Returning after over 3 years... which country/region to explore for the most refreshed experience?

[Magean]

Hey all,

Alright, this may sound a little weird... I've sunk countless hours of my life in Paradox games for about a decade, until I stopped 3 years ago. My last EU4 game was, I recall, in the Mandate of Heaven days.

Now, given that before I quit I had played countries from all regions of the world, religions or specific mechanics; and assuming that I'd be willing to invest in the DLCs that have been released since (I got some on sale here and there)...

Where should I play for a very refreshed experience? Note that I'm no achievement hunter; I used to be a reasonably good player, but never was much into competitive optimization. So I'm not looking for the latest WC or OPM challenge... Rather for new mechanics to explore, and more flavorful alt-history generation. Taking into account new stuff brought by patches and DLCs since MoH.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[bbasgen]

I think it is safe to say that if you add up the DLC since Mandate, you'll see a very different experience with lots of new nuances. Empreror in particular does a nice job rounding the edges and locking in some changes over the DLC for a more complete experience. Thus, I think any nation you play will feel different. If you are looking to maximize the differences, Third Rome gives you Russia (and other orthodox), Cradle gives you the Ottomans (and other muslims), Britania obviously, Dharma is all of India, Golden gives you Iberian changes, and Emperor is focused on Austria and the HRE.

 

[cleon422bc]

Welcome back!

 

[Beagá]

There ia plenty of options but I would wait for a patch first.

 

[Monumentiumerongraphataquesqly]

Presuming you're using all the DLC (or Emperor at the least), I really feel like Burgundy has had one of the most rock'n'roll revamps. They're a totally different experience to play now.

 

[Maxxie42]

Honestly, so much has changed since Mandate of Heaven, any country will feel fresh at this point. If you want the most flavour, major countries usually get the biggest mission trees and the most flavour events. In Europe, Great Britain, France, the Papal States, Castille or even something like Munich into Bavaria are super fun. In India, I would recommend Mewar or Delhi. Only region I would advise against is South East Asia, as it will get a large overhaul in the next expansion.

 

[Vinje]

Try India, the dharma patch was a great improvement for the subcontinent! I would recommend playing Timmy (or a Timmy vassal) or one of the north indian states.

 

[iClipse]

Not sure what was released since 3 years ago, but some nations with quite a fulfilling flavor and unique mechanics/mission trees/flavor:

- Andalusia (start as Morocco, or Granada if you want a challenge).
- Some of the Indian majors. Mewar is lots of fun, so is Bahmanis (Deus Vult the continent?). Has access to some interesting formables such as Rajputana or Bharat/Hindustan
- A Manchu tribe and forming Qing.
- A plain old England run? England has the most nation specific events in the game, a unique government, a big mission tree and a unique religion, so it can feel really flavorful to play them.
- Most Italian nations have a nice mission tree now. Savoy for example is quite interesting since you have a great mission tree and can either form Italy or reform France if you conquered them.
- Personal favorite place to play: Japan. Oda is great fun, but there are lots of Daimyos with interesting idea sets. Take a look at Tokugawa (for a Catholic religious run), Date (expansionist, while not giving up on army quality and even navy quality) or Shimazu (Japanese Space marines).

 

[holyvigil]

Lotharingia!

Form india.

Reform the Mongol Empire.

All the Italian mid sized nations all have good things.

I know you didn't want to have to optimize things but a challenging but fun run is Provence into Jerusalem into France. Crusader state France is best France.