Thought I should share my current predicament.

[Basiderp]

But anyway, the game is really beautiful, the interface is smooth and very well designed and I can feel I'll really enjoy playing this; just as much as I enjoyed playing CKII.

I just wish I could jump to the part where I really understand what is going on!

Thank you Paradox for yet another amazing strategy game (and history lesson, I might add)!

 

[unmerged(88013)]

It's not that complicated really. Take a look at the Wiki, watch a few youtube play through's and you'll up and running in no time.

 

[Wardok]

It also helps to pick Nations like Sweden for your first game. Sweden is in the kalmar union and thus enjoys the danish and Norwegian protection from wich to get used to the things you need to do.

 

[HansBaer]

Or portugal, you can do whatever you want thanks to big brother next to you. My first was England, was a bit overwhelmed by the HYW, Portugal was much smoother but i never colonized on a huge scale after it cause it bored me to death

 

[Anthropoid]

Was told in EU3 that Castille was a fairly forgiving starting player position, and it was. Not sure in EU4.

 

[El Jojo]

I think the problem for some beginners is not about being safe, but how feedback is not always very explicit. You earn a little cash, build a constable and almost nothing happens and so on. The first years can be slow, you have low cash, low troops and it's not until later that you realize if your 100 first years were wasted.
The first few games are not about making mistakes and learning about them, it's about learning what is a mistake. Making mistakes means you're already able to understand a lot.

 

[zodium]

Or portugal, you can do whatever you want thanks to big brother next to you. My first was England, was a bit overwhelmed by the HYW, Portugal was much smoother but i never colonized on a huge scale after it cause it bored me to death

Haha, this is exactly what happened to me. Portugal -> HRE in my first game (not ironman, obviously), then never colonials again because ugh, but I learned a lot.

Today I would probably recommend doing the Ottomans as a first game, and then the Byzantines. The Ottos will drill the basics of the game in pretty good, since you start strong and big enough to do anything, with lots of opportunities to jump on, DHEs and events, great geographical position with varied terrain, etc. After grasping the basics, Byzantium is a great follow-up country because you start in the same position, so everything is familiar, but you need to strategize hard in the early game. There's a guide here for them.

 

[Lakedaimon]

My first EU4 game was as Byzantium but that was before they fixed the easy ways to stay alive. I'd agree with picking the Ottomans as a starting nation, Muscovy is also a good option imo. I personally like to stay clear of colonizing aswell, recently did my first colonization game as burgundy -> netherlands in a MP game coz i'm running out of nations to play. With the expansion colonizing should become a lot more fun.

So basically I'd say start with an established continental power and once you get the hang of it a bit and the expansion has been released move to a colonizing power.

 

[Annales]

If you're really new to the whole EU franchise i suggest focusing one game on one type of activity. For example: Play a medium-small nation with focusing only on diplomatic activities; then one with just warring etc... You'll definitely lose but will get a deeper grasp of all the things to account for.
Once you're ready then start a game full on and you'll have a blast.

Actually this is my strategy for all PI games.