having a lot of fun with it. But know that as soon as the Europeans arrive I'm going to get my ass kicked.

Paradox are doing a black friday sale. Thinking of picking up some DLC on the cheap. Any recommendations?

ancapailldorcha

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

My Portuguese game sort of fizzled out around 1720. I had colonised a good chunk of Brazil and Africa as well as completing most missions.

The game then got very repetitive where I was pulled into many inconclusive wars started by Spain. It all got a bit samey so I quit.

Started up a fresh game, hoping to get the African Power achievement - own all Aftican provinces as Kongo. I'm having a lot of fun with it. But know that as soon as the Europeans arrive I'm going to get my ass kicked.

Paradox are doing a black friday sale. Thinking of picking up some DLC on the cheap. Any recommendations?

Hmm... Somehow I'm making money as Castile now so I've left it for a while. Managed to have the Mamluks kick my arse which wasn't nice but I still gained territory.

I went and bought all of the DLC so I don't know. Maybe this from Reddit might help:

I figured since the last major one is nearly a year and a half old, it's time for a new one. Some major features have been added to the base game, and some major DLC have come out since then. This tier list will include all DLC available up through Golden Century/patch 1.28. For further information on features contained in each DLC, I've included links to the EU4 wiki with more details.

Misc/FAQ:

In a multiplayer game, all players will use the host's DLC even if they have/don't have the DLC the host has - this usually means the person with the most or best DLC should host
Content packs only add art/unit models
Editions of the base game do not contain full expansion DLCs, but bundles do
If you're looking to get into the game, the EU4: Empire Founder Pack is a great bundle - it includes three DLC listed in the top two tiers. Note that EU4: Empire Bundle is different and includes every expansion except Golden Century
Adding or removing DLC during the course of a game can have adverse effects on existing saves, and will disqualify a save from achievements
Most DLCs over a year old can frequently be found on sale for 50%+ off, the base game can frequently be found on sale for 75% off, and most DLCs within the past year won't go more than 25%-33% off in any sale.
Major features are listed under each DLC, and especially vital/useful features are italicized. There is no specific order within each tier. All DLC information is from the wiki, and the tier listings are my own.

Tier 1 is considered must-have. They either provides core game mechanics or immense quality of life improvements.

Tier 2 is considered highly recommended. The game is playable without them, but you'd have a much improved experience with them.

Tier 3 is considered good. Worth getting, but by no means necessary for a solid gameplay experience.

Tier 4 is considered nice to have. They add something to the game, but generally aren't worth buying unless on sale.

Tier 5 is considered mediocre or bad. Don't buy unless you have an obsession with completing your DLC collection.

Situational - some DLCs are very situational and could be Tier 1/2 in certain circumstances or Tier 5 in others.

Tier 1:

Art of War
Transfer occupation of a province to a war ally (1.28 added this to the base game - if you are playing on an older patch, this will still be a feature)
Army macrobuilder
Client state subject type and interactions
Subject military focus (siege/combat/defense/etc), and ally/subject war-time province objectives
Mothball/upgrade/sell navy, auto transport armies with navy
March subject type and interactions
Better peace deal interface
Religious league war
Revolution
Tier 2:

Common Sense
Province development (1.28 added this to the base game - if you are playing on an older patch, this will still be a feature)
Subject interactions
Changes to Protestant, Buddhist religions, theocracies, parliament
National focus (also in Res Publica)
Dharma (arguably Tier 1 if you want to play in India)
Government reforms
Free policies
Trade companies and trade company investments (trade companies, but not investments, are also in Wealth of Nations)
Automatic rebel suppression
Massive upgrades to most Indian nations including missions, estates, government types
Upgradeable trade centers
Charter companies (many people dislike this feature and some intentionally do not use Dharma to avoid it. I still recommend it)
Rights of Man
Ruler personalities
Consorts and consort-regents
Changes to Fetishist, Coptic religions
Changes to Prussian, Ottoman, Revolutionary government types
Great power mechanic
Tier 3:

Cradle of Civilization
Promote advisors (arguably a vital mechanic if you want to WC)
Unique governments, missions, for various Islamic nations including Mamluks, Persia
Trade policies
Islamic Schools
Army Professionalism
Convert subject provinces
Unique Turkish Janissary unit type
Mandate of Heaven
Historical ages with objectives, bonuses, and golden eras
Diplomatic macrobuilder
Unique east Asian government types including Ming/Emperor of China, Japan
Changes to Confucian, Shinto religions
Tributary subject type and interactions
Manchu banners
State prosperity
Rule Britannia
Knowledge Sharing (arguably a vital mechanic if you play multiplayer)
Unique missions for Britain/England/Ireland/Scotland
Coal trade good and furnace manufactory
Innovativeness
Naval Doctrines
Anglican religion
Wealth of Nations
Trade companies (also in Dharma)
Espionage
Privateers
Separate trade and country capitals
Changes to Hindu, Reformed religions
Tier 4:

Mare Nostrum
Naval automatic missions
Berber Pirates/Raiding Coasts (many people dislike this feature and some intentionally do not use Mare Nostrum to avoid it)
Condottieri (arguably a vital mechanic if you play multiplayer)
Rework of espionage and spy actions
Trade leagues for merchant republic government type
Timeline replay
Res Publica
Unique government type for Netherlands
Changes to merchant republic, elective monarchy government types
National Focus (also in Common Sense)
Tier 5:

Golden Century (*In my opinion*, each feature is nice, but mediocre at best - even for the Iberian nations the DLC is focused around. It includes very few features at all for its $10 price tag - potentially worth buying on sale if you want to support Paradox)
Minority expulsion
Iberian state orders
Unique missions for Iberian, Maghreb nations (decent, but main Iberian nations have missions even without the DLC)
Pirate Republic government type
Flagships
Naval Barrage
Situational:

Conquest of Paradise (Tier 1 if you are a native American or subject nation, Tier 4 otherwise)
Random new world
Changes to native American governments and mechanics
Release and play as colonial nation
Support independence (also in El Dorado)
El Dorado (Tier 1 if you are a native American or subject nation, Tier 2 if you are a colonizer, Tier 4 otherwise)
Custom nation designer
Rework of native American religions and mechanics
Reworked exploration/colonization mechanics
Support independence (also in Conquest of Paradise)
Cossacks (Tier 1 if you are playing a horde, Tier 2 otherwise)
Estates (1.26 added this to the base game - if you are playing on an older patch, this will still be a feature)
Diplomatic feedback (attitude, provinces of interest, favors)
Grant province subject interaction (vassal feeding)
Cossack unit type, government type
Major changes to Hordes including government type, razing, Tengri religion changes
Dhimmi and Cossack unique estates (even after 1.26)
Threaten war
Third Rome (Tier 1-2 if you play in Russia, Tier 3 for all other Orthodox countries, Tier 5 otherwise)
Unique government types, military units, missions, ideas for Russia and various Russian minors
Changes to Orthodox religion
Other: (Tier 5 except Purple Phoenix for Byzantium is Tier 2)

Digital Extreme Edition Upgrade Pack (included in EU4 Extreme Edition)
Star and Crescent Pack: events, art, unit models for Muslim nations
Songs for Byzantium and Ottomans
Pre-Order Pack
Purple Phoenix Pack: missions, events, art, unit models for Byzantium (absolutely worth getting if you play Byzantium frequently)
100 Years War Unit Pack: unit models for British/French nations
American Dream: events, art, unit models for United States
Women in History (free): events, art including famous historical women

TrueDub

Just bought this, with a buttload of DLC, on Humble Bundle for $17.

ancapailldorcha

TrueDub wrote: »

Just bought this, with a buttload of DLC, on Humble Bundle for $17.

Still smarting when I see that sale. I bought on a half off sale thinking the price would never drop.

Well done for snagging such a bargain.

Dave_The_Sheep

TrueDub wrote: »

Just bought this, with a buttload of DLC, on Humble Bundle for $17.

Same.

It is, however, quite intimidating to start it.

ancapailldorcha

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

Same.

It is, however, quite intimidating to start it.

I found this incredibly helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH-huzMEgGWBbYuS-yMApLBZgVaug8NSQ

My first game was as Castile and it was fine. Ally France and ideally Portugal. Use Morocco as your punching bag for expansion. Do not attack Aragon as you'll get the Iberian Wedding event which will enable you to merge with them diplomatically. Get exploration ideas when you can and start colonising South America.

Colonel Claptrap

Rumours of a subscription fee coming to EU IV.

TheChrisD

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

Rumours of a subscription fee coming to EU IV.

They're more than rumours, they are dev confirmed; at least insofar as they are definitely considering it :rolleyes:

It's a DLC subscription pass thing, where you can pay €5/month to gain access to all the game's DLC without having to buy them all individually.

Hardcore players (including myself) on reddit and their forums are appalled at this latest business practice from Paradox.

ancapailldorcha

TheChrisD wrote: »

They're more than rumours, they are dev confirmed; at least insofar as they are definitely considering it :rolleyes:

It's a DLC subscription pass thing, where you can pay €5/month to gain access to all the game's DLC without having to buy them all individually.

Hardcore players (including myself) on reddit and their forums are appalled at this latest business practice from Paradox.

I'd be in the same camp. You're paying not a lot more for Netflix/Amazon Prime to be honest. Maybe they should look at why DLC's which are often glorified updates and patches are so expensive.

Polar101

I have all the DLC already, so I wouldn't have any interest in a subscription. Not sure who would - doubt they would get many new players (especially now after Humble Bundle) wanting to pay a monthly fee for a game that doesn't have much left in the tank.

I'd personally prefer if they moved over to EU5 already, the way they added little bits here and there over the years has made the game mechanics and the UI a complete mess. And there were a couple of completely rubbish expansions along the way. I've found the best way to play is just to ignore some of the stuff like estates (easier now that they don't whine for land every 2 minutes) and "special" units.

And I'm a big fan of EU4, it was probably my favourite game of the decade.