Do you find Manpower More Plentiful after the Emperor update?

[Titanius Puffin]

For various reasons, I've run out of soldiers less often.

Is this common for other folks?

 

[grommile]

Being aware of the hassle involved in mercenaries is probably making you manage your manpower better, and not having to slaughter infinite AI mercs is probably reducing your battle casualties

 

[RAID186]

Luck, getting better at the game, playing with new mission trees and some changes to the merc system probably have an impact. AI won't always merc up or use their mercs right, meaning sometimes you're fighting less soldiers.

I haven't noticed a huge difference personally.

 

[Titanius Puffin]

Being aware of the hassle involved in mercenaries is probably making you manage your manpower better, and not having to slaughter infinite AI mercs is probably reducing your battle casualties

Not much of a Merc player - I tend to max out professionalism, which means they're my last choice - so for me the inconvenience has been minimal.
Also, I often play as England, so I've got some experience in trying to minimise manpower losses (England has no nobles).

@RAID186 I'm fairly experienced at the game. Steam gives me 5,500 hours at the game, which is a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm in that area.
I just want to get a feel for the 'meta' and popular peception.
I can give reasons why manpower is less of an issue for me. I just want to hear other folks on that issue.

 

[Zaddy]

Did they not just flatly increase manpower for all countries in 1.30? Anyways especially in the early game, before the (for me) now mandatory Quantity pick, I'll usually be running low on manpower and need to slacken. Being able to spam roll generals for professionalism means we have a super useful pipeline of mil points ---> manpower, while also getting to cherry pick a few good generals.

 

[Groogy]

Did they not just flatly increase manpower for all countries in 1.30?

Nope, we only gave you more venues to build up your cap of manpower. Also Professionalism/Drill retain more manpower from a battle so if you keep it high you will simply loose less troops

 

[love sweden]

Its not higher at all. The only thing that changed is more provinces you can conquer so automatically more manpower that way and that you are forced to take quantity ideas every game as every nation unless you intend to walk 5 k stacks at speed 2 through to min max your attrition.

 

[klingonadmiral]

Nope, we only gave you more venues to build up your cap of manpower. Also Professionalism/Drill retain more manpower from a battle so if you keep it high you will simply loose less troops

And I still wish you did increase base manpower.

Viyajanagar vs Bahmanis is painful now.

ou are forced to take quantity ideas every game

You really aren't.

 

[Titanius Puffin]

The only thing that changed is more provinces you can conquer so automatically more manpower that way and that you are forced to take quantity ideas every game as every nation unless you intend to walk 5 k stacks at speed 2 through to min max your attrition.

And I still wish you did increase base manpower.

Viyajanagar vs Bahmanis is painful now.

So it's mostly the same for both of you?

 

[Jarvin]

And I still wish you did increase base manpower.

I'm really glad they didn't.
Manpower is already in a place where - if well managed - it can get to near infinite levels, and manpower being accessible thru all sorts of bonuses is more skillful & interactive than it just kinda being there from the base value

I think the best PDS can do now in terms of manpower is just balancing it a bit better. Reduce manpower from slackening professionalism, maybe give other religions than orthodox some slight manpower bonuses, that kind of stuff

 

[klingonadmiral]

So it's mostly the same for both of you?

The war against Bahmanis comes before 1450, long before any idea set is chosen. Past this war, manpower stops being an issue.

 

[EarlKonrad]

For various reasons, I've run out of soldiers less often.

Is this common for other folks?

Personally, no. As a matter of fact, I'm having more trouble with manpower. Between higher attrition at sea, mercs being gutted and allies being less reliable I find myself losing more manpower to attrition.

They added a manpower manufactory and a estate privilege that increases manpower. As far as I remember, these were the only additions to manpower. Both sure make it easier to have more manpower later on but the change to mercs means that you either carpet siege losing more manpower than before or sink hundreds of thousands of ducats merc sieging.

 

[Zaddy]

Nope, we only gave you more venues to build up your cap of manpower. Also Professionalism/Drill retain more manpower from a battle so if you keep it high you will simply loose less troops

Oh, guess I'm crazy, I could've sworn that a dev diary at some point discussed manpower development just giving more manpower. Either way, manpower is definitely something you need to manage well in the early parts of the game.

 

[Big Bad France]

Mercs in the early campaign seem a lot more affordable to me than they were in previous patches. That makes managing manpower at that stage a lot easier, and in the late game, I'm generally pretty good at conserving it, anyway, outside of areas with more extreme rates of attrition.