Is there a strategy guide for this game?

[D4everman]

I know i'll figure it out eventually but a guide sure would help.

I tried the tutorial again, and got into it farily well, but I have to "discover the marmeluks" and obviously they're far enough away that its going to be a hassle and take a looong time. Hey, I wanted to learn how to play, but its getting to be a second job. (however it seems I have no choice and it does get addicting. I forgot to eat last night playing the tutorial) I tried setting colonies up along coastlines to give my ships ports to rest in. Still its slow going.

So I got bored and started a game in the Grand Campaign. At first I tried England, but nothing really happened for awhile so I attacked Scotland. Big mistake. I wasn't ready for them at all when the retaliated. So I tried again with Spain. Granada attacked me so I fought back with them and took a province from them. Unfortunately i was so caught up in that fight I just halfmindedly agreed to an alliance with...well I don't even know! But they were at war with France and dragged me into it. France started attacking me and I didn't even know where! (I didn't use the Go to button with the message because I was trying to kick Granada's ass.)

Ouch. I gave up and figured I'd better learn more before trying a real game. So I ask again is there a Strat guide? Even an online one would be good, like Gamespot's AoK's guide. And yes, I have some more newbie questions.

What does that little bar at the bottom of a unit mean? strength? If so it must take a long time for units to heal...do they heal at all? Even myt ships in port don't seem to heal which leads me to...

What does the number mean by the unit? I'm not good with numbers and I'm kind of lost with that.

One mistake I think I make is being too rush rush. Do any of you experts agree. I'm used to Civ and Age of Kings where you have to constantyly be doing things. Considering the time frame of the game maybe I need to slow up, even in the tutorial. It might take another 20 or so years to find the marmeluks, but thats probably normal in this game.

Exactly how do you use diplomats and traders (traders aren't the same as merchants are they) and even though I haven't gotten any spies?

Any advice and answers will be greatly appreciated.

D4

[Imran Siddiqui]

https://www.europa-universalis.com

That website is the main site for the game. The forums are the best strat guide I ever had.

[Kyle]

What does that little bar at the bottom of a unit mean? strength? If so it must take a long time for units to heal...do they heal at all? Even myt ships in port don't seem to heal which leads me to...

The color is the morale of the army. Green is the highest your technology allows (Starts with Strong, goes to Very Strong, then Invincible later in the game). Yellow, orange (I think that's in there), then red show the decrease in morale. The length of the bar is the size of the army. The longer the bar, the bigger the army.

What does the number mean by the unit? I'm not good with numbers and I'm kind of lost with that.

For the units on the map, the approximate size of the army. Say you create an army of 4000 infantry. The unit will have a 4 under it. I'll assume that's what you meant.

One mistake I think I make is being too rush rush. Do any of you experts agree. I'm used to Civ and Age of Kings where you have to constantyly be doing things. Considering the time frame of the game maybe I need to slow up, even in the tutorial. It might take another 20 or so years to find the marmeluks, but thats probably normal in this game.

Yeah, this game can take up to two weeks to play or as little as two days, depending on the game speed you use. It takes a while to build your economy, your fortresses, promote officials, build armies. The first thing you should do at the beginning of the game is to promote your Baliffs. This will increase tax revenue. Right click a province and select the option.

And FYI, the Mamelukes are in northern Africa. I'll leave it for you to find exactly where.

Exactly how do you use diplomats and traders (traders aren't the same as merchants are they) and even though I haven't gotten any spies?

Diplomats are used for various diplomatic functions as seen in the Diplomacy Screen. This includes sending money, creating alliances, declaring war, etc. Above the map in the lower left hand corner there are three buttons for Diplomacy, Trade, and Colonization (not the map buttons).

Traders can be used manually or automatically. To send them automatically, hit the Trade button mentioned above or select a Center of Trade (looks like a bunch of crates on a provinces, example of one is in Ile de France or Novogorad). There's a button you can select to "Automate Traders." I've found them to work fairly well so until you can get a better hold of the game, they should work well for you.

Traders are probably refered to when you establish Trade Posts. Not really all that important, all you need to keep track of is number of colonists.