Empire of Japan strategy DW

[EU3noob128]

Hi, i play as empire of Japan (cheated so it can be united in 1399 since) i play on basically the easiest settings (no cost for merchants, colonists,spies, no inflation etc). This is just to get used to the game, then i will try again with inflation and eventually with all the normal settings. Anyway, first thing i do is go for gov't 4 so i can get that idea that lets you declare war against other religions. I then go for govt tech 9 ( i think its 9, might be 8) and in that time i basically build up my navy and usually try to think of ways to take korea without ming/manchu getting in the way or focus on trying to war south east asia. My short term goal is to get explorers/conquistadors and colonize the Philippines/other areas around australia and make an empire similar to ww2 Japanese Empire (without invading Ming just yet). My overall term goal however is to colonize the americas and face off against European countries over there.

I'm wondering if theres anything else i should be doing in the mean time while i wait for the gov't tech and what i should do after i get it? What other tech should i focus on? I usually have a good amount of money by then so i dont need to mint eventhough inflation is off. Also what are some other Japan strategies you can think of starting 1399? (being the actual empire at the start of the game, not working towards it)

 

[unmerged(465279)]

Well you better get ready for the most boring game of your life if you are really planning on playing Japan and not one of the Daimyos.

 

[cuendillar]

As Japan is in a weak tech group (40% compared to Europeans, so they cost 2,5 times as much for you) you really need to build an economy to stand any chance against them once you encounter them. Tech cost also scales with number of provinces, so avoid taking too much poor land early on - it's not worth it.

I would focus heavily on getting infrastructure up, especially docks and constables+workshops. Those should be built pretty much everywhere, markets where you have valuable goods like chinaware. Japan is strong enough that economy should be given preference ahead of military aspects, at least until you start tangling with Ming. Even then, if your tech lead is large enough they should be manageable.

Sliders towards centralisation is needed as well, Free subjects is good for teching too but you need innovative to westernize (only long-term chance against Europe) and having both can make stability recovery very slow.

 

[EU3noob128]

Notlupus incase you think i was playing as just Kyoto what i did was use cheats as Minamoto to annex the other daimyos and then unite Japan before the game even starts. Thanks for the advice cuendillar. Should i not takeover south east asia than? Im not sure if its poor land or not but i've heard the Philippines are good. How do i raise infrastructure? Land tech?

 

[cuendillar]

Notlupus incase you think i was playing as just Kyoto what i did was use cheats as Minamoto to annex the other daimyos and then unite Japan before the game even starts. Thanks for the advice cuendillar. Should i not takeover south east asia than? Im not sure if its poor land or not but i've heard the Philippines are good. How do i raise infrastructure? Land tech?

SE Asia isn't that bad, but make province-by-province decisions. Grain, naval supplies and wool are typically poor goods, the others around there are pretty good. If a provinces have one of those three and a base tax of 4 or lower, don't bother. You probably has to do a fair bit of conversions for conquered provinces to get more tax income from them though.

The Philippines/Indonesia are likely to give pretty good trade goods, as are Siberia - especially the landlocked provinces. Taiwan is very good and should be the priority. Remember that it takes quite a while for colonies to grow into full cities, and they're a financial burden until then.

As for infrastructure, the buildings gets unlocked whenever you reach certain technological milestones. Docks are Naval 4, Constables are Production 4 and Workshops Production 8. As constables increases yearly cash, I would aim to have them at least in high-tax provinces before starting colonization. You can see in the tech view what future technologies will unlock.

 

[EU3noob128]

Thanks again . Last question for now before i really get started with this dedicated campaign:

Religion wise, i plan to make all of Japan (plus modern Ryu and the islands above mainland) Shinto but lets say i takeover SE Asia/Korea. Should i try to convert them to Shinto or leave them Buddhist/Confucian?

 

[Dauth]

You need to westernise to stand a chance and modernise the military. All the info on westernisation is here http://www.paradoxian.org/eu3wiki/How_to_Westernise . You start in the chinese tech group.

The problem you will have is that being innovative reduces missionary numbers (-1.00 at full innovative) and this means you won't be able to convert until after westernisation. Afterwards you will need to move sliders back to narrowminded to get missionaries, this will also boost you colony growth rate and is recommended.

Also learn to trade like a beast, you will need a huge income to support a big colonial empire and to try to catch up and pass the Europeans in tech.

 

[unmerged(465279)]

Notlupus incase you think i was playing as just Kyoto what i did was use cheats as Minamoto to annex the other daimyos and then unite Japan before the game even starts. Thanks for the advice cuendillar. Should i not takeover south east asia than? Im not sure if its poor land or not but i've heard the Philippines are good. How do i raise infrastructure? Land tech?

Aah sorry I missed that then. Carry on!

 

[unmerged(204522)]

unless youre planning a WC, the only mainland asian provinces you should own are the CoTs. everything else should be vassalised and allied-lots of soldiers and ships to fight by your side against ming and the europeans that you dont have to pay for-you also get part of their income and they dont affect your tech rate.

 

[Musthavename]

If you're doing this to get used to the game, play in Europe. The hassle of Westernisation (something you'll need to do if you want to be competitive) is a lot for a new player to take on. If you really insist on playing Japan, gear yourself towards Westernisation first and foremost. You've then either got the option of expanding into China, either forcing Ming/Korea/Manchu into personal unions with you or grabbing Unam Sanctum and declaring war. Or the option of grabbing the colonist idea and colonising Siberia, Indonesia or even the Americas.