14 DAY TRIAL // This diary is not a result of my current France game but of the question I posed earlier: would it have been easier or more interesting to play as Burgundy, the major power that has the ability to challenge France at the start of the game?
I tried to play as the faction four or five times during the previous weekend and I can report that even failure is sweet in Europa Universalis IV, because it gives gamers the chance to try out new ideas and tactics.
I initially though that Burgundy had to be really aggressive early on in order to make sure that it cut France down to size and managed to create a contiguous territory that’s easier to defend in the long term.
But, attacking France, Provence, and Lorraine tends to attract unwanted attention at first and then aggressive wars from the likes of Austria, which is trying to defend the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, and the rest of the French minors.
I then spent a little more time looking at the unique ideas that the faction can unlock and the mission that I could choose from and I understood what Paradox Development Studios was trying to tell me.
Burgundy is initially a defensive faction that needs to survive at the intersection of two big empires, keeping its territory and developing it and making money while perhaps capturing provinces from Savoy or maybe the English.
In about 80 years and with solid monarch point use the country can recruit rather massive mercenary forces, which it can pay in the long term, and can then make a move for the French.
The big problem is that Burgundy almost always has to fight a second defensive war, which can be tricky, but I am pretty confident that after a few failures I will be able to fulfill my destiny and dominate Western Europe.