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This page deals with combat mechanics. For information on the recruitment and maintenance of armies see army. For the individual unit types see land units.



Land warfare is the deployment and maneuvering of military assets against an enemy, in most cases this results in combat between opposing armies. In EUIV most combat is land-based and, while the naval aspect of war holds importance, losing the land war is usually the main cause of defeat. The art of land warfare is therefore of significant importance, and its complexities are discussed here as fully as possible.

Combat interface [ edit ]

The conclusion to a normal land battle.

Combat is not only determined by mere numbers such as modifiers and dice-rolls, but through a complex simulation in which units deployed into two rows of positions for each side, allowing units to fight the enemy units in front of them, the enemies at their flanks if possible (with high enough flanking range), and move between different positions if needed. All the while, the system retreats destroyed or low-morale units and deploys reinforcements and reserves as well.

The combat system, while not being entirely obvious or intuitive, can be seen through the combat interface which allows the player to see which regiment is fighting which, and which is moving where.

Terrain [ edit ]

Terrain map. Border pixels belong to the province to their southeast.

Terrain for each province is shown in both the terrain and simple terrain mapmodes. Terrain shows a natural-looking map, while simple terrain color-codes each province by its terrain type; both have tooltips showing terrain type, fort level, and the current winter, if any. Some terrain imposes a movement speed penalty to armies traveling in the province in addition to a negative rough terrain modifier to the attacking army, with different types of terrain having different modifiers.

Here is a list of the types of terrain and the modifiers which they grant.

Terrain

Supply limit

Local defensiveness

Movement cost

Attacker penalty

Local development cost Glacial +2 +25% −1 +50% Farmlands +10 +10% −5% Forest +4 +25% −1 +20% Hills +5 +10% +40% −1 +25% Woods +6 +10% −1 +15% Mountain +4 +25% +50% −2 +35% Grasslands +8 Jungle +5 +50% −1 +35% Marsh +5 +30% −1 +25% Desert +4 +5% +50% Coastal Desert +4 +35% Coastline +6 +15% Drylands +7 +5% Highlands +6 +10% +40% −1 +20% Savannah +6 +15% Steppes +6 +20%

Crossing penalties [ edit ]

A crossing penalty that reduces all dice rolls is applied to the attacker under the following circumstances:

Crossing a river : −1 to all rolls. The presence of a river in between a province and its neighbors is indicated in the province window, through a small river icon. Mousing over this icon will show which neighboring provinces require a river to be crossed in order for an army to reach the province.

: to all rolls. Crossing a strait : −2 to all rolls. See straits for a list.

: to all rolls. See straits for a list. Amphibious landing: −2 to all rolls. This includes an attack from sea or a landing directly with ships at port.

For attackers that originate from multiple provinces, they will all receive the crossing penalty if any one of them would normally receive it alone. All crossing penalties are removed if the attacking leader has a higher maneuver rating than the defending leader. The check on leader maneuver rating is performed daily, so a high maneuver leader can still swing the tide of battle even if he joins an engagement late.

Battles in a province under siege [ edit ]

Normally, the "attacker" is defined as whichever side moves into a given province last, while the "defender" is whichever one was already occupying the area. However, if a given army is besieging a province that contains a fort and is attacked by troops owned by or allied with whoever currently controls the fort, the roles are switched: the siege army is treated as the "attackers," and those attempting to break the siege are the "defenders." Attacker penalties from terrain are applied to the siege army, while attacker penalties from river/strait crossings are nullified regardless of any leaders' Maneuver pips.

The player can take this into account when building forts, as well as when choosing which provinces to siege and which besieged provinces to prioritize sending their troops to. Also note that this only applies to provinces with forts.

If a sieging army wins a battle on a province where they're sieging, an immediate bonus siege tick is triggered. This does not reset the ticking down for the next siege tick.

Deployment [ edit ]

Army composition [ edit ]

To maximize the effectiveness of an army, a proper mixture of troops is important.

Combat width [ edit ]

Combat width determines how many units can actively participate in a battle at one time. For every 1 combat width, 1 additional regiment can be placed in the front and back rows, if sufficient troops are available. The base combat width is 15.[1] As military technology advances, a country's combat width increases, allowing them to use more soldiers effectively at once. All countries other than Native Americans start with tech level 2 or 3, so their starting combat width will be 20. The combat width used in a battle will be that of the highest value among the participants. Here is a table of combat width by military technology level.

Military technology level 0 2 5 6 9 11 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 Combat width 15 20 22 24 25 27 29 30 32 34 36 38 40

Unit deployment [ edit ]

The game uses an undocumented algorithm to automatically deploy land units on the battlefield for each side of the battle. Through observation and controlled experiments, the community has suggested a theory that the game seems to follow, dependent on the rough size and composition of each army.

For the smaller army [ edit ]

If there is not enough infantry to fill the entire first row, the game will prioritize to: Deploy all infantry in the first row. Deploy as much cavalry as possible to the sides of the first row. Deploy all artillery in the second row. If there are more units in the second row than the first, then it will redeploy artillery to the first row until both rows are even. If there is still space remaining in the second row, deploy all remaining cavalry onto the second row, beginning from the edge of the first row then inwards.







If there is enough infantry to fill the entire first row, the game will prioritize to: Deploy all infantry in first row, except for X [Unknown value] positions to each side. Deploy X units of cavalry on each side of the first row. Deploy all artillery on the second row. If space is left on the second row, deploy all remaining infantry in the second row next to the artillery, except for Y [Unknown value] positions to each side. Deploy all remaining cavalry in the second row, beginning from the edge and going inwards.



For the bigger army [ edit ]

For an army bigger than the combat width, the game will prioritize to:

Deploy all infantry in the first row that can be positioned to attack enemy units in the first row, except for X[Unknown value] positions to each side. Deploy all cavalry in the first row that can be positioned to attack the enemy units in the first row. Deploy all artillery in the second row. If space is left in the second row, deploy as much infantry in the second row besides the artillery as there are positions available behind the infantry in the first row. If space is left in the second row, deploy as much cavalry in the second row besides the infantry as there are positions available behind the cavalry in the first row.

The deployment of allied regiments within a multinational army is similarly undocumented. It can be observed that units belonging to the combat leader (e.g. the country who arrived first, or to whom other nations have attached regiments) will have priority in placement, with allied regiments only added the edge of the lines of battle if combat width is left over. This is an example of a wider tendency to place the first units present in the battle at the front and center, with reinforcements placed to the fringes.

Combat sequence [ edit ]

When two hostile armies meet in a province a battle will commence. A battle will last until one side is routed or annihilated.

Phases [ edit ]

Combat is divided into a series of 3-day phases. Phases alternate between Fire and Shock, with the Fire phase happening first.

Target selection [ edit ]

Units in the front row can attack any enemy unit within their horizontal flanking range. Normally they will only engage enemies that are directly ahead of themselves, but they can sometimes execute flanking attack regardless if it will be more effective at reducing the enemy's combat ability. This typically occurs if the unit is facing an enemy artillery regiment or a particularly outdated unit; in this case the unit may choose to attack the flanks of a stronger enemy unit nearby. Artillery are the only units that can attack from the back row, but they will only deal 50% damage from that position.

Pre-1.30 defender's advantage [ edit ]

Ingame tests have demonstrated that, before patch 1.30, the defender had an advantage caused by the targeting mechanics. This occurred when a frontline, or regiments therein, are replaced by reserve troops. The attacker's casualties are dealt to the retreating defending regiments, whereas the defender targets the reinforcing attacking regiments. In practice, the defender's advantage means that every reserve frontline of the defender allows the previous frontline to absorb an extra day of kill/morale casualties. This was fixed in 1.30, but will be present if the player rolls back to a previous version.

Dice roll [ edit ]

At the beginning of each phase, each side rolls a die. The result is used to determine the morale damage and casualties inflicted to the opponents each day in the three-day-phase.

The result is computed as following:

Dice roll ( ): Is a random number between 0–9, rolled for each entire side at the beginning of each phase (not each day).

): Is a random number between 0–9, rolled for each entire side at the beginning of each phase (not each day). Leader skill ( ): The leader skill for that phase (Fire or Shock Pips). Note that the leader skill bracket cannot be negative. For example: if your opponent's general has 3 fire pips & your general 6 fire pips, ceteris paribus, your general nets you 15 base casualties in the fire phase, whereas your opponent's general nets him 0, but not -15, base casualties during the fire phase.

): The leader skill for that phase (Fire or Shock Pips). Attacking unit attack pips ( ): The attack pips for the attacking unit for the current phase, or Morale pips if computing morale damage. Note all units attack during every phase---here "attack" does not refer to which army is attacking.

): The attack pips for the attacking unit for the current phase, or Morale pips if computing morale damage. Note all units attack during every phase---here "attack" does refer to which army is attacking. Defending unit defense pips: The corresponding defense pips for the defending unit.

Terrain modifiers ( ): Harsh terrain may give a penalty to the attacks of the attacking army (in this case "attack" refers to the attacking side).

Kill casualties [ edit ]

Each day, two casualties computations occur, one for actual casualties using units' fire or shock pips (depending on the day's phase) and a second for "morale casualties" (the casualties value used in the morale damage formula) using units' morale pips:

Base casualties ( ): Base casualties are determined by the dice result according to the following formula:

Attacking unit strength ( ): If the attacking unit has less than its maximum of 1000 men, damage will be reduced proportionally.

): If the attacking unit has less than its maximum of 1000 men, damage will be reduced proportionally. Attacking unit modifier ( ): Determined by unit type and military technology level and. See Technology#Cumulative mil tech effects to army.

): Determined by unit type and military technology level and. See Technology#Cumulative mil tech effects to army. Attacking unit phase modifier ( ): the fire or shock damage dealt modifiers. Note that these modifiers only impact the kill casualties but not the morale casualties.

): the fire or shock damage dealt modifiers. Note that these modifiers only impact the kill casualties but not the morale casualties. Attacking unit Combat Ability ( ): Any Combat Ability bonuses the attacking unit has.

): Any Combat Ability bonuses the attacking unit has. Attacking unit Discipline ( ): The Discipline of the attacking unit. Note that Discipline does also increase Military Tactics, so it increases defense indirectly.

): The Discipline of the attacking unit. Note that Discipline does also increase Military Tactics, so it increases defense indirectly. Defending unit Tactics ( ): The Tactics of the defending unit.

): The Tactics of the defending unit. War length damage modifier ( ): The casualties are increased by 1% per day the battle rages, starts at 1% extra casualties on day 1.

): The casualties are increased by 1% per day the battle rages, starts at 1% extra casualties on day 1. Defending unit phase modifiers ( ): Fire and shock damage reduction modifiers. Note that these modifiers only impact the kill casualties but not the morale casualties.

There are several unique national ideas which modify the amount of damage inflicted and received in both the fire and shock phases.

Ideas and conditions that increase fire damage dealt:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +15% — Alaskan idea 4: Bear Hunting — — +10% — Date idea 4: Dragon Corps

Dutch idea 7: Platoon Fire

English idea 5: Redcoats

Evenk idea 7: New Ways to Hunt

Hatakeyama idea 7: Sakai-shu

Hindustani idea 5: Gunpowder Empire

Ilkhanid idea 7: Recruit Turkoman Gunners

Isshiki idea 5: Inadome Gunnery

Jaunpuri idea 1: Purbias

Mewari idea 6: Mandatory Firearm Drills

Münster idea 6: Bommen Berend

Mysorean idea 5: Rockets!

Oda idea 5: Triple Firing

Rajputana idea 4: Purbia Legacy

Shimazu idea 5: Tanegashima

Smolenskian idea 2: The Armories of Smolensk

Sonoran idea 4: Cowboy Country

Texan idea 2: Texan Revolution

Tirhuti idea 4: Purbias

Utsunomiya idea 2: Legacy of Nasu no Yoichi Beninese ambition

Bregenzer ambition

Dhundhari ambition

Saxe-Lauenburg ambition — +5% — Hanoverian idea 3: Schützenfest — —

Conditions +20% with ‘French Musketeers’ splendor ability (only France Age of Absolutism) +10% for Streltsy regiments (available only to East Slavic countries)

with a general who has the ‘Ruthless’ leader trait 0 − +10% depending on army professionalism

depending on regiment drill

Ideas and conditions that increase shock damage dealt:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +15% — Highlander idea 5: Highland Charge — — +10% Muscovite traditions Australian idea 6: Integration of the Bushrangers

Corsican idea 1: The Unblinded Moor

Danish idea 1: Nordic Rulers Legacy

Great Yuan idea 4: Keshik and Weijun

Kiwi idea 4: The Kiwi Haka

Nagpuri idea 5: Light Cavalry Shock Tactics

Nanbu idea 6: Chosonji Temple

Timurid idea 3: Unleash the Tiger

Trent idea 6: Mountain Warfare Cossack ambition —

Conditions +10% for Cossack regiments (available only to countries with the Cossacks estate)

Cossacks estate) for following or inviting a scholar from the Shia Jafari school +5% after assimilating Celtic culture group as Mughals 0 − +10% depending on army professionalism

depending on regiment drill

Ideas and conditions that reduce fire damage taken:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies −15% — Andalusian idea 1: Stand Against the Reconquista

Hanoverian idea 7: King's Legion — — −10% Texan traditions Leinster idea 4: He Who Is Not Strong Must Be Cunning

Russian idea 7: Broaden the curriculum of the Cadet Corps — —

Conditions −20% with ‘Prussian Discipline’ splendor ability (only Prussia Age of Revolutions) −10% for Janissary regiments (only recruitable by Ottomans Rûm 0 − −25% depending on regiment drill

Ideas and conditions that reduce shock damage taken:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies −15% — Ando idea 1: March of Akita

Rassid idea 5: Mountain Strongholds — — −10% Ayyubid traditions

Dithmarscher traditions

Manipur traditions

Orissan traditions

Sistani traditions

Yi traditions Assamese idea 3: River Warfare

Baluch idea 2: Hani and Sheh Mureed

Hausan idea 5: Sarkin Yaki

Irish idea 1: Irish Endurance

Kanem Bornuan idea 5: Fixed Military Camps

Lur idea 1: Kingdom in the Zagros Mountains Butua ambition — −5% — Bohemian idea 3: Wagenburg — —

Conditions −30% with ‘Spanish Tercios’ splendor ability (only Spain Age of Reformation) −10% for Janissary regiments (only recruitable by Ottomans Rûm

with a general who has the ‘Defensive Planner’ leader trait

for following or inviting a scholar from the Shia Zaidi school 0 − −25% depending on regiment drill

'Zombie' regiments [ edit ]

In principle, units on the frontline retreat and are replaced by reserve units when they reach either 0 morale or 0 regiment strength. However, this mechanic does not function when regiment strength reaches 0 before morale reaches 0 during the first 12 days of a battle. When this occurs, the 0-strength regiment stays on the frontline until the first 12 days pass. This remains true even when the 0 strength regiment reaches 0 morale during the first 12 days.

Morale casualties [ edit ]

Ingame tests have demonstrated that the morale casualties equation previously found on the wiki was incorrect. The current formula is the result of developer input and further experiments.

The mentioned "casualties" are not to be confused with the kill casualties. They differ in that the casualties in the morale casualties equation are calculated with the morale pips of the respective units & without the fire/shock damage dealt & fire/shock damage received modifiers.

All units present in a battle, including reserve troops, take 0.03 base morale casualties per day on top of the calculated morale casualties. This is lowered by the reserves_organisation modifier, such as 50% from having 80 professionalism.

Units on the backline take full morale casualties, thus frontline units deployed on the backline are essentially neutralised.

Lack of overkill [ edit ]

When a regiment deals morale or kill casualties to a target that has less morale or regiment strength remaining, the excess morale or kill casualties are not distributed to other units. Thus a regiment that has 0.01 morale left after a phase will absorb an entire other day of kill & morale casualties.

Combat statistics [ edit ]

Military tactics [ edit ]

Military tactics reduces the amount of damage a country's troops take in combat. Military tactics is increased by military technology. It is also multiplied by discipline.

Military technology level 0 4 6 7 9 12 15 19 21 23 24 30 32 Military tactics 0.5 0.75 1.0 1.25 1.5 1.75 2.0 2.25 2.5 2.75 3.0 3.25 3.5

Pips [ edit ]

Each military unit has offensive and defensive stats in three categories: fire, shock, and morale. Offensive stats are represented by yellow pips, and defensive stats by green pips. During each combat phase, each unit will use its offensive pips to increase casualties dealt, its defensive pips to mitigate casualties received, and its morale pips to increase and mitigate, respectively, morale damage.[2]

The respective effect of pips depends on the shock and fire modifiers of military technology and ideas.

From military tech 7 onwards, defensive pips are to be prioritized over offensive pips for infantry and cavalry because artillery becomes available, which deals damage from the back row. Thus the defensive pips of the frontline regiments impact the kill casualty equation of two enemy regiments, while the offensive pips only affect a single regiment.

Top priority is to be given to morale defensive pips, because morale pips affect both fire and shock phases. Secondary priority is to be given to the defensive fire or shock pips depending on the military technology, then to offensive morale, then to offensive fire or shock pips depending on the military technology.

Early game fire damage should not be underestimated, as theoretically fire damage could be equivalent to shock damage from military technology 7 onwards. Fire damage becomes the undisputed main source of damage once players reach military technology 13.

The following infantry types are recommended for the Western unit group:

1. Latin Medieval Infantry;

5. Galloglaigh Infantry;

9. Landsknecht Infantry ;

12. Tercio Infantry;

15. Charge Infantry;

19. Reformed Tercio;

23. Grenzer Infantry;

26. Blue Coat Infantry;

28. Square Infantry;

30. Drill Infantry.

Pips prioritization for cannons differs in that offensive shock modifiers are marginal at best and defensive pips are only given effect by multiples of two. The latter is caused by the defensive pips of cannons being divided by two, then rounded down and ultimately added to the frontline’s defensive pips.

The following cannon types are recommended:

7. Large Cast Bronze Mortar;

10. Culverin (functionally equivalent to the previous one);

14. Large Cast Iron Cannon.

Later technologies are limited to one cannon type.

Flanking range [ edit ]

Flanking range determines the horizontal range in which a unit may make a flanking attack. The base flanking range is 1 for infantry, and 2 for cavalry and artillery. There are military technologies which increase the flanking range of units as the game progresses. Below is a table with said military technology levels and how much they increase flanking range.

Flanking range 0 0 1 2 2 10 +25% 1 2 2 18 +50% 1 3 3 23 +100% 2 4 4 28 +125% 2 4 4 30 +150% 2 5 5

A unit that has 75% or more of its troop strength left will fight at 100% flanking range. If they are in between 50 and 75% of their strength, they will fight at 75% flanking range. When between 25 and 50% strength they will fight at 50% of their flanking range.

Unit strength Flanking range 1000–750 100% 749–500 −25% 499–250 −50% 249–0 −75%

The final range is always rounded down to the nearest integer.

Several ideas give increased cavalry flanking range:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +50% — Albanian idea 4: Hit and Run

Clanricarde idea 4: Irish Hobbies

Deccani Sultanate idea 5: Bargi Giri

Lan Na idea 6: Elephant Charge

Mossi idea 2: Cavalry Raids

Najdi idea 5: Arabian Horsemanship Ilkhanid ambition

Kazani ambition — +25% — Arabian idea 2: Arabian Horses — —

+20% Assimilating Evenki culture group as Mughals

Morale [ edit ]

Morale is an important factor in fighting battles. Each day of combat a unit will take a Morale hit of 0.03 regardless of damage taken from an enemy regiment. If it is taking casualties from an enemy, additional morale damage will be inflicted. Once an army's overall Morale value has been reduced to zero the army will attempt to retreat. Retreat cannot happen until both two fire and two shock phases have completed, and army that has its morale reduced to 0 AND is outnumbered 2:1 before that point will be destroyed. This destruction is known as a stackwipe. Contrary to popular belief, reducing the enemy army to 0 morale before they can retreat is NOT sufficient to stackwipe.

A unit that has its morale drop below 0.50 is flagged as disorganized, which is indicated by a small flame next to its morale bar on the map and interface. A disorganized army is unable to start moving until its morale has recovered above 0.50. Newly trained regiments at low land unit maintenance will often fall below this threshold.

If an army loses a battle while having low enough morale to be disorganized, they will be forced to retreat to a controlled province (owned, allied in war, or occupied by player or allies). This province can be very far away from where the battle took place. They will prioritize to retreat to a province with high development, a fort, and no adjacent enemies. While retreating, it cannot be engaged in combat or controlled until it reaches the safer province (or in extreme circumstances if it recovers to 100% morale before reaching the destination). The army also moves slightly faster, and will recover morale at a normal rate during the retreat. If there are no available controlled provinces to retreat to within a large range, the army will shattered retreat to one province away. The army can then be immediately re-engaged, often with very low to even no morale, if a monthly tick has not yet completed. This can be devastating as an offensive tactic, but may also affect the player as well.

A controlled retreat is manually ordering an army to retreat from battle after the initial fire and shock phases, and while it still has greater than 0.50 average morale. This allows the player to control the destination of the shattered retreat. If the morale of an army is less than 0.50 the player can not control the destination. If multiple armies have converged into a battle, it is possible that some armies will have enough morale for a controlled retreat, while others may not (often the initial stack in the battle).

Winning a battle gives the winning armies 50% of their maximum morale and retreating from a battle will reduce the other allied armies' morale relative to the portion of troops leaving the engagement).

After a battle is fought, an army must spend some time without fighting for its morale to recover. The normal morale recovery on the 1st of every month cannot occur while in combat.

A shattered army will get an extra morale bonus once it stops retreating.

Morale is not gained while forced marching.

Modifiers [ edit ]

The following modifiers contribute to the maximum morale of a nation's army:

Army Maintenance: Ranging from 0.51 at minimum maintenance to the defined maximum at maximum maintenance.

at minimum maintenance to the defined maximum at maximum maintenance. Ideas and policies:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +20% — French idea 2: Elan!

Prussian idea 3: Army Professionalism — — +15% Andalusian traditions

Cascadian traditions

Castilian traditions

Nagpuri traditions

Spanish traditions Defensive idea 2: Military Drill

Air idea 2: Cross of Agades

Great Qing idea 7: The Ten Great Campaigns

Highlander idea 1: The Wallace

Holy Roman idea 2: Kaiserliche Armee

Kiwi idea 6: Rejecting the Australia Constitution

Lotharingian idea 2: Glory of Charlemagne

Orleanaise idea 2: The Maid of Orleans

Polish idea 7: Focus on Field Defenses

Vermont idea 1: Home of the American Revolution

Veronese idea 4: Civil Blood and Civil Hands Manchu ambition

Swabian ambition

Texan ambition — +10% Anhalt traditions

Aq Qoyunlu traditions

Austrian traditions

Ava traditions

Beninese traditions

Burgundian traditions

Butua traditions

Chernihiv traditions

Client State traditions

Corsican traditions

Dalmatian traditions

Deccani traditions

Dhundhari traditions

Dithmarscher traditions

Gond traditions

Hatakeyama traditions

Hojo traditions

Huron traditions

Irish traditions

Jurchen traditions

Khorasani traditions

Liège traditions

Moldavian traditions

Mysorean traditions

Nepalese Princedom traditions

Oda traditions

Ogasawara traditions

Pacific Northwest traditions

Persian traditions

Pomeranian traditions

Provençal traditions

Pueblo ambition

Punjabi traditions

Rajputana traditions

Rothenburg traditions

Rûmi traditions

Sicilian traditions

Transoxianian traditions

Trent traditions

Tsutsui traditions

Welsh traditions Plutocratic idea 2: Abolished Serfdom

Ajami idea 3: Legacy of the Ilkhans

Amago idea 4: Ten Brave Warriors

American idea 4: Lessons of Valley Forge

Aragonese idea 7: Protect the Little Folk

Ardabili idea 1: The Safavid Order

Aymaran idea 5: The Tinku Rites

Ayyubid idea 3: Righteousness of the Faith

Aztec idea 4: Eagles and Jaguars

Bolognese idea 1: Etruscan Origins

Brandenburg idea 4: Pomeranian Wars

Bulgarian idea 6: Military Flexibility

Carib idea 3: Resistance towards the Pailanti'po

Catalan idea 6: 'Lliures o Morts'

Cebu idea 1: Lumaya’s Ambition

Chachapoyan idea 1: Warriors of the Clouds

Charruan idea 6: Garra Charrua

Cherokee idea 5: Ghigau

Chiba idea 2: Dream of Masakado

Creek idea 7: Red Sticks

Daimyo idea 4: The Five Rings

Desmondian idea 3: Gaelic Bastion

Finnish idea 7: The Anjala Conspiracy

French ducal idea 7: La Petite Nation

Frisian idea 3: Dutch Courage

Fulani Jihad idea 4: Imans and Emirs

Galician idea 5: Santiago y Cierra!

Garhwali idea 3: Martial Diplomacy

Gelre idea 5: The Gelderland Wars

Genevan idea 7: Armed Neutrality

Goslar idea 6: Resisting the Welfs

Great Shun idea 4: Obedient to Heaven

Great Yuan idea 2: A Savage Kingdom Holy and Enchanted

Herzegovinian idea 3: Stjepan's Rebellion

Imerina idea 2: The Twelve Sampys of Imerina

Ionian idea 1: Frankokratia

Kangra idea 3: Martial Heritage

Khmer idea 1: Preah Ko Preah Keo

Kikuchi idea 4: Fortify the Domain

Kildarean idea 3: Silken Thomas

Krakowian idea 1: Legendary Legacy

K'iche idea 6: K'iq'ab's Vengeance

Luban idea 4: Encourage the Kasala Tradition

Lur idea 6: Rise of the Lurs

Lüneburger idea 7: Lionhearted

Mainzian idea 3: Weck, Worscht & Woi

Manipur idea 2: Martial Traditions

Mayan idea 7: Caste War

Medri Bahri idea 5: Independent Traditions

Mexican idea 7: Grito de Delores

Miao idea 3: Unity of the Tribes

Mindanao idea 6: Guerrilla Warfare

Muscovite idea 4: Pomestnoe Voisko

Mushasha idea 1: Fervent Millenarianism

Nanbu idea 1: Genji in the North

Native idea 1: Counting Coups

Neapolitan idea 4: Crush the Power of the Barons

Nepali idea 5: The Royal Kumari

Nivernais idea 4: True Frenchmen

Pegu idea 4: Ramannadesa

Perugian idea 6: The War of the Eight Saints

Rassid idea 1: The Living Imam

Sadiyan idea 1: Land of Glory

Saluzzo idea 3: Marquisate

Samtskhe idea 4: Independent Ambitions

Sardinian idea 1: From the Judicate

Semien idea 1: Legacy of Queen Judith

Serbian idea 7: Balkan Hajduks

Shiba idea 4: Atsuta Shrine

Shimazu idea 1: Satsuma Hayato

Shoni idea 2: Defender of Japan

Slovak idea 7: Slovak National Awakening

Songhai idea 3: Jihad Against the Pagans

Takeda idea 1: Leader of Kai Genji

Three Leagues idea 4: The League of Ten

Timurid idea 2: The Mantle of the Great Khan

Tokugawa idea 1: Mikawa Bushi

Trebizondian idea 5: The Lessons of the Fourth Crusade

Uesugi idea 4: Dragon of Echigo

Yarkandi idea 5: Holy Warriors

Yi idea 7: Children of the Black Tiger Ajuuraan ambition

Athenian ambition

Circassian ambition

Colonial ambition

Cornish ambition

Dai Viet ambition

Frankfurter ambition

Kievan ambition

Kitabatake ambition

Ryazan ambition Religious-Quantity: Field priests and Soldier's prayer books +5% — Chagatai idea 2: Ceaseless Border Wars

Russian idea 7: Broaden the curriculum of the Cadet Corps — Quality-Religious: The Military Zeal Act

Researching military technology: Military technology (0): +2.0 Military technology (3): +0.5 (cumulative +2.5 ) Military technology (4): +0.5 (cumulative +3.0 ) Military technology (15): +1.0 (cumulative +4.0 ) Military technology (26): +1.0 (cumulative +5.0 ) Military technology (30): +1.0 (cumulative +6.0 )



Various National bonuses:

Prestige: +10% at 100 Prestige, -10% at -100 Prestige

at 100 Prestige, at -100 Prestige Power Projection: +10% at 100 Power Projection

at 100 Power Projection Army reformer advisor: +10%

Army tradition: +25% at 100 tradition

at 100 tradition Being the Defender of the Faith: +5%

Piety (Muslim only): +10% at 100 Mysticism

Religion:

Shia: +5%

Protestant Church aspect "Saints accept Prayers": +5%

Reformed "War" focus (requires Wealth of Nations DLC) +10%

Wealth of Nations DLC) Vajrayana: +5%

Shinto: +10%

Sikh: +10%

Inti with "Expanded Mitma Policy": +10%

Nahuatl: +10%

Tengri with either Shia, Nahuatl or Sikh as syncretic faiths: +5%

Government:

Noble Republic: +10%

Revolutionary Empire: +10%

Daimyo: +10%

Merchant Republic with "Aristocrats" Faction in power: +5%

Republican Dictatorship: +10%

Revolutionary Republic: +10%

Ambrosian Republic: +5%

Peasants Republic: +5%

Assimilating Japanese culture group as Mughals +10%

Morale recovery [ edit ]

Every month, a regiment recovers 15% of its maximum morale. The following contributes to a nation's morale recovery speed.

Regiment is in home territory: +5%

Army tradition: +10% at 100 tradition

at 100 tradition When commanded by a leader with the Inspirational Leader personality trait: +10%

Various events, decisions, and modifiers

Armies that win battles will gain a significant boost to morale, to prevent situations where an army is stack wiped due to winning a narrowly fought battle and then immediately being attacked. The amount of morale regained depends on the strength of the enemy army defeated relative to their own strength.

Certain ideas and policies as follows

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +15% — — — Quality-Administrative: The Liquor Act +5% Armenian traditions

Fulani traditions

Hungarian traditions

Montferrat traditions

Ryazan traditions Pskovian idea 2: Legacy of Daumantas Fully Offensive

Persian ambition Expansion-Defensive: Local Army Organization

Religious-Quantity: Field priests and Soldier's prayer books

Cavalry to infantry ratio [ edit ]

Armies exceeding their nation's ratio of cavalry to infantry receive the "insufficient support" penalty which applies a −25% military tactics to those armies until their ratio has been restored to normal. This ratio threshold is checked daily even during battles, and is based on the actual headcount of individual soldiers instead of regiments. Since infantry tends to take more casualties than cavalry, it is advisable to take at least a bit more infantry than the ratio would suggest.

The base cavalry to infantry ratio is 50%. This is further modified by the following:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +10% — Polish idea 4: Winged Hussars — —

+25% Has a Steppe Horde government

Has a Steppe Horde government +25% Has a Tribal Federation government

Has a Tribal Federation government +25% Is Tengri (with no syncretic faith)

Is Tengri (with syncretic faith) +20% Has Cavalry Armies ability (an Age of Discovery only ability)

Has Cavalry Armies ability (an Age of Discovery only ability) +20% Has the Sich Rada government reform (available to Zaporozhie)

Has the Sich Rada government reform (available to Zaporozhie) +10% Is Sunni

Is Sunni +10% A loyal Cossacks estate (max value)

Forts [ edit ]

Forts are used to protect a nation from invading armies.

Fort level and garrison [ edit ]

The following modifiers affect fort level:

Capital province: +1 fort level for the capital province

fort level for the capital province Fort buildings: +2 +2 fort level per building level.

Each fort level increases the garrison of the province by 1000 and gives a −1 modifier to siege rolls. Maximum garrison size is also influenced by the following ideas and policies:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +25% Desmondian traditions

Highlander traditions

Isshiki traditions Quantity idea 6: Conscripted Garrisons

Great Ming idea 1: Nine Garrisons of The Great Wall

Toki idea 4: Strategic Castles — — +20% Nuremberger traditions Bayreuther idea 3: Plassenburg

Betsimisaraka idea 1: People of the Coast

Cilli idea 5: Border Wars

Dortmund idea 6: Fortmund

Rothenburg idea 7: Klingentorturm — — +10% — Divine idea 5: Onward Christian Soldiers

Garhwali idea 2: Himalayan Kingdom

Italian idea 4: Trace Italienne

Kangra idea 4: Control of the Hill Forts

Slovak idea 4: Land of Castles — Innovative-Quantity: The Garrison System

Garrison recovers monthly at a base rate of 5% plus 1% per base manpower of the province, provided the province is not under siege. The rate is also increased by the following ideas and policies:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +25% Ito traditions

Luxembourg traditions

Meath traditions

Pueblo traditions

Rigan traditions Clevian idea 7: Militarize Schwanenburg — — +20% Toki traditions — — — +15% — Austrian idea 2: Military Frontier — — +10% — Divine idea 5: Onward Christian Soldiers — Influence-Quantity: Guerilla Warfare

Fort maintenance [ edit ]

Each building level of fort costs 1 ducat per month. Forts can be mothballed by the nation that controls them; mothballing will reduce the fort maintenance by half but remove the fort level and garrison provided by the building from the province. A fort cannot be mothballed or de-mothballed while the province is under siege. The garrison will recover at a normal rate after mothballing is cancelled. Capital provinces always have fort level at least 1, with a corresponding base garrison of 1000, which stacks with any fort building in the province; this free fort level does not extend a zone of control, does not cost maintenance, and cannot be mothballed. A fort building in a capital province can be mothballed as normal, but the free fort will remain.

Mothballed or not, fort maintenance can be reduced by following modifiers:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies −20% Great Ming traditions

Lur traditions

Mantuan traditions

Meath traditions

Vindhyan traditions Cascadian idea 3: The Forts of Hudson Bay

Estonian idea 3: Castles of Estonia

French idea 5: Vauban Fortifications

Ladakh idea 2: Fortified Mountain Cities

Muscovite idea 6: Zasechnaya Cherta

Odoyev idea 6: Fortification Efforts

Somali idea 2: Qalqads

Swiss idea 4: Alpine Defensiveness Sligonian ambition Innovative-Quantity: The Garrison System −15% Garjati traditions

Gujarati Princedom traditions Bolognese idea 6: La Turrita

Northumbrian idea 4: A Land of Castles

Luxembourg idea 4: The Fortress of Luxembourg

Telugu idea 4: Great Forts of the East — — −10% Baden traditions

Baluch traditions

French ducal traditions

Miao traditions

Nizhny Novgorod traditions Defensive idea 5: Defensive Mentality

Ajami idea 5: Tribes of Iraq-e Ajam

Austrian idea 2: Military Frontier

Catalan idea 4: Fortifying Catalonia

Kangra idea 4: Control of the Hill Forts

Laotian idea 7: Laotian Hill Warfare

Mutapan idea 3: Mutapa Architecture

Nubian idea 7: Fortified Strongholds

Semien idea 2: Mountain Kingdom

Slovak idea 4: Land of Castles

Tarascan idea 5: Fortified Frontier — Innovative-Defensive: Superior Fortifications

On borders towards rivals there are additional modifiers:

Conditions −100% with ‘Protecting Forts’ ability in the ‘Age of Absolutism’.

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies −50% — Expansion idea 4: Factories — Religious-Plutocratic: The Tolerance Act −25% — Andalusian idea 7: Al Awasim

Veronese idea 3: Ancient Grudge — —

Zone of control [ edit ]

Main article: Zone of control



Active fort buildings (not counting the free fort level in the capital) provide a zone of control. A zone of control restricts the movement of enemy armies through the province with the fort, and provinces immediately adjacent to it. When an army enters a zone of control from a province not affected by a hostile zone of control the province it entered from is set as the 'return province'. In general the army can then only move to another province that has no more than one province that is not affected by a hostile zone of control between itself and the return province. The main exception to this rule is that the army can always move to a hostile fort. Please see the main article for full details as there are a number of exceptions and the behaviour is not intuitive.

Sieges [ edit ]

When hostile troops enter a province and stop moving, a siege/occupation will begin. To progress, the attacker requires a minimum of 3000 men per 1000 garrison. If the province has no garrison (whether because it has no fort or the fort's garrison is empty), 1000 men is enough and occupation is guaranteed within a month. Any unit types can be used for sieging, but for sieging a fortified province, only infantry will be used in an assault, and artillery speeds the siege up. Progress in a siege will never decrease as long as attackers are continuously present; however, if all attackers leave the province, you will lose 1 siege status progress per day the province is unsieged.

Besieging armies will always take at least 1% base attrition, even if the province is unfortified. This rule only applies to enemy-owned provinces, however - when besieging friendly provinces to retake them from the enemy, this rule is ignored.

Army besieging a fort always count as the attacker if a battle takes place and will receive the attacker penalty.

Siege ends successfully either when surrender is obtained through die roll or when the garrison drops below 100 for whatever reason.

Sortie [ edit ]

The garrison can be ordered to make a sortie to fight the hostile army, at the cost of 10 military power. (The ‘Sortie from siege’ button is shown on the siege screen.) If the garrison army, which consists only of infantry, loses the fight, the province and fort will become occupied. Since sortie-ing troops fight together with friendly stacks if there are ones this can be used to win a battle in which both sides are evenly matched. Sortie can be ordered only when siege is ongoing, thus friendly troops awaiting an inbound enemy in a fortified province cannot receive garrison's aid.

Note that garrison will refuse to make a sortie if the besieging army is much stronger than the garrison.

Phases [ edit ]

A siege progresses in phases. Each phase has a base length of 30 days and is modified by:

Fort defense: +1% per defender's 1% fort defense and province defensiveness (produces salt: 15% , hills or highlands terrain: 10% , mountain terrain: 25% )

fort defense and province defensiveness (produces salt: , hills or highlands terrain: , mountain terrain: ) Siege ability: −1% per attacker's 1% Siege Ability

Siege Ability Tactics difference: 6.25% per 0.25 military tactics difference to both sides. E.G. If the player's tactics is 0.5 higher than the enemy, the player's siege will be 12.5% faster and the enemy's siege will be 12.5% slower. Only the base tactics value counts, bonuses from discipline have no effect on phase time.

A siege dice roll is also triggered if the sieging army wins a battle on the besieged province.

Siege ability is influenced by the following ideas and policies:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +20% — Offensive idea 5: Engineer Corps — — +10% Ferraran traditions

Saxe-Lauenburg traditions Beninese idea 2: Isiatua

Dutch idea 6: Army Sappers

Great Shun idea 5: Perfection of Siegecraft

Highlander idea 3: Storming the Castle

Ormond idea 6: Irish Siegecraft

Otomo idea 7: Kunikuzushi

Smolenskian idea 7: Tsar Mortars

Utrecht idea 3: Fortified City Luxembourg ambition Innovative-Offensive: Modern Siege Weapons

Quality-Religious: The Military Zeal Act

Various Modifiers:

Fort defense is influenced by the following ideas and policies:

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +25% Georgian traditions

Rothenburg traditions Afghan idea 2: Shadows of the Hindu Kush

Bregenzer idea 6: In the Shadow of Pfander

Bremish idea 6: Bremish Walls

Cypriot idea 5: Cypriot Fortifications

Divine idea 3: True Defender of the Faith

Genevan idea 6: Unconquerable City

Hamburger idea 3: Walls of Hamburg

Jerusalem idea 6: Crusader Castles

Knights Hospitaller idea 1: Defense of the Faith

Mainzian idea 6: The Guard of the Rhine

Sardinian-Piedmontese idea 2: Defensive Prowess

Swiss idea 4: Alpine Defensiveness

Theodorian idea 5: Mangup and Kalamita Forts

Tyrconnell idea 1: Fort of the Foreigners

Ulmer idea 4: Dürer's Fortifications — — +20% Albanian traditions

Bolognese traditions

Circassian traditions

Kildarean traditions

Leinster traditions

Mushasha traditions

Odoyev traditions

Orleanaise traditions

Ormond traditions

Slovak traditions

Telugu traditions

Tsutsui traditions

Wallachian traditions

Yi traditions Defensive idea 5: Defensive Mentality

Ainu idea 1: Chasi

Ajami idea 1: Jibal

Al-Haasa idea 4: Fortify the coastline

Ayyubid idea 1: Citadels and Fortresses

Barbary Corsair idea 5: Fortified Pirate Strongholds

Breton idea 3: Breton March

Caspian idea 6: A Safe Haven

Chickasaw idea 6: Lessons of Ackia

Couronian idea 1: Legacy of Sword Brethren

Dai Viet idea 3: Autonomous Villages

Dhundhari idea 1: Improve the Fort at Amer

Dortmund idea 6: Fortmund

Ethiopian idea 3: Hostile Borders

Franconian idea 3: A Rugged Land of Fortresses

Galician idea 2: Galicia la Bella

Hojo idea 5: Castles of the Hojo

Hormuz idea 2: Protecting the Islands

Ionian idea 2: Castles of the Angels

Ito idea 5: Network of Forty-Eight Fortifications

Krakowian idea 4: Casimirian Fortifications

Lorraine idea 1: The Vosges

Luxembourg idea 2: The Ardennes

Malvi idea 4: Fortified Strongholds

Mantuan idea 4: Gonzaga's Walls

Maratha idea 2: Forts of Maharashtra

Mazovian idea 2: Mazovian Frontier

Meath idea 7: Siege Mentality

Mindanao idea 5: Fortify our Ports

Nivernais idea 5: Bridges of the Loire

Offaly idea 5: Tower Houses

Ogasawara idea 1: Shinano-Shugo

Perugian idea 1: Saint Herculanus

Rigan idea 6: Fortify Riga

Samtskhe idea 3: Fortresses of Samtskhe

Savoyard idea 1: Repel the French

Shirvani idea 2: Fortresses of Shirvan

Thüringian idea 2: Fortifications of Erfurt

Trebizondian idea 2: Pontic Mountains

Tripuran idea 7: Strengthen Local Defenses

Tverian idea 2: Defend Against Muscovy

Ulster idea 7: Last Redoubt of Ireland

Yamana idea 6: Isolated Heartland Italian (cU) ambition

Ladakh ambition

Mesoamerican ambition

Novgorodian ambition

Permian ambition

Rassid ambition

Sumatran ambition — +15% Aymaran traditions

Carib traditions

Kurdish traditions

Mayan traditions

Montenegrin traditions

Muiscan traditions

Transylvanian traditions Amago idea 3: Fortified Strongholds

Bosnian idea 7: Over the Hills and Through the Woods

Chernihiv idea 4: Konotop Fortress

Clevian idea 1: Walled Cities

Client State idea 3: Fortified Border

Danziger idea 6: Continued Independence

Ferraran idea 6: Este Castle

Finnish idea 1: Expand Viborg

Frisian idea 5: Flooding the Polders

Fulani Jihad idea 2: Unrighteous Kings

Garjati idea 1: Securing Our Defenses

Gond idea 1: Securing Our Defenses

Guarani idea 6: Repel the Bandeirantes!

Imerina idea 4: Fortify the Highlands

Kazani idea 6: Settle Down

Khivan idea 6: Ichan Qal'a

Kievan idea 3: Fending Off The Invaders

Kikuchi idea 7: Central Stronghold

Kutai idea 4: Anti-Piracy Measures

Malagasy idea 1: Fortify the Coastline

Mapuche idea 1: Mapuche Pucaras

Mewari idea 3: The Fort of Kumbhalgarh

Mossi idea 5: Land of the Ancestors

Nepalese Princedom idea 5: Seize the Mountain Passes

Nepali idea 2: Land of Peaks

Provençal idea 4: Tarascon Castle

Pueblo idea 3: Mesa Settlements

Québécois idea 4: Fortifications of Quebec

Rajput idea 2: Fortifying Rajputana

Sadiyan idea 3: Hills and Jungles

Siberian idea 4: Siberian Backwoods

Siddi idea 3: Impregnable Island Fortress

Shan idea 1: Fortified Cities

Sligonian idea 2: Rebuild the Castle of Sligo

Songhai idea 2: Independence from Mali

Teutonic idea 5: Expand the Marches

Vindhyan idea 2: Forts of the Vindhyas

Yaroslavlyian idea 6: The Two Towers Desmondian ambition

Manipur ambition — +10% Athenian traditions

Dahomey traditions

Pagarruyung traditions

Pisan traditions

Sinhalese traditions Andalusian idea 7: Al Awasim

Andean idea 6: Hidden Cities

Beninese idea 4: The Walls of Benin

Chachapoyan idea 3: Summit Fortresses

Cham idea 7: Resisting Foreign Rule

Cherokee idea 6: Mountainous Isolation

Chimu idea 2: Ciudadelas

Garhwali idea 2: Himalayan Kingdom

Holstein idea 1: Limes Saxoniae

Kongolese idea 1: The Kongo River Basin

Lan Xang idea 6: Merchants of Vientiane

Navarran idea 1: Dorretxeak

Nizhny Novgorod idea 4: Citadel Of Russia

Polotskian idea 4: Land of Strongholds

Portuguese idea 7: Royal Academy of Fortification, Artillery and Drawing

Tarascan idea 5: Fortified Frontier

Tupi idea 7: Wall Builders

Utrecht idea 3: Fortified City Moldavian ambition Espionage-Defensive: The Privy Council Establishment Act

Influence-Defensive: Local Militias

Innovative-Defensive: Superior Fortifications +5% — Croatian idea 4: Antemurale Christianitatis

Great Ming idea 1: Nine Garrisons of The Great Wall

Italian idea 4: Trace Italienne

Toki idea 4: Strategic Castles — —

Various Modifiers:

Hindu with Vishnu as divinity: +20% ( Requires Wealth of Nations )

Hindu with Vishnu as divinity: Norse with Tor as divinity: +10% ( Requires El Dorado or a save converted from Crusader Kings II )

Norse with Tor as divinity: Mysticism as a Muslim: +20% at 100 Mysticism

Mysticism as a Muslim: at 100 Mysticism Coptic: +10%

Coptic: Power Projection: +10% at 100 Power Projection

at 100 Power Projection Defence Edict: +33%

Military Engineer advisor: +20%

Lucky nation (AI only): +10%

Certain events can temporarily increase siege ability or fort defense.

The mean number of phases to finish a siege for a particular starting bonus is as follows:

Starting bonus −9 −8 −7 −6 −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 No fort Starting success % −100.00% −92.86% −85.71% −78.57% −71.43% −64.29% −57.14% −50.00% −42.86% −35.71% −28.57% −21.43% −14.29% −7.14% 0.00% 7.14% 14.29% 21.43% 28.57% 35.71% 100% Mean phases 43.18 30.51 25.24 21.44 17.42 14.75 12.65 10.87 9.41 8.20 7.24 6.48 5.78 5.13 4.52 3.86 3.27 2.82 2.46 2.17 1 Sieges per year 0.28 0.40 0.48 0.57 0.70 0.82 0.96 1.12 1.29 1.48 1.68 1.88 2.10 2.37 2.69 3.15 3.72 4.32 4.95 5.60 12

"Sieges per year" is computed at the default phase length of 30 days.

Dice roll [ edit ]

At the end of each siege phase, a die (1 to 14) is rolled. The following modifiers are then applied:

Siege status. The most important modifier. As the siege goes on, this bonus will increase from its starting value of 0 depending on previous dice rolls. The maximum starts at 12 for a Castle or capital fort and is increased by 1 for each building level above a Castle, up to a maximum of 15 for a Fortress.

The most important modifier. As the siege goes on, this bonus will increase from its starting value of 0 depending on previous dice rolls. The maximum starts at 12 for a Castle or capital fort and is increased by 1 for each building level above a Castle, up to a maximum of 15 for a Fortress. Leader siege. If the attacking army has a leader, the leader's siege skill (+0–6) is added as a bonus.

If the attacking army has a leader, the leader's siege skill (+0–6) is added as a bonus. Artillery. Adding artillery to a siege will add a +1 to +5 bonus. The Age of Revolutions splendor ability ‘Napoleonic Warfare’ gives a further +3 Artillery bonus vs fort. ( Requires Mandate of Heaven ) ; hence instead of the cap of +5 , additional artillery will grant a bonus up to +8 The bonus is equal to the total number of artillery regiments divided by (fort building level + 1), with a minimum of 2, as listed in the table below A single regiment of artillery will always give at least a +1 bonus, regardless of fort level. Each 1000 artillery soldiers count as 1 artillery. e.g. having 10 regiments with 100 artillery each is the same as 1 regiment with 1000.

Adding artillery to a siege will add a to bonus.

Fort building level +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 Capital without fort 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Castle (Fort level 2) 1 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Bastion (Fort level 4) 1 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 Star fort (Fort level 6) 1 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 Fortress (Fort level 8) 1 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Blockade. If the province is coastal and not completely blockaded, a −2 penalty is applied, or −1 if the attacker is the rightful owner of the province. Partial blockades (anything less than 100% for the province in question) have no effect on sieges. Note that the blockading fleet doesn't have to be owned by the same nation as the sieging army, or even a part of the same war to help in a siege.

If the province is coastal and not completely blockaded, a penalty is applied, or if the attacker is the rightful owner of the province. Partial blockades (anything less than 100% for the province in question) have no effect on sieges. Note that the blockading fleet doesn't have to be owned by the same nation as the sieging army, or even a part of the same war to help in a siege. Fort Level. The defender's Fort Level is applied as a penalty. Obsolete Fort : If the attacker's technology allows the building of more advanced forts, they gain a bonus +1 per fort level difference to siegeing old forts. e. g. If attacker can build Star Forts (building level 3) and is sieging a Castle (building level 1), they gain a +2 bonus to dice rolls. Insufficient Garrison : Having less than half of the maximum garrison gives the attacker a +1 bonus. If the fort has no garrison whatsoever (i.e., if the fort has been mothballed during this month), then the province is treated as unfortified and the siege will automatically succeed.

The defender's Fort Level is applied as a penalty. Walls Breached. Each time the walls are breached, the breach status value will increase by 1, to a maximum of +3 . If this value is at least +1 , then the fort can also be assaulted (see below).

The highest possible starting bonus is +17: a capital fort (−1), obsolete by 3 fort levels (+3), with an insufficient garrison (+1), with a 6-siege general (+6) and at least 8 regiments of artillery (+8). The worst possible starting bonus is −11, for a level 8 fort in a capital (−9) with no blockade (−2).

Effects [ edit ]

The die roll may result in an increase of the siege status, which improves the results of future siege stages. Maximum siege status values goes up with the attacker's maximum fort building level. (12/13/14/15 for fort building level 1/2/3/4). Maximum breach status is always 3.

If the unmodified roll is 1, a Disease Outbreak happens—the attacking army loses 5% of its troops, and the siege does not progress (a surrender takes priority over a Disease Outbreak).

roll is 1, a Disease Outbreak happens—the attacking army loses 5% of its troops, and the siege does not progress (a surrender takes priority over a Disease Outbreak). If a breach occurs, ignore all results on the table below except for "Surrender". If the fort does not surrender, add 1 to the breach status and 2 to the siege status. A breach occurs if: Or an artillery barrage or a naval barrage is used (see below)

Then look up the modified die roll on the table below.

Roll Result Effect Garrison losses 4 or less Status Quo – – 5 – 11 Supplies Shortage +1 siege status −1% garrison 12 – 13 Food Shortage +2 siege status −3% garrison 14 – 15 Water Shortage +3 siege status −5% garrison 16 – 19 Defenders Desert +2 siege status −10% garrison 20 or more Surrender Siege successful –

The attacker needs at least a net +6 bonus to have a chance of ending the siege.

To be noted that the success rate shown on the screen only reflects the probability of getting the modified die roll ≥ 20, and when the garrison is very low the modified die roll 5-19 might immediately end siege due to loss of garrison.

Artillery barrage [ edit ]

The option to conduct an artillery barrage becomes available when a siege has at least one full artillery regiment per fort level. This costs 50 military power and creates 3 breaches in the walls. In total, these add +3 permanent siege status. Rolling a natural breach is still possible and will affect the siege status but will not add another breach.

Naval barrage [ edit ]

Same as artillery barrage, but only available if the number of cannons on ships adjacent to the fort divided by 100 equals the fort level. The base cost is 50 military power which can be further modified by Portuguese naval doctrine and flagship modification. With both perks on, the cost can be reduced down to 10 military power.

Assault [ edit ]

The attacker may choose to assault the garrison with their infantry if the walls have been breached at least once. This can result in a speedy conclusion of the siege at the cost of 5 military power, and usually costs lots of lives. The attacker loses roughly 5 times as many troops as defender do and assaults on fully-manned forts are highly discouraged. Only infantry can assault. If all infantry units of the attacker are killed before the defenders are defeated, the remaining cavalry and artillery will continue the siege normally. Only men can be part of an assault per day.

Mechanics of an army [ edit ]

Main article: Army



Exile [ edit ]

An exiled army can be identified by a black flag attached to its unit icon. It can't fight, siege provinces or explore, and it won't lift fog of war even in the province it's in. However, it can traverse any territory (other than wasteland) without needing military access. It still suffers attrition and its regiments can still move between armies, though regiments can't be mixed between exiled and non-exiled armies.

An army will become exiled under the following circumstances:

When a war ends, any army still in territory it doesn't have peacetime access to is exiled. This prevents it from being permanently stuck in a place it can't get out of, as well as preventing several exploits.

When a war begins, any army in a neutral or hostile province that it only had access to through a military access agreement is exiled. This prevents troops from being placed outside their country's territory in preparation for war. An army in uncolonized land or the territory of a subject or ally won't be exiled, even if the ally isn't called into the war.

When a native tribe migrates, any armies that happen to be in the province it migrated to at the time and don't otherwise have access are exiled.

It will stop being exiled when it either:

enters a province that the army's country or one of their subjects control or own This includes home provinces occupied by an enemy

boards a transport ship that moves into a sea zone or is currently in one.

If an army is in combat when it gets exiled, the battle will end only if all of its enemies are no longer hostile. For example, if an army is fighting rebels in enemy territory when peace is signed, they will continue fighting despite being exiled.

Looting [ edit ]

Every province has a loot bar. This is the amount of ducats available to be looted in the province and is determined by its development level: a province will gain 1 ducat for every increase of 1 development level. The player can loot provinces they occupy or those which they are besieging, but troops must be present to do so. The amount of loot taken depends on the number and type of troops in the province. A full strength infantry/cavalry/artillery regiment loots 0.1/0.3/0.05 ducats per months.[3] When a province's loot bar is empty no more loot can be taken from that province. A province will only begin to recover two years after the last successful looting, at a rate of 10% each month.

Looting is the main cause of devastation, which greatly reduces the owner's production income and manpower, as well as decreasing movement speed, supply limits and institution spread. Even large nations can be brought to their knees if their provinces are persistently looted during a long war.

Various ideas increase looting speed; this bonus increases the amount of ducats looted each month by the stated amount (and thus decreases the time taken to fully loot a province).

Traditions Ideas Bonuses Policies +25% Ashanti traditions

Baluch traditions

Cossack traditions

Interlacustrine traditions

Manipur traditions

Zaporozhian traditions Crimean idea 3: Lead Raids into Ruthenia

Gelre idea 6: Loot as Payment

Piratical idea 2: Plunder! — — +20% West African traditions — — — +10% — Anatolian idea 3: Akîncî Cavalry

Berber idea 5: Tuareg Cavalry

Chickasaw idea 5: Slave Raids

Shan idea 5: Raiders — —

+50% Assimilating Great Lakes culture group as Mughals

Attach to army [ edit ]

This action attaches the player's army to a friendly army, causing their army to travel and fight alongside the friendly unit without further input from the player. The army can be detached at any time except in battle. An attached army cannot board transports. Attaching units to an AI army will change its behavior, making it bolder and more willing to actively engage enemies.

Attack natives [ edit ]

The native population of a colony or uncolonized province can be eliminated using the attack natives military action. A native army equal in size to the local native population (rounded to the nearest thousand) will spawn immediately and must be defeated in battle to clear out the native population. This action costs military power proportional to the native population, aggressiveness, and ferocity, and will permanently reduce the potential value of the province from the native assimilation bonus. The elimination of all natives in a province will prevent any future raids on the local colony or any passing armies.

Scorched earth [ edit ]

An army in an owned and controlled province may scorch the earth for 5 military power, as long as it has not already been scorched. This increases devastation in the province by 5 and gives the province modifier “Scorched Earth”, lasting for 60 months with the following effects:[4]

−50% Local hostile movement speed

The devastation itself has the following effects (scaled to these figures at 100 devastation), decaying as devastation decays as usual:

−100% Local goods produced modifier −50% Supply limit modifier −100% Institution spread +10% Local development cost −100% Manpower modifier −100% Sailors modifier −25% Local hostile movement speed −25% Local friendly movement speed

Scorching the earth can be useful when the player's army is too weak to fend off attackers and their provinces are likely to be occupied. It increases attrition (hurting the enemy's manpower), and makes the provinces less valuable to the attacker while they're occupying them. The player will lose income in the meantime, but if they were going to lose control of them anyway it could be a good idea to make them less valuable for the enemy.

Rebel suppression [ edit ]

Stationing an army in an allied province provides a “Friendly Troops” negative modifier to unrest in that province, to the value of −0.25 per regiment, to a maximum of −5 at 20 regiments. This value scales linearly with the army maintenance slider.

Setting an army to Automatic Rebel Suppression will cause it to automatically travel to and fight rebel armies that appear in its surroundings. It will not attack rebel armies it thinks it cannot beat. The army will return to its previous position after the rebels are dispatched. Armies that are ordered to move will stop suppressing rebels. An army cannot drill while doing this.

Units set to auto suppression reduce unrest by a greater amount than normal, to be exact they suppress unrest at 500% effectiveness. But the cap of unrest reduction through rebel suppression still stays 5.

With the Dharma expansion, automatic rebel suppression is localized to the area they are in and up to two other contiguous areas (chosen by clicking on the map). The army then reduces unrest in all of those provinces via the "Friendly Troops" modifier, as though they were stationed in each individual province. This is more effective than simply stationing troops for a single area, but less effective (but usually still more efficient in manpower) across multiple areas.

Forced march [ edit ]

Forced march makes an army move 50% faster, but costs 1 military power for each province the army marches through. Forced march is available at administrative technology 15. Armies that are forced marching do not recover morale. During Age of Revolutions it is possible to enable Improved Force March ability, which reduces military power cost to 0 (requires Mandate of Heaven).

References [ edit ]



