How do people get all of these PUs????

[zachtobin]

So I consider myself a decent EU3 player, but when I look at the post your empire threads I am blown away at the people how have many of PUs particularly when they get a PU on a large country. Are you using the claim throne option, forged documents, or just lucky? Whenever I have tried claiming the throne of countries it just pisses off everyone else I have a RM with, and I have to start a war to actually get the PU. I have gotten forged documents to work for small countries, but the peace cost is too high to work on larger countries. Is there something I am missing here?

 

[Eh up me duck]

It's almost entirely luck. People brag a lot

 

[maxirage]

It's done using forged documents. What the the heck do you peace the peace cost is too high? It's a constant cost. 90% if you have several PUs already.

 

[brifbates]

There are two different ways to get a lot of PUs:

1) spies spies spies-keep an eye on the legitimacy of co-religionist nations using the ledger, when one drops below 50% fabricate claims (spy mission in capital province) then win a war using obscure documents CB, needs ~80% war score

2) diplomats-keep an eye on the disputed succession indicator at to center of screen (head with crown beside it icon), get a rm with a nation listed, claim throne, win war using claims on throne CB, needs ~70% war score

The less forceful methods of just marrying, or marrying then claiming throne but not warring to enforce the claim will get you some but nothing like the lists some have posted

 

[Dareoth]

So I wondered about this for a bit and then I figured it out when playing my current France (yeah I know not exactly a challenge) game. I thought people were claiming thrones and was perplexed how widely they were spreading it. Because of the real high relation hit on every Royal Marriage nation, and thought maybe then were just RMing one nation at a time. But nope. Forged documents. Quite effective. It's not too hard to have a spy chance 50+% and almost always 30+%, so if you have the spies (the hard part of this whole thing) you can just do that spy mission on repeat for 100 ducats. If successful, use that CB, and then bam. All you need is to win the war (90% warscore, constant) and you get a new PU junior partner. (So in my France game in just the first 50 years, Castille, then Aragon, then England and finally a blobbing Sweden suddenly found themselves wishing to join kings with the French. Now just have to wait for inheritance, helpfully reminding them how much they like me with gifts. And in the meantime, super crazy strong ally/vassals.)

 

[Pjstaab]

I just do the RM spam and claim thrones. So what if everyone is pissed at me.

 

[Pewt]

It's almost entirely luck. People brag a lot

It's actually very consistent if you:

• Pay attention.
• Claim thrones as often as possible.
• Forge documents as often as possible.

 

[unmerged(432880)]

Claiming thrones is extremely reliable if you don't spam royal marriages, and instead only make them with the intent of throne claiming. In my Poland game I'm playing through at the moment, I started with the 'Improve Relations with Mazovia' missions, which required an RM, so I realised I wouldn't be able to RM and Claim the Throne of Hungary without ruining my relations with Mazovia, so I took care of Hungary before organising an RM with Mazovia. Simple stuff, just requires a small amount of forward planning.

 

[XT6Wagon]

I pretty much don't use royal marrages unless my legitamacy is really bad. That way as soon as a big nation hits a snag with their own royalty you marry into them, quick and dirty little (or large) war, and BAM one of your big rivals is now your pet. The whole game can turn on a single claim throne war. Normal war you get a hand full of provinces. Think of swiping all of castile or Great Britian at the the height of their power. May take a hundred or more years to inherit the full spoils of this, but trust me, ambushing large nations for thier thrones is the number one dirty trick I've found so far to win. Who needs to own all of austria's provinces when austria is your pet and its doom stacks crush the souls (and armys) of any HRE member stupid enough to annoy you? Why do you need to capture the british isles yourself when Britian as a pet will smash fleets and colonize the new world for you all on its own. Then sometime down the road, you WILL get all this land and taxes free of any infamy charges.

So save the RM spam, target wisely rich lands just a bit weaker than you and make some pets.

 

[Cataphractoi]

In my Pomerania game I have almost the entire HRE under PUs, as well as France. Almost entirely by use of spies, but in the early game I claimed thrones and actually got France by luck. It had just gotten out of a PU with holland, the TPM.

 

[unmerged(80402)]

I just loled when i got random PU with crete, and then inherited them. As they were non core i just released them as vassals. I play as russia and do not claim too much thrones, because it would be too easy if i would do that - i would own whole europe possibly, and it is no fun, having no challenge...

You need to remember few things when you want to get many PU's :
You will need the Grand Marshal, to increase legitimacy, as every claim on the throne cost 20 legitimacy.
You will need all increasing legitimacy modifires, and best keep prestige high.
You will need to gift up countries you just recently PU'ed by war.
You will need to keep army bigger than your PU partners.

 

[Pjstaab]

In my Pomerania game I have almost the entire HRE under PUs, as well as France. Almost entirely by use of spies, but in the early game I claimed thrones and actually got France by luck. It had just gotten out of a PU with holland, the TPM.

TPM? Two, three, ten, twelve? 2PM? Holland could be more than the starting provinces if they are leading a PU since they had to have gotten out of the one with Hainut.

 

[unmerged(70580)]

Fabricate Claims using spies is the far more efficient way of doing it, at least when you're playing to creat as many PUs as possible (I have 27 atm in my current game, had 30 odd earlier, & have inherited about a third of Europe so far).

I only Claim Thrones at game start, before spies become easier to gain, & before I have a lot of PUs on the go.

The big problem with Claiming the Throne using a Royal Marriage is it costs you minus 100 to relations with all other PU allies. That is a very very bad thing because if your ruler dies the PUs end if you have negative relations with the PU junior. Also, your chance of actually inheriting is better the higher relations are.

So, imagine if I were to Claim a Throne with 27 PUs ... I'd then have to spam diplomats to 27 nations to get relations back up. Claim Throne twice & most of those are in negative relations, meaning all the PUs mght end if my ruler were to die. (Though frankly I'd restart).

Fabricating Claims causes no real loss to relations with other PU allies (well, maybe -5 for declaring war). There's also no legitimacy loss (though that's a minor issue later in the game). In my WC attempt game, I avoid having RMs with anyone, to allow me to declare war more freely, & fab claims on anyone I can. I'm even releasing monarchy vassals so as to open them to fab claims.

 

[unmerged(80402)]

Claim thrones only decrease relations with countries you have royal marriage, so ruling over curia, helps here(free disposal of royal marriage).

 

[xcrissxcrossx]

So, imagine if I were to Claim a Throne with 27 PUs ... I'd then have to spam diplomats to 27 nations to get relations back up. Claim Throne twice & most of those are in negative relations, meaning all the PUs mght end if my ruler were to die. (Though frankly I'd restart).

Usually I end a royal marriage the month before i press the claim, so this won't happen.