EU4 - Timelapse - Byzantium to Roman Empire 1.30

Finally made a strong Byzantium game, with a lot of thanks to BudgetMonk and his initial strategy to get me going. It turns out to have a good run you need to be very Byzantine in your politics, i.e. do not be friends with certain people for too long. After the initial war, and a war of humiliation against Serbia, you’ll probably be able to get Hungary as an ally along with Austria. The key then is to keep juggling alliances, as well as going east or west depending upon your AE. I was lucky enough to have an initial alliance with Mamuluks before I started using them for food, and, in all honesty, I didn’t miss the alliance when it was gone.

I took quantity as my first idea, because I am not brilliant when it comes to fighting and I have an illogical dislike of using mercs so I tend to haemorrhage manpower. After that I took the religious idea, and then for diplomacy I took the increased diplomats. From there I was able to expand out in all directions without any real threat of a coalition truly emerging, probably down to the fact I had strong alliances and always had my diplomats out and about targeting outraged countries and threatening ones.

Eventually I broke the alliance with Hungary and Austria, formed one with Aragon and France and then swept into Central Europe. I then broke the alliance with Georgia and began eating at them when the AE was a little too much in the west before going off and doing the same to Aragon. Rinse and repeat really. Throughout the game I kept Russia and Bohemia onside, because one has a massive amount of manpower and the other just seems to love a scrap. Destroying the false Rome that was the HRE was an added bonus.

So there we have it. I’ve made Byzantium adopt the name it should always have had, and left nearly thirty years to mop up Britain. I earned a few achievements on this run including Mare Nostrum, Market Control, Redecorating, Ruina Imperii, Time Bandit and Trophy Hunter. Probably the most fun I’ve had playing yet.

If anybody wants a further breakdown, I’ll be happy to give it.