Is this a sign of being a bad player to abandon the continent as England ?

[Rainbow Mirage]

You should not rely on the event, you should chase the mission.

Oh, i didn't know. This is my first time playing as England. xD

Also, is there a reason why people choose to kill the lollards? I just let them be and didn't take the 20 unrest in all my provinces. Only really lowered my relations with the pope and Burgundy (my ally) for a few years.

 

[BaronNoir]

Actually, as you presumably want protestantism to spread ASAP to England....

 

[Rainbow Mirage]

Finally got the mission. Got delayed for so long because France intervened in a war Austria pulled me into against Venice and their weird trade league in the english channel.
Was at a good time too. France is being trashed by my allies.

 

[Orkonkel]

You want to declare war on France with that mission on the 11th of december 1444. Ally Savoy, Aragon, and the other french regular friends and if lucky, you can call in bordering rivals into the war (Castille or Aragon if they rival France and desire provinces). It will be you vs France-Provence and you can often stack-wipe their Paris army with some lucky rolls. If the war goes well, Burgundy will dogpile them, making it that much easier to finish the war.

 

[Orkonkel]

Day 1:
Recruit one cavalry mercenary and infantry mercenary to force limit (I debase once and put burger influence to 75 and ask them for money). Ally Savoy, Aragon, Burgundy, whoever you can that France might ally (esp. Aragon). Do not rival anyone or the mission to force union will not show up. Ferry your armies to Normandy.

Day 30:
Declare on France and call in allies on promise of land (in my attempt only Burgundy would answer the call). Attack the stack in Paris with your entire army.

Sadly, Aragon hadn't rivalled France so they were allied in this war, but fortunately Burgundy was my ally. Overall, we had more troops than the enemy and although Burgundy peaced out midway through the war, I was able to snipe smaller sieging stacks by positioning armies to spread the enemy's forces thin.

I got a heir with strong claim during the war so I peaced out as soon as I was able. Changing monarchs due to events will break the union if your subject is not loyal, so beware accepting new regents/the War of Roses before peace out France. Anyway, I took one loan all in all, depleted all my manpower, and this wasn't even a particularly good run (due to France-Aragon alliance). Sometimes, you will struggle due to unlucky combat rolls if France consolidates their troops and attack you when you're sieging Paris, but it's such an easy start to get going that it's never an issue if you have to restart during/after the war.

Priority #1 after the war is to get French liberty desire below 50%. Priority #2 for me is to contain Iberia from forming colonies, so expansion into the peninsula is mandatory. Meanwhile I consolidate my hold on the Isles and turn my gaze eastwards to the Kalmar Union, the Commonwealth, and the lands of the Rus. The Baltic node must be controlled by the English so the ducats may flow.

 

[Sfan]

I agree that's it's the best option, but keep in mind that a beginner may well fail to win that war 9 times out of 10. If someone has troubles, this is still safer to surrender Maine and wait for favors with Austria and your other allies while you get stronger by eating at least Ireland, then jump on France with all your allies, preferably when they are at war with Burgundy over Provence.

 

[Rainbow Mirage]

Day 1:
Do not rival anyone or the mission to force union will not show up.

Oh, that was mistake. I rivaled France day 1. Eh, worked out in the end.

I recruited two cavs and merc infantry to force limit though. Had them all positioned to snipe France's army in the capital waiting for the event. (didn't know of the mission back then)

Aragon allied France in my game too but Castile got the wedding so they lacked any real ally and both declined when i joined the dogpile on France in the screenshot i posted above.

Edit: I had no problems getting LD down in my game. just paid off their gigantic debt of 1700 ducats. Went from 68% to 0.

 

[Kapi96]

Absolutely not. It's a poor approach if you're going for a WC, but not everything is about WCing. You can do well without aiming for a WC and probably have more fun that way too.

 

[CoolSpin]

Absolutely not. It's a poor approach if you're going for a WC, but not everything is about WCing. You can do well without aiming for a WC and probably have more fun that way too.

why?

 

[reaperous]

Nah, about 75-90% of my runs I keep minimal continental presence as GB (Never abandoned it completely mind you, having complete control of the English trade node is too good). In those runs I abandon Aquitaine, mostly to Spain to guarantee a France-Spain rivalry, and expand Normandy all the way to the Netherlands. Sure, it is a pain during colonial wars against France, but that's why the Royal Navy exists, to blockade the French into submission and to guarantee no French support to their colonies.

All the games I went for the PU or just normal expansion against France I just quit about 30-50 years after france is under control. Fighting the French for almost 4 centuries is where I find the fun on playing Great Britain.

 

[Sfan]

why?

Why what? Why is it a poor approach for a WC? Because you're weaker. Why is it ok to just have fun? Because it's a game. Both seem pretty obvious

 

[Kitten Wrangler]

Fighting the French for almost 4 centuries is where I find the fun on playing Great Britain.

This is usually the most important factor in my games.

Having a significant and powerful rival on your doorstep keeps the campaign engaging for much longer, no matter which country/region you're playing in.

 

[Snake_Squeezins]

This is usually the most important factor in my games.

Having a significant and powerful rival on your doorstep keeps the campaign engaging for much longer, no matter which country/region you're playing in.

Agreed, the moment I easily crush the last worthwhile rival is usually the moment I lose interest in a game of EU4.

If anything I find that the revanchism mechanic - which in theory is a great idea - is way too weak and conservative, and it doesn't help even major powers rebound from a couple of significant losses.

 

[holyvigil]

Agreed, the moment I easily crush the last worthwhile rival is usually the moment I lose interest in a game of EU4.

If anything I find that the revanchism mechanic - which in theory is a great idea - is way too weak and conservative, and it doesn't help even major powers rebound from a couple of significant losses.

This discussion may interest you: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/revanchism-for-huge-countries.1035010/