Liberate option

I'm still unclear about what to do with this new option.
You get like 2 crappy units to join your army if you liberate a nation, and nothing more ...
Am i missing something ? I was hoping to be able to recruit polish, italian, swiss etc troops, but it doesnt seem like it.
Anyone have some info i dont have ?

Yea not to sure about that but now i only do it it if there will be unrest and i cant afford to fight rebellions but idk the become your protectorate.

The units they give you are random. 4 is the most I gotten at once. I have recieved generals and elite units I had capped already. Denmark gave me a General, an elite skirmisher and 2 Line infantry.

I got 2 units of Polish Legion when i liberated Poland.

The point of liberation isn't so much the troops you get, its that the region becomes your protectorate. The region will also agree to trade with you from turn 1(assuming trade is possible, remember they need a trade port or to be next to one of your own regions).

This has a few benefits:
1)You get one third of the income you would've gotten, but do not need to spend money on a garrison.
2)The faction is not at war with whoever you took the region from, this means that its an effective way to deny whoever you are warring with from taking it back if your resources are limited.
3) You get an additional trade partner, and in turn more trade income. Very useful if you have lots of merchantmen.

Originally Posted by zerathule

I'm still unclear about what to do with this new option.
You get like 2 crappy units to join your army if you liberate a nation, and nothing more ...
Am i missing something ? I was hoping to be able to recruit polish, italian, swiss etc troops, but it doesnt seem like it.
Anyone have some info i dont have ?

Indeed, you are missing something

When you liberate a faction, it automatically becomes your protectorate. That means you have a new ally that loves you (and will probably do your bidding), and pays half of its turn-by-turn income to you as tribute.

Originally Posted by KippyK

Indeed, you are missing something

When you liberate a faction, it automatically becomes your protectorate. That means you have a new ally that loves you (and will probably do your bidding), and pays half of its turn-by-turn income to you as tribute.

Actually, I found that freshly liberated nations don't love you. They are your protectorates, true, but they don't necessarily love you. I've 'liberated' three small city-states next to france (playing for Nappy) and they all 'unfriendly' even though they are my protectorates. now I'm thinking when they will decide to stab me in the back

Originally Posted by Zetto

Actually, I found that freshly liberated nations don't love you. They are your protectorates, true, but they don't necessarily love you. I've 'liberated' three small city-states next to france (playing for Nappy) and they all 'unfriendly' even though they are my protectorates. now I'm thinking when they will decide to stab me in the back

Give am some Love/Money and they will be the best Airbag cushion agains any invading army you can think of....they build up their Defending Armies quite well....and they work perfectly as a buffer, I use Belgium as a buffer to protect My AMSTERDAM coffee shop haven .....Liberating Catalonia is a nice way of breaking up France and Spain from each other.....once Spain is all alone, they are easy to dispose off....on thing I found out, is if you give away Gibraltar to Portugal.....Spain never takes it back...at least so far in my campaign they left them alone, which in return makes for happy crossing into the Med.

Originally Posted by Zetto

Actually, I found that freshly liberated nations don't love you. They are your protectorates, true, but they don't necessarily love you. I've 'liberated' three small city-states next to france (playing for Nappy) and they all 'unfriendly' even though they are my protectorates. now I'm thinking when they will decide to stab me in the back

Just give them a state gift and forge a trade agreement. They'll go green for you in like 3 turns. One other key thing is to never declare war on anyone. That kills your diplomatic standing with the protectorates. A few nifty ways around this caveat are:

a)never sign a peace treaty with anyone you plan on continuously attacking (duh...)

b)If you want to declare war on someone, find an ally or protectorate that is already at war with them. Bring up diplomatic relations with that ally and offer to "Join Wars". Then click on the country you want to pwn and you're all set. No negative diplomacy points when you declare war this way. I guess that's because in a way you are honoring treaties, just not the peace treaty you had with your enemy...

c) absolute last option if the above two don't work is to try to goad your enemy into attacking you by repeatedly threatening them. Usually doesn't work, but sometimes it does....

I love liberating, it makes the game more interesting than just capturing everything. And for example, I recently, as Britain, captured Brittany, which gave me Bretagne as a protectorate, admittedly I got only 1 unit of fencibles, but it means France has more people to fight, diverting troops away from you. And yes someone to trade with.

I'm sure it is also a matter of gameplay style - are you attempting to trying to 'role play' a campaign or merely try and win? I find by 'role playing' a campaign I get more out of it so my interest in a campaign can go beyond the nominal end date of the campaign (I played a Prussian ETW campaign until 2036....).

Yes, I do know it's a game - but it's a matter of trying to enjoy it more. I also appreciate that some players will read this with bewilderment......

Originally Posted by Brusilov

I'm sure it is also a matter of gameplay style - are you attempting to trying to 'role play' a campaign or merely try and win? I find by 'role playing' a campaign I get more out of it so my interest in a campaign can go beyond the nominal end date of the campaign (I played a Prussian ETW campaign until 2036....).

Yes, I do know it's a game - but it's a matter of trying to enjoy it more. I also appreciate that some players will read this with bewilderment......

2036 o.O

But I fully get what you're saying...its like people playing GB immediately invading France and becoming a continental power while ignoring their navies/trade.

I like the liberate option, adds another layer of depth to the campaign. However, why is it that your protectorates do not make peace with your enemy when you do? They haven't changed this since empire. My protectorates stay at war with all the nations that I made peace with. The peace deals for protectorates should be automatic once the mother-nation makes peace with an enemy.

Originally Posted by Grave

I like the liberate option, adds another layer of depth to the campaign. However, why is it that your protectorates do not make peace with your enemy when you do? They haven't changed this since empire. My protectorates stay at war with all the nations that I made peace with. The peace deals for protectorates should be automatic once the mother-nation makes peace with an enemy.

It's sometimes impossible to convince them to go to war as well...

Well in my current campain as Russia I liberated Italy and the swiss because i only have 1 stack and little money to spare. I need the 1 stack to fight and im using up my money for improvements in the motherland. So liberating gives me an ally, income, I dont need to garrison them, and switzerland is a good supply center. P.S. ive taken Paris.

I liberated A LOT of nations in my current Russian campaign. I quickly defeated the Ottomans, liberating Romania and Greece along the way and convinced them to go to war with the Ottomans to help me a bit. Then I moved a full stack (with a good general) through Austria (my ally) and snuck past Italy (using ambushing to hide myself between turns) and up to the Germanic nations. I liberated Switzerland and used it to replenish my troops while staging numerous attacks on Württemburg which France had captured (attack, loot, burn - rinse & repeat every time France takes it back.) Then I liberated Würrtemburg and Bavaria and convinced the both, along with Switzerland, to go to war with France. This really slowed down Napoleon's offensive, even more so after I assassinated him. Switzerland, Bavaria and Württemburg are still my protectorates, my warhounds. I had my full stack sneak around in the Germanic wilderness, ambushing whatever I could, did some raiding and looting here and there, for something like 20-30 turns. Guerrilla warfare is awesome.

Originally Posted by Gunodd

I liberated A LOT of nations in my current Russian campaign. I quickly defeated the Ottomans, liberating Romania and Greece along the way and convinced them to go to war with the Ottomans to help me a bit. Then I moved a full stack (with a good general) through Austria (my ally) and snuck past Italy (using ambushing to hide myself between turns) and up to the Germanic nations. I liberated Switzerland and used it to replenish my troops while staging numerous attacks on Württemburg which France had captured (attack, loot, burn - rinse & repeat every time France takes it back.) Then I liberated Würrtemburg and Bavaria and convinced the both, along with Switzerland, to go to war with France. This really slowed down Napoleon's offensive, even more so after I assassinated him. Switzerland, Bavaria and Württemburg are still my protectorates, my warhounds. I had my full stack sneak around in the Germanic wilderness, ambushing whatever I could, did some raiding and looting here and there, for something like 20-30 turns. Guerrilla warfare is awesome.

A pic from Romania?

Originally Posted by Tantalaul

A pic from Romania?

Sorry, don't have one. And if I'm not mistaken, I might've deleted the save. Or maybe that was my French campaign...

On my Great Britain, I were planned to liberate some regions to get more allies and trades. I think that when I will attack to Amsterdam, I would liberate our enemies to old friendly Netherland for us, but income and money was so good there that I decided take that city for the base near France.
Some turns later. I planned attack near Paris. So I build an army to Belgium, where is France's emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his 1000 army.
Battle of Belgium freedom, started in heavy rain. It wasn't easy place for attacker, because there were hills who can stopping our artillery-firing. So we decided give France come and then shoot them hard. France attacked and Napoleon made own attack foward my artillery, but my cavalry and one line-infantry stopped him and wounded him. Then we attacked to the town and killed french soldiers, whose were retreating. After battle, we libarated Belgium and they came my protector and got trade-deals with them.
They gave 1x militia-unit and 1x line-infantry unit for me.

Liberate can be a useful way of creating reliable trading partners, especially when you beat the French and then have to wardec your allies to get those last couple of campaign objectives.