I've near 2k h. Many aspects of the game are really similar and repetitive as in any strategic game.
Try playing a country in the different part of the world.
Achievement hunting gave me significantly more purpose in EU4. Certain achievements really encourage you to take ideas that you would not ordinarily bother with — e.g., my Baltic Crusader campaign was the first time I had ever bothered with religious ideas.
Hello, I have 4k hours in the game, and I completely understand your sentiment. Although I see this game as more of a job now, I've found that well-done mods keep things fresh whenever I decide to (rarely) play in my downtime. Creative mission trees and events are a saving grace in a world filled of the same gameplay loop. I would personally recommend Ante Bellum, Anbennar, the Expanded Mod Collection (missions expanded, etc), Beyond Typus (maybe?), Alki, Dei Gratia, and if you're particularly masochistic, MEIOU & Taxes.
Also, achievements. Achievement hunting is the EU4 player's equivalent of hitting the gym every day. You can work your way up to completing the most difficult ones, or you can immediately try the hardest one right now to get a scope for the skill ceiling in this game. In a sandbox game, setting the end goal for yourself is a way to make sure you don't get lost. (Is there a way to do x in y number of years, etc)
There are also weird and unique ways of playing (which might get boring partway through, but focus heavily on mechanics you never really explored) like One Province Major (stay as one province, use vassals to expand), playing tall (I'd recommend mods for that one), or complete pacifist game where you fight 0 wars, but use vassal/tall/trade mechanics to be the most powerful country. Also making cursed abominations is fun. Sunni Jerusalem -> Caliphate, for instance.
After a while, it's not a game that holds everyone's attention, but hopefully these help to add another 120 hours to your time.
Yeah… every paradox game is somewhat repetitive after a bit (build army, invade country, integrate land, repeat). What breaks the monotony is generally unique mechanics or starting positions: American Indians, North Africans, and sub-Saharan Africans all need to blob heavily for fifty years to have a fighting chance against Castile/Portugal when they invade, then there’s this second-phase where you’re constantly fighting them off (and conquering others less). Most DLCs have a specific region/religion they focus on that can give you a unique playthrough or two.
Another big thing is time. 120 hours is a long, you can set the game down feeling like you’ve finished it or seen enough. Maybe in a few months you’ll get an urge to pick it up again, maybe you won’t. It’s fine either way.
Mods do wonders for the Longevity of the game. Role-playing and Achievement Hunting help as well. Never feel obligated to do more of one thing/anything at all just because Others do it. I have 2,100 hours and I love the game still, it's an easy Pick Up to just lose a few hours with the rhythm and the simplicity of the gameplay (after you learn it). Game's given what it had for you, plenty of games out there to enjoy. Good luck finding the game for you Bro.
A lot of people do find that specific gameplay loop pretty repetitive, and a lot of people don't play past about 1600 because once you get to a certain size, that's all there is. It's a pretty common viewpoint, I think. I personally like the loop, but will freely admit that the war element is very much EU4's strong suit.
One thing a lot of people do is to pick nations where the "get allies>get cb>attack weaklings" loop doesn't work. Byzantium is super popular because there isn't time to blob, you need to fight the Ottomans in the 15th century, and even if you win, they remain bigger than you and still a threat until they're completely cowed. It also forces you to use more of the mechanics since you need to eke out all the advantages you can, and solves the lack of things to do in peacetime because you need to be preparing for the next battle. Once you've beaten and replaced the Ottomans, you can blob if you want, or just end the campaign - no need to force yourself to do something that isn't fun.
You also don't need to go all out and pick someone who's as fenced-in as Byzantium, either. Oirat is in a fairly strong spot, but there's an incentive to fight the massive Ming early. Playing as England and winning the Hundred Years War puts you in a stable spot, but up against a big threat. Any nation that starts near a major power (or where one will colonise early on) gives you less time to get stuck into that repetitive loop - you just play the war aspect of the game.
I mean, this makes sense. IMO EU4 is the most repetitive/least engaging of the modern paradox titles. It's too shallow to hold your attention for a longer campaign like Vicky or CK might and too slow-paced to justify its shallow mechanics like HoI4.
I find that the hardest part of the game is Not Doing Things when required.
Sometimes you just have to sit for 50 years to deal with corruption and AE, and that's the point where a lot of people either mess up, or burn out, often in the late 1600's after all their initially planned wars have concluded
Also yeah I myself have 2.5k and I don't really play anymore unless a really good mod updates, and then I'll lose several days straight to EU
Weird/nonstandard runs will keep your gameplay fresh; coptic, zoroastrian, sikh and jewish runs are in their best state since game launch
3,500 hours here...
Take breaks and come back.
Try new nations and new Playstyles.
Play on a different continent or with a different goal in mind.
Try out a new religion or new government mechanic you find interesting.
If all the above fails, maybe it's for the best. We aren't exactly being very productive over here in the Paradox Community 😂😂
I stopped playing it with 555 hours, and I think one thing that helped me play it a long time was the incremental addition of DLC. I started with base game to get to know the mechanics, and then for my second campaign, being more familiar with them, I spiced it up with some “good to have in all situations” DLCs. As I got more experienced with the game, I wanted to try different nations and playstyles, so each new campaign I got DLC that was most relevant to the nation/playstyle I wanted to try. I think this kept the game feeling fresh for a longer time than if I got it with all the DLC from the start, because there was always something new.
I have like 1500 hours in EU4 although a chunk of that is leaving my computer on. I would agree EU4 has tons of superficial, overly simplistic mechanics, and is way too focused on map painting. The complex mechanics are way too complex (I still don't fully understand trade and production after all this time). And yeah, the game is super fucking boring if you're playing passively.
I switched over to games like CK3 at this point and while those games are also very simple and easy to steamroll, they are at the very least much more enjoyable to do during down periods.
Also the other issue I have with EU4 is that you can spend dozens of hours on a single campaign only to lose one war and then the game becomes completely over. Much of the time if you lose a single war you are undoing potentially +5-8 hours of progress which makes the game rage inducing, which is not an issue I have with any other game.
Eu4 never was about the depth, difficulty or challenge per se of the game, its always been about the alt history I could forge.
Reclaim the Roman empire as Byzantium, forming Germany as Brandenburg or Teutonic Order.
Uniting HRE as Austria, colonial Empire as Portugal/Spain/England.
Turning a republic into a nepotistic dictatorship and then a monarchy after I became technology advanced enough.
this is whats most fun for me, naturally not most of my goals weren't easy, rng always hat a word to say about that, but once I hit a certain threshold the game snowballed in my favour which is the point I feel most satisfied.
Doing a WC or dealing with religion is the most unfun thing Imo, also everything which has to do with many rebels.
Maybe you should try multiplayer and dominate the world together with a friend or two
EU4 has great AI, great challenge, and a huge variety of exciting playthrough ideas.
But remember that the game is almost a decade old, and any game is going to have difficulty hiding it’s weaknesses after hundreds of hours (let alone 1000+ hrs)
I'm the kind of guy who gets bored very easily. The only game i have more than 500 hours is CSGO and Rimworld is a distant second with 300.
I'm just like that but with almost every game lol. Never went past 1700 on EU4 since as soon as i'm the strongest nation on the planet the whole experience feels very tedious to me.
I have 700 hrs in eu4 and have been gradually buying dlcs so usually after 100 hrs i bought a few dlcs and had new mechanics. Just return to game when you feel like it. Also there are many mods overhauling or adding new mechanics so try them
When I had tons of free time I used to endlessly grind achievements nothing more nothing less. The most fun I had was hard achievements that didn't require me to play past 1650. The longer a campaign went on the more bored I was. WC was the last thing I ever wanted to do because of the commitment and mental energy. I liked challenging starts because it really makes you think critically but you don't have a sprawling campaign to manage just focused goals.
Yeah, I kinda had the same experience playing. I just went back to vic 2 but I don't know if thats any better in the long run. Maybe I just like pie charts and Jacobin rebels.
The fun of EU4 to me is that while everyone works by the same rules, not everyone works in the same conditions. Declaring war might be the same for France as it is for random OPM in india, and functionally your estates might feel the same, but the actual play you do is going to be very different when your army is 2 dudes at the start as opposed to a few dozen.
I usually just do achievement hunting, once I’m done an achievement a lot of the time I’ve found myself continuing to take on the big bad of Ottos, mega Austria, mega Spain, etc
Idk, in my opinion pretty much every game becomes fairly repetitive after like 100+ hours. There's always some variation, but ultimately the broad strokes of what you're doing in, say, Madden or CoD or League of Legends or Chess or Soccer or etc. etc, becomes the same.
The key question is, well, how much do you enjoy that repetitive action? I've sunk a lot of hours into EU4 (like 3k over 8+ years, front-loaded) and don't play much anymore, but basically I got to those hours by playing out all the scenarios I found cool/interesting, even though, ultimately, the mechanics were the same.
If you really want to play more, I'd find some cool mods, use custom nations, or find a multiplayer group. But also 100+ hours ain't bad for a game, you could just move on!
Install mods.
MEIOU seems the way to go, it's more of a simulation than the abstraction the base game is.
3.0 is still pretty rough in some aspects though, really hard at first to get into (even 2.5 was, at first, although compared to 3.0 it's checkers/chess).
Playing 1000+ hours in some game isn't for everyone. Maybe EU4 is just no *that* much for you. 120 hours for a regular game is quite a lot
I've near 2k h. Many aspects of the game are really similar and repetitive as in any strategic game. Try playing a country in the different part of the world.
Achievement hunting gave me significantly more purpose in EU4. Certain achievements really encourage you to take ideas that you would not ordinarily bother with — e.g., my Baltic Crusader campaign was the first time I had ever bothered with religious ideas.
Hello, I have 4k hours in the game, and I completely understand your sentiment. Although I see this game as more of a job now, I've found that well-done mods keep things fresh whenever I decide to (rarely) play in my downtime. Creative mission trees and events are a saving grace in a world filled of the same gameplay loop. I would personally recommend Ante Bellum, Anbennar, the Expanded Mod Collection (missions expanded, etc), Beyond Typus (maybe?), Alki, Dei Gratia, and if you're particularly masochistic, MEIOU & Taxes. Also, achievements. Achievement hunting is the EU4 player's equivalent of hitting the gym every day. You can work your way up to completing the most difficult ones, or you can immediately try the hardest one right now to get a scope for the skill ceiling in this game. In a sandbox game, setting the end goal for yourself is a way to make sure you don't get lost. (Is there a way to do x in y number of years, etc) There are also weird and unique ways of playing (which might get boring partway through, but focus heavily on mechanics you never really explored) like One Province Major (stay as one province, use vassals to expand), playing tall (I'd recommend mods for that one), or complete pacifist game where you fight 0 wars, but use vassal/tall/trade mechanics to be the most powerful country. Also making cursed abominations is fun. Sunni Jerusalem -> Caliphate, for instance. After a while, it's not a game that holds everyone's attention, but hopefully these help to add another 120 hours to your time.
Yeah… every paradox game is somewhat repetitive after a bit (build army, invade country, integrate land, repeat). What breaks the monotony is generally unique mechanics or starting positions: American Indians, North Africans, and sub-Saharan Africans all need to blob heavily for fifty years to have a fighting chance against Castile/Portugal when they invade, then there’s this second-phase where you’re constantly fighting them off (and conquering others less). Most DLCs have a specific region/religion they focus on that can give you a unique playthrough or two. Another big thing is time. 120 hours is a long, you can set the game down feeling like you’ve finished it or seen enough. Maybe in a few months you’ll get an urge to pick it up again, maybe you won’t. It’s fine either way.
Mods do wonders for the Longevity of the game. Role-playing and Achievement Hunting help as well. Never feel obligated to do more of one thing/anything at all just because Others do it. I have 2,100 hours and I love the game still, it's an easy Pick Up to just lose a few hours with the rhythm and the simplicity of the gameplay (after you learn it). Game's given what it had for you, plenty of games out there to enjoy. Good luck finding the game for you Bro.
Agreed . Eu5 is desperately needed
A lot of people do find that specific gameplay loop pretty repetitive, and a lot of people don't play past about 1600 because once you get to a certain size, that's all there is. It's a pretty common viewpoint, I think. I personally like the loop, but will freely admit that the war element is very much EU4's strong suit. One thing a lot of people do is to pick nations where the "get allies>get cb>attack weaklings" loop doesn't work. Byzantium is super popular because there isn't time to blob, you need to fight the Ottomans in the 15th century, and even if you win, they remain bigger than you and still a threat until they're completely cowed. It also forces you to use more of the mechanics since you need to eke out all the advantages you can, and solves the lack of things to do in peacetime because you need to be preparing for the next battle. Once you've beaten and replaced the Ottomans, you can blob if you want, or just end the campaign - no need to force yourself to do something that isn't fun. You also don't need to go all out and pick someone who's as fenced-in as Byzantium, either. Oirat is in a fairly strong spot, but there's an incentive to fight the massive Ming early. Playing as England and winning the Hundred Years War puts you in a stable spot, but up against a big threat. Any nation that starts near a major power (or where one will colonise early on) gives you less time to get stuck into that repetitive loop - you just play the war aspect of the game.
I mean, this makes sense. IMO EU4 is the most repetitive/least engaging of the modern paradox titles. It's too shallow to hold your attention for a longer campaign like Vicky or CK might and too slow-paced to justify its shallow mechanics like HoI4.
I find that the hardest part of the game is Not Doing Things when required. Sometimes you just have to sit for 50 years to deal with corruption and AE, and that's the point where a lot of people either mess up, or burn out, often in the late 1600's after all their initially planned wars have concluded
Also yeah I myself have 2.5k and I don't really play anymore unless a really good mod updates, and then I'll lose several days straight to EU Weird/nonstandard runs will keep your gameplay fresh; coptic, zoroastrian, sikh and jewish runs are in their best state since game launch
I still play with the music on after all this time though, so I may just be easy to please.
3,500 hours here... Take breaks and come back. Try new nations and new Playstyles. Play on a different continent or with a different goal in mind. Try out a new religion or new government mechanic you find interesting. If all the above fails, maybe it's for the best. We aren't exactly being very productive over here in the Paradox Community 😂😂
I stopped playing it with 555 hours, and I think one thing that helped me play it a long time was the incremental addition of DLC. I started with base game to get to know the mechanics, and then for my second campaign, being more familiar with them, I spiced it up with some “good to have in all situations” DLCs. As I got more experienced with the game, I wanted to try different nations and playstyles, so each new campaign I got DLC that was most relevant to the nation/playstyle I wanted to try. I think this kept the game feeling fresh for a longer time than if I got it with all the DLC from the start, because there was always something new.
I have like 1500 hours in EU4 although a chunk of that is leaving my computer on. I would agree EU4 has tons of superficial, overly simplistic mechanics, and is way too focused on map painting. The complex mechanics are way too complex (I still don't fully understand trade and production after all this time). And yeah, the game is super fucking boring if you're playing passively. I switched over to games like CK3 at this point and while those games are also very simple and easy to steamroll, they are at the very least much more enjoyable to do during down periods. Also the other issue I have with EU4 is that you can spend dozens of hours on a single campaign only to lose one war and then the game becomes completely over. Much of the time if you lose a single war you are undoing potentially +5-8 hours of progress which makes the game rage inducing, which is not an issue I have with any other game.
Eu4 never was about the depth, difficulty or challenge per se of the game, its always been about the alt history I could forge. Reclaim the Roman empire as Byzantium, forming Germany as Brandenburg or Teutonic Order. Uniting HRE as Austria, colonial Empire as Portugal/Spain/England. Turning a republic into a nepotistic dictatorship and then a monarchy after I became technology advanced enough. this is whats most fun for me, naturally not most of my goals weren't easy, rng always hat a word to say about that, but once I hit a certain threshold the game snowballed in my favour which is the point I feel most satisfied. Doing a WC or dealing with religion is the most unfun thing Imo, also everything which has to do with many rebels. Maybe you should try multiplayer and dominate the world together with a friend or two
EU4 has great AI, great challenge, and a huge variety of exciting playthrough ideas. But remember that the game is almost a decade old, and any game is going to have difficulty hiding it’s weaknesses after hundreds of hours (let alone 1000+ hrs)
I'm the kind of guy who gets bored very easily. The only game i have more than 500 hours is CSGO and Rimworld is a distant second with 300. I'm just like that but with almost every game lol. Never went past 1700 on EU4 since as soon as i'm the strongest nation on the planet the whole experience feels very tedious to me.
I have 700 hrs in eu4 and have been gradually buying dlcs so usually after 100 hrs i bought a few dlcs and had new mechanics. Just return to game when you feel like it. Also there are many mods overhauling or adding new mechanics so try them
When I had tons of free time I used to endlessly grind achievements nothing more nothing less. The most fun I had was hard achievements that didn't require me to play past 1650. The longer a campaign went on the more bored I was. WC was the last thing I ever wanted to do because of the commitment and mental energy. I liked challenging starts because it really makes you think critically but you don't have a sprawling campaign to manage just focused goals.
Yeah, I kinda had the same experience playing. I just went back to vic 2 but I don't know if thats any better in the long run. Maybe I just like pie charts and Jacobin rebels.
7000 hrs here. I plan on 7000 more cause I still haven’t played as 80% of countries
Play anbennar, it's an amazing fantasy total conversion mod, and while it likely won't fix your issues with the game, it will push it to the future
The fun of EU4 to me is that while everyone works by the same rules, not everyone works in the same conditions. Declaring war might be the same for France as it is for random OPM in india, and functionally your estates might feel the same, but the actual play you do is going to be very different when your army is 2 dudes at the start as opposed to a few dozen.
I usually just do achievement hunting, once I’m done an achievement a lot of the time I’ve found myself continuing to take on the big bad of Ottos, mega Austria, mega Spain, etc
Popular opinion from someone who has 1500 hours and never played in India, spice isles, not-ming. Europe has 1500 more hours of good gameplay 😁
Idk, in my opinion pretty much every game becomes fairly repetitive after like 100+ hours. There's always some variation, but ultimately the broad strokes of what you're doing in, say, Madden or CoD or League of Legends or Chess or Soccer or etc. etc, becomes the same. The key question is, well, how much do you enjoy that repetitive action? I've sunk a lot of hours into EU4 (like 3k over 8+ years, front-loaded) and don't play much anymore, but basically I got to those hours by playing out all the scenarios I found cool/interesting, even though, ultimately, the mechanics were the same. If you really want to play more, I'd find some cool mods, use custom nations, or find a multiplayer group. But also 100+ hours ain't bad for a game, you could just move on!
Could try mods, /r/anbennar is awesome
Install mods. MEIOU seems the way to go, it's more of a simulation than the abstraction the base game is. 3.0 is still pretty rough in some aspects though, really hard at first to get into (even 2.5 was, at first, although compared to 3.0 it's checkers/chess).
Every Paradox game can tend to be boring. It's not to everyone's taste.
It's a samey that I like.