If you could play any nation with any other nation's idea set...

[Hakuromatsu]

Topic. Take any nation's idea set, plaster it on any other nation in 1444, and press play. What would you go for?

Some of the possibilities that jump to my mind:

- Najd's ideas on Lithuania -- sort of a bizarro world Lithuania. Go full-on Catholic and eradicate Orthodoxy.
- Italy's ideas on Pomerania or the Hansa. Swallow up the northern coast of Europe and re-establish the seat of the HRE in the Baltic.
- Inca's ideas on Champa. The best 1.8 idea set on the nation that should've got one. Conquer SE Asia and exploit the Spice Islands, etc. etc.

 

[V1ribus]

Prussian idea set on Burgundy/Austria/Ming please.

 

[Oryxslayer]

Prussian ideas on France. Just to paint the world a deeper shade of blue.

 

[Hakuromatsu]

Prussian ideas on literally anybody. I mean, it's Prussian ideas.

 

[wolffrnd]

Prussian ideas on literally anybody. I mean, it's Prussian ideas.

This.

 

[Zednix]

Prussian ideas for Canada, the way of the polite hammerfist.

 

[Less]

Why Prussian ideas when you could have Japanese? Strictly superior IMO. Starting with 10% discipline is so much better than ending with 7.5% discipline.

One idea group that would be handy on a huge number of nations would be Norway, since being able to recruit explorers and colonize without Exploration is huge for anyone trying to westernize.

 

[IIWW]

Why Prussian ideas when you could have Japanese? Strictly superior IMO. Starting with 10% discipline is so much better than ending with 7.5% discipline.

Yeah, but permananent 100 Army Tradition (without policies), +50% infantry combat ability and +20% morale are better than 2,5% discipline.

 

[Incompetent]

Why Prussian ideas when you could have Japanese? Strictly superior IMO. Starting with 10% discipline is so much better than ending with 7.5% discipline.

Prussia also gets bonuses to morale and army tradition, though, so I'd say it's pretty close between the two.

I'd like to use Colonial ideas on a European republic.

 

[Less]

Yeah, but permananent 100 Army Tradition (without policies), +50% infantry combat ability and +20% morale are better than 2,5% discipline.

Why not run policies? Anyone remotely close to western tech group should be running them. Japan gets only 5% less combat ability. +20% morale is kind of irrelevant when your ubersoldiers are wiping stacks out to the man (arguably a bad thing even, you want to kill the enemy, not rout them). In any case waiting until you've finished 2 idea groups to start getting the big bonuses is a PITA, why not start with them?

I'd also say that Japan's non-combat bonuses far outstrip Prussia's.

 

[Illianor123]

I just wish I could mix Najd' missionary strength and Byzantium's TotTF. Take any land. Convert. Lower autonomy.
Add in religious and you're set for life.

 

[Illianor123]

Why not run policies? Anyone remotely close to western tech group should be running them. Japan gets only 5% less combat ability. +20% morale is kind of irrelevant when your ubersoldiers are wiping stacks out to the man (arguably a bad thing even, you want to kill the enemy, not rout them). In any case waiting until you've finished 2 idea groups to start getting the big bonuses is a PITA, why not start with them?

I'd also say that Japan's non-combat bonuses far outstrip Prussia's.

Not needing AT policies means you can run other more combat focused policies. But either way, if you are running policies, so can Prussia, so they are irrelevant.

 

[balmung60]

Polish, Prussian, or Japanese ideas on Ottomans. Stack full Janissaries then culture shift and form something else like Arabia to never lose the bonus. Massive discipline and combat ability that won't go away.

Ottoman Ideas on Manchu - I just want the super cheap cores to help eat Ming. Can go back to Manchu ideas after forming Qing for all I care.

National Ideas on AI Castile because screw Castile and their constant colonial meddling.

 

[Incompetent]

Diplomacy-oriented countries could have fun with Jerusalem's importer-only ideas. +5 prestige, +5 diprep...

 

[IIWW]

Why not run policies? Anyone remotely close to western tech group should be running them. Japan gets only 5% less combat ability. +20% morale is kind of irrelevant when your ubersoldiers are wiping stacks out to the man (arguably a bad thing even, you want to kill the enemy, not rout them).

I'd also say that Japan's non-combat bonuses far outstrip Prussia's.

I'm not saying that policies are no good, I'm saying that it's better if they don't need any. And how does high morale make You less likely to wipe stacks? It makes it harder to make You route, not easier for enemy to run away.
Japan in comparision to Prussia:
+2,5% discipline
+25% domestic Trade power
+1 yearly prestige
-5% manpower
-2 unrest
+15% fort defense
+5% tax modifier
+1 yearly legitimacy
+25% chance of new heir
-5% infantry combat ability
+10% AE impact
-0,5 yearly army tradition
+1% army trdition decay
-20% morale of armies
+10% recruitment time
-5% production efficiency
-1 heretics tolerance
The morale boost alone makes Prussia better than Japan.

 

[Squirrelloid]

Naxos ideas on any superpower. One of the better WC idea sets, even if its current holder isn't exactly a WC contender. (okay, the first 3 ideas aren't so hot, but the last 4 are quite good and the ambition is amazing).

Alternately, Smolensk ideas on a superpower. Feel the artillery love.

 

[balmung60]

Ooh! Livonian Order with either Prussian or Teutonic or Hospitaler ideas. LO has a sweet flag and color, but I want better ideas.

Throw in my minimod and I can get LA reduction by secularizing or even by staying a theocracy.

 

[Hakuromatsu]

I'd also say that Japan's non-combat bonuses far outstrip Prussia's.

This is true; Japan does have the best stability-oriented set in the game. Though Lithuania also benefits from the -2 RR -> -2 unrest switch, and Lan Xang's ideas look like they have potential if you stack them with other groups.

 

[Incompetent]

And how does high morale make You less likely to wipe stacks? It makes it harder to make You route, not easier for enemy to run away.

Your morale increases the morale damage you deal, so the opposing army will break sooner. That means you have a better chance of inflicting a rout (enemy breaks before they have time to retreat), but if you don't win quickly enough for that, it may potentially reduce the casualties you inflict versus the AI, as the enemy will break sooner (given the fact that the AI never voluntarily retreats). I suppose an AI might also suffer from high morale, keeping its armies fighting battles that they should be retreating from.

In practice though, it would take some pretty special circumstances for you to want to deliberately lower your own army's morale.

 

[Less]

One of those circumstances being when you have huge discipline and combat ability bonuses. The difference between an enemy that routs early and saves their artillery and an enemy left with a bunch of 0-size artillery after staying in for another week is pretty big.

That said, it's true that +morale is probably always a net benefit over the course of an entire war. The point is that its a much smaller benefit the greater the disparity between discipline/combat ability/tactics is. Morale is at its strongest when you are equal qualitative strength or slightly weaker than your enemies, allowing you stay in there and win the battle even at greater cost of lives.