Elaborate? IIRC the strategy for Spain is to PU + inherit Aragon and then get corezzzz right? Or is it only w/in the HRE that you get cores for inheriting PUs? (or is force integrating something else?)

Also, worth mentioning that if the PU is broken due to negative relations you get a CB on the country to reinstate it.

Downloading and taking a look at your savefile now

You get cores on any province in your culture group that you inherit. So forcing a PU on aragon and then waiting to inherit is a solid strategy. However if you integrate the PU using the integrate option, you get no cores.

For Personal Unions once you have them basically just keep your relations with them high and wait to inherit them. Naturally inheriting them is better then forcing them to Integrate.

Otherwise just some minor things, some I'm sure you were planning on doing anyway:

- The National Decision you have you might as well take. +1 Narrowminded, +1 Serfdom, -3 infamy limit, -6% stability costs.
- Get rid of the Legitimancy advisor since you are at 92%. A better option for France, since you have a ton of targets for royal marriages, is too just get a bunch of Royal Marriages to raise legitimancy. Each marriage is +.5% legitimacy per year.
- You can do away with the revolt risk advisor too. He isn't having much of an effect on anything. Plus you have a huge army that can easily deal with any rebels.
- Your land tech is currently 4 years ahead so you might as well research something else until then.
- Hire a Statesman in one of the vacant advisor slots and then you can enact the 'Pass Dissolution Act' national decision. Free Subjects +1, -3 Infamy, -1% revolt risk, -3% production efficiency.
- Send a couple missionaries to convert Trent & Verona
- In general the National Conscripts (+50% manpower) national idea is better than Glorious Arms (+100% prestige from battles) but since your France and have a huge manpower pool anyway its not a big deal.
- Sliders look good. Moves towards Free Subjects, Land, Free Trade are probably your best options.

I didn't even know integration is an option. Is that like diploannexing?

Ya, its an option after 50 years in a PU iirc, you can diploannex them using integrate option

Also, Glorious Arms def blows

Best NIs imo

1) Drill (by far the best and most important first NI for 99% of countries, falls off mid game as natural morale goes up so high)

2) National Trade Policy (trade op, super strong for establishing early trade dominance, huge income boost, strong all game)

First Idea should be drill or national trade policy basically every game with any country

Next tier is Conscripts (free manpower? Yes plz)
Shrewd commerce (trade op)
QFTNW (if you colonizing obv)

Other good ones are more specialized ones that are clearly a tier below:
church attendance is great for faster stab recovery and amazing for conversions, modernizing and gilded iconography decision, but if you are at stab 3 is wasted.
National Bank is decent but seems like a waste unless you are minting a TON since you can just use a 5-6 star master of mint advisor
The naval ones if u need to be naval power
Colonial ventures or w/e the +1 colonists/year one is, if you need rapid fast colonies
Viceroys if you have hudge colonial empire
+spies NI if you are playing multi, use spies, and are free trade and not plutocracy
Land tradition one is decent too

Obv the ones that require high level in govt/land/etc are all awesome but i/we never get to those

Smithian Economics what uuuuuuuuuup

The Milanese Court is disturbed at how the eagerly the ostensibly freedom loving nations of The Hansa and France partition sovereign god-fearing nations between themselves. Surely the Almighty looks with disfavor upon these actions.

Allah is cool with it

I loled

Said the one annexing the pope btw...

And the Visconti Dynasty has since perished. One would hope the Almighty is as merciful with you

Hey, that sounds like fun. Ferdinand II cordially invites the new alliance members to a party in the land of the Wien. It's a pretty fun place. I don't know if you've taken a look at the savegame from Austria's perspective, but our nobles are a riot.

If anyone wants to check out my save and give me tips, I'd appreciate it: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FRKUMXHR

I haven't played since Sunday, map should be the same as the one I posted a couple pages back.

Understood. The black crow circles Lombardia at midnight.

I'll check it out at work if I get a chance.

Hansa already took a trip to Wien last session but we'd love to return! The Austrian women were very... accommodating.

I have something to do on saturday around 1:30 PM ( game time, no idea what timezone you dudes use... ), so could we please start on time?

I'll be there. 11? 10:30?

- Royal Marriages to get Legitimacy up but since your new king just came to power 5 months ago I assume you would have anyway.

- Get rid of the National Tax modifier advisor, you already have a huge income so 6% isn't a big deal. Go for a tech advisor or maybe a +discipline or morale guy.

- Infamy advisor is good (I pretty much always have one of these) but he is useless as you have 0 Infamy. Either get some infamy or dump him for a different advisor.

- You have too much Cavalry. 80k infantry to 60k cavalry. You have your armies in 14k stacks. 10k Infantry to 4k cavalry is better than 8k:6k. You could probably go to 16k stacks too (or even 18k or 20k).

- I would also use the following troops since I'm guessing you are on the offensive more. Of course you're going to get new infantry at Land Tech 18 anyway:

Reformed Galloglaigh Troops
Chevauchee
Large Cast iron Cannon

over

Landsknechten Infantry
Latin Knights
Culverin

- Not a big deal but you are 1 over the Naval force limit. Austria is never going to be a naval power so anything but cogs to transport your troops in pretty much useless.

- You're only using half your land force limits but in singleplayer its not a big deal since you are the biggest military power around. You have over 4k ducats and a profit of 500 per year. Build up to the limit and crush everyone imo.

- I don't know what your plans are religion wise but you might as well take the 'Pass Act of Uniformity' religious decision, no downside. +.4 missionaries, -8% missionary cost.

- Sliders look good. Keep in mind each point over the little red markers is +1 revolt risk. I also generally prefer Quality over Quantity.

also lol at 1 province Netherlands in Brabant.

Do you switch advisors often? He's definitely clutch to have because of HRE mechanics, and while I don't have infamy right now I do acquire some in almost every war I fight, so I figure he's handy to have around. Do you switch advisors a lot?

Could you expand on why? Cavalry are more powerful than infantry, yeah?

I read in the manual that combat consists of an offensive attack by the attacking force in the morning of each day, and an offensive counterattack by the defending force at night, so I figured the offense versus defense tradeoff wasn't that important (since in x days of fighting, you'll have either x/x off/def combat simulations or x/x-1 if the battle ends on an offensive attack) - as such, I tried to pick troops that have the most well-balanced stats. Is my read on that stuff wrong?

Haha yeah, that was weird. Brabant was getting a little uppity and took some provinces they shouldn't have, so I went to liberate them and noticed that from the provinces I took, I could release Holland as a vassal, and then Netherlands, and they'd come up as separate countries. More imperial authority for me!

Thanks a lot for the tips.

Oh? The Austrian men must have been out. We hope you found something to occupy yourselves. Call next time; we'd love to be there to give you a proper welcome.

Just had another peek at what the AI has done to Great Britain. >.> I request a short period of 'leave-me-alone' time to recover from this mess and recover some of the colonies lost to rebels.

As requested, Great Britain will white peace with Vijayanagar and as a bonus will also renounce any claims to their former Indian territory. As the area seems to be the focus of many other countries' efforts, we shall abandon our colonial plans for the subcontinent. This will allow these countries their space to expand and show to the world that Great Britain is a reasonable Great Power.

Milan is pleased with England's descision to respect other nation's spheres of expansion in the far east and will endeavor to give the same respect in kind.

ORLY

Now we give a break for players that have been on AI control? Interesting.

And where exactly were you when others requested it?