Burgundy->France->HRE strategy

[cywang86]

Because having a non-vassal Savoy sitting there with just 4 provinces (or more from selling lands to him, but why would you do that if you have to reconquer him later?) sounds very counter intuitive to get as many Italian provinces as you can in one day.

But vassalizing him will cause the mission to pop up, so you're better off just killing him then sell those lands to someone who doesn't trigger the annoying annex missions.

 

[calvinhobbeslik]

Because having a non-vassal Savoy sitting there with just 4 provinces (or more from selling lands to him, but why would you do that if you have to reconquer him later?) sounds very counter intuitive to get as many Italian provinces as you can in one day.

But vassalizing him will cause the mission to pop up, so you're better off just killing him then sell those lands to someone who doesn't trigger the annoying annex missions.

So you're saying I should conquer Savoy and Genoa and sell them to someone? But who? I can't sell them to Milan, since I get an annex mission on them as well.

 

[cywang86]

I do apologize for giving out the wrong info on Savoy, yes it's not conquer like Milan/Genoa, but annex vassal.


I'd diplo-vassalize any OPM italian minor, and sell those to him.

Because there are ~30 provinces in the Italian region, to get the maximum effect, you'd have to finish the Italian Ambition mission through diplo-annex your Italian vassals, while making sure you have as many cores in there as you can so you don't get past your infamy limit.

Pick 3~5 Italian OPM, or Naples/Papal State (it's fun to keep the Pope as your vassal! Do it as a defender of faith before you drop your relation with him, or face excommunication), and sell those Italian holdings to them as you eat away Milan and the other nations. Just make sure you eat away from the NE, so Austria doesn't take lands from Milan after you've devastated his armies.

 

[grommile]

Pick 3~5 Italian OPM, or Naples/Papal State (it's fun to keep the Pope as your vassal! Do it as a defender of faith before you drop your relation with him, or face excommunication),

It suffices to be - or have 100+ relations with - the Papal Controller.

 

[calvinhobbeslik]

I just passed the 4th reform, and there are still some Protestant nations around, and I can add my French provinces to the Empire, so I should be able to pass the next 2 reforms.

As for Italy: I've vassalized Savoy and the Pope. My plan is to conquer Naples and Sicily (including the English holdings there) and sell them to the Pope. But I don't know what to do about Savoy: I have a mission to annex it. If I annex it, I don't have anyone to sell the North Italian provinces to (Pope doesn't border them and won't want unlawful imperial territory). I can't sell anything to Savoy either because it won't want unlawful imperial territory. How do I get rid of my North Italian possession?

 

[cywang86]

AI will take your province if they border it, or there's sea connection. The chance might vary, but eventually they'll take it.

If you sell your coastal provinces to your vassal, they'll usually take it regardless of unlawful territory. Make sure you give them to non-HRE vassals so they don't suffer the 0.25 Infamy per year. (they can still trigger the province modifier, but if you sell provinces fast and keep the peace period minimal, it can be avoided)

If the province doesn't have unlawful territory modifier, double check their infamy. If it's too high, they'll certainly return it when formal request is triggered.

For your last few reforms, you can always release your French OPM for 10 IA each. You'll get them all back when the last reform is passed anyway.

Oh, once HRE is formed, you core all HRE provinces that you or your neighbor owns. So you can certainly annex a couple nations dead center of HRE for maximum benefit. If it's diplo-annex, make sure it's done before the vassal all HRE reform, to avoid the whole HRE hating you.