Since we have removed many of the 'gamey' things that enabled people to attempt westernization, its time for the unnecessary block of a Trade Company not counting as a western core. Essentially, you are forcing lower tech nations to go to war now, since every single lower tech province is a Trade Company region. How in the world the dev team thinks a Trade Company wouldn't be a part of the sharing of wealth and knowledge is lost on me.
This isn't something small either. You already add the requirement that you stay behind many techs to even attempt, then you ask (said lower tech nation) to attempt a war with a lucky European nation that is not only ahead in tech, but also gets amazing buffs to the army just for being who they are. So essentially, instead of westernization being a sharing of thoughts & methods, its a roll of the dice of dying by war with a super nation or dying from a westernizing effort full of 1.8 rebels and events. Is it not enough that you punish the nation with being behind tech forcefully, then ruin it for many years due to the westernizing events and then by also giving them hostile relations with a European country since you are forced to take their core? The Western Arms Trade trigger has been a joke since EU4 launched, so it isn't even an option for players.
However, there is a workaround, just don't use Wealth of Nations. Trade Companies are then gone and you can colonize near each other, make nice and westernize. Makes no sense why you would encourage a player to disable a DLC you want them to purchase just so they can avoid a barrier that should not be there. If it was that integral to the developer plans of the game, then it would be a part of the game regardless of DLC.
This isn't something small either. You already add the requirement that you stay behind many techs to even attempt, then you ask (said lower tech nation) to attempt a war with a lucky European nation that is not only ahead in tech, but also gets amazing buffs to the army just for being who they are. So essentially, instead of westernization being a sharing of thoughts & methods, its a roll of the dice of dying by war with a super nation or dying from a westernizing effort full of 1.8 rebels and events. Is it not enough that you punish the nation with being behind tech forcefully, then ruin it for many years due to the westernizing events and then by also giving them hostile relations with a European country since you are forced to take their core? The Western Arms Trade trigger has been a joke since EU4 launched, so it isn't even an option for players.
However, there is a workaround, just don't use Wealth of Nations. Trade Companies are then gone and you can colonize near each other, make nice and westernize. Makes no sense why you would encourage a player to disable a DLC you want them to purchase just so they can avoid a barrier that should not be there. If it was that integral to the developer plans of the game, then it would be a part of the game regardless of DLC.
