Advisors

[Zylathas]

Currently the situation with advisors is that there are a few very good ones, a few situational ones and a few bad ones. This result is me (and no doubt others) generally picking the same advisors with some exceptions depending on the country I play. On top of this, a lot of new stuff was added to EU IV but this has never been reflected in the advisors, they haven't changed much since release.

I think every advisor should be interesting and that most choices should be "difficult" so I propose making changes to all underpowered/bad advisors across the board :

Admin
Artist : I'd say this one is very bad and not useful in 99% of the situations. That's why I think it should be removed and instead be swapped for lord Chancellor. Autonomy -0.05 per month
Philisopher : While useful in some situations I do not think it's useful enough yet. That's why I propose to add -10% stability cost on top of the +1 prestige.
Treasurer : This one isn't worthwhile at all simply because the bonus is so low. At the start the networth isn't worthwhile and at the end you do not really need that bonus anymore. That's why I propose swapping treasurer for Minister. War exhaustion -0.02 or -10% development cost (both can work imo)

What I tried to do here was using some of the new mechanics and giving some buffs to the underperforming advisors. I think an autonomy reduction advisor would be very welcome early and midgame. I also think that the philosopher will have more use when it's picked, although it's still not very strong. The minister will give some nice bonusses for offensive and defensive nations (proposal A) or tall nations (proposal B).

Diplomatic
Colonial govenor : In my opinion it's not very good and not useful in many situations. That's why I propose to change it to the following govenor. -5% liberty desire & + 10% vassal income
Naval reformer : In my opinion this one isn't very good because of the way naval combat currently works. That's why I propose to remove it and instead add ambassador. +25% relation boost speed & 25% fabrication speed
Navigator : This one is a little bit useful early game but even then it's not very noteworthy. That's why I propose to change the bonus to +5 settlers & +5% settler chance.
Spymaster : This one (in my opinion) has no use at all, it's probably one of the worst advisors. But it might have some use, that's why I propose to turn it to the following. +20% spy offense & +20% spy defence & -10% agressive expansion.

What I tried to do here was just making the diplomatic advisors much better. I think by extending the colonial govenor to all vassals that it should be much stronger, the -5% liberty desire is also very welcome in certain situations. The ambassador will give a new choice for nations that fabricate or boost relations a lot. The navigator will give a nice bonus to exploring nations while not being too strong. On top of that I think the spymaster is much more useful, although it's still quite underpowered with these options.

Military
Army organiser : Not that bad.. but limited use in my opinion. I suggest combining this one with the grand captain and make it give +10% forcelimits and -20% maintenance modifier
Grand captain : Not that bad.. but extremely limited use. I suggest giving this one the following bonus -20% army and naval recruitment cost.
Military engineer : It's alright, but not wow. I suggest changing the bonus to +50% fort garrison.
Quartermaster : in all honesty.. I have no idea what this does and what the benefit is and I have played EU IV for over 500 hours. I'd say that this one should be changed to the following bonus. Deaths from attrition -10% + army movement speed +20%

What I did here was making the underperforming advisors much better. Military already has some great options and I do not think those should be nerfed, I like that the advisors give some weight in the game. So that's why I think the others have to be boosted in bonus. The army organiser will be better for nations that have a gold shortage after a war or that just want huge armies. The grand captain will give a really good bonus for the nations that got their stack wiped. The military engineer will give a great defensive bonus, I really like that one to be honest. And then the quartermaster, I do not know if these bonusses are actually possible but they sound awesome, these one will certainly give some tactical depth to the advisors as this one can be -really- good in certain situations.

But as noticed on the military side of things most advisors will be situational, but I do not think that's bad sometimes you will want to change your advisor mid-term but it has to be useful to do that. That's why I think adding harder choices in regards to advisors is a good thing. I also think that they just need an update in general, most of the newer ingame mechanics aren't even included.

I hope you guys like this idea and feedback is always welcome, the numbers are ofcourse unbalanced but I did try to give an example of how strong I would make them compared to how it's now.

 

[Rubidium]

I'd just note that the history file and quite a few events specifically associate with certain types of advisors (e.g. several famous artists are in the history file at different start dates), so completely replacing them might be more work than Paradox is willing to put in. So it might make more sense to work within the confines of the preexisting types; rather than replace Artist with Chancellor, change the bonus into something stronger but still appropriate to be called "artist."

I agree that several of the advisors vary in strength significantly (although I suspect the type may have something to do with it; most of the ADM advisors are situational, but on the other hand they give ADM points). And ideally, you want advisors to be somewhat situational (e.g. an Inquisitor is great when you need to convert provinces, but fairly useless otherwise), rather than always awesome (e.g. Commandant/Army Reformer). That's why I'm ok with e.g. Navigator (although it would be nice if it also increased supply range).

Of course the other issue is that 90% of the time, the most important characteristic of an advisor is the level; especially in the beginning, you are probably hiring whichever one you can afford even if it's a fairly worthless ability.

 

[Zylathas]

I'd just note that the history file and quite a few events specifically associate with certain types of advisors (e.g. several famous artists are in the history file at different start dates), so completely replacing them might be more work than Paradox is willing to put in. So it might make more sense to work within the confines of the preexisting types; rather than replace Artist with Chancellor, change the bonus into something stronger but still appropriate to be called "artist."

I agree that several of the advisors vary in strength significantly (although I suspect the type may have something to do with it; most of the ADM advisors are situational, but on the other hand they give ADM points). And ideally, you want advisors to be somewhat situational (e.g. an Inquisitor is great when you need to convert provinces, but fairly useless otherwise), rather than always awesome (e.g. Commandant/Army Reformer). That's why I'm ok with e.g. Navigator (although it would be nice if it also increased supply range).

Of course the other issue is that 90% of the time, the most important characteristic of an advisor is the level; especially in the beginning, you are probably hiring whichever one you can afford even if it's a fairly worthless ability.

I agree with you now on the changing part. Perhaps instead of changing advisors (unless I already proposed the new bonus here) one can also be added while the previous one gets a boost.

With your second paragraph, well I think some advisors are way too useless and I rather have them all equal in strength while still having some situational use. (even in my system, there are many situational advisors)

 

[magnusvejby]

Well here is what i think

Artist: I agree he is not so useful but -0,05 autonomy is way to strong in early game.

Philosopher: Well if you remove the artist, it is quite fine with 10% stab cost reduction.

Treasure: I disagree he is useful enough, and keep in mind advisers also give extra monarch points

Colonial governor: It is fine he gives -5% liberty desire, but he should not give vassal income but tarrifs.

Naval reformer: I think he is fine as he is.

Ambassador (Don't you mean diplomat)?: He is very usefull to remove AE in the HRE so i will say he is fine as he is.

Navigator: I agree he is useful in early game so thats why i don't think we should change him.

Spymaster: I agree he should be much better, but maybe 10% AE reduction is too much maybe it should only be 5%

Army organizer: He is fine as he is, and he should not be merged with Grand captain.

Grand captain: well maybe its a good idea to change it i am a bit unsure about this one.

Military engineer: He is fine as he is i would say.

Quartermaster: He should only give the movement speed bonus that would be fine.

You did not include the Army reformer but i mean he is a little to strong maybe it should not be 10% moral of armies but only 7,5%.

Well here is my feedback hope some of it will make it in game.

 

[Zylathas]

Well here is what i think

Artist: I agree he is not so useful but -0,05 autonomy is way to strong in early game.

Philosopher: Well if you remove the artist, it is quite fine with 10% stab cost reduction.

Treasure: I disagree he is useful enough, and keep in mind advisers also give extra monarch points

Colonial governor: It is fine he gives -5% liberty desire, but he should not give vassal income but tarrifs.

Naval reformer: I think he is fine as he is.

Ambassador (Don't you mean diplomat)?: He is very usefull to remove AE in the HRE so i will say he is fine as he is.

Navigator: I agree he is useful in early game so thats why i don't think we should change him.

Spymaster: I agree he should be much better, but maybe 10% AE reduction is too much maybe it should only be 5%

Army organizer: He is fine as he is, and he should not be merged with Grand captain.

Grand captain: well maybe its a good idea to change it i am a bit unsure about this one.

Military engineer: He is fine as he is i would say.

Quartermaster: He should only give the movement speed bonus that would be fine.

You did not include the Army reformer but i mean he is a little to strong maybe it should not be 10% moral of armies but only 7,5%.

Well here is my feedback hope some of it will make it in game.

Sorry think that I made a mistake there. In my idea the colonial govenor gives both tarrifs + vassal income bonus.. will make him more useful for more nations.