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EU4 - Development Diary - 28th of February 2017

Good day everyone, Tuesday spells for us a new EU4 Development Diary and while certain members are away enjoying the high life at GDC, it falls to me to bring you today's juicy serving of new mechanics.

As teased last week, we shall look closer at the Empire of China, a new concept in the upcoming expansion. In 1444, Ming is busy being the top dog in Asia and indeed the world, but they were not the first to claim Mandate over China and certainly not the last. We are not even one hundred years from the total collapse of the Yuan domination of china and only two hundred years shy of the successor nation Qing.

An important goal for us is to bring new play experiences across the world. Previously as a nation in East Asia, one would generally wait for Ming to crumble to rebellions, usually from loss of the Mandate of Heaven modifier (or a lot of horses and a good shock phase), and then pick up the pieces from this "Mingsplosion" or playing as Ming, simply do everything in your power to avoid falling into aforementioned deadly Spiral. This isn't quite how we would like East Asia to play out. We wish to bring the whole experience to life In the upcoming expansion, as the Empire of China is now a title that is fought for!

eu4_123.png


Where to begin? Our glorious Ming Starts in 1444 with the Celestial throne with a moderate Mandate value. Mandate will grow over time supposing stability is high, States are prosperous and you have an extensive collection of Tributaries. Protect it well, since it will have a large effect on how well your nation will function: Provincial devastation and bordering nations who are not your Tributary or otherwise bending their knee to you will cause Mandate to suffer. At Maximum mandate, The emperor of China will enjoy unrest reduction and cheaper stability cost. Conversely, as Mandate goes down below 50, you will find your troops performing worse and your provinces producing fewer goods, as the people you supposedly rule over with Divine grace back you less and less.

Mandate can be used to pass Celestial Reforms. Not unlike the Holy roman Empire, The Emperor of China must foster the growth of their mandate and spend it to gain some fantastic bonuses. Each Reform can be taken at 80+ Mandate, each will reduce Mandate by 50 and Stability by 1.
  • Introduce Gaituguiliu
    • +0.5 Meritocracy
  • Reform Seaban
    • +1 Diplomats
    • +5% trade Efficiency
  • Delegate Zongdu
    • -0.05 Monthly autonomy
  • Establish Lifan Yuan
    • -10% Core creation Cost
  • Reshape Beurocratic Ranks
    • +1 Monarch Admin Power
Additionally, hawk-eyed readers will have spotted a new Hat in the top bar. Celestial Emperors do not use the Legitimacy values since they are all obviously legit. The Emperor instead has unique access to Meritocracy. This will naturally degrade every year but increases by having skilled advisors in your court. It is then spent on the 6 Decrees, also uniquely available to the Emperor of China.

  • Expand Palace Bureaucracy
    • -10% Development cost
    • -10% core Creation Cost
  • Conduct Population Census
    • +25% National Tax
  • Promote Naval Officers
    • +20% ship durability
  • Increase Tariff Control
    • +25% Provincial trade Power
  • Improve Defense Effort
    • +25% Fort Defense
  • Boost the Officer Corps
    • +10% Infantry Combat Ability
Each Decree lasts for 10 years, costs 20 Meritocracy and, of course, all values are subject to balance up until release, but that's par for the course.

So life is good for the Ming the Celestial Emperor. China is theirs, their tribute flows in regularly and they pass reforms and decrees as they see fit. Well, no single Empire lasts forever.

eu4_126.png


The Celestial throne is there for any Pagan or Eastern Religion nation to secure for themselves. In practice, The Northern Hordes, the Japanese, the Koreans and the Buddhists are all in with a fair shot at securing the title for themselves and have access to a new Casus Belli: Take Mandate of Heaven. Land is cheaper to take in this war. Far cheaper, and it will allow the attacker to secure the Throne for themselves. When this happens, all previous reforms are wiped and the new ruler will start with moderate Mandate themselves. After all, there is only one China and all history from before did not exist. The new Emperor of China will have to quickly establish themselves with their own tributaries and bring Prosperity to the people of China to avoid the fate of their disposed Predecessor. The failed old Emperor of China shall be subjected to the Lost Mandate of Heaven modifier in addition to losing their Empire of China modifiers. Better take care of them, before they collect themselves and put their mind to reclaiming their old throne.

The successful claimant will also enjoy permanent claim on all of China to help consolidate their new power, as our Dai Viet player @Ihki was putting to great effect.

eu4_124.png


Best of luck with your fight to secure the Mandate for yourself. We'll be back next week to talk about another new feature which has our team lamenting any moment that they have to play without it. See you then!
 
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I knew being awake whole night for Carnaval would be worth it.


Do you keep all tributaries the last Emperor had? And how do you reform out of it? And how does that Catholic event works with the Mandate, would a Catholic Ming lose the Mandate?
 
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What happens if current Emperor would be wholly destroyed with non-claiming-mandate cb (let's say by european conquest)?
 
Oh hey look, Asia getting lots of love in this expansion...

Now what will people find to complain about next?
 
I suggest to replace the icon for mandate, it just not that proper. That hat is manchu type while traditional Chinese hat called "guan" is some how like Korean and Japanese traditional hat. Please replace it to something that Ming and Qing dynasty have in common. Maybe the forbidden city or "huabiao"— a symbol of absolute power of the emporer
 
I suggest to replace the icon for mandate, it just not that proper. That hat is manchu type while traditional Chinese hat called "guan" is some how like Korean and Japanese traditional hat. Please replace it to something that Ming and Qing dynasty have in common.
You mean something like what these guys are wearing?
Officials.jpeg
 
Are there any plans to switch name positions for Asian nations (some? I don't know if that naming is used everywhere)? Surname before given name (e.g. Zhu Qizhen instead of Qizhen Zhu). I think this would greatly add to immersion.
 
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Do you keep all tributaries the last Emperor had? And how do you reform out of it? And how does that Catholic event works with the Mandate, would a Catholic Ming lose the Mandate?

Tributaries will only transfer if the target nation is annexed. A sufficiently weakened nation however, will find their Tributaries no longer seeking their protection.

The Catholic event still exists, and it is possible to switch and maintain the Celestial Throne

What happens if current Emperor would be wholly destroyed with non-claiming-mandate cb (let's say by european conquest)?

I like this question a lot, because it gives me an excuse to post this (ignore the placeholder event image).

eu4_128.jpg


@DDRJake :

Does something special happen when you pass all reforms?

this mechanics are nice btw

The Celestial Reforms themselves are standalone, there is no unite the HRE style Finale

Do meritocracy bring passive bonuses, like Legitimacy, Republican Tradition, etc.

Nice catch, Meritocracy affects spy detection chance and advisor cost, from -50% detection and +25% cost at 0 Meritocracy, to +50% detection and -25% cost at 100 Meritocracy.
 
Are there any plans to switch name positions for Asian nations (some? I don't know if that naming is used everywhere)? Surname before given name (e.g. Zhu Qizhen instead of Qizhen Zhu). I think this would greatly add to immersion.

I think in Asia it's only China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam...not sure about other regions. I heard Hungarians sometimes have surname in the front as well?

Also I would imagine the chinese forum (tieba) starts to complain about the hat icon for meritocracy value...
 
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I suggest to replace the icon for mandate, it just not that proper. That hat is manchu type while traditional Chinese hat called "guan" is some how like Korean and Japanese traditional hat. Please replace it to something that Ming and Qing dynasty have in common. Maybe the forbidden city or "huabiao"— a symbol of absolute power of the emporer

Totally agree on that.

Also I find the sentence "After all, there is only one China and all history from before did not exist." to be overly simplified and against what actually happened during various times. There were times when there were several states claiming mandate at the same time, just as sholars would write about previous dynasties instead of pretending their history did not exist.
 
While I love the new additions to the celestial empire, there's still a few concern:
1, Shouldn't the emperor of China be determined by the one who dominates Zhongyuan, or at least have a significant presence within China proper? Since it will take much more than just taking over Beijing to truly justify the title.
2, Is there any changes to the celestial empire government form?