Why be France when you could be England?

[Sfan]

AE has nothing to do with warscore... It's based on development of taken provinces, on a base of 0,75 AE per dev, and 0,5 per dev for vassalization, factored by numerous modifiers. Else WS cost of province would be hella OP and everyone would rush diplomatic over influence to mitigate AE.

For PUs the rule is obviously different but I can't find it.

 

[Viperswhip]

As France, you could either disband the HRE within a year, or become emperor yourself. Obviously, that also means you can get the double inheritance. Getting to 75k/80k forcelimit and being able to pay for it is just way too good.

You can also become emperor as England, so...?

 

[Dakka]

 

[SPAMbuca]

You can also become emperor as England, so...?

It's much easier as France. You start with extra diplo rep in your traditions. At the very start of the game, ALL electors want to ally you, assuming you do not ally their rival. Tagswitching into France will take way too long for the double Burgundian Inheritance. The longer you need, the better protected Austria will be as they usually start with diplomatic ideas or influence ideas and unlock even more diplo rep in their national ideas. I'd still say it's much, much easier.

 

[Viperswhip]

It's much easier as France. You start with extra diplo rep in your traditions. At the very start of the game, ALL electors want to ally you, assuming you do not ally their rival. Tagswitching into France will take way too long for the double Burgundian Inheritance. The longer you need, the better protected Austria will be as they usually start with diplomatic ideas or influence ideas and unlock even more diplo rep in their national ideas. I'd still say it's much, much easier.

My main point is that France is a better than the Inheritance, even the 100% Inheritance.

 

[solidprice]

Blue france 100%

Full BI?

Can Catholic empire or dismantle easiest?

Richest EZ no revolt colonies?

L'État c'est moi'?

Easy revoltutionary government?

20 morale?

 

[Sfan]

But the idea is to FORM France, so half your points are invalid. I still think that France is superior, but anything post 1600 is meaningless in this regard as England will have formed France.

 

[Incompetent]

I do appreciate the amount of historical flavour that's been put into England/GB, and it's a fun country to roleplay, but it's not exactly top-tier in terms of special opportunities and so on. Particularly galling for lovers of English/British history is the way Mandate of Heaven turned any sort of parliamentary/constitutional option for monarchies into garbage once the Age of Absolutism comes in (not that parliaments are great even before then, given you have to sacrifice the nobility estate). Even if your plan is to conquer India, you're better off as a boring absolutist in the continental style.

Even if your goal is specifically an Anglo-French empire rather than an overall powerhouse, I'm not sure if it's better to force a PU on France as England, or to just outright conquer England as France. The diplomatic advantage of starting as France is that you're conquering 'outwards': because of its peripheral location, the only people who accrue AE against you when you take land in Great Britain are the Brits themselves, the Irish and the French. You are France, you're killing England, Ireland is a diplomatically irrelevant backwater and Scotland is also too weak to matter (plus conquering Scotland and Ireland is something to do while you wait for truce timers with England), so it's basically a conquest without any diplomatic repercussions: you can happily chomp away on the far side of La Manche while maintaining good relations with most of the HRE, Iberia, and so on. Contrast with forcing the PU on France as England, which feels good only until you discover just how many countries get pissed off by a major power shift in the French region.