I suppose I'll repeat my vote to expand in Arabia. Going after Funj could kill several birds with one stone, if the birds don't kill you instead. 
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To quote Blue for Two I wana die by River Nile.
Take Egypt, You know you wana be a Pharaoh! Then use the Grand Feet to blockade Europe into submission!
Take Egypt, You know you wana be a Pharaoh! Then use the Grand Feet to blockade Europe into submission!
this is the only way! for Al-Andaluz!
even if sort of indirectly; i'd go to war with either durrani or mamluks as both these options land you in war with algiers too... so you could head west
Just caught up, great going with an uncommon country, subscribed!
The choices you ask depend on a handful of factors unknown to readers. Thinking about the Ideas, Military Drill would be the obvious one to choose given your weaknesses in unit types and land tech. However, I assume that your navy is smaller than OE's now? I suppose that's the case given that they had 55 back in 1500 and you have 44 now. If it's so, then Grand Navy might be the way to go. It would be great if you could attack OE on the Asian side while trapping their army in Europe. But if you can take on the OE navy without the Idea (or can't with it), I would lean elsewhere as choosing an Idea with the goal of taking on Spain might be premature.
As for declaration target, that depends on how safe you feel regarding a multi-front war. Khorasan or Durrani would let you expand both in India and in Arabia/Africa. Personally I'd probably go for Khorasan as it can give nicer, less spread out borders because you could add Baluchistan too and work in Arabia. Then again, Algiers (ie. DoWing Durrani) obviously has its advantages.
In Arabia/Africa, Hedjaz is the conservative choice. It would lead to a nicer Arabia, although any province from Oman would lack a land connection. On the positive side, this option would have pretty much no risk at all. On the negative, are such modest gains the way to go, especially when you get the stab hit? Declaring on Adal or Funj would give a bonus of Hedjaz and Yemen, respectively, but would be more risky and you could be in trouble if someone sneak attacks. Also, you get useless opponents. Mamluks give you Algiers, but gives you nothing in Arabia.
If you prefer one of the Arabian/African alternatives, I'd go all out with Funj if you feel safe, if not then Hedjaz and hope for a further opportunity via warnings etc. Either way, from a sort of role-playing perspective, getting something more in Arabia is big in my books right now. However, my favorite option is Khorasan. A possibility for Arabian expansion and smoother, safer, more practical borders in the east are a good combination.
The choices you ask depend on a handful of factors unknown to readers. Thinking about the Ideas, Military Drill would be the obvious one to choose given your weaknesses in unit types and land tech. However, I assume that your navy is smaller than OE's now? I suppose that's the case given that they had 55 back in 1500 and you have 44 now. If it's so, then Grand Navy might be the way to go. It would be great if you could attack OE on the Asian side while trapping their army in Europe. But if you can take on the OE navy without the Idea (or can't with it), I would lean elsewhere as choosing an Idea with the goal of taking on Spain might be premature.
As for declaration target, that depends on how safe you feel regarding a multi-front war. Khorasan or Durrani would let you expand both in India and in Arabia/Africa. Personally I'd probably go for Khorasan as it can give nicer, less spread out borders because you could add Baluchistan too and work in Arabia. Then again, Algiers (ie. DoWing Durrani) obviously has its advantages.
In Arabia/Africa, Hedjaz is the conservative choice. It would lead to a nicer Arabia, although any province from Oman would lack a land connection. On the positive side, this option would have pretty much no risk at all. On the negative, are such modest gains the way to go, especially when you get the stab hit? Declaring on Adal or Funj would give a bonus of Hedjaz and Yemen, respectively, but would be more risky and you could be in trouble if someone sneak attacks. Also, you get useless opponents. Mamluks give you Algiers, but gives you nothing in Arabia.
If you prefer one of the Arabian/African alternatives, I'd go all out with Funj if you feel safe, if not then Hedjaz and hope for a further opportunity via warnings etc. Either way, from a sort of role-playing perspective, getting something more in Arabia is big in my books right now. However, my favorite option is Khorasan. A possibility for Arabian expansion and smoother, safer, more practical borders in the east are a good combination.
chefportnen - I've got plenty of manpower at the moment (98K), a larger naval force limit is more urgent.
Vladislav, enkhuush, Rabid - I'm not a fan of military drill, I feel somehow short-changed with it - if my troops are inferior, the extra morale boost comes at a very high price in manpower loss through casualies.
PrawnStar - PressGangs will probably be next after this one. Expanding before going for the big boys does make sense from a manpower perspective.
Brandenburg III - I followed your advice for the next NI. Needing a fleet in two separate oceans makes the case for Grand Navy even more compelling. Madurai, for example, has a fleet of 20 big ships, and sooner or later they will become a problem.
Enewald - Spain shall be converted... but not just yet. I was actually eyeing up Aragon to get Malta and Sardinia. Sadly they are allied with Austria and guaranteed by Castille
Judas Maccabeus - The problem with attacking Funj is the risk of none of their allies showing up, so I opted for the direct approach.
Sweboy - Egypt has been there for more than 4,000 years, it can wait a few more decades
gabor - I did go west in the end... with a small detour in the Maldives, as usual
Malurous - Thanks and welcome! I went conservatively at first, then all over the place Taking on the OE now I've recovered Dayr Az Zor and their holdings in Arabia is no longer a priority or a goal. But Spain is very much a goal. Do you think confronting Spain now would be premature? What land tech differential would you be comfortable with to attack them?
Thanks for all the feedback. I've already played the next 12 years, but unfortunately I won't have time to put the update together until next week. Monday hopefully.
Vladislav, enkhuush, Rabid - I'm not a fan of military drill, I feel somehow short-changed with it - if my troops are inferior, the extra morale boost comes at a very high price in manpower loss through casualies.
PrawnStar - PressGangs will probably be next after this one. Expanding before going for the big boys does make sense from a manpower perspective.
Brandenburg III - I followed your advice for the next NI. Needing a fleet in two separate oceans makes the case for Grand Navy even more compelling. Madurai, for example, has a fleet of 20 big ships, and sooner or later they will become a problem.
Enewald - Spain shall be converted... but not just yet. I was actually eyeing up Aragon to get Malta and Sardinia. Sadly they are allied with Austria and guaranteed by Castille
Judas Maccabeus - The problem with attacking Funj is the risk of none of their allies showing up, so I opted for the direct approach.
Sweboy - Egypt has been there for more than 4,000 years, it can wait a few more decades
gabor - I did go west in the end... with a small detour in the Maldives, as usual
Malurous - Thanks and welcome! I went conservatively at first, then all over the place
Taking on the OE now I've recovered Dayr Az Zor and their holdings in Arabia is no longer a priority or a goal. But Spain is very much a goal. Do you think confronting Spain now would be premature? What land tech differential would you be comfortable with to attack them?Thanks for all the feedback. I've already played the next 12 years, but unfortunately I won't have time to put the update together until next week. Monday hopefully.
Yeah, OE is definitely no more a priority when it comes to the Caliphate goal, so no reason to think about them if you're comfortable with them hanging around your homeland when the bulk of your armies will probably spend time far away. If that is a concern, taking them down a notch - perhaps by making them release nations - could be a solution.
As far as Spain goes, I suppose you'll be fine if you can control the Mediterranean. That way, you can overcome the odd bad roll and just grind them away
If not, I think there's still too much risk involved. I don't want to say clear-cut numbers because there are other factors (army size and manpower the most obvious ones), but when the rest of the Caliphate is finished, I'm quite sure you'll be big enough to cover the unit difference etc. (not to mention that you'll definitely be able to control the Med then).Then again, could just be my conservative side speaking. I always used to double-check that I could take on pretty much everyone at the same time before doing anything, I've got rid of that in my games recently but still tend to analyze that way
14
The Silk Road is not what it used to be
1551-63
The Silk Road is not what it used to be
1551-63
In the end I opt for Grand Navy as next NI. The fact that I need two proper fleets in two totally separate naval theatres settles the question.
And the next target -Hedjaz- is chosen based on the most plus points: the holy city of Medina, Arabian consolidation and Najran being my current mission. After a first failed attempt I manage to fabricate claims in October 1551.
Surprisingly both Astrakhan and Tripoli honour the alliance, only Punjab doesn't. It seems all these years supporting Astrakhan have paid off. Adal is the alliance leader, presumably as major partner in the PU with Hedjaz.
The war goes without any remarkable events other than Medina taking 2 years to fall and me deciding to go for Oman after that. So basically it's a longer war than it should have been. But in the end Hedjaz offers me the deal I wanted...
And Adal and Oman follow a few months later in 1555, with 2 coastal provinces each. Everything for the navy
The conquest of Najran opens a new, very relevant mission - to expand the navy. With the increased naval force limit it will take a bit longer.
The years of war brought new land units (tech 15: Shamshir infantry, Qizilbash cavalry and small/large cast iron cannons), a new king (al-'Adil IV, who at 6a/7m/3d is even more useless at diplomacy than his father) and the first French defeat of the game... to Austria of course
After the war I keep on building vessels for both fleets and start my first colony in the horn of Africa. It will be slow process because I don't get many colonists.
In 1558 I start moving the slider towards Naval. The Castillians don't seem to like it because they issue an embargo against me. However, neither Castille nor Austria attack me. I continue building up the navy to be ready when it eventually happens.
In February 1559 inflation finally reaches 0. I swap my last mint advisor for a reputation minister. In 1560 Naval Tech 15 is reached and my next target is decided; the Mamluks have allied Astrakhan, and Astrakhan is starting to guarantee every Muslim country in central Asia, so when Khorasan diplo-annexes Baluchistan I quickly act to make sure the same doesn't happen to Durrani...
All the guarantees and alliances are honoured, except Tripoli who deserts me. Again two-province Timurid Empire is the unlikely leader of the enemy alliance.
Durrani is swiftly annexed and Khorasan's mostly unfortified provinces are easily overrun...
And I win the race with Astrakhan for Khiva's northern province. The Syrian empire reaches the Aral Sea
The Astrakhanis are happy getting just Tashkent from the Timurids. Which is just as well, because Samarkand must be mine
In the west Algiers doesn't present much resistance either.
In October 1562 Samarkand falls and peace with Khorasan is signed - the Maldives, formerly part of Baluchistan, are an unexpected but welcome trophy
Hopefully Khorasan will move its capital to the eatern side so I can get their isolated province in the next war.
Six months later I finally sign peace with the alliance leader, obtaining two more Algerian provinces and vassalising the TE. My BB is already quite high so I prefer to not to annex Samarkand right now. I can always diplo-annex them later when I secure a land connection to the province.
BB is over 21 after this overly greedy land-grab. Proof that I'm not loved is that Great Britain warns me
At least I do have now a decent navy to support me against the Europeans...
And I finally have a border with Castille, which opens new options. With such high BB I don't think I can afford attacking fellow Muslims for quite a while, I doubt Astrakhan would support me a third time. But I'll need to get rid of the British warning before I can openly DoW Castille. Suggestions, ideas?
_________________
Syria in 1563
Provinces: 67
At peace.
Allied with Astrakhan. CB on Spain and Iraq. Guaranteeing Adal and Punjab. Warned by GB.
Stability: 3
BB: 21.06
Monarch: Padishah al-'Adil IV (6a/7m/3d)
Army: 71 (30/41/0)
Navy: 84 (28/11/22/23)
WE: 2.21
Iberian Neighbours
Castille: Allied with Sweden, Great Britain and Tripoli.
Aragon: Allied with Austria, Hamburg and Portugal. Guaranteed by Castille.
Portugal: Allied with Aragon. Guaranteed by Castille.
I take your point, the OE can and probably will try to take advantage of the situation. Maybe I should ally them, although with my BB over 20 I doubt they'd want anything to do with me.
You can only try avoiding war, but war will come sooner or later.
I say save money, increasu army and reorganize it.
I say save money, increasu army and reorganize it.
Be careful, powerful European nations can declare war on you, because of BB points.
indeed some more blobbing and you'll be unstoppable; thanx to it being vanilla there are other huge blobs to keep the game entertaining
and maldives are the very wrong way of course, but an idea of a holiday destination for seasoned warriors appeals to me somewhat; not that costa del sol would be less spectacular
and maldives are the very wrong way of course, but an idea of a holiday destination for seasoned warriors appeals to me somewhat; not that costa del sol would be less spectacular
15
The road to glory must take you to Al-Andalus
1563-83
The road to glory must take you to Al-Andalus
1563-83
The rest of the 1560s goes by rather quietly. I lay low to burn BB off, but with a 3-dip king an a single 1-star reputation advisor available I can only shed a small amount. The emperor truly is an embarrassment, and worse, quite longevous
The only decent advisor I manage to get is a Fortification expert. At least he does a very good job.
News come that the colony in Majerteen will produce grain -not very thrilling but better than dust. I establish the Ibadat Khana religious decision, and the last of the Indian provinces converts to Islam. A new slider push, going for narrowminded this time. Government Tech 16 is reached, I start saving for a university in Damascus. The 101st Syrian vessel is finished in March 1569 and my first naval mission completed with it
The next long-term mission is also naval: Rule the seas! (to have the largest big ship fleet). At this point this seems quite easily achievable as it only requires building 17 caravels to beat Great Britain...
All well and good, apart from the unsociable monarch. However the 1570s are not meant to be so peaceful...
The declaration of war comes just a couple of months later, in June 1571
Then Algiers DoWs in July Isn't it nice when all your neighbours decide to come round for dinner?
Astrakhan and my new vassal-ally the TE support me on both. After counting enemy forces, the only scary opponent is Austria, so this could be after all a good opportunity to consolidate borders and maybe even get Malta and Sardinia.
First and easiest target is Khorasan, who had moved the capital to Kabulistan a few years ago. A quick peace deal for their ex-capital and some ducats is signed in August.
Unfortunately Astrakhan yields to Austria's 45 regiments in Kaffa just as easily. So much for the Astrakhani light cavalry charge...
They give away Crimea in September
Only 10 days before I destroy Austria's transport fleet. Those Austrian troops will remain in the Black Sea for a while.
Next in my list are the Mamluks. Their 9 infantry regiments are neutralised and peace signed as soon as Cairo falls in April 1572. They can focus on Funj now if they want.
Emperor al-'Adil IV is finally put to good use leading his army. Somehow the Algerians still manage to get really good king-generals, but it doesn't help them this time. Malta falls in September. Biskra and Kabylia fall in November and December. Needless to say, Apulia has already been taken the Austrians.
In October Oman decides to join the party and DoWs. The Mamluks honour their alliance with Oman. Oh well, there is always room for more guests, old and new. Note how the Mamluks and Hedjaz reduced Funj to an OPM. At this point, seeing the Ottomans a bit restless I guarantee them and ask them for MA, hoping they won't get bad ideas about me.
Algiers signs peace in January 1573 ceding silver-producing Biskra. Oman is similarly stripped of another province, Nizwa, a few months later.
Sardinia also falls in January, but my first landing attempt in mainland Aragon is an awful miscalculation
o
I don't make the same mistake in the second landing. The emperor leads this time, with a larger army. He enters Valencia victorious in November 1574, taking his own back on El Cid and Jaume I
Peace with Aragon is finally secured for Malta, Sardinia, Alicante and Valencia.
Despite the BB this was too good an opportunity to miss. With a foothold in Iberia and prestige at an all-time high, the Caliphate can be rightfully claimed!
The war continues with Austria and Tver. Tver eventually offers a white peace, but Austria demands Apulia and large amounts of money, which I'm not very willing to give just yet.
Austria's remaining navy is cowardly hidden in Kaffa and Venezia, so I have full freedom to move across the Mediterranean. It's worth at least to try to dislodge the Austrians from Crimea. I take the undefended province of Budjak in 1575 and move a large contingent to the Black Sea, but unfortunately even al-'Adil commanding 50,000 men is not enough to defeat the Austrians there.
A Polish-Astrakhani war and a second DoW from Oman divert my attention from Austria. Astrakhan does quite well this time, getting two provinces from Poland and 3 from Tver. Oman gets away with just a core and some ducats.
In the meantime Government tech 17 is reached and Press Gangs chosen as next NI. The mission Rule the Seas is also completed. Syria has now the largest navy in the world. The next mission, improving relations with Swahili, is much less interesting.
Having failed to invade Crimea and with the world's largest navy there is only one thing I can do with Austria: blockade! Not that it makes them any more willing to sign peace, white or otherwise.
1580...
1583...
But given that my WE goes down and theirs up, it's probably worth some patience
The warning from GB has now expired, although Khorasan and a couple of Indian nations have warned me since._________________
Syria in 1583
Provinces: 75
At war with Austria.
Allied with Astrakhan, TE. CB on Iraq. Guaranteeing the OE and Funj. Warned by Khorasan, Rajputana and Gujarat.
Stability: 3
BB: 20.10
Monarch: Caliph al-'Adil IV (6a/7m/3d)
Army: 87 (47/42/0)
Navy: 106 (61/14/5/26)
WE: 2.43
Enewald, enkhuush - you were absolutely right.
humancalculator - it is already the blobbiest game I've ever played.
gabor - well, not Costa del Sol yet, but you can now have Costa Blanca as destination
humancalculator - it is already the blobbiest game I've ever played.
gabor - well, not Costa del Sol yet, but you can now have Costa Blanca as destination
Caliph at last! Looks like patience is a virtue against the Austrians right now. They'll probably insist upon holding out to the last, but as long as you're losing WE, as you say, you'll be fine...
What's your war score against Austria?
Leading to can you stab hit and if not how much more do you need to be able to stab hit....
Leading to can you stab hit and if not how much more do you need to be able to stab hit....
Judas Maccabeus - yes, I think it's worthwhile waiting for a bit longer. Unless someone else big DoWs me I can afford it.
PrawnStar - just 3%, all from holding Budjak and the blockade. Wouldn't I need at least 11% WS to cause stab hits?
Enewald - In due course. I just didn't want to start in Gibraltar, too predictable
Nodscouterr - Welcome! Muslim Spain will be enough for me, thanks, I don't intend to take this until 1820.
PrawnStar - just 3%, all from holding Budjak and the blockade. Wouldn't I need at least 11% WS to cause stab hits?
Enewald - In due course. I just didn't want to start in Gibraltar, too predictable
Nodscouterr - Welcome! Muslim Spain will be enough for me, thanks, I don't intend to take this until 1820.