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All in all, quite a naff situation to be in. As a tribe it follows the weak Totemist religion, it has a major penalty on tech and can only reform through the terribly expensive native reforms. Talking of America, Caddo is a small native chiefdom in North America. Either way, you can look to take on your historic rivals in China or look to the east and colonise America. Once you’ve managed that you can either establish Japan or carry on as a daimyo and exploit the system. Conquering the provinces within Japan itself and establishing yourself as the ruler is a weird challenge as you have lots of small armies all fighting among themselves, creating a bonkers free-for-all.
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It is utterly baffling and will take a good while to get used to, but it will be fully worth your while. Why you should play them: Essentially, Japan has the most unique system of government in Europa Universalis IV. Uesugi stands as a strong contender for top-dog but any of the minor Japanese nations can be fun to play. The country has been split into many daimyos, a half independent, half subject state that controls the capital. You also can focus on India and form the Mughals, an overpowered nation that is great to play. It’s a hard start but weather the storm and you are free to play however you like. Taking the Timurids opens up India to the east and Arabia to your west, all ready for the taking. Why should you play them: Playing the Timurids in Europa Universalis IV will likely start off on the verge of your subjects revolting against you – but this can be averted. His time is nearly up, however, and a civil war is on edge. The vassal states that Timurids command are aching to break free, held together only by the love of Sultan Shah Rukh Timurid.
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In the heart of the Middle East lies the Timurids, a nation in peril about to devolve into chaos.
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Utilise this well and you will make it out alive, in time for the Europeans to arrive! Timurids You’ll need an amazing starting leader and a great religion to help you. This means constantly expanding around the Horn of Africa and gaining enough of an economy that you can rival a nation that will most likely have a significant technology lead. You need to be strong enough to fight them. The reality is the the Mamluks (or sometimes the Ottoman) will destroy you when they decide to venture south into Africa. Why you should play them: Ethiopia is a really engaging but difficult challenge that encourages you to expand aggressively. But Ethiopia is easily a dominant force in the area and are only properly challenged by the Mamluks to the north. This isn’t saying much, however, as there is only a handful of Coptic nations. On the North-East edge of Africa lies the most powerful Coptic nation in the world (at the default 1444 start date).
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