Although the 1.30 patch does not address the Iberian peninsula directly, it was said by the devs that the occasional tweak outside the scope of the patch might be possible. According to the screenshots on the Dev Diaries for 1.30, The Portuguese National Ideas are being reworked, yet since there has been no official statement on the new ideas, i'm going to give my own suggestion on which ideas make the most sense for Portugal from a Historical and Gameplay perspective, I also included the date of the Portuguese period that the idea was trying to represent, so that there is a chronological logic behind the idea order.
My Portuguese Ideas Suggestion:
Traditions (1383-1460):
+15% Shock Defense
+15% Fort Defense
(1460-1498) - Legacy of the Navigator:
+1 Naval Tradition
+25% Colonial Range
(1498-1515)- Mare Clausum
+15% Light Ship Combat Ability
+30% Marine Combat Ability
(1515-1580)- Feitoria System
-15% Trade Investment cost (or +10% local trade power)
(1580-1602)- The Spice Trade
+10% Light Ship Trade Propagation
(1602-1640)-Encourage the Bandeirantes
+15 Global Settler Increase
(1640-1688)- Guerrilha Warfare
+1 Attrition for Enemies
+10% Infantry combat ability
(1688 onwards)- Pluricontinentalism
+10% Trade Steering
Ambition:
20% Global Tariffs
.
To summarize, this gives Portugal:
-Average military quality, still inferior quality to any military-oriented nation.
-Decent naval quality, on pair with other seafaring nations such as Spain, Oman, Venice and the Netherlands, but still inferior to Naval-Specialised nations such as Great Britain, Denmark, Norway or Genoa.
-Strong Defensive capabilities, for a more effective defense of theirsmall nation.
-Stronger early game (as irl) but out of touch with the late game (as irl)
- More complex trade bonuses that require a bit more of an active pursuit of Historical Portuguese strategies to be effective, rather than simple flat bonuses to production and efficiency.
-Colonial capabilities are left untouched.
Unrelated to ideas but also really immersion breaking:
The Portuguese starting historical advisor
"Henry the Navigator" is an Admiral, and not, a Navigator.
My Portuguese Ideas Suggestion:
Traditions (1383-1460):
+15% Shock Defense
Late Medieval Portugal has proved time and time again to punch way above its own weight in the military field, having fought 5 wars against the far larger and more Powerful Kingdom of Castille in the 14th century alone and always reaching either a military stalemate (D.Afonso IV's punitive invasion of Castille 1335-1339, and the 3 Fernandine Wars 1369-1382) or decisive victories (War of the Portuguese Succession 1383-1385, where very underrated battles like Aljubarrota, Valverde and Atoleiros rival those of Angincourt or Crecy).
In the aforementioned Battles the most impressive feature of the Portuguese army was to be able to withstand charge after charge of Castillian and French Cavalry charges by holding tight spearmen formations and digging ditches and traps to disorganise the enemy advance, thus shock defense makes the most sense for a Portuguese combat bonus
In the aforementioned Battles the most impressive feature of the Portuguese army was to be able to withstand charge after charge of Castillian and French Cavalry charges by holding tight spearmen formations and digging ditches and traps to disorganise the enemy advance, thus shock defense makes the most sense for a Portuguese combat bonus
Shock Defense falls off in the Late Game when Fire becomes dominant, so this Tradition will only be powerful in the early game, which was the peak of Portuguese power.
+15% Shock defense should be make Portugal's army almost as strong in equal numbers as Castille, which starts with a superior +15% Morale traditions, and according to the Battle of Toro in the Castilian Succession War in 1476, when a Portuguese army and a Castilian army of equal numbers met in battle the outcome was indecisive and casualties identical for both sides.
+15% Shock defense should be make Portugal's army almost as strong in equal numbers as Castille, which starts with a superior +15% Morale traditions, and according to the Battle of Toro in the Castilian Succession War in 1476, when a Portuguese army and a Castilian army of equal numbers met in battle the outcome was indecisive and casualties identical for both sides.
+15% Fort Defense
A reference to the 1384 Siege of Lisbon, although also making sense during the rest of the timeframe as was confirmed during the 1538 and 1546 sieges of Diu (where the Ottoman-Gujarat forces outnumbered the garrison 40 to 1) and the 1562 great siege of Mazagan (where the Moroccan army outnumbered the garrison 100 to 1)
Although Portugal doesn't exactly have a long list of large scale offensive wars, it is undeniable that such a small nation was very capable at defending its sovereignity from invasions of some of the most powerful European nations of their time, such as Spain and France, against all odds
(1460-1498) - Legacy of the Navigator:
+1 Naval Tradition
+25% Colonial Range
This is the vanilla idea, the idea is fine, however the +25% sailors modifier was changed to a +1 Naval tradition, since undoubtedly the Legacy of the Navigator is the strong seafaring tradition omnipresent in Portuguese culture untill this very day, and a +sailors bonus is technically sort of a manpower buff, which is ridiculous since by far the greatest strain on the Portuguese Empire was their small manpower pool
+25% Sailors modifier is basically useless since Portugal has a massive abundance of sailors anyway, while +1 Tradition can help with both trade, good admirals (There are plenty of renowned Portuguese navigators) and slightly increasing in their currently worthless naval combat ability
(1498-1515)- Mare Clausum
+15% Light Ship Combat Ability
+30% Marine Combat Ability
Mare Clausum was the Portuguese doctrine of "locking" the Indian sea under Portuguese jurisdiction, the strategy revolved around the conquest of several key strategic harbours around the Indian ocean to allow Portugal to project naval power over the entire Ocean. This was achieved by the conquest of several cities/Islands such as Mombassa, Socotra, Muscat, Hormuz, Goa, Calicut, Diu, Ceylon, Malacca and many others in just a single decade.
I suggested a light ship combat buff as a reference to the Caravel, a very mobile light ship that was useful for exploration, and combat.
I chose a strong Marine buff to make Portugal more effective at waging overseas wars (At this point, Marines are fairly useless and rare, so a large +30% combat ability for them doesn't actually make a significant difference in the grand scheme of things). Historically, the bonus that would make most sense would be Artillery Fire +1, since the portuguese advantage in the 16th century was it's very advanced artillery, but Spain already has that so i guess its off the table.
Artillery combat ability is a big no, since it benefits the late game artillery and not the early game artillery.
I suggested a light ship combat buff as a reference to the Caravel, a very mobile light ship that was useful for exploration, and combat.
I chose a strong Marine buff to make Portugal more effective at waging overseas wars (At this point, Marines are fairly useless and rare, so a large +30% combat ability for them doesn't actually make a significant difference in the grand scheme of things). Historically, the bonus that would make most sense would be Artillery Fire +1, since the portuguese advantage in the 16th century was it's very advanced artillery, but Spain already has that so i guess its off the table.
Artillery combat ability is a big no, since it benefits the late game artillery and not the early game artillery.
Have you ever tried to play Portugal historically and take Mombassa (Involves war with Kilwa), Hormuz (Usually involves war with the Timurids), Goa, Calicut and Ceylon (Involves was with Vijayanagar), and Malacca (involves war with Malacca which is a tributary of Ming) before 1511?
It is simply pure madness.
A hefty naval and marine buff might help Portugal with these sorts of overseas battles without turning their regular army overpowered. Although a +1 Artillery Fire would be far better to boost Portugal's early game without scaling much.
It is simply pure madness.
A hefty naval and marine buff might help Portugal with these sorts of overseas battles without turning their regular army overpowered. Although a +1 Artillery Fire would be far better to boost Portugal's early game without scaling much.
(1515-1580)- Feitoria System
-15% Trade Investment cost (or +10% local trade power)
The Feitoria system was the staple of the Portuguese trade Empire, it revolved around small usually fortified trade posts around the globe to secure and protect trade, Trade Company investments are just that, thus it make perfect sense.
In case the player has no DLC then this translates better to a more abstract "Local trade power modifier"
In case the player has no DLC then this translates better to a more abstract "Local trade power modifier"
Not much to argue about in here, its a trade-related bonus and Portugal in the current state of the game is already extremely trade-oriented
(1580-1602)- The Spice Trade
+10% Light Ship Trade Propagation
Currently, Portugal has a very high emphasis on Trade Efficiency buffs, However i would argue that out of all trade-related bonuses, efficiency is one of those who Portugal deserves the least.
Portugal wasn't efficient at profiting with what they had, that honour belongs to Venice and Genoa who dominanted trade in Europe despite having no colonial possessions, Portugal had a high trade income because they had a monopoly on the sea route to the orient and simply had no competition. Portugal should dominate trade by establishing a trade-post empire all the way to Japan before anyone of their rivals does, not by being inherently better than their rivals at managing their trade income.
Portugal wasn't efficient at profiting with what they had, that honour belongs to Venice and Genoa who dominanted trade in Europe despite having no colonial possessions, Portugal had a high trade income because they had a monopoly on the sea route to the orient and simply had no competition. Portugal should dominate trade by establishing a trade-post empire all the way to Japan before anyone of their rivals does, not by being inherently better than their rivals at managing their trade income.
This reinforces the Portuguese strategy of conquering centers of trade in trade-company areas and then protecting trade with light ships, instead of some boring abstract trade efficiency bonus
(1602-1640)-Encourage the Bandeirantes
+15 Global Settler Increase
The Bandeirantes were explorers that dwelved deep into the Brazilian interior, charted the area and claimed it for Portugal, effectively allowing the colonisation of interior Brazil. It makes far more sense for them to be considered a Colonist than a Merchant. However, since Spain already has a +1 Colonist idea, i don't think the devs will ever give Portugal one, so i guess its fine if they just keep their +15 Settler increase instead.
Portugal already has a +15 settler increase, so nothing to argue here
(1640-1688)- Guerrilha Warfare
+1 Attrition for Enemies
+10% Infantry combat ability
This is supposed to represent the 1640-1688 Portuguese restauration war, where Portugal used intensive scorched earth tactics against the far stronger Spanish Empire, as well as resorting to popular militias and asymmetrical warfare to harass the Spanish forces as much as possible, this Portuguese use of Scorched Earth and popular militias was again used to great effect during the 7 years war and the Napoleonic wars against the much larger Spain and France resulting again in Portuguese victory.
If you are not convinced about the effectiveness of Portuguese Scorched Earth tactics, then read up on the Fantastic War (3/4's of the Franco-Spanish invasion army died during the invasion, despite there not being a single large scale battle at all, and attrition doing most of the job).
The infantry combat ability is meant to reflect the fact that the Portuguese army was actually quite cappable from in the second half of the game.
It won outnumbered battles against Spain in the Restauration war, against the Netherlands in the Dutch-Portuguese war, against the Spanish and French in the War of the Spanish Succession, 7 Years war and Napoleonic wars.
As it stands, Spain and France have insanely superior quality to Portugal
If you are not convinced about the effectiveness of Portuguese Scorched Earth tactics, then read up on the Fantastic War (3/4's of the Franco-Spanish invasion army died during the invasion, despite there not being a single large scale battle at all, and attrition doing most of the job).
The infantry combat ability is meant to reflect the fact that the Portuguese army was actually quite cappable from in the second half of the game.
It won outnumbered battles against Spain in the Restauration war, against the Netherlands in the Dutch-Portuguese war, against the Spanish and French in the War of the Spanish Succession, 7 Years war and Napoleonic wars.
As it stands, Spain and France have insanely superior quality to Portugal
Portugal in Eu4 only has a meager 9 provinces, which are usually very well developed, they have no mountain provinces (despite the North having a very rugged landscape) and have no winters in any of their territories (Despite the provinces of Bragança and Beira having lower average winter temperatures than Ireland (which has normal winters). So its pretty safe to say that without an attrition for enemies bonus, nobody will ever take any sort of attrition in Portuguese territory.
(Which they should)
The infantry combat ability is small, and simply makes Portugal slightly a bit competitive militarily at the later parts of the game.
You might think 3 military ideas are too much, but you need to understand that these are necessary because Portugal can't really get military buffs in any other way. It doesn't get them from missions, it doesn't get them from religion, it doesn't get them from government reforms, it does not get them from any unique events or mechanics, it has no unique units, it has no age-related bonuses, it has literally nothing.
They are not in a position to get bonuses in any other way.
(Which they should)
The infantry combat ability is small, and simply makes Portugal slightly a bit competitive militarily at the later parts of the game.
You might think 3 military ideas are too much, but you need to understand that these are necessary because Portugal can't really get military buffs in any other way. It doesn't get them from missions, it doesn't get them from religion, it doesn't get them from government reforms, it does not get them from any unique events or mechanics, it has no unique units, it has no age-related bonuses, it has literally nothing.
They are not in a position to get bonuses in any other way.
(1688 onwards)- Pluricontinentalism
+10% Trade Steering
This is supposed to represent the Portuguese triangular trade economy between Africa, Brazil and Portugal in the 17th century.
The Royal Absolutism idea of -15% construction cost seems to try to represent the pombaline reformation and of the rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake, however IMO that happens too far into the 18th century to be unlocked by ideas (which will be very likely fully unlocked before the 17th century)
The Royal Absolutism idea of -15% construction cost seems to try to represent the pombaline reformation and of the rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake, however IMO that happens too far into the 18th century to be unlocked by ideas (which will be very likely fully unlocked before the 17th century)
Trade steering from the Colonies into the Seville node is the quintessential Portugal economic strategy both in game and real life, so this idea is basically a must)
Ambition:
20% Global Tariffs
After the loss of most of their Asian colonies to the Native Empires and rival European powers, the Portuguese abandoned the idea of dominanting the Indian Ocean and instead started rellying mostly in their largest colony, Brazil, and in expanding their African dominions in Angola and Mozambique. The Global Tariffs ambition is actually one of the few Portuguese ideas that are, IMO, 100% accurate.
I actually nerfed this vanilla idea a bit to compensate the military buffs
To summarize, this gives Portugal:
-Average military quality, still inferior quality to any military-oriented nation.
-Decent naval quality, on pair with other seafaring nations such as Spain, Oman, Venice and the Netherlands, but still inferior to Naval-Specialised nations such as Great Britain, Denmark, Norway or Genoa.
-Strong Defensive capabilities, for a more effective defense of theirsmall nation.
-Stronger early game (as irl) but out of touch with the late game (as irl)
- More complex trade bonuses that require a bit more of an active pursuit of Historical Portuguese strategies to be effective, rather than simple flat bonuses to production and efficiency.
-Colonial capabilities are left untouched.
Unrelated to ideas but also really immersion breaking:
The Portuguese starting historical advisor
"Henry the Navigator" is an Admiral, and not, a Navigator.
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