EU IV "The waiting game?"

[forsakeNXE]

Hey there,

I am a HUGE TOTAL WAR FAN! :)

BUT

Rome runs like sh... you know :(

So i got EU IV even before that to try to bridge the time to the ROME II Release but i regularly found myself falling asleep and thats not some random rant to say "blah blah blah bad game".

Its just that i come from Starcraft II which is like high apm RTS game which neither EU IV nor TW is BUT in TW i do all my stuff click turn end, do all my stuff, click turn end. There is always something to do for me which i found EU IV quite lacking.

I never played any game of this series before but i read evrywhere "this game is Great, complex, deep, long etc." but as i tried to play it for a bit i just did not really know what i do like "day per day" i leterally found myself sitting there for months and months just fast forwarding waiting for my manpower to go up and accept or decline random events. Thats it! WTF? Is this game really just sooo much waiting? If so where is the complexity? Where is the whole depth? I think once you set your goal you just wait for stat X to reach Y and hope that no random Event Z comes in and delays that. Is that all?

I am really, really sorry, if this sounds like a bad rant or so but i am just soo.. i dont know.. disappointed? I e.g. also really LOVE X COM! ITS GREAT! hundreds of hours and still loving every second of impossible ironman :) I really like challenge but the long downtimes and stuff just kinda feels odd and i think "well great now i have a screensaver for a bit" :/ which i hate myself for thinking but thats just reality.

Clearly with all the great feedback, critics and stuff some of you can explain my "day to day" life in EU IV to me or give me like an example of there playthrough maybe? Like:

Alright i started with France. First i fought of the english of my land. As this was not possible in the first few months i settled peace even if they still had france provinces. Then... etc.

Also I am a really, really, really active youtube watcher, lets play all that stuff.

I really liked quills playthorugh but once i play myself and dont kinda "RP" that stuff it really just gets boring which is very, very, very sad as i was so much hoping for a grand strategy game which is hard and has depth - again kinda like xcom :/ even though not the same genre it hit everything right for me.

So yeah...

PLEASE, please, please lead me to glory! :D

Thanks alot take care guys (:

[PFC Chamberlain]

Unless if your playing as someone like a North American tribe, you should be fairly busy. Odds are your not doing something you should be.

Anyway, it is a slower paced game, and things happen monthly at the fastest. If your wanting something quick and fun go play Total War some more (I love the series by the way) EU4 is a planning man's game. You have to come up with some long-term objectives (World conquest is in my opinion a sucky choice for this) and the steps to get there. Where do you want to be by 1500? Who nations do you want weak, and who do you want as an ally? Are you going to rush for colonies, or crank Mil-techs so you can dominate Europe? Then work your way slowly towards that goal.

There is nothing so satisfying as starting as someone weak, and through planning out achievable objectives, slowing becoming a Major power. (Or top dog if you start as someone like France)

Think of EU4 like minecraft. It doesn't tell you what to do. Its a sandbox, make your own fun.

By the way, if EU4 is not your thing I 100% understand. Everyone wants something different to pass the time. Good luck, and happy conquering!

P.S. Thanks for playing, but seriously don't compare this to Total War, its just troll feed at this point :)

[Shin]

The "day to day" depends on the player really. In my experience, the more skilled, the more to do. The less skilled the less to do. Skilled players just to use thier time doing a LOT of things.. checking ledgers, moving diplomats and merchants. Building, coring, converting... planning. Checking relations... colonizing. In late game, with really large Empires that span the continent you find yourself with a lot to do. I had a Mghals game where I would be fighting in China, defending in Arabia, managing my overextension (100%+), getting relations up with Russia and a whole lot more...

If you're an OPM or small... yeah it can be boring, because the game is rough on smaller nations, especially in Iron Man where the "Great Powers" get bonuses and the player, Great Power or not, doesn't.

EU4 is not every mans game. It simply isn't. Some people find staring at a map of "tokens" to be boring. Personally, I loved nation buildings since Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2 and Genghis Khan on NES. So, for me, it's fun. But it really depends on personal tastes.

[Bandit17]

It's a sandbox game meaning you need to interact with things for something to happen most of the time. Like others have said it's not an action oriented game at all and is filled with a slower scheming and planning type of gameplay. It's not a tactical game like TW's battles but a Strategy History Simulator that you are a part of and can change how the world ends up.

Like any game or genre EU4 is not for everyone. If single player is too slow for you I would try a mp match as playing with other humans is usually always a better time.

[Fafhrd81]

lol what speed are you playing at

[GoverningLaw]

During "wait periods" bump up the speed to max. Plan your next move, build, tech and manage relations. I'm playing Milan right now and I'm kinda boxed in by bigger powers and alliances. While I wait for a breakthrough moment I'm building up my base provinces for future endeavors.

Larger powers are more eventful in the beginning, but small nation are more rewarding. You just got to power through the early down time.