EUIV: Tactics, Tips, Strategies, Questions....

[Nefaro]

Does anyone know if its possible to raise your countries opinion of another? Started a game as Austria and two of the missions have to do with Burgundy. One is to form an alliance, the other is to get a royal marriage. The Burgundy opinion of Austria is easy to improve. But Austria's opinion of Burgundy is -2. How do you increase Austria's -2 to a positive number? I ran into the same issue in my Castile game with England. I wanted to form a alliance with England, so I sent a diplomat to improve relations. I got the English opinion of Castile improved, but Castile still hated England for a variety of reasons (most notably they were protestant and they were a competitor for world domination)

I actually had an alliance automatically break because my own relations rating with the other side dropped below 0.  >:(

I don't think there is much of a way to raise your own other than by creating royal marriages, alliance, etc.  Maybe Guarantee Independence but that may only give a bonus to the one receiving it.   One of the big roadblocks is often the oddly varying "Border Friction" penalty, or if you have pressed a claim on one of their territories.  Surprisingly.. religion isn't often that much of a penalty in many cases, although I do have some odd "heretic neighbor -40" penalty with France, but not some other neighbors with the same religious differences.  *scratches head*  Either way, just a couple smaller neighbor penalties can make it difficult at times.

You pretty much have to hope the specific nation in question sends a diplomat to butter you up.  Or wait until any temporary negative relations hit goes away.

The catch here is.. I'd be wary of changing too much with the diplo-relations settings right now, because the game looks to progress quite nicely as it is.  Maybe a look at some things like the occasional "Border Friction -200" rating that has gone amuck, but that's probably just a bug.  I really like how some of the stronger nations are somewhat restrained from blobbing out too quickly, like they did in the previous version.  That's a delicate balance. 

[Kushan]

Found this guide in case anyone else is trying to win the 100 years war as England.

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?709649-Guide-to-Winning-the-100-Years-War-as-England

Personally, I think I'm just going to peace out at the start my next game. I hate the thought of having to surrender the the French of all people even in a game. If I can give up 2-3 provinces, preferably Calais and the two in the south, then Normandie and Caux should serve as a good jumping off point for any future continental expansion. Either way France is going to come after Normandie and Caux, so quickly getting your own house in order (conquering Ireland) and maybe picking off a few Scottish provinces.

If you can't keep a foothold on the mainland I'm at a loss of how England can be anything other then a conquer your island and wait until you can discover America game. Maybe going after Brittany is an option?

[bbmike]

Personally, I think I'm just going to peace out at the start my next game. I hate the thought of having to surrender the the French of all people even in a game...

That's what I did in my current game. I also (through a series of bad events) decided to let most of Ireland (Munster) stay independent (not that I recommend that  :P ). I was still able to form Great Britain and now have three colonies (core provinces now) in North America and continue to expand.

[Kushan]

I was really hoping to turn England into a continental power instead of colonizing. In some ways the Spain and English games are the same. Consolodate your area then wait for colonization range to tech up. At least as Spain, you can go beat up o Morocco and Algiers. You don't want to take any provinces early given the huge coring cost that the Berber tradition culture has, but at least you can extort gold and trade power from them. No such easy targets in England's case.

[Nefaro]

Peacing out with France ASAP isn't a bad idea at all.  Otherwise you're just gonna be spending money & troops in which you are already disadvantaged.  Don't want to start off the early game in the red, and there are easier targets like Ireland & Scotland.  Besides, even if you keep provinces on the mainland, France will constantly war you as soon as they can and even if you manage to outfight them, the expenditures just aren't worth it IMO.  The Big Blue Blob's extra massive manpower reserves, and the massive wealth they get once they consolidate their area, just makes land battles a losing proposition even if you win some.  I'd like to see a proper coalition against them fairly early, to check their unrestrained expansion, but most AI nations are terrified of France once it starts rolling.  That's probably quite historical, especially during Louis XIV's reign in the 17th- early 18th century, but there was also a "coalition" against France at that time, and I haven't seen one stick yet in my first long game. 

One thing that has been bothering me regarding diplomatic relations is that once you piss off a neighbor, often by a simple yet large "border friction" penalty by being neighbors, then they turn into a permanently angry enemy.  Even ones that you've never DOW'd or taken land from.  This has resulted in everyone having it in for me, and a very large coalition targeting my empire despite being only 5th in worldwide ranking.   ???  There may be some mechanic specifics I'm not realizing, especially regarding the 'border friction' penalty and having neighboring provinces in the first place.  But it seems like the AI is really piling on me (the player), despite my being quite nice with a few of them.

While the other large ones have been getting into occasional wars with each other (France, Portugal *who inherited Spain!!*, England, Ottomans, Russia) the majority of those biggies have me on perma-hate and join coalitions against me if not outright DOW'ing.  Despite having had near-perfect relations and an alliance that lasted over 150 years with France, they dropped it out of the blue and refuse my further offers.  They DOW'd me despite being at +140 relations a year or so later.  I realize that there are some hard-wired behaviors for the biggest empires, against each other, and can even believe the dropping of the alliance.  However, the complete reversal into war was pretty crazy. 

I think that, overall, the diplo is working quite well other than some of the overzealous tendency for AI nations to DOW each other.  I'm sure you guys are seeing the HRE in constant warfare for hundreds of years, as am I.  I wonder if it's intentional, in order to make things more interesting? 

[Kushan]

One thing that has been bothering me regarding diplomatic relations is that once you piss off a neighbor, often by a simple yet large "border friction" penalty by being neighbors, then they turn into a permanently angry enemy.  Even ones that you've never DOW'd or taken land from.  This has resulted in everyone having it in for me, and a very large coalition targeting my empire despite being only 5th in worldwide ranking.   ???  There may be some mechanic specifics I'm not realizing, especially regarding the 'border friction' penalty and having neighboring provinces in the first place.  But it seems like the AI is really piling on me (the player), despite my being quite nice with a few of them.

I had this happen in my Castile game. France hated me, and it was solely because of the border friction penalty. At one time they had me set as a rival, but when I checked a second time I wasn't on their list but our relationship was still in the negative. Even Portugal, which for the most part had been a steadfast ally (except against Aragon) had a huge border friction penalty. It got worse as the game went on and we both had colonies next to each other. I was thankfully able to keep their relationship maxed out by sending a diplomat ever couple years.

if you could somehow get a coalition against France consisting of England, Burgundy, and Brittany you could probably have a good chance at at least weakening France and keeping them in check. As England, you can probably get an alliance or at least military access early on but Burgundy hates your guts. From what I can tell its mainly them wanting Calais, and the Burgundy AI being the vulture of the game and going after targets already weakened by war.

[tgb]

As Castille/Spain I've had border friction with both Aragon and Portugal, and it never led to extended hostility.

[mikeck]

Playing as England starting in 1500. Instantly sold Calaise to France because I couldn't defend it if we went to war anyway...so might as well get cash. I have made Scotland and half of Ireland vassals. I made the mistake of Allying with Austria, Switzerland and Munster to try to surround France. It was a mistake because Austria is constantly at war which means I am constantly at war. At least your allies actually help you fight

[Kushan]

Austria is a bad ally for anyone outside the HRE itself. if its the emperor, which it usually is, its forced to fight every time someone takes imperial territory both within and outside the empire.

In my Austria game(s), I never had more then a year of peace after the first 5-10 years. Was constantly at war either defending imperial territory from outsiders or at war with a another HRE member for annexing someone's province. Curiously, when you "liberate" a province you can actually take it for yourself instead of releasing it.

[Nefaro]

As Castille/Spain I've had border friction with both Aragon and Portugal, and it never led to extended hostility.

One good example of my runaway Border Friction was right after I took control of Norway (as Denmark), from the initial personal union. 

I gained the Orkney Islands.  They have a land connection to the northernmost province in Scotland.  England had recently taken Scotland and now that my one island province was next to them, I saw the "Border Friction" diplomatic standings penalty rise from -40 all the way up to -200(!!) within a couple years. 

Obviously the 'Border Dispute' random event just kept firing and firing, or some other such craziness.  Britain had no natural Core claim on them.  The problem is that the negative diplo effects were stacking.  In addition, once their relations rating with me had been tanked for awhile, their overall stance went from Neutral all the way to Rival fairly quickly.   This also happened later with another large nation.. think it was Portugal and some of our bordering colonial areas in the new world.  However, the -200 border friction rating didn't last near as long.

I eventually got sick of Britain repeatedly DOW'ing me, despite beating them every time, and I sold the Orkneys to them dirt cheap.  The border friction rating dropped back down to -40 or -20 due to our colonies next to each other.  Still.. they now permanently have me listed as a Rival and I've not seen that ever change once you get it with an AI nation.

The big issue here is the penalty stacking so much that it makes diplo useless and can turn an otherwise relatively neutral nation into a dire enemy in short order.

I had seen some others complaining about this runaway border friction issue on the Pdox forum, and there was some Dev reply asking about it, but I haven't checked to see if this will be fixed/adjusted.

[Nefaro]

Austria is a bad ally for anyone outside the HRE itself. if its the emperor, which it usually is, its forced to fight every time someone takes imperial territory both within and outside the empire.

In my Austria game(s), I never had more then a year of peace after the first 5-10 years. Was constantly at war either defending imperial territory from outsiders or at war with a another HRE member for annexing someone's province. Curiously, when you "liberate" a province you can actually take it for yourself instead of releasing it.

I don't recommend allying with anyone in the HRE, if possible.  They just fight each other so much that you'll be constantly dragged into their wars.  Which will do no favors for your advancement.

I didn't have the HRE controller attack me much, when I took a few Hannoverian provinces in the HRE.  Then again, the AI seems a bit wiser in choosing whether to attack you when it comes to relative strength.  It didn't dare bring it when I was allied with France.  Even when I gave the order to remove four of them from the HRE all at once!  ;D  It only made a 'Return Province' demand once.  So I'm pretty sure it doesn't quite go blindly into such wars, although it's probably inclined to, else risk losing HRE influence and stability.

[Kushan]

Something I don't understand.

Two of my allies go to war against each other (Austria vs Naples). I get a call to arms from Naples, and not wanting to lose my alliance with Austria I decline. When I refused, I got a refusal to join war from both sides, and both cancelled the alliance. If I never got a call to arms from Austria, why would declining the Naples call to arms hurt my reputation with Austria?

[jomni]

Something I don't understand.

Two of my allies go to war against each other (Austria vs Naples). I get a call to arms from Naples, and not wanting to lose my alliance with Austria I decline. When I refused, I got a refusal to join war from both sides, and both cancelled the alliance. If I never got a call to arms from Austria, why would declining the Naples call to arms hurt my reputation with Austria?

Because you're an unreliable ally either way. Lol!

[Queeg]

Playing as England starting in 1500. Instantly sold Calaise to France because I couldn't defend it if we went to war anyway...so might as well get cash.

I've adopted a strategy of selling continental provinces I can't defend, not to France, but to another power that will fight France to keep it.  Calais to Burgundy works well.  I've even sold a province to Castile.  Anything that keeps France fighting someone else is preferable to them fighting England. 

[mikeck]

My game is going quite well as England. I took Scotland and Ireland (vassals >annexation) and formed Great Britain. I have 4 colonies in what is now Virginia, Delaware and Massachusetts. Oddly enough, I switched strategies and am now allied with France. With the colonial power of Portugal and Spain, they were becoming very powerful while France was declining. I had spent tons of cash supporting rebellions in France and it was paying off.

Well,  Spain and Portugal formed and alliance and listed me as a rival. Austria was weak so I started improving relations with France. Now we are allies against Spain/Portugal. I am planning to enter a continental war with them and take a few German provinces. from there I will try to form a good continental presence to weaken Spain's allies there including Switzerland, Sweden and Bavaria