How to create the Holy Roman Empire

[Fr3ddy]

I have been playing the game for a while now but I have never gotten to the point where it is possible to create the HRE please can anyone tell me the easiest way on how to create the HRE.

[SerjGAmoVeR]

Three easiest ways to create HRE:

Main goals for any nation:

Keep good relations with half of electors. Try to keep Italia provinces in HRE. Prevent ANY elector from beeing a Protestant. Add new provinces to HRE territory to get more points.

Good nations for this:

1. Austria. Best dip, good army, already an emperor
2. France. Good dip, good army, great territory, easy to be an emperor.
3. Brandenburg. Good army, HRE elector.

[Tulduil Iphukiir]

Originally posted by serjgavrilyuk:

[...]
Add new provinces to HRE territory to get more points.
[...]

However, add provinces only if you can directly use the IA. You completely waste IA if you add three provinces and then loose the Authority because of Heretic Princes/Provinces held by non-members/...

Having 0 IA has no penalties! This is not the Empire of China where 0 Mandate ruins your nation.
High IA does exactly two things:
- It makes members more likely to vote for Reforms (just add 50 provinces (or less, depending on IA gain modifier) directly before passing a Reform, the additional 50 IA should make the majority agree)
- Small election bonus towards the current Emperor (if you play a serious HRE game and rely only on this to be re-elected something is wrong)

It is always helpful to have some provinces ready to be added for the small diplomatic actions (Bestow Grace, Diplo-force religion, revoke Free City, ...)


Other tips in no special order:
- Only demand Unlawful territory back if it adds an OPM back on the map (or if you can make a non-member cede an Imperial province (France/Denmark/Poland).
- Your most important modifier is probably Diplomatic Reputation
- Influence Ideas are a good first choice (+Dip Rep, -AE, ...)
- If you plan a Catholic Empire Religious Ideas are a good second group (also helpful for a Protestant Empire)
- Remember that there is no "Reformed Empire". Reformed nations (and all other Christians) can only be Electors/Emperor if the League War ended with the Peace of Westphalia
- After you conquered the Shadow Kingdom provinces from Venice and Papal States (Rome should come in the last war) pass the Decision which adds all provinces to the Empire (also adding uncored Rome), then wait for the event to release the Papal States. The Pope is now a member.
- Pass Ewiger Landfriede only when you are sure you don't need more HRE provinces for yourself (Centers of Trade etc).
- Good external allies are those who don't border the HRE (mainly Castile/Aragon/Spain, Muskovy/Russia, maybe independent Sweden (not counting special cases like Hungary for Austria or an early Poland alliance as Brandenburg)
- ...