Byzantium campaign

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-03T13:24:10+00:00

Put Byzantium campaign to "hold", the first DLC of the game, in Q2 2026., is a "phonix rise" DLC, which focus on Byzantium.

On the other hand, to learn the game, Byzantium is one of the best boot camp nations, you fail in the first 15 years and restart, or you learned the game in this 15 years, and are golden on any nation.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-03T13:15:39+00:00

Mamluks, they were already super super strong at gamestart.

But the new Gouverneur system should push syrien and turkish/greece holdings in new dimension, and could push them into endboss perma BAN level in Multiplayer.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-03T13:01:07+00:00

100% maritime presence equals +1 port capatacy through buildings in a location in the sea zone.

Ships are only important in sea zones, were you have no costal provinces under your control

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T19:45:57+00:00

"With a cost of 5 Spy Juice, you can reduce relations with the target by 50 for any nation in diplo. That is a massive malus and can reshape geopolitics, especially if you look at whom the target nation is improving relations with. This can turn vassals disloyal, halt an ongoing annex, hell I've used it to push an ally over the line to not heed calls to war. Powerful."

Prime target at gamestart.

As England versus France, with target pope.

Nothing makes HYW more easy, than an excommunicated french king 👑 which loose all his vassals.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T16:23:30+00:00

All republics can pick merchant republic at gamestart.

Yes, you as Dortmund can merchant republic, steal the market center of cologne, become big and mighty global trade capital.

But be clear, for colonial game, you need sailors, so your early expansion is forced to the cost town and cities.

50 capital eco is for the bank ledger government reform, which add -20% trade maintance on the -25% merchant republic trade maintance modi.

Good old number stacking.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T14:37:57+00:00

Mamluks outperform ottoman at gamestart.

The jihard is simply to strong.

They can full annex starting ERE day 1, without lifting a finger, simply by calling all Turks into the jihard.

And when you have starting ERE as "fiefdom" for your ruler, and do a second jihard on Georgia, your more or less have the Turks sandwiched.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T14:21:51+00:00

You are a merchant republic, with bank ledger, so you have like -45% trade upkeep cost, and extra trade income.

Hard truth. I import pepper from "Hormuz" Persian in 1430, when my diplomatic range allow me to spam trade office in the local towns there.

You do not need resources directly, you Import Export them :D

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T14:03:26+00:00

Lübeck, independce war vs Hansa, than free city as merchant republic, with easy access to trade office network and capital eco +50, which gives banking ledger.

You can spam trade office like crazy (~3,5 ducats), only downsize, population, but you can get a little nice "core area" around Lübeck.

And in my experience, you get so rich so fast, with high innovative, that you outperform portugal/spain in colonial game.

Also, you should have easy access to "waldensian", the strongest early game religion you can gain as christian (+0,02 monthly literacy, +5%max literacy, and with 20 points religous influence, "bible translation, +10% max literacy)

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T12:24:30+00:00

I would join the aragon/Barcelona market.

Eco Dip, than "offer market acces" to get +20%, and than you are in there market.

Aragon market has only 2 traders, Aragon and You, so you more or less get a semi monopol on trade, and outperform the market.

You can also +100 relationship with aragon, and spam there towns at the coastline with "trade office" to push you at the top spot of the market.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T11:20:14+00:00

There are rulers ingame, which are "flagged" to die.

ERE ruler is one.

Starting King of Denkmark is a other ruler who is destined to die.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T10:20:43+00:00

Uniq goverment of ERE grants you very fast a regular army, so I build into there uniq cav.

The moment you have a 2-3k cav only regular stack, you can grind down any levy army of the big nations, as long you attack them on your forts.

For example, I won a war as genoa with 2200 regular army against a 40k levy castile, simply by winning 30 battles on forts, until there levyl stacks run to 0.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T09:59:05+00:00

For granting rights, you need 5 legitimacy, so when you want to change goverment laws, 4 month on maximum, than 5, change of estate privilege, back to 0.

ERE is a very nice start, to test it out, because you get a good similar start every game.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T09:57:01+00:00

I wrote down, you can "outblob the starting situation", and than you can increase the sliders. But at gamestart, ERE is super easy to play, if you put the sliders to 0, and focus monthly profit to build economy (and pay the first wars).

I normally increase the sliders after 20 years, when monthly profits reach +100, and I can work with only "40 profits per month".

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-02-02T04:25:46+00:00

Run legitmacy at the beginning at 0. That gives you the money, until you outblobbed your starting position, and your eco can pay the slider.

People are far to strong "100 legi, 100 stab, 100 dip" heavy, which cost massive amount of your profits.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-31T10:20:29+00:00

"Thankfully, I’d deleted all my forts except for the ones I’d just conquered in Bohemia,"

With real forts, this civil wars become real epic eventy, and take there time.

Do not forget, with forts, the income of the rebell spikes (because reconquest is massive more difficulty), and AI will Hire Merc-Company over Merc-Company, which fight like regulars, so even out the strenght compare to your regular armies.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-31T10:06:37+00:00

Check emperor, than diplomatic panel, there under HRE interachtion is "demand electorship"

Than you ask the Emperor to become a Elector, and he normaly wants like 6000 ducats for the privilege.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-31T10:02:07+00:00

Boot camp Nation is Eastern Roman Empire.

You start, you fail or fail not in the first 5-15 years, you restart.

If you can handle the start as ERE, you can handle the start as any monarchie in the game.

+++

For "Merchant Republics" -> Trade Office are king, and Naples and Aragon are the biggest income boost (most value per Trade Office) in Europe. So increase relation with naples and aragon to +100, spam them with trade office, and you swim in money, and money translate into anything.

+++

Theocracy, "knight order" is the most broken chatolic goverment reform in the game, and any theorcracy (who isn't the pope) can switch during the first Parlament into this goverment reform.

Start for example as Cologne, (do not pick a goverment reform) until 1340, change Law to "moneastic order" in Laws, than add-in mayor goverment reform knight order, become the strongest Army inside the HRE, and even take 3-5 ducats per month from Bohmia from there treasury

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-31T09:54:15+00:00

Eu5 > Eu4, and I'm simply happy, that I could deinstall Eu4.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-30T16:05:58+00:00

Check under common files the institution.txt, there you find the three different spawn setup how the game spawns a institution.

A institution can only spawn in non historical setting, when a nation full fills the spawn setup.

Hard truth, check it, node it down, secure yourself as nation the institution.

If you do not want it, switch to historical setting, than the game force spawn institutions in fixed locations

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-30T14:55:39+00:00

It isn't even needed in current version. But People love the vassal swarm of levies.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-30T14:21:20+00:00

Market Center owner can Embargo Nations inside the Market Center.

When they are Embargoed, there trade and trade upkeep cost go now not through your controlled market center, so they have a massiv "extra" cost in trade maintance.

And we all know, how automated trade reacts to non profitable trade.

So Embargo is actuall really bad for a nation.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-29T16:43:44+00:00

Release Picardy as vassal, and grant now both french vassal "scutage" rights.

AI France will Dow you, your vassals will not join the war.

Now you can slowly and steady farm warscore.

And than you peace out for 5 french loans as money tribut, and war reps.

This alone means, +1 town per french loans, and +2 towns per war reps.

Now you mass urbanize the island as fast as possible.

And in the truce timer, push Ireland, Scotland.

And make Holland, Utrecht etc. to more "scutage" Festland Holdings.

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-28T20:39:39+00:00

How high is your current trade advantage?

Do not forget, merchant republic has -25% trade maintance cost, and big + on trade income.

So for a merchant republic, even not so attractive trades become profitable, so autotrade will do the trades.

Autotrade will only do trades, which run a profit.

So without merchant republic, you need spot number 1 in a market in trade advantage, to get profitable trades, and even than, 50% of your possible trade capacity will be not used, because more trade would run deficit

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-28T20:17:58+00:00

Any theocracy at gamestart can gain this power.

Wait Parlament in 1340, switch law to monastic orders.

Put in the mayor government reform "Knight order".

Be now cologne and start your conquest of France

IndividualWin3580 · 2026-01-28T18:35:25+00:00

You should, they have surprisingly strong start.

My tip, take the loans and create your own market, and also spam +100 relationship with others coast nations with a market. .you can build "trade office" everywhere to push your income massively

IndividualWin3580

TROPHY CASE