I HATE EU4 !

[KungDenzel]

I too came from Total War, own every single game and have loved them until recently. However those games is ridicolously easy and shallow, their strength lie in the battles and thats it. I found EU4 after the Rome2 flop and never looked back.

This game has a much steeper learning curve, it is deeper and while it is basically only war like Total War, the diplomacy and peace deals are one of the biggest things for me. In Total War you kill off every opponent you face completely and move on the next, diplomacy is very shallow, alliances are meaningless and hard to come by.

TLR Learn to play before you make a fool out of yourself

 

[KungDenzel]

Attila actually has quite some challenge in it, however it is quite obvious that it is a testing ground for the upcoming Warhammer title. Let's hope the latter will pan out something to chew on.

As a long time fan of both warhammer and total war, I have wished for this meld for a long time. I hope very much they wont fuck it up and that I can find some joy in the Total War franchise again.

 

[HHC_Glen]

To be honest this is first time i am so frustrated and angry at some game that i have to express my frustration on game forum. I have never played game which is so bad. i Recently bought is on Steam discount and started playing right away.

Started with Castille because its friendly starting experience,and i allready played game tutorial. And allthough its easy beating Moors everything after that is unplayable.
I tried few times starting war with Aragon with my allies England and Portugal. Aragon allied with France and pope,and its over for me. After 3 new campaigns and 3 looses i tried something new. Quick Alliance with Navara to vasalize them ,soon they start war with Aragon i have to join,even France join us but 10 other countries join Aragon, including Portugal and we lost again.Its unwinable.

Game is so random and so stupid its unplayable.I played allmost all Total War games and it was really interesting because you can actually win and conquer things. This game is pure randomness. Maybe 1 in 100 games will go in my favor but i dont wanna play game like that. Even worse is man power which is like 0 after every war so you cant recruit new units.

Maybe for someone its interesting to wait 50 years for man power to replenish and start war again only to get owned by AI and do same thing all over again and but not for me especially if game last only till 1821.

All thing consider,im gonna stick to real stategy game like Total war games,where you can, like conquer things or win wars and not feel like game is punishing you for no reason. All in all, worst 20 hours i spent in any game

Sometimes it feels good to vent. I can certainly understand your position, the game can be quite hard initially.

If your struggling to take out Aragon, it's likely because of their alliance with France, whom are quite strong, especially in land wars on the continent. You may want to wait for a better opportunity to attack, such as when France and/or Aragon are in a difficult war or they lose their alliance. For example, if Austria declared war on France or vice versa, that we be a good time to attack.

A vassal cannot start their own wars, so perhaps you did not fully vassalise them? Maybe you'd formed an alliance.

What do you mean by randomness? Of course their is an element of randomness and no two play-throughs are the same. While your learning it can definitely be over-whelming but as you improve you'll find you have incredible influence over how to game plays out, especially as a country such as Castile.

Man power can be an issue early on in the game, to help here choose your battles wisely. Minimise negative modifiers, such as attacking into woods/hills/mountains or across rivers. Ideally if your evenly matched you'll want them to attack you in a defensible position. Also consider that the goal early on is not always to have long drawn out wars. You don't have to conquer your enemy entirely, just get enough war score to take what you want (a couple of provinces for example).

EU4 is completely strategy, especially considering their are no tactical combat at all. The only thing that can influence your progress is your strategy - so it's not really a valid point to call it "not a real strategy game".

If your really not getting the game then you might want to invest some time into watching a play through. Personally I'd recommend Arumba or Quill18 but there are many others also. (on youtube).

 

[PiriReis]

To be honest this is first time i am so frustrated and angry at some game that i have to express my frustration on game forum. I have never played game which is so bad. i Recently bought is on Steam discount and started playing right away.

Started with Castille because its friendly starting experience,and i allready played game tutorial. And allthough its easy beating Moors everything after that is unplayable.
I tried few times starting war with Aragon with my allies England and Portugal. Aragon allied with France and pope,and its over for me. After 3 new campaigns and 3 looses i tried something new. Quick Alliance with Navara to vasalize them ,soon they start war with Aragon i have to join,even France join us but 10 other countries join Aragon, including Portugal and we lost again.Its unwinable.

Game is so random and so stupid its unplayable.I played allmost all Total War games and it was really interesting because you can actually win and conquer things. This game is pure randomness. Maybe 1 in 100 games will go in my favor but i dont wanna play game like that. Even worse is man power which is like 0 after every war so you cant recruit new units.

Maybe for someone its interesting to wait 50 years for man power to replenish and start war again only to get owned by AI and do same thing all over again and but not for me especially if game last only till 1821.

All thing consider,im gonna stick to real stategy game like Total war games,where you can, like conquer things or win wars and not feel like game is punishing you for no reason. All in all, worst 20 hours i spent in any game

 

[Meraun]

- DEI? Is that a mod that completely rips of EB1-2 without acknowledging it?

They do! In serveral post they statet that EB is their main ideal.

Also, if the EB team is not willing to do an new Mod for Rome II , i'm glad someelse does.
Its by far the best Mod ofr Rome II out there.

iam also not sure what you mean with "Rips" you can really rip anything exept units and recruitment. The rest of the game is way to different.
Also, if 2 teams make a historical Rome mod, its very likely to be similar... since it the same histroy, you know?

 

[Shatterfury]

He is right .... Paradox games aren`t strategy games...they are GRAND strategy games.

 

[gothos]

it changes tons of stuff in CAI, BAI as well as campaign and Battles. i woud take ages to write it down..

here is a link: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?2024-Divide-et-Impera-(DeI)

i can only recommend it with all of my heart

Well, if killmoves are still in the game and Warscape is still absolutely terrible at handling melee combat, I'll pass, thanks. Unless you want to gift me the game on Steam.
It actually makes me worried about Warhammer... Warscape is a very limited engine for melee combat, though I guess with a lot of monster enemies it can be done better.
Like maybe soldiers engaging more than 1 enemy at a time. Meh... dunno. I really enjoyed battles pre-Empire, I played every single battle on the battlemap instead of autocalc. But in Empire and Shogun II I just ended up doing autocalc after 4-5 battles... just not that engaging or rewarding anymore. And after playing EU4 I seriously can't bring myself to play a TW title again... the campaign map stupidity is just too much to bear.
Though maybe I'll boot up Rome 1 again at some point.

 

[FLESH HUNTER]

You are comparing apples to oranges

 

[Meraun]

Well, if killmoves are still in the game and Warscape is still absolutely terrible at handling melee combat, I'll pass, thanks. Unless you want to gift me the game on Steam.
It actually makes me worried about Warhammer... Warscape is a very limited engine for melee combat, though I guess with a lot of monster enemies it can be done better.
Like maybe soldiers engaging more than 1 enemy at a time. Meh... dunno. I really enjoyed battles pre-Empire, I played every single battle on the battlemap instead of autocalc. But in Empire and Shogun II I just ended up doing autocalc after 4-5 battles... just not that engaging or rewarding anymore. And after playing EU4 I seriously can't bring myself to play a TW title again... the campaign map stupidity is just too much to bear.
Though maybe I'll boot up Rome 1 again at some point.

Well i guess taste are different. i still enjoy TW series very much. As well as the Paradox games. Both have their strength

 

[Stolen Rutters]

Started with Castille because its a friendly starting experience, and i already played game tutorial. Although its easy beating Moors everything after that is unplayable.

This game is unbalanced by design. I understand. Not playing the most powerful nation in the region (hint: France on land, England at sea, Austria within the Holy Roman Empire, Ottomans in the Eastern Mediterranean, Ming, etc.) can be dicey. That's what alliances are for, a way to counter the natural advantages of your rivals...

I tried few times starting war with Aragon with my allies England and Portugal. Aragon allied with France and pope,and its over for me. After 3 new campaigns and 3 looses i tried something new. Quick Alliance with Navara to vassalize them ,soon they start war with Aragon i have to join,even France join us but 10 other countries join Aragon, including Portugal and we lost again.Its unwinnable.

Note that one of the reasons Castile is considered a friendly start is because Aragon and Portugal have a "historic friends" relations modifier, which reduces the chance you will be attacked by those two. This modifier can be removed when you attack. Once again, this game is not designed to play like, attack neighbor and grow, next neighbor is bigger, attack them and grow, and so on.

edit - Also, sometimes the missions you are given are not always the "best" option. One mission says take province from Aragon, but if Aragon allied with France instead of you and Portugal, the mission to improve relations with the Pope is actually a better play... you might be able to get them on your side instead. Take Aragon's provinces later. For instance, you can wait until Aragon and France is at war with someone else (hint: Austria, Burgundy and/or England will end up at war with France before too long) and pile on with your own war against Aragon.

Game is so random and so stupid its unplayable.I played allmost all Total War games and it was really interesting because you can actually win and conquer things. This game is pure randomness. Maybe 1 in 100 games will go in my favor but i dont wanna play game like that. Even worse is man power which is like 0 after every war so you cant recruit new units.

Hire Mercenaries so you don't use up your manpower so quickly. In the game, mercenaries are drawn from a separate manpower pool that you can't see (reading the latest Dev Diary for the upcoming still unannounced expansion, I see the game is finally going to let us see our total mercenary pool, woo hoo!)

Maybe for someone its interesting to wait 50 years for man power to replenish and start war again only to get owned by AI and do same thing all over again and but not for me especially if game last only till 1821.

Mercenaries are your friend, for a price of course.

All thing consider,im gonna stick to real stategy game like Total war games,where you can, like conquer things or win wars and not feel like game is punishing you for no reason. All in all, worst 20 hours i spent in any game

No reason, pretty much, means they are making a small attempt at historicity.

 

[petertel123]

twelve year old spotted

 

[petertel123]

the one thing i do agree with you on is the sheer stupidity of the RNG in this game.

how fondly i remember being the Ottomans in an MP game, declaring war on the Mamelukes, when a month into the war he gets a 100 trad general event and rolls a 5/6/5/2, negating essentially every advantage i had.

grand 'strategy' ayy lmao.

adapting to changing circumstances is part of strategy, if you cant do that you're not much of a strategist

 

[Fiend13]

I play the game because it's the closest detailed simulator of history, in a game, out there that I've found. That's why I kept trying to learn the game after I lost 10 zillion times when I first started. What I've learned is that EU4 is just incredibly more complex than anything I'd played before, like Civ. Being good at something simple right off the bat with no help is easy and boring. Being good at Europa is addicting. That's why I'm choosing to stop playing this game- it's getting in the way of me living my life. That's how good this game is, to me. You might be missing the strategy game of your life because you're choosing to be frustrated. Even though I'm choosing to give up now, I'm glad I got to experience this gem of a game.

 

[DmUa]

They do! In serveral post they statet that EB is their main ideal.

Also, if the EB team is not willing to do an new Mod for Rome II , i'm glad someelse does.

- many moons ago EB team stated that they will not import their game to newer TW engine because post Medieval 2 TW games have limited modability in comparison to older TW titles.

Its by far the best Mod ofr Rome II out there.

iam also not sure what you mean with "Rips" you can really rip anything exept units and recruitment. The rest of the game is way to different.
Also, if 2 teams make a historical Rome mod, its very likely to be similar... since it the same histroy, you know?

- they literally copy pasted units alongside with description ( and errors ) from both EB1 and EB2 without acknowledging it and claimed that those are theirs research. If things like this does not qualify as ripping off i cant think what else could.

 

[Meraun]

- many moons ago EB team stated that they will not import their game to newer TW engine because post Medieval 2 TW games have limited modability in comparison to older TW titles.
- they literally copy pasted units alongside with description ( and errors ) from both EB1 and EB2 without acknowledging it and claimed that those are theirs research. If things like this does not qualify as ripping off i cant think what else could.

They did? cant say tahts true or false since i dont have any knowlegde of it.. if they did, it's very inapporiatet. But they have said that EB is their main source and ideal. Several time (seen it myself)
do you have any proof? As wich unit was copied? I own both games and mods and can check it.

well the EB team can do as it pleases. But iam still glad someelse keeps working.

 

[rr99]

Yes I hate EU4 too. But I'm addicted to it. So I just have to live with my dark passenger....

Now, solutions for you. First, on the opening screen set difficulty to EASY, disable "Lucky Nations", also iirc there may be a way to manipulate AI/player bonuses. Play on those settings until the challenge goes away.

Next: France.
1. Don't get into a land war with France. Even after the recent nerfs.
2. If you must attack them, make sure you have good allies that will join you (try France's natural enemy Burgundy whom you can ally from day 1) and make sure they have few allies that are willing to join them, or they're already in a war, preferably losing. Be opportunistic and cynical. Wait for the right moment.
3. If they attack you, you've done something wrong. Try having more allies, to deter France. Go over the diplo relations limit if necessary.

Next: call to arms from ally (in your case Navarre). If you're going to lose, or it looks iffy, don't join. Better to dishonor your alliance, take the diplomatic hit and move on. You also have cunning diplomatic options. For example, if you have a casus belli on the main enemy yourself (fabricating a claim on Poitou works a treat), consider declaring war on France directly, thus dragging your own allies into the fight as well as the "main" defender's allies, BEFORE you accept the call to arms from Navarre.

Next: Total War. Not even competition. I refer you to the gentlefolk who think you're a troll.

Next: manpower. Don't let it get close to zero as that will set up a dogpile by the AI. When you're down to say 50-60%, start consolidating your units like crazy so they don't drain manpower. Make up the numbers with mercenaries. If some mercenaries are good, more mercenaries are better. Take as many loans as necessary. Debt and inflation is far better than losing a war to France.

Combat: it's better to defend than attack. Particularly in the lovely mountains you have in or nearby Castile. Drain enemy manpower faster than yours.

This is a grand strategy game. To win you must have your grand strategy right. Get your alliances going, without the right alliances (and waiting for prospective enemies not to have the right alliances) you're probably screwed on both attack and defence.

HTH

 

[Meraun]

- many moons ago EB team stated that they will not import their game to newer TW engine because post Medieval 2 TW games have limited modability in comparison to older TW titles.
- they literally copy pasted units alongside with description ( and errors ) from both EB1 and EB2 without acknowledging it and claimed that those are theirs research. If things like this does not qualify as ripping off i cant think what else could.

i just run a google search for any thread accuse DeI to steal from EB. I didn't find anything. there is literally no sign of your accusation anywhere

 

[CoolSpin]

i spent 2-3 weeks watching youtubers (aruma07 quill18) before playing this game. And if you watch, try their common sense campaigns so you know the latest patch /dlc stuff.

 

[Torugu]

Obvious troll is obvious.

 

[Red John]

adapting to changing circumstances is part of strategy, if you cant do that you're not much of a strategist

except you cannot adapt to that. a 5/6/5/2 general in the 15th century, in this game, is a death sentence. give it to any minor power and they'll unify the area they're in pronto. give it to a major power and they'll expand at a stupid rate.

how can you adapt to something that you cannot in any way control/stop? do i avoid battles and lose the war? do i try and wipe the army, despite the fact that they have a god general?

in these games, you can stack the deck as much as you want, but one piece of RNG can completely screw everything up. that doesn't make for a fun game in my opinion.