Patch 3!

[loony]

In my last campaign as Poland (started after patch), the nastiest agressor is Courland. The bastards managed to get into a war with most of Europe and I have NO IDEA where they get the cash to fund all that. They have a full stack in sweden, another one running around moscow and the third one banging me in Vilnius :-(

[anweRU]

Some positive observations from my post-patch scratch H/M GB campaign:
- The minor factions are not super-powers anymore. By 1711, they seem to have enough units for a single full stack to defend their home countries. Wurtemburg & Savoy are not steam-rollering France anymore. And they have been able to defend themselves, so they haven't been nerfed too much either.
- France is still alive and kicking.
- The Native American factions are much more realistic. Still a tad too aggressive early in the game, but the 13 Colonies managed to protect themselves for most of the time, losing only the Carolinas and Virginia.
- I probably have conquered only half the provinces I did in my pre-patch GB campaign. I can fund only two full stacks, though I am slowly putting together two half-stacks (one each in India and NA) to support the main stacks.

Back to my pet peave about this patch: The AI is back to METW2 - all AI factions will declare war on you eventually, if you have a bordering province. Holland should not attack GB on turn 7; France and Spain breaking their alliances early on is plain silly. The AI should try some diplomacy first to get the province it needs for its victory conditions, as it tried to pre-patch. The pre-patch problem with AI diplomacy was that it was stuck in an endless loop, and there were no penalties for refusing an AI offer.

I would like to see the AI offers back, with relations worsening until they become hostile, then the AI declares war.

[AussieGiant]

That sounds similar to my H/M Prestige Campaign with Prussia.

Although when UP declared war on me I did have 14 provinces in central Europe and was clearly the biggest threat on the continent. So now that I think about it, it does start to make sense.

I also had about the same amount of military power as you mention and was far and away greater than any other single Empire.