Recommended first start for a newbie to learn the game?

[Invest]

Hello

Can you recommend me a good start if I want to learn the game but I am horrible at it?

I thought maybe the Kingdom of England is good but maybe I am totally wrong and I should only have one province.

Thank you for your advice.

[Chompers]

England is on the easier side but you start with a bunch of provinces. A start I think some new players will like is Portugal since it's only 2 provinces and neighbors aren't super hostile. Being coastal is very beneficial and being catholic is arguably the easiest religion.

[Kryptan]

i would say norway make friends with sweden and its super easy just follow sweden in wars lol

[ShadowFox]

I'd suggest early age, scotland. Not many borders, a strong starting country and some single province kingdoms you can war with a bit without too much trouble

[-= Sk1F =-]

Start with the country of at least 8 provinces. Win & win.

[Iskar]

Originally posted by -= Sk1F =-:

Start with the country of at least 8 provinces. Win & win.

If he wants to learn the game, 8 provinces is too much. 2-4 is perfect as you can build and expand your provinces and your knowledge simultaneously. 8 provinces requires knowledge of the game to stabilise public order and possibly culture and religion across the realm at the very get-go.

[ShadowFox]

Originally posted by Iskar:

Originally posted by -= Sk1F =-:

Start with the country of at least 8 provinces. Win & win.

If he wants to learn the game, 8 provinces is too much. 2-4 is perfect as you can build and expand your provinces and your knowledge simultaneously. 8 provinces requires knowledge of the game to stabilise public order and possibly culture and religion across the realm at the very get-go.

I agree, I've got over 1000 hours in this game and I really don't like starting a game with a ton of provinces. zero judgment for those that prefer it but I like to start smaller and carve my way up in the world

[Judeo-communism]

England is actually very good if you choose 1110 AD because it starts with 9 provinces, which means 1 per Knight and makes easy for new players to manage. It also has a variety of small neighboring kingdoms that are ripe for war and conquest before needing to move in-land. It'll teach how to use Diplomacy and Spies effectively (if they're your playstyle). They also have 3 Elite Heavy units with Man at Arms, Feudal Knights and Longbowmen, with Longbowmen being the best unit in the game.

[stun]

best first start is probably 1360 ottomans. Eat the 1 province neighbours, make friends with the superpowers to your east, bully the christians
My first game was 1200s alania, it was eh, it was alright
big starts teach you bad habits like building economic infrastructure early rather than earning it through pillaging
If you want to make a start easier the main things to do are:
-set starting gold to high. This'll be more forgiving for you making bad purchases at the start.
-1 to 4 provinces
-if you're playing tactical battles, take a province/culture with something like steppe light archers or camel archers i.e. a strong cultural unit that can be recruited off the barracks. Jannisaries do everything for ottomans.
-avoid catholicism and to a lesser extent paganism like the plague (orthodox is the ideal for a new player because you can't be a crusade target)

[Emperor2000]

Originally posted by Chompers:

England is on the easier side but you start with a bunch of provinces. A start I think some new players will like is Portugal since it's only 2 provinces and neighbors aren't super hostile. Being coastal is very beneficial and being catholic is arguably the easiest religion.

Easiest Religion, yes, probably, but the only religion, which can cost you an entire Knight Slot.

The overpowered Religion in this Game is Orthodox, because you have 2 Knights, who learn their Skills at Level 3.

[Invest]

Okay so I have chosen England on easy at the earliest date and it went like this:

1. I thought maybe it's smart to make England bigger so I tried to take over Powys so I attacked it
2. France was angry so they attacked me (didn't know they like Powys so much)
3. I attacked France back and was able to push them away
4. Germany is always nagging I need to help them in their war with France even if I have my own problems
5. Next to all the fighting: My king is a spy and he tried to kill someone in Powys alone - Sadly he failed and got captured
6. I need to pay 2600 gold to Powys to let the king free but I only have 800
7. I approved to become a vasall to Powys in the hope they don't kill the king (I don't know exactly what this means but I think Powys is now my new boss and that's not cool)

[Varainger]

Amused reading

No idea what makes the AI decide to kill a prisoner.

On point 2, check status and relations between countries with the mapmodes inside the minimap. Someone you attacked that has contracts should decrease your relationship with these contract partners. Don't declare war on someone with whom you are in the green (relations).

On pojnt 4, you can and should ignore those demands, unless they give you an advantage.

[TangSuijin]

Originally posted by Invest:

Okay so I have chosen England on easy at the earliest date and it went like this:

1. I thought maybe it's smart to make England bigger so I tried to take over Powys so I attacked it
2. France was angry so they attacked me (didn't know they like Powys so much)
3. I attacked France back and was able to push them away
4. Germany is always nagging I need to help them in their war with France even if I have my own problems
5. Next to all the fighting: My king is a spy and he tried to kill someone in Powys alone - Sadly he failed and got captured
6. I need to pay 2600 gold to Powys to let the king free but I only have 800
7. I approved to become a vasall to Powys in the hope they don't kill the king (I don't know exactly what this means but I think Powys is now my new boss and that's not cool)

you need to use diplomats to run around improving relations.

to know which countries dislike you and consider you a threat, check ther tab under traditions. for war and general diplomacy. it will show you hostile factions which most likely will declare war on you. send diplomats to the bigger ones, or the better connected ones (better friends they have, the bigger the problem for you)

[DNLH]

To add to it, if France joined the war instead of declaring its own, then it could have been ended by destroying Powys (it would also release your king from their dungeon). Remember, while kingdoms on either side can sign individual peace (and you shouldn't unless absolutely necessary, because there are some consequences for noping out), if the conflict between main entities is resolved, hostilities cease immediately.

It's also worth remembering to try and provoke the war when you're both Christian, because attacking on your own will lead to angering the Pope and that in turn will anger all the Pope's buddies.

[Judeo-communism]

Every time you start a campaign, every country (especially those you share borders with) will have random "Relations" values. These Relations, in addition to what Culture each of your bordering Provinces are, greatly increase the chances of them declaring war on you first or joining other countries in their wars against you. It's a good idea to check their Relations at the start of a match to see how things look and prepare. You can use Diplomacy to improve the Relations early if needed, but England does not need it once you know the game as you can win any and all wars.

As others have stated, ending the war with the country that declared it on you will also end it with all their allies, your enemies. So finishing with Powys would've finished it with France, too. Becoming a country's Vassal means you lose a lot of Fame and pay a fairly sizable Gold income cost to them that scales. You definitely don't want to be a Vassal.