Status of the Truce Issue

[nimitz98]

I recently started playing Europa again after not having played it for around five months, and one of the changes that stood out to me was the 15-year truce. I did some research on the change and learned of the recent debates/flamewars surrounding it through Reddit. According to what I have read, the decision to lengthen truces was based on Multiplayer, with the justification that some players fight each war like a total war, and therefore truces should be three times as long so that these particular players can recover after they get ROFLOLSTOMPED. I, of course, have no expert knowledge of the community, but it seems reasonable to assume that the vast majority of EU4 players primarily play SP. Thus, the change to truces is designed to benefit not only exclusively a minority of players, but the even smaller minority who decide to be idiots/cheeky bastages and run their country into the ground to such a degree that they need 15 years to recover. Moreover, the change has been condemned by a not-insignificant number of players, and generally opposed by many others. This opposition seems to be due to the completely reasonable view that EU4 is a game about conquest, and most of the fun of the game is derived from conquering new territory. The 15-year truce is forcing the player to wait to do that, and thus detracts from the fun of the game. It seems grossly illogical to make such a major change to the game to benefit such a minority of players.

Now, with that said, I have some questions: Has there been any change in the attitude of the devs toward this issue? Is there any hint of possibility that truces could be reverted to five years? Also, what is actually going on with this issue? I'm sure I have misinterpreted some of what I have read.

 

[Xiahou Mao]

Just to note, truces aren't automatically 15 years with the current system. The length of a truce is based on the amount of warscore claimed in the peace treaty. 100 Warscore will cause a 15 year truce, but smaller amounts generate shorter truces, with white peaces still being only 5 years.

 

[nimitz98]

Hmm. Can a 5-year truce result from a war in which territory is taken? Or is a 15-year truce compulsory once a province is annexed?

 

[Xiahou Mao]

A five year truce won't result from a war where territory is taken, no. But it's not a black and white, five or fifteen year situation. It scales based on warscore.

If 0 Warscore gives you a 5 year truce, and 100 Warscore gives you a 15 year truce, then taking, say, 40 Warscore of provinces in a war will give you a 9 year truce. A single province for 10 Warscore will give you a 6 year truce. Now when you're working on a treaty, you might not want to bleed your enemy dry of everything right away. Is that 150 ducats you're demanding to top off your peace deal worth the 10 Warscore and 1 extra year of truce it'll cost you?

You also get the ability by making separate peace deals with members of the enemy alliance to cause truces that come up at differing times, which might be something you want to make happen, especially now that nations can't enter a coalition against someone they have a truce with.

 

[Mztr44]

I don't think any adjustment on truce timers is needed. Keep in mind that the warscore required for a recently captured province is reduced. So you can grab provinces on the cheap by going after ones that have recently changed hands.

 

[Gaamel]

The change to the truce timer had led most players to be creative about it. Fabricate claims on the allies of your enemy (if you can do it), in the same time improve relation to prevent coalition. Then, when you dow the small OPM, your number 1 victim is dragged into the war and thus you bypass the truce timer. Make separate peace to trigger the 5-year truce when possible, AVOID COALITIONS AT ALL COSTS (generally a negative opinion, 30 AE and a claim on someone else's land is enough to trigger it).
This trick was getting abused by most players, that's why in 1.8 separate peace costs twice the warscore to achieve the same peace deal.

 

[sti]

Is OP really complaining about something that they have never experienced, just heard other people complaining about?

 

[LastSalian]

Yea, sad true. It was implemented for MP games mainly. Honestly was hoping they fix it in 1.8. It makes the game unnecessarily slower.

 

[nimitz98]

Is OP really complaining about something that they have never experienced, just heard other people complaining about?

I have only experienced 15-year truces due to the way I play. I was not aware of the scaling. If what Mao said is the case, I guess it's not really an issue and I should just deal with it.

 

[aitaituo]

Is OP really complaining about something that they have never experienced, just heard other people complaining about?

Never been to a town hall meeting, eh? I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Santoes]

Has anyone else noticed that truces in 1.8 do not expire on time? I have been having to wait a month longer just so it will go away. It's annoying and I've wasted stability on some games.