Version: v.1.3 ENG. Europa Universalis Rome v 1.3 fixes: New Features - It is now possible to guarantee other nations and get a casus belli on anyone attacking them.
When it comes to Paradox Interactive's grand-strategy epic Europa Universalis IV, there is but one constant: every six months that will attempt to shake gameplay up in different ways. Gave us random New Worlds and more expansive North American tribes. Might as well have been called 'the trade expansion.'
Turned to the complexity dial up to 11 and gave us all sorts of Republic and monarchy stuff for the Dutch in the Netherlands, as well as added in a real mechanic for focusing which Monarch Points you got. Recalled its namesake by saying 'let’s make war more complicated and fun,' especially if you were playing in Western Europe And so on. Every expansion has some stuff going on, it tends to focus on one area where the provinces (smaller areas which make up a nation) get updated, detailed, and generally messed around with, and there tends to be a thematic experience which gets pulled onto the table with active mechanical changes. That’s what Paradox does with EU4, and considering that it’s a five-year-old game with literally hundreds of dollars of DLC that still sells very regularly, still has an audience that is very attached to the franchise, and which is actively supported. No one can say it isn't working. So, with the release of, talk about what’s going on in this latest expansion and what exactly you get for your money.
Dharma Chameleon This time, as you might have surmised from the name of the expansion, the focus is firmly on the Indian subcontinent and the nations that existed at this time. During the EU4 time period, the subcontinent can go from a complicated two-power system surrounded by smaller satellite states (which often get manipulated by proxy), to a single thriving economic engine of terrifying development. Although, it probably won’t. The addition of the ability for trade companies to out-right purchase a foothold from local powers can and often does drive some strong wedges into that slow unification. The rework of the Indian provinces goes hand-in-hand with the new mechanics introduced this cycle. There are more trade goods that are harder to get outside of the region. There are more small nations who might be willing to trade a little access for a little piece/peace.
The trade nodes and regions which feed them have been juggled just a little bit in order to make it just a little bit harder to get a foothold in every one of them and control of trade on the subcontinent. All in all, the inevitable changes to the region of concern are more subtle than other maps have been but are all improvements. Not Just Business Dharma brings with it some surprisingly deep modifications to how business is done as well managing some of the more long-term aspects of running your government.
The biggest deal is probably the one-two punch of the new reform system, which is effectively a running counter that activates once you are no longer a 'primitive government' (for those folks like me who like to start in North America as one of the tribes, or other non-European kickoff) that lets you choose customized elements for a couple of bonuses or maluses which build on one another. There is also the new policy system which seems to be almost entirely reworked and kicks in once you start heading down your tech tree, unlocking policies you can take which hinge on National Decisions, Governmental Reforms, and other calls that you’ve made along the way. For me, one of the most interesting and important changes is one that’s a bit throw away at the bottom of the expansion description, “new uses for colonists in non-colonial development,” or as I would put it, “what to do with that darn Colonist once you get locked in by your neighbors” – and what you do is set him to work on development for the provinces that you have already. He gives a percentage chance for one of your development traits to increase without expending a single Monarch Point. That’s a huge deal if you’re going for a tax/trade power and I think people will really enjoy it once knowledge of how it can be used moves into mainstream play.
The list of mechanical changes given by the site is compelling but by no means complete, because for that you need to Here we can see some specific call-outs:. Settlement Growth: You can now send Colonists to promote Settlement Growth in owned provinces instead of colonizing. When doing so, there is a chance each year that Development in the province will increase by 1 point in a random category. The Estates system is no longer locked to The Cossacks DLC (Dhimmi and Cossacks estates still require The Cossacks).
Owners of The Cossacks DLC now have access to the ‘Sich Rada’ Government Reform which enables the following Government interactions: ‘Receive Fleeing Serfs’, ‘Organize Raiding Parties’ and Raise Cossack Host.” Aside from the specific phrasing about using the Colonist in province development, I think it’s worth pointing out the rich interconnection between previous DLCs and this one. It’s not the first time this has happened. Paradox seems to enjoy building on the mechanics introduced in previous expansions, making those investments more valuable by way of being continuously engaged by things that come later. Oh, yes – my favorite patch note from the entire pile:. The murdering of the king’s wife and son when enacting government/reform that doesn’t allow them is now done in secrecy. To Buy or No Buy? If you’re really into EU4, it’s too late – you’ve already pre-ordered and installed this expansion and have been playing it for several days.
Because of the refinement to government controls, you were on board from the time of announcement. If you’re one of those people who look at the free patch contents versus the expansion contents, and trying to decide if it’s worth dropping the chunk of change to pick it up, I think you’ll come down on the side of grabbing it. For free, everyone gets the estates system (which used to be specific to DLCs), the map rework, the new policy system, new national ideas for Indian nations, new ways to interact with Parliament, and generic missions for the Indian region. But you don’t get the reform system, which is a huge, fun new part, and you don’t get trade centers, or the policy system, or a number of other bits which I think really do improve the game. And if you’re new to EU4?
Is this a must have at pick up? It does focus pretty strongly on providing Indian subcontinent action, alongside all of the other bits which modify governments in general. Some of them could have significant repercussions – but they’re not going to be as important as, say, Art of War or Res Publica. The other side is that this is a relatively low cost expansion, so if you’re already dropping the $100+ it takes at this point to 'have everything,' this is an easy addition. For $20/$15.49 you can walk away with all of India in your pocket, just like the Raj. Any rebellions after that point are in your hands.
Avast, me hearties! Are you longing for the days of Renaissance Spain and the infamy of sailing the high seas under the black flag of the golden age of piracy?
If so, then December 11th is going to be your lucky day because Paradox Interactive has released their latest DLC for Europa Universalis IV: Golden Century. Feedback on the announced content of GC has been - contentious, but previously locked content from past expansions has now been made free to compensate. Golden Century is an immersion pack intended to focus almost entirely on the golden century of Spain, and as a result of spilling outwards into somewhat related mechanics, also has pirate republics. It's not intended to be a full expansion, just as Rule Britannia and Third Rome were not full expansions. That out of the way, what is in GC that you might be interested in? Show Me the Gold As ever, it's important to seperate what you get from the premium expansion from what will be included, for free, that comes with every expansion release. Mechanic: Minority Expulsion A lot of people have been waiting for this particular ability, and the announcement has generally been received pretty well.
Like all good mechanics, expelling the minorities from your nation to fuel your colonial expansion certainly makes unifying the culture of the homeland easier but it sets up a potential new nation full of people who have reason not to believe as you do and that can definitely come back to bite you. Ask the Puritans!
Mechanic: Establish Orders Both the Iberian Catholics and Andalusian Sufi have the ability to appoint a holy order to administrate an entire state, giving it some province bonuses. For example, appointing the Jesuits to administer an Iberian state costs 50 administrative power and gives every province in that state +1 administrative development, +1.5% missionary strength in that state, and a 10% reduction in construction cost. Both the Catholic and Muslim versions are effectively identical. Mechanic: Flagships Have a nice, large fleet and looking for a big, hefty ship to represent the centralized power of your force?
You want a flagship. To have one you're going to need an already established fleet of 3000 sailors and they're not cheap. You get to customize your flagship with up to 3 slots worth of modifications, each of which will make it more expensive to keep the thing sailing.
The best example may be Hull Sheathing, which gives a whopping 50% increase to the durability of the flagship at the same cost of 0.5 maintenance of the others. There are nation specific flagship modifications available for Portugal, Spain/Castile, and the Netherlands/Holland (and only them) which has led to some complaints about significant naval countries being left out, but I suspect you'll see the number of nation-specific modifications increase in the future. Mechanic: Naval Barrage You'll recognize this as effectively porting the Artillery Barrage from the Mandate of Heaven expansion for ships.
While being able to spend 50 military influence to help reduce fort walls faster from any cannon-bearing ship is nothing to sneeze at, you may seriously consider whether those 50 military influence are better spent elsewhere. Missions: New Mission Trees Like the other immersion packs, GC brings new missions and objectives to the Iberian Peninsula and the Moors of Northwest Africa, which will bring a lot more possibilities for you if playing with Castile/Spain, Portugal, Aragon, Morocco, Granada, or Tunis. Cosmetic: New Iberian Army, Iberian Navy, and Berber Ship Models Part of all the immersion packs is the greater visual distinction between the nations of the region the pack is focusing on.
The assumption is that you are going to spend a lot of time really looking at that particular set of nations so it should be easier to tell their land and ship models apart. Purely cosmetic, so make of it what you will. Cosmetic: New Music Paradox is promising 10 to 12 minutes of original music 'inspired by the discovery of the New World.' Will you even notice 12 minutes more? Mechanic: Pirate Republics You could make the entirely reasonable argument that pirate republics are the best reason, and maybe the only reason, to buy Golden Century. Are they really historical? Well, certainly some existed.
Very briefly. In the East, organizations of pirates had the advantage of lots of islands and less powerful, decentralized governments to hunt them down. In the West, once England and Spain decided that paying people to sink and steal the ships of each other was largely ineffective, piracy lost a lot of its gloss as both a major seafaring powers decided that pirates needed to go. In GC, pirate republics can only arise naturally in a handful of locations, three of which are located roughly in the Caribbean.
If your nation is located on an island or in the Mahgreb, you can take a decision to become a pirate Republic. It's costly and you need to be really focused on naval power and, in particular, privateering (because sucking up at least 10 trade power with privateers is hard work), but you can do it. As a result you will get a custom set of factions and governmental reforms (if you have the Dharma expansion for reforms, that is). Is the Booty Worth It? The smaller expansions are always difficult to make a definitive judgment one, but here’s some general advice for you: If you enjoy playing in the Iberian Peninsula and you can overlook a few historical irregularities, then it would be very hard to pass up on Golden Century.
If you're obsessed by pirates and can't fight off the desire to pretend to be Jack Sparrow, then this is going to be your best bet within EU4. If you're literally anyone else: While it's only $10 USD, it's not really vital to your experience and doesn't actually bring that much to the table. You might just want to wait until the next actual expansion and pick this one up on sale.