Keep or destroy which CoT?

[GoWithTheFlo]

Hello,

I need some advice,

I am playing a game as France, and I just conquered (with core) Antwerp which is a CoT. So I now have 2, with the original one being in Paris.

My question is should I keep them both or destroy one?

About the game I'm planning to play: I'm going to play a conquering game, I wont waist time and $$$ colonizing when I can conquer from someone else! (That means I don't really need the coastal CoT)

Since I'll regularly acquire bb, I going for mercantilism.

How do I know which CoT will benefit me most?
Thank you!

 

[Misan]

Antwerpen is usually much richer, and with the size of France the difference on your capital will be negligible. I'd say destroy the poorer one (probably ile-de-france) just so you don't risk potentially losing a lot of value to Lubeck or something.

 

[Iche_Bins]

Keep it, there is no need to destroy it

 

[GoWithTheFlo]

Keep it, there is no need to destroy it

Isn't it better to have one strong CoT than 2 weak ones?
My understanding was that a strong one is better...

 

[The Blood Eagle]

Isn't it better to have one strong CoT than 2 weak ones?
My understanding was that a strong one is better...

Depends, as France, you have a nice base tax and production and actually can keep 2-3 CoTs open without stagnation. Genoa, Paris, and Antwerp, namely. If you want to colonize, you'll get a colonist bonus for both of the coastal ones, which can help mitigate their reduced numbers if you choose to convert to reformed.

I personally like keeping them all open, as if I were to close either of the coastal CoTs, my borders would be where my trade centers' influence ends. Keeping them you'll get a few extra provinces' worth of income from them.

I'm no number cruncher, so I might be playing wastefully, but so far I haven't broken my own games by owning multiple CoTs.

 

[Ofaloaf]

Are you doing a colonization game at all? I think you still gain 0.10 colonists per coastal CoT controlled. Right?

 

[SacredDatura]

Yeah, but he did say he wasn't going to colonise, so the coastal CoT bonus isn't a factor for him.

 

[delra]

From powerplaying perspective I'd whack Paris CoT and stick with Genoa and Antwerp to do the trading so they can suck in more Dutch and Italian trade for me. From houserule perspective, Paris COT isn't that harmful to warrant immediate destruction.

 

[Moltke]

Well when I'm Burgundy I close Ile-de-France if it hasn't dissipated already because Antwerp, Lubeck, and Genoa are enough for me.

If you wait long enough it usually dies on its own unless France gets lucky and conquers all.

 

[NapoleonI]

Keep the CoT:s. If you only have one strong CoT, someone else will split it for you eventually.

 

[Guston]

Keep the CoT:s. If you only have one strong CoT, someone else will split it for you eventually.

How big does the COT have to be for the split to happen in DW 5.1?

 

[Zarine]

You should also keep in mind that even if the 2 CoT are rather close to each other, there is a high chance that the south west part of Ile de France CoT area will never switch to Antwerp and the same will happen with the north east part of Antwerp CoT area.

As long as:
- You can put merchant in both CoT
- Can't control if someone else might split the CoT
- Don't surround a CoT with other CoT of yours

You will loose by destroying one as you'll loose some province or someone will open a new CoT.
If you have Genoa, Antwerp and Andalusia (if I'm not mistaken about the Spanish CoT), I think you can destroy the Ile de France CoT as province in this CoT area will all remain in your other CoT areas.

Also, I hardly see stagnation in European CoT unless they have a very low income (less than 100). So I don't think stagnation is a problem.

And to split, I think it's 500 income.

 

[dskod1]

I always try to have a Trade Center in either my capital (more sentimental value than anything) or on a coastline of the Mediterranean (manly due to the north african countries)

 

[The Blood Eagle]

And to split, I think it's 500 income.

800 now.

 

[Guston]

Thanks

 

[unmerged(128725)]

As France, you are ideally well-served if you own 3 CoTs: Antwerpen, Genoa and Barcelona (you have to create this one yourself).

 

[emperormarko]

I would say keep it. I try to maximize the number of cored CoTs in my games. Especially the coastal once.
Additionally I try to have between 400 and 500 income in each CoT. IIRC that income is (or at least was in a former version) the optimum for CoTs.

 

[delra]

It's like this in the last patch. So if you want to keep others from splitting it, you keep it under that. Which is darn hard - but easier than before.

50 #_EDEF_COT_STAGNATION_LIMIT_
40 #_EDEF_COT_PROVS_PER_CENTER
...
800 #_EDEF_CREATE_COT_THRESHOLD_,
500 #_EDEF_DESTROY_COT_THRESHOLD_,
500 #_EDEF_CREATE_COT_PRICE_,

 

[King Nothing]

And why not both conquer and colonize? You can expand much much faster that way if that is what you want. Doing one doesn't stop you from doing the other. Especially not as France.

 

[Ryuujin95]

Destroy the CoT in Paris early while the value is low enough that you can. Trade from your own provinces naturally gravitate to your owned CoTs, and Antwerp is better positioned to get outside trade value. As a Mercantile nation, you want to boost your trade income by maintaining super-monopolies on owned CoTs (creating empty slots by sending merchants to a CoT you already have a monopoly on.) It's much easier to do this with fewer CoTs since you have a limited number of merchants. Fewer OPMs sending out merchants to break your monopolies helps too.