Things you wish you knew before spending many hours playing the game.

[Laurwin]

Change your message settings to pause upon conclusion of a land battle. You'll thank me.

Lower speed also works somewhat to the same effect. Speed 3 is good for me, if I'm fighting one war at a time.

Things I wished I had realized before doing silly mistake in my Muscovy game... Russian winter is cold and attrition is high, even Moscow Russians will feel cold when they are besieging Novgorod's castles in the winter campaign...

Perhaps I should try to strategize sieges and campaigns better? Use siege leaders when you can, minimize attrition, use artillery. If the cold winter approaches, consider assaulting the castle instead of starving the castle out in high attrition winter.

 

[El Jojo]

That Colonizing Canada alone as Portugal is not a good idea
(Luckly I asked some questions before I went too far)

Uh, is it just overextension or colonial maintenance which are the problems ? Because I may start a colonization game soon

 

[Valynor]

About message settings: you can change the one you are interested in clicking on the bottom right of the open message window. Far better that looking in the messy complete list.
If something happens and message is not displayed on the screen you can pause the game, click on the relative log entry at the bottom of the screen and bringing it up, then procede as above.

 

[DasWood]

For me, the biggest would be the mechanics of income. Precisely, the correct order of operations for building investments.

But unlike you lot I come from Victoria 2 so I already knew about message settings. Ha ha ha. I use them mostly to pause the game when attacked or when a battle finishes.

 

[DasWood]

What-if, now this is a big what-if coalitions had to have a specific reason for existing? Instead of general 'war lol' or 'hey I feel like bringing 20 countries to war with you' you had to do something specific to cause a punitive war? Like, you went to war with poland three times? How about you not go to war with poland. And you could have multiple coalitions each with their specific purpose.

 

[Tirin]

Uh, is it just overextension or colonial maintenance which are the problems ? Because I may start a colonization game soon

Canadian trade can't get pushed to Seville.

 

[pgroves]

Uh, is it just overextension or colonial maintenance which are the problems ? Because I may start a colonization game soon

I nearly always play on speed 3 and *lots* of pausing especially when maneuvering for battles, where timing is key

 

[grandad1982]

Select a boat, hold shift and then drag the select box to only grab boats. If I'd know that sooner I'd have save many pointless clicks! I think its even an intro screen tip. Doh!

 

[BigBadB]

Canadian trade can't get pushed to Seville.

True, but you can collect directly from the Hudson Bay node...

 

[unmerged(423497)]

Invade Russia! Before they invade you...

 

[Yenzen]

Select a boat, hold shift and then drag the select box to only grab boats. If I'd know that sooner I'd have save many pointless clicks! I think its even an intro screen tip. Doh!

Holy crap, thank you!

 

[JimboJJ26]

Invade Russia! Before they invade you...

^ This.
Also, if you want to annex a nation that has contiguous territory but on multiple continents, The Mamluks for example, take provinces such that you cut off the ones that are on a separate continent from their capital. It makes them dirt cheap (relatively) to take them in the next war. This is because they become considered "overseas territories". I'm trying this as The Mughals against Russia but haven't finished it yet.

 

[Pilot00]

Invade Russia! Before they invade you...

In soviet Russia...Well Soviet Russia doesn invade you, so it isnt funny...

 

[Xara]

Not so much a "wish I'd known thing"
but

Nationalist rebels that win liberation for their country while you are supporting them as rebels create the country with an automatic alliance to you and a +200 relations boost

 

[-Malovane-]

If you are the war leader, and win the war, you can "offer tribute" and have your allies give up provinces:

Teutonic order attacks Poland/Lithuania. Russia, allied with Poland, becomes war leader, and stomps the tiny nation.

At the peace table, Ivan Rurikovich demands: RELEASE UKRAINE.

Teutonic order: Sure, no problem.

Lithuania: ... remind me to never click that "can negotiate" button.


Now I finally have a use for allies!

 

[Rith]

If you are the war leader, and win the war, you can "offer tribute" and have your allies give up provinces:

Teutonic order attacks Poland/Lithuania. Russia, allied with Poland, becomes war leader, and stomps the tiny nation.

At the peace table, Ivan Rurikovich demands: RELEASE UKRAINE.

Teutonic order: Sure, no problem.

Lithuania: ... remind me to never click that "can negotiate" button.


Now I finally have a use for allies!

I assume this only works if they let you negotiate for them. I will have to give it a try.

 

[Mauer]

That you can pause the game using the spacebar and not only the Pause button at the very top of the keyboard.

 

[TheBloke]

As I only just learnt, minutes ago in this thread:

That coalitions are not just an "AI feature", but can be very valuable to the player also. The player doesn't suffer from the 5-year minimum term, making them much less annoying.

Then if the player can build up a number of province claims against a nation, who:

• is the target of a coalition with at least two other members (beyond the player and the player's subjects)
• has any AE towards the player

then he gets the coalition CB and can DOW the target, annexing any of those with-claim provinces for 10% AE. 10 provinces for 15 AE!

To quote Xara in the thread I linked: "The Coalition CB is by far the best CB to use to gain territory [when the above conditions are met]"

Nomnomnom.

 

[Beagá]

Lol that´s brilliant

Not rushing any military tech that improved Tactics caused many a lost battle for me, specially as an Eastern country.

 

[synthshadow]

Select a boat, hold shift and then drag the select box to only grab boats. If I'd know that sooner I'd have save many pointless clicks! I think its even an intro screen tip. Doh!

Oh my.... You sir are a gentleman and scholar!
(and on a slightly separate note - a little personal and feel free to tell me to bugger off - but are you really a grandad born in 1982?)