Maratha

[Prussian to the Iron]

marathas, if played correctly, will become the easiest campaign.

the first priorities should be to take Goa and Mysore.once these are taken, you should have 2-3 ports capable of building Dhows. these were essential to my game, because in only 2 turns you can send them to east africa(with the ivory, they should be making a load of money instantly).

once you have established the west coast and southern india under your rule, your next priority should be to take the 2 cities directly north of your capital, giving you even more ports. these will be extremely essential to the campaign, as the mughals love spamming brigs to blockade your ports.

once you gain these ports, just keep those Dhows going and you shouldbe raking in a very fair profit per turn. make peace with the mughals once you control the west coast.

for some reason i got lucky, and recieved a trade agreement with not only france, but great britain and some south-european minors as well. however, for some reason the trade routes with GB and france were land and were being blocked. noticing it was about 4,000 dollars a turn for them, i built up my armies and sent them to the border, ready to take the mughal city keeping my trade from reaching me somehow.

before this happens, you should research socket bayonets and naval techs. by 1718 i believe i already was building 4th rates with 180 upkeep rate and enhanced guns. these proved an enormous asset for the mainly-naval mughals.

once my armies were ready, i built some forts across rivers to hold down any enemy advances. i then moved my men to take the 3-4 provinces directly above me. my trade route was free and i saw an immediate spike in income.

now, i had accidentally done the trade spot glitch(where you get no income) and was forced to scupper all my Dhows there >:'(. by the time i got another fleet of Dhows to east africa, the mughals had taken my former trade spot PLUS another one across the channel at madagascar. luckily i had built 4 6th rates in advance for escorts, and made short work of the mughals, who had simply spammed brigs(plus gained another Dhow).

now i was in control of 2 trade spots, in addition to cutting off nearly 1800 dollars of trade they were recieving from them. portugal refuses to sign peace with me, and has enough galleons that i cannot get my ships into europe until i have built some 3rd-4th rates. this is actually a good thing, as they will not risk blockading any european powers, leaving my trade free and profitable.

they are now trading with the mughals, which i immediately blockaded.

it is now in the 1720's, and i am now making upwards of 14,000 dollars a turn (nearly 11,000 on trade alone!). i can afford to maintain enormous armies, and am currently using my most elite units to cut a swathe through the mughal towns.

if you want to know, my elite units are a unit fo shaturnal camel gunners with 3 XP, 2 units of Bargir infantry with 3 XP, and an extra unit of Bargir's with 2 XP. they have not lost a single battle, and i have named them(respectively): Maharajahs 1st Camel Guards, Maharajahs 1st Guards, Maharajahs 2nd Guards, and Maharajahs 3rd Guards. unfortunately, i recruited a general for them, and he was assassinated on teh very next turn. damn mughals....