Advice for a new player...

[unmerged(57402)]

Despite the fact that EU3 is coming out soon, within the week I will be getting EU2 (however long it takes to come 1st class post, within England)- partly inspired by some of the AARs on this site .

Sooo, I was wondering, where's a good place to start, and who with? I was leaning towards England in an earlier campaign as I reckon they have opportunities for conquest- Scotland, Ireland- nearby, but are apart from the Continent.

Any advice on where to start, or indeed a page which has this kind of information, is welcome.

Thanks,
DerKaiser

 

[unmerged(15337)]

If you play the Grand Campaign, keep in mind that it starts in 1419. So England is most definitely not "apart from the Continent" -- to the contrary, it is in the thick of the Hundred Years War against France. This can be good or bad, depending on your goals and what kind of game you want to play. If you want a traditional island England game you could play the 1492 scenario instead.

 

[unmerged(45766)]

Play 1492 France. It's the easiest to learn the game. Read Fodoron's and Carlec's guides (and everything you can find as good advices). Learn parts of the game one by one, and starting with France teaches you the basics of most of the game, with a focus on military (the easiest part). Then, one game as 1492 Spain (to proprerly learn colonization). Then the choice is yours for 1419, but I suggest England then (to win the HYW and claim most of France).

A 1419 Austria game is also good, as you get four juicy inheritance events between 1476 and 1540, and you can learn diplomacy a bit more.

 

[unmerged(57402)]

Thanks to both of you, and of course my mistake on England's geography (having played only Victoria before), but their main base is at least in the British Isles by 1419, so it is sort of true...

The two guides- where can I find them? This is just the sort of thing I was after, so thanks!

One final question, having (as I said) played only Victoria before, how far does knowing how to play that game cover EU2? I'm sure they're quite different of course, but is it possible to jump in and play your way through the learning process, or is it advisable to use tutorials?

Thanks,
DerKaiser

 

[TheLoneTaco]

Victoria is more complicated than EU2 and much of the interface and features are the same. You probably should still go through the tutorial, but you won't be swamped - trust me :^)

And to mirror what others have said: unlike in Victoria, the best starting nations are the big ones. Depending on which area you need help, the following nations are good to play with:

Interface = Fantasia Eire
Military = 1492 Ottoman Empire (up to ~1650)
Colonization = 1492 Spain
Diplomacy = 1419/1492 Austria
Religion = 1492 England (up to ~1600)
All in one basket = 1492 France
Good "Rest of the World" nation = 1419 Vyanajagar (sp? It is in the south of India)

If you have any questions there is an EU2 Wiki and a ton of threads on this board that can you search using Google's "site:forum.paradoxplaza.com" command. Good luck and have fun!

 

[th3freakie]

On colonization I'd recomend Portugal instead of Spain really - Spain gets cought in too many european wars, takes inflation hits etc etc. Portugal is too small to allow you to be tempted to medle in european afairs and/or go on a conquering spree, but strong enough to colonize 1/2 the Planet.

 

[unmerged(57402)]

th3freakie and TheLone Taco, thanks! This is all getting me pretty eager to get the game, I guess having ordered it yesterday it's unlikely to come tomorrow...

One final thing, as there's a few mods- is there one that most people have, and that I would be advised to get?

Thanks once again,
DerKaiser

 

[th3freakie]

One final thing, as there's a few mods- is there one that most people have, and that I would be advised to get?

Simple - AGCEEP. You can find it at it's website - got all the instructions on how to get and instal.

It adds a TON of new events and contries/factions plus more acurate flags and whatnot - in short, a Eu2 and 1/2

Only problem may be that it has so many stuff it ends up confusing for a first-timer - I don't think it's much of a risk, but since I don't even remember how it was to play vannila Eu2..

There's also 2 map mods that everyone debates about what's better, they add around 400ish new provinces, fix borders etc etc. They also make the game a wee harder since then trully it gets confusing with so many provinces, many absolutly useless, etc etc. Those I do not recomend for a first game.
Still, while I'm at it.. Here's the links to The World according to Kasperus and MyMap

Yer wellcome

 

[unmerged(10971)]

One final thing, as there's a few mods- is there one that most people have, and that I would be advised to get?

Well, AGCEEP's a pretty obvious one (even if I don't use it), but other than that it depends upon your own tastes.

Also, it's worth it to take a short trip through the tutorial, if just to get more used to the game. I'd played EU1 before this game, but I still found it helpful.

 

[unmerged(45766)]

The two guides- where can I find them? This is just the sort of thing I was after, so thanks!

Carlec's is in the FAQ's. Fodoron's is in EU2Wiki I believe. Else, you can follow the first link in my sig to get a post made by Fodoron, and his guide is in his signature.