Vassalization can occur militarily by forcing it upon a defeated enemy in a war. Diplomatic vassalage can occur if a military alliance exists and relations are high (above 190). Vassals cannot declare war, and fabricate claims that either they or their overlord deems as 'Vital Interest'. Vassals with over. The main cons include using up a diplomatic relation slot. If you want to improve relations with the target country to gain an alliance or to diplo vassalize them, then using up the diplomatic relation slot is not an issue. But granting out military access to everyone who asks for them, uses up this valuable and limited resource. I'd say the five diplomatic relations are enough and going above the limit early on is unwise. As far as unlawful territory is concerned: keep in mind that you cab only demand 1 province at a time and given the hit your relations take you will get only 1 acceptance. The thing is - improve relations works on EVERYTHING. Since that was merged with the old 'better relations over time', every malus you get in relations decays faster with higher improved relations. I remember reading that, but it seems I had forgotten about it! Then you're right: this takes away the biggest advantage of Influence over Diplomatic.
EU4 console commands deliver a whole new world of possibilities to play with. You can use them to get extra money, manpower, sailors, military power, control the AI or the environment, and so much more.
All you need to know is which keywords/commands to use and that’s about it. So, with that being said, let’s take a look at some of the most useful and fun commands that one can use on EU4.
How to Enable the Console on EU4
Some games require you to activate the console first or you won’t be able to use it. Thankfully, EU4 has it enabled by default.
So, all you need to do is jump into the game and use the “~” button to open the console and insert the command of your choice.
If that doesn’t work, you can also try using @ or “. Still nothing? Then there is also Shift + 2, Shift + 3, and ALT + 2 + 1.
If nothing works at all, go to the control settings and see what hotkey your game requires in order to open the console. The buttons above are normally the default option (Depending on your keyboard), but there’s a chance that you accidentally changed the hotkey or something.
Most Popular Commands
These are the commands that most people look for in articles like this one as they are arguably the most useful out of the bunch. They can give you more manpower, money, prestige, and things like that.
cash [Amount] [Country tag]: Gives you the specified amount of money (Country tags are optional)
manpower [Amount] [Country tag]: Gives you more manpower (In thousands)
sailors [Amount] [Country tag]: Adds more sailors
prestige [Amount] [Country tag]: Adds prestige (If no amount is specified, then it’ll give 5)
legitimacy [Amount] [Country tag]: Sets the legitimacy of the current ruler
adm [Amount] [Country tag]: Gives you administrative power (Will give you 999 in case that no amount is specified)
dip [Amount] [Country tag]: Gives you diplomatic power points (999 if you don’t specify an amount)
mil [Amount] [Country tag]: Gives you military power points (999 if you don’t specify an amount)
yesman: Toggles diplomatic responses to “Always yes”. If you wish to turn it off, just execute the command again
fow: Disables or enables Fog of War
ti: Toggles terra incognita on or off
debug_mode: Displays information such as province ID, country tag, and border distance when placing your mouse over provinces
observe: Turns you into an observer who sees everything (But you’ll no longer control any country)
ti: Reveals the entire map
add_opinion [Country tag]: Improves relations with a country by 100
winwars: War Score is set to 100 in all wars
leader: Creates a military leader
admiral: Creates a naval leader
AI Related Commands
These are the commands that you can use to control the AI.
set_ai_personality: Sets personality for the specified AI (Ex. Capitalist)
set_ai_attitude: Gives the defined attitude to the specified AI (Ex. Friendly)
ai_army_tick: AI reevaluates all army movements
ai_minister: Enables or disables AI ministers
ai_plan_regions: AI Reevaluates all region assignments
ai(ai) [Country tag]: Enables or disables nations for the specified ID
aiinvalid: Print invalid AI command counts
aiview: Enables additional AI info
fast_colonize: Enables the fast colonize cheat which affects the AI as well
invasion_target [Province ID]: Force sets AI invasion target to the specified ID
nowar: Disables AI war declarations
yesman: AI always accepts
Country and Province Related Commands
These commands can be used to impact countries other than your own in various ways. Do keep in mind that you can use debug_mode in order to see country IDs.
tag: [Country tag]: Switches over to the specified country
die: [Country tag]: Kills the current ruler
add_heir [Country tag]: Adds a new heir to the country
kill_heir [Country tag]: Kills the current country’s heir
annex [Country tag]: Begin annexation of the specified country
integrate [Country tag]: Begin integration of the specified country
vassalize [Country tag]: Vassalize the specified country
protectorate [Country tag]: Make a protectorate of a country
Eu4 Diplomatic Relations Slot Strategy
form_union [Country tag]: Turns you into a leader of union with the specified country
add_claim [Province ID]: Gives a claim to the Province
remove_claim [Province ID]: Removes the claim on the Province
add_core [Province ID]: Turns the specified Province into a core
remove_ core [Province ID]: Removes the core from the specified Province
own [Province ID]: Gives you ownership of the Province
control [Province ID]: Gives you control of a province
culture [Province ID]: Changes Province’s culture to your primary culture
setmissionaryprogress [Province ID]: Sets missionary progress to 98% (You can also set your own value)
revolt [Province ID]: Starts a revolt
pirate [Province ID]: Spawns pirates in that sea zone
population [Province ID]: Add 10 population to a colony (You can set your own value as well)
add_natives [Province ID] [Value] : Adds natives ini increments of 100
colonize [Province ID]: Colonizes a province
Multi-Use Commands/Events
These commands can be used as many times as you’d like and are mostly useful for controlling other countries/provinces and your own as well.
Do keep in mind that maximum relations max out at +200 and decay at 2 per year. Other than that, you can repeat a command simply by pressing the “Arrow Up” button on your keyboard to bring the most recent command up and then hitting “Enter”.
event republics.7 [Country ID]: Adds 5 Republican Tradition
event 5099 [Country ID]: Add or subtract 2.5 Mercantilism
event 853 [Country ID]: Subtract 1 Inflation
event 860 [Country ID]: Subtract 2 War Exhaustion
event 5074 [Country ID]: Add 28 manpower
event 6015 [Country ID]: Add 1 Base Tax
Eu4 Diplomatic Relations Slot Definition
event ideagroups.1205 [Country ID]: Subtract 1 Frecoty and Hostility from a random owned Colony with Natives
event 5056: Add 60 Eased Tension Opinion to every neighbor that you’re not at war with
event 5088: Add 50 Diplomatic Solution Opinion to a neighbor with less than 50 opinion
event 864: Add 30 Improved Relations Opinion to a neighbor with the same religion and no truce or an ongoing war
event 5096: Add 40 Accepted Bribe Opinion to a Holy Roman Empire Elector
event 9479: Change Government to Constitutional Monarchy
event flavor_mng.17: Change Government to Constitutional Monarchy
event republic.3: Changes Government to Despotic Monarchy
event republic.19: Changes Government to Revolutionary Republic
event westernisation.11: Changes Religion to Protestant
event westernisation.12: Changes Religion to Reformed
event westernisation.13: Changes Religion to Catholic
Single-Use Commands
These options can only be used once for their duration. Other than that, the same structure with the multi-use commands applies here as well.
event republics.14: Gives +1 Merchant or +15% Trade Power for 5 years
event ideagroups.907: Gives +10% Trade Steering for 5 years
event ideagroups.1306: Gives +5% Heavy Ship Power for 5 years
event ideagroups.1307: Gives +5 Light Ship Power for 5 years
event ideagroups.711: Gives +0.50 Land Morale for 5 years
event ideagroups.712: +5 Infantry Power for 5 years
event ideagroups.713: +5 Cavalry Power for 5 years
event ideagroups.1606: +1 Advisor Pool for 5 years
event 4027: +2 Missionary Strength for 6 years
event random_event.13: +1% Missionary Strength until the death of the ruler
event ideagroups.217: +2 Heretic and Heathen Tolerance for 5 years
event ideagroups.214: -2 Revolt Risk for 5 years
event 857: +10% Diplomatic Relations over time for 5 years
event 4030: +15% Spy in Offense and Defense for 6 years
Wrapping Up
As far as useful commands go, that’s about it for now. We obviously can’t mention every single available command as that would be quite a long, and most importantly, unreadable list.
Still, if you want to see more, check out our sources.
Disclosure: This guide is inspired by one of the posts I read on Reddit and realized that despite it’s steep learning curve, there isn’t a central hub for EU4 guides. Here is my attempt to help out the newer players who want to try their hand at EU4.
One of the best things I like about EU4 is it’s endless replayability. You can not only play different nations, but you can play the same nation in many different ways. You can min-max and live on the edge or you can sit back, relax and play at your own pace. And so, I have decided to split the guide into two versions- a Guide to Assertive Austria (for minmaxing play style) and a Guide to Amicable Austria (for more casual play style). Remember, there is no right or wrong way to play this game. Just have fun!
Austria is one of the few nations where you will use diplomacy more than war to get a solid base for world domination. This guide will help you set up the first couple of months and fulfill short term objectives. Diplomacy has to be timed fairly well, as once nations fill their relationship slots its harder to get alliances and royal marriages (RM). I have laid out each step you will take for the first couple of months. After that, I will lay out the next objectives in more broad terms. I wish I could give you a longer step by step guide, but the RNG in game will dictate how you play to some extent. Even the steps here might change a bit if some nations decide to send you alliance/RM offers.
Guide to Assertive Austria
Before 1500
Primary Objective: Force PU on Bohemia and Hungary
Secondary Objective: Prevent Shadow Kingdom
- If Bohemia, Poland, and/or Burgundy rival you, you need to restart until they don’t. Its not save scum if you don’t start the game.
- Get the level 2 diplo rep advisor (scripted, half price). Get a cheap millitary advisor, preferably morale, but discipline or fort defense works too. Get a level 1 admin advisor (tax or inflation guys are nice). Set military focus for now.
- Rival Ottomans and Venice leaving one slot open for a future Bohemia. You will use this open slot for whoever you attack next (bohemia, hungary, papal state, venice etc).
- Set troop maintenance for 3/4ths readiness. Turn off fleet maintenance.
- Mothball all your forts.
- Play with you estates the usual way to get extra monarch points. Clergy: Recruit theologian/Send emissary to Pope/Demand Admin/Make contribution. Nobility: Grant General/Demand Mil. Burgers: Demand Diplo.
- Spend all diplo on developing Tirol gold mine. Move the 7 stack to Linz. Sail all ships to Straits of Otranto. Move your merchant from Ragusa to Wien. Once you get a cardinal, invest in becoming the papal controller.
- Royal Marry (RM) Burgundy and ally Poland. Austria starts with 2 diplomats so we will juggle them around cooldown times. Don’t ally burgundy because you don’t want to be called into their defensive wars.
- RM Bohemia. Remember, don’t ally them.
- Embargo Venice
- Ally Papal State (we ally them now to use up one of their relationship slots)
- Ally Milan (they will help in your war against Venice and maybe even the Popeman)
- RM Hungary. Again, don’t ally them, you will go against them in few years.
- Sell 2 transports for 30 to Ferrera
- Embargo Ottomans
- Sell 3 galleys to Ragusa for peanuts. They’re the only ones who’ll buy them.
- Sell your trade ship to Urbino for 20.
- RM Poland
- Sell 2 transports to Lucca for 30
- Insult Venice
- Sell 2 transports to Sienna for 30 (should have no ships left).
- RM Milan
- Usually you’re going to have to RM Burgundy/Bohemia again because they’re usually rivaling one of your allies. They’ll stick with you after the second time. You should be 1 above your relationship limit.
- Build spy network on Papal state and improve relations with the electors.
- When you get to idea groups, go for Diplomatic, then Religious.
- For Age of Discovery abilities, go for reduced aggressive expansion (AE) and free war taxes.
Bohemia PU
Now you open up the diplomacy screen for Bohemia, go to speed 4 or 5 and stare at it till you see a von Habsburg as a ruler. There is some RNG element to it and you might need to save scum if you really want Bohemia under PU. Although its really handy, its not end of the world if you don’t get the PU right now (you can get PU with another event after 1500). If you do see a von Habsburg at the throne, you need to immediately pause the game and click on claim throne. Build your force limit to 25 with mercs, raise army and fort maintenance. After a month when you can send the diplomat again, rival Bohemia and declare war on the same day. Sometimes, you will lose the restoration of union CB after rivaling, so don’t dawdle. Go to war and win it. This could be a long drawn out war depending on who Bohemia allies, so play smart. Siege their capital and try to use the terrain to your advantage in battles. You will need to take some loans. You need 84% war score to enforce the PU.
The First Papal War
Next you need to attack the Popeman. This is to prevent the Shadow Kingdom. The event Rein in Northern Italy is your friend here. You will need to own Ancona, Romagna, Umbria, and Roma along with Urbino to prevent Shadow Kingdom. This is a 2 war process. Dissolve your alliance and break truce (if you wait till truce is over, papal state might have a stronger ally. Though you can save scum and take that chance). Get Ancona, Urbino and Romagna (and Umbria if you can) in the first war. Milan is unlikely to help and Bohemia might still have more than 50% liberty desire, so you will be all alone in this war. Popeman will likely have Genoa/Mantua as allies, making the war fairly quick. I have to emphasize here that preventing Shadow Kingdom is not utterly necessary. Yes its nice to have that extra Imperial land for Imperial Authority (IA) points generation. But if Papal State is allied to Castile/Aragon/France, the war will drag on for a long time and you might want to consider just letting Northern Italy go for now. You can always conquer it later. Build spy network on Venice while at war here.
Hungary PU
Use the Restoration of Union CB on Hungary either via Claim throne or event or the mission (it will depend if Hungary has annexed Wallachia yet or not). Rival them and declare war on the same day. They might have Bosnia or Serbia as allies. This shouldn’t be a very tough war. You will need 60% war score to enforce the PU.
Venetian War
This war is again part of the Shadow Kingdom prevention. You need to take Brescia, Treviso, Friuli, and Verona in this war. Milan will help you out as they want Brescia, you can give it to them. Get this war done. You will have a lot of AE at this point, so keep your diplomats busy with improving relations.
The Second Papal War
Finally you attack the Popeman one last time to take what is left of it. Ideally, you want to declare war at the day your truce expires. Pray to RNGesus that Popeman doesn’t yet have a strong ally who is willing to protect them. This really is luck based. If France comes to their aid, there is slim chance you will be able to complete the war before 1490, when the Shadow Kingdom event fires. If you do get lucky and Popeman has weak allies, get the war done quick and take Umbria and Rome. Take the Reign in Northern Italy decision which will end the Shadow Kingdom event for good. Start coring Umbria, but don’t core Rome. Once you own Rome as a catholic nation, there is a modifier called Occupation of Rome which gives -1 diplo reputation and decrease in Papal authority, both bad when you are playing as Austria. Wait a few days and an event will fire where Popeman asks for Rome back. Give it back and start improving relations to gain papal authority.
Take a breath
You have done it! Now you can relax… for more or less 10 years. Get your manpower back. Get your finances back on track. You are going to need it. Bank a bit of admin points, you might have to no CB some heretics.
Next Big Objective: Deal with Reformation
There are a number of guides to dealing with Reformation and keeping HRE Catholic. I will refer you to one of them (personally I think Reman’s video is excellent). You will have to no CB someone, but you should have completed the diplomatic idea group by now which gives you lowered impact on stability from diplomatic actions (still -3 stab if you no CB a free city though).
1550 and beyond
Your main goal is to get more IA. Keep annexing new lands to HRE, releasing new small nations when you can. And make sure no heretic religion survives in HRE. If England goes Anglican, it will be a constant pain but you can’t do too much about it. Eventually revoke the privilegia and feed all the land to your vassals.
Guide to Amicable Austria
Well, you aren’t going to be amicable really. But you won’t rack up AE like the last guide. And you will solely focus on IA and more event based PUs with Bohemia, Hungary, and Spain/Castile.
Primary Objective: Force PU on Bohemia
Secondary Objective: Get back the Imperial land
Step 1 through 10 are mostly the same as Assertive Austria except don’t turn off fleet maintenance and send your trade ship to protect trade in Venice.
- If Bohemia, Poland, and/or Burgundy rival you, you need to restart until they don’t.
- Get the level 2 diplo rep advisor (scripted, half price). Get a cheap millitary advisor, preferably morale, but discipline or fort defense works too. Get a level 1 admin advisor (tax or inflation guys are nice). Set military focus for now.
- Rival Ottomans and Venice leaving one slot open for a future Bohemia. You will use this open slot for whoever you attack next (bohemia, hungary, papal state, venice etc).
- Set troop maintenance for 3/4ths readiness.
- Mothball all your forts.
- Play with you estates the usual way to get extra monarch points. Clergy: Recruit theologian/Send emissary to Pope/Demand Admin/Make contribution. Nobility: Grant General/Demand Mil. Burgers: Demand Diplo.
- Spend all diplo on developing Tirol gold mine. Move the 7 stack to Linz. Sail all ships to Straits of Otranto. Send trade ship to protect trade in Ragusa. Move your merchant from Ragusa to Wien. Once you get a cardinal, invest in becoming the papal controller.
- Royal Marry (RM) Burgundy and ally Poland. Austria starts with 2 diplomats so we will juggle them around cooldown times. Don’t ally burgundy because you don’t want to be called into their defensive wars.
- RM Bohemia. Remember, don’t ally them.
- Embargo Venice
- RM Castile. Don’t ally yet, they might go to a succession war with Aragon over Navarra where they are the defender. You don’t want to be called into it.
- Ally Hungary.
- Sell your transports to Ferrara, Lucca and Siena. And your galleys to Ragusa.
- RM Poland.
- Insult Venice.
- You might have to RM Burgundy or Bohemia again.
- Build spy network on Venice and improve relations with the electors.
- Ally Castile when they are done with the Navarran succession war.
- Idea groups are again Diplomatic, then Religious.
- For Age of Discovery abilities, go for reduced AE and transfer subject.
Bohemia PU is same as with Assertive Austria.
[Now you open up the diplomacy screen for Bohemia, go to speed 4 or 5 and stare at it till you see a von Habsburg as a ruler. There is some RNG element to it and you might need to save scum if you really want Bohemia under PU. Although its really handy, its not end of the world if you don’t get the PU right now (you can get PU with another event after 1500). If you do see a von Habsburg at the throne, you need to immediately pause the game and click on claim throne. Build your force limit to 25 with mercs, raise army and fort maintenance. After a month when you can send the diplomat again, rival Bohemia and declare war on the same day. Sometimes, you will lose the restoration of union CB after rivaling, so don’t dawdle. Go to war and win it. This could be a long drawn out war depending on who Bohemia allies, so play smart. Siege their capital and try to use the terrain to your advantage in battles. You will need to take some loans. You need 84% war score to enforce the PU.]
Pay off your loans; improve relations with Bohemia and get your manpower up.
Venetian War
When you are ready, declare on Venice and take Treviso, Verona, and humiliate them.
Hungary PU
If you get the Hungary event with Restoration of Union CB or you can click on the mission. Do it and get that PU. You can dissolve the alliance and wait for truce to expire. No need to hurry on this. You can call Poland in as well.
Next steps are up to you. If you don’t have Burgundian Inheritance yet, you can declare on them and release its subjects which will add to the IA. You can also attack Denmark to demand Holstein, and while there snag Norway as a subject of your own (you will need the Transfer subject ability from age of discovery though). Also, get your rightful Imperial lands back from Northern Italy.
I would still recommend crushing the reformation as the religious league wars are a massive waste of time and resources. Next whittle down France with the help of Castile/Spain, flex all your might against Ottomans and you will have smooth sailing from here on out.
Here is the video tutorial.
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