• 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.

EU4 - Development Diary - 17th March 2016

Hi everyone and welcome to another development diary for Europa Univeralis IV.


Today we will be covering a much-anticipated mechanic. For times where a nation you love is being attacked and you are unable or unwilling to sign an alliance or when you simply want to make your idle standing army work for their bread, we introduce Condottieri.

Condottieri DD 01.jpg


Condottieri are armies which you have rented out to other nations in exchange for money. Condottieri armies will remain in control of the nation who has offered them but they will fight and die for their recipient country marking their recipient’s enemies as their own.


When renting out your army as Condottieri, you are able to negotiate the fee for your services, which is set as a multiple of their monthly maintenance, from 0x all the way up to 5x, with the first 18 months paid upfront. If you are confident that you are leaving behind enough of a garrison, you can send out a sizable amount of your army, up to 20 units (increased by +available mercenary ideas) to earn money for you on the battlefield.


Once rented out, Condottieri will be hostile to the recipient’s enemies and will be able to fight and siege in the name of the paying nation. They will also have the military access which their recipient country has but these enemies will have access to the Condottieri’s homelands too, so they cannot simply seek refuge at home. In addition to the fee that you have charged your recipient country, your units will also gain 50% more prestige and army tradition for fighting as Condottieri.

Condottieri DD 02.jpg


After 18 months have passed, either side may cancel the arrangement and the troops will go back to being a regular army. The agreement can remain for as long as both parties are satisfied. Naturally, should a nation find themselves at war with a nation who is renting their Condottieri, the contract will be cancelled. Furthermore, if the paying country finds themselves at peace, they can end the contract before the 18 months are up.

More to come next week!
 
Last edited:
  • 176
  • 52
  • 15
Reactions:
The fun that can be had with this :)

Questions:

Can I do this with the Religious League war, send my troops to one of the countries involved without joining myself?
Can you send Condottieri to a subject (vassal/PU/colony) nation?
If you can, do Condottieri count towards the Liberty Desire of the subject nation?
Are there any restrictions on who can do it or who you can do it with, ie Christians fighting for Muslims etc?
 
Looks very interesting, would love to try this out, although I still have my doubts about if the AI will actively will try to help you in this way as well?? AI -> AI // AI -> Player
 
What's this, DDRJake is also writing the dev diaries now?
Someone at Paradox needs to step up and form a coalition(or defensive pact) against him before he becomes the CEO!
 
  • 14
Reactions:
Ha! Regencies more like Ducatcies!
"15 year Regency you say!?" "Advisor better pre-order that suez canal you were so fond of!"


Edit: pretty cool new feature! No more staring at the screen for 15 years. Can we hire out mercenaries as mercenaries? and if they remain in our control how does the AI know whether or not we are actually contributing?
 
  • 6
  • 2
  • 1
Reactions:
Interesting idea I hope they take the time to really think it out I can think of quite a few issues that could arise - they really should consider using the beta tag to let people test these prior to release or something
 
I'm not nearly as worried about player wars as I am about player influence in AI wars.

  • You can now join any war on any side without (presumably?) any diplomatic consequence. This is huge.

  • You can now milk the AI for money without actually doing anything (since you're the one who controls the troops). Maybe Condottieri should get paid at least partially based on war contribution, same way favor works?
 
  • 11
Reactions:
This sounds awesome, but just one question, will there be a hessen mercenaries achievment? Like have your entire force limit loaned out at one time, or be loaning armies to five people at a time, etc. anyway I can't wait to play and finally be able to help my Ally who is about to be eaten but didn't call me in.
 
  • 3
Reactions:
I'm gonna make the most OP custom nation in terms of army/general quality and just condottieri all day
might be fun

Also, I noticed a lot of people saying you can just hide your army
But you all forget that sweet double AT and prestige
 
  • 3
Reactions:
  • 6
  • 3
Reactions:
Any real world example for this idea? I know that Eu4 isn't very historical accurate (and most of his mechanics even less...), but I think that using other name instead if condotteri (who were basically mercenaries) would be more appropriate
 
Oh, Nice! now you cna hold a bit of military tradition at peace and limite the money sink that are armies... well it'll sink bodies instead
 
  • 3
Reactions: