Europa Universalis IV: Tutorial For Complete Beginners with MordredViking #1 - The Basics

This is the start of a new tutorial series aimed towards complete beginners that just begun their Europa Universalis journey. In this first episode we will look at the absolute basics like what to think about when picking your country and have a look at the UI
Europa Universalis IV is available on Steam, Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store
Steam also offers a subscription service to get access to all additional content for a monthly fee. Worth noting is that if you join a multiplayer game, you will have access to all content enabled by the host - no matter what you own yourself. This might be a good way of checking out content you don't yet own
For more EU4 information and discussions we recommend the following:
Official Forum: pdxint.at/39OJmOa
Official Wiki: pdxint.at/39QYMl5
Paradox on KZbin:
---------------------------------
ParadoxInteractive - / paradoxinteractive
Trailers, Feature Breakdowns, Dev Diaries, and more.
ParadoxExtra - / paradoxextra
Gameplay of our video games, convention coverage, and other fun things from Paradox!
Paradox Grand Strategy - / paradoxgrandstrategy
Gameplay of our Grand Strategy Games. CK2, EU4, HOI4, Stellaris, and more?

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

Buy Europa Universalis IV on Steam, Epic or Microsoft: www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/europa-universalis-iv

[@stupit467]

This Video has 200K Views It also has 5.1K Likes This comment has 14 Likes and excluding me no comments Yikes

[@Stormassacra]

The game is great but sooooooo complicated... TOO MANY DETAILS !

[@Stormassacra]

The warfare system is also a mess ! To declare war I have to previously wait for some specific tech levels, then create a spy network, then fabricate claim & casus belli and, even when its done (sometimes after almost a decade), I cant make certain demands to the defeated country, just because the claim doesnt exactly fit with the demand... DAMN IT !!! I just want to declare war and conquer provinces !! Is it asking too much for a strategy game ????

[@Colesmith890]

@@Stormassacra yes it is

[@2MinuteHockey]

Why is the Pomeranian culture considered Germanic in 1444? They may have had some political allegiances coming and going due to Eric II but the people in those lands would have been West Slavic Venetians, languages, values, and haplogroups [i.e. culture]

[@ldptwltslstsaokda1760]

starting this game coming from fps games is like being a bus driver and someone throws you into a plane cockpit and tells you to fly

[@ivanmartinez2067]

Fax though, when I first played HOI4 I was DESTROYED by Poland…I was Germany and this was in 1938:(

[@mattmoto]

Yo, I ugly laughed.

[@ApokR]

@@ivanmartinez2067 did you do molotov ribbenntrop

[@bambangsudirman6063]

@@ivanmartinez2067 bruh i was winning against the poland when i first started...... and then theres blue blob enroaching my territory from southwest, didnt know we hv to put troops at france

[@ThisOLmaan]

LoL pretty much , make sure you have a parachute or 2 just incase.

[@cannonballjenkins2757]

I think the main reason it looks complicated is that how small the text is like if it was a little bigger my brain wouldn't get confused about the simple things

[@0oAmeyukurugurio0]

True my eyes are tired of decoding the screen lmfao 👁👁

[@melonenlord6901]

fonts are bad too

[@thenobiearmy8068]

paly hoi4 its simpler i am playing eu4 cuz iwas bored of hoi4

[@026martin]

You can change the text/UI size in the settings. It might crowd the screen, but I was tired of playing with glasses on....

[@JohnSmith-kb4re]

Blessed Artemis UI to the rescue

[@Pokemark17]

Tutorial for people who just got the base game for free but I watch it even tho I have 2000+ hour and have spent hundreds on the dlc

[@bradleymoore2797]

I watch it to see if the tutorials are still paused for 45 minutes before they tell you to unpause the game. xD

[@firebladex8586]

who got the game for free?

[@shrekwithawillsmithface465]

@@firebladex8586 me lol

[@victorio2697]

we all konw why we are here, txs epicgames

[@sheikhmufasafasagan1973]

Hell yeah , just played one game and hot analiated

[@ianchristopher8660]

100%

[@mainamunj2612]

Lol same I even downloaded the dlcs for free

[@Rexdex1234]

@@mainamunj2612 how did u download dlcs for free?

[@pxcs7559]

@@mainamunj2612 how pls

[@legendaryziggs]

I have an unholy amount of hours in this game, yet watching the tutorial for this 8 year old game is still oddly entertaining...

[@retarddinthebuilding]

AOAOAOAOAOAO

[@owenmergliano8160]

I started as Portugal on my first time playing. Within five minutes Tlemsen had annexed me because I was having trouble with troop movement and they decided they hated me.

[@husenalaa4499]

😂😂😂😂

[@liuzhai036]

😂😂😂😂

[@Nahzuul]

Is that even possible? 😅😅🤣🤣

[@videogamefanfilms]

Im getting ready to do a Lets play EU4 video which nation do you think i should start off as? i will be changing nations throughout the game and make a movie esque type of video like my EMPIRE total war videos .... Come to my page check me out see if you like some of my content thnx for your time and welcome

[@Bla_Razor]

aaah, brings back the memories when I picked up the game years ago... it can be SO overwhelming at start, but is SO much worth it to dive into it... to all people who got it via the Epic giveaway week and face the large amount of things you need to grasp - watching youtube tutorials is the way to go as it'll save you many (many) hours of trying to figure out things yourself. You'll still need to dedicate hours to watch those tutorial videos, but the reward is potentially thousands of hours having fun with playing the game.

[@globalcritics9076]

We all came here because the game is free, and we had no idea what to do with it

[@Kristiyan-Angelov]

I still do not know what to do. Edit: I deleted it.

[@fasuto8656]

@@Kristiyan-Angelov im guessing you never played any paradox game, right?

[@DiviAugusti]

@@fasuto8656 I think the CK3 or HOI4 are the best intro to Paradox choices.

[@fasuto8656]

@@DiviAugusti As somebody who started playing Paradox games because of hoi4, I agree

[@greytooth898]

@@DiviAugusti interesting, I've always been a big EU4 player, but have found HOI4 rather difficult.

[@ZalhTube]

God, I don't know what is easier. Learning EU4 or getting a PhD

[@factandsuspicionpodcast2727]

These tutorials have been an invaluable resource since I picked up the game. I've played a lot of grand strategy and 4x games, but this one is particularly complex. Thank you for taking the time to put these videos together.

[@sariddipat7018]

Thank you for the tutorial. Now I can finally wrote my game analysis essay for my university.

[@Bismarck-ey5lr]

Awsome tutorial I have been trying to learn the basics for two years and you just showed me how 100%

[@nad6234]

Thank you! - Just stepping into this game, having never played anything like it before. Even though I've done the basic & advanced tutorials in the game, this is super helpful! -- really helped make a few things click for me :-)

[@greytooth898]

I envy you- I fondly remember the time I spent learning this game. It's a masterpiece, I've logged just over 1500 hours playing it over several years.

[@techrin3570]

When you have 2000 hours but wanna see what's going on

[@jeansibelius8045]

You also just finished the tutorial?

[@purugigi]

@@jeansibelius8045 , I just did

[@McSnacks930]

This was such a helpful series!! Thank you so much!

[@mariusvermaak7921]

Great, now I know the interface... still actually have no idea what my first step should be xD

[@lordcypher5889]

I'll give you one. Rule the Americas.

[@rlbigserbia9921]

@@lordcypher5889 lol

[@JohnParavantis]

You talk fast, but your enunciation is super clear and a pleasure to follow. Thank you very much for this great introduction!

[@Zemorg]

Every time I start a game of this I feel as though I have loaded up someone else's 50 hour game save. I want to love it. But I just can't seem to get invested in games like these unless every empire can start from scratch. Like the excellent Stellaris.

[@Arms2]

You can make your own faction with the el dorado dlc.

[@mamble5039]

Time to prep for epic games' next week free games.

[@LevelUpOST]

Really cool! Thanks for the upload !

[@christiandaly4281]

When I found this game I ascended to heaven it’s the perfect game I’ve always been looking for

[@sebastianklucka8184]

Best start-up tutorial ever 🥰🥰

[@perigold81]

thanks for the video, quick and very informative. i got EU4 base from day one :) still dont understand how to play it.. even that i master in CK3,CK2,stellaris,AOW:PF and a lot other x4 games..

[@ZanyScum]

This is a very good video. It told me how the game is. And it told me I am currently not up to playing it :-( So much thinking and planning? But it is a really good video!

[@aaronsound]

Thanks a lot for videos like these!

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

Hope they help!

[@arkad6329]

I know Mordred it the ambassador for EU4. But gosh darn it he is the master and commander for the HOI4 naval game! Huzza!

[@MordredViking]

Huzzah!

[@hfmexe0657]

TREMENDA LA ESTRATEGIA asi vana jalar mas publico cuando saquen vic3, son unos grandes

[@borolf]

This is much better than the in game tutorial

[@mancityarabia]

Needed this. Thanks

[@alexandrem4679]

You can choose trade ideas for example… It’s just good business, right?

[@FOWST]

"Give us 200$ or more." "That's it with today's tutorial. Now you're a true master of the game."

[@marznova1128]

I just purchased the game. I would call this a very quick overview more than a tutorial. I also found it moved way to fast, thankfully KZbin has x0.5 speed.

[@Donbasos14]

Hello everyone! Remember, it's nothing personal, it's just good business.

[@jeansibelius8045]

Is that a reference to the DLCs?

[@zgoodt]

came from EU 3 , to playing this and I was like : things seem familiar yet oddly tricky, it is a must that I who just got the game via my friend's Epic games account should Discover the youtube tutorials for a better understanding of this piece of art. Two things I am aiming to do, Form Egypt coz I am an Egypt, and For Andalucia coz well u know history XD

[@paulbaker45]

Great starter video thank you

[@Zemorg]

Brilliant!

[@moozillamoo2109]

Dear Paradox, could we have the EU2 slides back? At some point, it starts to feel more like my job than a game.

[@music-lv3dl]

Gigachad PDX tutorials

[@blackdragon_gxf]

Wow perfect timing, i need this tutorial now cause I'm not going to have dlcs

[@craftsmenMC]

I tried EU4 ages ago and loved it until the trade system and the way ideas worked kinda scared me off (along with the terrible micro of armies but that’s an issue with most PDX games.) Now that the board game is out and I’m having a blast with it I’m trying to get back into it.

[@Articulate99]

Good info, thanks.

[@AlessandroScaltritti]

Great video, please go on with these tuts, because sometimes I feel lost and I don't know how to proceed. Surely I'm missing out something, especially I don't know how much dedicate to military expansion or prefer diplomacy.

[@MordredViking]

That's the plan :)

[@AlessandroScaltritti]

@@MordredViking you're right and I'm surely missing out something. I think so because in Hearts of Iron IV and Imperator: Rome my gameplay is more streamlined, not on a railroad obviously but I feel more comfortable there

[@silentbyte196]

@@AlessandroScaltritti I recommend following a country guide by one of the EU4 youtubers to figure out what to do, which can help you make your own decisions in your own playthrough. This helped me re-learn the game.

[@SuperSpartan3000]

DLCs pretty low price 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@petemagnuson7357]

The subscription does seem to be a reasonably low price tbh, if you haven't invested in dlc yet. 5 bucks a month, you could play for a year on the same price as like, 3 DLC

[@miraclemaker1418]

5 bucks a month, give yourself 2 months to decide if you want to actually play hundreds of hours of this game. Then buy DLCs accordingly. Pretty good deal imo

[@JCrook1028]

If you wait for a good sale you can save a ton.

[@Pokemark17]

The subscription is pretty reasonable

[@JCrook1028]

@@Pokemark17 Short term yea. long term, no. All the expansions are about $200 at retail. Wait for a sale and cut that in half.

[@thomasbjrnkjrsgaard2133]

A very quick tutorial, but it is helpfull. A little more indepth explanation would be nice. :) Anyway, please make more tutorials......There is a lot a to learn. :D

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

We'll be making a few more like this. I also recommend checking out on of the many excellent Let's Plays on KZbin or Twitch

[@RyanJosepher]

Pike and shot should be pretty OP at this timeline. I mean the cover is a dude with a rifle. Can't wait for war crime rp

[@howiegaming9985]

great video, thanks

[@iwantapool7945]

I think it's not exactly the game itself thats hard but more of the UI. I can play any Paradox game while having a general idea of what to click and choose. But there is so much going on from these random buttons to map options and the diplomacy tab has like 8 features that I have no clue what they do. I even had a very smooth experience with CK2 and that’s the game that supposedly has a very confusing UI. I think it’s too late to have a little UI rehaul especially considering that the game is almost a decade old but it would be nice to have something like in Ck3 that can give us suggestions on what do and little clues aswell. Thanks a lot for this tutorial it's very much appreciated.

[@MMMHOTCHEEZE]

Yeah the real issue is that they used images for every tab so it's hard to really navigate the UI unless you've got the meaning of them baked into your brain.

[@MercedesBenzS600LAMG]

How can i thank you ? you earned a sub from me for starting absolutely Beginner style ! thank you sir

[@ShaftyMegee]

Great vid big dog

[@gamingmoment1061]

I’ve been playing paradox since Victoria 2. I’ve understood every game made by them other than eu4 still cannot figure out how colonization and such works

[@rethdo8758]

I installed now and it's 100% free in epic games 😁

[@wizardofloth]

Promoting the subscription.. I guess that's my queue to close the video. Good job Paradox :D

[@MarceloBrizuelaWPG]

First comment... Thanks for this great tutorial 👍

[@sebastianmadsen4592]

First comment on a comment👍

[@tophatdeveloper4242]

Epic.

[@tophatdeveloper4242]

Also noted that they've just uploaded this as epic made europa universalis IV free.

[@thelastlivingdodo3382]

Nice

[@lg4179]

I play ottoman and after i conquered byzantium later the land regain independence and i lost much of land i have owned. how to solve that? i heared by rise automy in that state where the separestist is high can solve, so usually what is the conquer, annex land way? by conquer and then rise the autonomy there and wait for several decades til the separestist gone, and relower the autonomy? or by create vassel instead of conquer the land, and annex the vassel later? when i can annex the vassel? and what is the advantage of creating and annex vassel instead of directly conquer?

[@verde629]

Thanks for these videos! Used to play EU3 and wanted to try out this. I downloaded both on steam but both games crash for some reason and won’t even load up. What type of labtop would I need to play EU4? I don’t want a gaming labtop because eu4 is the only thing I want to play. Anyone know any cheaper labtops that would work for this game ?

[@veggiekidshorts]

thanks

[@alexanderosornio1421]

Están bien los tutoriales a todos nos ayudan , solo que deberían de hacerlo más extenso por la gente de habla española , y más periódicos .

[@HistoryTeacherSteve]

Mordred!

[@MordredViking]

Hello!

[@cesar_8336]

I use Paradox games tutorials to fall asleep.

[@eslembelabed7148]

is there still hope for the DLC subscription on mac os ?

[@jesusmerchanreina5069]

looks like I am not the only one grateful to Epic Games, am I right guys? :)

[@Lecton123]

Nice, waiting for advance tutorial now 😁

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

We've been talking about doing some more advanced tips once the beginner tutorials are complete.

[@bobk4438]

When I play EU4 I stare at the screen for several minutes than exit. I haven't clue what to do.

[@FRESHY_GG]

i literally have no idea how to even start playing this game. its so hard and complicated

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

We will be releasing a few more simple tutorials like this one on a few more topics. But I also recommend checking out the many KZbinrs and Streamers that are doing let's plays and explanations on how to play EU4

[@conquestv4024]

You are now a slave to the eu4 wiki

[@whitegold2960]

It gets better Speaking from experience got slapped in my first and second game after 2 hours then it got better

[@VonBek2009]

yep more please...

[@deBussyLicker]

Me, coming from HoI IV that I played years ago: ah shit, here I go again

[@justaviewer904]

My game gets stuck on loading "Europa universalis 4" loading screen whenever I am not connected to the internet.i got the game from epic games. Any solution to this problem?

[@user-zh7uf8jp9u]

yeah it did the same for me close both the eu4 launcher and the egs launcher, then start epic again , and it should fix it

[@justaviewer904]

@@user-zh7uf8jp9u thx,its now fixed.

[@Unni_Havas]

Is this still valid? I can't see wich patch he plays on and apparently the game got a big rewamp with the 1.35 patch.

[@orelanic4178]

I think someone needs to do a tutorial that includes the the DLC as otherwise it just get confusing if you are trying to learn with the DLC included.

[@iangahm8047]

300 dollars to get all dlc

[@lordofdarkness4204]

@@iangahm8047 without the subscription, which even a year costs less then buying them all.

[@mohammedthoufiq3090]

I have the base game , is it worth playing on scale of 1 to 10 if I have civ6, humankind , mount and blade etc too

[@andrewtob9804]

Worth playing is subjective, paradox game are difficult and usually requires ~10 hours to understand it. In simple terms, the gameplay is good if you understand it and competitive/irritating if you're not used to the details

[@minedoimperija]

This felt like 1 minute just because I watched the 80 minute hoi4 tutorial 💀💀

[@timebundle]

Hello could you ( or someone) explain me what the technology tab is ? because i try builing markets and it tells me i need diplomacy technology ??? *im a new player*

[@AkatsukiEmpire]

Basically, the tech tab shows what bonuses/techs etc. you unlocked and what tech level you need for certain things. The boxes on the left show what's the next tech and what it unlocks. When you have enough monarch points, you click that to get to the next tech level. The rest is information on what you have. If you hover over the things on the right, it'll show you what bonuses etc are unlocked at which level. If you want that building' hover over the building icon (i think) on the diplo. section and you can see what tech level you need. For markets, you need diplo tech level 4 Also, if you hover over the green bar under the tech boxes on the left, it'll show you how much monarch points you need to tech up. The number next to the clock shows the ahead of time penalty/bonus you get for spending your monarch points. Each tech has a certain date when it's regularly researched. When it's red, it shows you how much extra monarch points you will have to spend to tech up. When it's green, you spend less because you are not ahead of time. The EU4 wiki is an excellent resource to learn the game. Here's the page for technology. eu4.paradoxwikis.com/Technology

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

When you accumulate enough monarch points (administrative/diplomatic/military) you can advance your technology level and get access to new stuff. To build a marketplace you need to advance your diplomatic technology first

[@bubz4196]

I can't believe people were even able to develop this

[@trajanz9557]

Only in paradox games where you can have 3-5 hundred hours played and still consider yourself a beginner.

[@RedFoxRoaming]

Well.. the game looks great but god damn..I'd have to quit my job and play this full time if I'm to learn even half of it.

[@spatrk6634]

yes. i dont even start playing the game if im not free for the weekend. campaigns can be long and slow but damn its fun.

[@ducky2870]

Okay now i understood what button does what, so how do i play?

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

We're getting to that, more episodes should be released soon :)

[@kliu-cb6nj]

I play this game because I like ancient Rome.

[@gabri-immortale]

please i'd like to play eu4 on ps5 like stellaris and ck3

[@JermStone]

Did I miss out on getting this for free? Dammit!

[@macintosh6994]

I’ve never played such games. I’m full pc/console gamer with mostly fps games or soulslike. Yesterday I downloaded civ 6 and this and it all feels like I just jumped into deep ocean without knowing how to swim

[@spatrk6634]

civilization is a lot easier to learn. in EU4 you can have thousands of hours spent in game and you will still find out new stuff

[@iangahm8047]

@@spatrk6634 I know all small mechanics in hoi4 except navy idk how navy works lol

[@sld1776]

If so, Mordred's Naval tutorial is the way to go. (I'll add that naval mines are absurdly OP, and you should prioritize them as a small or medium naval nation.)

[@Inglemoose]

Now how do I not suck at playing the game :')

[@CPD03]

Just a little bit more difficult than Civ6 lol

[@yux.tn.3641]

played age of empire 1, 2, 3, gal civ 2 and rise of nations this game seems more complicated than all of those

[@iangahm8047]

Wich rise of nations roblox or

[@yux.tn.3641]

@@iangahm8047 the first one

[@justaldeo7354]

i got all the dlc's and the base game for free and i tried to sell it but nobody bought it so im just out here trying to learn the game at 2 am

[@Bramblebush5948]

I need a tutorial for the tutorial.

[@axelbruce7048]

i got this on mac for free on epic games

[@jocajunackov]

the game won't start it tells launching the game failed i tryed to restart the game, pc but nothing

[@clippyeclipse6258]

Start the game directly from the game folder with the eu4.exe file in the folder

[@jocajunackov]

@@clippyeclipse6258 same

[@ParadoxGrandStrategy]

Best thing to do is head over to the Paradox support area, and make a ticket; support.paradoxplaza.com/hc/en-us. You can also get more direct help from the community here; forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forums/euiv-technical-support.812/

[@Whiskers4169]

Uhhhhhhhhhhh you don’t have to make videos on his to play if you just made good tutorial This is a paradox official channel right ?

[@Glicerol]

yeah the buttons but how to play...

[@grandmasteryoda6717]

I still don't really get this game. I really want to though.

[@attila2246]

Picked up game and all the dlc for $20. Now totally lost 🤣

[@Trumplican]

considering this game but is it like civilization where once you get so big it just becomes cumbersome and boring?

[@spatrk6634]

not really. no. getting big is part of the fun. forming historical nations and empires. trying to conquer the world with mongol hordes. etc...

[@Trumplican]

@@spatrk6634 cool! thx

[@vegardbrekke2240]

"pretty low price" are you insane. Do you know how much the game will cost if you buy all the DLC's.

[@FreePalestine077]

0:00 / 11:57

[@jojo6970]

Eu4 with no dlc.... Don't know if a tutorial without DLCs is really worth it but thanks for your time anyway

[@romanplays1]

epic just released EU4 without DLC for free. so its actually useful rn.

[@GlassOfWater001]

Coming here from hoi4, any tips?

[@spatrk6634]

its completely different game.

[@captain_eric6787]

30 seconds in. First words not understood: Expansions? What's that? This is for the very beginner?