EU4 Dynasty - What is the Hardest Nation? With Athens! I manage to make it out!!!

[Abe Sargent]

The 150 Year Review!!!


Alright folks!

The Empire of Greece

Emperor Francisco III, 42 years old, Conqueror and Bold Fighter, 4/4/4

Heir, Francisco IV, 11 years old, 4/3/0

Allies: Denmark, Portugal, Papal States, Bohemia, Junagarh, Commonwealth, Genoa

Vassals – Malindi, Cusco

My navy – 31 big vessel Galleons; 61 trade protecting smaller vessels, Early Frigates; 66 Galley class Galleas; 30 transports – 188 ships total


My army – 168,000 troops; 65k infantry, 67k cavalry, 36k artillery

Current Colonies – Magdalena, Guajira, Kumeyaay, Rapanui, Society, Tuomotu, Missiquoi


We have almost 100 more cash monthly than Ming, and are top with 254.76

We have the best prestige

We have 0% inflation despite gold

At 1448, we have the most development in the world. Ming is next at 1301 and the Commonwealth 3rd with 1199.

At 48, we have the most techs by 1 over many nations, including Genoa, Austria, and the Commonwealth


We have finished 28 ideas, no one else has yet, although a few are at 27 – such as Brittany and Ming

We are one of seven Empires in the world. Ming China, Japan, Ottomans, Ethiopia, Karabakh and Yarkand are the others

We currently have the 4th highest score after the Ottomans, Commonwealth and Ming

We have 89 provinces, which makes us the 5th largest nation in size. Nations bigger include Ming, the Commonwealth and Russia

Our ten highest provinces by taxes:

Constantinople, 23.10
Venice, 20.64
Cape, 18.92
Rhodes, 18.92
Verona, 18.92
Treviso, 17.20
Quelimane, 17.20
Firenze, 17.20
Athens, 15.4
Mahikantha, 14.50


Our top ten (non-gold) provinces by production

Venice, 49.32
Sierra Leone, 42.32
Mombasa, 38.50
Treviso, 37.65
Constantinople, 36.10
Quelimane, 32.40
Bharuch, 29.34
Ile de Bourbon, 28.12
Mauritius, 28.12
Macedonia, 28.08

Three of my provinces, 2 mines, and 1 in my colonial nation of Chesapeake, are in the top ten production in the world (of those I know of)

I have the 2nd largest army in the world after Ming China

I have, by far, the biggest navy in the world, almost double Denmark at #2.

Athenian Caribbean is #3 in the world at 81 vessels. In case you care!


Trade Goods by Current Value:

5.25 – Paper
4.5 – Tobacco, Copper
4.0 – Dyes, Silk, Cocoa, Ivory
3.75 – Sugar
3.60 – Cloth, Cotton
3.5 – Furs
3.30 – Salt, Coffee
3.0 – Gems, Glass, Tropical Wood, Spices, Chinaware, Tea, Slaves, Iron
2.75 – Incense
2.50 – Wine, Livestock
2.00 – Naval Supplies, Fish, Grain
1.75 - Wool


You can see some things drop recently, such as Gems that dropped hard, and some, such as Tobacco, that jumped.

I get trading bonuses for both leading the world in trading the item and in trading at least 20% of it. I have those in Coffee, Tobacco, Cocoa, and Sugar.

I, or my colonies, are the production leader in Sugar, Coffee, Tobacco, Spices, Cocoa, Ivory, Glass, Silks, Dyes, Fish and Wine. I am the trade leader in some as well, but I am not at 20%. I am very close in Wine and Glass.


Great Powers

1. Athens
2. Commonwealth
3. Ming China
4. Great Britain
5. Ottomans
6. Spain
7. Bohemia
8. Denmark

[Abe Sargent]

Alright…MAP TIME


World map first




As you can see, I have a fun little world map here for you, and you can see a number of winners here, such as Denmark, Commonwealth and Bohemia in Europe.

Let’s check in on South America now as we’ve had some movement that you’ll want to see



Here’s a little closer. Notice how France and Portugal lost colonies and holdings on the west coast? They both warred with natives (France’s is happening now) and they had their stuff torched! So my jump over may have worked out. Portugal hasn’t leapt over me into Baja or CA or elsewhere so we are looking good there. Notice our small Peruvian coastal provinces, and the inland four province holding next to us is Cusco.




See how big Portugal’s Mexico has grown? It’s pretty sizeable! You can see us in CA, the Eastern US, and Louisiana. You can see France, Britain and Spain in Canada and the north. I still need to finish off some coastal holdings, but these are pretty poor ones at 3 or 4 dev in places like Florida and such. Why would Brittany or France or someone go right next to me in a place like this when they can build near theirs?





Here’s a quick glimpse of Ye Olde Afrique for you. We are all over the edges here from Kongo to Sofala and then in the nearby islands too. You can see us in the coastal trading posts I have slowly grabbed, as well as our vassal Malindi there too.




And finally here’s India and the Indies. You can see us in the small area south of Mewar and near our newest ally in the white on the ocean. You can also see our new trading post on Sumatra in Jambi,, as well as our small but build-able trade zone. This is what it’s all about!


And there we have it!

[Abe Sargent]

14 Dec – We finish converting Daman

I pull my colonists at Magdelena and send it to Chumash, in coastal California


5 Jan, 1595- I pull my colonists from Kumeyaay and send them to south of Cartagena in Antioquia – it’s a place with a large development and a big chance for Gems or Cocoa. It’s also good as a potential target as its island of me but right next to the burgeoning Brittany mammoth so I want to grab it now


18 May – The Pope passes. Congratulations Athens, you are now the owners of a shiny new Pope!

1 June – We have re-gained the Trading in Glass bonus

I order a Mill in Nazca

1 Dec –

Missisquoi – Fur, New Hampshire, next to Spain and others. 5 Dev, now with New Athens, sending us 0.12 monthly

1 Jan, 1596 –

Tuamotu Islands – Pacific Ocean, 7 dev, Cathc, Tus, not a state, 0.12 cash from Fish

Friesland have been given Columbia

1 Mar – Society Islands with Tropical Wood

1 May- Gems in Antioquia

1 June –

Guajira – Cocoa, 3 dev, grasslands, in the same state as Cartagena and Magdalena, I order a Plantation here. Currently 0.36.


1 Sept – Magdalena has coffee

1 Dec –

Kumeyaay – Part of the coastal California, at the tip of Baja California in Mexico and California, coastal, drylands, Livestock 8 devk, Catholic and Tuscan, and I order a Farm estate here. 0.57 currently

[Abe Sargent]

1 Jan, 1597 – I send my colonists from Chumash to Pomo, which is just north of Miwok

1 May – Fur trade is good for Salinan

22 May - I Recall my colonist from Salinan and dispatch them to Pamlico in the Carolinas which has a near 60% chance of Tobacco.

22 June - Peace with the Turks and Mamluks

10 Dec – I purchase a trading post on the island of Borneo from a local minor nation from the Philippines that spread.

Samarinda – 22 dev, coastal, jungle, adjacent to the folks I purchased it from - Maguindanao, with shipyard, church, workshop and marketplace. I destroy the shipyard for a trade station. I make 0.26 right now from the Borean Hindus. It’s next to unclaimed territory in the south, and again, it will help to demonstrate to any onlooks that a major island has my presence and to head elsewhere. I hope.



2 Feb, 1598 – I send colonists to Chicora which will connect Pamlico and Waccamaw on the shores, and likely be another Tobacco place

1 April –

Rapanui – (Easter Island) – 3 Dev, Tropical Wood, Cath, Tuscan, coastline, 0.02 made (not a state)


1 Jul – Livestock in Chumash

22 Aug – I am given a gift of thousands of ducats, and I sent it to the Caribbean to help develop their holdings more


17 Nov – Portugal demands we join them in another Peruvian war against the minors here and I have been making nice, sending them subsidies, influencing them, and more, plus Portugal has all of Mexico to worry about and they lost their last war here after I vassalized one of their folks.

Is Portugal still worth it as an ally?

We are their only ally. I decline.

I send their target war subsidies

[Abe Sargent]

1 Jan, 1599 –

Antioquia – Gems, 7 development, in the Bogota state, south of Cartagena, 0.13 made here, Tuscan and Catholic

I send these colonists to Mariquita to its south


1 April –

ADM TECH 17 – I can build Universities, and I can build another 5 states

16 April - I pull my Chicora colonist and send them to Narraganset


25 August – We announce the annexation of Malindi has begun!


We expect it to take around 2 years



1 Sept –

Society Islands – Tropical Wood, 3 dev, Tuscan, Catholic, islands in the Pacific, I have not made them a state, 0.04 sent to us.


We have gained the bonus for training in Tropical Wood


6 Oct – We have finished changed the Turk culture in Hudavindigar to Tuscan

1 Nov – Livestock in Pomo


11 Nov – A massive war erupts in Europe

France, Bohemia, Commonwealth, and Brittany

Vs

Spain, Tunis, Naples, Austria,


12 Dec – I get a Trading in Wine bonus



1 Jan, 1600


We get the new era’s institution – Global Trade – it started next door in Genoa, so the institution should spread quickly in Europe to our stuff

In ten years the Age of Reformation will be ending

1 Feb –

Magdalena – between two other holdings on the coast, Tuscan, Catholic, grasslands, coffee, in a state already with Cartagena and others, sends us 0.27 monthly and I order a plantation here.


22 Mar – I establish Sunday Schools

I send my 5k troops in California on a mission to find the Seven Cities of Gold

7 Apr – I make the area around Trebizond a state and then I order a Missionary here


1 May – Get ready for a big trade owner event. We have the most traded Cotton. As a result? +20 global settler increase!


21 June – After the eruption of the Peruvian volcano Huaynaputina, prices worldwide for grain and wine will drop 75% for two years

1 Aug – In news that shocks no one, Pamlico is going to be growing Tobacco

I pull my colonists in Narraganset and send them to Connecticut right next door

6 Sept – Colonial explosion in Chumash and I pay 50 expand it

I pull my Pomo colonists and ship them to Quinnipiac

1 Oct – Good news and bad news. The awesome potential of Marquita is wasted on Livestock but Chicora will be with Tobacco

I pull the colonists here and send them to Conoy (Delaware)

[Abe Sargent]

1 Feb, 1601 –

Salinan – south of Miwok, north of Chumash, 6 dev, highlands, Fur Trade, Catholic, Tuscans, 0.39 made monthly


1 May – Trebizond converts. Now I order a culture shift to Tuscan

1 June –

Chumash – Drylands, 6 dev, Livestock, 0.34 made here

10 Aug – We have finished annexing Malindi –

Malindi- Swahili, Sunni, Iron, natural harbor, Dock, church, marketplace, weapons manufactory, 0.56 off 75% autonomy, 20 Dev. Coastline – connects Mombasa and Lamu


Lamu – coastal, next to Ajuraan, 11 dev, trade station for ivory, Sunni, Swahili, church, workshop, also 75% auto, and makes us 0.39 right now.


10 Sept – We have announced the annexation of Cusco!

1 April, 1602 – Tobacco in Narraganset

1 July – Fur in Conoy

3 Aug – Tupinamda has agreed to send us 50% of their trade power. They are the three province natives on the tip of Brazil. I’ve been making nice with them as a potential for future annexation

8 Oct – I break my royal ties with Portugal.

1 Nov – Naval Supplies in Narraganset

17 Nov – I create an alliance with Ming. Given my continuing development in the region, Ming makes sense. I want to remove any potential threats from them and work together. We both have the Turks and Vijayanagar as rivals and enemies, so we have that in common. It makes sense. I will begin to build up my power base in in the Indies as well. Right now I have more than 30k troops and a fleet of almost 20 ships in India; but my Indies is much smaller. I send some folks in to help out.

1 Dec –

Pamlico – Tobacco, coastal, 5 Dev, coastline, Tuscan, Cath, handed to the colonial nation of New Athens, I order a Plantation here. Currently making 0.26 in the state of North Carolina

I pull my colonists in Quinnipiac and sent them to Ais in Florida

15 Dec – I destroy the shipyard in Jambi and order a Trade Station there. We had an event that increased the value of Incense to 3.62. So let’s push it.

[Abe Sargent]

1 Feb, 1603 – In Connecticut we have Tobacco

1 April –

Pomo – Mountains, Livestock, north of Miwok, 3 dev, 0.16 made here.



I’ll head north to Yuki and Klamath here on the coast that are mountains like Pomo with poor dev, but like it, have a solid shot at gold. Or even the Chinook holding north of that.


We now have a new colonial nation – Athens West (My name for CA) . The Pope has given us the region.



I was sorting of hoping that my 5th holding here would turn over CA to a colonial nation!

I pull colonists from Connecticut and send them to Chinook which is the Columbian River Estuary

1 May – I order a Mill in Mtetwa; and the Fort in Koceali to be upgraded to the next level of strength

7 Oct - I offer an alliance to another Peruvian local power, next to us and Cusco, and which won their war against Portugal. My hope it to encourage others to play keep-away.

1 Nov – Our military advisor passes and I hire a new 3 star one.


1 Mar, 1604 –

Chicora – Tobacco here, savannah, North Carolina state, handed to New Athens, 5 dev, 0.35 made here.


Now that my colonies have ebbed to 6 I am making 80 gs monthly, btw

I pull our colonist from Conoy and dispatch them to Timuca in Florida

15 Mar - I embrace Global Trade!

I get another merchant and I send it to Zanzibar. I begin to send a local fleet that I’ve been waiting on to protect trade there.


5 June – The big giant war across Europe has ended.

1 July – I gain the bonus for trading in Slaves and Ivory – Zanzibar for the win!

I get +25% for slaves in trade and +2 dip reputation from Ivory

1 Aug – MIL TECH 17 – I get much better cavalry

[Abe Sargent]

1 Sept – Ready for the Final Government Reform?

There are four options:


Political Absolutism – We increase our absolutism ratings (for later Eras)


Legislative Houses – We get the ability to pass more policies (polices are those things I can pass from combining multiple Ideas)


Become a Republic – We lose 3 government reforms

We gain:

+1 Diplomat
+1 Military leader without upkeep
+10 States allowed


And we have an effect called “Republican Cultural Sufferance” and for non-accepted cultures we get bonuses and it won’t be as bad for those provinces.


And we become a Republic, and lose heirs and Royal Marriages and get a new elected leader every 4 years

Become a Theocracy – We lose 6 government reforms, don’t get the Cultural Sufferance buff, but we have the same benefits from the Republic with states and such



Given the history of Athens, can I chose anything other than Republic?

I choose for us to be an Oligarchy

Republicanism as we really embrace our Republican nature

I choose Sortition so we will have a lottery among qualified candidates to choose the leader – this was the primary tool for choosing in ancient Athens as it removes factionalism




Admin Divisions for +5 states

We were just put on the Republic slider of government reform and we made some choices.

It looks like my states remained the same as I moved up the ladder. So I could have capped myself, but I instead choose to ease to Republic. But now I have more reform choices coming.

[Abe Sargent]

25 Oct – We get an event – The Increase of the Spice Trade – we get thousands of cash and prestige and Spices will be increasing in value


1 Nov –

Mariquita – Livestock, Mountains, 5 development, internal, next to Brittany, us in Antioquia, and next to some natives in the Musicia tribe.

We get a Colonial Nation in Colombia even though there isn’t much left. I name it Athenian Colombia

4 Nov – I pull my colonists from Ais in Florida and send them to Midway in the Pacific

1 Dec – We are getting cash from knowledge sharing with the Commonwealth

1 Feb, 1605 –

Conoy – Fur trading in Maryland, 6 dev, grasslands, handed to New Athens, 0.22 made here


1 May – We have finished annexing Cusco!

2 May – The colonial nation of Athenian Peru forms

Here let me show you a map and then the provinces we just brought in.





As you can see, my three holdings on the Sea that I made are here, as well as the four we just annexed, and I pulled up the best of those, which is that sweet gold.

To our south is our new ally in the area, Pacajes, as well as a colony of Portugal – they keep getting burned by locals, and you can see France to our south as well. Soon I should just colonize them myself and pull them off the map.

I would not be surprised to see us embrace either Wanka to our north or Pacajes to our interior. Pacajes is rich, literally, and Wanka ain;t bad.


Ayaviri – Mountains, 8 Dev, Inti faith, Aimara culture, wool, currently not a state, just makes us 0.07 with 75% autonomy. Ayaviri is north of us in the Mountains. They are next to Wanka. Has a marketplace and church.


Quero – Jungle, Wool made here, 8 dev, Inti and Quechua, has a marketplace and church as well, send us 0.10 in cash. Inland of Ayaviri. North of Wanka.

These two are in the same state, but given how poor they are, I want to keep my states on my own right now.

Puno – Gold, Mountains, Inti, Aimara, 11 development, church and marketplace. I did make this a state. 1.54 sent monthly to us.


Macaya – Grain, mountains, Inti, marketplace, church, Aimara culture, send us 0.16 with their 11 development.

Now I won’t shift culture or faiths here for a bit, as I want to keep myself from pissing off the locals, and converting their faith and culture tends to do that. I’ll wait for a bit. I can afford to. I’m getting my gold cash already and I don’t really care about the other three right now.


Actually I can’t send Missionaries as they ain’t mine anymore, sorry about that.

I push my relationship with Pacajes and try to get it really high.

[Abe Sargent]

24 June – We form an East India Trade Company. We get another merchant and I sent it out

1 July – Tobacco in Ais

I send our colonists from Tumucua to Calusa in Florida.

1 Aug - We get the bonus for leading the world in spice trading!

1 Sept –

Narraganset – Forest, 6 Dev, Tobacco, handed to New Athens, gives us 0.35

22 Nov 0- I recall our colonists at Chinook and send them south to Suislaw, also on the coast in CA


1 Jan, 1606 –

Quinnipiac – Naval Supplies, 5 dev, 0.19 made here


15 June – I pull colonists from two Florida holdings and send them to Yustaga and Appalachee which are the final two Florida holdings. This should remove the final costal areas for N. America from our regions

1 July –

Connecticut – 6 dev, Tobacco, 0.25 made here


30 July – I pull my colonists from Midway and send them to one of the two Brazilian coastal areas that I need to keep folks away from settling my areas in the Americas

1 Aug – DIP TECH 17 – I can get better colonial rage, trade range, and now I can build Merchantmen vessels as well as a Trade Depot in cities which is an upgrade of the Marketplace

4 Aug – Pacajas agrees to be our vassals!

27 Sept – Ming breaks their alliance with us and declares us their rival

22 Oct – For 867 cash we purchase from our ally, Junagahr, the province of Khambat


Khambat – Hindu, Gujarati, dev 18, grasslands, coastal, Cloth, 0.98 made here, with the accepted Gujarati culture. Workshop, marketplace, dock, shipyard, I destroy the dock for a Textile Manufactory.

While here I also send some Trade stations up here for the traders heading to the local trade station at Gujarat that I have 2nd most in trade.

1 Nov – Feh. Just Grain in Timucua in Florida

[Abe Sargent]

1 Jan, 1607 – Fur in Chinook

17 Jan – Why am I getting a Native Assimilation event in Timucua? Looks like I forgot to smash the natives I order my Floridan army over to hit them

6 Feb – France has won some land wars and is expanding a lot so I excommunicate them with my Papal control to see what others can do to them

11 June – We ally with the Tupinamba(now that Ming is no longer an option, they are the three holding native nation by the tip of Brazil)

3 Nov – We are now the appropriate overlords for Tupinamba


22 Dec – Our ruler passes!

Random selection is…

Agapios Saraceno – 4/4/4


30 Dec – I set up some Trade Stations in major East African holdings

1 Mar, 1608 – Calusa is a good place for Cotton.


19 Nov – I build a few more Stations in high profile places like Silk province and such

1 Dec – Belem with Naval Supplies and it gained some pop as we pipe in marriageable women


Ais – Florida, Tobacco, Savanah, 3 dev, 0.19 made here, New Athens,

[Abe Sargent]

9 Jan, 1609 – I side with our Burghers in a major class conflict, and other two castes drop in loyalty considerably, but my Burgher’s skyrockets.


19 Jan - An event occurs that increases the price of Glass.

1 Feb –

Timucua – Grain, Florida Marsh, 3 dev, 0.05 cash made for us


1 Mar – Fish in the Midway Islands

22 Mar – We get an event – European Trade in Ming China – the price of Chinaware rises considerably and we get a ton of cash and such as these economic changes occur in our place.


We purchase Ibo from Kilwa as a Trading Post

Ibo – 18 dev, purchased for 1250 from Kilwa, next to us in Mozambique and part of that state. Sunni, Swahili, Ivory, coastline, 0.28 sent to us, workshop, shipyard, and regimental camp are here. I destroy the camp and order a Trade Station built here

1 April – Tobacco in Yuataga out in Florida

29 April – The Pope has passed, and we control the next one!

1 May – Apalachee with Cotton out in Florida

6 June – I recall my colonists in Belem and send them to another CA coastal province at Chehalis

1 Feb, 1610

The Age of Reformation has finished!


The Age of Absolutism has begun!


You are looking to do things like win a Religious War, have China with a mandate of 50%, and such.

I already have two goals accomplished – Have at least 5 universities, and at least 3 Trade Companies

29 Mar - I get a Shipyard fire in Crete.


12 April – I begin to make nice with Mewar – I influence them, send them a gift, etc

1 June –

Chinook – Forest, 7 dev, Colombia estuary, handed to Athens West, 0.25 made, Fur Trade, etc.


I am currently colonizing one to the north and south as well.

I pull colonists and send them to Marajo out in Brazil on the coast.

[Abe Sargent]

6 Jan, 1611 – We get a call for helping Denmark. They declared war with Russia. Russia is allied with Genoa.

We are now at war with Genoa and Russia, with Denmark

I intend to push a bit in the south

I begin pushing for some naval battles in the Mediterranean


22 Jan – I defeat a Genoa navy in the Sea of Marmara

11 Feb – Another big victory by another of our fleets.

15 Feb – The siege of Genoa has begun after we force back a army

1 Mar – We capture a minor province

7 Mar – They begin to besiege Mantua

29 Mar – We drive them from Mantua

15 April – My Trebizond army has arrived in the Genoan provinces in the Black Sea.

1 May –

Belem – 3 dev, jungle, Naval Supplies, handed to Brazil


16 May – We take Abkhazia

25 June – Another Black Sea province falls to us

1 Aug –

Calusa – Cotton, 3 dev, New Athens, Florida,

5 Aug – The last Black Sea holdings of Genoa is ours

29 Sept – Genoa is ours!

8 Nov – I capture Albenga

17 Dec – I hire some mercs from the Commonwealth to harass Russia up north

14 Jan, 1612 – I land my Trebizond army at Corsica

19 Feb – We capture Genoa

4 Mar – We rout the combined Genoan fleet with our combined fleet

I have fully defeated and captured every one of their holdings

I can’t take more than one province from Russia in peace, my warscore ain;t that good.

We take Genoa


Genoa – 38 dev, Paper, Ligurian Catholic, natural harbor, center of trade, hills, marketplace, workshop, camp, fortress, shipyard, currently sending us 0.69 monthly.

[Abe Sargent]

27 April – I send colonists to Muturu on the Brazilian Coast

1 May – Naval Supplies in Siuslaw on the CA Coast

1 Sept –

Yustaga- Florida, Marsh, tobacco, 3 Dev, now with New Athens, 0.13 made here


10 Sept – The local tribe, Mapuche, won a lot of La Plata in southern South America from Portugal. Like 8 or 10 holdings strong

18 Sept – Wanka accepts our alliance offer

1 Oct –

Apalachee – This is my final Florida holdings – 4 dev, Marsh, Cotton, etc

8 Dec – After losing a bunch of wars, Milan is down to one holding. I offer them an alliance. They accept.

1 Jan, 1613 – Marajo with Tropical Wood

1 Feb – I proclaim a Guarantee on Milan

7 Feb – I send more colonist to Athens West and it’s coast

1 Mar –

Midway Islands – 3 dev, Fish, not a state, only gives us 0.02 monthly. It’s here to stop folks from crossing the ocean.

I pull colonists in Muturu and send them to Ceram, the Spice Island with a land connection to a holding I already have in Ambon

There are currently 11 Trade Goods I have the trade bonus for – Wine, Sugar, Spices, Tropical Wood, Ivory, Slaves, Tobacco, Coffee, Cocoa, Cotton, and Glass.


I am the trade leader in these, but I’m not at 20%

Fish – 18.4%
Livestock – 17.5%
Gem – 17.3%
Salt – 16.0%
Cloth 15.2%


1 May – Livestock in Chehalis

7 Sept – Genoa is now all cored up and ready to punch someone in the face


I destroy the camp and order a Mill here for the Paper


22 Nov – Milan agrees to be our vassal

[Abe Sargent]

1 Feb, 1614 – DIP TECH 18 – I get great naval morale and I can build the Gratiot

15 Feb –

We purchase a Trading Post at Pate, next to our Malindi holdings, from Ajuuraan, on the coast. It has Cloth, Savannah, 17 dev, we spent 1200, natural harbor, Shipyard, marketplace, and church, Swahili and Sunni, I order the Shipyard destroyed and a Textile Manufactory here.


26 June – I am given a gift of 5500 cash when I demand the money up front for granting a monopoly.

1 July –

ADM TECH 18 – We can get a new Idea!!!

Possible –


Trade?

Humanist?


Plutocratic? (It replaces Aristocratic ideas for certain republics)

Admin?


If I choose a MIL TECH then I can get the first two Ideas on that chain immediately.

I grab Trade Idea



1 Sept –

Vijayanagar is getting too big. They are waging war in the Indies, moved in the Indian Ocean and such.

So lets looks and see what I can see for bringing them down.

Vijay – 7th richest nation by income, manpower 69k, Mil Tech 15, 6th largest army at 96k, 5th largest navy at 66 ships, and so forth.

I order a big navy from the Mediterranean to Madurai. I also order more troops here in my three Indian zones of control.

1 Oct – Para, Brazil, is with gems

I begin making some claims on Vijayanagar

1 Nov – Fish in Muturu

Brittany has leaped over us in CA and is in Alaska, heavily


11 Dec – I pull colonists from Ceram and send them to Halmahera, here in the Spice Islands – it has a strait to our Trading Post at Tidore and a local power in Ternate

I pull colonists on the West Coast and send them to Sumba

17 Dec – Wanka agrees to be our vassal

1 Jan, 1615 – Salt is the primary trade in Klamath

I am doing a lot to prepare for war against Vijayanagar. I’m not expecting this to be a big land grab, but instead the opportunity to weaken them.

1 July – We gain the trading bonus for Fish! We get +25% national sailors growth (Sailors are naval manpower)

1 Sept –

Siuslaw – Coastal CA, Naval Supplies, 0.16 made, 5 dev, Mountains, handed to Athens West


1 Dec – We get the first DIP Idea – better global trade power - +20%

19 March, 1616 – I put down a rebellion in Khambhat

1 April – MIL TECH 18 – I can upgrade my Cannons and Horsies, so I do so. Now we'll be ready to beat them better.

11 April – I convince Junagahr to break their alliance with Vijayanagar

8 May – Orissa agrees to give us military access.

17 June – A new Pope is elected and the Papal States control him

24 July – I pull my colonists from Halmahera and Sumba and send them to Kiribati and Tonga in the Pacific

2 Aug – Our fleet arrives in India. Once I’d repaired tit in our harbor, I’ll have it shadow a Vijayanagari fleet as I am almost ready to declare war.

19 Sept – We begin the annexation of vassal Pacajes

1 Nov –

Marajo – Brazilian Coast,3 Dev, handed to colonial nation, Tropical Wood, makes us 0.07 monthly


7 Dec –

We are ready.

Before we begin, let’s discuss my many preparations for this war

1. Fleet. I have my major fleet and I consolidated a lot on my way over. I have a fleet of 74 vessels in the Comorin Cape, off the southern tip of India, where my Trading Post in Madurai is. It’s where two navies totaling 38 ships from Vijayanagar are right now crossing. I can take out both in a single battle. This fleet has 19 large vessels, the Galleon, as well as 19 Early Frigates, as well as 9 captured Galiots from previous wars in the Mediterranean that I wasn’t using (although this isn’t the best use of them) and 24 Merchantmen. My foe has many transports – just 6 large ships and 11 small ones in their fleet, and then all transports. I have a level 2 Admiral who is battle hardened at the lead.
2. Three major armies. I have a large 20+ group of armies, with three generals on the three flanks of Vijayanagar. One from south in Madurai, one from the north east on the Orissan flank, and one on the north west from Surat. Each has a general and one of those a Conquistador that I was exploring from on the Athens West area. Each three major army is there and ready to rock.
3. I have a backup merc army under the command of my leader on the NW flank as well and their job is to take small provinces, besiege things, and such. They are not one of my battle plans.

My foes have 15k troops in Sri Lanka in the strait leading from Maduria to the island. My plan is to win in the Comorin Cape, and leave a big enough fleet here to prevent them from crossing. I have more than 80k troops assembled, and a giant fleet that’s bigger than their entire army, plus my navy in Gujarat if I need to bring it over.

Ready? Let’s do it!

[thehitcat]

This has been a fascinating look at a game I've never played but now want to play pretty badly. A question for you when you are done smashing VJ. Other than the game itself which of the DLC are you running (a quick look at Steam shows 42 available)? Also are you running any content from say the Steam Workshop? I'd love to dive into this but it feels like i might want to wait for the next Steam Sale or Paradox weekend Thanks

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

This has been a fascinating look at a game I've never played but now want to play pretty badly. A question for you when you are done smashing VJ. Other than the game itself which of the DLC are you running (a quick look at Steam shows 42 available)? Also are you running any content from say the Steam Workshop? I'd love to dive into this but it feels like i might want to wait for the next Steam Sale or Paradox weekend Thanks

Great questions! Thanks for reading!


I only have the DLCs proper, not the visual unit packs and such. I also don't use any mods from Workshop.


Many DLCs add a lot to the game, especially the earlier ones. I do think having ones that are pertinent to where and whom you are playing makes sens,e like Third Rome and Cossacks for a Russian dynasty.

I wouldn't want to do every single DLC while learning the game at the same time, but you can turn on which DLCs to use for a given campaign.

I'd recommend a stater nation like Portugal or the Turks for your first campaign.

Getting a Bundle with the first few expansions during the upcoming holiday sale would make sense.

[Abe Sargent]

16 Dec – My siege army arrives in Thana and begins to siege them

18 Dec -I win at Comorian Cape and capture a dozen ships
I send my bounty to Madurai to heal up and join the fighting

26 Dec – I have begun the siege of Daulatabad

1 Jan, 1617 –

Chehalis – Coastal CA, north of Chinook, Livestock, 6 dev, forests, now with Athens West

9 Jan – I capture a minor and order my troops to the minor where their navy fled (Venad)

1 Feb – Yuki in Coastal CA is now going to be good with, yuck, Fish.

19 Feb – Two minors fell, and their fleet was hit – I captured 5 more ships

25 Mar – Big news. Two more minors have fallen, we defeated their fleet again, captured 3 more ships, and routed it, the combined two fleets are gone, and we also captured Daulatabad

28 Mar – I use an event to “hire” a cardinal from the nation of Genoa and bring him into our stable of Cardinals in Mantua. We spend a few hundred cash.

14 April – My main army has arrived at the fort of Bidar and begins a siege.


11 May – Three minors have fallen, but they have recaptured one.

I move to intercept a 19k strong army that has arrived in the south.

29 May – I win a quick but minor skirmish in Kumari right after they retook it from me.

A big army is moving to Bidar. I break off everything but a small siege unit from Thana to combine my armies and protest this 27k large army.

My Bidarian force is 23k, so with the cavalry, and some artillery and inf from the other army, that’s another 15k easy to help.

5 June – I win in the south, but I need to regroup as I was smashed hard.

18 June – Three minors fell to me

21 July – We capture Bidar

8 Aug – My combined army defeats theirs

9 Aug – The siege of Mughal begins, and this is next to their capital, Vijaynagar, with my major inland force.

5 Sept – We regain enough str that I move my southern army back out again aggressively. I send it to a nearby fort at Gingee

11 Sept – I defeat a small, hastily assembled army of mercs on the north-east flank near Orissa.

14 Sept – My patrolling navy here at Gujarat ran into one of theirs and we crushed it.

23 Sept – The siege of Thana ends. We have taken it.

1 Oct – Ceram with Incense

6 Oct – The siege of Gingee begins

9 Oct – I have taken Mudgal after an assault. I order my main army to their capital

22 Oct – About 4 minors are mine

29 Oct – We have routed their merc army in the NE.

1 Nov – TRADE IDEA #2 – I get another merchant and I send it to Genoa

1 Dec – We are now leading to Gems.

22 Dec – Two more minors are ours.

12 Feb, 1618 – We have captured their capital!

5 Mar – We capture Gingee

I now have an 83% warscore.

I could get this:

All 14 coastal provinces that connect my NW Holdings with Madurai. Those are just a 66 warscore only.

That would basically bring in the entire west coast of India under my control, if that’s what I wanted, and would increase my badboy by a massive 58. Although only Indian folks would care. That would really smash Vijayanagar hard, and punch them in the face.

That would include 2 Cloth, 1 Gems, and 10 Spice provinces

Shoot, I could even spend just 3 warscore and toss in The Maldives.


I could also just do Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and a few coastal here at the tip. I could take 6 mainland holdings, all 6 Sri Lankan ones, and the Maldives, for an 88%? Nah that’s too much, I’d have to drop a mainland.

Here is something I was expecting to do:

Release Kotte – Sri Lanka and Gujarat, and

Give us Vanni on Sri Lanka, straight from Madurai, and then maybe two mainland holdings near Madurai, and then call it.

Vijayanagar loses 3 to us, and then 10 total to Kotte and Gujarat.


It’s basically the same warscore to release nations than it is to take them it seems.

It’s 3 each for Maldives, as a good example.

I didn’t expect to be a warmonger in places like this here. But this is a war that Vijayanagar brought on themselves. I made nice. I elevated them multiple times. I gave them cash. I purchased two trading posts for some serious cash. They had a lot to gain by staying on our side. Instead they sent spies, claims, broke off relations, made us their enemy and rival. So I did the same.

They cause us to be at loggerheads.

Given that, I’m fine stealing from them myself.

I take everything mentioned above. The entire coast. And I add in The Maldives as well. I wasn’t expecting to be the typical warmonger, but this is a problem that Vijayanagar started.


I also grab a few inland provinces up north. I have a little extra score and I use it to force them to release a one-province minor on the North east named Jeypore



I have a massive badboy hit, but my goal of ending the Vijaynagar threat is worth it. This prevents them from taking the smaller nations later:

None of these cores were expensive, the most developed were around 50. Many were in the 30s.

[Abe Sargent]

Here is Athenian India, zoomed out.

You can see that I have landlocked Vijayanagar on the west coast, and my holdings are now connected, which is pretty cool

Maldives – This island chain, at the bottom of your map, has Gems, coastline, 5 development, Malayam culture, Sunni faith, with a dock and workshop. It’s a part of my Indian Ocean Island state.

Let’s go with my worst provinces in the north, and then dance down the coast to Madurai.

All of these are Hindu

Baglana – Hills, 7 dev, Grain, Marathi culture, part of the state had already going, and sending us a cool 0.04 for now. This was a throw in as it was internal and next to three of my old holdings and now adjacent to two others.


Nasik – Jungle, inland, Paper, Marathi, 11 DEV, 0.04 cash – inland and next to Baglana, west of Daulatabad, east of Thana,


Daulatabad – Hills, level 2 fort, inland center of trade, paper, 13 dev, east of Baglana and and Nasik, 0.06 made here

I grabbed these two with their wealthy Paper potential as well as taking the local fort of Daulatabad off the table.

Thana – Hills, coastal, Cloth, south of Daman and north of Chaul, 9 dev, Marathi culture, 0.09 made here, natural harbor, marketplace

Chaul – Next is Chaul, Hills, north of Dabhol, Cloth, 11 Dev, 0.07 made here Marathi, Regimental Camp, Shipyard, Marketplace, natural harbor


From here until the end, the rest are Spices unless otherwise states

Dabhol – Next is Dabhol, and it’s north of Rajapur, Marathi Culture, Hills, 10 Dev, 0.08 cash


Rajapur – Hills, north of Goa, 5 dev, 0.03 made here. Marathi lives here as well.

These four – Thana – Rajapur are part of one state called Konkan.


Goa – 13 development, harbor, coastal center of trade, south of Rajapur and north of Hannavara, Marathi, 0.11 made here.

Honnavara – North of North Kanara, Hills, Kannada people, 5 Dev, 0.04 cash

North Kanara – North of South Kanara, Hills, Kannada, 11 Dev, 0.09 cash, natural harbor

South Kanara – North of Cannanore, Jungle, Tropical Wood, Workshop, Church, Kannada folks live here, with 9 dev, and send us 0.08


These four make up the State Kanara

Cannanore – Jungle, natural harbor, north of Calicut, Workshop, Marketplace, 8 dev, 0.03 heads our way. Malaylam people.

Calicut – Malaylam people, Jungle, 7 dev, natural harbor, workshop and marketplace, 0.03, north of Kochin.

Kochin – Jungle, 8 dev, Malaylam folks, 0.03 sent, north of Venad.

Venad – 5 dev, Jungle, Malaylam, 0.02 made. North of Kumari.


Kumari – Tip of India. Jungle, Malaylam, 0.06 made with 7 dev. Connects with Venad on its north west and Tirunelveli on its’ north-east.

These five holdings make the Malabar state.

Tirunelveli – Gems, 11 dev, grasslands, Tamil culture, Workshop, Church, Shipyard, and Camp. It’s in the same state as Madurai and is next to it on the coast. I snag 0.19 from it.


Now I was expecting to use my cash for Trading Post or elsewhere, but this area needs serious investment to make it sing.

I’ll see you when my cores are old and due.

I disband all of my mercs, and then repair my navy and I’ll send most of it back although I’ll leave some behind.

I send my armies back to Bengal Delta, Madurai and Daulatabad

[Abe Sargent]

17 Mar -I cancel my culture change in Daman. I move Marathi to accepted.

30 Mar – I use my fulfilled mission from decades ago to drop the years of separatism by five for the next 25 years.

19 April – I cancel military access with Orissa.

2 July – I pull my colonists from Tonga and Kiribati and send them to Rio Branco inland to cut off Friesland expansion internally into Brazil from Colombia and Squamish where Alaska hits CA and right in the middle of Brittany’s Alaskan push

1 Aug –

Para – Gems, Brazil, 3 Dev, Coastal, given to Brazil. Jungle, makes us 0.07

1 Sept –

Klamath – Coastal CA, Salt, Mountains, 5 Dev, 0.20 made here


1 Oct – Halmahera has Spices-hera

1 Nov –

Muturu – Brazil, coastal, 3 dev, Fish, Jungle, handed over, 0.03 made here


1 Jan, 1619 – Rebellion in Dabhol

5 Feb They capture Dabhol

26 Feb – We arrive in Dabhol.

6 Mar – We defeat the rebels

1 Apr – Incense in Sumba

7 Apr – Dabhol falls

5 Sept -Trebizond is now Tuscan!

1 Dec – I can choose my first ability for our current age!

We choose an ability that grants us +5% admin efficacy until the 4th and final age.

[Abe Sargent]

9 Feb, 1620 – Trade Idea #3 - +25% Trade Range

4 April – I pull the colonists after they set up in Rio Branco and send them to the spice Island - Yamdena

1 July – Tropical Wood in Kiribati

1 sept – In Tonga we have Gems; and…

Yuki – Coastal CA, mountains, 3 Dev, Fish. Sad, because it had a good chance of Gold. 0.02 made here, handed to New Athens


I don’t have any troops in the Maldives and we are having some rebel issues there so I invest 47 MIL power to quash the rebels there.

12 Nov – Rebellion in Nasik

4 Dec - Defeated

4 Jan, 1621 – The Commonwealth DOWd the great Horde and I join their war

I will send over my 22k Trebizond army to help out.

3 Feb – Kongo is deep in war with the UK. I send subsides

9 Mar – All of our gathered provinces are now Cores.

1 April – Rio Branco with Coffee

30 April – My army has arrived in the Great Horde and I begin helping out.

15 June - Capture Terek

22 June – I force GB and Kongo to peace. GB doesn’t want them they are warring for Benin but they are allies and GB has gone deep into Kongo.

22 July – We capture another minor province

1 Aug –

Ceram – 7 Dev, strait to Ambon, Incense, in a state already, Tuscan, Catholic, 0.46 made here in this coastline area


1 Oct – Squamash with Fur

7 Oct – Another minor falls

1 Nov –

Halmahera – Next to Ternate and Tidore, Spices, 6 Dev, Coastline, Tuscan and Catholic.


I pull colonists from Squamash and send them to Tuvalu in the Pacific


5 Dec – We capture another minor and now all Great Horde things are under the control of us or the Commonwealth

I am going to spending a lot of money in West India for a while – no trading posts or manufactories elsewhere save for big provinces.

[Abe Sargent]

2 Oct, 1622 – The Commonwealth goes to peace

1 Apr, 1623

Sumba – Incense, 7 Dev, 0.29 made here, coastline

I send colonists to Belitung, an island near the traditional entrance to the area

1 Aug – We have finished annexing Pacajes!


Here’s the big reason to do so:


Potosi – Gold, Mountains, home of Cerro Rico, the biggest silver mine during this era who gives an effect for +3 goods produced here. With 60% autonomy I’m getting 4.85 monthly

All of these have gone to our colonial nation – I have brought in 3 Wool, 1 Grain, 2 Gold, 1 Copper, 1 Salt, 1 Gems, and 1 Cloth

9 Aug – I send colonists to Palembang. It’s next to Jambi and I am going to do this part of the island


22 Oct – I pull colonists from Tuvalu and dispatch them to Bengkulu in eth same area as Palembang

1 Nov – Sardinia revolted and won independence.

They agree to be our new ally.


Kiribati – Tropical Wood, 3 Dev, 0.03 made here

1 Feb, 1624 – Yamdena with Chinaware

1 June –

Squamish – 5 dev, woods, Fur trade, handed to Athens West


8 July – The pope passes and we become the new controller from the Papal States

1 September –

Tonga – 3 dev, Gems, 0.07 made here for us, pacific Island


11 Oct – Milan is going to be annexed by us

22 Nov – I purchase Thatta from Mewar. I was making nice with them for years and years for this, and there’s a lull in the updates of India while I’m making around 300 cash monthly with my low number of colonies. Thatta is the home of the Gujarat trade node. Cloth, Indus Estuary bump, 12 dev, Cloth, 0.15 made here right now from the Sindh Hindu folk.

1 Dec –

Rio Branco – Coffee, 3 Dev, internal holdings we took to stop further internal pushing by Friesland here.


8 Dec – I recall my colonists in Belitung and send them to Tulangbawang at the end of this Sumatra island and next to other colonies we are build here.

[Abe Sargent]

1 Jan, 1625- TRADE IDEA #4 - +10% Trade Efficiency

3 Mar – I pull my colonists from Palembang and send them to the island here at a strait 0- Bangka



28 Mar – Spain has declared war on Portugal to take their capital

1 April – I send a Missionary to Khambhat

17 April – I pull colonists from Bengkulu and send them to Melodia in inner South America to define our colonial line in the sand.

24 June – Rebellion in Venad

12 July - Finished

I have offered Ternate an alliance, and they accept. They are next to me in the Indies.

1 Dec – Tuvalu with Tropical Wood

1 Jan, 1626 – Milan is annexed!

They had just one province left:

Brescia – Hills, Lombard Catholics, Cloth trade, with Textile Manufactory, 24 dev, University, Regimental Camp, Church, Workshop, I order a Trade depot here, and we are currently getting 1.50 as its in a state with Mantua already.


29 Jan – Khambhat converts




Here, let me drill down into these vassalizations. I am about to vassalize Ternate. Now for 30 or 40 years I’ve been influencing them, helping their tech development, keeping nice, and then I purchased a Trade Company from them in Tidore a long time ago. Now I have the next door holdings in Halmahera. I think this is a good way to see what’s happening. As you can see, everything works with this save for the religious dichotomy as they are Animist. But this would make real sense as well. Many places joined with cash and a welcome shoulder as opposed to war expansion, and this is just putting that in play.

Ternate is our vassal!

In fact I’ll be annexing it later (You need to control it for at least 10 years, be at peace, and have maxed relations to annex). Your DIP growth slows while you are annexing too, by the by, and it takes up one of my precious diplomats for the entire time. And my diplomatic reputation takes a little temporary hit at the end of the process. My current ruler has a 6 DIP so I am getting a lot of DIP power monthly and I wanted to take advantage of it right now.

[Abe Sargent]

1 Apr – I send a Missionary to Maldives

Because of it’s high developed state, this took decades and decades. But Constantinople is now converted back to Greek culture!

1 July – We now have the trade bonus for Incense! It gives our people who are in the true faith a happier life experience

28 Aug- I pull colonists from Melodia and send them next door to Asunsion.


1 Jan, 1627 – DIP IDEA #5 – We get another merchant – I send it to collect from the Chesapeake Bay.

We announce the annexation of the Native Tribe Tupinamba at the tip of Brazil in three holdings.


I upgrade all of the natural harbors here In India to level 2 by spending 200 cash each.


I send colonists to Fiji and New Caledonia

12 May – The Maldives converts

1 June – Incense in Belitung

1 Sept – Chinaware in Palembang

14 Sept – We spend 1363 to purchase Palopo from Majaphit here in the Indies, and it’s on Sulawesi Island, next to some unclaimed territory here as well as next to Makassar, which is one of the centers of trade here, but Majaphit wasn’t willing to sell it to me. Palopo is with Spices, Hills, Sulawesi culture, Hindu faith, they make 0.22 right now. But it’ll rise as I commit.

For example, right now I’m bringing in 7.85 a month from Tidore. That’s a lot.

1 Nov – Spices in Bengkulu

1 Feb, 1628 – We have ADM Tech and can build Cathedrals that are upgrades of churches.

1 Mar –

Yamdena – 10 Dev, island in the Spice Isles, Chinaware, Cath/Tuscan, 0.82 made here. I order a Mill built here.

1 Sept – Spices in Tulangbawang

1 Oct – Annexation occurs! Brazilian Athens gets three holdings, a Cocoa, Grain and Coffee.

[Abe Sargent]

I want to pause and unpack the ledger not unlike my normal 50 year reviews I do. I’m considering handing this up, and before I do, I thought this would be fun.


Techs and Ideas:

We have 33 Ideas done, with just 2 left in our Trade group. This is the same number as Ming and is tied for the most.

We have 55 techs and we are tied for the most, and at least 20 nations are just one behind us at 54 including Ming, Commonwealth and such



Army/Navy:

Army size is 257k, the largest over Ming by 40k.

With 269 ships, my navy is bigger then Denmark at 148, or the Athenian Caribbean at 114.

Our number of heavy ships at 42 is bigger than a lot of navies total. Only 17 navies are bigger, and three are our colonies!



Income:

At 625 in cash, we gross considerably more than Ming at 225. The Caribbean is 3rd at 160.


The vast majority of powers in Europe have remained Catholic and quelled any reformations. Today, just 12 provinces are Protestant, none are Reformed, and just one nation is Orthodox.


My Top Ten Provinces by Taxes

1. Constantinople, 28.03
2. Genoa, 22.89
3. Corfu, 20.69
4. Venezia, 20.69
5. Cape, 18.92
6. Mahikantha, 18.92
7. Rhodes, 18.92
8. Verona, 18.92
9. Four nations with 17.20 – Crete, Firenze, Quelimane, Treviso


My Top Ten (Non-Gold) Provinces by Production

1. Tidore, 84.54
2. Venezia, 70.66
3. Madurai, 63.63
4. Bengal Delta, 47.08
5. Mombasa, 43.12
6. Samarinda, 42.56
7. Constantinople, 41.40
8. Bharauch, 40.77
9. Sierra Leone, 38.44
10. Mahikantha, 37.55


Great Powers in Order

1. Athens
2. Ming China
3. Commonwealth
4. Ottoman Turks
5. Great Britain
6. Vijayanagar
7. Bohemia
8. Spain

Top Ten Trading Posts in the World, and Trade Power

1. Caribbean, 954
2. Ragusa, 703
3. Zanzibar, 479
4. Constantinople, 351
5. Gujarat, 343
6. Coromandel, 338
7. Venice, 323
8. Alexandria, 311
9. Chesapeake Bay, 282
10. Brazil, 262

Trade Goods by Street Value

5.25 – Paper
5.0 – Silk
4.50 – Glass, Spices, Chinaware, Iron, Tobacco
4.0 – Ivory, Cocoa, Dyes
3.75 – Sugar
3.62 – Incense
3.60 – Cotton, Cloth
3.50 – Fur
3.45 – Copper
3.30 – Coffee, Salt
3.0 – Gems, Tea, Slaves, Tropical Wood
2.5 - Livestock, Wine
2.00 – Grain, Fish
1.75 – Wool


As you can see, some goods rose, like Glass, Chinaware, Iron and such while others dropped hard, like Copper and Gems.


Strategic Goods:

These are the goods that I both have 20% trade control and have the highest in the world:

Tobacco, Sugar, Coffee, Spices, Ivory, Slaves, Gem, Glass, Wine, Fish, Incense, Cotton, Tropical Wood, and Cocoa.

Ming is the leader in Chinaware and Tea

No one else leads in anything. I would expect that we will challenge Ming China at Chinaware with the many new colonies we just added that will add to our profile in The Moluccas and Malacca that I have traders at.

We are close in Salt, Livestock, Dyes, and Grain.

We own 124 provinces – just three nations – Ming, Commonwealth, Turks, are bigger.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s review the maps!



Here’s north America – you can see Brittany in the Central American region around Panama and such as well as all around Alaska. Note that Spanish Canada currently at war, but huge, and Newfoundland is the colonial region of the Great Britain empire. Portugal Mexico is spreading, and you can see Athens West in CA, New Athens in the eastern Us, as well as Louisiana, and the Caribbean.

Now South America



This is South America. Here you can see us all around the coast for Brazil, as well as our holdings in Peru, and Colombia. Frisian Colombia is big and growing inland. In the south you have France and Portugal vying for control of the La Plata region and Portugal’s Rio is their colonial nation, The Mapuche tribe has grown as it takes stuff from Portugal. You can see me spreading in the south and locking out Portugal from coming north.




Here’s muh Africa. You can see we have South African coast still locked down and have spread a little with annexations and Trading Posts Later I’d expect to grab outstanding land inland and the rest of South Africa, as well as Trading Posts from Kongo, and there’s at least 20-25 holdings here I would take.



The Indies are already my favorite place to explore and grab. You can see my ongoing development here as we are currently colonizing the rest of Sumatra as well as posts on Borneo and Sulawesi islands. I have readied a nice Chinaware holdings in Malacca in Johor as my next big Trading Post.

Not much has changed in India. Vijayanagar absorbed more stuff around it to it’s east. I am subsiding and funding the still-existent nations to its north and trying to keep it in check. You can see my latest trading post in the indus river estuary in Marra, to the far upper left corner of this map. I have made friends for a long time with folks up there, such as Fars in order to put myself there safely.




This is not uncommon to see in Europe by this time, and it suits history as well. Many nations are being brought together, and we are seeing consolidations, such as the British Isles now under one rule. We have been surrounded by the Turks, and then the key triangle alliance of Bohemia and the Commonwealth that has really made this thing work, and that’s why I think we’ve had peace for ages. I have the cash that, if I cared to, I could have gone deep into Europe, but I felt that a few expansions I the Med and tehn out elsewhere made sense, as we were like Portugal. Landlocked from expansion by the allies that keep you alive (Either the Turks as my first ally, or Bohemia/Commonwealth) now and thus heading out to sea after establishing my local economic base.





Russia for the win.

The big winners of this dynasty are my current ally Denmark, who absorbed all of Scandinavia, the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania that has pushed out hard, Bohemia, Great Britain that has many holdings in mainland Europe still, and more.

Enjoy, and thanks for reading!!!

[thehitcat]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Great questions! Thanks for reading!


I only have the DLCs proper, not the visual unit packs and such. I also don't use any mods from Workshop.


Many DLCs add a lot to the game, especially the earlier ones. I do think having ones that are pertinent to where and whom you are playing makes sens,e like Third Rome and Cossacks for a Russian dynasty.

I wouldn't want to do every single DLC while learning the game at the same time, but you can turn on which DLCs to use for a given campaign.

I'd recommend a stater nation like Portugal or the Turks for your first campaign.

Getting a Bundle with the first few expansions during the upcoming holiday sale would make sense.

So for those of you thinking about taking the plunge (maybe it's just me.) EU4 and all of it's DLC but the newest, Dharma, are on sale on Steam through November 1. I just picked up some of the big early ones and am going to get started this weekend as I've reached a point in my XCom2 LongWar that is a good place to hold for a bit.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

So for those of you thinking about taking the plunge (maybe it's just me.) EU4 and all of it's DLC but the newest, Dharma, are on sale on Steam through November 1. I just picked up some of the big early ones and am going to get started this weekend as I've reached a point in my XCom2 LongWar that is a good place to hold for a bit.

Excellent, enjoy!