National Bank: Best Idea ever or just meh?

[ajm317]

Looking around the Paradox boards I see that a lot of people feel that regardless of what faction you choose your first idea should be National Bank. The reasoning is that it allows you to make money monthly without worries about inflation right off the bat.

Sounds good, at first inspection.

But lets look at this.

National bank saves you .1% on inflation per year max. That means that over the course of 100 years it'll save you 10% max. Which means that something that might have cost you 110 ducats without NB will cost you 100 with NB after 100 years.

Is this really such a big deal? Don't get me wrong. Saving 10% on inflation over 100 years is better than NOT saving 10% on inflation over 100 years, but is it really the most important thing out there? Is it better than Deus Volt, QfTHNW, Shrewd Commerce Practices or the one that gives the manpower boost? Any of these things are going to give a MUCH bigger boost to your economy over 100 years than 10%, one would hope.

It seems to me that inflation is only worrisome if you don't grow your economy quickly enough to outpace it.

Or am I crazy? I've only played half of 1 game on normal, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. It just seems to me that NB as a first idea is a sucker choice.

[William the Bastard]

Extremely high Inflation can be as problematic as high BB and so is therefore something to always try and control. Best way is to never mint from the start. However this can sometimes be problematic and it is always better to mint for a month or two than to take out a loan (IMHO).

The way I play (depending on how much I have been minting so far) is to leave "National Bank" until the third or forth National Idea. If my Inflation goes above 6-7% I will probably take it second (this never happens though ). Or alternatively wait for THAT building you get later on (I can't remember what it's called ) that reduces inflation (Avignon has one from the start of the game).

If you have National Bank and gotten rid of your inflation then you might as well Mint for a month or two and give yourself a bonus then let it reduce for the rest of the year. Later in the game when you are putting shed loads of cash into tech this as minted money can give you the resources that would have taken ages to save up for.

[ajm317]

Extremely high Inflation can be as problematic

Now what's your definition of extremely high? I have 25% in my game and I can still buy whatever I want.

Best way is to never mint from the start.

Obiviously you don't want your inflation through the roof, but as long as you do something productive with that minted money I suspect there's no problem in minting for a while. If you gain 6% inflation but win 3 wars, that seems like a pretty good deal to me.

The way I play (depending on how much I have been minting so far) is to leave "National Bank" until the third or forth National Idea.

This is what I did, and I think it's pretty reasonable. NB is a decent idea, and the nice thing about it is it fits into any play style. It's just not the game defining idea some of the others are.

Or alternatively wait for THAT building you get later on (I can't remember what it's called ) that reduces inflation (Avignon has one from the start of the game).

Tax assesor. That one is awesome.

[William the Bastard]

Now what's your definition of extremely high? I have 25% in my game and I can still buy whatever I want.

As a Yorkshireman I don't like having to spend my cash on anything "unnecessary" or "expensive" . Minting increases the cost of building and recruiting so if you can afford it then go for it. I tend not to go over 7% and never have done (yet).

Obiviously you don't want your inflation through the roof, but as long as you do something productive with that minted money I suspect there's no problem in minting for a while. If you gain 6% inflation but win 3 wars, that seems like a pretty good deal to me.

The game has no goals that will give you an "ending". It's all about setting your own targets and just enjoying the journey there.

This is what I did, and I think it's pretty reasonable. NB is a decent idea, and the nice thing about it is it fits into any play style. It's just not the game defining idea some of the others are.

QFTNW is THE DEFINING National Idea. Nuff said.

Tax assesor. That one is awesome.

Best building there is if you have high inflation. Unnecessary if you have none.