Can I do Auto-Trade?

[milman]

trade is automatic. you only send traders in CoT which is 30 second job every 50-100 years

 

[grumphie]

As someone who has far too many hours of EU3, EU4, and CK2 racked up, I can confidently say that while CK2 certainly has all sorts of complexities that EUx lack, it also has much better discoverability - and it is discoverability that underlies "user-friendliness".

i disagree. it took me days to understand how this feudal system with claims and the like worked. it took even longer to become good at it. even then, i discovered an bunch of new things every week. how to expand through marriage, how marriage claims work, how do CB's work, how do i use the pope. few months ago, when i thought i found out all there was to know after intensive exploring the events and code behind the game and extensive playing, i found out about the realm view and suddenly my game became better by miles as i now could see how much amry everyone had compared to their overlord and the like.

EUIII(and EUIV) were harder to get into, which really isnt an good thing, but once i had the hang of it after a few hours it was all pretty damn easy. sure, i;d find out something about some ideas activating events and how to win battles more effecitvly, but nothing large gamechanging, and never much, and rarely naturally, which is where ckII shines. CKII is hard and complicated yet easy to get into and easy to play even if you dont know what the hell youre doing. sure, you wont thrive and do an WC, but its very doable to just play and have fun. EU on the other hand makes it very easy to screw up your nation beyond repair after which youll get eaten by other nations, and once you get the hang of how the core works its perhaps too straightforward considering you either do some extensive digging through code to ifnd out why you get certain events and why not or stay ignorant.

 

[DukeDayve]

I'm not much of a fan of trade either. Not in this game anyhow. What I usually do is, as France for example, have one of my merchants collecting directly from Bordeaux, which is the trade node France owns (has most power in) and send the other merchant to direct trade from Seville (which Castille/Portugal own) to Bordeaux. I think this increases the amount of money your Bordeaux merchant collects.

And that's it. I don't put any more thought into it than that. And I figured that out myself! So if I can figure it out then so can you.

 

[CirMag]

You are not really helpful. I tried to learn. Too complicated.

A nice site to check out for help on trade is the EU4 Wiki.
It discusses how the trade nodes, trade power, and trade value work. Additionally it discusses various strategies, decisions, and modifiers that can very significant gameplay effects. Properly used, trade can become a huge boost to a country's finances, and can even be used to strangle other nations.

I am with you there. I just bought this game today and I must say am highly disappointed. This is not at all user-friendly like Crusader Kings 2. And i couldnt understand the trade mechanics either. How do you try and control the trade system? I was researching that right now. You cant even control or customize your rulers. You play as a country alone not an individual.

EU is a different game from CK, much the same as they are different from Vicky and HOI*. Each game has a certain core style that separates it. For CK it's the pseudo roleplaying mechanics, and the focus on individual characters and dynasties. For EU it's focus lies in exploration/colonization and the birth of larger world spanning more unified countries. Vicky is focused on industrialization, different population classes and politics. Lastly HOI is war, production and logistics. Maybe EU4 isn't gonna be suited for you, but, since you already have it, you should stick with it for awhile, many people really enjoy it. Check out some of the tutorials/beginner guides on the wiki, and feel free to ask questions.
The Quick Question/ Quick Answers thread is a great resource. Both at looking over what questions others have had, and also for asking your own. The people that regularly answer in there tend to have very helpful personalities.


*There is also EU:Rome, it's main feature is not getting enough love.

 

[Chiro]

I'm not much of a fan of trade either. Not in this game anyhow. What I usually do is, as France for example, have one of my merchants collecting directly from Bordeaux, which is the trade node France owns (has most power in) and send the other merchant to direct trade from Seville (which Castille/Portugal own) to Bordeaux. I think this increases the amount of money your Bordeaux merchant collects.

And that's it. I don't put any more thought into it than that. And I figured that out myself! So if I can figure it out then so can you.

That's a very good way of not using your potential as a country, dear sir.

 

[Tkrens]

You are not really helpful. I tried to learn. Too complicated.

It should perhaps be noted that the game does have tutorials, which aren't bad at all. Otherwise there's the always helpful EU4 wiki.

Paradox games aren't particularly known for their user-friendliness. It's a bit of a niche genre and the fan base expects a certain level of complexity. You have to be willing to put some real effort into learning the game. Those complaining trade is impossible to understand haven't tried hard enough, since the rest of us do understand.

I'd suggest going through the relevant tutorials. Some others have also posted excellent advise in this very thread. Good luck.

 

[Susanna]

I didn't even bother with trade in my first few playthroughs. It is far from essential if you start out as a continental power and you can slowly get more familiar with the way it works.

Yeah, start as Muscovy, for example, and it isn't even an issue for quite a while.

I like both CK and EU, but they are very different games, and should be approached differently.