Gefallener_Held said:
Hey everyone,
I am playing eu4 again after tabling HOI4 once again (perhaps permanently)
I am playing England. Not doing the France PU thinkg (yet), but instead focusing on colonization after vassaling Scotland and conquering Ireland after the levy the troops cb feature.
First idea groups were colonization and expansion. Pretty obvious for a colonization heavy game. I seem to have the lead on both Portugal and Spain and have secured the trade node near Jamaice and Haiti.
See AlsoThe best National ideas.Mastering EU4 Idea Groups: Enlighten Your EmpireBest Idea Groups in Europa Universalis IV [EU4]- NeuralGamerWhich military idea should I pickI wonder though what the best third idea group is, and am torn between trade and quality. Castille is a Rival, and allied with Portugal. I anticipate a war at some point. This mitigates in favor of quality to win the land battles. Trade however might be better and then quality though. Innovation is also possible.
I seem to recall there is a bonus though to having one idea group from all three branches, admin, diplomatic, and military.
Honestly; the answer depends heavily on what you are wanting to do; and as such; I'm going to go through situations where you should consider each remaining idea group; skipping Plutocratic because you can't take that.
Innovative - Good long-term investment for Monarch Power; as it saves tech costs and makes Advisors cheaper [More MP generation]. However, immediate payoffs are small. If you have the RB DLC; Innovativeness is pretty easy to get as England as well. There's a reason why that mechanic is bundled in with the Britain DLC.
Administrative - Another MP saver, as it reduces coreing costs. However, unless you are intending to state a lot of land instead of TC's, it's rather bad for your situation.
Economic - Never a bad choice. Helps you go tall on the mainland and gives you more ducats, and saves building costs, which lets you get buildings faster to make your provinces more efficient.
Humanist/Religious - As GB; you should have little~no religious issues regardless of your religious choice and can most likly ignore both of these. If you really want to take something to get Holy War CB's as Reformed or *vomits a little* Anglican; then Religious can do.
Espionage - Is Espionage. Now; it *can* have it's place as GB in keeping your rivals weak and messing with them, especially as you can use your ducats to support rebels, but it's still mostly a fun gimmick than actually a good choice. If you want to sit on your island and troll Europe however...
Maritime - If you're going full 'sit on your island' this is actually a great choice. The one way anyone is fighting your navy is attrition via vastly superior numbers [The AI will almost never take Naval or Maritime as any nation]. +50% Naval FL modifier effectively erases any way the AI is going to defeat you at sea ever, without you needing to take Naval and using a potential military slot.
Trade - I actually think Trade Ideas are pretty bad for you. You should get enough merchants between Global Trade; Expansion; Colonies and Trade Companies. And aside from the large merchant count, Trade Ideas actually needs policies to shine. Personally; I think Trade is actually best for land-trade countries; and the sort of countries who want Quantity Ideas [+20% Goods policy; which is effectively multiplicative with Trade Efficiency].
I mean think about it; a country like Russia doesn't get anywhere near as many merchants as colonisers, and benefits infinitely more from things like the Caravan Power modifiers. Trade isn't for colonisers. It's for countries like Russia; or those along the silk road [eg: Middle East/Persian region]
Diplomatic - Only take this if you want to Game of Thrones or go for the HRE
Influence - This is actually great for a Colonizer. If you get large Colonial nations, they will start becoming Disloyal; especially during the Age of Revolutions. Influence Ideas essentially reduces Liberty Desire for every single subject you have by 21%. It also has other benefits like +1 Diplomatic Relation; putting you at 6 when you throw in Expansion. Extra vassal modifiers and polices can also make it worthwhile to do something like have Vassal Ireland instead of direct ownership.
Quality - Great all-round idea; and also provides a naval bonus.
Aristocratic - Not as bad as some might give it credit for. It's a long-term investment in Milirary MP; and combined with 33% manpower it can actually wind up comparable to Quantity in terms of manpower [Since you can dev more]. It also gives another +33% manpower policy with Exploration; and -15% construction cost alongside Expansion. Even policies that you can activate with your 4th idea group like +20% production [Innovative] or -1 Naval Tradition Decay [Maritime; by the way Maritime+Aristo basically gets you god-admirals] are great for you.
Something cool you can do also is go Aristocratic then Economic in your situation. Stacking up -25% Construction cost [-30% with Renaissance]; and turbo out buildings and manufactories; includeing using this discount to build them in your colonies; so your colonies get richer and produce more goods faster; giving you even more income. You can then remove Aristocratic later [Keep in mind some of the Mil power loss from doing this would have been recouped with the 10% tech discount].
Quantity - Really dosen't fit earlygame with England. It is a lategame option if you want to turn your economy into sheer human wave tactics however, but even then you're kind of limited by transports.
Naval - I would take Quality before Naval. Naval is certainly a consideration and basically guarantees your naval superiority for the whole game, but I'd personally rather take Maritime and acheive the same thing for a Dip idea slot rather than Mil.
Defensive - You shouldn't ever need this as a colonial GB. Who's landing on your shores?
---
tl;dr:
Investing for future - Innovative
Want to secure Naval superiority immediately - Maritime
Want to Influence Europe while secureing subject loyalty - Influence
Generically good - Quality
Want to Turbo Economy via buildings - Aristocratic or Economic, follow one with the other; remove Aristocratic later once you've spammed 30% cheaper manufactories everywhere
Deus Vult - Religious
Do not take: Defensive; Trade; Humanist; Quantity [Yet]; Diplomatic [If you want that take it 5th. Influence first]; Naval [Generally not needed against the AI; take Quality first]; Espionage [Unless you want to troll Europe]
