Important terms and factors | Administration EU IV Guide

There are many elements in the game that overlap and determine a strong, healthy empire. A big country with a big army is not an indicator of welfare and safety. This is decided by many other factors, which it is good to know, and whose existence and gravity a "regular" player may not realize to the full extent.

Prestige

Prestige represents your reputation and respect in the country, and in the world. It ranges between -100 and +100. In general, you want to have as much of it as possible but, not necessarily at any price so, it is not the thing that you should be too bothered with. Still, prestige has immense bearing on your relationships with the other countries and their willingness to cooperate. So, if you are planning on entering into an alliance with a country that is not too interested in that, you should consider employing an Advisor who will increase your prestige and reinforce your attempts. Apart from Advisors, your prestige is also increased by victorious battles and wars, as well as thanks to ideas. Also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire wins prestige points. Higher and higher with each emperor from the same country.

With 100 o prestige, you receive the following bonuses:

• Global Trade Power +15%
• Morale of Armies +0,5
• Morale of Navies +0,5
• National Spy Defense +10%
• Mercenary Cost -33%
• Fort Defense +10%
• +1 legitimacy, per annum
• +1 influence on the papacy, per annum
• 100% Better Relations Over Time.

With prestige at the level of 50%, you receive a half of the above list. With zero, you receive nothing and with negative prestige, you receive negative counterparts of the above. Maintaining prestige at the highest possible level is quite difficult. The basic annual loss to the current prestige is 5% (with negative prestige, you receive the base +5%). You also lose 0.3 prestige a year, per each Core province within the boundaries of an enemy state. Of course, also in the case of a lost battle, or war you also lose your prestige. Often you will have to decide whether it is better for you to lose your prestige, or go to war. Often, these are going wars that you cannot handle or, simply, they would be completely nonsensical so, you will have to live with losing your prestige points. To the extent it is possible, try and keep your prestige high but, not at any cost to avoid getting into more trouble.

Stability

Stability has been improved considerably, in comparison with the third Europa. First of all, stability does not depend on economy and finances anymore. The slide for spending money, to keep it high, already disappeared from the budget window. What you now spend on that, is the Monarch Power and, more precisely, the administration points. Once again, the tendency to make your country's welfare dependant on the king's skills, becomes apparent. Administration points spent on stability are not going to be, after all, spent on the development of technologies. With the deficiency of the Monarch Power, it is a good idea to consider improving it. The base cost of the stability improvement is 100 administration points. This price is influenced by the following factors:

• +50% if your stability level is 1
• +100% if your stability level is 2
• +1 Overextension%. Half of the Overextension is the additional percentage of costs.
• +lack of religious unity %. The principle to calculate the percentage is 100 - the current religious unity level. For example, for the unity of 75% the stability cost is higher by additional 25%
• -5% if you control the Papal Curia

Stability itself ranges -3 and +3. The effect of stability on the country is as follows:

For one positive point (the effects cumulate by up to x3 on the +3rd stability level):

• Revolt risk -1
• Interest per annum +10%
• Missionary Strength 0,5%
• Global Trade Power +1%
• National Spy Defense +5%

For one negative point (the effects cumulate by up to x3 on the -3rd stability level):

• Revolt risk +2
• Interest per annum +1
• Annual Legitimacy -1
• Global Trade Power -1%
• National Spy Defense -5%

So, as you can see, stability is an immensely important element with its influence on the development of the country. Additional 30% to profits from taxes is a considerable cash injection for your economy. On the other hand, additional +6 to the Global Revolt Risk...-3 legitimacy, which is going to increase the risk even more, can ruin even the best of economies in no time at all, and that is what you want to avoid at any price. Avoid the excess Overextension and lack of religious unity. Never attack without any justification of your actions! Play with slowly and reasonably. Seize a province and turn it into a Core. Then, convert the infidels. Only after that, take to conquering further lands.

The stability is best if it does not exceed 2. First of all, it is expensive. Secondly, the increase in stability can often be achieved as a result of missions or (more rarely) events. If you receive an additional stability point when you already have +3, it will go down the gutter. Finally, the game has the tendency for quick decreasing of maximum stability. If you reach the fabled +3, within several months, you are bound to receive an event or heir's death. That is why, you should strive to keep stability at +2, and reach +3 by completing missions. Still, if you need administration points elsewhere, and the condition of the country is relatively stable, you can easily play with stability at the level of 1, or even 0. Negative stability should be made up, to the extent it is possible, as fast as you can.

Core Provinces

The hatched regions are the exterritorial core provinces.

The so called Cores. Provinces perceived as integral parts of the country that you have the indelible right for. You receive an automatic casus belli against each country, within whose boundaries, there are your core provinces. As you will be conquering everything, soon you will learn the hard way that foreign provinces, within a country, are not a good solution, due to the high revolt risk, low tax income and increasing overextension (with more expensive stability to follow). In general terms, this is a curb that prevents the player from conquering the entire globe. Still, each province can be cored but, the larger the country, the longer the process.

The base time for the establishment of a core province is 3 years. The price, expressed in the administrative MP depends on the taxes in the province in question - 20 points per 1 ducat of taxes, if the province is not occupied by an accepted culture. The cost is additionally higher if you are exhausted from the war - war exhaustion X3 (e.g. exhaustion = 5 = 15% to the price). Additionally, some of the provinces have the additional Local Nobility modifier, from the Aristocratic idea, which increase the price by 100%.

The base three years to core a province can be modified by two factors. Firstly, each province owned by you on the same continent (+5% per province) and for Adaptability on diplomatic ideas, which decreases the time by 25%.

The situation is different in case of colonies. You can conquer these straight away and their cost is only 10% of the regular price. So, if you want a sprawling country, and avoid problems with overextension, you should immediately set on to colonization. Be fast about it to beat the others to it.

You can always core all of the provinces that are subject to your rule. The only exception here is the situation in which you want to gain a core in a province already cored by another country, that you are currently at war with. In such a situation, you will be able to start only after you sign the peace treaty. In general, you always want to have all of your provinces cored but, you should core the rich provinces first as well as the ones that bear the highest risk of losing in the forthcoming war, which will provide you with casus belli. If you want your country to be big, the adaptability is a must so, make a wise choice of the idea.

Just like it can be gained, core can also be lost in a given province. It may be one of the conditions of peace. Furthermore, core disappears after 50 years if a war between the country that owns the province, and the country that claims right to it, is not waged. If the war actually takes place(even if you lose it) the core is automatically extended for another 50 years. As you can see, sometimes it pays off to go for a war, even if you are too weak to defeat the enemy, and only if you want to extend coring and casus belli, just to increase your numbers and defeat the enemy several years later.

The only exception to the above is a province whose culture is the same as the country's main culture. In such a case, core never expires. The purpose of this is to enable the countries, which disappear from the map, to be reborn after one or two hundred years.

Overextension

Overextension is a growth that is too extensive. It is another restriction o those who aspire to conquer the entire world, and it is directly connected with the core provinces. Each province, which is not a core, will provide a specific percent of OE calculated as follows: 1 tax ducat= 4% overextension. So, a province with the tax of 5 ducats gives 20%. Again, colonies are the only exception here, because they do not yield OE, provided they are not occupied by your culture.

The higher OE brings about the following:

• Revolt risk higher by a half of your current OE (10% = +0,5 t to revolt, 20% = +1 etc.)
• The stability cost higher, in percents, by a half of your current OE (10% = 5% more expensive, 20% = 10% more expensive etc.)
• Foreign merchant compete chance lower by OE percent (10% = 10%, 20% = 20% itd.) Mercenary cost higher, in percents, by a half of the current OE (10% = 5% more expensive, 20% = 10% more expensive etc.)
• Diplomatic reputation lower by a 1/5 of the current OE (10% = -0,20, 20% = -0,40 etc.)
• Papal Influence lower by 1/5 of the current OE (10% = -0,20, 20% = -0,40 etc.)
• Relation Over Time lower, in percents, by 1 of the current OE (10% = -2,5%, 20% = -5% etc.)

Furthermore, heightened OE will have an adverse effect on your neighbors. This will result in more frequent wars and, which is even worse, entering coalitions. Overextension also hes negative bearing on the citizens of the country. The maximum, acceptable OE is 100%. Above this value, you will be regularly nagged at by events with revolts on a massive scale, throughout the entire country, the loss of stability effectiveness of commerce etc. A bit above 100% or 150% it is not that bat, though (events occurring every, more or less, year). With 200%, and especially 250 it goes crazy enough to make you want dump your screen out of the window.

It is easy to guess that excessive overextension is something that you want to avoid like fire. You bring it down by creating cores (start with the richest provinces, of course), which you create with your administrative MP points. So, once again, the game's mechanics come full circle which reveals the connection between a well-prospering country and a good ruler. If necessary, you should free vassals to decrease OE. You may be thinking that with a strong army you can suppress all revolts but, it is a very short-sighted solution. Surely, at first you will face no problems with that, but soon enough, your Manpower will start to plummet abruptly, and an unexpected war with a coalition may quickly bring you down with a hard landing. The history of our country, with the Cossack uprisings should serve as the best example here. Never exceed 170% OE.

Technological groups and westernization

Depending on its geographic situation, each country belongs to a specific technological group. This determines the cost of technologies, the increase in Monarch Power and the level of the starting technology. Of course, the more advanced the technological group, the easier the game. A beginner player should stay away from backwards countries.

	Western - France, Spain, etc.: Technology cost - 100% Monarch Power - 3 Starting Technology Level- 3
	Eastern - Poland, Russia, etc.: Technology cost - 120% Monarch Power - 3 Starting Technology Level- 3
	Ottoman - Turkey: Technology cost - 125% Monarch Power - 3 Starting Technology Level- 3
	Muslim - Persia, Tunisia etc.: Technology cost - 145% Monarch Power - 3 Starting Technology Level- 3
	Indian - Nepal, Mysore etc.: Technology cost - 150% Monarch Power - 2 Starting Technology Level- 3
	Chinese - China, Japan etc.: Technology cost - 160% Monarch Power - 2 Starting Technology Level- 2
	Nomad - Mongolia, Golden Horde etc.: Technology cost - 175% Monarch Power - 2 Starting Technology Level- 3
	Sub-Saharan - Ethiopia, Congo etc.: Technology cost - 200% Monarch Power - 1 Starting Technology Level- 1
	New World - Aztecs, Mayas etc.: Technology cost - 250% Monarch Power - 1 Starting Technology Level- 0

As you can see, with the game started in 1444, there are no starting differences between the four leading groups. With the passage of time, the technological collapse will increase on a regular basis. That is why, there is a special option of westernization.

Westernization is a process of merging a worse technological group with the Latin world of the Western Europe. This is the only reasonable way in which backwards countries can coexist with the European powers. You initiate westernization by clicking the appropriate option but, there are two conditions that need to be met. Firstly, your core province needs to border a core province of the Latin world, which is ahead by, at least 8 levels of technology, and also you need to have +3 stability. The pace of westernization depends on your current stability, where one positive point = 1% of westernization per month. After the process, stability will fall to -3, which means that you will first need to gain +1, at least, to progress the slightest bit. At the same time, all Monarch Power will fall to -100 and the cost to improve stability will rise by 200%. Additionally, throughout the entire process of westernization, you will have to face the occurrence of events of revolting people, which will often end up in rebellions, the drop in stability or the loss of prestige. In other words, westernization is a very tough job and you need to realize very well what you are up to, well before you start it. IT is a good idea to calculate how much time it will take to reach positive stability (of course, there is always the risk of negative events so, you should take that into account also). Make sure that your army is large enough (not too large though, because negative stability will have adverse effect on your finances and it may turn out that maintaining a large army runs you into debts). You should first wait for a ruler with high administration and high legitimacy. It is also a good strategy to withhold decisions, or quick missions, which will increase stability, and enact them/perform them right after you start the process. Before you start westernization, do not forget to spend all your Monarch Power points, or else they will go down the drain.

The decision to westernize is a serious enterprise and you need to be sure that this will pay out. For example, while playing Poland, this will, probably, do more harm than it will do good. With a normal game, you probably will not lag behind, with technological development, more than 3-6 levels, which means that you would have to halt the country' development on purpose. Later on, this would be too difficult to make up for, not to mention the other negative aspects ofthis process. With Turks and Slavs, it generally pays off to westernize only if you will be able to reach positive stability. E.g. with the Russian Czarism, you will be able to make a secision of the building of Sankt-Petersburg, which will provide +3 stability, i.e. will allow you to reach level 0 straight away, after you start westernization and will speed up the process. On the other hand, in the case of primitive countries, it is the only chance for survival and should be the primary objective that you will be attempting to reach. It is also good to remember that westernization provides Heathens with the opportunity to accept Christianity, which will withdraw automatically, casus belli from the European countries, with Heathens so, it will provide Heathens with safety.