Can't keep up in Monarch points

[persona23]

I'm currently playing a game as Russia and it's about 1660. Things have been going on ok overall but I feel like I keep falling further behind in point generation. I am at current military tech but I am 2-3 behind in admin and 3-4 behind in diplo and have only finished a single idea group. Especially diplo has been a massive hurdle over the last 15 years - I have close to 100 absolutism and core-creation reduction from admin ideas so it feels like the diplo points it costs to take provinces in peace deals is twice as much as coring them would cost. Together with integrating a vassal it has been draining everything I can generate.

I did have big economic problems earlier on, leading to high corruption which is still around 8% but I am finally getting rid of that. I have been doing my best to keep level 3 advisors and disinherit the 2/1/0 dimwit heirs I keep getting but is there anything else I can do? Especially about those 200-300 diplo points it costs to take land every war. I realize now that religious ideas would have helped there but it is too late as I have now taken humanist and admin.

 

[beckermt]

Are you sure you're using the proper CBs? For example, if you're using Conquest, then taking any province that you have a claim on should cost 0 dip mana.

 

[rinehime]

I'm currently playing a game as Russia and it's about 1660. Things have been going on ok overall but I feel like I keep falling further behind in point generation. I am at current military tech but I am 2-3 behind in admin and 3-4 behind in diplo and have only finished a single idea group. Especially diplo has been a massive hurdle over the last 15 years - I have close to 100 absolutism and core-creation reduction from admin ideas so it feels like the diplo points it costs to take provinces in peace deals is twice as much as coring them would cost. Together with integrating a vassal it has been draining everything I can generate.

I did have big economic problems earlier on, leading to high corruption which is still around 8% but I am finally getting rid of that. I have been doing my best to keep level 3 advisors and disinherit the 2/1/0 dimwit heirs I keep getting but is there anything else I can do? Especially about those 200-300 diplo points it costs to take land every war. I realize now that religious ideas would have helped there but it is too late as I have now taken humanist and admin.

BTW, this should be posted on the main forum. This section is for people to post their guides for others to see.

Being behind 2-4 techs in adm and dip isn't that bad, but that depends on how far along your idea groups are. You should have 5 slots now - you just said "only one is filled" which isn't too bad if the others are close and you've been expanding rapidly. Your in a worse shape if you haven't even started them yet...

Generally it's better to fill idea groups before teching up again as it gives you a discount and most adm and dip techs aren't all that important. You do want to be on-time for the important ones like Dip 23 (Nationalism/Imperialism) and the adm techs that give you new idea groups and admin efficiency. Keep up-to-date on mil tech, or at least at the same level as your neighbors/enemies if your institution penalty is high.

Some things to consider:

• Rate of conquest: If you're expanding very fast, it's not uncommon to be low on dip and adm. Some people ignore dip entirely until tech 23, then tech up all at once for super cheap (if you do it while paused, the neighbor bonus doesn't update, giving you a huge bonus for all tech levels.)
• Stability: Generally, staying at stab one is fine, no need to waste points to get to 2 or 3.
• Paying down War Exhaustion: Occasionally useful, but still not a good use of MP.
• Culture conversion: Worthless in 99% of cases.
  
• Paying down inflation: Worthless in 99% of cases.
• Developing Provinces: Usually only useful for institutions, but passive spread is probably OK for Russia. If you do develop for institution, get as many discounts as possible and do it in the right place.
• Institutions: Tech up when the penalty is low, wait when the penalty is high. What qualifies as "high" depends somewhat on where you are and if you're force-spawning an institution, but I generally try to avoid teching-up above a 10% institution penalty.
• States: Don't waste adm on low-development states. Trade Companies > States.
• Corruption: Keep it low; Expand toward Trade Companies (really... they're OP...)

I probably missed some things, but that's a good start...

 

[ShadeThorn]

I'm currently playing a game as Russia and it's about 1660. Things have been going on ok overall but I feel like I keep falling further behind in point generation. I am at current military tech but I am 2-3 behind in admin and 3-4 behind in diplo and have only finished a single idea group. Especially diplo has been a massive hurdle over the last 15 years - I have close to 100 absolutism and core-creation reduction from admin ideas so it feels like the diplo points it costs to take provinces in peace deals is twice as much as coring them would cost. Together with integrating a vassal it has been draining everything I can generate.

I did have big economic problems earlier on, leading to high corruption which is still around 8% but I am finally getting rid of that. I have been doing my best to keep level 3 advisors and disinherit the 2/1/0 dimwit heirs I keep getting but is there anything else I can do? Especially about those 200-300 diplo points it costs to take land every war. I realize now that religious ideas would have helped there but it is too late as I have now taken humanist and admin.

Few more direct things:

1. Promote advisors to 4 and 5. Cheap, young ones are ideal.
2. Show strength
3. Keep power projection at 50 or more. Should be easy as russia.
4. Maintain a spy network with a rival that's ahead on tech. You get 5% tech discount.

Indirect.
When you get events that causes you to lose or gain things like inflation, legitimacy, mercantilism, stability, etc, consider how many monarch points of value are they.

 

[John Fist]

Completing influence ideas reduces the diplo cost for unjustified demands (i.e. taking stuff in a peacedeal that is not your wargoal) by half. You can circumvent this further by fabricating claims on an area instead of a province, then taking the entire area in the peacedeal at no diplo cost. Religious ideas are, in my honest opinion, a lackluster pick for Russia.
Try to stay above 50 power projection for +1 MP in all three categories per month (for a total of 36 MP per year). Increase power projecting by
insulting your rival (up to +5/+10 for an insult/scornful insult, reduces over 5/10 years),
embargoing your rivals (especially effective if this directly damages their income),
or eclipsing your rivals (to do this, always pick the weakest rival available; yes, eclipsing the same rival multiple times stacks),
privateering your rivals; again, the more this hurts their income, the better! You'll even make a quick buck on the side.

 

[TomatoHK]

Innovative ideas are good for catching up in tech because innovative and tech cost bonus