Jak's Game Guide: An EU4 Tutorial

[jak7139]

Hello everyone! Welcome!

In the past couple of months, I've seen many people doing "first-time" AAR's for EU4. Now, EU4 is a game I have a lot of hours in (just over 2000 according to Steam). It was also my introduction to Paradox games (from an old quill18 YouTube series) and the first one I decided to buy. I've had many great times with this game over the years, but I've never done a tutorial or anything like that. But probably most importantly, without discovering EU4, I never would've discovered the many great stories and writers of AARland (all of you)! And I never would've been inspired to write my own AAR's, which helped me become a better writer for my own projects.

So, with all that said, this AAR will be a gameplay-tutorial series. Feel free to ask questions, critique the way I play, discuss different strategies, or maybe share some of your own EU4 memories from over the years.

But first, who should I play? That's up to you!

I'm limiting this selection of countries based on three criteria:

• REQUIRED: Is a small or medium-sized nation at the start of the game (no great powers or larger nations)
• REQUIRED: The nation exists in either Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. Since this is Europa Universalis, I would like my nation to interact heavily with the titular region. These regions are all close to "the action" so to speak.
• OPTIONAL: This nation would ideally showcase a variety of mechanics/ways of playing (colonization, HRE diplomacy, the Reformation, etc). Not every nation can hit every checkbox, but I would like people to use this guide to hopefully play most nations, regardless of starting circumstances.

Also, I have all current major DLC if that influences your thinking.

I'll go based off your comments and the general mood and pick the nation I'll be playing.

Below are some screenshots of the Mediterranean and Europe, so everyone can get a feeling of what nations might fit. Feel free to ask questions about the different nations and their starting situations, and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

This voting will close on April 1st in two weeks. This activity has been approved by Qorten.

 

[Rensslaer]

Ooh! OOH!!! It's here!

I'd asked for it, and @jak7139 has done it! A tutorial AAR from one of the true masters and academics of the rules and vagaries of EU IV. Awesome!

I'll come back and vote soon.

Rensslaer

 

[jak7139]

Ooh! OOH!!! It's here!

I'd asked for it, and @jak7139 has done it! A tutorial AAR from one of the true masters and academics of the rules and vagaries of EU IV. Awesome!

I'll come back and vote soon.

Rensslaer

Yes . Your suggestion was one of the main reasons I decided to post this actually. Glad to have you here!

 

[Rensslaer]

Remember to add this to the Strategy Guide Tutorial Megathread, so others can find it easily.

Renss

 

[Bullfilter]

Great to see! You’ve been a great help with advice on a few of my games (not just EU4) and I’m sure others will benefit from both the explained gameplay and discussions that will no doubt emerge. My vote is for one of the German small powers in the HRE. Say Hesse, or some thereabouts?

 

[jak7139]

Remember to add this to the Strategy Guide Tutorial Megathread, so others can find it easily.

Done. I find a new thread every day it seems.

My vote is for one of the German small powers in the HRE. Say Hesse, or some thereabouts?

Counted. And glad to have you here @Bullfilter! Hesse would be a good pick. And it can also go colonial if we go after the North Sea or Channel.

 

[filcat]

And it can also go colonial if we go after the North Sea or Channel.

Wow.

[*]

Good ...luck, in that case.



[*] Bâton-Roue, image by Corentin Penloup, 2011

 

[Rensslaer]

So you're probably going to want to be part of the HRE. I always like the midsize German states because it's just such a mosh pit. But maybe if you want to go colonial you'd be better off in northern Italy.

My tutorial AAR for EUIII was as Milan, and everybody had a blast. Not saying you need to do Milan. There are a dozen choices. But it might be a good environment for a trading power, colonial power, crusading power, etc. Trade leagues... I took Milan across the Mediterranean and then forged north and across the seas.

Just a thought.

Rensslaer

 

[Idhrendur]

Oooh, an opportunity for maybe me to learn a little something. Seeing as I'm bad at EU4, I'm always eager to learn.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Found! Subbed! Maybe Aragon or Provence or are they too large. Thanks, another person who relied on Quill for Civ and EU tutoring. Remember Brussels is the capital of France per Quill.

 

[HistoryDude]

This will be fun!

The HRE is fine, but I think Brittany could be interesting - you have to deal with England and France but might be able to go colonial more easily than any of the HRE states.

 

[CrappyJoke]

Hi I know this is not a place to ask questions but I’ve been kinda struggling with Sweden recently. So maybe this will be an inspiration for you I guess?
I got the best runs I’ve had in awhile allying to a super strong commonwealth ( from the start) which is the issue. I went with humanist, offensive exploration and then tried to PU him early 1500s which is not ideal since that’s probably the peak for common wealth. I think my issue this run is with the fact that I thought I could take commonwealth on early 1500s with only offensive ideas (his horse stomp me 2-1)
So I’m thinking of restarting and redoing it again (been a couple of times now). I’m not really sure which is the best ideas to take tbh.
I think I should’ve either tried to follow habibis way of humanist offensive influence and just influence the empire and wait till I have enough ideas or allies or his golden age is over before taking him on.

This next runs I’ll probably do something like innovative quality economic/trade/offensive (i don’t know lol)

So what I identify from the run is that
1. I probably should’ve waited
2. Not going colonialism if I want to war Europe.
3. Should have waited a few more years to upgrade ships to fight English
4. Take English out first (let ottoman fight your mainland)
4.5 take the English out first since I alr have a foothold in Scotland.
5. If fight fight in muscuvy areas (basically almost entire muscuvy was mine).
6. Get too 100 prestige (basically I recently integrate Norway which dropped my prestige to hell) via German minors farming (hre is really weak this run).

There are a lot of things I miss out and have to relearn since I basically quit playing this game 6-7 years ago? I just got back and Sweden is my First Nation lol.

Basically this is my mini AAR I guess? I just look for guide on Sweden right now so i vote for this lol.

 

[Rensslaer]

Welcome @CrappyJoke ! We have lots of fun here on the AAR forum, and it's a great place to learn stuff.

Rensslaer

 

[jak7139]

Good ...luck, in that case.

Solution: don't get coalitioned

Though, in seriousness, coalitions aren't that hard to manage once you know how they work. Hopefully, it will be something I can showcase.

Just a thought.

That kind of gameplay is exactly how Machinations of the Medici came about. Northern Italy is in a surprisingly good position to do all that you mentioned.

Also, is this your vote, or just a suggestion?

Oooh, an opportunity for maybe me to learn a little something. Seeing as I'm bad at EU4, I'm always eager to learn.

Glad to have you!

Found! Subbed! Maybe Aragon or Provence or are they too large. Thanks, another person who relied on Quill for Civ and EU tutoring. Remember Brussels is the capital of France per Quill

Aragon is too big, but Provence is a nice choice. It has been counted on the ballot.

This will be fun!

The HRE is fine, but I think Brittany could be interesting - you have to deal with England and France but might be able to go colonial more easily than any of the HRE states.

Thanks! Glad to have you!

And one vote for Brittany.

Hi I know this is not a place to ask questions but I’ve been kinda struggling with Sweden recently. So maybe this will be an inspiration for you I guess?

Well, as I said in the introduction post, I'll welcome any discussion about the game. So ask away!

Sweden is too big I think. But maybe some other time.

Humanist-Offensive doesn't give you any good policies to help you deal with Poland's military. And humanist I think is kind of weak as an idea group. Especially, because you need those admin points early in the game for coring and for tech.

I usually like taking one of the diplomatic groups first, because the early game diplo techs aren't as important. Espionage-Offensive has a good policy. And if you are struggling with finding allies, Diplomatic would've been helpful.

Since you had all of Muscovy, Poland has nowhere to expand. With that, you can grow faster through colonies or expanding into the steppes for trade companies.

 

[Rensslaer]

Also, is this your vote, or just a suggestion?

Yes, that's my recommendation - northern Italy. Likely further, rather than closer, to the Ottomans, who might have other ideas about what your priorities will be.


And I remembered something I was going to ask you, once you got around to writing a tutorial/strategy AAR.

How did you come to be so familiar with EU IV? Is it just from long experience and varied gameplay, studious research of the manuals, forum conversations, etc ? Or were you on the Beta?

Betas are GREAT experience for anyone who has the time and the interest. I guess I've been on 4 of them for Paradox. But, of course, the knowledge of the game wanes over time because it changes so much with DLCs and patches.

Thanks!

Rensslaer

 

[CrappyJoke]

Solution: don't get coalitioned

Though, in seriousness, coalitions aren't that hard to manage once you know how they work. Hopefully, it will be something I can showcase.

That kind of gameplay is exactly how Machinations of the Medici came about. Northern Italy is in a surprisingly good position to do all that you mentioned.

Also, is this your vote, or just a suggestion?

Glad to have you!

Aragon is too big, but Provence is a nice choice. It has been counted on the ballot.

Thanks! Glad to have you!

And one vote for Brittany.

Well, as I said in the introduction post, I'll welcome any discussion about the game. So ask away!

Sweden is too big I think. But maybe some other time.

Humanist-Offensive doesn't give you any good policies to help you deal with Poland's military. And humanist I think is kind of weak as an idea group. Especially, because you need those admin points early in the game for coring and for tech.

I usually like taking one of the diplomatic groups first, because the early game diplo techs aren't as important. Espionage-Offensive has a good policy. And if you are struggling with finding allies, Diplomatic would've been helpful.

Since you had all of Muscovy, Poland has nowhere to expand. With that, you can grow faster through colonies or expanding into the steppes for trade companies.

Well, CW basically expand into Hungary and HRE (It's that weak and we kinda refresh the truce all the time against HRE lol).
In my case, it's also not that I cant get allies, me and a huge ottomans just got rekted by CW and england.

Yes, a diplo idea like Diplo/Espon/Trade/Colo first would have been great but we had good ruler (Vasa) with 6 admin so focusing all on that is pretty good that's why i think Innovative then quality is great lol. Also I vessalize novgorod so that we can take a huge chunk out of Muscovy that he becomes just a bank/humiliation puppet for us.

I think i need to learn how to use merc better. Initially I have good success but afterwards it's just very difficult.

 

[jak7139]

How did you come to be so familiar with EU IV? Is it just from long experience and varied gameplay, studious research of the manuals, forum conversations, etc ? Or were you on the Beta?

It's a combination of long experience and watching others play. I learn the most from seeing how others play and trying out their ideas. YouTubers like Arumba, Zlewikk, or Quarbit are the main ones I watch for this. Their videos were helpful for me to just see how other people play the game.

I wasn't part of the Beta and I didn't interact on the forum at all until I started doing stuff in AARland.

Well, CW basically expand into Hungary and HRE (It's that weak and we kinda refresh the truce all the time against HRE lol).

So you and CW were allied the whole game? And then the alliance broke? Did you feed any land to them, or were all their conquests done by themselves? If you were planning on betraying them eventually, giving them land and making them strong was probably not the best move.

we had good ruler (Vasa) with 6 admin so focusing all on that is pretty good that's why i think Innovative then quality is great lol.

That makes sense then. If you had an excess of admin, then Innovative or Administrative are good picks.

I think i need to learn how to use merc better. Initially I have good success but afterwards it's just very difficult.

How does your economy/manpower look when compared to the CW? Can you hire enough mercs to outnumber them and win? How much artillery do you have?

 

[CrappyJoke]

It's a combination of long experience and watching others play. I learn the most from seeing how others play and trying out their ideas. YouTubers like Arumba, Zlewikk, or Quarbit are the main ones I watch for this. Their videos were helpful for me to just see how other people play the game.

I wasn't part of the Beta and I didn't interact on the forum at all until I started doing stuff in AARland.

So you and CW were allied the whole game? And then the alliance broke? Did you feed any land to them, or were all their conquests done by themselves? If you were planning on betraying them eventually, giving them land and making them strong was probably not the best move.

That makes sense then. If you had an excess of admin, then Innovative or Administrative are good picks.

How does your economy/manpower look when compared to the CW? Can you hire enough mercs to outnumber them and win? How much artillery do you have?

Basically I was planning to get a PU on them.
If you dont know, Sweden have a mission that give PU claim on them if you get your dynasty on the throne. It's 20 years.
The thing is, I didnt even help them in wars, they just vulture whatever I did which is probably my fault.

I think I didnt plan my politics and ideas well enough and my ideas that I followed from Habibi guide doesn gell well with my playstyle.
I probably will try to inno+quality to stack that infantry mod. Then try to run missions taking Poland rather than PUing them. Probably the 3rd idea is trade to snowball that eco. I am currently deciding between trade or quality as 2nd idea but I'm not sure.

 

[jak7139]

I think I didnt plan my politics and ideas well enough and my ideas that I followed from Habibi guide doesn gell well with my playstyle.

That's part of the problem with guides. If they don't fit your playstyle or stuff doesn't happen in the exact same way, then it doesn't help.

I would pick Trade as a second idea for your economy, then quality. If you have enough of an economy, you can beat other smaller states to grow your nation. When attacking Russia, it's probably a good idea to cut off certain areas so Poland can't get to them after you. Then you can take the rest later.

Having Poland as a subject seems good, but if you can't control their liberty desire, then owning the land directly would be better. You can expand into Prussia early before Poland gets to it to at least slow them down.

 

[CrappyJoke]

That's part of the problem with guides. If they don't fit your playstyle or stuff doesn't happen in the exact same way, then it doesn't help.

I would pick Trade as a second idea for your economy, then quality. If you have enough of an economy, you can beat other smaller states to grow your nation. When attacking Russia, it's probably a good idea to cut off certain areas so Poland can't get to them after you. Then you can take the rest later.

Having Poland as a subject seems good, but if you can't control their liberty desire, then owning the land directly would be better. You can expand into Prussia early before Poland gets to it to at least slow them down.

Well i went with Quality as my 2nd idea and stomp commonwealth (with England and Bohemia) this time although I only take danzig so that I can release puscal prussia for cores and not eat AE later. But things kinda worked out my way really hard. Now that they are kinda politically isolated I'm not really sure if I should still go trade as my 3rd idea or colonialism (now that I think back, nah I don't want a colonial game) or really religious since it allows me to just convert to protestantism really fast. But really economics(5% discipline policy)/infrastructure looks great too if I want to just develop my provinces and enhance my trade node values. The thing is, the commonwealth went plutocratic (2nd idea) and quality (3rd idea), so I'm thinking of taking offensive as my 3rd idea to match that so I can take him on easier and Protestant is really weak this game so it would help me war the germans better later (Austria has Hungary this game).

Basically here's my justification for another offensive idea group:
1. CW has 30% Cav Combat ability + 10% Cav Combat from quality (now not sure if I will stomp him out of existence before he can get this)
2. my current infantry CA is 20% from sweden + 10% from idea + 10% from policy. So if I want an edge in fighting I have to get offensive. However, I could get trade idea to boost my eco even more to fund my wars but I'm not sure how much it will help. Perhaps even espionage because this AE is kinda close to getting out of control. Although with Ottoman (did not join CW war cus debt), England, Bohemia, no one really declares. Both offensive and trade will help in league wars imo (planning for protestant HRE) so I'm not sure what to take.

Path on conquest I made:
Independence -> Novgorod -> Livonian and Riga -> Muscovy -> Norway Throne + Gotland -> Livonian (Poles declared but I sieged everything) -> Muscovy -> Danish -> Put Livonian out of its misery -> Lubec? -> Stettin? (I saw he ate up one of the prince and I can release subject in HRE to eat the cores and Hesse is Emperor) -> bunch of princes for Prestige farm -> Lubec -> Whatever before I rival CW and he broke alliance which is what I wanted.

Because of this path of conquest, almost all the time Teuton will fight us and then lose and then Danzig will declared independence in an event giving Poland the needed provinces for CW to form.

Here's what I learn:
0. Kinda just restart till I have poland and england as allies against danish although you can solo if you want.
1. Siege and took Novgorod in the first peace deal against Novgorod. Meaning Muscovy could not demand all the lands he want. (this is the first time it happens i all my run) Basically wiping the danish a couple of times allow me to just put my troops on boarder with Novgorod early. Then declaring on Muscovy after taking out Livonian order and Riga.
2. I learn to not call my allies in in war I can fight, allowing me to earn more prestige and money.
3. I no longer rush cannons. Generally I really liked to rush having a lot of cannons which is not very good till tech 13? (can't remember) So I can siege faster. But this is very detrimental to actually fighting. Basically in previous runs, I have fewer infantry and cavs to fight so we kinda sucked even though we are large in numbers. Now I just have 1 stack sieging with 8 cannons and the rest just hunt enemies.
4. Stacking infantry combat is kinda OP in quality + swedish ideas. That said I'm not sure how much quality helped here since we swarmed on Commonwealth but I like to think it does because despite their golden age and me not popping golden age which is a really stupid idea, they are still afraid of engaging with us and when AI do that it means that they are not confident in their troops.
5. Merc stack Infantry attachment is really good and is actually probably required for sweden to fight war till we solve our manpower issue.
6. I basically war for like 40-50 years out of the first 60 years expanding and farming for prestige in HRE. I don't think I have ever had a campaign like it.


Yea, that's basically my report.
Please give me some suggestion on my 3rd idea. I really lean towards offensive since I sucked at war and the lubec + baltic trade nodes really enhance my coffer pretty hard but I welcome other suggestions and will think hard about it before I get back to playing.

If I'm going for HRE emperorship, what are ideas that I should get?