In the game I started, I was already in the Kalmar Union and Sweden starts out as a “junior partner” to Denmark. That’s the part I had trouble getting a handle on.
They do, but you are really free to do anything.
So why is Sweden a better starter nation than Denmark, which is in charge of Sweden? With Denmark, you don’t have to worry about being a junior partner, and with a bit of care, you can integrate both Norway and Sweden.
You do have to worry about holding onto the junior partners, though. The AI has been pretty aggressive in my games in supporting Swedish independence as a way to weaken Denmark.
Hell, any time I have access to the Baltic I am pretty aggressive about jackkng with the Union. Basically the only party who doesn’t want to end the union is… Denmark.
A beginner is going to have a very hard time, bordering on impossible, holding that. And once you lose that then Pomerania and Brandenburg look at Holstein with those daggers in their eyes.
I think Ottomans is the best start for new players to learn about warfare, which is the main part of the game. The large manpower pool is forgiving if you screw up and stack wipe your forces. Plus you’re surrounded by lots of smaller countries you can bully around.
Ottomans is a very strong contender, they are the big dogs at 1444, but be warned! @JeffL they are very strong, but are going to struggle mid game. Their units just aren’t as good from 1650-1775 or so. The endgame they are pretty well able to match France, but at some point the Ottomans just can’t go 1:1 even with better generals, and god forbid the unholy cheats that France gets.
However they give you a good 150-200 years where you are master of all you see, provided you can avoid drawing too much attention to yourself.
What’s Ireland like for a beginner? Showing my CK2 experience;)
No, bad idea. Alternately boring, weak, and eventual fodder for England. They have some potential as a challenge mode for experienced players. Like an easier Byzantium.
That said they are getting a bunch of attention and new provinces in the next expansion, a far cry from the 4 provinces, 1 already owned by England, they were before.
Really any of the default ‘recommended start’ nations is the way to go. France, England, Ottomans, Spain are all powerful with interesting options to start.
I seem to remember beginning with France at the earliest date might be tough for a new player (especially with that huge die roll on Burgundy), so you might want to pick a later starting date with that country (circa 1490).
Sweden gets some kick ass monarchs and generals, you get to change history.
You got access 5o cheap cannons, it’s all good.
You can even build a fleet.
However want a smaller but as powerful start, try Brandenburg, but they are in HRE so beware
That’s why Ottomans and England are good choices, they interact with the HRE entirely at their own discretion.
All this talk is inclining me to buy it, but I have a backlog to get through…
You definitely should, it’s the best game ever. Regarding the backlog, just do what I did. Forget about it, play EU4 for 500-1000 hours, and then go back to the backlog a year later. It’s really simple.
Sorry bro, am all in pharaoh right now !
I would not recommend Brandenburg to learn the game. Expanding in the HRE can be difficult, coupled with the numerous diplomatic interactions amongst all of the varying states. Couple that with a power hungry Bohemia/Silesia and it can be a bit much for a new player.
Sweden on the other hand I think is a great choice. There are events that fire to ease Sweden out of the Kalmar Union. In fact, there are a lot of events for Sweden that highlight key moments with its history.
I’d suggest Castille over Portugal thanks to the Iberian wedding event that allows that nation to automatically acquire Aragon (and potentially Naples) in personal union. Castille also gets to experience some early warfare with the Reconquista against Granada, will most likely be the second European nation to colonise the New World plus establish trade companies along the African coast and overall grow and expand. Portugal is the weaker version of that, and I found I had too many scattered colonies across the world. Not much fun. As Castille, the main danger is France, so keeping them happy, or alternately having a strong European power who hates them as much as you do is important (eg: Austria).
After bouncing off Castille a few times, I found learning a blast with Muscovy. Probably similar reasons to Ottomans.
Want to know something funny? In my 1200+ hours of EU4, that event has only fired for me once. Granted, those hours all weren’t playing Castile, but I bet I’ve played almost a dozen games as them.
It’s a very likely event to fire, so it infuriates me. :)
EU 4, at release, was the best game by Paradox ever. With the latest expansions I feel it has grown a bit too fiddly, but I haven’t really had the time to play it much lately.
2nd comes Victoria 2, 3rd Victoria I.
I don’t think Stellaris is grand strategy, but a great hybrid with 4X games. A bit like what Civ VI seems to be trying to achieve too, but coming from the other side.
Purchased and downloaded EU4. Started a game up as Portugal.
Holy crap. A 1080p screen filled with stuff. 8 million menus and options. I have NO idea what I’m doing. I arranged a royal marriage with England because I saw a button that let me do that. It tells me I need to declare a couple of rivals. Um, OK, pick one that looks weaker to me. Pick some advisors to fill the three empty spots.
Then I just kinda stared at the screens.