Ranking every nation, easiest to hardest
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So what've we got?
1. Castille
2. England
3. France
4. Austria
5. Burgundy
6. The Ottomans
7. Poland
8. Bohemia
9. Sweden
10. Aragon
11. Hungary
12. Portugal
13. Bavaria
14. Venice
15. Brandenburg
16. Ming?
17. Denmark
18. Hansa?
19. Muscowy
20. Novgorod
21. Mamluks?
22. Naples?
23. Teutonic Order?
24. Norway?
25. Milan?
26. Savoy?
27. Vijiyanagar?
28. Lithuania?
29. Sicily?
30. Pommerania?
31. Brabant?
32. Holland?
33. Manchu?
...
Navarra
Kongo
Mongol Khanate
Oirat Horde
Granada
Chimu
Maya
Oyo
Creek
Ryukyu
Bar
Byzantium
Epirus
Arakan
Benin
1. Castille
2. England
3. France
4. Austria
5. Burgundy
6. The Ottomans
7. Poland
8. Bohemia
9. Sweden
10. Aragon
11. Hungary
12. Portugal
13. Bavaria
14. Venice
15. Brandenburg
16. Ming?
17. Denmark
18. Hansa?
19. Muscowy
20. Novgorod
21. Mamluks?
22. Naples?
23. Teutonic Order?
24. Norway?
25. Milan?
26. Savoy?
27. Vijiyanagar?
28. Lithuania?
29. Sicily?
30. Pommerania?
31. Brabant?
32. Holland?
33. Manchu?
...
Navarra
Kongo
Mongol Khanate
Oirat Horde
Granada
Chimu
Maya
Oyo
Creek
Ryukyu
Bar
Byzantium
Epirus
Arakan
Benin
On the subject of Navarra - I have tried. Aragon gets the subjugate mission, then annexes. Every time. I have only succeeded as Navarra by some incredibly lucky siege work, minting, and mercenaries.
1. Castille
2. England
3. France
4. Austria
5. Burgundy
6. The Ottomans
7. Bohemia +1 Starts out as HRE does not have to fight horde for the first 20-30 years
8. Poland -1
9. Sweden
10. Aragon
11. Portugal +1 I feel its easier than fighting the horde early game.
12. Hungary -1
13. Bavaria
14. Venice
15. Brandenburg
16. Hansa +2 started to rank this up higher but that was based on power. Trade league take some getting used but are easy to play once you try to get everything in your league. Which they have lots of room to grow.
17. Ming?
18. Denmark
19. Muscowy
20. Novgorod
21. Mamluks?
22. Naples?
23. Teutonic Order?
24. Norway?
25. Milan?
26. Savoy?
27. Vijiyanagar?
28. Lithuania?
29. Sicily?
30. Holland +2 Holland doesn't have a direct mission from the AI like Pommerania and Brabant and can escape to the ocean
31. Pommerania?
32. Brabant?
33. Manchu?
...
Navarra
Kongo
Mongol Khanate
Oirat Horde
Granada
Chimu
Maya
Oyo
Creek
Byzantium - they are safer from being annexed right at the beginning compared to Ryukya and Bar.
Ryukyu
Bar
Epirus
Arakan
Benin
Really? That's actually just strange. They always vassalize me without fail.. Hm. Puzzling.
Anyone saying Byzantium 1399 is on par with natives/tiny asian nations is having a laugh. They are a coiled spring.
Mongol Khanate, Arakan, Ryukyu, Sardinia and Bar are up there in my personal list for most difficult nations that I can think of.
Mongol Khanate, Arakan, Ryukyu, Sardinia and Bar are up there in my personal list for most difficult nations that I can think of.
I wouldn't say Ethiopia is hard:
-Build troops to forcelimits
-DoW Adal (easy war, no forts)
-Vassalize them
-Sell them Massawa (northernmost province)
Boom, safe from Mamlukes and Yemen.
-Get advisor for land tech
-Build forts at level 3
-Start converting provinces
-When your sliders are ready for westernizing send colonists to get border with Mamlukes
Boom, Muslim tech. You can now do what you want, India and Arabia are usually open, and Mamlukes are easy prey.
Most OPMs in Europe are piss easy, just trade. Only exceptions to the rule are Trebizond, Epirus, Montenegro, and Ragusa. For the first 2, DoW Candar/Montenegro/Ragusa day one after that is easy with mercs. For the last two, just conquer the other and send gifts to Hungary.
If someone actually thinks Byzantium is hard, lol. So many cores make everything so easy.
-Build troops to forcelimits
-DoW Adal (easy war, no forts)
-Vassalize them
-Sell them Massawa (northernmost province)
Boom, safe from Mamlukes and Yemen.
-Get advisor for land tech
-Build forts at level 3
-Start converting provinces
-When your sliders are ready for westernizing send colonists to get border with Mamlukes
Boom, Muslim tech. You can now do what you want, India and Arabia are usually open, and Mamlukes are easy prey.
Most OPMs in Europe are piss easy, just trade. Only exceptions to the rule are Trebizond, Epirus, Montenegro, and Ragusa. For the first 2, DoW Candar/Montenegro/Ragusa day one after that is easy with mercs. For the last two, just conquer the other and send gifts to Hungary.
If someone actually thinks Byzantium is hard, lol. So many cores make everything so easy.
really?
i played BYZ 1399 with no cheats and had a very easy time
just dow the small turkish kingdoms ASAP and then get some allies and finish the Ottomans while their armies are being destroyed by the timurids, one the ottomans are annexed you'll have a pretty easy time
byzantium 1399 is tricky but easily doable,
byzantium 1405 was my....second game and i succeded easily, now byzantium in some of the amazing mods out there is a bit tougher because those mods make the ottomans actually dangerous.
the hardest game that ive survived in was my trebizond game, i wound up with the eastern half of anatolia before the ottomans looked at me........*squish* after that i was stupid weak and said not worth it xD
i tried arakan a couple times......no......i tried sukthothai as well, i lived a while but then i quit once ayutthaya and lan nang or w/e they're called DOW'd me and my allies backed out
byzantium 1405 was my....second game and i succeded easily, now byzantium in some of the amazing mods out there is a bit tougher because those mods make the ottomans actually dangerous.
the hardest game that ive survived in was my trebizond game, i wound up with the eastern half of anatolia before the ottomans looked at me........*squish* after that i was stupid weak and said not worth it xD
i tried arakan a couple times......no......i tried sukthothai as well, i lived a while but then i quit once ayutthaya and lan nang or w/e they're called DOW'd me and my allies backed out
Timurids should probably get into at least the top30 easiest, due to their size, many strong missions and great position to become muslim-tech non-nomad by forming the Mughal Empire (+1 government tech and beating the western Indians, only Delhi is strong enough to put up a fight.) It's missions will help retake any land lost in the west. Starting as Nomads with an early TSC means they require more skill than western majors, but shouldn't be too hard.
Ashanti is among the hardest - pagan unfortified OPM who tends to get DoWed by Mali right away. Even if you survive that war, you'll have a Mali/Songhai alliance to deal with - and that's before the Europeans show up, which will be way earlier than for the New World pagans.
Also unexpectedly easy is Frankfurt (and possibly Aachen) due to great trading capability and relative protection deep within the HRE. The AI is just so bad at asking open borders that Frankfurt only needs to worry about it's larger (but poorer) neighbours and a war against the emperor. Being a republic will make expansion harder though.
I was a little surprised noone mention these two, this is just meant to complement the lists given above.
Ashanti is among the hardest - pagan unfortified OPM who tends to get DoWed by Mali right away. Even if you survive that war, you'll have a Mali/Songhai alliance to deal with - and that's before the Europeans show up, which will be way earlier than for the New World pagans.
Also unexpectedly easy is Frankfurt (and possibly Aachen) due to great trading capability and relative protection deep within the HRE. The AI is just so bad at asking open borders that Frankfurt only needs to worry about it's larger (but poorer) neighbours and a war against the emperor. Being a republic will make expansion harder though.
I was a little surprised noone mention these two, this is just meant to complement the lists given above.
I don't think they even exist in 1399 start ...
Georgia is brutal , you get GH , timurids , qara K on you from day 1.
Oh , and while you need a bit of luck to get started as Navarra , they are still easier than natives!
Georgia is brutal , you get GH , timurids , qara K on you from day 1.
Oh , and while you need a bit of luck to get started as Navarra , they are still easier than natives!
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Yeah, Armenia needs to be released as a vassal first. Georgia and Trebizond are in a similarly awful position.
Navarra is one of the easier nations to play, I don't see why it's being ranked as one of the hardest/low on easiest. Just get vassalized, dissolve alliance so you don't get called into wars with Aragaon, trade like crazy using your amazing sliders, hyper tech to govt 4/trade 7, and go conquer the Americas.
I also think the Mamluks probably are rated too high in that last list. While they are huge, have a CoT, a holy city, relatively stable lands with only Sunni religion and Al-Misr Arabic / Al-Suryah Arabic culture (... and Suakin), the weak arabians and east Africans around, a high BB burn from being tribal, they are tribal - TSCs, incapable ruler... Yeah, they're still pretty strong, don't think they're easier than the much more stable Vija or stronger latin middle powers like Naples and the TO though.
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The problem i see with this thread that there are so many easy nations that its hard to compare their 'easyness.'
Would you say its easiest to play?
Easiest for a new player?
Easiest for a skilled player?
And what goal are you supposed to reach that makes playing a certain country with the goal in mind very easy?
In the hands of a skilled player, any nation in western europe(excluding scandinavia) with a port is 'easy'
Would you say its easiest to play?
Easiest for a new player?
Easiest for a skilled player?
And what goal are you supposed to reach that makes playing a certain country with the goal in mind very easy?
In the hands of a skilled player, any nation in western europe(excluding scandinavia) with a port is 'easy'
I say the best way to do this is to list every nation alphabetically and then have people vote each one up or down.
What was your inflation though, or did you take out any loans?
From the 1405 start I didn't mint a single penny.
I know, moving the goalposts, but I can't imagine inflation or loans combined with the tech disadvantage after 100 years (exacerbated by the fact that your money was going toward minting or interest payments) can be pretty....