Questions as Austria

[Dartheal]

I want to do a real game without loading as a different country as an exploit, or cheat, or whatever. I've chosen Austria to do this and I've got a few questions:

When I go to wage war against an OPM, they tend to either have allies who have allies who are giants in the Empire, should I still take the risk that attacking an OPM will eventually go up the ladder to Bohemia or simply get zerg rushed by all the smaller powers?

And Personal Unions, I've accidentally gotten one somehow before, but I still don't really get the conditions for getting one when there are a million different people Royally Marriaged to the same person. I understand how I can inherit, more or less, but not how to actually get to the Union part.

Perhaps this is me just choosing the wrong battles, getting unlucky rolls, etc. but it seems like that no matter how many soldiers I have, they keep losing to battles. But, I'm fairly certain that I'm choosing battles that are placed on counties that give me negative modifiers.

[apsycobear]

Firstly, Austria is THE giant of the empire, the only rival is Bohemia at the start of the game when he's the emperor, and even then Bohemia's economy is much weaker than Austria's, so you should be fielding about the same amount of troops as him. I suggest you complete the claims on northern italy mission asap for expansion. Anytime you get in a war with the minors(which really you shouldn't fear, unless it is an absurd number of them), I suggest forcing vassalization if they are 4 provinces large, a republic, or a theocracy. Otherwise just try and get as much prestige out of all wars as possible.

Use this prestige to constantly expand your sphere of influence, although leave about 40 prestige minimum at all times, then use the monsterous boost to your diplomatic rating this gives you (along with the Habsburg diplomacy decision you have) to diplomatically vassalize everyone in the empire. Start with electors, and then vassalize as you see fit. Anyone larger than 3 provinces cannot be diplomatically vassalized (hence why I said I recommend you do it through war).

On the topic of personal unions. In the top of the screen where those banners hang there should be one with a picture of a crown, it lists all nations which have weak claims to their thrones. If the name is in green that means you have a royal marriage with them and, if you have more prestige than them, you can claim their throne, hence why I say leave yourself about 40 prestige at all times. Once you claim their throne, enforce the claim via war.

If you inherit someone in the empire, and you yourself are in the empire, you will gain cores on all of their imperial provinces which they themselves had cores on. For this reason I recommend you force Bohemia into a union as soon as you get the chance. Burgundy is the only nation in the empire other than Bohemia that's really a threat to you, but usually if you leave things alone France will kill him, and when he's weak enough you'll get a mission to vassalize him.

[Serzis]

When I go to wage war against an OPM, they tend to either have allies who have allies who are giants in the Empire, should I still take the risk that attacking an OPM will eventually go up the ladder to Bohemia or simply get zerg rushed by all the smaller powers?

There are always risks, but you should always plan for a big war. Then again, in Succession wars (i.e war in which personal unions are forced), the country with the claimed throne will always be the war leader. If it's an OPM, you could just do the following: get military access, place your troops close to the OPM, declare war, assault the forts and make a quick peace. This way, Bohemia might get involved, but he won't have the time to attack you. I wouldn't call it an exploit, since you are always going for the head of the alliance anyway. Still, you could also just fall back and destroy bohemia's convential 15 stacks one at a time. Shouldn't be too difficult.

And Personal Unions, I've accidentally gotten one somehow before, but I still don't really get the conditions for getting one when there are a million different people Royally Marriaged to the same person. I understand how I can inherit, more or less, but not how to actually get to the Union part.

When a crown is claimable, a small crown icon appears at the top of your screen (the same place as the revolt "flame icon"). Hover over it with the mouse key and you see the country's that have monarchs with weak claim. You can claim their throne by first getting a royal marriage and then claim the throne by clicking the "Claim throne" button among the other diplomatic options. Note: you need to have higher prestige than the country you are claiming, otherwise, the option is not clickable. When you click it, you'll get a CB; enabling you to usurp the throne through a war. When claiming a throne, you lose prestige (which might push you into the negative, threatening to dissolve previous unions). You'll have to use the CB pretty quick. If the target country becomes unclaimable again -- often by getting a new heir -- you'll lose the CB.

You can also gain a "force union"-CB called "Obscure Documents" by a certain spy mission available at the target capital spy mission list. The requisites for this, however, trigger more rarely.

Perhaps this is me just choosing the wrong battles, getting unlucky rolls, etc. but it seems like that no matter how many soldiers I have, they keep losing to battles. But, I'm fairly certain that I'm choosing battles that are placed on counties that give me negative modifiers.

Countries does not give battle penalties (if you do not count unit types, morale and discipline), but attackers suffer terrain penalties (the "-x" next to the roll number), as you no doubt know. Most of HRE only give light wood penalties, but still, one must of course choose one's battles. Never attack through southern Austria or Switzerland, if you don't have to. If you are an aggressive land nation, always have the Military Drill national idea. If you suddenly fight an enemy that has that idea and you do not, the battle will be much harder. If you have the game setting "lucky nations on" some nations will also have improved shock and fire ratings to stimulate the emerges of major countries. However, even if you have selected "random lucky nations", it's quite unlikely that HRE minors would get it. If it's france you have been fighting, it would be another matter.

You could also simply be fighting armies with better generals or with upgrades due to higher Land tech.

[Dartheal]

Alright, so far I've been able to expand and claim two unlawful territories and the two cores that aren't mine at the start, I've also vassalized a few countries including two electors and now I'm just burning infamy down ever so slowly.

I've also got and completed a mission to force Burgundy into a Personal Union with me, I don't think that's vanilla and it's a DT mission since the wiki doesn't say anything like that. It was incredibly easy with France and Castille as allies.

Right now I've got a mission that's telling me to lower my infamy, is there anything I can do to lower infamy quicker? Should I just get rid of the two unlawful territories, Salzburg and Friuli, via Create Vassals or leave them alone as is?

Edit: I also just got a message from Portugal that someone of my dynasty was going to be on their throne and their DS icon disappeared, does this mean I will have a PU with them or is it just informing me Portugal and I will have better relations in the future?

[apsycobear]

Yes create vassals, no reason to keep the territory as you will eventually get a mission to diplo annex them for a core anyways.

And it just means you'll have better relations.

[President_Eden]

I have moderate success with Austria.

First step is to become the Emperor by trying to KO your major rivals in the Empire. Ally with Poland; they tend to hold onto the PU with Lithuania fairly well for the first few decades, which is the extent to which you need their help. If Lithuania breaks away, ally with Lithuania as well. In either case, keep those two in your back pocket until you have the Empire locked up. Before unpausing, send a royal marriage request to whichever of Bavaria or Bohemia isn't the emperor to start; both lack heirs in 1399, both are your major provincial rivals (Hungary, being Eastern Tech and close to bordering the Golden Horde, doesn't count), and obviously only one can start out as Emperor. Wait a month and Claim the Throne, then declare war with the appropriate casus belli. Don't forget to build up your army in the meantime, of course, but your starting troop levels plus a handful of infantry regiments should overwhelm your poorer, smaller target. If you move quickly enough and have a little luck, you can finish that war before the other one has an heir. The other one is probably the Emperor, so you won't be able to take them 1-on-1, but with Polithuaniand and your PU buddy, you can take them down. Do so. With the Emperor as your subject, your other provincial rival as your subject and Polithuaniand as your friend, you should be virtually unbeatable. The key with Personal Unions is to be assertive and proactive. You will score far more PUs through enforced unions than through idle chance.

Next, focus on becoming the Emperor and keeping relations and prestige high, so you can inherit your rivals and become the undisputed hegemon of Central Europe. Becoming Emperor isn't hard.

psycobear hit a crucial point: take ANY opportunity to vassalize by force all HRE targets you cannot vassalize diplomatically. 4 Infamy a pop can start to add up, but if you're careful it's manageable, especially if you're sharp and opportunistic with personal unions. (Personal Unions help infamy by systemically eliminating Catholic states and transferring their territory to yours, increasing your chances of getting cardinals, which reduce infamy.)

As for the same dynasty question: If the tooltip says "A noble from <your house here, presumably Habsburg> succeeds to the throne," that's your cue to pay VERY careful attention to their succession. You won't score a Personal Union on the next succession; the tooltip is correct. However, it is guaranteed, due to the fact that a new family has taken over the crown, that the heir will have a weak claim, which means you will get a chance to force a PU when the noble from your house takes the throne. I think same dynasty increases your chance of inheritance/PU if you're the "head" of the house (that is, if they're Habsburgs, Austria; if they're Lancaster, England; de Avis, Portugal; etc.), but that's my speculation. The real, confirmable gem is the fact that the heir will have a weak claim you can exploit for a PU.

[chgrogers]

Imperial Liberation mission can be a goldmine for infamy reduction. What happens is when a nation in the HRE rejects the Unlawful Territory and keeps the territory in the HRE the Emp get a 1 BB casus belli on all HRE territories. When they are taken from another HRE nation the Emp does not get a core. Take them and release the nation. I think you lose 2BB for each territory released as a vassal. Bavaria is notorious for taking unlawful territory.

[brifbates]

One thing I didn't see mentioned...

If someone has no heir, not just an heir with a weak claim, the nation with the highest prestige that they have a RM with can potentially secure a PU with them without resorting to claiming the throne. This is a good reason to keep your prestige as high as possible. Random PUs are just as effective as any forced PU. Also not mentioned were the penalties for claiming a throne (-20 legitimacy, -100 relations with every nation you have a RM with).

Finally, it is generally safe to claim the throne of someone with a weak heir and then just wait for thir ruler to die rather than go to war to enforce the claim. As long as their current heir doesn't die and then a legitimate heir spawn before the ruler dies you will get a union. Your claim will last until their current ruler dies unless your ruler dies leaving behind a regency council. You will have to re-establish the RM if your ruler dies with an heir of age to maintain the claim though.

[Dartheal]

Well I just inherited a bunch of PUs that I forced and have kept the Emperor title for the past three rulers. England has unfortunately taken a province, one of Bremen's I believe, however I can't wage a good war against him due to not having ships, and he can't win because he doesn't have the manpower. I haven't started the war yet, but I do have the Imperial Liberation CB for the next few years. Do I just do what France did when we retook their lands, just bleed their soldiers as they come? Is that the only strategy against them, or will attacking their allies get the warscore up as well?

[President_Eden]

Attacking their allies will drive the warscore high enough. I should also note that after the first reform you'll get the Imperial Ban CB on England and any other such states which grab Imperial territory. You don't have to press yourself from time concerns or anything (though iirc the Imperial Liberation CB is better than the Ban). If England's still allied with Portugal, getting military access through France and Castille should do the trick; Portugal won't be able to support a significant quantity of troops, so you can probably run right over them, capture Lisboa and a couple of their higher-value provinces, and demand Bremen in the peace.

[apsycobear]

Attacking the allies will get the warscore up, as long as he's war leader.

[cotwell]

Attacking their allies will drive the warscore high enough. I should also note that after the first reform you'll get the Imperial Ban CB on England and any other such states which grab Imperial territory. You don't have to press yourself from time concerns or anything (though iirc the Imperial Liberation CB is better than the Ban). If England's still allied with Portugal, getting military access through France and Castille should do the trick; Portugal won't be able to support a significant quantity of troops, so you can probably run right over them, capture Lisboa and a couple of their higher-value provinces, and demand Bremen in the peace.

If you are worried about infamy, Imperial ban is better. And iirc the cost is the same. But IB goes away after one of the reforms (I guess. I lost it anyway later in my Austria game.)

p.s. I got an ambassador at the start of that game, and it seemed to help with getting alliances. I got alliances with three of the electors right away, and "diplo-vassalized" them later.

[apsycobear]

Alliances are rather easy to get at the very start of the game, a few months in though they get a bit more difficult.

[Dartheal]

Well I took over all of Norway, Switzerland, Savoy, and Portugal, but I still had to bleed England dry because I wanted to also have him release the Sphere of Influence. I think I will stick to trying to get IA up more, I've only done the first reform and it's the early 1400's, how can I get more IA? Taking back the province and releasing the SoI helped, but it's just not been enough. :/

[apsycobear]

Force release princes, get a border with the horde (if it's before 5.2, otherwise don't bother), honor all call to arms from princes in need of defense and win the war.

[President_Eden]

Alternatively, wait until the Reformation, convert to Protestantism ahead of the curve, enforce religious unity. You can also release HRE states as vassals and then gobble them up. Cheap but effective.

[Dartheal]

Okay, I can do the release->conquer->release method for a while as I'm still a ways from the Reformation. And I've recently acquired some land from Bohemia and Hungary (with the cores) and I've got the Enact Settlement Policy for three provinces, should I do them one at a time until they're all my culture or just leave them alone?

Edit: Since I have D&T, I can form Austro-Hungary or Germany, and if I do the reforms I will form the Holy Roman Empire itself... is there any differences between forming one or another, aside from name/flag/color change? Do they have any benefits other than saying "Yeah, I did that."?

[apsycobear]

Germany gets cores on the provinces stated, Austro-Hungary idk what happens as I've never played as Austria in D&T, and the HRE gets cores on all provinces which border provinces you have a core on.

Basically it all depends on what you want cores on, and which one you personally prefer.

[grommile]

If you are worried about infamy, Imperial ban is better. And iirc the cost is the same. But IB goes away after one of the reforms (I guess. I lost it anyway later in my Austria game.)

Imperial Ban only appears if you've passed one of the reforms.

[cotwell]

Imperial Ban only appears if you've passed one of the reforms.

But what causes it to disappear? Is it the reform that declares peace in the empire? I can't remember exactly when it went away.