Top National Ideas

[GoguRomania]

Could someone make a hierarchy of National Ideas and their value for a normal, common, european country?

After I adopt the Military Drill I find myself puzzled of what to choose next...

[Gqarz]

Depends on what your goals are. If conquest, then you want:

Military drill
National Conscripts
The 100% prestige bonus to land battles
Grand Army
National tax bonus thingy (sorry I've been up all night)

If you want to be a trader

Trade Efficiency +10%
Merchant Adventures
The compete chance one
And probably the military drill or fort defence ones because you really won't be left alone by some of the more bloodthirsty ai

If you want to colonize:

Beaurocracy! yah I remembered it!
Quest for the new world
The ship cost reduction thingy
Viceroys
The colonial growth one

Other national ideas come from circumstances. In my current game, I'm getting tired of the whack a mole with all the revolts, so I'll probably be taking my next idea that allows me to either reduce revolt risk or make stability easier.

Some games are just plain wierd. In another game, I bordered Burgundy who was continuously elected HRE for over 250 years. I HAD to take every land military idea I could to hold them off (and eventually make them eat dirt). Every game will dictate some of your ideas to you.

[BeondTheGrave]

I always get the Nat bank. Every time, first or second idea. Then I fill in my deficiencies and try and buff my current play style. If I want military, nation drill, conscripts, and prestigious battles is good. Or if want to trade, then the trader ideas are good. Its all dependent on how you play, and where you want to go.

[Kresaux]

Patron of the arts is usually my first or second one. It practically enables you to have all three 5-6 stared advisors if you add guild of saint Luke decision. It's also great in cases you need to westernize, as it enables an event that can move your slider to innovative very fast. There's also that event which gives cheap university, and so on.

[Swistaczek]

At 30 gov I always take the -1 infamy idea, always, it's best idea in the game.

[MizarNX]

If you're christian, the first one has to be Church Attendance Duty for the "Gilded Iconografy" Cultural Decision, then you could swap it for whatever other idea you need.

[Lord Finnish]

National Bank is probably one of the best if you play a mod (like D&T) that doesn't let you exploit cultural tradition to get super advisors all the time.
Compete chance NI is very good for early game trading especially if you are far from big trade hubs.
Cabinet for its -1 infamy reduction is essential for anyone that does late-game conquering.
Then there are the obvious ones like QFTNW.

[maxirage]

Only counting ideas for the early and mid game, since the later they don't really matter as much. In order of priority:


- Military Drill (if MP)
For MP you NEED to have this. But if playing SP, skipping it can be worth it in order to build up your economy.

- Church Attendance Duty (if Christian)
The Gilded Iconography decision this enables is so good if feels like an exploit. There's no reason to not get it every game. After taking the decision, change this to something else. Later, it can be used to prevent the reformation.

-Patron of the Arts (if westernizing)
If you need to westernize, this idea should be high priority. Lots of good events, but imporantly the one which gives innovation. Is mostly obsolete for western powers due to Gilded Iconography.

-Quest for the New World (if colonizer)
For colonial powers like Holland, this should replace your first idea as soon as you get Trade 7. Once you have a large foothold on the new world, can be switched out.

-National Trade Policy (if trade power)
One of the permanently kept ideas assuming you're a trade power. Income boost, compete chance boost, and enables some good decisions on top.

-National Bank (if greedy)
Temporary idea most useful when you have a moderately sized economy and need lots of gold for some purpose. Should be replaced later.


Those are the most important ones. The rest are optional.

[Ashantai]

If you're planning to play as a Russian or Byzantine nation you need the one which gives you 'Cleansing of Heresy', which allows you to take on your Catholic and Protestant neighbours easily.

Military drill is almost manditory for anyone who's not playing a straight trader.

If you play with inflation on (I don't because it messes the AI) then National Bank should be one of your first choices.

Military and Naval Glory I find are totally useless. If you're fighting wars prestige is never a problem.

If you've got a large navy Superior Shipwrights is unexpectedly useful because of the positioning rules. Low priority though.

If you're playing the new beta National Conscripts is useful because it ups your manpower totals and recovery rate.

Church attendence duty is actually quite useful. -33% stability can make a big difference.

[lucaluca]

late game the attrition one is the best ever... lets you field huge armies with virtually no attrition. it requires trade tech 53 so it can be hard for non western nations

[Nerga]

No one has mentioned Unam Sanctum? 2 bb per province free casus belli against heretics, more missionaries, and holy war versus heathens regardless being empire, defender of the faith, or sharing a border. It is such a strong NI. Depending on where I start, I might even take it before Military Drill, to build up a power base. It lets you expand into Russia or the Balkans easily, and after 1500 it lets you take chunks of rivals if they change religion.

I would say my top 5 are:

Military Drill

Unam Sanctum

Church Attendance Duty

National Bank

National Conscripts (Because of the manpower changes). If not maybe Colonial Ventures for faster hordes/colonizing

[GoguRomania]

I find these answer unexpectedly useful Seriously, this forum really is of great help.
Thank you all for your answers and i think that i made a clear idea of the true value of this ideas and my future decisions will be, indeed, brighter

[Ashantai]

I mentioned Unam Sanctum...though I couldn't remember the name. It's what's carried my Byzantine armies all across Europe!

Later on Cabinet is very useful, as is Smithian Economics and Napoleonic Warfare.

[brifbates]

- Church Attendance Duty (if Christian)
The Gilded Iconography decision this enables is so good if feels like an exploit. There's no reason to not get it every game. After taking the decision, change this to something else. Later, it can be used to prevent the reformation.

It's only exploiting if you take the decision then change the NI IMO. For larger nations and/or those who need to westernise CAD is quite useful in its own right.

Mil Drill, Engineer Corps, Bureaucracy, and National Trade Policy are quite regularly in my first 5 or 6 as there are very few situations where their benefits aren't helpful.

Divine Supremacy is quite good for expansionist nations that need to westernise (OE and Russia say hi). Some colonial powers may also want it to help convert natives.

[Pewt]

(In order of best -> good but not great)

Land nations: Military Drill, Regimental System, Grand Army, National Conscripts, Battlefield Commissions

Naval nations: Press Gangs, Seahawks, Grand Navy, Superior Seamanship, Excellent Shipwrights

Trade: Shrewd Commerce Practices, National Trade Policy

Utility: Patron of the Arts, Divine Supremacy, Church Attendance Duty, Unam Sanctum

And then Quest for the New World is good temporarily I guess.

(Doesn't include level 53 ideas for obvious reasons)

[Jos de trol]

Military and Naval Glory I find are totally useless. If you're fighting wars prestige is never a problem.

I've been thinking about taking them in some games because more prestige = more sphere of influence, which is nice against chronic shortages of magistrates.

[Ashantai]

It is, but prestige is rather easy to obtain in war regardless, and there are other things to do with that slot.

[GaiusC]

If you really want to go on a mad conquering spree, Revolution NI can be quite useful in the late game - assuming you switch to Republic and have targetted other Republics for annexion earlier on Then, what's left of the whole world is 1BB/province. For bigger efficiency, invest only in Govt when you get a new slot at Govt 50, until you hit Govt 53 and unlock this NI.
Cabinet being, obviously, the other key NI for conquest.

The only Military idea I tend to pick - until the late game, that is - is Military drill, which is either 1st or 2nd in all my games (depending if I need National Bank or not). I don't think any other idea is useful in SP, unless I play a minor state and plan to stay small - otherwise, your manpower and forcelimit grow with expansion of your empire.

[Comradebot]

Much love for Shrewd Commerce Practices. I'd say it's the top reason with my current run as Pommerania that I've managed some moderate success. I wanted to create a nice little trade empire on the Baltic, and that NI has done wonders for helping me achieve that goal... along with giving me the funding to both conquer the Teutons (and a small piece of Poland... though that was mostly Bohemia's doing, I was just being opportunistic and looking to snag a couple of quick cores) and it's helped me fund my colonization endeavors (which hasn't been much yet beyond the Canaries, since Castille are such jerkfaces).

It's a great tool, and the only times I haven't topped almost every market I'm in range of me have been the few times I ate some infamy to conquer and later forcibly vassalize the Teutons.

[Iwanow]

IMHO best ever national idea is national trade policy => if i don't know what to take i ussualy take this. Just the NI itself is good but it also brings nice event and great decisions plus gives more chances to met requirements for some decisions faster. Too good to not take. Still in patch 5.2 it will become less important late game(due TE limitation).

Second best :
National bank => well nerfed when HTTT came. But still important if you got problem with army upkeep, or just need money/reduce inflation.

Third place:
CAD
Nice decision, that brings another nice decision, p,lus -33% stab cost... well another point to take it.

Fourth place:
Grand Army
+33% army plus event that increase quality or quantity, make it better than military drill.

Fifth place:
POA
Well once it gave +2 prestige yearly, now it gives +3 cultural tradition, but still it is great way to increase innovate slider.

Sixth:
Well military drill, because it is nice to have morale high.

Rest, or come to late in game, or are only usefull for certain nations(QFNTW, for instance).