The Arms Race: Who are you?

[MadKow]

I haven't played any full blown campaign yet, only a few dozen false starts, to get the feeling of this games that changes a lot of what used to be the approach i had with TW games.
So, i have been sort of testing starting strategies with the UP (Dutch). Besides a quick grab of plug bayonet (to fight the pirates of the Caribbeans , i tend to focus on enlightenment as i try to stay at peace as long as i can and that means only one School/College to start with. The bonuses they give to research may compensate in the medium/long run.
Not sure, though. Conquest may be more efficient... But i do like to turtle and emerge as an unstoppable force.

[Polemists]

If you decide to forgo a tech sooner or later you will get it. Once every major faction except one has it, the last nation gets it automatically.

This may not seem like much but as the game goes on you'll find one or two techs every handful of turns sat on your lap just do to the speed of other nations tech advances.

Each time you do a enlightenment tech you do go faster for research but you also get a -1 thru -5 for clamour to reform.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Even though I've been playing as Britain, I've found land technologies to be the most useful. Philosophical developments often seem to have many drawbacks, such as Clamour for Reform.

[Sheogorath]

What the AI seems to be unwilling to trade is mostly MILITARY tech. I've bought a fair few economic/'social' technologies off of them at decent rates (mostly for other techs).

There are a few things they'll refuse, but it helps if they're allied/very friendly.

[Shadow_Wolf33]

I generally follow a fairly balanced research plan, focusing most of my energies onto land based military techs (cannon and infantry). Once I get up to about 4 universities I'll generally have 2 going military tech, one industrial, one enlightenment, and then I can use my improved military to conquer more land and get more universities for even better learnins.

If my military tech is ahead of other factions enough to be significant, then not too many people can put up a good argument against me with a bayonet up their posterior.

Naval I do research a bit of, but don't focus a high amount of energy on, as the seas in Europe are generally fairly calm, and most conflict happening in the Caribbean. I can generally stand to have my Caribbean fleets hiding in port until I can get fleet re-enforcements out there to beef them up, or a dockyard built there for a bit of on the spot re-enforcing. In Europe, my general plan of attack is to take out a country's port provinces first and foremost, which will cut off their navy from supply. After that it's just a numbers game, that I will win so long as my land forces can hold the line.