Which Nations Should I Play

[Blue Valentine]

Hi! I just got EU4 and most of its DLCs and was wondering what nations I should play. I've heard that Portugal and France are good but I'd like to play outside of Europe. I enjoy diplomacy and most of all trade so I was wondering if there was a good nation that teaches those.

 

[Dutch Patriot]

Bahmanis or Vijayanagar are good picks outside Europe. They are rich and can kill the other one to become a regional power.

 

[Shatter12]

If you're playing in Europe, I'd actually recommend Portugal as well. Incredibly fun to play the colonial game (just wish Portugals age related bonus during the Age of Discovery was later when it has more influence). Milan isn't a bad option either to form Italy.
Outside Europe, probably either Oda or Morocco. Haven't really heard much else.
If you want countries to teach you trade, Lubeck, Genoa or Venice, Mamluks (after you deal with the Ottomans), or Brittany (to a degree) are all good choices.

 

[Turbo215]

Majaphit isn't too bad either if you want to play in Indonesia, you pretty much are the most powerful nation around and can slowly expand around all the different islands, also in one of the better trade nodes, diplomacy is also quite important as the Muslim nations on Sumatra and the Malayan peninsula tend to ally together so it can useful to get your own alliances etc. As Dutch Patriot said Bahmanis/Vijanagar(Delhi/Jaunpur/Bengal also are in similar situations though slightly weaker) can all be interesting as India has some interesting trade opportunities alliance blocs and religious groups as there are several similarly sized nations.

 

[Blue Valentine]

I might try Oda actually, I love the idea of uniting all the daimyos. Majapahit looks fun too, are they good at colonizing?

 

[Turbo215]

I might try Oda actually, I love the idea of uniting all the daimyos. Majapahit looks fun too, are they good at colonizing?

Not especially but you can go exploration and then expansion if you really want to, which improves (read - allows, they don't have any colonization related national ideas) their ability to colonize considerably, they can colonize the rest of Indonesia, Philippines, Australia/New Zealand and will benefit directly from the trade, they can't really colonize the Americas and profit from it very much unless you just take over Japan + China (New world trade to Asia is really weird).

Edit: And Indonesia and the Philippines have pretty good trade goods for colonizing.

Edit 2: Daimyo's are really fun to play but can be quite a challenge if you aren't too familiar with the game especially small ones (Like Oda), they do however have some fantastic ideas (Oda especially but Daimyo's generally).

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

Jianzhou and Korea can be interesting, as they are in precarious situations
Ayutthaya is one of my favs in South East Asia, in the best position to form a massive Empire there
American Natives are too migraine inducing so I will not recommend them
And of course, ETHIOPIA!

 

[Blue Valentine]

I might try Majapahit then for the reasons you said (good trade, island hopping, maybe even converting to Islam) then. Oda will be my second game.

 

[Blue Valentine]

Jianzhou and Korea can be interesting, as they are in precarious situations
Ayutthaya is one of my favs in South East Asia, in the best position to form a massive Empire there
American Natives are too migraine inducing so I will not recommend them
And of course, ETHIOPIA!

Ethiopia looks like a really fun nation and has a beautiful color. Same goes for Korea. If I had to pick from all the ones recommended so far I'd go with Majapahit and Ethiopia.

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

Ethiopia is overall challenging but not absurdly challenging. You can learn various things from playing her, and she even has an achievement tied to it, Prester John!

 

[Blue Valentine]

I looked up the achievement Prester John. I'm going to see how close I can get to earning it my first game (I at least want to beat the Mamluks). Then I will play Majapahit and form Malaya. I can already tell this is a great community considering how helpful and responsive you all have been by the way. Many thanks!

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

I looked up the achievement Prester John. I'm going to see how close I can get to earning it my first game (I at least want to beat the Mamluks). Then I will play Majapahit and form Malaya. I can already tell this is a great community considering how helpful and responsive you all have been by the way. Many thanks!

No problem, if you want tips on Ethiopia feel free to ask

 

[Turbo215]

I looked up the achievement Prester John. I'm going to see how close I can get to earning it my first game (I at least want to beat the Mamluks). Then I will play Majapahit and form Malaya. I can already tell this is a great community considering how helpful and responsive you all have been by the way. Many thanks!

Glad i could help, and good luck with your first game of EU4!

 

[Zerostrer]

One of the most interesting nation is nepal, you are Like a Little tank.
Korea is a must to play.
I also reccomend Brunei one of my favs in Indonesia.
I suggest to play one of the madagascarian nations, they are Fun and you can do everything you want

 

[Vetgirig]

When you start the game there is a list of nations you can select by clicking on on the big round buttons.

Play them first. In given order.

There is a reason for them being there.

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

When you start the game there is a list of nations you can select by clicking on on the big round buttons.

Play them first. In given order.

There is a reason for them being there.

But what if he is not an arse that wants to play Spain?

 

[Turbo215]

When you start the game there is a list of nations you can select by clicking on on the big round buttons.

Play them first. In given order.

There is a reason for them being there.

I really disagree, I considered the (recommended) countries for my first game but ultimately i think somebody should play a country that they feel would be interesting rather than just play what the game says, as long as they don't end up picking countries with really unique mechanics they should be able to get a grasp of how to play that country, especially considering they can always ask for help/advice on the forums if they find it too difficult.

 

[Blue Valentine]

When you start the game there is a list of nations you can select by clicking on on the big round buttons.

Play them first. In given order.

There is a reason for them being there

Well I am already in the Ethiopia game but I see your point. Things are going fine though, and I have plenty of time to try those recommended nations.

 

[SignedName]

I'd say Korea is a good option, since it starts off in a relatively secure position and has a great starting monarch. There are many ways you can take a Korea game- either taking the Mandate of Heaven, colonizing Southeast Asia, invading Japan, or playing tall and developing your lands. I think this qualifies it as one of the better starts for a beginner to familiarize them with most aspects of the game.

 

[Kathandis]

Tbh if your not dead set on playing outside of Europe I would highly recommend England with a strategy of giving up land on the continent and just focusing on colonization. You have a little bit of a rough start but so long as you keep your navy strong youl never face a serious invasion which will let you have allot of liberty to experiment with the warfare aspect of the game since at worst youl be low on manpower provided something does`nt go horribly wrong and your navy gets wiped which is something I havent seen happen to england in my 1500+ hours of game play once unless I orchestrated it.

If not any of the Asian countries people mentioned would be fine with the current state of the ai you should`nt really face an insurmountable threat since europe never invades ming might get a little crazy without the dlc however so I maybe would not recommend south east asia or north east asia for a first play through although a trial by fire can be a great learning experience so in the end just play whatever you want so long as you have fun thats what matters.