Greetings to all EU4 players, old and new alike! This post is designed with two objectives in mind: to serve as an orientation for new players, and for existing players, as an easy reference to any useful resources.
This post will continue to be updated as needed; if you believe something should be in here, feel free to drop a suggestion in this thread. Take care that some of the resources are not necessarily tweaked for the latest game version, and many are community-based (and therefore, unofficial).
CONTENTS: 1. QUICK LINKS 2. LEARNING EU4 3. GENERAL TIPS 4. BEGINNER TUTORIALS 5. GUIDES 6. JOIN THE COMMUNITY 7. FIND A MULTIPLAYER CAMPAIGN 8. USEFUL TOOLS 9. MODDING RESOURCES |
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- EU4 has a great deal of interacting mechanics, but it’s definitely not necessary to understand them all when you’re just starting out. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks, even if you find yourself losing wars and territory. Mistakes are often the best way to learn. And remember: there are no real victory conditions in a single-player EU4 game, so you set the parameters for success yourself!
- Our community loves to answer questions and offer tips for a successful campaign. Reaching out on the EU4 forums, Reddit, or on Discord can be a priceless learning experience. See join the community below for links.
- Our official beginner tutorials (below) are short, concise, and a good way to get started - but our passionate community also creates plenty of engaging video content that is equal parts entertaining and educational. Watching creators’ videos is another great way to learn the game. See video guides below for some examples.
Recommended starting nations:
Absolute beginners
- Portugal - naval and colonial powerhouse, with only one land border to worry about (Castile)
- Ottomans - starts with huge military capacity and large swathes of land
- Castile - boasts colonial and military might, with options to expand in different directions. Note: Domination DLC introduces some extra challenges to the start of Castile campaigns and is slightly more difficult.
- France - diplomatic and military advantage
- Muscovy - military might and a dominant power in its starting region
- Austria - diplomatic advantage as starting emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (which is also helpful for learning HRE mechanics)
- Ming - starts as Emperor of China with the Mandate of Heaven DLC. Also begins with the highest starting number of provinces & development on the map.
Useful links:
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Government
- During peacetime, you may find yourself taking a less active role in your country’s affairs, and as a new player it’s often preferable to be reactive than to click random buttons with functions completely unknown to you.
- It can be beneficial to take your time with conquests. Snapping up new lands in quick succession risks overextension, which has significant negative effects.
- Hoard those monarch points! You don't want to spend them as lightly as you do your ducats.
Diplomacy ️️️
- Pay attention to diplomacy outside of your nation, as it has a very real impact on your own diplomatic efforts. For instance, if you wanted to maintain good relations with Austria, you would want to avoid allying with any of its enemies or rivals.
- Religion also plays a role in diplomacy. Sharing a religion with another nation confers bonuses to their attitude towards you, while having heretic (different religion, same religious group) or heathen (different religious group) views generally incurs diplomatic penalties.
- Be mindful of aggressive expansion diplo penalties from conquests. It's more than just a number!
Warfare
- A battle’s outcome is determined by far more than just how many units you have. Even with fewer units, an army or navy with (for example) better morale or more pips in a certain category can often come out on top. One way of comparing the relative strength of an enemy is to check their military tech level compared to yours, and to consult the ledger (in-game shortcut: L) -> Military -> Army Quality Comparison screen.
- When you lose a battle, units will often retreat and their numbers can be reinforced - unless defeat is so severe that a “stackwipe” occurs, removing units from the game. Your manpower and sailors determine how much of your army/navy can be reinforced.
- Army composition is also important, much like real-life battles - don’t just build units indiscriminately (there are exceptions, but with most nations you will generally find yourself building armies with many more infantry units than any other kind). We recommend checking out one of the relevant tutorials/guides linked in below sections for more information.
- Conversely, setting up your navies largely depends on what you expect to use your fleet for: whether transport, coastal battles, trade protection, etc.
There is a wealth of great and informative EU4 video guides out there, all of which are a great way to learn or improve your EU4 skills - regardless of how experienced you are. Here are just some examples.
Note that many of these were not created using the current game version, so some details may be outdated. It's also very much worthwhile to look into nation-specific tutorials, which can give you strategic insights you might not otherwise get from general guides.
Tip: If your favourite EU4 streamer or content creator has their own Discord server, try poking around there for people to play with.
EUIV Paradox Simulator
Official EU4 Educators' Guide (EU for the classroom!)
Save file analysers:
Skanderbeg
PDX Tools
Official EU4 Educators' Guide (EU for the classroom!)
Save file analysers:
Skanderbeg
PDX Tools
Mod spotlights:
If you're interested in hearing from modders themselves about their process, check out our mod spotlight series.
There are a lot of great quality EU4 mods out there, both on Paradox Plaza and Steam. This series highlights some of these more popular mods, as well as lesser-known mods, and even those that are currently in development. Here's what we've covered so far:
Europa Expanded
Ante Bellum
Idea Variation
Dirinas
Extended Timeline
Plati's Visuals
Land of the Free
Ages Reformed
Anbennar, pt. 1
Anbennar, pt. 2
Beyond the Cape
Mesoamerican Expansion
Gods and Kings
Modathon Season 2 (Babur's Gate 4, Upon A Crimson Horse, etc)
There are a lot of great quality EU4 mods out there, both on Paradox Plaza and Steam. This series highlights some of these more popular mods, as well as lesser-known mods, and even those that are currently in development. Here's what we've covered so far:
Europa Expanded
Ante Bellum
Idea Variation
Dirinas
Extended Timeline
Plati's Visuals
Land of the Free
Ages Reformed
Anbennar, pt. 1
Anbennar, pt. 2
Beyond the Cape
Mesoamerican Expansion
Gods and Kings
Modathon Season 2 (Babur's Gate 4, Upon A Crimson Horse, etc)
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