• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
About CoT: early game, and all the accessible CoTs say 0 open slots. I have merchants just sitting around not doing anything (not sent.) Should I send them anyway? Is there a que? Do these guys die? How do slots open up?
 
About CoT: early game, and all the accessible CoTs say 0 open slots. I have merchants just sitting around not doing anything (not sent.) Should I send them anyway? Is there a que? Do these guys die? How do slots open up?

Even if the slots aren't empty, your merchants can still "compete" against the existing merchants. Compete chance will be available for each CoT in a tooltip.
 
I can't seem to hire generals (the bonus fire etc kind, not the advisers). Even with 150 ducats and 50+ military tradition the button is greyed out. It's pretty early in the game and I'm playing Castile.

Just realized something, I turned on historic leaders could that be it?
 
Just realized something, I turned on historic leaders could that be it?
Exactly; "historical leaders" means only historical leaders, no hiring leaders yourself.
 
Exactly; "historical leaders" means only historical leaders, no hiring leaders yourself.
Oh I see, thanks. I have played EU I and II but this is my first time playing EU3 and boy has a lot changed. I have a few more questions.

Is Army and Naval traditions worth anything when you can't hire commanders yourself or are those stats mostly used when hiring commanders? (Except for a few advisers)

Are country leaders historical as well or are they randomized as usual?

Is there a way get a reasonable Iberian wedding after the country tagged events disappeared? If so, how? (I'm not entirely sure how the PU mechanic works)
 
Oh I see, thanks. I have played EU I and II but this is my first time playing EU3 and boy has a lot changed. I have a few more questions.

Is Army and Naval traditions worth anything when you can't hire commanders yourself or are those stats mostly used when hiring commanders? (Except for a few advisers)

Are country leaders historical as well or are they randomized as usual?

Is there a way get a reasonable Iberian wedding after the country tagged events disappeared? If so, how? (I'm not entirely sure how the PU mechanic works)
The best advice concerning historical leaders I can give is: don't play with it. It doesn't seem to be a finished feature and it can lead to crazy stuff like 300 years old leaders and the like.
 
Is Army and Naval traditions worth anything when you can't hire commanders yourself or are those stats mostly used when hiring commanders? (Except for a few advisers)
Just advisors (and possibly some events).
Are country leaders historical as well or are they randomized as usual?
Rulers are separate from leaders. There used to be a historical option for that too but it was removed when the dynasty feature was added since they didn't work well together.
Is there a way get a reasonable Iberian wedding after the country tagged events disappeared? If so, how? (I'm not entirely sure how the PU mechanic works)
The formation of Spain is a decision you can make as any Iberian country that owns and has cores on the necessary provinces. You can get the provinces by either war or diplomacy. Personal Unions happen randomly when you have two countries with a royal marriage and one of the rulers dies. Also they can be forced through war by fabricating claims. When you have a PU (or even only a marriage) when the ruler dies you may randomly inherit the other country.
 
Another quick question I'm afraid - I'm currently a noble republic and somehow clicked royal marriage with Scotland and bang! a fortnight later I'm in a PU with them. :D

My question is, being a republic how can I safely inherit Scotland if my leader is changeable every 4 years - also (a cheeky 2nd question) if I DO change ruler will that ruin my PU with Scotland?
 
1) How is it possible to turn from catholic protestant? In my current game, they are starting to spread out and I'm thinking about joining them (it would be a funny protestant Spain).

2) Would I get Holy War CB with bordering muslim/heathen countries if I switch to protestant or would I automatically lose Holy Wars and such? That would mean that I should avoid that religion for a World Conquest...
 
I go into the tech map mode and notice that the other 'bigs' in my tech group (France, Bohemia, Hungary) are always a step or so ahead of me in every tech. Am I spending too much on stability? (probably) but I keep taking stab hits (damned comets.) And these other bigs will have +2 or +3 stab. So is it that I am not doing enough to enhance cultural tradition? (I do what I can - but everything uses Magistrates....) What do you do to stay up with the techs?
 
Last edited:
And what is the deal with France? Playing as England, I get DOW'd every few years. It's actually helpful, because I can raise war taxes, and I used it as an excuse to annex Scotland. I let them occupy my continental provinces and just keep ignoring their peace offers, until they finally offer white peace. I wonder how long I can keep this up?

I should add, as a noob, I'm playing on the easy setting, trying to figure things out, but I leave AI agressiveness set to normal.)
 
And what is the deal with France? Playing as England, I get DOW'd every few years. It's actually helpful, because I can raise war taxes, and I used it as an excuse to annex Scotland. I let them occupy my continental provinces and just keep ignoring their peace offers, until they finally offer white peace. I wonder how long I can keep this up?

I should add, as a noob, I'm playing on the easy setting, trying to figure things out, but I leave AI agressiveness set to normal.)

They believe they have a god-given right to own provinces you currently control so they are trying to take them back.

As for your question about tech lagging, it is fairly normal early on to lag behind similar sized ai nations in tech, particularly if you didn't turn off lucky nations. Since the ai is bad at curtailing and dealing with inflation this will change later on in most games.

Cultural tradition doesn't really have anything to do with stability, it is just a mechanism added along with the ability to recruit a specific type of advisor. Stability hits happen, there's nothing you can do to avoid them. One reason you may spend more time at lower stability is lucky nations which gives a negative modifier to the likelihood of many negative events. Another is the human tendency to move certain sliders (serfdom/free subjects & innovative/narrowminded) much faster than the ai will-thus increasing your stability costs.
 
1) How is it possible to turn from catholic protestant? In my current game, they are starting to spread out and I'm thinking about joining them (it would be a funny protestant Spain).

2) Would I get Holy War CB with bordering muslim/heathen countries if I switch to protestant or would I automatically lose Holy Wars and such? That would mean that I should avoid that religion for a World Conquest...

Nobody answered yet. :D I'll add a third question:

3) Where did the thread named something like "You know you've played EU3 a lot when..." go? I can't find it (I must be horrible using the search option).
 
Nobody answered yet. :D I'll add a third question:

3) Where did the thread named something like "You know you've played EU3 a lot when..." go? I can't find it (I must be horrible using the search option).

I'll answer your first two questions; can't help on the third :)

1. It certainly is possible to go from one to the other. You need a certain number of provinces of that religion (three is usually the number, although I've heard conflicting reports) and high stability (+2 or +3). It's a religious decision.

2. Holy War applies to all infidels, so while it wouldn't apply to Catholics, Orthodox, Protestant, or Reformed, it will always apply to everybody all regardless of which particular type of Christianity you are. Until 1650, that is...
 
They believe they have a god-given right to own provinces you currently control so they are trying to take them back.

I figured. Why do they seem to continue to be willing to settle for white peace, esp. since they consider these provinces theirs?

As for your question about tech lagging, it is fairly normal early on to lag behind similar sized ai nations in tech, particularly if you didn't turn off lucky nations. Since the ai is bad at curtailing and dealing with inflation this will change later on in most games.

Thanks for that. What does Lucky Nations do anyway? (And I DID have it on.)

Cultural tradition doesn't really have anything to do with stability, it is just a mechanism added along with the ability to recruit a specific type of advisor. Stability hits happen, there's nothing you can do to avoid them. One reason you may spend more time at lower stability is lucky nations which gives a negative modifier to the likelihood of many negative events. Another is the human tendency to move certain sliders (serfdom/free subjects & innovative/narrowminded) much faster than the ai will-thus increasing your stability costs.

Thanks for that as well. Do you invest many magistrates in those decisions that boost cultural tradition? Even when I do, I usually get pretty crappy advisors - it seems all the good ones are taken, I guess. So I'm wondering if it is worth the magistrates.
 
I figured. Why do they seem to continue to be willing to settle for white peace, esp. since they consider these provinces theirs?



Thanks for that. What does Lucky Nations do anyway? (And I DID have it on.)



Thanks for that as well. Do you invest many magistrates in those decisions that boost cultural tradition? Even when I do, I usually get pretty crappy advisors - it seems all the good ones are taken, I guess. So I'm wondering if it is worth the magistrates.

1. I think the game naturally weights white peace a little more than it seems normal, at first, and this is probably because white peaces were quite common in this historical period. That's pure speculation, though, I don't know how any of the AI works.

2. It's a pretty huge modifier. http://www.paradoxian.org/eu3wiki/Lucky_nations. It's not insurmountable, but it does help some countries blob a lot more.

3. The best way to get Cultural Tradition is to get the Patron of the Arts National Idea; there's a modifier for peace time (vs. war) as well. Fine Arts Academies also increase it. However, there's a negative modifier if you're at war. The cultural decisions are best for short term stuff; maybe you've got 90% tradition and want to go for 100% so you have a better chance at a six star advisor.
 
When I was playing Holland I got a core in the north Americas and surrounded it with 1000+ colonies, yet I still couldn't move my capital there.
Why is this?