Economy difficulties

[ddt15]

I'm having a hard time getting my economy on track with the mod. The cpu factions somehow generate enormous amounts of money from their provinces.

Screenie of my provinces and those of cpu factions which provide up to 5-6 times more money.

I play on very hard btw.

[quaz601]

i believe in hard difficulty the AI gets bonuses to their income, also you're playing as Cimmeria which is a minor faction in the startpos meaning you don't get the same base income as major factions like Rome or Egypt it makes a big difference, this was done to prevent minor factions from dominating major ones

[Cope]

The AI cheats: it must for its intelligence is vastly outmatched by your own. Indeed, the only possible way for any video game AI to prove a challenge for an experienced player is for it to be provided artificially bonuses.

That being said, there are various methods you can use to maximize your own assets in the game if you are having trouble with your own economy. I'll summarize some of the most common methods in case you were not aware.

1. Recruit dignitaries and set them to work governing your provinces or reducing your military upkeep. The latter can be done by attaching the dignitary to an army. When you are able to upgrade your dignitary, consider the "civil administration" or "military overseer" abilities. Diligent use of all agents can offer financial relief in the early game. Generals in particular are often over-looked for their money saving abilities. If you upgrade them with the "camp administrator" ability they can reduce military upkeep. The full set of skills available to all agents - which I recommend you have a look at - can be found here.

2. Try and forge good relations with a particular part of the map that will suit your needs. If for example you are at war in the west, then, where possible try and coerce the factions of the east into trade agreements and non aggression pacts. Not only will this secure your flank (meaning you can be more financially efficient with your armies) but trade will obviously increase your income.

3. Client States can be very helpful in the early game for the "free income" they offer. Under normal circumstances I would avoid client states at all costs, but at the beginning of any game, getting money without having to worry about public order problems or defending a region can actually be quite useful.

4. Make use of the Patrol Region stance. This reduces army upkeep and increases public order (which in turn increases tax yield). Just beware that it will leave your army vulnerable to enemy attacks since armies adopting the stance will be ambushed if attacked. The AI is seemingly aware of this and will try and sneak attack you when you're not looking.

5. Where possible make use of the new slave edict. This will maximize your slave output. If you do not own a whole province I would still recommend taking slaves - if you can control your public order - because they will give you a decent financial boost. Depending on your faction and or position, other edicts such as commercial stimulation can also help. Getting a full province as soon as you can will help you out massively.

6. Looting/sacking captured settlements is a decent early game strategy to acquire capital wealth if you are in short supply. Although it may not be the best policy in the long run, ready cash is usually hard to come by at the beginning of the game and acquiring it at the expense of a few buildings and bit of negative public order is often worthwhile.

[Lieutenant Sharpe]

Early game income is rough, but once you start obtaining provinces specialization is the key.

1. Income through commerce*.Depending on how many provinces I have generally have one commerce province that has 3-4 ports, utilizing the harbor branch for max commerce and maybe one shipwrights because it gives %bonus + ability to train a navy. Then begin building commerce% temples and the yellows (trading center). For provincial capital I often use the wine one since it uses commerce and gives bonuses on tariffs. Then add commercial stimulation edict and maybe a general with more commerce traits. Money will be flowing.

2. Food+agriculture. The province above is going to require a ton of food so a food province is necessary. Utilize agricultural buildings that give the most food. In addition you can build some +agricultural% buildings too. For the capital grain markets are often good or town center buildings that give more food. Use any bonus food or ag edicts.

3. Troops. Another important province, not exactly income, but I often create a military training province. This one utilizes workshops, barracks, training facilities, and temples that give more multiparty bonuses. These buildings generally don't fill up the province entirely so broken provinces can be used or the rest of the buildings can be used for income and food.

*If your nation doesn't have much sea access then industry is a much better option. Just keep stacking bonuses from as many buildings as possible related to industry. Also, try to choose province specialization based on the city center specialty(some ag, ind, or com.)

Other notes. If you are low on provinces I think it would be possible to use fishing ports and commerce bonuses to gain both food and money, but if possible it is always better to specialize completely. Another good source of income are the city and town centers (the oranges), always build the income ones. Anything that produces a lot of money uses a lot of food so always have lots of good because more food means more income buildings you can build. Slaves are useful, but make sure your public order is strong. It is not worth having to deal with revolts.

Back to early game, perhaps my favorite first turn job is that of extortion. Find anyone that likes you, and make them pay for non-aggression and trade. Anything you can make them pay for. Milk them dry and use it to get some income up asap. Now for the poor factions like the Antigonidai and Lusitani who have almost no one who likes them this is hard. Another more dangerous option is joining distant wars for money.

Like others said, very hard gives AI large bonuses which is way I've come to the conclusion that 1-2 city factions should played on hard or normal because on very hard, no one likes you and nations have your size can produce 2x as fast. Anyways, hope these tips are helpful, good luck!

[spirroouu]

AAAAAAH YES YES, I see you have adopted the Arche Bosphorus ways, good, good! (I have a rundown of them on hard and am reaching the end of my very hard campaign with them)
As for the early game, you will have some trouble at first but no need to worry! Worry about the Saka Rauka and the Roxolani, ther are prone to war and are hard to beat! Ponto-Caspia is also the region that benefits the most from your occupation, when you have the whole province its a big boost to your income!