Excommunication In Eu4: Guide For Austria's Unique Challenge

In Europa Universalis IV, excommunication is a significant hurdle for players, especially those playing as Austria, as it impacts relations with other Catholic countries and affects coalition control. To remove excommunication, players can employ various strategies, such as improving relations with the Pope, becoming the Curia controller, or changing the ruler or form of government. Additionally, players can try to weaken the Papal States, ally with the Curia controller, or wait for a new Pope to be elected. These strategies may help players lift the excommunication status and continue their game without the associated penalties.

Become the Curia controller

To remove excommunication in EU4 Austria, one method is to become the Curia controller. Here's a guide on how to effectively achieve that:

The Curia controller, or the controller of the Papal Court, is a powerful position in EU4 that can significantly influence the game. The controller gains the ability to excommunicate other rulers, grant indulgences, and call for crusades. Becoming the Curia controller can be a challenging but rewarding task.

To become the Curia controller, you need to focus on building and exerting influence over the Pope and the Papal States. This can be achieved through various means, such as improving relations, diplomatic actions, and strategic investments. Here are some detailed steps to follow:

• Improve Relations with the Pope: Start by building a strong relationship with the Pope. Increase your diplomatic reputation and work on improving your relations with the Papal States. This can be done by sending gifts, improving your standing through diplomatic actions, or even allying with their allies to gain their favour.
• Invest in the Curia: Use your resources to invest in the Curia. This can be done by spending papal influence, which can be accumulated through various in-game actions. By investing heavily in the Curia, you increase your chances of becoming the next Curia controller when the time comes.
• Monitor Papal Elections: Keep a close eye on papal elections. When the Pope dies, a new one is elected, and this presents an opportunity to exert your influence. Use your accumulated papal influence to support your preferred candidate or even yourself, if possible. This step may need to be repeated a few times until you successfully become the Curia controller.
• Build Alliances: Form alliances with other countries or rulers who have influence over the Curia. This can be through diplomatic marriages, treaties, or other favourable agreements. Having allies who support your bid for the Curia controller position can greatly increase your chances of success.
• Strategic Actions: Take strategic actions to increase your influence over the Papal States. This could include releasing cores, improving relations with other Catholic nations, or even exploiting certain mechanics in the game, such as forcing papal elections (although this may be considered an exploit by some players).

By following these steps and playing your cards right, you can significantly increase your chances of becoming the Curia controller in EU4 Austria. Remember that becoming the Curia controller is a dynamic process that may require adaptability and quick decision-making based on the current state of the game.

Improve relations with the Pope

Improving relations with the Pope is a key strategy in EU4 to avoid excommunication and to have it revoked if it has already been imposed. Excommunication carries a heavy diplomatic reputation penalty and negatively impacts relations with other Catholic countries.

One way to improve relations with the Pope is to invest in improving your diplomatic reputation. This can be done by hiring a diplomatic advisor, which will help you improve relations with the Pope and other Catholic nations.

Another strategy is to focus on building good relations with the Curia controller, who has the power to lift excommunication. This can be done by gifting the Curia controller and improving relations. If you become the Curia controller yourself, you can also lift your own excommunication.

It is also beneficial to keep an eye on who is likely to become the next Pope and work on improving relations with them. If one of your allies becomes the Pope, they may be willing to lift your excommunication.

Additionally, you can try to weaken the Papal States so that they are no longer your rival. This can be achieved through warfare and by taking their land. However, this strategy will likely take several wars and may not be as effective as focusing on improving relations.

Finally, it is worth noting that excommunication is tied to the ruler, not the country. Therefore, a change in ruler will result in the removal of excommunication.

Change from a monarchy to a republic

In Europa Universalis IV, there are various forms of government, including monarchies, where power is held by a ruler who reigns until death, and republics, where power is held by a group of people.

To change from a monarchy to a republic, the country must enact a special government reform. This option is not available for all government types. For example, tribes can become a monarchy, republic, or theocracy, but not the other way around.

Now, to address the specific scenario of removing excommunication in EU4 Austria:

One way to remove excommunication is to buy indulgences. While this used to lift excommunication, it may have changed in recent updates. Another way is to become the Curia controller, either by investing papal influence or by allying with the pope or their allies. If one of your allies becomes the pope, they can lift your excommunication. Additionally, you can look into removing excommunication through war, specifically by declaring war on the Papal State and using the 'Remove Rival' option.

Become the Pope's ally

To become the Pope's ally in Europa Universalis IV, you must improve your relations with the Pope and increase your Diplo rep. This can be done by getting friendly with the controller of the Curia and improving your relations with the most likely candidate to receive the Papacy. Additionally, you can invest in a diplomatic reputation advisor to improve your relations with the Pope.

If you are excommunicated, becoming the Pope's ally can be a way to remove your excommunication. However, this may be challenging as the Papal States may set you as a rival due to your excommunication, resulting in a negative opinion of you. In this case, you can declare war on them and use the 'Remove Rival' option to eliminate the negative opinion.

Another strategy to remove excommunication is to become the Curia controller. This can be achieved by investing your papal influence. Alternatively, you can use indulgences to prevent future excommunication.

It is important to note that being excommunicated carries a significant diplo rep hit, and other members of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) may view you negatively, impacting your ability to pass reforms.

Weaken the Papal States

As a Catholic nation, attacking the Pope and taking Rome will result in massive penalties. If you must weaken the Papal States, it is recommended to leave the Pope with one province, Rome, and take all other territories. This will result in the Pope moving to another location, such as Germany, and setting up the Papal States there.

The Papal States are often subject to early invasion by neighbouring states such as Florence and Provence, which seeks to acquire the province of Avignon. Naples, while not posing an immediate threat, will often seek to conquer the Papal States if it breaks free from its personal union with Aragon.

When playing as Naples, it is possible to make the Papal States a vassal, but this will result in negative repercussions as other nations will get angry at you for humiliating the Pope. Alternatively, you can ally with the Pope, but he will only join wars against non-Christian nations.

To deal with the Papal States while still getting influence, you can try warring the Pope twice. In the first war, take all provinces except Rome. In the second war, annex Rome and demand that the Pope revoke all his cores on the land you took in the first war. This might get rid of the relations malus for owning his cores. However, it might not help if the Papal States continue to exist in Avignon. In this case, you can ally with Provence or France, call them into one of the wars, and give them Avignon.

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