Maximizing Austria's Hre Influence: The Provincial Power Play

As Austria, adding provinces to the HRE can be a complex decision, influenced by various factors and strategies. One key consideration is whether you own the province or not. If you own the province, simply clicking the + button on the province window will allow you to add it to the HRE. This can be beneficial if you want to increase Imperial Authority (IA) and gain bonuses as the Emperor. However, if the province is owned by another country, the process becomes more intricate. You can attempt to improve relations and increase your opinion of them, hoping they will voluntarily join the HRE. Alternatively, you can choose to annex them, add their cores to the HRE, and then release them as a vassal, which requires more effort but grants you more control.

Another aspect to consider is the number of princes within the HRE. Adding provinces can help increase the number of princes, which positively impacts IA growth. However, managing internal conflicts and preventing princes from becoming too powerful by demanding unlawful territory or releasing nations can be challenging. Additionally, the reformation can significantly impact your strategy, as you work to convert electors and princes, and remove reformation centers.

In conclusion, the decision to add provinces to the HRE as Austria depends on your specific goals and circumstances. It can be a valuable tool for increasing IA and gaining bonuses, but it also requires careful management of diplomacy, relations, and the internal dynamics of the empire.

Annex provinces, add their cores to the HRE, and release them as a vassal

Annexing provinces, adding their cores to the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), and releasing them as a vassal is a strategy that can be employed by Austria in the game Europa Universalis IV. This strategy can be particularly useful when dealing with nations that have several cores, such as France and the Ottomans. By taking land from these countries, making it Catholic, adding it to the HRE, and then releasing it as a vassal, Austria can increase its Imperial Authority (IA) and gain a vassal for five years before setting them free. This approach can also help keep aggressive expansion low.

Additionally, if a nation is small, consisting of only one or two provinces and bordering the HRE, releasing them in a peace deal will often result in them joining the HRE voluntarily as they feel threatened. This strategy can be used to keep aggressive expansion in check.

When it comes to increasing IA, adding new land and princes to the HRE is the fastest way to do so. As Austria, it is beneficial to utilise the muscle that comes with being the emperor and form unions with countries like Bohemia and Hungary to beat neighbouring nations and add their land to the empire. This can be a very effective way to gain IA quickly.

Moreover, it is important to keep the HRE at peace and prevent internal fighting as much as possible. This can be achieved by warning every country that borders the HRE and demanding unlawful territory if it will result in a new prince joining the HRE. It is also crucial to prevent any nation from getting too powerful and absorbing other HRE states.

In summary, annexing provinces, adding their cores to the HRE, and releasing them as a vassal can be a powerful strategy for Austria to increase its IA, gain vassals, and maintain peace within the empire.

Diploannex and release before coring

Diplo-annexing is a strategy in Europa Universalis IV that involves using diplomacy to vassalize a country and then annexing them. This can be a useful strategy for expansion, especially for Christian countries, as it allows you to get personal union (PU) vassals and avoid aggressive expansion and overextension penalties. It is also beneficial when you want to spend your diplomatic points instead of administrative points. However, it can be a slow process and may result in a diplo rep penalty.

When deciding whether to diplo-annex or core, it is essential to consider your circumstances and the specific mechanics of the game. Coring a province allows you to own and utilize it directly, but it can lead to increased revolt risk and overextension. On the other hand, diplo-annexing involves vassalizing a country, which can provide benefits such as additional armies and reduced administrative burden. However, it requires diplomatic slots and can be costly in terms of diplomatic points.

In the context of playing as Austria in Europa Universalis IV, diplo-annexing and releasing countries before coring can be a useful strategy for expanding the Holy Roman Empire (HRE). By conquering provinces from other countries, such as Venice, you can release them as vassals, such as Dalmatia, to gain additional returnable cores. This approach can help you expand your influence and territory within the HRE.

To effectively utilize the diplo-annex and release strategy as Austria, you can follow these steps:

• Conquer provinces from countries like Venice that are not part of the HRE.
• Release the conquered provinces as vassals, such as Dalmatia, to gain additional returnable cores.
• Diplo-annex these vassals to integrate them into your empire.
• Add the cores of the vassals to the HRE.
• Release the vassals as independent countries within the HRE.

By following these steps, you can increase the number of countries within the HRE, strengthening your position as Emperor. However, it's important to note that the AI-controlled countries may not always join the HRE on their own, so you might need to employ other strategies to encourage them to join.

Core, add to HRE, then release

As Austria, if you want to add other countries to the HRE, you cannot invite them to join. The only way to do it is to annex them, add their cores to the HRE, and release them as a vassal.

If you want to use them to reconquer cores, then don't bother coring, just release them. If you want to keep them as a vassal, then core, add to the HRE, and then release. Any non-HRE vassal will not be subject to the special vassal rule once you centralize the HRE and will calculate liberty desire based on the strength of ALL vassals to you, whereas HRE vassals only take their own strength into consideration (like a PU).

If you want to increase Imperial Authority (IA), the fastest way to do so is by adding new land and princes to the HRE. As Austria, you can use your military strength to beat your neighbours and add their land to the HRE. Take land, make it Catholic, add it to the HRE, and then release it, preferably by using the return province button on the province or by accepting rebel demands, releasing it as a vassal. If the nation is small (1-2 provinces) and borders the HRE, you can release them in the peace deal and they'll add themselves to the HRE because they feel threatened (use this to keep aggressive expansion low).

When the reformation starts, smash it quickly. If you demand a forced religion in the peace deal, it converts the capital, and if the reformation centre is there, it gets removed. Don't be shy to attack with no CB if you need to, it's still better than dealing with all the heresy.

Get a few scattered provinces around the HRE area and warn everyone you border. This will give you the opportunity to use claims and the conquest CB to make them release annexed countries instead of using unlawful territory.

Add provinces to increase Imperial Authority

As Austria, there are several ways to increase Imperial Authority (IA) by adding provinces to the Holy Roman Empire (HRE). Firstly, you can conquer provinces from neighbouring nations and add them to the HRE. This can be done by coring the land and then using the "+" button on the province window to add it to the empire. Additionally, if the conquered provinces contain cores of existing HRE nations, you can release those cores as vassals, further increasing the number of princes in the HRE and boosting IA.

Another strategy is to take advantage of nations with many foreign cores, such as France and the Ottomans. You can conquer their land, make it Catholic, add it to the HRE, and then release it as a vassal. If the nation is small, with only one or two provinces, you can release them in the peace deal, and they will likely add themselves to the HRE. This method helps keep aggressive expansion low.

Furthermore, you can use unlawful territory demands to your advantage. When nations within the HRE annex other nations, you can demand they return the annexed land. If they refuse, you gain a casus belli to force them to return the land, and you can then add it to the HRE. This helps to keep the number of princes high and prevents any one nation from becoming too powerful.

Additionally, keeping the peace within the HRE is crucial. You can warn all your neighbours, which will prevent most of them from fighting each other. You can also use your position as Emperor to demand any province within the HRE in a peace deal, helping to create more neighbours and gain more casus belli. Finally, when the Reformation starts, it is essential to act quickly to prevent the spread of heresy. You can force religion in peace deals or attack heretic princes without a casus belli to keep the HRE Catholic.

Demand unlawful territory

As the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in Europa Universalis IV, you will often encounter the issue of unlawful territory. This occurs when a nation within the HRE conquers territory from another nation within the empire. As the emperor, you can demand the return of unlawfully occupied provinces to prevent your vassals from becoming too powerful. However, this can be a slow process, as imperial authority is gradually gained over time.

• Ignore the issue: You can simply refuse to return unlawful territory and continue playing. This will result in some negative consequences, such as increased unrest and reduced legitimacy, but they are relatively minor in the grand scheme of the game.
• Stay at war: The emperor cannot demand unlawful territory while you are at war. You can take advantage of this by declaring war before coring the occupied provinces. However, this approach can be chaotic and may require constant warfare.
• Ally with the emperor: Having a positive relationship with the emperor makes it less likely that they will demand the return of unlawful territory. This strategy may not always work, but it can help reduce the frequency of such demands.
• Dismantle the empire: If you are playing as a powerful nation, such as Brandenburg or Bohemia, you can choose to dismantle the empire by sieging down the emperor's capital and the capitals of any electors you couldn't ally. This will create absolute chaos but will also eliminate the issue of unlawful territory.
• Vassal feeding: Instead of directly conquering territory, you can vassalize nations within the HRE and feed them the conquered provinces. This slows down your expansion by 10 years (the time it takes to annex the vassal), but it can help you avoid unlawful territory demands.
• Expand your borders: Acquiring random provinces within the HRE can provide you with fabrication claims on other nations. This allows you to force small nations to release conquered territories without relying on unlawful territory demands.
• Maintain a large number of princes: Demand unlawful territory strategically to prevent any one prince from becoming too powerful. For example, if a nation annexes another but refuses to return the territory, you can use the resulting casus belli to force them to release all possible nations.
• Control the reformation: Keep a close eye on the spread of Protestantism and eliminate reformation centers as soon as they appear. Forcing nations to convert can help prevent unlawful territory issues and maintain stability within the empire.

Frequently asked questions