Gameplay – Changes

Domestic policy

One of the finest features of the game is the Domestic Policy slider. Domestic policy defines the character and nature of your government, with alternating drawbacks and benefits depending on the setting. A highly tolerant nation will have few Missionaries and colonists, but be less likely to suffer from religious differences. A country that embraces mercantilism can lay down trade embargoes left and right, and pays very little to place its merchants. Unfortunately, its restrictive trade policies make merchants less likely to flock to its banner. A centralized country gets great technological and production benefits, but random effects often target centralization and bring the country towards a decentralized setting, forcing the player to spend preciously rare setting changes to maintain centralization. Only once per decade are you allowed to meddle with your policies, and each time at the cost of one stability point.

The economy view

Centers of Trade and their areas of influence

I just expanded my trade

Stability ranges from –3 to +3, +3 being the best you can get. With a +3 stability, your taxmen work at their best and your people are less likely to revolt. However, should stability drop, it needs to be raised through investment in the budget window, taking away resources better spent on technologies. Declarations of war, changes in State Religion and random events all hit Stability quite hard. Large, religious and culturally diverse nations are very expensive to raise stability for – yet another reason to avoid warmongering.

Missionaries, treaties, religions

The 16th and 17th centuries were a time of great religious upheaval – the rise of Protestants and Reformists and great religious wars. Provinces will automatically change religion based upon historical settings, and countries may change their official religion if it is historically plausible. Why change from good-old, safe Catholicism? Well, if your entire country is already Protestant (a la Sweden), then Stability is as good a reason as any. If you have colonial ambitions, Protestants are immune to the vile Papal decrees in the Treaty of Tordesillas, which allows Spain and Portugal to attack any other Catholic nation’s colonial possessions without a declaration of war or diplomatic penalty. Protestants also get 25 ducats per province at the time of conversion (from the sale of Church property) as well as technology and military bonuses. The huge hit in stability during the time of change, as well as dramatically worsened relations with Catholic neighbors, and some other penalties may discourage players from the switch, however.

The East is just so war-torn

See, even I can edit text files to cheat :D

How are the Timurids still around? Grrr...

Don’t enjoy having four separate faiths in your nation? Despise the problems with revolutionaries and taxation it causes? Not to worry – just send a missionary. Unlike Europa Universalis, you do not (indeed, cannot) depopulate a province to below 5000 inhabitants through constant war with infidels, then send a colonist to convert them. No, now you have to expend many ducats with relatively low chances of success (often in the 20-30% range) to attempt a conversion, which may last five, six or more years.