How do you weaken the Ottos in the late game?

[kgmi]

Aside from DoW'ing them and taking all the land for yourself. I have fought 3 wars vs the Ottos in my current campaign and forced them to spit and return provinces worth 100% warscore every time. Only problem though, they just reconquest CB all of that land while me and my allies still have a truce with them.

So what am I supposed to do to actually weaken them? I can't force them to spit out Persia since they actually culture converted ALL of Persia to mashriqi culture.

This isn't just an issue in this campaign, it happenes pretty much every single time I play and it's destroying my immersion and fun.

 

[bradles0]

take the land yourself and then spit out a vassal there. Every time you're at war with ottos give your vassal more of their land. Eventually the ottos don't exist, and they can't reconquest your vassal, because that would require fighting you (which they clearly can't do)

Other options include guaranteeing the people that you force ottos to release, or warning the ottos if you border those states. (keep in mind warn only works when they attack a country that you have a border with), extending wars + sowing discontent so that they get seperatist rebels everywhere, and constantantly harassing their economy with embargoes and forcing loans after wars.

 

[Vetgirig]

Forcing someone to release some poor nation is never a good idea. Since they then easily can reconquer it later on with the core they still got on the provinces.

The only time you wanna force someone to release someone else is nearly only when playing Austria and trying to form the HRE.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Aside from DoW'ing them and taking all the land for yourself.

There goes my opportunity for advice .

If you want to make someone weaker, take their clay and keep it. They're weaker then.

 

[GRWalker]

If you force them to return provinces or release nations in their territories (not full states), they lose their half-cores so they cannot use reconquest.

 

[gia257]

Forcing someone to release some poor nation is never a good idea. Since they then easily can reconquer it later on with the core they still got on the provinces.

The only time you wanna force someone to release someone else is nearly only when playing Austria and trying to form the HRE.

it works if they are small, you release, guaranteee, and vassalize

in general it works if they get no army and 20 war exhaustion and leave them untouche allies so you can delcare right away, the release nations build up an army and declare war and cannibalize the guy, but you have to keep with war after war (eg defensive, offensive on ally, on second ally, on guarantee, etc), no truces

 

[Casko]

if you simply want to get rid of the ottomans and do not play on Ironman, you can start your game as Ottomans and break them apart by releasing a bunch of nations, and even give some land back to Byzantines et cetra. this'll make Balkans quite an interesting area for the time, and if you leave Ottomans weakened but still alive you can still possibly see them raise anyhow, though now they got more local rivals.

 

[SPAMbuca]

I'm not sure what you consider late game. A lot of nations, however, can try and contain them before you get there. If you prevent them from growing, they will obviously be easier later. Apart from that, you need to know what to take from them. I usually release a Byzantium vassal as they usually have plenty of cores left. Releasing it independent would indeed not help for a long time. Another good way to confuse the AI is to split their lands up so they cannot effectively defend their lands. If you take the provinces that provide the opportunity to cross the Bosporus, the AI will usually fail.

But in the real end game, the Ottoman units are probably inferior to what you're playing. They start with more pips on their units, but usually fall back to sub par around tech 20 or even earlier. In fact, I don't think their tech 12 infantry is anything special already. They have a bonus on cavalry, but it becomes obsolete around tech 16 once cannons start to dominate the battlefield.

 

[Manic Eskimo]

My priority is usually to cut them into pieces leaving isolated pockets of territory. For example cutting their european territories off from their asian ones. Then trying to take any coastal cities while creating more isolated sections.

 

[TheDungen]

Aside from DoW'ing them and taking all the land for yourself. I have fought 3 wars vs the Ottos in my current campaign and forced them to spit and return provinces worth 100% warscore every time. Only problem though, they just reconquest CB all of that land while me and my allies still have a truce with them.

So what am I supposed to do to actually weaken them? I can't force them to spit out Persia since they actually culture converted ALL of Persia to mashriqi culture.

This isn't just an issue in this campaign, it happenes pretty much every single time I play and it's destroying my immersion and fun.

Shouldn't they lose their cores when you release the minors? At-least on all provinces not of their primary culture,

 

[kgmi]

I'm not sure what you consider late game. A lot of nations, however, can try and contain them before you get there. If you prevent them from growing, they will obviously be easier later. Apart from that, you need to know what to take from them. I usually release a Byzantium vassal as they usually have plenty of cores left. Releasing it independent would indeed not help for a long time. Another good way to confuse the AI is to split their lands up so they cannot effectively defend their lands. If you take the provinces that provide the opportunity to cross the Bosporus, the AI will usually fail.

But in the real end game, the Ottoman units are probably inferior to what you're playing. They start with more pips on their units, but usually fall back to sub par around tech 20 or even earlier. In fact, I don't think their tech 12 infantry is anything special already. They have a bonus on cavalry, but it becomes obsolete around tech 16 once cannons start to dominate the battlefield.

I consider late game the last 100 years of the game. Thanks for the advice, I was thinking about guranteeing released nations but I am pretty much out of relation slots. I never really blob except for roleplaying Qing since I usually handicap myself by becoming just barely strong enough to 1v1 other super powers.

I mean I like the Ottos as a strong "end boss" for my later stages of the game, but them conquering all the way to india, ethiopia and culture converting all of Persia by the time I am strong enogh to take them on, is really starting to destroy my enjoyment. I know they always conquered lots but it never looked like they were doing a WC achievement run.

 

[Big Bad France]

If you aren't planning on taking the land for yourself, you could always just refuse to peace out with them. Eventually they will go bankrupt and fall apart to revolts.

 

[evilcat]

You can privateer Constantinopole, or spam support rebels.
Create vassal and feed it anatolia lands.

 

[inreadible]

If you don't want to or can't take 100% warscore for yourself, you could try make them release a small country and then take provinces around that smaller country so that they are surrounded by you so nobody can't conquer them except you when it's convenient for you.

 

[viale]

You can also force them to give back provinces to other nations. In general: Everything that makes them lose land is good.

so fore example:

first war: take some land you intend to make a vassal, force them to give back as many provinces as possible, force them to give up claims.

Second war: take some more land for you vassal, force them to release as many nations as you can(as far from you and with forts if possible), and give up claims/cores.

Third war: repeat number two
Fourth war: repeat number two
and so on.

The reason, in my mind, it makes sense to force them to release countries is that they have to declare war and spend time taking back that land. But in the mean time they lose income/manpower from lack of those provinces while you gain.

 

[Dominion]

I consider late game the last 100 years of the game. Thanks for the advice, I was thinking about guranteeing released nations but I am pretty much out of relation slots. I never really blob except for roleplaying Qing since I usually handicap myself by becoming just barely strong enough to 1v1 other super powers.

I mean I like the Ottos as a strong "end boss" for my later stages of the game, but them conquering all the way to india, ethiopia and culture converting all of Persia by the time I am strong enogh to take them on, is really starting to destroy my enjoyment. I know they always conquered lots but it never looked like they were doing a WC achievement run.

Next time tentacle them. By creating a good split yoi weaken all future efforts to expand because the AI only counts standing forces.

Yes, you will have to take sth around a dozen provinces in a single war and borders might get slightly more ugly, but it will gretly enhance your overall experience if you keep following that style.