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IGC - Strategies for a strong France in 1525?

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unmerged(1585)

Second Lieutenant
Mar 6, 2001
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Hi folks,

It's about 1525 and I have generally been keeping my nose out of trouble. Brittany together with Alsace Lorraine have been diplomatically annexed. All provinces are maxed out with level two forts, I have a couple of manufacturies, great traders and good tech (although I have been largely ignoring naval tech), I'm making about 400 ducats a year in census taxes etc, I have three largish armies (for the period anyway) of about 40,000 men and I'm ahead in land tech. Lastly I have royal marriages all over the place and good relations with a number of the pre-German states together with the pre-Italian states.

I'm middling in terms of victory points because Spain and Russia seem to have been beating up on 'minors' all over the place and Portugal is busy exploring the globe.

So the question is what now? The options I'm considering are:-

1) Stiff the English for Calais
2) Stiff the Spanish for as much of the Iberian peninsular as I can grab (but probably long term bloody)
3) Head off down through Italy
4) Head into northern / central Europe (though problems with Protestants on the horizon)
5) Keep pressing on the diplomatic vassalisation / annexation front.

What have people found to be the best long term strategies for France?

Cheers,


Patrick
 
I'd say get the Calais off these Brittish hands, then concentrate on colonization. Change your religion to reformed (who said that Paris needs masses???) and try to get shipyard asap. Don't bother with North America, real riches lie in Asia. Played as France, peaceful in Europe (only killing Spain from time to time), diplomatic annexations only, but reformed and colonized most of Asia. Imagine the riches there. Sometimes, when i needed to improve home provinces, i just used all my mothly income for one year and got enough cash to upgrade anything i needed.
Screw Europe, riches await you in New World... (or the much-older-then-Europe world)
 
Go for strategy 4 and take all of soon-to-be-Reformed Germany, helping you to later switch to Reformed. Then, you'll get more colonists and will be able to expand much more rapidly overseas.

Or, if you're planning to remain Catholic, you could take option 3 and annex parts of Catholic Italy, thus avoiding any religious problems, but I suspect that this would bring you into conflict with Spain before long.
 
This is the first time I've played a Catholic country in anger so I no zip about becoming Holy Roman Emperor. Aside from that it's nice to see some consensus forming ie:-

Don't stay on the diplomatic front and don't go for Spain.

Aside from that everybody likes different strategies :)


Patrick
 
I like to go for the 'natural borders' as France. Pyrenees, Alps, Rhine. After that concentrate on colonisation. French India, Indochina, Taiwan, ...

IF u want to expand in Europe decide on relgion first. IF u go catholic, go for Italy, reformed go for GErmany (Kurphals, Hessen, ...)
 
Well, it's now 1563 and France has taken Artois and Franche Compte off the Spanish, , kicked the English out of Calais, forcibly annexed Helvetia, got Savoie vassalised and is still trucking economically (plus I have a couple of colonies in the New World).

Large armies are staring at each other across the Franco - Spanish border.....

The question remains the same :).....

1) Down through Italy
2) Give the Spanish a kicking (which might not be a bad idea because they have loads of problems in the low countries)
3) Beat up on the Germanic states, although they have gone protestant now....

My personal preference is to try and give the Spanish a hiding while they're involved elsewhere :).

Incidentally, Russia is HUGE, the Teutonic order has carved a big chunk out of Poland-Lithuania and the Turks have almost utterly destroyed the Marmelukes. Portugal is doing very well in the victory points stakes (Spain on about 1600, France on about 700 and Portugal on about 600) but I can't see any of their colonial empire yet. Interestingly England seems to be holding it's own and has made inroads into Scotland.....


Patrick
 
One fun strategy is just to build up a really strong army and invade the entire HRE, Netherlands, Venice, Hungary, Austria and northern parts of Spain. Gives an enormous BB rating but with all techs researched in 1600 your pretty far before the others so they won't attack you.

Although I actually think you should go the diplomatic way and annex as much as possible diplomatically, perhaps take Calais through war, not important really. Just be prepared for battle all the time 'cuz BB rating doesn't increase very much if you conquer/annex when someone declares war against you. Colonize Asia and convert to reformert. Perhaps you should colonize the spice provinces in North America (Chesapeake, Delaware, Powhatan, Roanoke and one more. This is probably the best, but the first one sure is the one which is most fun!

Cheers,

RL
 
Originally posted by Patrick
My personal preference is to try and give the Spanish a hiding while they're involved elsewhere :).
Click to expand...
This is always fun, especially if you can get some of their territories (Sicily, Aragon, Catalonia) to revolt and declare independence. If you're planning on staying Catholic, then this is a good strategy.
 
Well, I once read an AAR where the player´s goal was to become Emperor as France. He succeeded. It is a very old AAR. I think it was called 'a diplomatic AAR' or so...

Any catholic nation may become Emperor even without provinces in the HRE. I often saw Hungary providing the Emperor and I myself did it with Portugal once. So I conclude that it´s not necessary to have provinces within the HRE. :)

Hartmann

Second thought: When I became Emperor as Portugal, I had a vassal in the HRE, though. But I don´t know, whether this is a prerequisite.....
 
Well, the whole HRE thing in the game is majorly screwed up imho.

But if France makes a territorial incursion into the HRE the HRE borders on the religious map deform around it. So France can never have an HRE territory. I wonder if this is supposed to allow France to annihilate the HRE a la Napoleon?
 
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