New Papal Minigame: Need Input

[Panzerschiffe]

Started a new game as Spain after playing in Asia and Arabia. I got a look at the new Papal mechanics and I'm not sure what to make of them.

It seems like spending papal influence on bonuses is very lackluster. 100 influence for 1 mercantilism? I accrue some influence but not enough to really feel I'm really getting my money's worth.

So at first glance, it seems the only thing worth investing is becoming papal controller.

How should I be playing this new minigame? I miss the automated whack a mole cardinal game now.

 

[Santoes]

It's a flexible system. Mercantilism is probably the worst of it, but stability is grand if you get it. Consider taking a stab bonus when at +2, or what ever. Best thing to do to play the game is to just spend the bare minimum every time. Save the rest for what ever floats your boat.

 

[Selvas]

It's a flexible system. Mercantilism is probably the worst of it, but stability is grand if you get it. Consider taking a stab bonus when at +2, or what ever. Best thing to do to play the game is to just spend the bare minimum every time. Save the rest for what ever floats your boat.

Thanks, good tip!

 

[Panzerschiffe]

It's a flexible system. Mercantilism is probably the worst of it, but stability is grand if you get it. Consider taking a stab bonus when at +2, or what ever. Best thing to do to play the game is to just spend the bare minimum every time. Save the rest for what ever floats your boat.

That's right, the stab increase isn't bad either. You can save admin points that way.

The advisor one might be good too if you're lacking some of those key bonuses like missionary str or diplo rep.

 

[Santoes]

That's right, the stab increase isn't bad either. You can save admin points that way.

The advisor one might be good too if you're lacking some of those key bonuses like missionary str or diplo rep.

Or if you didn't roll any +3 advisors.

My favorite is probably the interest per annum modifier. It's cheap enough to almost always have the points to use it, and in case you need loans it'll save you a lot of money. It makes Austria pretty damn op if combined with economics. A tier one building could make a profit off of the loan by just breaking a half a gold a year for tier one building with that 1% interest. I hope the lucky ai doesn't know that!

 

[CyberianK]

A tier one building could make a profit off of the loan by just breaking a half a gold a year for tier one building with that 1% interest. I hope the lucky ai doesn't know that!

can you explain how that works?

 

[MeatPirate]

can you explain how that works?

You pay 4% per annum usually. With Fugger Banking (NI), Bookkeeping (ADM), and Debt and Loans (ECO) you're down to 1%. Add the papal bonus and loans are nearly free, although don't forget inflation.

 

[Thrake]

If you can't really become controller or plan to convert, invest in goodies. +legitimacy is the stronger bonus to me.

 

[Santoes]

You pay 4% per annum usually. With Fugger Banking (NI), Bookkeeping (ADM), and Debt and Loans (ECO) you're down to 1%. Add the papal bonus and loans are nearly free, although don't forget inflation.

A 1% ipa on a 40 gold loan creates an interest of 2 gold. It takes a year to make a temple, giving 4 years income. You could even keep extending the loan and still make a profit off of the interest.

The inflation shouldn't ever matter as long as you had economics. At most you mite take 30 loans over a ten year period giving 3% inflation. Economics also has an event that can grant you bigger loans, up to x4 the normal.

 

[CyberianK]

OK, expected that with the buildings but it takes loads of MP thats why I was wondering

for temples its probably worth it
later maybe plantations cause they cost less MP per gold

 

[BarrosRodrigues]

Started a new game as Spain after playing in Asia and Arabia. I got a look at the new Papal mechanics and I'm not sure what to make of them.

It seems like spending papal influence on bonuses is very lackluster. 100 influence for 1 mercantilism? I accrue some influence but not enough to really feel I'm really getting my money's worth.

So at first glance, it seems the only thing worth investing is becoming papal controller.

How should I be playing this new minigame? I miss the automated whack a mole cardinal game now.

The only guarantee that you'll get something from papal influence is by buying stuff with it unless ofc you are feeling lucky and spend 100 influence for a ~10% chance of becoming the papal controller. These days I ignore the curia because it is 100% random therefore not worth my time but if I manage to store 100 influence I buy stability with it.

 

[Santoes]

It could be a lot of mp, but you are being preemptive about it. You could chuck all your admin, and diplo into buildings that are making decent profit and it wouldn't matter for a bunch of reasons. The extra money can eventually be used for better advisers. If you fall behind you get a discount to catch up. The only tech you don't want to lag behind in is military. Buildings are normally an mp dump at some point, you may as well do it early.

 

[CyberianK]

one thing in my game the papal state always invests INSANE amounts of influence

is there any way to stop that?

 

[MeatPirate]

one thing in my game the papal state always invests INSANE amounts of influence

is there any way to stop that?

Eat them.

 

[haltabush]

I wasn't so much successul with it so far, but also I check the age of the pope before investing. The more he stays in power, the more the other countries will invest

 

[Panzerschiffe]

The only guarantee that you'll get something from papal influence is by buying stuff with it unless ofc you are feeling lucky and spend 100 influence for a ~10% chance of becoming the papal controller. These days I ignore the curia because it is 100% random therefore not worth my time but if I manage to store 100 influence I buy stability with it.

I've had a chance to play a little more as a Catholic and investing to become Papal Controller really seems like a lottery that's not worth my time. Unless I'm at 3 Stab with 100 influence, then maybe I'll chuck one dose of influence at the chance to become the controller.

Maybe that's what PI wanted? Prevent the player from locking the controller too easily? Either way, the mechanic doesn't seem that great and is very uninteresting. I like the idea of bonuses but prefer the automated cardinal minigame from before to controller the pope.

 

[IIWW]

one thing in my game the papal state always invests INSANE amounts of influence

is there any way to stop that?

Exatcly 0. They do not invest PI, they get PI according to the number of cardinals. But they also can't buy any bonuses with PI (since they don't have any).

 

[Xinkc]

It would be nice if we had some way to influence the Pope-man to give us cardinals or prevent us from losing cardinals in what appears to be an arbitrary fashion. Something like giving them money and/or guaranteeing the sovereignty of the Papal States would be nice way of doing it.

 

[IIWW]

It would be nice if we had some way to influence the Pope-man to give us cardinals or prevent us from losing cardinals in what appears to be an arbitrary fashion. Something like giving them money and/or guaranteeing the sovereignty of the Papal States would be nice way of doing it.

relations with them are decisive factor, apart from being strong catholic country.

 

[Panzerschiffe]

relations with them are decisive factor, apart from being strong catholic country.

I've noticed this too. I have been keeping one of my diplomats there for extended periods of time.

It got me thinking though, a good way to rake in influence would be to vassalize the pope. It's not that hard to do and your relations essentially double (100 to 200 plus vassal bonus). So if you plan to stay catholic, the pope must be brought to heel.