In retrospect it seems like I should have articaulated this better.
Ok, my issue with blobbing in EU4 is that you reach a point where the game just becomes you beating up countries that literally can't do anything to you together, let alone alone. Idea groups like Humanist make it almost impossible to have rebels spawning by "natural means" unless you really screw it up. There is also the "accepted cultures" system. Can't convert Beijing? For just 100 diplo they will be worshipping Horse Jesus in like 10 years!
In reality, massive empires were very difficult to keep together. Whether it be due to administrative issues, high degree of de-centralization or the simple fact that a message from Kamchatka could literally take months to reach St. Petersburg. In another thread I talked about increasing minimum autonomy the further you are from the capital. That is one way to deal with this, and it makes sense.
As for sliders, I will use EU2's system as an example:
Narrowminded lowered stability costs and provided more missionaries, but it also made techs more expensive. Basically you can still lose to a smaller empire that has superior weapons
Innovative is the opposite. A blob that has innovative just begs to get a disaster and fall apart
Serfdom made infantry cheaper and stab costs lower, but it also made their morale worse. As expected, easier to draft and keep in line, but they are less willing to fight.
Again, Free Subjects is the exact opposite!
Decentralized made War Exhaustion less of a problem at the cost of higher tech costs and lower tax income. But, Centralized realms have bad events that periodically happen to them, because subjects want autonomy. Not to mention that going over the Badboy limit in EU2 made Civil Wars imminent if you were at peace, so it is eternal war or bust.
As you can see, blobbers had upsides and downsides to their playstyle in EU2, which are reasonable. Meanwhile in EU4 you take humanist and have all upsides and no downsides. You even get Idea Cost Reduction!
I don't mind WC still being a thing, but in the late game it just becomes a tedious rutine of beating up nations that literally have no chance to beat you and your massive, incredibly efficient and surprisingly stable empire ruled from a couple of islands near Japan.
As for Tech sliders, they give tech a sense of progression, make tech a long-term investment. In EU4, techs don't feel as rewarding when investing in them, as you just dump 500 points and poof, your troops have moved on from halberds to muskets!
Plus, the old system allowed you to set priorities on which techs to research at the cost of others. For example, if I play Brandenburg in EU2, I can forsake Naval tech and put those resources on Land tech, that I actually need. In EU4, France can rule both the waves and the lands, when in reality the attempt at both caused it to lose the Seven Years War, as Britain destroyed its ships with its focus on Navy, and in the land it got defeated due to Prussia having superior troops
As for religion sliders, unless your realm is secular, which should be a late-game thing, after the Religion Wars, tolerance should be less between certain religions and/or religious branches. Catholics and Protestants for example, but not as much for Catholics and Orthodox.
This took me too much time to think up and write on my phone. I will be around for a while to clear up anything
Ok, my issue with blobbing in EU4 is that you reach a point where the game just becomes you beating up countries that literally can't do anything to you together, let alone alone. Idea groups like Humanist make it almost impossible to have rebels spawning by "natural means" unless you really screw it up. There is also the "accepted cultures" system. Can't convert Beijing? For just 100 diplo they will be worshipping Horse Jesus in like 10 years!
In reality, massive empires were very difficult to keep together. Whether it be due to administrative issues, high degree of de-centralization or the simple fact that a message from Kamchatka could literally take months to reach St. Petersburg. In another thread I talked about increasing minimum autonomy the further you are from the capital. That is one way to deal with this, and it makes sense.
As for sliders, I will use EU2's system as an example:
Narrowminded lowered stability costs and provided more missionaries, but it also made techs more expensive. Basically you can still lose to a smaller empire that has superior weapons
Innovative is the opposite. A blob that has innovative just begs to get a disaster and fall apart
Serfdom made infantry cheaper and stab costs lower, but it also made their morale worse. As expected, easier to draft and keep in line, but they are less willing to fight.
Again, Free Subjects is the exact opposite!
Decentralized made War Exhaustion less of a problem at the cost of higher tech costs and lower tax income. But, Centralized realms have bad events that periodically happen to them, because subjects want autonomy. Not to mention that going over the Badboy limit in EU2 made Civil Wars imminent if you were at peace, so it is eternal war or bust.
As you can see, blobbers had upsides and downsides to their playstyle in EU2, which are reasonable. Meanwhile in EU4 you take humanist and have all upsides and no downsides. You even get Idea Cost Reduction!
I don't mind WC still being a thing, but in the late game it just becomes a tedious rutine of beating up nations that literally have no chance to beat you and your massive, incredibly efficient and surprisingly stable empire ruled from a couple of islands near Japan.
As for Tech sliders, they give tech a sense of progression, make tech a long-term investment. In EU4, techs don't feel as rewarding when investing in them, as you just dump 500 points and poof, your troops have moved on from halberds to muskets!
Plus, the old system allowed you to set priorities on which techs to research at the cost of others. For example, if I play Brandenburg in EU2, I can forsake Naval tech and put those resources on Land tech, that I actually need. In EU4, France can rule both the waves and the lands, when in reality the attempt at both caused it to lose the Seven Years War, as Britain destroyed its ships with its focus on Navy, and in the land it got defeated due to Prussia having superior troops
As for religion sliders, unless your realm is secular, which should be a late-game thing, after the Religion Wars, tolerance should be less between certain religions and/or religious branches. Catholics and Protestants for example, but not as much for Catholics and Orthodox.
This took me too much time to think up and write on my phone. I will be around for a while to clear up anything