“Mandate of Heaven” Expansion Releasing Soon; Developer Stream Scheduled for March 14



STOCKHOLM - Mar. 13, 2017 - Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today revealed the release date for “Mandate of Heaven,” the latest expansion for Europa Universalis IV. The expansion, which adds new gameplay events and features to Paradox’s award-winning grand strategy game of global domination, will arrive on April 6, 2017 for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. Players will be able to experience new ways of playing Europa Universalis IV next month as the major nations of East Asia, with new features surrounding the Japanese Shogunate, the Celestial Empire, and more. Mandate of Heaven will retail for $19.99 via digital distributors worldwide.

To give players a first glimpse of Mandate of Heaven, Paradox will begin showcasing new features from the new expansion in a live stream on their Twitch channel on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. The first stream will take place at 14:00 CET (6:00 a.m. PDT) at https://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive.

“Mandate of Heaven” Expansion Releasing Soon; Developer Stream Scheduled for March 14



STOCKHOLM - Mar. 13, 2017 - Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today revealed the release date for “Mandate of Heaven,” the latest expansion for Europa Universalis IV. The expansion, which adds new gameplay events and features to Paradox’s award-winning grand strategy game of global domination, will arrive on April 6, 2017 for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. Players will be able to experience new ways of playing Europa Universalis IV next month as the major nations of East Asia, with new features surrounding the Japanese Shogunate, the Celestial Empire, and more. Mandate of Heaven will retail for $19.99 via digital distributors worldwide.

To give players a first glimpse of Mandate of Heaven, Paradox will begin showcasing new features from the new expansion in a live stream on their Twitch channel on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. The first stream will take place at 14:00 CET (6:00 a.m. PDT) at https://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive.

Hello everybody. When rounding off last week's Dev Diary, I was planning on bringing up a certain mechanic which has everyone who has touched it dazzled and not wanting to ever be without it. Something about Diplos and building with macros, I forget. Those who have been poking around the store page and done some leg work have been speculating over it.

In view of that and how I do love to read speculation, I will let you stew over what it could be for a couple weeks and instead take this week's Dev Diary talk about the first of our religion overhauls: Confucianism
It's high time Confucian got the spotlight. It's been a troubled child of religions in EU4, existing almost exclusively in China and Korea without its own mechanics. For owners of Mandate of Heaven though, that changes with the introduction of Confucian Harmony.



Confucian nations will have a value for the Harmony in their nation. As it grows, so too does their tolerance of the True Faith. By default, it grows by one every year, faster if they keep stability high and complete Humanism Ideas. Low Harmony will reduce tolerance of the True Faith as well as causing higher costs in development and hurting Meritocracy.

So keeping your nation's Harmony high will ensure good times for your nation, but there is a choice to be made. Converting provinces in your realm will cause Harmony to fall, scaling on the development of the province you convert, so at least in the short term, wiping out heathens may cause rough times for your nation.

For Confucian Nations though, they have the unique ability to Harmonize with other religions and religious groups. While Tengri nations have the ability to instantly Synchronize with one other faith, Confucian nations can gradually adopt and mesh with many religious. For Heretics, they can choose to gradually Harmonize with that religion, treating it as the True Faith. For Heathens, this process applies to that religious group.

Harmonizing with a religion is a process taken in the religious tab. A religion or group to Harmonize with is selected and the process of adapting with their beliefs will begin. This process will cost 3 Harmony per year, so more stable empires will have an easier time adopting new faiths, and will tick up a progress bar from 0 to 100 by 3 per year. Harmonizing is a long process punctuated with events, but the end result will be a religion or religious group that is treated as True-Faith for your nation for the rest of the game (Assuming you yourself remain Confucian)



Each Harmonized religion also gives a nation-wide bonus for 25 years



My totally Legit Korea in the above screenshot will now enjoy +2 tolerance of the True Faith for 25 years. Some of the other religious bonuses include:

Muslim: +10% Trade efficiency
Shinto: +10% Infantry Combat Ability
Jewish : +33% institution Spread

We'll leave the others for you to explore, and next week we'll discuss another religious mechanic added in Mandate of Heaven

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

Hello everybody. When rounding off last week's Dev Diary, I was planning on bringing up a certain mechanic which has everyone who has touched it dazzled and not wanting to ever be without it. Something about Diplos and building with macros, I forget. Those who have been poking around the store page and done some leg work have been speculating over it.

In view of that and how I do love to read speculation, I will let you stew over what it could be for a couple weeks and instead take this week's Dev Diary talk about the first of our religion overhauls: Confucianism
It's high time Confucian got the spotlight. It's been a troubled child of religions in EU4, existing almost exclusively in China and Korea without its own mechanics. For owners of Mandate of Heaven though, that changes with the introduction of Confucian Harmony.



Confucian nations will have a value for the Harmony in their nation. As it grows, so too does their tolerance of the True Faith. By default, it grows by one every year, faster if they keep stability high and complete Humanism Ideas. Low Harmony will reduce tolerance of the True Faith as well as causing higher costs in development and hurting Meritocracy.

So keeping your nation's Harmony high will ensure good times for your nation, but there is a choice to be made. Converting provinces in your realm will cause Harmony to fall, scaling on the development of the province you convert, so at least in the short term, wiping out heathens may cause rough times for your nation.

For Confucian Nations though, they have the unique ability to Harmonize with other religions and religious groups. While Tengri nations have the ability to instantly Synchronize with one other faith, Confucian nations can gradually adopt and mesh with many religious. For Heretics, they can choose to gradually Harmonize with that religion, treating it as the True Faith. For Heathens, this process applies to that religious group.

Harmonizing with a religion is a process taken in the religious tab. A religion or group to Harmonize with is selected and the process of adapting with their beliefs will begin. This process will cost 3 Harmony per year, so more stable empires will have an easier time adopting new faiths, and will tick up a progress bar from 0 to 100 by 3 per year. Harmonizing is a long process punctuated with events, but the end result will be a religion or religious group that is treated as True-Faith for your nation for the rest of the game (Assuming you yourself remain Confucian)



Each Harmonized religion also gives a nation-wide bonus for 25 years



My totally Legit Korea in the above screenshot will now enjoy +2 tolerance of the True Faith for 25 years. Some of the other religious bonuses include:

Muslim: +10% Trade efficiency
Shinto: +10% Infantry Combat Ability
Jewish : +33% institution Spread

We'll leave the others for you to explore, and next week we'll discuss another religious mechanic added in Mandate of Heaven

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

New Paradox Expansion Turns Its Eye on East Asia

STOCKHOLM - 2 March 2017 - Dynasties come and dynasties go, but China is eternal. An unbroken chain stretches through the millennia, and now this mantle lies on your shoulders. Rest secure in the Forbidden City, husbanding your power for the storms you know are coming. Your neighbors will kowtow and bring tribute to your palace. Does anyone dare challenge you, the heir to the Mandate of Heaven?

Mandate of Heaven is the newest expansion to Europa Universalis IV, the renowned historical grand-strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. Mandate of Heaven enhances the game experience for playing the major nations of East Asia, especially Ming China, Japan, and the Manchu tribes.

One of the centerpieces of Mandate of Heaven is managing the Celestial Empire, similar to how the Holy Roman Empire has been handled in Europa Universalis IV. Increase the power of your mandate by commanding tribute, then use your mandate to reform the imperial system, strengthening your grip on the Middle Kingdom and the continent as a whole. Embrace the meritocracy of China’s civil service to pass decrees that meet your empire’s immediate needs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ijdgWnd2Yo

Mandate of Heaven’s features include:

• Ages and Golden Eras: Earn perks in four historical ages for meeting specific goals, building up to declaring your nation’s single Golden Era - 50 years of prosperity and power.
  
• Meritocracy: The Chinese emperor can hire good advisors more cheaply, keeping the empire functional no matter who rules.
  
• Tributaries: Some Asian nations can demand that weaker powers pay an annual tribute, whether in gold, manpower or monarch points.
  
• Manchu Banners: Manchu provinces can provide cheap and effective Banner armies drawn from the traditional tribe system.
  
• Japanese Shogunate: Compel the loyalty of your daimyos with new interactions that require them to submit to your authority, contribute to your power or even commit seppuku
  
• Diplomatic Macrobuilder: Common diplomatic actions are now easily available from the macrobuilder interface.
  
• New Events and Decisions: Most of these new systems are connected to new event series or decisions, bringing you even deeper into the past

Mandate of Heaven will also ship alongside new Content Packs fitting the theme of the expansion, with new unit designs for many of the East Asian powers and other updated army models.

Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven will be available soon on Steam and at the Paradox Store.

New Paradox Expansion Turns Its Eye on East Asia

STOCKHOLM - 2 March 2017 - Dynasties come and dynasties go, but China is eternal. An unbroken chain stretches through the millennia, and now this mantle lies on your shoulders. Rest secure in the Forbidden City, husbanding your power for the storms you know are coming. Your neighbors will kowtow and bring tribute to your palace. Does anyone dare challenge you, the heir to the Mandate of Heaven?

Mandate of Heaven is the newest expansion to Europa Universalis IV, the renowned historical grand-strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. Mandate of Heaven enhances the game experience for playing the major nations of East Asia, especially Ming China, Japan, and the Manchu tribes.

One of the centerpieces of Mandate of Heaven is managing the Celestial Empire, similar to how the Holy Roman Empire has been handled in Europa Universalis IV. Increase the power of your mandate by commanding tribute, then use your mandate to reform the imperial system, strengthening your grip on the Middle Kingdom and the continent as a whole. Embrace the meritocracy of China’s civil service to pass decrees that meet your empire’s immediate needs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ijdgWnd2Yo

Mandate of Heaven’s features include:

• Ages and Golden Eras: Earn perks in four historical ages for meeting specific goals, building up to declaring your nation’s single Golden Era - 50 years of prosperity and power.
  
• Meritocracy: The Chinese emperor can hire good advisors more cheaply, keeping the empire functional no matter who rules.
  
• Tributaries: Some Asian nations can demand that weaker powers pay an annual tribute, whether in gold, manpower or monarch points.
  
• Manchu Banners: Manchu provinces can provide cheap and effective Banner armies drawn from the traditional tribe system.
  
• Japanese Shogunate: Compel the loyalty of your daimyos with new interactions that require them to submit to your authority, contribute to your power or even commit seppuku
  
• Diplomatic Macrobuilder: Common diplomatic actions are now easily available from the macrobuilder interface.
  
• New Events and Decisions: Most of these new systems are connected to new event series or decisions, bringing you even deeper into the past

Mandate of Heaven will also ship alongside new Content Packs fitting the theme of the expansion, with new unit designs for many of the East Asian powers and other updated army models.

Europa Universalis IV: Mandate of Heaven will be available soon on Steam and at the Paradox Store.

Good day everyone, Tuesday spells for us a new EU4 Development Diary and while certain members are away enjoying the high life at GDC, it falls to me to bring you today's juicy serving of new mechanics.

As teased last week, we shall look closer at the Empire of China, a new concept in the upcoming expansion. In 1444, Ming is busy being the top dog in Asia and indeed the world, but they were not the first to claim Mandate over China and certainly not the last. We are not even one hundred years from the total collapse of the Yuan domination of china and only two hundred years shy of the successor nation Qing.

An important goal for us is to bring new play experiences across the world. Previously as a nation in East Asia, one would generally wait for Ming to crumble to rebellions, usually from loss of the Mandate of Heaven modifier (or a lot of horses and a good shock phase), and then pick up the pieces from this "Mingsplosion" or playing as Ming, simply do everything in your power to avoid falling into aforementioned deadly Spiral. This isn't quite how we would like East Asia to play out. We wish to bring the whole experience to life In the upcoming expansion, as the Empire of China is now a title that is fought for!



Where to begin? Our glorious Ming Starts in 1444 with the Celestial throne with a moderate Mandate value. Mandate will grow over time supposing stability is high, States are prosperous and you have an extensive collection of Tributaries. Protect it well, since it will have a large effect on how well your nation will function: Provincial devastation and bordering nations who are not your Tributary or otherwise bending their knee to you will cause Mandate to suffer. At Maximum mandate, The emperor of China will enjoy unrest reduction and cheaper stability cost. Conversely, as Mandate goes down below 50, you will find your troops performing worse and your provinces producing fewer goods, as the people you supposedly rule over with Divine grace back you less and less.

Mandate can be used to pass Celestial Reforms. Not unlike the Holy roman Empire, The Emperor of China must foster the growth of their mandate and spent it to gain some fantastic bonuses. Each Reform can be taken at 80+ Mandate, each will reduce Mandate by 50 and Stability by 1.

• Introduce Gaituguiliu
  
  • +0.5 Meritocracy
• Reform Seaban
  
  • +1 Diplomats
    
  • +5% trade Efficiency
• Delegate Zongdu
  
  • -0.05 Monthly autonomy
• Establish Lifan Yuan
  
  • -10% Core creation Cost
• Reshape Beurocratic Ranks
  
  • +1 Monarch Admin Power

Additionally, hawk-eyed readers will have spotted a new Hat in the top bar. Celestial Emperors do not use the Legitimacy values since they are all obviously legit. The Emperor instead has unique access to Meritocracy. This will naturally degrade every year but increases by having skilled advisors in your court. It is then spent on the 6 Decrees, also uniquely available to the Emperor of China.

• Expand Palace Bureaucracy
  
  • -10% Development cost
    
  • -10% core Creation Cost
• Conduct Population Census
  
  • +25% National Tax
• Promote Naval Officers
  
  • +20% ship durability
• Increase Tariff Control
  
  • +25% Provincial trade Power
• Improve Defense Effort
  
  • +25% Fort Defense
• Boost the Officer Corps
  
  • +10% Infantry Combat Ability

Each Decree lasts for 10 years, costs 20 Meritocracy and, of course, all values are subject to balance up until release, but that's par for the course.

So life is good for the Ming the Celestial Emperor. China is theirs, their tribute flows in regularly and they pass reforms and decrees as they see fit. Well, no single Empire lasts forever.



The Celestial throne is there for any Pagan or Eastern Religion nation to secure for themselves. In practice, The Northern Hordes, the Japanese, the Koreans and the Buddhists are all in with a fair shot at securing the title for themselves and have access to a new Casus Belli: Take Mandate of Heaven. Land is cheaper to take in this war. Far cheaper, and it will allow the attacker to secure the Throne for themselves. When this happens, all previous reforms are wiped and the new ruler will start with moderate Mandate themselves. After all, there is only one China and all history from before did not exist. The new Emperor of China will have to quickly establish themselves with their own tributaries and bring Prosperity to the people of China to avoid the fate of their disposed Predecessor. The failed old Emperor of China shall be subjected to the Lost Mandate of Heaven modifier in addition to losing their Empire of China modifiers. Better take care of them, before they collect themselves and put their mind to reclaiming their old throne.

The successful claimant will also enjoy permanent claim on all of China to help consolidate their new power, as our Dai Viet player Ihki was putting to great effect.



Best of luck with your fight to secure the Mandate for yourself. We'll be back next week to talk about another new feature which has our team lamenting any moment that they have to play without it. See you then!

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

Good day everyone, Tuesday spells for us a new EU4 Development Diary and while certain members are away enjoying the high life at GDC, it falls to me to bring you today's juicy serving of new mechanics.

As teased last week, we shall look closer at the Empire of China, a new concept in the upcoming expansion. In 1444, Ming is busy being the top dog in Asia and indeed the world, but they were not the first to claim Mandate over China and certainly not the last. We are not even one hundred years from the total collapse of the Yuan domination of china and only two hundred years shy of the successor nation Qing.

An important goal for us is to bring new play experiences across the world. Previously as a nation in East Asia, one would generally wait for Ming to crumble to rebellions, usually from loss of the Mandate of Heaven modifier (or a lot of horses and a good shock phase), and then pick up the pieces from this "Mingsplosion" or playing as Ming, simply do everything in your power to avoid falling into aforementioned deadly Spiral. This isn't quite how we would like East Asia to play out. We wish to bring the whole experience to life In the upcoming expansion, as the Empire of China is now a title that is fought for!



Where to begin? Our glorious Ming Starts in 1444 with the Celestial throne with a moderate Mandate value. Mandate will grow over time supposing stability is high, States are prosperous and you have an extensive collection of Tributaries. Protect it well, since it will have a large effect on how well your nation will function: Provincial devastation and bordering nations who are not your Tributary or otherwise bending their knee to you will cause Mandate to suffer. At Maximum mandate, The emperor of China will enjoy unrest reduction and cheaper stability cost. Conversely, as Mandate goes down below 50, you will find your troops performing worse and your provinces producing fewer goods, as the people you supposedly rule over with Divine grace back you less and less.

Mandate can be used to pass Celestial Reforms. Not unlike the Holy roman Empire, The Emperor of China must foster the growth of their mandate and spent it to gain some fantastic bonuses. Each Reform can be taken at 80+ Mandate, each will reduce Mandate by 50 and Stability by 1.

• Introduce Gaituguiliu
  
  • +0.5 Meritocracy
• Reform Seaban
  
  • +1 Diplomats
    
  • +5% trade Efficiency
• Delegate Zongdu
  
  • -0.05 Monthly autonomy
• Establish Lifan Yuan
  
  • -10% Core creation Cost
• Reshape Beurocratic Ranks
  
  • +1 Monarch Admin Power

Additionally, hawk-eyed readers will have spotted a new Hat in the top bar. Celestial Emperors do not use the Legitimacy values since they are all obviously legit. The Emperor instead has unique access to Meritocracy. This will naturally degrade every year but increases by having skilled advisors in your court. It is then spent on the 6 Decrees, also uniquely available to the Emperor of China.

• Expand Palace Bureaucracy
  
  • -10% Development cost
    
  • -10% core Creation Cost
• Conduct Population Census
  
  • +25% National Tax
• Promote Naval Officers
  
  • +20% ship durability
• Increase Tariff Control
  
  • +25% Provincial trade Power
• Improve Defense Effort
  
  • +25% Fort Defense
• Boost the Officer Corps
  
  • +10% Infantry Combat Ability

Each Decree lasts for 10 years, costs 20 Meritocracy and, of course, all values are subject to balance up until release, but that's par for the course.

So life is good for the Ming the Celestial Emperor. China is theirs, their tribute flows in regularly and they pass reforms and decrees as they see fit. Well, no single Empire lasts forever.



The Celestial throne is there for any Pagan or Eastern Religion nation to secure for themselves. In practice, The Northern Hordes, the Japanese, the Koreans and the Buddhists are all in with a fair shot at securing the title for themselves and have access to a new Casus Belli: Take Mandate of Heaven. Land is cheaper to take in this war. Far cheaper, and it will allow the attacker to secure the Throne for themselves. When this happens, all previous reforms are wiped and the new ruler will start with moderate Mandate themselves. After all, there is only one China and all history from before did not exist. The new Emperor of China will have to quickly establish themselves with their own tributaries and bring Prosperity to the people of China to avoid the fate of their disposed Predecessor. The failed old Emperor of China shall be subjected to the Lost Mandate of Heaven modifier in addition to losing their Empire of China modifiers. Better take care of them, before they collect themselves and put their mind to reclaiming their old throne.

The successful claimant will also enjoy permanent claim on all of China to help consolidate their new power, as our Dai Viet player Ihki was putting to great effect.



Best of luck with your fight to secure the Mandate for yourself. We'll be back next week to talk about another new feature which has our team lamenting any moment that they have to play without it. See you then!

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive