Also, before I forget, there's still a few days left to vote in the Q1 ACA's. Voting ends this Sunday, May 5th, and there are many great AARs eligible!
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Was waiting for the conclusion of the war before giving comment and certainly well done. You definitely have to move fast since England already seems ready to jump on Ireland.
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@jak7139 I love all the little tricks you know to get advantage. I need to be using some of these
Great work with Munster! I cringe to see you living in the shadow of both France and England, but I know you have a plan and are prepared.
Rensslaer
Great work with Munster! I cringe to see you living in the shadow of both France and England, but I know you have a plan and are prepared.
Rensslaer
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Two questions since I'd missed one of your feedback messages.
1 - how do you earn innovativeness?
2 - I thought monarch points for tech was mainly for getting tech levels and was surprised when I took my first idea group that I had to pay almost as much for each of these advantages in the Idea group as I had for the tech level that allowed me to choose an Idea group. Is this, to your mind, competing for attention? Is it ever better to invest in all you idea groups before moving up in tech levels? I really thought once I got an idea group I'd get the benefits without having to pay for them (seemingly AGAIN).
Thank you!
Rensslaer
1 - how do you earn innovativeness?
2 - I thought monarch points for tech was mainly for getting tech levels and was surprised when I took my first idea group that I had to pay almost as much for each of these advantages in the Idea group as I had for the tech level that allowed me to choose an Idea group. Is this, to your mind, competing for attention? Is it ever better to invest in all you idea groups before moving up in tech levels? I really thought once I got an idea group I'd get the benefits without having to pay for them (seemingly AGAIN).
Thank you!
Rensslaer
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Congrats on annexing Munster, but England looks like it will challenge your dominion over Ireland.
Guaranteeing the Irish states is a bad idea, right? Because you can't fight England directly?
Guaranteeing the Irish states is a bad idea, right? Because you can't fight England directly?
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Yes, the English AI can be very aggressive. If we want to have any Irish pie, we need to be quick.
Thanks! I hope this AAR helps you with Brandenburg!
The plan is a very rough one, but it should keep us safe. Although one wrench has been thrown in, but that's coming in a future update.
You gain it in three ways:
- Being the first to take the next level of technology, or doing so 365 days after that (hence why the number of days left on the Inno alert was so important).
- Being the first to take an idea, or within 365 days once that happens ("Idea" refers to each individual tier within an idea group, not the group itself).
- Being ahead-of-time in at least one of the three technology areas.
Ideas and tech do compete with each other for your attention. But ideas do give a key benefit besides their inherent bonuses: they make tech cheaper. As you fill out an idea group, each completed level gives -2% tech cost (the discounts apply to the relevant tech type: admin idea to admin tech, diplo idea to diplo tech, etc). So, filling out a full idea group gives you -14% tech cost for that category.
So tech will get cheaper over time, especially as you also gain Innovativeness, increase point generation (through better advisors), and do other things. Ideas will also get cheaper because of Innovativeness, but nowhere near as much as tech.
There's a bit of strategy at play in whether you want to prioritize tech (which is almost always more important) or ideas (which give you the discounts to tech and also unlock your nation-specific ideas). If I am doing an idea group, I usually want to finish the whole group first before taking the next tech, but this depends on the importance of the tech, the geopolitical situation, and my monthly point generation.
What you should do for each situation is impossible to tell. But that's the fun of strategy games! Hopefully this helps.
They'll certainly try. Brittany stands ready to defend her interests!
Guaranteeing the Irish would also prevent us from attacking them (revoking a guarantee gives a 5-year truce). While we might be able to beat England in their weakened state, our economy is not looking good. Such a war would be very costly, and there's also the risk of France jumping on us too during that.
Right now, it is much better to look for easy expansion targets so we can grow. One day we will challenge the English and French, but patience is key.
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Haha, in my continuing first EU4 game I generally use the strategy of ‘I want it now, whatever it costs, because it’s shiny and new and gives me quality’. Same with the ideas.
I will spend points on other things as necessary, but tend to hoard them to get that tech going faster than everyone else. Now that’s lacking in subtlety! Maybe I’ll moderate that as I get more used to the game, but ... A good morsel consumed. Long way to go, but the journey of a thousand miles and all that!
Really appreciate all the little info nuggets on display.
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Well, it's seemed to work out for you well so farNow that’s lacking in subtlety! Maybe I’ll moderate that as I get more used to the game, but ...
! I guess it's a matter of playstyle, but I like saving every bit I can to not make things too expensive.Every step we take helps us on that long road. Brittany shall go from duchy to empire (hopefully)!
Thanks! I hope this AAR and all the various info is helpful!
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CHAPTER SIX: The Irish Wars Continue (January 1452-March 1453)
CHAPTER SIX: The Irish Wars Continue
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(January 1452-March 1453)
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(January 1452-March 1453)
We don’t have time to celebrate our victory over Munster. Through the work of our diplomats, we were able to get a claim on Desmond and I immediately press it. They are allied to Offaly (the orange nation in the center of the island). This is basically a repeat of the war we just had with Munster, only Desmond doesn’t have a level 3 fort and we don’t have to use transports.
I have 4 of our infantry under Erwan and his siege pip besiege Cork (Desmond’s capital). The rest of our army sits in Munster to deter rebellions and not suffer extra attrition.
We have 5 ducats left. To avoid taking another loan, we sell some land to the Estates. 134 ducats are now in the bank. We’re currently losing about 6 ducats per month because of Munster’s fort (currently mothballed) and some Corruption we got from an event that we’re buying down.
Corruption is very bad. Our loans are manageable, but if we start accumulating too much Corruption, then this run will be unsalvageable. As a side note, we can trade some Corruption for some money, if we’re truly desperate. But this should be an ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT.
We have other ways of getting cash (loans and selling Crownland) that don’t severely hurt our nation’s future. And there’s also another way we can get more cash as well, I just haven’t shown it yet. If the Corruption method is considered a last resort, then this other way is the step before that. it still hurts our nation but is not anywhere near as bad as Corruption.
Now back to other matters. Winning the battle against Desmond’s troops and our peace with Munster have finally given us enough prestige (we’re at 31) to fulfill our mission. We claim the Loire Valley for ourselves. Our nation is on the rise.
The next mission in this branch wants us to expand using our new claims. We own 1 of the 3 provinces in the Loire Valley area (Anjou). The other 2 are owned by France unfortunately (Maine and Tourraine). If we complete this mission, we get more claims on France (this time in Normandy).
In August, Duke Francois gets a new trait, Loose Lips. Even though this is a negative trait, it is probably the weakest debuff we could’ve gotten since it doesn’t hurt us in any way. Let me explain.
The AI is always fabricating and doing intrigue with their diplomats. By discovering their activities, we can stop them temporarily. But right now, nations don’t have access to any of the really annoying actions they can do (comes with certain levels of technology). Late in the game, any AI nation that has rivalled you will constantly be trying to incite revolts and disrupt your trade. But for now, we’re completely safe from our duke’s gossiping ways.
November sees Cork fall. We move to Offaly to repeat what we did with Ormond (white peace and hope England doesn’t take them before our truce is up). As we battle Offaly, England annexes Tyrone. Their foothold on the island has returned.
We get a bad event again. Lose stab or gain Corruption. We choose the Corruption. As annoying as paying it down might be, we can’t afford to spend more admin points right now on getting Stability back to 0.
Our navy beats Desmond’s fleet. We don’t capture any excess ships. I turn down the “Rooting Out Corruption” slider on our economy tab. It is still decreasing, we just aren’t spending as much on it. Our economy continues to falter.
During these wars, our diplomats have been hard at work in Ireland. In December we claim Thomond. They will be our next target. I notice, when checking the war balance against them, that Kildare would join. This would be a good opportunity to isolate them from England. And if we wait on peacing out Offaly, we could even annex Kildare as well (by the time this war ends, our truce with Ormond should be over, so we can attack them and get a land connection to Kildare and Offaly).
We leave 800 men behind in Offaly to prevent them from making any troops, and the rest of our army moves to attack Thomond. Their army is beaten and we leave behind a siege force as we move on to Kildare (their army is away fighting with England).
It is January of 1453 and Ireland looks like this.
In February, Kildare’s army is spotted in Meath heading to Leinster. I know the AI, so I know what they’re trying to do. I’ve kept the fort in Desmond (Munster’s former capital, not the nation of Desmond which is in the province of Cork) mothballed to save money. But the AI loves to siege down mothballed forts when the player isn’t looking. Thankfully, in this case, I notice them moving towards it.
We shift some troops around to intercept them, but Kildare spots us and turns back. I don’t pursue. A small victory. The siege work resumes.
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Munching most of Ireland before England can consolidate? A bold strategy!
I lost a province once because I let the enemy get too close. I'd mothballed the fort, and was watching to see if the enemy would try to get around my forces and go after them (wish there were an alert for "enemy troops entering your province"). Anyway, I saw them, but not until they were right up on the city.
And so I guess when you mothball the garrison (gradually?) goes down to 100 or so, and once you re-man it the garrison has to recover. I think they must recover relatively quickly (or they drop from full garrison strength slowly), because I've not seen this happen before. But the enemy got troops on the fort after I'd re-manned it, but before it'd had time to recover to full strength, so it only had 100 or 200 soldiers in it. They were able to reduce it quickly (brought the walls down and assaulted I think) and take the province. I'll be MUCH more careful which forts I mothball from now on.
Rensslaer
I lost a province once because I let the enemy get too close. I'd mothballed the fort, and was watching to see if the enemy would try to get around my forces and go after them (wish there were an alert for "enemy troops entering your province"). Anyway, I saw them, but not until they were right up on the city.
And so I guess when you mothball the garrison (gradually?) goes down to 100 or so, and once you re-man it the garrison has to recover. I think they must recover relatively quickly (or they drop from full garrison strength slowly), because I've not seen this happen before. But the enemy got troops on the fort after I'd re-manned it, but before it'd had time to recover to full strength, so it only had 100 or 200 soldiers in it. They were able to reduce it quickly (brought the walls down and assaulted I think) and take the province. I'll be MUCH more careful which forts I mothball from now on.
Rensslaer
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The conquest of Ireland is turning into a race against England. How much of the island can you grab in time?
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One Irish is necessary for the increased colonial range, all others are a bonus. The more of Ireland that you have, the easier that it will be to defend against England. Thanks
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More Ireland = More Taxes
Unless the forts cost more than the income, I suppose.
Unless the forts cost more than the income, I suppose.
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Out of curiosity, how many of those forts in Ireland are "capital forts" that go away once you annex them, as opposed to actual forts you get to keep? No pun intended with "keep".
Renss
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We'll see how it works out. Thankfully, the AI doesn't like declaring more than one offensive war at a time, something players aren't constrained by.
It's happened to me many times. If they don't feel confident in a straight-up fight, the AI likes to run away and find where your army/forts are weakest.
Mothballing instantly depletes the garrison to 0. Once you re-activate the fort, the garrison will tick up over the next few months.
Having a small garrison has a significant advantage on the pace of sieges. And if the garrison is below 100 men, the fort falls on the next siege-tick.
The AI is just as vulnerable to this as the player. So, before declaring war, it can be nice to look at the forts mapmode and see if your potential enemies have mothballed forts you can quickly take.
We'll try to grab as much as we can before the English. One thing is certain, Ireland's days of independence are numbered.
Exactly! Ireland will be our base from which to grow overseas.
Desmond is the only province with an actual "fort" that we pay maintenance on. Capital forts are free.
That idea: whether the land costs more to hold than it provides in taxes, is something many, if not all, IRL empires have had to grapple with. Land that looks nice on a map is not necessarily helpful.
EU4, unfortunately, doesn't really model decadence or collapse all that well. Any land is always good land.
Desmond is the only real fort. All the other Irish minors just have their capital. England hasn't built any of their own forts on their Irish provinces (so far).Out of curiosity, how many of those forts in Ireland are "capital forts" that go away once you annex them, as opposed to actual forts you get to keep? No pun intended with "keep".
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SorryDamn cliffhanger, @jak7139! Just when it was getting exciting.
!But don't worry, there are plenty of chapters about Ireland to come!
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CHAPTER SEVEN: Rebellions & More War (March 1453-February 1454)
CHAPTER SEVEN: Rebellions & More War
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(March 1453-February 1454)
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(March 1453-February 1454)
Back in our capital, something happens. If you were keenly watching the outliner over the last chapter, you might already know what. A stack of 12,000 rebels appears in Bro Naoned demanding more autonomy. Our army could beat them if it wasn’t all in Ireland. But they do need to get through the fort in our capital before they can force us to accept their demands.
As I’m looking at that, Kildare attacks us in their capital. Erwan, who was leading the siege in Thomond, quickly moves to reinforce. We also bring over the troops from Offaly, leaving 1 regiment in the other 2 provinces to maintain our siege progress. Our reinforcements help win the day, and Kildare’s army is deleted since they have nowhere to retreat to.
We don’t have time to celebrate. In April, Anjou revolts as well, besieging the province with a force of 8,000 men. It was for this reason, the looming rebellion, that I’d kept Anjou’s fort maintained. With Kildare’s army dealt with, I continue to siege the 3 Irish provinces, hoping I can end the war quickly before the rebels make too much progress.
To help with that, it’s time I mention one of the other benefits of having States over Territories: Edicts. Edicts give different bonuses to all provinces you own within a State, but this makes the State cost more to maintain. For this reason, I don’t like keeping Edicts on everywhere, all the time. I only enact them when there is a need for it, like with these 2 rebellions.
I turn on the Defensive Edict in the Loire Valley and Brittany (your capital area is always a State, and costs less to maintain). This causes any sieges in these provinces to take 33% longer, giving us more time to finish what we’re doing in Ireland.
In June, England ends their war with Clanricarde, annexing them. If we don’t hurry, all of Ireland will be under their hands soon, locking us out of our only easy expansion route. I start a new Spy Network in Meath (the diplomat was in Clanricarde before, out of the hope that England would just take money).
In August Thomond falls and we fight their navy. What initially seems like an easy fight soon turns into an even match as Tyrconnell’s navy joins against us. We retreat out of there after the 10-day minimum battle timer expires. Luckily, we don’t lose anything. At least Thomond has already fallen and it’s the only coastal fort we have to siege. We could siege Tyrconnell and take it, but I don’t want an isolated northern province against England.
I move some troops around and have those who aren’t sieging sit in Thomond to loot the province. This does what you might expect, it gives us some money from the province (listed as “Spoils of War” on our Economy tab).
In October, England continues their ceaseless aggressions against the people of Ireland. We, on the other hand, are simply liberating our Celtic brothers. Totally different. They’ve attacked Thomond (which doesn’t matter since we already occupy the province). Kildare, because of our siege, has dishonored the defensive call.
Offaly falls next and the troops there are moved to Thomond to continue pillaging. I keep Erwan and 3,000 infantry on Kildare, and the rest of our army under Prince Pierre prepares to move to Tyrconnell. One problem, we can’t. we don’t have military access and would have to use Transports. I could get military access, but I check Tyrconnell again. It’s already under siege by England, there would be no point in me helping them. Let the English suffer in their siege camps.
With this moment of calm in December, I decide to have a look at our finances. We have 40 gold in the bank. We’ll need to take out another loan soon since the Estate interaction is still on cooldown. However, I notice that the size of our loans (37) has increased from when we last took them (the Bourgeoisie loans at the start of the game. 28 gold each).
With this increase, we can do some reshuffling. I take out 4 regular loans (enough to pay off our debt to the Bourgeoissie). Then I take out some new Estate loans with the increased size and pay back the normal loans. Our treasury has gained 10 ducats (33 ducats in January when we started, to 43 ducats after the reshuffling). This is a small increase, but it helps. Our amount of loans (5) and interest (0.11) hasn’t actually changed, even if our amount of debt has increased due to the larger loan size. But, in EU4 logic, the amount of debt doesn’t matter, only the number of loans.
After this, we receive word that Anjou has fallen after a 288-day siege. Our capital still holds on at +14% in the rebels’ favor. Seeing this, I quickly move the prince’s army to the Transports, our capital shall not fall! Not one step back!
I also take this moment to peace out Tyrconnell. However, I quickly try blockading them before doing so. This gives a small amount of warscore (25%) against them, letting us demand 4.3 ducats instead of a white peace. It’s not much, but it’s something.
I should also take this moment to mention that ever since June of 53’, we’ve been getting Call for Peace in our war with Desmond and Offaly. This hurts our war exhaustion, but I continue the war regardless. The land we gain (and keep England out of) is worth more at this point. We’ll have plenty of time for peace later once Ireland is done with. It is our only easy expansion route outside of the Americas, and I want to take full advantage of it before this opportunity is gone.
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Another great update! I've had this happen when my Florence and the Ottomans had separately occupied all of Venice's territory. but the Ottomans had the province I intended to acquire. Had to wait for them to peace out then I could take the land (which ended up being all of venice)
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What is behind the Rebels? Why the call for peace? What is time frame between Ireland expansion and colonization as the period of peace is the time of economic stabilization? Thanks
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