Victoria II

[Jim Smitty]

first get heart of darkness. Vic2 is under the old model where you need all the expansions to get all the patches and such. Second welcome to rebel he'll where sometime literally all you can do is fight them.

Isn't heart of darkness the one where China can make more hand made goods and swamps the global economy to make it where you can't build factories? As I been I didn't buy it because I heard that.

This is reminding me why I never played as a European nation before as Great Wars aren't enjoyable because of rebel hell. At least as America I can fight with allies and keep the bulk of my amries on the homefront to deal with rebels. But as Germany I just can't. Its basically get it done before 1870 or your fucked unless you are picking on non-civilized/partly westerned nations.

 

[Admiral Halsey]

China is only a problem if they civilized. Something the AI isn't normally capable of doing. But that's a problem for any version when it happens really. Also one good tip is wait on social reforms until just before the rebels are about to fire then pass it. That normally calms them down and even if they do fire since militancy gets knocked down passing a reform they tend to disband themsevles within a few months.

 

[Larus Marinus]

Germany is capable of winning great wars without even deploying troops abroad in the initial stages of the war. My usual strategy is to wait for the enemy to invade, crush their armies, and then swarm their now undefended borders. Works like a charm, and lets you deal with rebels in relative peace to boot.

 

[Admiral Halsey]

I tend to build max level gotta along my borders as well as a state deep as Germany but normally leave the interior without. If my core is getting invaded by the enemy then I've lost the war.

 

[Larus Marinus]

Chances are that the idiot AI is mostly going to be relying on conscripts, meaning armies largely comprised of mass infantry with little to no support. A few 60k stacks with decent unit compositions can smash them to pieces with little to no losses.

The only thing Germany really needs to fear in the entire game is the Royal Navy, as blockade war score is bullshit and can lose you the war even if you're occupying the entire continent.

 

[Admiral Halsey]

It's not that hard one you unite Germany to easily beat the other navies. They tend not to get rid of old ships so you have a entirely modern fleet while the RN is still made up mainly of frigates and ships-of-the-line. Now admittedly after you sink them the modernize but at that point it's to late.

 

[Luminous]

Isn't heart of darkness the one where China can make more hand made goods and swamps the global economy to make it where you can't build factories? As I been I didn't buy it because I heard that.

This is reminding me why I never played as a European nation before as Great Wars aren't enjoyable because of rebel hell. At least as America I can fight with allies and keep the bulk of my amries on the homefront to deal with rebels. But as Germany I just can't. Its basically get it done before 1870 or your fucked unless you are picking on non-civilized/partly westerned nations.

I've not had that issue ever with Heart of Darkness at all. Not quite sure where you've heard that.

As for your rebel issues, there are a few things that can be done to help. One: let your enemies deal with them. Say, if you're Germany with capital in Berlin, focus on your eastern front and let France battle with any rebels. redirect your forces elsewhere and take out the rebels first that are out of the way.

Another good one is to have an extremely oversized army just for rebel stomping, and to never use it in offensive wars so it will always be available to knock out rebel stacks, especially on critical provinces for warproduction. That way there's no bringing back frontline armies to stomp rebels.

One thing that may help out is if you create a large puppet that is contiguous with your country, and that may provide you with sizable armies. Let's look at a Greater Germany:there are quite a few potential puppets. Switzerland, Venice, Hungary,etc. Having one of those, especially one that is a secondary power, can help. You don't have to bring your alliesto the war, butso long asthey are contiguous to your country they tend to be good at helping with rebels. Though Hungary with all of its borders is a big risk of becoming a Great Power. That happened with my last greater Germany game. In the end, don't call them into the war, and they won't be fighting the troops involved in the war, so they can help you so long as their armies are large enough. Just make sure the vassal isn't to strong to risk Great Power Status.

EDIT:Tomakethat last bit clear... Make a country your puppet. Make sure it is contiguous with you. And then don't call it into wars, at least not at first. It will help you hunt down rebel armies, and it will also provide your troops safe haven.

 

[Tiro]

I have tried to kick start this great war three times now.

It never ceases to trouble me that the Great War is something a player will actually work to bring on rather than something they will strive to avoid; VICTORIA really does need something to make peacetime as entertaining as Imperialism and Militarism (something that allows one to simulate the experience of life as a courtier or partizan politician during the "Long Nineteenth" Century - duels, divorces, a double life and so forth* - in the same way Crusader Kings allows one to experience something of life at the head of a Medieval Dynasty).

*Not to mention more everyday essentials such as raising a family, party conventions, social debuts, scandals and so forth!

 

[Larus Marinus]

I suppose it's harder to implement something like that in Victoria 2, where you're playing as an ambiguous shadow emperor rather than a defined character like in Crusader Kings and (to a much lesser extent) Europa Universalis. Personally I enjoy micromanaging industry, so I usually have plenty to do during peace time, but I guess that's not everybody's cup of tea.

 

[Helios Ra]

Many years ago we had a pretty fun Victoria I multiplayer campaign. Prussia, Sardinia-Piedmont, Japan, and maybe the USA. We dismantled France, Eastern Europe, Russia, and divied up the Middle East and Africa. The alliance fell apart and there were two brutal German-Italian wars. It was a great time, I can’t remember who else played. Would anyone be interested in an AH.com Victoria II campaign?

 

[CaekDaemon]

Found something in one of my more recent games that'll amuse people and which I just posted on the subreddit

Quoting my post from there:

So I was rummaging through my screenshot folder when I found this thing, and holy smokes. This was with the PDM, and after some fucky-fucky gameplay as Austria I had managed to form Grossdeutchland very, very early on in the game (a game where a ton of wierd stuff happened, like the independent and unified Ireland in *855) with a Reactionary government I was using for that juicy state capitalism, which is absolutely positively broken if you just feel like abusing game mechanics. Anyway, the German reactionaries come with the Jingoist trait, which can occasionally fire events like this one, which usually gives you acquire state casus belli on a small surrounding nations, maybe a full conquest one if they're a one state minor.

Only this time, for some reason, the event gave me a full Conquest casus belli on the Russian Empire. Not an acquire state one. A conquest one for full annexation.

 

[Ephraim Ben Raphael]

Found something in one of my more recent games that'll amuse people and which I just posted on the subreddit

Quoting my post from there:

How do you form Germany as Austria in PDM? I thought it was impossible.

 

[Md139115]

Found something in one of my more recent games that'll amuse people and which I just posted on the subreddit

Quoting my post from there:

“I say that Europe and Asia are meaningless terms created by small-minded men to feel important! A quick glance at any map will show that it is all Eurasia! One continent from Lisbon to Shanghai! AND BY G-D, THE WHOLE CONTINENT MUST BE UNITED BY THE GERMAN PEOPLE!!!!!”

 

[Larus Marinus]

@CaekDaemon Did you actually conquer the Russian Empire in the end? Because that would make this even funnier than it already is. It certainly seems like it would have been doable given your army list to the side there.

 

[CaekDaemon]

How do you form Germany as Austria in PDM? I thought it was impossible.

It may not be possible in the latest version, but it was definitely doable back then as you could become the South German Confederation, blow Prussia out the great-powers and sphere them and then take out France for Alsace-Lorraine and then form Germany as usual. Hungary didn't get released, and neither did any other part of the Austrian Empire...

@CaekDaemon Did you actually conquer the Russian Empire in the end? Because that would make this even funnier than it already is. It certainly seems like it would have been doable given your army list to the side there.

...and thus brought about Grossgrossdeutchland when the Russian Empire was completely annexed, finally giving Germany their long desired natural eastern border: the Pacific

 

[Lord Insane]

Last I checked it was still possible to form Germany as Austria in the last released versions. What may have been stopped was forming Germany while keeping the entire Austrian Empire.

 

[Larus Marinus]

All this recent thread activity has made me want to play the game again, but as usual I'm not sure which country to play. Does anyone have any fun playthrough ideas to suggest?

 

[Jim Smitty]

All this recent thread activity has made me want to play the game again, but as usual I'm not sure which country to play. Does anyone have any fun playthrough ideas to suggest?

Depends on what you want to do. I have done games as the US where I tried to take over all of North America with a sizable Asian colonial prestent. Done Prussia in an effort to united all German people and being the power to beat in Europe. Done France with the goal of coring North Africa. Take Japan and make her the top power in the world. Yet the games I never have fun with are the ones where I try to unite Italy. Hell I even had a game as the Swiss and made them a great power. Basically anything but Italy.

 

[Darth Revan]

Italy is great. Forming them is easy, and once you do you basically just need an alliance with Prussia for an “I win” button.

 

[Larus Marinus]

I've played most of the really "easy mode" countries like the US, Prussia/Germany, France and Japan extensively, so I'm looking for something a little different. Ideally it should be a country (eventually) capable of playing with the big kids in the top 4 without relying on German allies as a crutch.