Quote Originally Posted by Noir
Very hard/expert is pointless IMO (i used to play only VH only and so learned it the hard way), hard gives equal chances to the player and the AI as neither is advantaged by bonuses and the AI is not holding back. Aggressiveness is also increased and that plays not very well for the AI as he neglects his economy and takes needless risks in order to invade.
I just played an HRE game on expert and found it a real challenge. I don't mind the AI getting some bonuses, but I'm not sure about the aggressiveness. My enemies were reasonably aggressive, but then I was playing HRE, so, hello!

Is this an issue for others too? Is this the only difference to take into account?