Everything YOU wanted to know about Dynasties and Personal Unions! ✦ EU4 Tutorium No. 1 

Ask me what you want me to answer for the Topic of "Trade" for the next episode of EU4 Tutorium!

one thing that i don't think you mentioned is the way that any nation can usurp the kalmar union, regardless of government type. all that's needed is that gotland remain a duchy at game start (10% chance) and if you're not incredibly quick about it, that they continue to remain a duchy after the death of eric (again, 10% chance). the rng isn't great, but the first is literally on game start so rerolling isn't a hassle. the second can be problematic if you don't notice it. just vassalize gotland. make sure to set bleking as vital interest so gotland gets a claim, as they can't begin their missions until they have a wargoal on denmark. duchy gotland's mission tree requires that they have 50 spynetwork on denmark (or +75 opinion of norway/sweden, but there's no way for you as the overlord to direct gotland as the vassal to increase opinion. and even if there were, sweden will never get there as it views gotland as vital interest; you can't force them to remove their core as it's swedish culture). so set a bunch of provinces as vital interest and let gotland get to spying. demanding abo from sweden will help give gotland more provinces they can claim, because the ones they can see from gotland aren't enough to reach 50 spynetwork. this takes a while and is dependent on the ai being ai, unfortunate. if norway or sweden declare independence, you can intervene to help put them down for denmark. once you've got both those missions done, just go to war with denmark and give gotland forts to make them have 50% personally held warscore. including sjaelland obviously. once they have it, they will pop their mission to replace denmark as leader of the kalmar union, but since they're a vassal, all three PUs will go to you, their overlord. denmark gets -100% liberty desire, which will help, but sweden will still have their +50 or +75 liberty desire modifiers, so you gotta keep them in line before the truce runs out.

Bohemia starts without a ruler, so you can RM the Palatinate, get a Wittelsbach on your throne and PU denmark with their subjects for basically 3 free PUs really early (as long as those pesky swedes don't declare independence :D)

For the reform progress growth, there are other monuments that give it too, like the one in Naples, but the Venetian one is the one with the highest bonus. There's also court ideas, and some policies if you want to stack a lot

Regarding the Spice Girls achievement, I actually had a unique way of getting it: the Order of St. Joan event as Orleans > France and turning into a matriarchy crusader order. The MTTH on firing the event is later in the game (within 100 years after the age of Absolutism begins) but once you become the crusader order it's only a matter of getting the trade goods that you need without trying to fudge the rulership. There's obviously faster ways of achieving it but this will guarantee that you (eventually) get it.

Regarding trade. What is the better modifier? Trade efficiency, trade power, merchant trade power, etc? Give the best three in general

How to choose the best merchants allocation? Trying all possible combinations can be really frustrating... Take Novgorod/Muscovy as an example, there are: 1. Collect and compete in Novgorod (but then a lot will be stolen to the Baltic and Lubeck); 2. Collect in Kazan and conquer Novgorod to make it a pseudo-end node (but then loosing Novgorod production trade I guess?); 3. Collect in the White Sea (but then you need to conquer North See to make White Sea a pseudo-end node?); 4. Collect in Novgorod, then Baltic, then Lubeck then the Channel through the conquest (hundreds of years OR whole Europe in coalition, and counter to your natural East expansion). I mean it is not just about 'try what gives you the best income', but rather what long-term strategy to use here...

For early game as Muscovy, is it smarter to conquer first into the Baltic to prevent ducats from leaving, or go after trade nodes that lead into your main node like Kazan or Kiev? Thank you for previous answer!

Could you show some good set up for trade? Like where to collect/transfer, how many ships using, what are the best modifier for trade, where to build marketplace and better CoT first?

As of 1.37, how much should I TC? Only up to 51 + extra for the merchant, or should I try to max the production increase bonus?

About trade. what the hell is "caravan power", and why does paradox think that's a good enough explanation to give Venice about 40% of the trade power in Persia when I'm playing as Persia, without them owning any provinces anywhere near the place?

I lately played a Austria game and had much of Europe under controll but then my leader died and I my large Burgundy, Hungary and Naples PUs at the same time and that killed my interest in playing further as I was instantly over gov cap by a really large margin.

Question: In regards to the light ship 'Protect trade Mission'. May I ask on what factors are considered in what number it calculates over the regions that you can send ships to?

if i am the only power in a node - is it worth it to put a merchant transferring trade power? For example, if I control 100% of trade power in North Sea, and my home node is English Channel, does having a merchant transfer trade do anything? likewise - does caravan power change the math at all on this?

Which Government Reform (Trade Tier) shall I pick under what circumstances

About trade, are light ships worth the investment in the age of discovery before the conquest of the home node, or is it just better to invest in the military to conquer immediately ? In the reformation age, is it worth it to make a light ship fleet for trade protection ?

I am a bit supriesed: I remember that relativ Prestige used to play a role in Inheritence. Was that a misconception on my part or was it changed somewhere along the way?

How does amount of value Steered away from a trade node work? I swear I see the AI having very little trade power in a node yet managing to steer away quite a bit of money.. (I was under the impression trade steering was the % added to any trade steered away and not just amount stolen but idk)

I think Bohemia is best for atwix achievement due to their government.

How much trade power do you need to collect any amount of money in a non home node?

Wait, can Trebizond then get a Timurid Prince through the heathen marriage mechanic and form Timurids?

Is it better to put the whole state into a trade company or just the provinces that have trade bonuses and leave the rest of the state as is?

i made the archivement 10 pu easy with austria

How is production income determined, and how does it differ from goods produced?

How does the penalty for collecting outside the main node work?

Being muslim gives you a 100% heir chance though so even with a royal marriage you wouldn't get a foreign noble heir no? Unless you play Trebizond. However the easiest way I can see getting a Timurid heir without the decision is to ally a Timurid run country and disinheriting your heir when you owe them 90+ favors, so they can request a member of their dynasty on your throne using them.

What happens if you stack your trade steering as high as possible? Does it just mean you get all the trade in a node regardless?

Huh. I didn't know royal marriages depended on religious group.

how dare you stand where he stood?

The claim that you keep your PU if you change gov type is either outdated or just wrong. In my Holland to Netherlands runs in 1.37; once you become a Dutch Republic you LOSE your PU (Burgundy or England), because they (PUs) are NOT supported by your government type.