3rd Idea Group as Milan->Italy?

[Natz]

Hey! So I'm currently playing Milan into Italy, I think it's going fairly well. It's 1517 and I took Influence into Admin for the first two groups. I own pretty much all of Italy, with the exeption of Rome and a few Aragonese provinces and currently integrating Provence. Short term plan is to form Italy, wait for Spain to form, so I can release Aragon as a vassal and do some reconquest and go after the ottomans. Longer term I might try to reform the Roman Empire, or go for Mare Nostrum.

I am not sure wether to pick a military idea group (probably Quatity, Quality or Plutocratic) since, while I am allied to Austria, Ottos are fairly strong at the moment.
Another option would be Religious since the reformation is starting, and the cb/ missionary strenght would be usefull to go after the Balkans/Ottomans and beyond.
Orrrr I could go for colonialism and take Exploration. I have never really tried to do Colonialism as anyone other than the main colonizers and India and such, so I am not sure if it's worth it as Italy. I am already rich af so the extra cash doesn't appeal to me a lot, but having other places to spread AE seems like a good idea.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[Dominion]

Taking exploration before taking Iberia means feeding Castille even more ducats.

 

[TFP 10]

I’d always recommend Plutocratic. Morale of armies + goods produced + unrest reduction is great. You don’t get to pick it most campaigns due to not being a republic, so it’s possibly even worth it just for something different

 

[PrimeYuri]

You can also take diplo which also helps becoming HRE emporer.

 

[Natz]

Taking exploration before taking Iberia means feeding Castille even more ducats.

Yeah, that makes sense, guess I'll wait on colonasation and just steal them latter on

 

[Natz]

You can also take diplo which also helps becoming HRE emporer.

Problem is I already left the empire and I am enjoying the Ambrosian Republic, it's something new and the rulers really get quite op if you get a young one! So I am probably staying a republic until maybe absolutism kicks in.

 

[Natz]

I’d always recommend Plutocratic. Morale of armies + goods produced + unrest reduction is great. You don’t get to pick it most campaigns due to not being a republic, so it’s possibly even worth it just for something different

That's a fair point, guess I'll try plutocratic! The policies seem quite good aswell!

 

[afb]

With Italian ideas, you will have +15% to infantry combat ability. You could stack it further with quality (+10%) and innovative (+20% policy with quality) for a whopping +45%. That will be insane in the late game when infantry is really good.

If you supplement with Economic and Offensive, You will get a further +10% discipline and +10% artillery combat ability (+15% and +20% in total with quality). You might lose some battles for lack of morale, but you will win the war in the long run.

 

[Dingens]

I would highly recommend a true military idea group. Spain with +15% morale, +5% discipline and at least one, maybe even two military idea groups will mop the floor with your armies otherwise, same goes for Ottomans. Offensive, Defensive, Quality and Quantity are all fine. If you got the cash for large armies, Quantity might be the strongest and most forgiving for now.

Exploration feels underwhelming if you are late. There is the fun treaty of quesadillas or whatever as you are probably catholic, and the easiest and most interesting colonial regions are taken by the colonizers by the time you get there. Also your CN will always be weaker because smaller than Spain's or France's or GB's, so prepare to watch them lose colonial wars without being able to intervene. Finally without controlling Sevilla, all the cash you get due to trade will end up in Spain's pockets.

If you plan on blobbing, religious and/or humanist is a must. Religious gives an amazing CB against Heathens and Heretics, but if you stick to conquering catholic nations mostly, you can probably take it later.

If you can't go forward in Europe due to AE, north Africa might be the way to go. Morocco (if not conquered by Castile or Portugal) provinces give decent trade power in the Sevilla node. Going for the Mamluks limits Ottoman expansion into Africa and Arabia. Everything between Egypt and Morocco is useless desert, but you need it for Mare Nostrum, so why not get it early instead of idling.

 

[byebytoad]

Hey! So I'm currently playing Milan into Italy, I think it's going fairly well. It's 1517 and I took Influence into Admin for the first two groups. I own pretty much all of Italy, with the exeption of Rome and a few Aragonese provinces and currently integrating Provence. Short term plan is to form Italy, wait for Spain to form, so I can release Aragon as a vassal and do some reconquest and go after the ottomans. Longer term I might try to reform the Roman Empire, or go for Mare Nostrum.

I am not sure wether to pick a military idea group (probably Quatity, Quality or Plutocratic) since, while I am allied to Austria, Ottos are fairly strong at the moment.
Another option would be Religious since the reformation is starting, and the cb/ missionary strenght would be usefull to go after the Balkans/Ottomans and beyond.
Orrrr I could go for colonialism and take Exploration. I have never really tried to do Colonialism as anyone other than the main colonizers and India and such, so I am not sure if it's worth it as Italy. I am already rich af so the extra cash doesn't appeal to me a lot, but having other places to spread AE seems like a good idea.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance!

Exploration would be a total waste since you'll be late and regardless less equipped to fast colonization.
You can avoid exploration and eventually take advantage of the work done by other nations in colonizing virgin lands.
You definitely need a military idea: I'd go for quality or offensive as alternative.

 

[Ketilsen]

My last Milan -> Italy game I think I went Admin->Religious (I went Protestant bc that's best) -> Plutocratic, great success. Plutocratic is great when you can take it, you can pick up Quality or whatever later on.