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Painting the Whole World – A Burgundy AAR

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Painting the Whole World – A Burgundy AAR​


Ambitionssmall.gif



"De l’audace, encore de l’audace, et toujours de l’audace"
"Audacity, again audacity, and ever audacity"
—Danton: Speech in the Legislative Assembly, 1792.



Admit it. You love clicking on the “Annex” button. Annex here, annex there, and annex everywhere – and paint the entire world...BURGUNDY :wacko: So to satisfy my addiction for annexing every country that irritates me during gameplay, I intend to wipe permanently off the map and sovereign nations and paint the entire map Burgundy's burgundy :p


This is only my 2nd game playing EU III so this is a bit of an ambitious venture. I'm not one for telling stories so this AAR will mostly demonstrate some things I have noticed, "strategies" (some might some exploits), that I've noticed work here and in all Paradox games to some degree. I'll give you folks a straightforward account of what I am thinking. As this is only my 2nd game, suggestions are welcome!!


The Specs:
Version: 1.1
Difficulty: Normal - tell me BB wars will trigger :confused: I am playing normal mostly because in EU2, AIs on hard were too aggressive and wound up weakening themselves more than anything else.
Country: Burgundy!


"The possession of battle-ready troops, a well-filled state treasury and a lively disposition, these were the real reasons which moved me to war"
-- Frederick the Great on the invasion of Silesia, 1741.


Why World Conquest?
Because it's there and I find the multicolored patchwork that are Paradox's political maps displeasing to the eye.



Why Burgundy?
Well, it is my 2nd game so I'll pass on The Knights, thanks! I guess mostly because I never played them in EU2 and they are a nice second tier power behind the big boys like France, England, and Spain. I also happen to like their slider settings, in particular the settings leaning towards quality and land.



Plan:
  • Connect the capital with our Low Country provinces. Very annoying as it cuts into tax revenue and makes colonization impossible (you need a port connection to capital.) This means Lorraine must disappear.
  • QFTNW as 1st idea. (Why wouldn't this be first?). Colonize high production provinces, any tax is a bonus.
  • Heavily invest in production and let trade rot. I noticed that "badboy" merchants are utterly ineffective so I wont even bother trying to place them. It seems Paradox tried to make conquest and trade incompatible. *None* of my merchants lasted more than a month in my first game.
  • My army starts small. Don't piss off France

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

philippe.gif



1453. Situation: We are blessed with a great (old) monarch and very good advisors (note: check the pool immediately upon starting the game). Looking at the map, we see annoying Lorraine cutting Burgundy into two. And despite this we have 180+ relations with them :rolleyes: No peace, they must be annexed twenty year ago.


Diplo.gif



Ugh. Apparently real life Burgundy lacked any ambition whatsoever as we have pitiful cores meaning few precious CBs and *none* on Lorraine. This obviously has no bearing on reality and since the entire world defies my will I should have a CB on everything :D To manufacture the necessary CBs, we have to get tricky with diplomats. We will warn Switzerland not to go to war with my neighbors as I want to get my grubby hands on the rich Northern Italian cities (with Universities!). I will claim Lorraine's throne after a Royal Marriage to generate a CB on them (note: we also must send an insult as relations are *still* too high and will create instability problems). I have a meager army so the Gelres and Utrects in the Low Countries will have to wait.


budget.gif


"S'il existait une monarchie de granit, il suffirait des idealites des economistes pour la reduire en poudre."
"If there ever existed a monarchy strong as granite, it would only take the ideas of the economists to reduce it to powder"
-- Napoleon, Memorial de Ste. Helene 1816


It's all about production, land, and government. No fancy trading or relying on taxation. I hate inflation so we will lose a little bit of money rather than be extorted in the future. With census taxes at the end of the year I'll slowly build my (cavalry) army so we might actually outnumber such powers as Bohemia.
 
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Good luck with this AAR

When I play Burgundy, then with the starting money I built up my army and then attack France. From the first war I then try to gain at least the province of Champagne, which gives me a land-connection to the Low Countries. And I try to gain the French minors as my vassals.

Then after a few years (till the truce is over), I again attack France, then try to take Caux and Normandy, which means that Paris is cut of from the rest of France and France loses tax-income and can't colonise.

:)
 
Am I the only one who thinks Burgundy is a particularly garish shade? Perhaps it will look better when all of Europe has been made a nice velvet carpet.

Good luck! I agree that colonization and "to hell" with trade is the way to go for any would-be world conqueror. I wonder though... Lorainne is a two-province right, so if you take 1 province in a quick war, another will gobble up the other (France even perhaps? o_O) and if you vassalize you will have to wait 10+ years to connect up and start colonizing. How to get going fast as Burgundy my friend?
 
Veldmaarschalk - Interesting idea! Hmm, as France is fighting England that might work. I hate asking for a specific province in peace deals becuase the AI negotiating team is lot like the used carsalesman who always points to the lemon you don't want so I didn't consider it. Well, I've already decided to expand East so I'll never know how the French gambit would have played out. The plan is to be nice and chummy with France :)

Primus Inter Pa - Garish lol what's that? If it wasn't in my 16 crayon Crayola box than I wouldn't these fancy colors my girlfriend is always pointing out.

Lorraine has 3 provinces so yes that is two wars. No vasseling, no peace they are getting annexed :D I can wait 5 years for colonizing because Burgundy's starting army is on the small side so early funds must go there. Err, didn't think about France vulching their capital after my first war. Let's hope it doesn't come to that :eek:
 
"A man who wishes to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous. Therefore if a prince wishes to maintain his rule he must learn how not to be virtuous, and to make use of this knowledge or not according to his need."
-- Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince


Burgundian diplomats connive to generate the CBs we need to the East and particularly the south where the weak, rich Northern Italian city-states make tempting targets. Switzerland, Genoa, Savoy, and the Palatinate are warned. Lorraine asks for a marriage and we accept. As out armies move into position, we claim their throne and then insult them (note: rebuff all royal marriages before doing this!). War is declared in December and after a few unspectacular fights, the predictable happens:


Lorrainepeace.gif




After hitting Government 1 tech, we choose QWTNW and ask Portugal for military access. Note, this is much easier in EU3, if you have positive relations, they tend to agree. An explorer is qued up and sets sail to the west:


Explore.gif



You might notice I haven't moved the slider. I'm not impressed by the 1% difference in production efficiency or what not I'll get for taking a stability hit, especially when we'll be waging war and acquiring wrong cultures/religions which makes requiring that stability an enormous investment. Nope, keep stability at +1.



After just two years into the game, the aged great Philippe dies and I get his lousy heir as a replacement:

Philippedeath.gif


If you look at the political map close enough, you'll note those warmongering money launderers the Swiss annexed Lorraine! Looks like Primus Inter Pa was right to foresee that possibility, but thankfully it was not France. The Swiss in this game are pushovers - very much ahistorical - so while I am annoyed, they are committing political suicide.



"Der Krieg ist nichts anders als die Fortsetzung der Politik mit anderen Mitteln"
"War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means"
-- Karl von Clausewitz, On War


As irritating as the Swiss annexation was, a constellation of alliances just happen to fall into place that presented too tempting of a target. Liege (who I have a CB against), Cologne (who borders me), Milan (rich, rich, rich dinky country in Lombardy), and the bellicose Papal States form a weak alliance which give Burgundy the chance to get into Italy before the French or Austrians do. We ask for access through Savoy and then to war!


On EU3 Wars:
It's all about cavalry, cavalry, and more cavalry. Infantry are worse than useless as their maintenance drains your treasury. If terrain makes a difference, I haven't seen it. My cavalry wiped out waves and waves of Papal infantry in the Alps. I suppose it would be more sporting to build some infantry but I dislike having to nerf myself to make a game challenging. They probably should tie infantry effectiveness to military tradition; trained infantry in this period could and did defeat cavalry (the Swiss halberdiers, Spanish Tercios, and English/Welsh longbowmen come to mind). The only use I see for infantry is to assault a city if you absolutely need a siege over *now*.


Cavbattle.gif



Here we have an illustration of cavalry fodder on the EU3 battlefield. Burgundy's budget is respectable at this point; war taxes don't seem as great here than EU2 but have little drawback so I make it a point to always collect them.


We can't say Paradox does not have a sense of humor. Check this out:

RidiculousPeace.gif



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Yep, that's their two cities under siege!


The Peace: Liege is annexed, Cologne gives up Lippe, 50 ducats and is vassalised. Milan cedes Parma and is also vassalised. The Papal States surrenders 50 ducats.
 
Very nice start!

From regular old Burgundy to a Burgundy that has the very real prospect of cutting Europe in twain in five short years! From mediterranean to atlantic, sea to shining sea!

I don't know if you can get both Switzerland's non-capital provinces and her vassalization in a single war. Hopefully.
 
Great AAR and great start!

Pity the Swiss taking Lorraine before you did and not realising the big mistake they've just made! Are they allied with anyone who could cause you problems?

I like the logic behind every move you made and particularly the move on Milan as they usually (well, in my games anyway) manage to eat a lot of the Italian peninsula and Savoie and become a real power (unless Austria attacks them early on).

I also like the inclusion of quotes from famous people into your AAR.

Good luck and give us more updates! :)
 
Primus Inter Pa - Thanks :cool: About Switz, see my next update.

Petros - Ask and you shall receive!
 
*Subscribes*
 
Consolidating the Rhineland:

The Swiss are attacked as soon as war exhaustion wears off (1460) and they are conveniently allied with a small German principality, Hesse. You ever hit a button by mistake? Very annoying :mad: The Swiss were prime targets for vassalage and I accidentally hit the "accept" button when the offered the old Lorraine province that separated my Burgundy in two. Oh well. Hesse was not so fortunate. They lost a province and were force-vassalized.

I noticed the AI likes to pick off weak one province minors. The Palatinate soon DOW Hesse and annexed my vassal. That's ok, when I get around to invading the Palatinate, I'll get Hesse right back without having to go through the annoying process of improving relations + diploannexing :cool:



"Etre capable de se laisser servirn'est pas une des moindres qualities, que puisse avoir an grand Roi."
"Not the least of the qualities that go into the making of a great ruler is the ability of letting others serve him"
-- Cardinal Richelieu

Austria offers me an alliance after the short Swiss war and I accept. They make an ideal ally for me as they:
  • Are reasonably strong (and I'm not).
  • Are likely to get me into wars in the very area I want to expand without suffering stability hits.
  • Gives me some degree of control over their inevitable expansion

Almost immediately the mighty Kleeves-Gelre alliance DOWs Burgundy and Austria :wacko: Umm, I'm guessing there was some serious miscalculations in the Kleevian court or at least some good drugs. Gelre was promptly annexed and Kleeves vassalized.


Here is the political situation as of 1463:

1463polmap.gif


Annexed: Liege, Gelre, Lorraine (via Switzerland).
Vassals: Cologne, Milan, Kleeves, Hesse (soon to be annexed by the Palatinate).
Allies: Austria, Milan.


The events in EU3 are *SWEET* when you can get them. Moreover, thank you Paradox for allowing us to check out our stuff like sliders and/or make other changes before having to make a choice on events (this was not the case in EU2). I never heard of this dude but I'm liking his effect:

stability.gif



+3 stability and less cost for 7 years? I'll take 2 please! Before I click that button, I move a slider toward free trade which lets me get that whole +3 stability.


The 1460s are somewhat uneventful. Brazil is slowly colonized. Austria and Burgundy each launch a total of 3 wars of aggression against dinky German principalities that would stand no chance against just one of us. The biggest challenge is ensuring my armies initiate the siege before Austria does. The resulting peace deals:

Switzerland - cedes Bern, 50 ducats, and accepts vassalage.
Baden - 50 ducats + vassalage.
Wuerttemburg - cedes Konstanz (to Milan...that's ok, I'll get it eventually), 50 ducats, and accepts vassalage.
Palatinate - cedes Hesse, 50 ducats, and accepts vassalage.
Utricht - annexed
Alsace - 50 ducats + vassalage.


Bavaria gobbles up the single province vassals the Palatinate and Alsace. Brunswick annexes Baden. As I have cores on the eastern Rhine (and thus now Bavaria) through a boundary dispute, again I don't care. Yet I start making it a point to keep these vassals by improving relations and entering into an alliance with them. Kleeves and Cologne are thus brought into the fold and then Burgundy declares war on the perfidious Bavarians.


Bavariaking.gif



The other great thing about cavalry is their speed allows you to initiate sieges before your slow allied infantry can march into a province. Note NiederBayern was captured by Burgundy despite being surrounded by Austrian territory! All Bavarian territory except their capital is under control of me or my vassals.

We also got a new King to replace the mediocre Philippe IV. Charles's 8 Diplomacy will come in handy when trying to diploannex all my dinky vassals (which will be talked about in length in another installment).

The resulting peace treaty gives me their Rhine territories meaning the entire river is either under Bavarian suzerainty on way or another. Kleeves is awarded Schwaben for their gallant contribution ;) Austria gets nothing but casualties
 
Go Burgundy
 
Yeah, Burgundy! Now just don't have your royal house go extinct this time. :)
 
Very interesting. I'll be watching...

BTW - Pls comment about your choice of building improvements. The Workshop appears to be a "no-brainer", but what are your thoughts on the Constable and Customs House (and the Refineries) - I know it's great to capture any buildings, but what to build seems to be the question.
 
I can only reiterate:

Go Burgundy!

How many vassals do you have now? I hope ya don't run out of diplomats getting all those dinky one-province minors up to +200. Perhaps keep an eye out for a nice diplomatic advisor, or, since you're not trading, go heavy aristocrat.

+ production efficiency, +diplomats, and -cavalry cost (which also affects maintenance IIRC), and since you aren't trading, no downside!

Nice call on the moving the slider before taking the advisor. It's also helpful to use those as free "change national idea" buttons later on. =D

Sadness about the miss-click with Switzerland. :( Doesn't it seem like the accept should be on the left and the decline should be on the right?
 
Austria gets nothing but casualties
Click to expand...
:D I like it! I han't noticed yet that you can check (and even change!) DP sliders before making an event choice in EU3 - that is a big improvement. It always drove me crazy in EU2 that you couldn't even see where your sliders were when you had to make a crucial decision that moved two or three of them. :wacko:

Anyway, nice painting job you're doing so far. Keep it up!
 
Fulcrumvale - :cool:

Corbett - That shall be thy fate of every nation not colored Burgundy ;)

HannibalBarca
Oh dear. Well, have fun snacking on the defenseless HRE minors then.
Click to expand...

:rofl: :rofl:

WhisperingDeath - next update we'll take a peek inside the Garish Empire to see its inner economic workings.

Primus Inter Pa - Burgundy's diplomatic corps has certainly been kept busy. I've actually had so many vassals I lost track of Mainz :p

Farquharson - Yep being able to check your kingdom before deciding on an event is perhaps my favorite tweak from EU 2. We'll do some more painting hopefully tonight.
 
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Looks like your Burgundy is going great guns! I like your writing style - short and to the point, keeps the AAR rattling along without getting bogged down in trivia.

I agree with the tactic of wrapping up the border minors before trying to face off with France. If you leave them, someone (probably Mecklemburg) will eat them up and turn into a major if they weren't already. And the swarm of obedient allies is a bonus. Use and abuse them ruthlessly - that's what they're there for, after all.

Not so sure about colonising so early if you're playing warmonger - Brazil is rich, but colonies cost a lot and are slow to pay off.
 
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