Protectorates or Direct Rule?

**The Emperor of Down Under** · March 08, 2009, 11:29 AM

Hey, I have been playing etw now for several hours perhaps days and am wondering if it is better to just take over a faction completely destroying it or force them to surrender and become a protectorate.

In my first game I just went mad conquering territorys but they all eventually revolted. However they do bring in the cash.

Then in my next one I played france again and had wuttemburg, westaphila, and savoy as my protectorates. I didn't get much money probably because they all had two full stack armies with only one city.

Any Thoughts?

**Alexandrov** · March 08, 2009, 11:33 AM

It all depends. Crush them if they have regions you need for victory in the campaign. Sometimes its good to have a protectorate as a buffer against one frontier of your empire. Like if you play Russia reducing Poland to 1-2 regions and making it a protectorate helps a lot. You get 50% of what protectorates make. So if they conquer a lot of territories they can net you a few grand a turn. Just be careful if they do as they sometimes turn back on you if their armies get powerful enough.

**Talroth** · March 08, 2009, 11:49 AM

This is one point that makes E:TW actually worth putting up with all the bugs and such. Nations are actually willing to fork over cash in exchange for your protection and willingness to stop crushing their heads.

Use them to secure income in areas you're just not ready to commit to a full campaign to secure.

(I just moved in on Prussia, and reduced it from having 6 provinces and a strong army, to no armies that I can see, and a single province that became my protectorate, all in the space of 2 years. Good times. I would mop up the last one, but I have to move on Russia next.)

**Bren25** · March 08, 2009, 11:53 AM

Is there a special diplomacy option for protectorates? I haven't seen it.

**Talroth** · March 08, 2009, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by Bren25

Is there a special diplomacy option for protectorates? I haven't seen it.

They have to be down to a low number of provinces or armies, not sure which. I only used it on people that were down to their last province when I had other wars to move on to. Still need to take over Iceland,...

**ilikeicehockey** · March 08, 2009, 02:49 PM

I just take them over if they're one province left. I don't have to worry about them after and can keep advancing.

**TheBlobThing** · March 08, 2009, 03:05 PM

It's also fun that they can't refuse to join in a war without declaring war on you. Great revenge for an old enemy if e.g. Sweden only has Finland left and you declare war on Russia. I usually leave enemies alive to use as puppets and cash cows. Can't be bothered with all those provinces really.

**qmark** · March 08, 2009, 03:22 PM

Puzzled by the whole Protecturate thing myself. It's far more historically accurate than the destruction of nations though.

I'd like to know what needs to happpen for a protecturate to become a part of your empire. It's mentioned in the GB game where the 13 colonies apparently offer to join the British empire if certain conditions are met.

Also does the status of protecturate affect what happens in joint battles? I sieged the Swedish held city of Copenhagen after the Swedes had attacked Hannover. My full stack army was joined with 1 turn before surrender by an 'army' from Hannover, 2 units of line and 1 of arty. Battle goes according to plan with my men sustaining minimal casualties but my protecturate allies needed some help with the Swedes focusing on and pretty much destroying the Hannovarians. A couple of units head over and defeat the remaining Swedes. End Battle. Copenhagan becomes a Hannover region?????? WTF?!?!?!? In M2TW it was whoever had the most troops. I made sure I took the townhall but still the city wasn't mine despite my troops being the ones who had sieged the city for almost 3 years??????

Quite annoyed about that one I must admit!

**Fehr** · March 08, 2009, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by qmark

Puzzled by the whole Protecturate thing myself. It's far more historically accurate than the destruction of nations though.

I'd like to know what needs to happpen for a protecturate to become a part of your empire. It's mentioned in the GB game where the 13 colonies apparently offer to join the British empire if certain conditions are met.

Also does the status of protecturate affect what happens in joint battles? I sieged the Swedish held city of Copenhagen after the Swedes had attacked Hannover. My full stack army was joined with 1 turn before surrender by an 'army' from Hannover, 2 units of line and 1 of arty. Battle goes according to plan with my men sustaining minimal casualties but my protecturate allies needed some help with the Swedes focusing on and pretty much destroying the Hannovarians. A couple of units head over and defeat the remaining Swedes. End Battle. Copenhagan becomes a Hannover region?????? WTF?!?!?!? In M2TW it was whoever had the most troops. I made sure I took the townhall but still the city wasn't mine despite my troops being the ones who had sieged the city for almost 3 years??????

Quite annoyed about that one I must admit!

If i recall correctly it has always been the one that leads the attack that gets the city, so if the hannoverians decided to attack they wuold get the settlement, no matter how much help they got from you

**Al_Ka_Pwn** · March 08, 2009, 06:45 PM

wait, is there an actualy procterate option once they get low on troops, or is it thru the surrender option when you siege a city?

**Rockstone** · March 08, 2009, 07:00 PM

Playing Russia I conquerored the Sweden province. The enemy only had Norway left. I settled for a peace deal with a protectorate, which they agreed on. Every turn after that, I get spamed by some diplomatic proposal asking the Sweden province back. Pissed me off, my army was still in the neighbourhood. Walked to Christiansand (I think, the one near Oslo), took the damned place and killed the faction.

Still, the protectorate thing is good cash. May try that again later on...

**Sailor** · March 09, 2009, 11:27 AM

As Spain, I have the Genoaese down to one region, and I still don't see any protectorate option in diplomacy. It would have been nice if it was explained to us what's required for it to pop up as a diplomatic option, say in the form of a manual...

Also, any way to see how much money you're getting from your protectorate?

**Pypok** · March 09, 2009, 12:07 PM

The game needs something like a BadBoy counter in EU3. Something to keep track of your reputation to other nations, and if it gets too high then everyone will gang up on you. This would keep you from destroying nations and taking regions. As it stands right now, there is no reason whatsoever to have protectorates.

a) When a nation becomes your protectorate it's still at war with whomever it was before.
b) You get less income then if you control and develop the region
c) They might turn on you if you
d) spam messages

As of right now. Just conquer them, destroy the churches and build your own. in 3 turns it will be a happy province ranking in nice cash.

**Chlodwig I.** · March 09, 2009, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Rockstone

Playing Russia I conquerored the Sweden province. The enemy only had Norway left. I settled for a peace deal with a protectorate, which they agreed on. Every turn after that, I get spamed by some diplomatic proposal asking the Sweden province back. Pissed me off, my army was still in the neighbourhood. Walked to Christiansand (I think, the one near Oslo), took the damned place and killed the faction.

Still, the protectorate thing is good cash. May try that again later on...

Bad Idea to break a protectorate treaty.
You will get hugh problems at Diplomacy

**civildude892** · March 09, 2009, 02:19 PM

I played as Sweden and made Poland my protectorate after destroying them. I figured this way I could build up and go after austria without having to waste more time on these weaklings.

Well unfortunately a protectorate can still deny you military access to their lands, and refused to give it to me. That made me angry so the rest of poland had to fall. If i am supposed to be protecting them why would they get mad at me marching over their lands?

**awisler** · March 09, 2009, 02:42 PM

A tactic I have been using, is to make distant small factions a protectorate. As Prussia, I was in a period of peace and had an army lying around still, so I marched it through Venice to the Italian States, and besieged them forcing them to be a protectorate. I did the same thing with Savoy.

I do not plan on conquering Italy, at least not until I conquer the Americas and eliminate france/spain/great britain, so it nets me some income somewhere far away where they dont really have a chance to backstab me. Plus when I do get to Italy I can pick off venice/genoa without any other wars on me.