A Complete Beginner's Guide to Paradox Grand Strategy Games in 2024

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There are so many Paradox grand strategy games out there these days that it can be legitimately hard to track, especially if you’re new to the franchise - and if you want to dive into it. Thing is, it can be hard to figure out what type of grand strategy games you wanna play. Even though Paradox GSGs share aspects of gameplay design, they are also quite different - so different in fact, that people legitimately struggle with making the transition from one to the next. In fact, I do to!
That’s why I thought it was time to make an up-to-date 2023 and 2024 complete beginner’s guide to Paradox grand strategy games, with brief overviews of the games and why you might like them, how difficult they are to learn, and doing it all in historical sequence!
Please let me know if you found this video helpful in the comments, and remember to like the video and subscribe to the channel! :)
#paradoxgaming #grandstrategy #paradoxgrandstrategy #paradoxgames #paradoxgaming #crusaderkings3 #victoria3 #stellaris #heartsofiron4 #imperatorrome #europauniversalis4

[@alexs_toy_barn]

I just started with Victoria 3 last month during its free weekend, never played a paradox game before. I played Sardinia Peidmont and I tried giving women property rights, I failed and caused my government to fall apart, then I joined a war against Austria, then France joined Austria against me even tho they owed me a diplomatic obligation, game's great

[@AndysParadox]

In which year did you go for the property rights? That one’s not easy early on or even until quite late honestly. Did you like it? :D

[@nahx6205]

Viki 3 looks better than Viki 2, but I will die on the hill that Viki 2 is a better game

[@kornelg8584]

You mean 'Propertied Women'? That s not the same...

[@pera_stoker9344]

Imperator: Rome 2:11 Crusader Kings III 5:46 Europa Universalis IV 9:36 Victoria III 13:45 Hearts Of Iron IV 16:17 Stellaris 18:38

[@Cam-nq8br]

Having just passed around 700 hours in hoi4 using all sorts of different mods with each play though, I can safely say I’m still learning new things every time I play 😂 such a great game

[@okkbok]

dlc are expensive and boring.Don't like it

[@prosteslavek]

He said nothing about dlc's​@@okkbok

[@pedrofelipefreitas2666]

*insert "i don't know how navy works" joke*

[@okkbok]

@@pedrofelipefreitas2666 I means after no step back. This is the last normal dlc

[@jimjones9631]

I love paradox games. I've had so many amazing and fun stories come out of games before. Not only are they fun strategy games but they are amazing emergent story games

[@thunderbagel3886]

I'm surprised you scored EU4's difficulty lower than V3. V3 is a complex game that's made much easier with their nested tooltips. EU4 doesn't have this feature so I feel like the learning curve is much steeper. Loved the video though!

[@AndysParadox]

I understand why it might be surprising - I should’ve added for every game frankly that watching KZbin gameplay videos etc is vital for a smooth learning period of the game. But still - I genuinely think Victoria 3 is much harder to learn than EU4. EU4 might have more mechanics etc, but I believe the EU4 gameplay foundation and loop, is a lot more approachable than Victoria 3’s immediate massive learning curve. You know what I mean? Thank you so much for watching!

[@overusedcringe4742]

@@AndysParadox I personally see it the other way around, Vic 3 was easy and I had never played a vic game beforehand, whereas EU4 is still a mind fuck for me

[@Kevin000]

EU4 has alot of systems but you have instant feedback in most actions, making it more intuitive to learn

[@sir313jonsson]

yeah i've tried to play EU4 so many times but i just don't know what im doing. meanwhile it took me no time to cet into Vic 3

[@freelancershogun]

Congrats on the new channel!

[@Didyouknowthatiexist]

I like how you rank games depending on how hard it is to learn how to play and not how fun you think it is. Great video. 10/10

[@cloakedhornets6515]

I find it funny how you say to start with another Paradox game instead of HOI4, Hoi 4 was actually my first ever paradox game. After 1000 hours, while I still haven't learnt the Navy, designers, etc, I've been able to definitely get the hang of it and have a lot of fun. I definitely came to Hoi4 and stayed with it for the mods though. Out of the big ones, I recommend: - Kaiserriech and Kaiserredux, What is Germany won WW1? (they both are good in their own way, people have their own preference.) - Old World Blues, a Fallout Conversion mod -The New Order: Last Days of Europe, a Cold War mod where the Axis win WW2 (VERY different gameplay compared to vanilla, closest to vanilla is probably Russia) - Equestria at War (Seriously. I haven't watched the show, but it's just a really polished, good mod) Great video anyway, I'm definitely considering trying EU 4. The mods for it look quite cool, and I've been looking to expand my sphere of Paradox games.

[@DarthJokerFett]

Great video and you do an excellent job of providing an overview of all the games. Just to throw my two cents in on the CK2/3 debate, I still find the overall content of CK2 much better compared to CK3 even if the QoL isn’t as good. From secret societies, plagues, merchant republics, migratory tribes, the College of Cardinals, varied and numerous start dates, etc. CK2 just has it all. I sincerely hope one day CK3 catches up, and on that day I can finally retire good ole CK2. I think at their cores though, CK2 is a GSG with rpg elements whereas CK3 is an rpg with GSG elements.

[@AndysParadox]

Thank you so much! And seriously - I agree with you about CK2. I think CK2 is so chock full of content, and you can tell that the original foundations of the games were different as you suggest. Playing CK2 now, I love it so much still, but I will admit that I’m having more fun with CK3’s religion and cultural divergence systems, which I feel are much deeper and immersive than CK2’s. But indeed, CK2 has a charm, depth, and quirkiness that I think belongs to a paradox that might’ve ended post EU4 in some ways, if you know what I mean.

[@DarthJokerFett]

@@AndysParadox very true, CK2 and EU4 belong to a different era of Paradox. I imagine EU5 will have a similar uphill battle whenever it gets released as it’ll be compared to what will probably be 15 years of EU4 post-release support by then.

[@AndysParadox]

That many years is just insane to think about

[@abrvalg321]

CK3 is a cuck simulator that pegged all religions and cultures into a single mold.

[@arcanetactician8997]

Imperator Rome would be the best if they kept firing the furnace. I'm just glad they are updating it again.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

I've bought most of these games, but never played them (like the other 200 Steam games I've never played). The amount of DLC puts me off, as it seems like you're only buying half a game, or an incomplete game, when you buy the base version. HOI4 looks interesting to me, and I bought some DLC even though I haven't played it yet. The other ones I have are Imperator: Rome (on Epic, do they even do mods?), EU3 (GOG) and EU4 (Steam), Stellaris (Steam) and Victoria 2 (GOG). Maybe I'll pick up CK3 on sale, just to have the complete set gathering dust. I probably would like these games, but they seem like they would take a long time to learn, so I keep putting them off. Thanks for putting the "learning curve" rating, so I know not to start with Victoria or HOI, lol.

[@wyattebersole3764]

I appreciate the love you show for Imperator. It's a great game and i actually have more hours there than in any of the others

[@AndysParadox]

Game recognize game! Damn how many hours do you have then? :)

[@knorrkzk.4688]

So I have played Stellaris for over 1000 hours and I was looking for another Paradox game to get into, this video helped a lot to choose which one to play, thank you! (btw I chose to go for EU IV)

[@kaunghtet9730]

I played hoi 4 first and then ck3 and now victoria 3 damn those game are so additive once u understand

[@AndysParadox]

I know right? How difficult did you feel it was getting into HOI4, and how would you compare it to CK3 and Vicky3’s learning curves?

[@JoeBurner1720]

@@AndysParadoxI went from risk to hoi 😂 Hoi being my first paradox game and i currently have 1200 hours on that. my friend and i bought eu4 and played it for a tiny bit but got overwhelmed and we quit, since we knew how long it took to learn hoi and we were a bit lazy. then we got into ck3, and i thought that was also a very good game. In my opinion, it’s probably the most immersive since you are playing the character and it’s very multiplayer friendly and fun and roleplayable. Eventually, we went back to try eu4 and to our surprise it was not as complex as we initially thought it was and had a decent time. Haven’t played it much but i think eu4 has some of the best mechanics out there paradox game wise.

[@kaunghtet9730]

Paradox games are additive once u understand u play it over and over again to learn new things. I would rate learning difficult is they are all easy to learn. It is fun when u start to understand.@@AndysParadox

[@kaunghtet9730]

u can rule anything playing paradox games. 😂 I lost so many hours playing these games.

[@kaunghtet9730]

Its even additive than sex. 😂

[@dach829]

i struggle with all that are not stellaris but thats cause the others are established which wouldnt be so bad if i knew the game mechanics better but for someone to learn the game i feel its so much harder when u have everything at the start. any idea if there are mods that u can play ck3 or hoi4 in a sort of blank map of a world to better learn the mechanics?

[@napoleonbonaparte7692]

Theres no way i just discovered this after just watching the 2022 version... This other channel was so hidden for me. Definitely woulda preferred this content on your main channel

[@22infection]

What UI mods do you have for CK3 i love that

[@sniffs4033]

I love how you always subtly plug your mods by showing off the beautiful maps, practically begging for people to ask how you got them to look like that. Personally, I think your CK3 map immersion is your best work, I adore the contrast and fog of war.

[@AndysParadox]

Haha! Thank you, I love the CK3 mod as well, couldn’t have done it without help from other modders who helped me along the way. A great community!

[@thunderbagel3886]

Yes, that's definitely a mod I didn't know I needed until I tried it

[@EuronKeksit]

I started with hoi4 and its my faivorate to this day. Mods add so much flavor and its so fun when you make up stradegies and they work out. Deffinetly recommend!

[@dedrinzypool1209]

I think you did a great job on the video. I have played a lot of paradox and can vouch for ya in agreement. This is my personal opinion on difficulty order for new players (everyone has their preferences, I see why Andy chose what he did) Rome: The easiest of the bunch in terms of mechanics, complexity, and doesn't overwhelm you at times but not as easy to stick to like the others. It's a shame paradox ditched it so quickly CK: Very simple combat and management mechanics. The hardest part is managing your politics such as vassals, intrigues, and scheming but also has the easiest (not best though) combat mechanics of any the later ones. HOI: It's a mix of very difficult but also not difficult to learn. It does have a lot, but it seems with every update things get easier to figure out and it's not as complex compared to the more difficult titles once you get into it. Probably the best combat mechanics of any Paradox game. EU: (personal favorite) Very complex and unpredictable, but it is not hard to play once you get used to the unpredictability of every region and session. Even veterans still learn new methods. But the amount of DLC can deter a lot of people (just wait for a Humble Bundle charity or just do the subscription to try it out) Stellaris: Simpler in some ways than Eu or Hoi but likely even more unpredictable. The game is constantly undergoing mass changes and also has lots of DLC (not as much as Eu4) to where new players could be scared off. (Also how did you screw up Astral Planes paradox?) Victoria: No question, the game is very complex and much harder to learn compared to the others. It's enjoyable once you do especially due to the era but it takes a very long time to learn compared to the others.

[@AndysParadox]

Thank you, and thanks for your thoughts! Interesting to see other opinions on what makes these games easier/harder to learn :)

[@raifthemad]

To me Victoria is easier than CK, only ones I've tried. Not because of harder mechanics, but because I despise monkey politics, and CK is pretty much just that. I rather lead a country than an inbreeding factory. So I'm reluctant to learn the mechanics. Victoria I just saw someone play for a few vids and then got to Great Nation with some south african country. Meant Vic2, vs CK2. Haven't felt the urge to try 3 in either case.

[@DionysosDrinker]

​@@raifthemadWell taste is different. I really like the GoT like politics game of CK3 and the quest to take your bloodline ontop of others.

[@vladmods]

Crusader Kings 3 and Stellaris are the only ones I go for, from time to time. Anything else is a bit too much.

[@AndysParadox]

Totally fair!

[@RandooGaming]

you seem to have avoided talking about dlc's when they are in every paradox game (and a lot in some cases). In some games like eu4 playing without dlc is like playing a beta or even an alpha version of the game

[@coco_rthritis6462]

That's why I can't get into HOI4. I'm not paying like a hundred fucking dollars just for a complete game I'm not sure I'll even like.

[@helghast_7203]

Which is exactly why I dropped EU4. Thanks for mentioning it.

[@RandooGaming]

@@helghast_7203 @coco_rthritis6462 Sadly that's how paradox works, but if you have the money to shell out the games are very good. IF you have the money

[@megadethjay]

I only played Civ & Total Wars. A excluding the learning difficulty, what should be your recommended game to start, Europa IV or Victoria 3? Thanks.

[@knorrkzk.4688]

It depends on what you like to focus, Victoria 3 is more focused on diplomacy and economy while EU IV is more focused on conquering through war. Stellaris is also a great game and definitely easier to understand than those two, you can also make so many different builds depending on how you like to play

[@abitsilly]

Couldn't get into EU4 or HOI4, but Victoria 3 just clicked for me. It's still lacking some features, but I'm excited to see how it matures

[@AndysParadox]

That’s awesome :) personally I feel like it has the foundations to be one of the must fun-addicting GSG ever, due to the buildings, markets, resources etc

[@user-fz6pj6wm6d]

Awesome summary. As a Paradox player - I totally agree with everything said. Well done Andy! Two honourable mentions: Stellaris Soundtrack. Its amazing. After Rome TW OST, probably my favourite Strategy Game soundtrack to play along. And March of the Eagles, "terror belli decus pacis". :D All there is to say about it.

[@AndysParadox]

Thank you, my friend! My man, the soundtrack in every PDX is great and sometimes straight up legendary, but Stellaris… that’s just godly, no other words to describe it!

[@knorrkzk.4688]

I agree with Stellaris Soundtrack, it's one of my favorite OST's of all time

[@TheSecondAnon]

I love playing Imperator Rome. I have over 2K hours. If you have any questions on how to play, let me know.

[@AndysParadox]

That’s awesome! One of my struggles in Imperator have always been to build those mega cities, I’ve never quite made it - never came close to forming the true Roman borders within the time limit either. Do you have any tips?

[@adisonsmith2633]

​@AndysParadox Hello, other imperator player here. I know I'm three months late but here's a couple tips. For metropolises: build aqueducts, academies, and libraries early game. This will allow you to have a high population which in turn allows for higher dev which unlocks metropolises. Also only go for metropolises on farmlands, plains, or possibly forest. Other terrain gives big debuffs. For your questions on conquest, the biggest tip I can give is to not shy away from tyranny. Newer players are scared of it but it's actually quite good, but it will make neighbors hate you. Tyranny reduced your aggressive expansion quickly allowing for more conquest. Also the base game only games to 27BCE so not even the time that the romans were at their greatest extent, very lame. That's why we have mods

[@JasonWolfGames]

I have a question: Do I need the expansions for the games if I'm not playing the faction that the expansion covers?

[@AndysParadox]

No you don’t! Are you talking about Victoria 3 and France for example? No, if you don’t have the expansion you just won’t get some of the special missions etc, but you can have just as much fun without if you like sandboxing etc! So it’s not a must is all I’m saying, more like an flavour-enhancer!

[@JasonWolfGames]

@@AndysParadox okay, thank you!

[@TriggeringOpinionsandFacts]

Total war fan here with hearts of iron 4 sitting on my hard drive for over a year and one hour of gameplay. Just taking a look at what being appreciate or loved by a company looks like. lol really though, I neeed to do a full play through of HoI4

[@AndysParadox]

Haha, well HOI4 is kind of beginning on the deep end if you ask me! There’s always Imperator, CK3 and EU4 out there for somewhat easier experiences :)

[@arya.n.8252]

There is no shame on watching tutorial, i don't even know what I'm doing first time playing Shogun 2

[@TriggeringOpinionsandFacts]

@@AndysParadox that’s the thing, that is what got me interested in paradox. I started my RTS journey in men of war, then HOI4 came along and I thought this was God combining civilization and men of war for me 🤣 come to find out it’s a behemoth to play. But I swear I’ll get up to speed

[@FirstNameLastName-tg3rc]

I disagree with what you said about HOI4. The game's economy is literally just three different buildings - military factories, civilian factories, and dockyards. While it is difficult to master, getting started in the game - points like how to use your military, getting an economy going, etc., is incredibly easy. Further, how is Victoria 3 easier to learn than HOI4? VIC3 has so many more inputs and outputs in your economy to manage, and as of the 1.5 update, the military has a lot more things you need to handle. Updating my argument, given my response to what @motokuchoma said, I'm not saying HOI4 is easy to master - I don't think there is a single Paradox game which is easy to master, but HOI4 is easier to learn the basics of.

[@motokuchoma]

HOI4 is difficult to learn if you are not familiar with military because it is not intuitive to understand what makes a good and effective army in that game. And "big number = good" is hard to pull off because doomstacks aren't inherently broken.

[@FirstNameLastName-tg3rc]

@@motokuchoma Familiarity with how militaries work isn't the issue - the problem is that there's a massive amount Paradox doesn't explain about the game and that it's up to individual users to dig through a lot of fan created content to work out how to play the game. However, this - the issue of only being shown the very basics, and not knowing how to design the best divisions/ships/etc. is present in every Paradox game I've played. The reason why I said HOI4 isn't that difficult is because the basics are easy to learn. There are comparatively few things you need to learn to be able to play the game. I'm not saying HOI4 is an easy game to learn how to play well - I personally think that all the Paradox games I've played, or seem others play, seem like they require a lot of effort and watching videos and looking up guides to be able to play it well - but that wasn't what I was trying to argue. What I was trying to argue, which was what I said, was that it's easy to understand the basic mechanics.

[@sir313jonsson]

a bit late, but when i was trying to learn hoi4 by the time i was knocked out of the war i hadn't even figured out how to deploy my army lmao

[@fenrir7878]

Do you think they'll make a Paradox game set in ancient or medieval China? Lots of history, content, and mechanics? Also, a Cold War game. Post HOI IV ideological battles between super powers and emerging states, all under the shadow of nuclear war. Have a "Doomsday" mechanic where you have de escalate while still expanding your influence and power. You can also head to space.

[@JasonWolfGames]

I need to put more time into these games. It is so long and complex. When I get King of Kings expansion, then I'll get into EU4.

[@AndysParadox]

I’m sure you’ll love it!

[@seloimperija]

After almost 200 hours in HOI4, I still have trouble conquering Poland...

[@CatfoodChronicles6737]

Fr I played 600 hours and still can barely understand what are the strategies and what to do

[@impact0r]

2:47 MaKedonia... ☠

[@dragonrykr]

You should've mentioned some mods for Victoria 3 and Stellaris. The video could've been a bit longer, it feels a bit cramped by the end

[@ohno1052]

i bought hoi4 5 days ago and played 34 hrs since then, help me...

[@roxicoco283]

Good ass video

[@arya.n.8252]

Is Hoi4 really that difficult to beginner, I watch a lot of it since release before playing it my self

[@oumajgad6805]

It's the easiest out of all hoi games.

[@saratchandramv1886]

I just picked stellaris. Just slowly clicking through tutorial. Tutorial >> log >> do whats in it >> tutorial haha.

[@Destroyer120296]

Nice video

[@bobk4438]

Stellaris is definitely the easiest for me to play. You start with a single planet, a few ships and a few decisions to make. It builds slowly so it's not too hard to stay on top of what's going on.

[@nico-zh8ol]

whit the best game of paradox ?

[@PingWhisper]

Depends what you like, Character Focus / FPG (CK3), State Focus (Europa). War Focus (HOI IV)

[@ITT59Gamer]

but imperator rome is discontinued

[@ElTequilla]

Which could be a blessing in disguise, as it means it's systems won't be shuffled around + mod instability

[@Rimland23]

@@ElTequilla Agreed. Seeing how Paradox tends to clutter its games with DLCs which can potentially mess things up, it might be better that the game ended up in an apparently very solid state and just gets polished by the community.

[@BenjaminCrosse]

i just want a modern version of Victoria 3 or hoi4.

[@Muzza420]

You almost sound like gru from the minions

[@Talkier]

I particularly like Stelarris because of a tool in the game that HOI4 fans have been asking for for years

[@AndysParadox]

Which tool is that?

[@Talkier]

@@AndysParadox slavery and genocide

[@sheppycider123]

@@Talkier😂

[@TamaHawkLive]

Sold

[@murasame5071]

i dont want to be an asshole , but would it kill you to do timestamps ?

[@tacicalchannel7225]

He doesn't do them, said it "takes a while".

[@murasame5071]

he can always hire some indian for 5 cents a day to do it for him @@tacicalchannel7225

[@Didyouknowthatiexist]

​@@murasame5071 Thats a bit racist innit

[@RandooGaming]

difficulty just doesnt make sense, why is hoi4 6/5? It's very easy compared to other games like eu and vicky

[@AndysParadox]

I completely disagree, to me HOI4 is much harder than EU

[@ZurilasZone]

I must say i think eu4 is waaaay easier thank ck3 which i cant get at all

[@ITT59Gamer]

hoi4 is 1/5 and eu4 is harder

[@overusedcringe4742]

I personally disagree with EU4 being 3/5 and HOI4 being 6/5, wrong way around imo

[@AndysParadox]

Interesting how this is a thing people either agree or disagree on!

[@futuregenerationz]

If this doesn't include Darkest Hour, this whole video is pointless for me. I don't know what Paradox has against that game, but something is up. I mean, I feel like Dr Richard Kimble confronting Sykes in the last scene from 'The Fugitive' as he attempts to sell the public on 'provasic'.

[@calex1801]

First? Thanks for the video btw.

[@AndysParadox]

My pleasure :D

[@fredmidtgaard5487]

I loved HoI3, but have left more or less since HoI4. It seems no longer historical. I don't like the automatization.

[@neilproctor5163]

HOI4 on and off

[@whitefox25]

sponsor at start no thanks i came here for paradox games not some trash looking into game

[@neverever1270]

stellaris and HOI 4 are the games to play from paradox