Europa Universalis IV

[Speedy Cerviche]

Seen a lot of stuff on the forums about AI not reacting well with armies during war, not organizing them well. Makes the warfare element way too easy for me. But I have played A LOT of Paradox games and know the AI logic too well so these kinds of bugs probably just bother me more than most people.

[Ceryse]

This is pretty much my go-to game in-between (and often during) my playthroughs of anything else. I'm a sucker for it. I especially tend to end up as Russia curb-stomping the world because it is just fun to paint the world green and consider how utterly more fucked it would make the modern world.

[Teleku]

Seen a lot of stuff on the forums about AI not reacting well with armies during war, not organizing them well. Makes the warfare element way too easy for me. But I have played A LOT of Paradox games and know the AI logic too well so these kinds of bugs probably just bother me more than most people.

Hmm, guess I just don't "see the code" or something.  I always struggle to win battles in this game, even when I have larger armies.  The AI compared to the previous games has become god damned vicious.  Get into a fight with a much smaller army, but that prompts every army across your opponents empire to drop what ever the fuck they are doing to stream towards the fight.  And his side always just seems to hold out just long enough for the next wave of reinforcements, then the next, next, until he has a huge army that crushes yours at the very end of the day.  Also, leave any gaps in your line and the AI sends shit rampaging around insta-killing any smaller armies you left to siege provinces while you moved the main bulk of your forces inland more.

Not say they don't exist, just that the AI in this game is miles above any of the previous three games, and gives me a run for my money.  Which is probably more indicative of how shitty I am, but I still appreciate the challenge it provides me.  I loved EU2, but I got so good at that after awhile, any play-through was a walk in the park even starting as some one province nation in the middle of nowhere.  Don't see myself ever getting to that point in this game.  I had to restart about 12 Hansa campaigns on Ironman after getting totally crushed at different points in history, before I managed a winning game.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Yeah Hansa you're going to lose battles pretty reliably unless you pick like 3 military ideas that provide positive fighting modifiers, and even that probably won't give you an advantage, just will just work towards evening things up. Hansa no national military ideas & traditions, whereas nearby major nations like Sweden, France, Poland, Brandenburg/Prussia, Austria have some. Not only that but most of these are "lucky" nations so will have better generals which can make a huge difference. Ontop of that the terrain around there doesn't help you much for defending, maybe a couple of forested provinces that's it. No mountains or hills. So you're going to get clobbered in most straight up battles. So you would have to be very careful and pick your battles, attack small stacks with overwhelming force only if you know you can route it quickly and no chance of reinforcements reaching in time. Otherwise keep your army together in your best defensive position and use your assumed larger navy to hurt them with blockades while things play out. You do have a lot of money, and should be hiring a lot of mercs to give you a numerical advantage and bounce back quickly from any losses.

[Teleku]

Yeah, I worked it out, mainly by making smart alliance decisions and declaring wars on the right nations at just the right time (major allies all tied up in other wars, or they themselves are having the shit kicked out of somebody else), and using my huuuuuuuuge amount of money to my advantage (mercs are certainly helpful).

I should add though, its not just Hansa.  I've struggled hard with any non-major countries, like Bohemia, Argon, and Teutonic Order/Prussia.  The AI is just really damn good, and they always seem to force me into fights where they are defending good ground, and I can never pull off the same.  Great challenge though, AI seems way better than previous versions.

[Falconeer]

Anyone knows how's the multiplayer works here? I know a host is needed and people can drop in and out (except the host) at any time, but since I can't foresee games being over in one sitting, is there any way to save a game and resume it later? Also, is there a timer on player actions? Anyone have any experience with the MP?

[Ceryse]

Anyone knows how's the multiplayer works here? I know a host is needed and people can drop in and out (except the host) at any time, but since I can't foresee games being over in one sitting, is there any way to save a game and resume it later? Also, is there a timer on player actions? Anyone have any experience with the MP?

You can save games, yes. Also, when picking up a save you can swap countries if, for example, one player got stomped out of existence they aren't stuck playing a rump state or having to sit out.

There are no timers because it is real time with a speed selector (1-5, with 1 being very slow; in multiplayer the speed settings are generally on 2 or 3, but almost never higher than that due to the need for control and syncing issues). You can, of course, still pause if need be (many do for things like peace deals or when a flood of pop ups hit). The multiplayer stability is decent, but not perfect. A lot better than the stability in Crusader Kings 2, though.