Aaaa finally. Plucked up the courage to play my first Ironman campaign (all in 1.15). Did it on Hard as well! Your very standard Brandenburg -> Germany (screw Prussia
). My very savescummy experience thus far consisted of some short runs with Muscovy -> Russia (what can I say, got to love that blob), Castille -> Spain colonisation (and deblobbification of France), Mongolia, Byzantium, Vijayanagar aaand that's about it. Most of these didn't make it past 1650 and were completely played in speed 5. Even in war. The reason I'm telling you this is because every game I had played basically descended into endless blobbing at one point, even though I'd explicitly stated my Castille and VIjay runs would not.
This time I took it far more slowly and it paid off! I also told myself I wouldn't take anything not Germanic, I'd play it cool, Ironmany, all Bismark-like and unite the German people under one banner and ensure unending peace and prosperity for Europe through a web of alliances. Show some character, backbone and you know, restraint…
Apparently I don't do restraint.
May have gone a bit overboard with the vassal/ march/ client state mechanics. Also got bored and went Exploration and Expansion around 1700 and got myself some freedom across the pond.
All your money and units are belong to us.
Ideas and Tech. Could have tech-ed up one or two more things if I'd played 'till the end.
Glorious 61 development Berlin is glorious. No, it wasn't just to top Paris… Okay maybe a little.
Space marines you say? Well said.
Bonus funny one. This happened because I annexed Hungary while they were at war.
Maps. Late game expansion seems to have become insanely quick in the last few patches.
1625
1695
1819
Some fun facts:
• Russia was formed by a Novgorod, which looked dead and buried by Muscovy and Sweden around 1530 but bounced back without my help and ended up vassalising a distracted between the PLC and Hordy McHordeHord Muscovy. Was a weak Russia though. Glorious Rus will replace!
• Became Emporer in 1446 and the blobbing commenced.
• France ate most of Iberia at one point and in 1625-ish I was scared I might not be able to beat them.
• I allied Poland pretty much on day one and with their help subjugated the HRE and subsequently dismantled it.
• Poland was a great ally. Then blobbing occured in the 17. century.
• Austria had an alliance of doom with France so I naturally allied them both.
• After some maneuvers involving chainwarring Lithuania and Hungary (Both allies of Austria) and bags of AE I managed to eat them without pissing off France. Austria had actually eaten most of what was once Yugoslavia at one point.
• France was a great ally for a very long time! We had fun removing the Ottoblobs from Europe together. Then blobbing occured and Frace were no longer my mates.
• In about 1650 I saw the disputed succession icon pop up. Checked and saw it was a scary-ish and fully formed Sweden so RM on the next day. Less than a month later - PU. Didn't want to integrate (that and insane diplo costs) the space marines so I let them be.
• The second to last HRE was giant France, which petrified me as I'd left the empire by forming Germany and hadn't killed all the electors. OPM Hainaut remained.
• France's emperor died aged 36 and Hainaut became emperor. Ruina Imperii followed shortly.
• That Brazil is English and the rest of South America is French. Must have given those colonies upwards of 10 000 ducats in gifts to help them out in their independence wars.
• I helped New Portugal to get free! They formed the USA. Then blobbing occured and I (my CN Christiansland rather) ate them.
• Could have easily eaten all of Mexico and probably California, but didn't feel like destroying them - kind of liked seeing them free.
• Used Bulgaria to try something out - can I force someone to blob? Apparently not. Still, they westernised and I didn't want the tumultuous mess that is the Balkans in my Reich so I gave it to them. Later I decided to chase the Turk away from Constantinople and created Better Greece.
• Went overblob on vassal feeding: Brunswick, Big Bavaria, Verden, Hesse, Burgundy, Bohemia, Switzerland, TO, Tuscany and the last Holy Roman Emperor Hainaut all went that way. Not to mention my own custom vassals of Slavonia (southern Lithuania basically) and Baguette.
• Catalonia revolted from a dying Aragon at some point on the Baleares so I diplovassalised them and fed them their cores from France back. Gave them a bit of extra as well.
• Aragon is still alive believe it or not. That's them in Malta.
• Austria ended its miserable existence as an OPM white Albania.
• France now lives in Northern Scotland and Western Africa. How the blobby have fallen.
• My march Rus was something like the fifth most developed country in the end. LD 0%. Like a baws. Although in fairness it probably had more to do with me shoving 150% of OE on them every 12-15 years when I started gourging myself on Russia. They also got some Ottoblob land in the Caucasus.
• The only protestants are the free (and Norwegian by culture) Republic of Canada and their former Norwegian overlords, who now reside mostly in Iceland.
• Went for pretty borders.
• Was a bit ineffective. With some better choices (and if I were less crappy at wars) I could have probably had all of Europe, Asia Minor and North America. Aaah well, leave some for next time.
• At one point I fought France, Ottoblobs, Jaunpur, Mutapa and Russia at the same time. Pfft, easy!
This was easily my most enjoyable campaign thus far. Ironman, taking it slow and playing in the HRE made it really intense. Humanism is awe inspiring (hardly felt the reformation), Influence is great, but Diplomatic is a necessity alongside those two. Would be a decent fourth idea. Humanism -> Mil -> Influence -> Diplo would be insane.
Northern Germany seems to be poorer than it used to. Had to rely on trade more than usual for the first half of the game.
Got 29 achievements this run. I'm sure I missed a few (most notably that Prussian Goose one).
This was extremely fun and enjoyable. Best and most fulfilling run I've had in any game ever probably.
Blob.