I've wanted to discuss this particular achievement because it seems plausible but nevertheless quite tricky. Given the relaxation of core expiration, it shouldn't even be that difficult anymore, just quite a struggle.
I've put in maybe half a dozen real attempts but just seem to be falling short so I was hoping other people had tips to speed up the middle part.
My game usually goes like this:
1. Secure the peninsula. Basic steps: Ally Mamlukes (no RM), rival QQ for better relations, build up an army. Wait for an opening to attack one of the neighbors, usually attacking Hedjaz with Mamluke support, or if Hedjaz gets engaged against Yemen. Force-vassalize Hedjaz or whichever target is available (annexation if Haasa), then using that vassal, vassalize the other neighbors. Annex asap.
Preparatory steps for next phase: RM+ally Ottomans ASAP during this phase for PU chance, make sure to annex Haasa because otherwise you have no port connected to your capital. Fabricate claims in Basra and Khuzestan.
2. Attack QQ with Ottoman+Mamluke help, taking land to create an Iraqi vassal. If possible, also attack Timurids with help and create Persia vassal. Continue warring them in order to return cores (you can always have a fabricated claim across the Persian Gulf to keep a CB with Timurids.
Preparatory next steps: after I've got all your Iraqi cores back, I don't really need the Mamlukes anymore. Cut relations with them, rival them (the Ottomans will like this), and fabricate claims on Sinai to prepare to cut capital off from Asian provinces.
During phase 2 I'm ready to get the first Idea group. It seems to me if I've gotten a PU with the Ottomans I can go straight in to Religious or Expansion, but if not, I have to take Exploration.
3a. If no PU with Ottomans, start colonizing down East Africa, eventually going around the Cape, until can put a colony on the western coast of Africa or on Brazil and then Westernize.
3b. If PU with Ottomans, use them to attack Crimea (usually by attacking Crimean ally) to seize a province next to Genoa's Black Sea cores (returning those to Genoa if necessary). Get Fleet Basing rights from the Ottomans and core.
4. Westernize asap around miltech 12; hopefully be done before 1560.
At this point I should be done with Expansion group too so I can just walk all over the Chinese tech group (and colonize southeast Asia for extra manpower/basetax, which isn't even overseas!). Using the colonialism CB against Spain I should also be able to get some Aragon (and Naples if possible/necessary) in the Mediterranean and start feeding those back.
Problems:
A. I noticed that when there's a latent core (say Guyenne in France) it might say "expires in 1644" but once it's released a single core as a vassal, the timer drops back to 1544 and all the rest of the cores instantly disappear. Still ok for creating a feedable vassal but not the super-cheap returnfest I was expecting. So still need to get a Guyenne core before 1539 (pre-1544 plus 5 years truce to initiate another war and refresh core timer).
B. If I don't get an Ottoman PU there's no clear path up to Russia. Seems pretty vital to cut off Muscovy/Russia before it expands too far east; that's just years and years of more wars and conversion that would otherwise be 100% mine via colonization. But Ottomans always ally Crimea and getting to Russia first means going through them, usually. Fighting the Ottomans at any point seems like a huge waste of time; I'd rather they expand themselves in Europe and convert things for me (although they seem terrible at doing it and often don't because of their +religious unity idea.)
(An alternative that just occurred to me might be to colonize Siberia first myself by exploring east to Taiwan and then up to Hokkaido. It wouldn't block them as much but I bet I could out-race them and potentially I'd have enough manpower to beat them down from that side.)
C. If Persia manages to gain its own independence from the Timurids first, you might as well restart because the entire thing is going to take too long.
D. Need for lucky PUs in general. Not just the Ottomans, but Algeria/Morocco. Not just needed for the achievement, but Ifni is needed to Unify Islam. Again, without a lucky PU this seems like a huge timesink. Most Muslim countries will eventually be small enough to diplo-vassalize (in fact, there's no reason to fight the Mamlukes after you grab all their Mediterranean provinces so you can connect to your Tripoli diplo-vassal) except the Ottomans and possibly a united Morocco+Algeria (one inevitably conquers the other). Fighting any large Sunni country like those seems like a huge waste of time.
I've picked up a few neat tricks (like cutting off different continent province; makes Mamlukes die much easier) and forcing a super-Spain (Castile+Aragon+Naples) to release "Sicily" (Palermo+Messina+Malta) and then annexing Sicily and forcing it to release Naples (Palermo+Messina but not Malta) and then Aragon (core in Malta) and I can see how to use those against other stuff like Russia, but I'm just not going fast enough.
Any advice or things I missed to speed it all up? Idea groups are Exploration/Expansion/Religious (in whatever order works at the time) followed by a Military one, usually Defensive but sometimes Quality.
I've put in maybe half a dozen real attempts but just seem to be falling short so I was hoping other people had tips to speed up the middle part.
My game usually goes like this:
1. Secure the peninsula. Basic steps: Ally Mamlukes (no RM), rival QQ for better relations, build up an army. Wait for an opening to attack one of the neighbors, usually attacking Hedjaz with Mamluke support, or if Hedjaz gets engaged against Yemen. Force-vassalize Hedjaz or whichever target is available (annexation if Haasa), then using that vassal, vassalize the other neighbors. Annex asap.
Preparatory steps for next phase: RM+ally Ottomans ASAP during this phase for PU chance, make sure to annex Haasa because otherwise you have no port connected to your capital. Fabricate claims in Basra and Khuzestan.
2. Attack QQ with Ottoman+Mamluke help, taking land to create an Iraqi vassal. If possible, also attack Timurids with help and create Persia vassal. Continue warring them in order to return cores (you can always have a fabricated claim across the Persian Gulf to keep a CB with Timurids.
Preparatory next steps: after I've got all your Iraqi cores back, I don't really need the Mamlukes anymore. Cut relations with them, rival them (the Ottomans will like this), and fabricate claims on Sinai to prepare to cut capital off from Asian provinces.
During phase 2 I'm ready to get the first Idea group. It seems to me if I've gotten a PU with the Ottomans I can go straight in to Religious or Expansion, but if not, I have to take Exploration.
3a. If no PU with Ottomans, start colonizing down East Africa, eventually going around the Cape, until can put a colony on the western coast of Africa or on Brazil and then Westernize.
3b. If PU with Ottomans, use them to attack Crimea (usually by attacking Crimean ally) to seize a province next to Genoa's Black Sea cores (returning those to Genoa if necessary). Get Fleet Basing rights from the Ottomans and core.
4. Westernize asap around miltech 12; hopefully be done before 1560.
At this point I should be done with Expansion group too so I can just walk all over the Chinese tech group (and colonize southeast Asia for extra manpower/basetax, which isn't even overseas!). Using the colonialism CB against Spain I should also be able to get some Aragon (and Naples if possible/necessary) in the Mediterranean and start feeding those back.
Problems:
A. I noticed that when there's a latent core (say Guyenne in France) it might say "expires in 1644" but once it's released a single core as a vassal, the timer drops back to 1544 and all the rest of the cores instantly disappear. Still ok for creating a feedable vassal but not the super-cheap returnfest I was expecting. So still need to get a Guyenne core before 1539 (pre-1544 plus 5 years truce to initiate another war and refresh core timer).
B. If I don't get an Ottoman PU there's no clear path up to Russia. Seems pretty vital to cut off Muscovy/Russia before it expands too far east; that's just years and years of more wars and conversion that would otherwise be 100% mine via colonization. But Ottomans always ally Crimea and getting to Russia first means going through them, usually. Fighting the Ottomans at any point seems like a huge waste of time; I'd rather they expand themselves in Europe and convert things for me (although they seem terrible at doing it and often don't because of their +religious unity idea.)
(An alternative that just occurred to me might be to colonize Siberia first myself by exploring east to Taiwan and then up to Hokkaido. It wouldn't block them as much but I bet I could out-race them and potentially I'd have enough manpower to beat them down from that side.)
C. If Persia manages to gain its own independence from the Timurids first, you might as well restart because the entire thing is going to take too long.
D. Need for lucky PUs in general. Not just the Ottomans, but Algeria/Morocco. Not just needed for the achievement, but Ifni is needed to Unify Islam. Again, without a lucky PU this seems like a huge timesink. Most Muslim countries will eventually be small enough to diplo-vassalize (in fact, there's no reason to fight the Mamlukes after you grab all their Mediterranean provinces so you can connect to your Tripoli diplo-vassal) except the Ottomans and possibly a united Morocco+Algeria (one inevitably conquers the other). Fighting any large Sunni country like those seems like a huge waste of time.
I've picked up a few neat tricks (like cutting off different continent province; makes Mamlukes die much easier) and forcing a super-Spain (Castile+Aragon+Naples) to release "Sicily" (Palermo+Messina+Malta) and then annexing Sicily and forcing it to release Naples (Palermo+Messina but not Malta) and then Aragon (core in Malta) and I can see how to use those against other stuff like Russia, but I'm just not going fast enough.
Any advice or things I missed to speed it all up? Idea groups are Exploration/Expansion/Religious (in whatever order works at the time) followed by a Military one, usually Defensive but sometimes Quality.
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