ENG -> HRE is probably the easiest low-infamy WC, as it lets you destroy the colonisers quickly, unite Europe for 0 infamy and the holy war everything else. Ottomans are -faster- but you have to deal with lots more infamy.
Yes...but that AAR doesn't prove that it isn't easier as Ottomans(who have better tech, buildings, early access to hordes, and can Holy War Europe) or Golden Horde(who can just sieze provinces after occupying them for a few years)
Is there any reason you specify Golden Horde rather than the Timurds? I've always thought the Timurds were in the better position.
The Golden Horde can start eating the Western Group sooner. That's important.Is there any reason you specify Golden Horde rather than the Timurds? I've always thought the Timurds were in the better position.
Moldavia deserves a mention as one of the harder nations, and easily one of the hardest in Europe. Eastern tech, 2PM, border the GH and the Ottomans... not ideal. It's both a plus and a negative that you're vassalized by Poland at the start. It gives you a little protection, but Poland can into suck more often than space, and you'll be lucky if Bohemia doesn't force your independence before 1410, leaving you at the mercy of the GH and/or Ottomans.
Oh, and your two provinces? Wool. Took me a few tries to finally survive and thrive with them. Bohemia ended my vassalization with Poland about a year after the first GH invasion ended, giving me four years to get ready to face them. I declared a CB-less war on Wallachia, annexed them, and used the combined forces and size to scrap against the Mongols until they accepted my tribute. From there, I just had to worry about Hungary and the Ottomans while I worked towards forming Romania.
I'd say Pommerania is a very nice dark horse nation for success in Europe. You've got some OK land, you're just large enough to almost field something you could call an army, and you've got a wealth of possibilities for expansion. It's not difficult to wait for the inevitable Teutonic collapse and annex some of their land for much needed manpower, which you can then use to wrestle control of the Baltic away from Sweden, Denmark, and Novgorod if they push that far. Bohemia and Sweden are concerns early on, as Sweden gets a mission to annex you, and an HRE Bohemia is just as likely to try to annex you themselves as they are to protect you from Sweden.
Moldavian provinces are 6 base tax, so it is quite rich for wool provinces. And wool events give you money, which is nice, aspecialy early.