I always go for colonization, because provinces with sugar, tobacco, coffee, spices, and so on will eventually be worth a LOT more than most European provinces.
I just finished a game as England. I IMMEDIATELY made peace with France by surrendering Calais (in Burgundy's sphere of influence). I kept Gascony long enough to colonize Cape Verde, thus putting Bermuda and St. Helena within colonization range, and then ceded Gascony to Burgundy. (With a 50% tax penalty, neither province is worth a war to retain. Also, if the French and Burgundians decide to kill each other over Calais and Gascony, they won't bother me.)
In fact, England is better off with no continental attachments, although I couldn't resist capturing some Italian universities to speed up my governmental technology. This is done by issuing enough warnings and guarantees to northern Italy, and then waiting for someone to start a war.
The next step is to go for the Caribbean with its sugar and coffee, and for the Cape of Good Hope. Little Karoo also has sugar, and it puts Mahe within colonization range. From Mahe, go to Diego Garcia (convenient naval base) and then Indonesia to get the East India Trading Company. By the time any AI-controlled countries got over there, I owned all the sugar, spice, and coffee producing colonies.
1st National Idea: Quest for the New World
2nd National Idea: Colonial Ventures. Also, go for Free Trade as quickly as possible
3rd National Idea: Smithian Economics (to benefit from all those valuable goods your colonies are producing)
Later: National Trade Policy and Shrewd Commerce Practices. In combination with the East India Trade Company (+10% compete chance), you can hold ten or even more monopolies, in the most valuable centers of trade.
This assumes a No Inflation game, which makes it much easier for the player, but the AI seems to play MUCH better without inflation. At the end of this game, Spain's and France's technologies were roughly equal to mine (at Hard setting, to offset the AI's habit of keeping its military maintenance sliders all the way to the right in peacetime). When inflation is present, the AI controlled countries fall behind as the game progresses.
After you have established a nice set of income-producing colonies, you want an excuse to declare war on the Mamelukes, Persia, or whomever so you can take Jerusalem and/or Mecca. Same for the Ottoman Empire to get the Bosporus Sound Toll. (In this game, Lithuania got Edirne and the other required province before I could do so.) Also, you want to issue warnings and guarantees in India so you can conquer the valuable spice and cotton provinces. I stopped sending warnings to Orissa and Vijayanagar after I got all their spices, tea, and cotton. (I didn't really want their fish provinces--they'll never pay back what it will cost to fortify, develop, and convert them.)
In the New World, similar wars against the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas are quite useful. These countries aren't usually as obliging as Vijayanagar and Orissa can be in giving you a casus belli, though. Again, I want only coffee, tobacco, sugar, and gold--a province that produces fish or grain is unlikely to even pay back what it will cost to develop and convert it. You can also extort huge peace settlements from the Incas and Aztecs instead of taking provinces.
Much later in the game (when you have at least Gustavian and preferably better infantry) is the time to attack the Ming and their allies (usually Korea). Provinces that produce 2 units of chinaware are the most valuable in the game. The problem is that there are a lot of Ming, and you have to have enough technology and men to defeat all of them.
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The AI is very aggressive at seeking control over the College of Cardinals, but not so in becoming Holy Roman Emperor. You can generally lock in the HRE by being generous with the Electors (and having a couple as your vassals is quite useful). Of course, if your monarch dies without a successor, you have to wait until you get a monarch and then wait until the Emperor dies.
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I generally try to avoid European wars. Who wants to fight someone who is equally well armed (and especially the French, with their almost limitless manpower) over relatively low value provinces? The exceptions are the Italian universities, provinces with other manufactories, and provinces with gold.
Watch out for personal unions. I had to break mine with Austria by issuing insults (and then rebuild my relation with Austria with gifts). A personal union is fine as long as the senior partner has good monarches and doesn't involve you in stupid wars. (You can't declare war, but you can honor a guarantee or a warning.) When the senior partner starts declaring war on your vassals or countries with which you have military access (thus trashing your stability), it's time to look for ways to end the arrangement. Apparently driving the relationship below 0 will do this, and the AI has yet to think of sending gifts to rebuild the relation.
I just finished a game as England. I IMMEDIATELY made peace with France by surrendering Calais (in Burgundy's sphere of influence). I kept Gascony long enough to colonize Cape Verde, thus putting Bermuda and St. Helena within colonization range, and then ceded Gascony to Burgundy. (With a 50% tax penalty, neither province is worth a war to retain. Also, if the French and Burgundians decide to kill each other over Calais and Gascony, they won't bother me.)
In fact, England is better off with no continental attachments, although I couldn't resist capturing some Italian universities to speed up my governmental technology. This is done by issuing enough warnings and guarantees to northern Italy, and then waiting for someone to start a war.
The next step is to go for the Caribbean with its sugar and coffee, and for the Cape of Good Hope. Little Karoo also has sugar, and it puts Mahe within colonization range. From Mahe, go to Diego Garcia (convenient naval base) and then Indonesia to get the East India Trading Company. By the time any AI-controlled countries got over there, I owned all the sugar, spice, and coffee producing colonies.
1st National Idea: Quest for the New World
2nd National Idea: Colonial Ventures. Also, go for Free Trade as quickly as possible
3rd National Idea: Smithian Economics (to benefit from all those valuable goods your colonies are producing)
Later: National Trade Policy and Shrewd Commerce Practices. In combination with the East India Trade Company (+10% compete chance), you can hold ten or even more monopolies, in the most valuable centers of trade.
This assumes a No Inflation game, which makes it much easier for the player, but the AI seems to play MUCH better without inflation. At the end of this game, Spain's and France's technologies were roughly equal to mine (at Hard setting, to offset the AI's habit of keeping its military maintenance sliders all the way to the right in peacetime). When inflation is present, the AI controlled countries fall behind as the game progresses.
After you have established a nice set of income-producing colonies, you want an excuse to declare war on the Mamelukes, Persia, or whomever so you can take Jerusalem and/or Mecca. Same for the Ottoman Empire to get the Bosporus Sound Toll. (In this game, Lithuania got Edirne and the other required province before I could do so.) Also, you want to issue warnings and guarantees in India so you can conquer the valuable spice and cotton provinces. I stopped sending warnings to Orissa and Vijayanagar after I got all their spices, tea, and cotton. (I didn't really want their fish provinces--they'll never pay back what it will cost to fortify, develop, and convert them.)
In the New World, similar wars against the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas are quite useful. These countries aren't usually as obliging as Vijayanagar and Orissa can be in giving you a casus belli, though. Again, I want only coffee, tobacco, sugar, and gold--a province that produces fish or grain is unlikely to even pay back what it will cost to develop and convert it. You can also extort huge peace settlements from the Incas and Aztecs instead of taking provinces.
Much later in the game (when you have at least Gustavian and preferably better infantry) is the time to attack the Ming and their allies (usually Korea). Provinces that produce 2 units of chinaware are the most valuable in the game. The problem is that there are a lot of Ming, and you have to have enough technology and men to defeat all of them.
===========================
The AI is very aggressive at seeking control over the College of Cardinals, but not so in becoming Holy Roman Emperor. You can generally lock in the HRE by being generous with the Electors (and having a couple as your vassals is quite useful). Of course, if your monarch dies without a successor, you have to wait until you get a monarch and then wait until the Emperor dies.
===========================
I generally try to avoid European wars. Who wants to fight someone who is equally well armed (and especially the French, with their almost limitless manpower) over relatively low value provinces? The exceptions are the Italian universities, provinces with other manufactories, and provinces with gold.
Watch out for personal unions. I had to break mine with Austria by issuing insults (and then rebuild my relation with Austria with gifts). A personal union is fine as long as the senior partner has good monarches and doesn't involve you in stupid wars. (You can't declare war, but you can honor a guarantee or a warning.) When the senior partner starts declaring war on your vassals or countries with which you have military access (thus trashing your stability), it's time to look for ways to end the arrangement. Apparently driving the relationship below 0 will do this, and the AI has yet to think of sending gifts to rebuild the relation.
