I don't think we're playing the same game to be honest. So far I have played 5 campaigns on Hard/Medium, and one on Medium/Medium. The 6 on H/M were Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Russia and Prussia, in that order.
As Austria I got DoW's from all my neighbours and they all refused any form of peace settlement, even if I offered them money. I turned it off in 1702 or '03.
As Great Britain the Huron Confederacy declared war on the first turn, and just as it used to be in 1.3, they refused peace when I took their main city. After around 6 turns of inactivity I got them to accept a peace deal, but they broke it again the next turn. So, as with 1.3, the AI was completely unyielding and would have to be destroyed. I turned that one off around 1705.
As Sweden things looked promising at first. There was peace for the first few years. Russia made several demands for territory, and declared war when I refused. Their allies refused to join, but somehow they all stayed allied to Russia, despite the fact that when I refuse to join an ally, the alliance is automatically dissolved. I took Moscow easily. Russia refused peace, even when I offered to give back Moscow. I turned this particular campaign off when they demanded peace, several thousand florins and 4 of my territories, even though I was the one stampeding through their lands, and THEY had gone beyond licking their wounds, and at this point were trying to stitch back on their head, which I had ripped off.
As Russia, Georgia and Dagestan declared war on the first turn. They both consistently refused peace, even when I had defeated their armies and was besieging their only cities, which were guarded by only peasants, and so I had to destroy both. And guess what happened right after? My "very friendly" Persian neighbours declared war on me. I also crushed Sweden's armies and reduced them to their capital, and they would not accept peace. Turned this one off around 1710.
As Prussia, I just got bored to be honest. Took Gdansk from Poland, and pretty much the entire earth declared war on me. Fought a few battles with Austria, who then refused peace outright even though I had beaten them badly each time. Turned that one off.
I'm now playing as Poland on M/M. I gave East Prussia to Prussia on the first turn, got trading rights with EVERY nation surrounding me, refused to go to war when Saxony was invaded, and am getting very, very rich, having never fought a single battle. It's 1714 and nobody has declared war on me. The whole world is "Terrifying, Spectacular", or at the very least "Strong, Rich". Yet, even though there are many nations at war, there seems to be a distinct lack of activity. Prussia declared war on Saxony on the first turn, but in the year 1714, Saxony is still around, and still "Strong, Rich". The UP hasn't been destroyed yet, as happened on turn 3 or 4 in every other campaign I played. I'm going to actually have to start a war to get some action.
For me, not much has really changed. The AI is still dumb as toast, they keep refusing peace when they should be begging for peace, they keep taxing their lands so high that by 1725 population and wealth have declined so much one might think we had entered a new dark age...
I hate being the party pooper but we seem to have gone from one horrible extreme (1.3) to a boring, not quite as horrible OTHER extreme (1.4).
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