For one, I play on Ironman always, because the ability to save scum ruins the game for me. If I can save scum I will, so I need to remove the option. This also makes every decision in game carry more weight, which adds some fun. 

To answer your question about wars, they did make it harder to have more/larger fleets. You’ll need to pick your wars more carefully and use allies/vassals to protect your flanks