I am nearing 600 hours logged in Empire: Total War, and considering how I have been forced to run the game without mods (currently playing the Mac version on Steam), I have meticulously crafted a set of rules to keep the game challenging without breaking immersion. (Playing on Ultra Hard sort of ruins the experience.)

I am constantly making tweaks, but I feel that now I have arrived at a pretty good balance. So, without further adieu, here is my current set of house rules for ETW.



Hard (Campaign) / Hard (Battle)

1. No mulligans except for mis-clicks.
2. Cannot fight minor nations unless they declare war on you first, or are allied with an enemy major nation.
3. Must fight field armies before taking cities against minor nations.
4. May only adjust taxes in each continent by 1 tick every 2 years. (Emergency exemption from taxes allowed for 1 turn max.)
5. Can only have 1 college to start, and a second must be annexed. (Max of 2 allowed.) Roll the dice for tech choices. Must keep original college in capital.
6. Gentlemen cannot reattempt to steal technologies after being found out, and must duel when being discovered.
7. Can only kick 1 minister every 5 years (including interim ministers upon death). Must allow cpu to auto-fill.
8. Max of 2 army HQs allowed in Europe, 1 per other continents.
9. Max of 1 naval HQ allowed globally (MUST be located in Europe).
10. May only train 1 and replenish 1 unit per military capital per turn, and only if there is a general/admiral present. Promoting a general costs BOTH actions for 1 turn.
11. Must own 4 European provinces in order to establish 2nd army HQ.
12. A requirement of 2 years is needed before moving a military HQ to another province.
13. Exception: 1 militia unit can be trained per turn at a Military Governor’s Encampment with general present. (No replenishment allowed.)
14. Must auto-resolve battles w/ no general.
15. Max of 4 generals allowed on one continent, and 6 total.
16. Max of 4 artillery units allowed for the main army, 3 units allowed per add’l stacks.
17. May not replenish advanced troops in other theaters. Can only recruit and replenish local auxiliaries from the military HQ.
18. May only propose 1 diplomatic agreement per turn (including peace attempts). If declined, you must wait till next turn.
19. No initiating trades for technology. Max of 3 techs may be acquired through diplomacy per campaign (they must offer first, and you cannot counter which tech is traded.)
20. Must ATTACK capital cities to take them. Secondary provinces can be waited out during siege.
21. Max of 1 standalone fort per province. All walls in cities must be torn down.
22. Max of 6 units can be housed in a fort (generals count). All forts must be wooden, and you cannot repair damage taken.
23. Max 1 trade ship per trade port owned. (May keep trade units given at start of campaign.)
24. Max of 2 army units may be transported per ship-of-the-line, 1 per sloop or trade vessel.