Which nation would be good to start as?

[tobias.mb]

I would reccomend Portugal myself. It was my first "real" game after crashing and burning before that as the Timurids and England. Just stay allied to Castille and you should be Golden.

This.
If you want Trade + Colonisation, Portugal is a really good Nations for learning the game. Just stay allied to Castille, Expand into Morocco (Take religious ideas as your 2nd group if you want to convert it yourself or alternatively create a vassal there and force convert him)

Other than that learning the game is usually easier somewhere a bit isolated like Africa.

 

[qwertzuiop]

When I started playing EU4 I mostly picked medium powers such as Norway, Morocco, Naples, Novgorod and also the Livonian Order.

The most important thing (even more impactful than national ideas) is not the exact tag, but the area you are playing in. For example, all countries in the HRE are pretty safe and it's easier to survive as an OPM there than in any other place in the world (except for the ones where you literally don't have any neigbours). At the same time, the HRE is the most difficult place in terms of diplomacy. That makes it a good area to play in if you want to learn more about the details of diplomacy in EU4, but if you don't want to focus on that aspect too much I'd recommend playing somewhere else.

Italy is always an interesting region to play in because all the countries there are economically strong. (Not having to deal with economic issues can be an advantage for your first game). The region is also pretty safe to play in, though quite similar to the HRE when it comes to diplomacy. Northern Italy starts in the HRE and will leave the empire in 1490, also all the minor countries there will be able to ally big European powers such as France, Austria or Castile (and you will be able to do the same) so again, diplomacy is king here.

Of the countries I mentioned above, Morocco is in my opinion the prime example for a medium power in EU4. You start strong with a sizeable military and a good early game economy with a gold mine. You don't have a lot of neighbours, but two very dangerous ones in Portugal and Castile. You also start with a terrible ruler. Tlemcen and Tunis might like or dislike you, also Tunis has the tendency to ally the Ottomans which might be bad for you. Morocco is also very well located for colonization.

Naples is probably the easiest country to break free from your overlord unless Aragon allies France at the beginning. Starting as an already large nation in a rich region such as Italy is an advantage and you also have cores on all of Sicily. Again, it's a typical medium power.

Norway is harder due to a bad starting economy and it's harder to break free from your overlord, but if Sweden is on your side it's definitely doable. (It's also possible to do it alone but that's a lot harder). Colonizing also works very well for Norway. It is a country that's not really in a bad position, but it's not a safe starting position either and it requires some timing to succeed.

The Livonian Order has one of the most unique positions in the game. I'd say it's harder than the other countries mentioned yet because Denmark or even an independent Lithuania might try to conquer you (and if you expand into Novgorod, Muscovy will become a threat too). It's surrounded by a lot of powerful countries but you don't have that one huge threatening enemy that is trying to annex you every game. Poland and Muscovy are potential allies (even Denmark if they are not hostile) and you can go from there.

Novgorod used to be a medium power as well but today it's much harder so I won't recommend it.

 

[IrishGirl]

... So how worried should I be about National Ideas when picking a nation? (I know what the storng national ideas are (Prussian, French, Italy, Dutch, Ottoman etc) but I don't know if picking let's say a nation with German ideas is awful or not)...

National ideas are buffs that will help your nation grow. There's no such thing as a "national penality" so all national ideas give some benefit. It's just that some benefits are better than others. As suggested, some of the buffs really don't do that much for a nation.

In the beginning, unless you're familiar with the EU universe, the nomenclature, and the game mechanics (I assume new players are like me who jumped in knowing nothing about the game), some of those national ideas might not make a lot of sense or may mean something different than what you think they mean. As @ThatRabidPotato suggests, in the hands of an experienced, decent player, national ideas can be used to do some pretty amazing things. For newer players, who may not even understand what the buffs are, they are still there and help you but you may not be able to take full advantage of the benefits.

To me, then, national ideas are less important than picking a nation that will keep you alive and not rage quitting. From your original post, it sounds as if you know - and are not interested in playing - some of the generally accepted easier starts: England, France, Castile, Portugal. These obviously will be easier games than starting as, say, Nanbu. If you have an interest in one of those, certainly pick them.

But from the list of nations you stated you were interested in playing, Muscovy is probably the best bet. You get a mission against Novgorod, which is fairly easy to take over in a couple of wars, giving you early game access to a trade node (more money), as well as more land. You have vassals to help you fight. You can learn most of the basic mechanics of the game, except for ocean exploration (although you can explore and colonize the Siberia area).

Otherwise, try to pick a nation that (1) you have an interest in playing and (2) has sufficient land or is in a sufficiently defensible position that, in the event you find yourself in an early game war, you can either win or prevent your nation from being destroyed.

Also - I really, really suggest this - play with the Wiki open and use it often.

 

[estile606]

My first nation in this game was Brunei, and I would recommend it even more as a start now that there are those minors in the Philippines. You can start with a war against a rival of slightly less than equal power to learn the combat system, and then have no major threat while you core the land and figure out the unrest. then, you have a small region of tiny countries in the Philippines and Sulawesi to bully around, and uncolonized land if you want to try out the colonial route. If you take out those neighbors, you should have enough strength to try larger wars against other powers in southeast asia, maybe try to form malaya.

 

[DeerMan]

Aragon is very flexible
You start as the owner of the Mediterranean, a considerable force, a lot of diplomatic opportunities and diverse paths to follow
You can tame Castille with the PU and focus on conquering and then forming Italy (the combined power of Italy and Spain should give you the power of blobbing the entire Mediterranean)
Or form Spain and focus on colonizing the Americas and conquering the African and the Asians

I love Aragon

 

[Nitte Cera]

National ideas are buffs that will help your nation grow. There's no such thing as a "national penality" so all national ideas give some benefit. It's just that some benefits are better than others. As suggested, some of the buffs really don't do that much for a nation.

In the beginning, unless you're familiar with the EU universe, the nomenclature, and the game mechanics (I assume new players were like me and jumped in knowing nothing about the game), some of those national ideas might not make a lot of sense or may mean something different than you think they mean. As @ThatRabidPotato suggests, in the hands of an experienced, decent player, national ideas can be used to do some pretty amazing things. For newer players, who may not even understand what the buffs are, they are still there and help you but you may not be able to take full advantage of the benefits.

To me, then, national ideas are less important than picking a nation that will keep you alive and not rage quitting. From your original post, it sounds as if you know - and are not interested in playing - some of the generally accepted easier starts: England, France, Castile, Portugal. These obviously will be easier games than starting as, say, Nanbu. If have an interest in one of those, certainly pick them.

But from the list of nations you stated you were interested in playing, Muscovy is probably the best bet. You get a mission against Novogrod, which is fairly easy to take over in a couple of wars, giving you early game access to a trade node (more money), as well as more land. You have vassals to help you fight. You can learn most of the basic mechanics of the game, except for ocean exploration (you can explore and colonize the Siberia area).

Otherwise, try to pick a nation that (1) you have an interest in playing and (2) pick a nation that has sufficient land or is in a sufficiently defensible position that, in the event you find yourself in an early game war, you can either win or prevent your nation from being destoyed.

Also - I really, really suggest this - play with Wiki open and use it often.

I'd say I am quite familiar with EU4 for someone who hasn't even played it yet. I watched almost all of Arumba's tutorial series and some of Reman's Paradox Analysis videos and I have over 200 hours in hoi4 and over 150 hours in ck2.

I wonder if I should do the tutorial or not because I just want to jump into a real game as soon as I have the game installed on my computer.

 

[Rabid]

With CoC two of my first suggestions would be Timurids and Mamluks, without CoC probably Muscovy, or maybe something like Bahmanis?

Basically any major power which has either no local rivals or a rival which you can take down to non-threatening in just a single war.

 

[IrishGirl]

... I wonder if I should do the tutorial or not because I just want to jump into a real game as soon as I have the game installed on my computer.

I've never played any HoI game, but I came to EU4 after several hundred hours of CKII. I've never played the tutorial. I think you can safetly skip the tutorial.

 

[Bouchart]

If you've never played EU4 before I'd start as either Portugal or the Ottomans. Portugal is a relatively peaceful game focused on exploration and colonization. The Ottomans are large and powerful enough that they can afford to make some mistakes.

 

[frolix42]

IMO France. If it's truly your first game, I don't think it's possible for you to pick something too easy because there is a massive amount to learn.

If EU were D&D, France would be the generic Humans. Good at almost everything, but the best at nothing.
France can Navy, England is better.
France can Quality, Prussia is better.
France can Quantity, Ming and Muscovy are better.
France can Colonize, Castille is better.
France can Influence, Austria is better.
You should get the idea, you can experience more of EU4 with France than almost any other country.

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

Try playing a Horde, raze everything under the sun!

 

[Oridaellin]

3. Holland is fun. Lots of boats, exploration and if you form the Netherlands you get to paint the map orange! I didn't find it awful hard but a nice challenge.

Holland is my absolute favorite start in the game, but sadly it's broken this patch (no one backs independence Wars currently)

It's also a bit complex at the start, but it makes a great second or third game.

Also Brandenburg/Prussia is a staple if you want to learn the one and outs of serving diplomatic deadlocks. You are rewarded with being Prussia, which is AMAZING

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

Holland is my absolute favorite start in the game, but sadly it's broken this patch (no one backs independence Wars currently)

It's also a bit complex at the start, but it makes a great second or third game.

Also Brandenburg/Prussia is a staple if you want to learn the one and outs of serving diplomatic deadlocks. You are rewarded with being Prussia, which is AMAZING

Have you updated to 1.24.1? IIRC it fixes that problem

 

[Oridaellin]

Have you updated to 1.24.1? IIRC it fixes that problem

Sweet! I was kinda wanting to do a Holland game this week!

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

Sweet! I was kinda wanting to do a Holland game this week!

I will try Brabant tomorrow, probably. One of my favourites from EU2

 

[PhoenixG]

I'd say I am quite familiar with EU4 for someone who hasn't even played it yet. I watched almost all of Arumba's tutorial series and some of Reman's Paradox Analysis videos and I have over 200 hours in hoi4 and over 150 hours in ck2.

I wonder if I should do the tutorial or not because I just want to jump into a real game as soon as I have the game installed on my computer.

The tutorial is very outdated now. Pdx didn't bother to keep it up to date.

Talking about the low lands. My first nation was Utrecht. It was in the period where Holland, Vlaanderen and Brabant doesn't and had a direct border with Burgendy. The days when you could declare war on day 1 instead waiting a full month

 

[By_Science!]

I would say one of the german minors

It depends how far you'd like to go with it though-you'll likely find yourself destroyed by the 16th century if you don't know how to do anything, but it's a good teacher

 

[Snake_Squeezins]

If you're a new player, try one of the highlighted nations in the 1444 start. They are highlighted for good reason.

Once you understand the basic game and know what playstyle most interests you, you can restart and eventually move to smaller and more challenging countries.

 

[Nitte Cera]

If you've never played EU4 before I'd start as either Portugal or the Ottomans. Portugal is a relatively peaceful game focused on exploration and colonization. The Ottomans are large and powerful enough that they can afford to make some mistakes.

If you're a new player, try one of the highlighted nations in the 1444 start. They are highlighted for good reason.

Once you understand the basic game and know what playstyle most interests you, you can restart and eventually move to smaller and more challenging countries.

I already understands the basics and some advanced stuff, I would guess my problem would be with managing AE and Monarch Points/Mana, I plan on playing a Daimyo, Holland or Muscovy as my first game beause I feel they wont be boring games and will teach me the things I want to know.

 

[petertju]

I'd say I am quite familiar with EU4 for someone who hasn't even played it yet. I watched almost all of Arumba's tutorial series and some of Reman's Paradox Analysis videos and I have over 200 hours in hoi4 and over 150 hours in ck2.

I wonder if I should do the tutorial or not because I just want to jump into a real game as soon as I have the game installed on my computer.

The tutorial is indeed not entirely updated, but it might still be a good stepping stone in getting a bit used with a lot of the commands.

Another recommendable country is the Ottomans, they are nerved a bit but still a good learning country.