What's the best Paradox Interactive grand strategy game according to you?

drru.zip · Oct 21, 2022

Vote on what grand strategy game Paradox is best according to you.

Dristun · Oct 21, 2022

IMO Europa4 struck the perfect balance between dumb and smart and had the most coherent set of game mechanics. Other games felt either too much or just flat out dumb, like HoI4, where I simply didn't understand where the actual "strategy" is - it felt like I'm choosing a rail track at the start of the game and then it's just boring train ride on it for hours, with my entire input relegated to micromanaging units and production.

ShiBDiB · Oct 21, 2022

I've played them all besides vicky (gonna give the new one a try when it comes out) and IR (they abandoned it).

For me it's CK2 > HOI3 > HOI4 > CK3 > Stellaris > EU's

1. CK2 - It's just a complete game with all the DLC's. CK3 improved on a lot of stuff but it still can't compete with CK2.

2. HOI3 - I enjoyed the intricacies that seem to be missing from HOI4. The commander system was a blast as someone who is more macro than micro when it comes to army management.

3. HOI4 - I enjoy launching this and being able to power thru a standard game session at a faster rate than an HOI3 game. Mods like Kaisereich are awesome.

4. CK3 - Improving but I don't know if it's the graphics or what, but I struggle to get into the game.

5. Stellaris - It's fun and is hands down the best space grand strategy game on the market. But the DLC's are too much and things just seem to get lost in the shuffle with feature creep and massive changes from patch to patch.

6. EU - This is CK lite. The DLC is overwhelming and the game still feels lacking compared to CK.

The red spirit · Oct 21, 2022

I would remove Vicky 3 option, it's not launched yet. Can't be the best if it doesn't even exist.

drru.zip · Oct 21, 2022

The red spirit said:
I would remove Vicky 3 option, it's not launched yet. Can't be the best if it doesn't even exist.

I hear you, although some people have played beta or the dev build since it leaked.

Frick · Oct 21, 2022

I would argue that only EU and HoI are grand strategy games on that list. Stellaris is more 4X, CK is more RPG strategy, Vicky is more sim. I probably had the best time with EU3 and CK2, but they belong in different genres.

ShiBDiB said:
6. EU - This is CK lite. The DLC is overwhelming and the game still feels lacking compared to CK.

Technically it's EU RPG.

You could even argue that CK is EU lite depending on your tastes.

drru.zip · Oct 21, 2022

ShiBDiB said:
I've played them all besides vicky (gonna give the new one a try when it comes out) and IR (they abandoned it).

For me it's CK2 > HOI3 > HOI4 > CK3 > Stellaris > EU's

1. CK2 - It's just a complete game with all the DLC's. CK3 improved on a lot of stuff but it still can't compete with CK2.

2. HOI3 - I enjoyed the intricacies that seem to be missing from HOI4. The commander system was a blast as someone who is more macro than micro when it comes to army management.

3. HOI4 - I enjoy launching this and being able to power thru a standard game session at a faster rate than an HOI3 game. Mods like Kaisereich are awesome.

4. CK3 - Improving but I don't know if it's the graphics or what, but I struggle to get into the game.

5. Stellaris - It's fun and is hands down the best space grand strategy game on the market. But the DLC's are too much and things just seem to get lost in the shuffle with feature creep and massive changes from patch to patch.

6. EU - This is CK lite. The DLC is overwhelming and the game still feels lacking compared to CK.

Ive had a hard time getting into Stellaris. Im unsure what it is but I think it's too different from the other games. It's kinda sad that Imperator Rome failed because I kinda liked it, its not the best but its stil a good game. Victoria 3 seems nice although it crashes a lot, alough not final build so you got to expect that.

The red spirit · Oct 21, 2022

drru.zip said:
I hear you, although some people have played beta or the dev build since it leaked.

I highly doubt that beta will be like final game.

drru.zip · Oct 22, 2022

The red spirit said:
I highly doubt that beta will be like final game.

I kinda agree, of course most of the bugs will be gone but I stil don't think it will change visually much. All the menus are there and the map looks great. The only two things I can complain about was the crashes and it's kinda hard to learn, espacially if you wanna do things fast like take over countries but that's the case in most Paradox games.

The red spirit · Oct 22, 2022

drru.zip said:
I kinda agree, of course most of the bugs will be gone but I stil don't think it will change visually much. All the menus are there and the map looks great. The only two things I can complain about was the crashes and it's kinda hard to learn, espacially if you wanna do things fast like take over countries but that's the case in most Paradox games.

Still it's unreleased game and isn't accessible to as many people as released game. Just remove it from poll.

drru.zip · Oct 22, 2022

The red spirit said:
Still it's unreleased game and isn't accessible to as many people as released game. Just remove it from poll.

yeah fair enough but I can't edit the poll.

openbox1980 · Oct 22, 2022

Hearts of iron 4 is just complete trash, single core game that after 1949 its unplayable. I wouldnt play any of the other games, it seems they all run on the same game engine. I rather play fallout 76 (i dont play this game).

Dr. Dro · Oct 22, 2022

It's hoi4 for me, I'll be honest though, I am incredibly bad at it. Like, horribly so. I actually enjoy watching it a ton more than I enjoy playing it, so often I just let the CPU play itself when I am bored, adding some bias to the country I want to win. LOL

Frick · Oct 22, 2022

drru.zip said:
Ive had a hard time getting into Stellaris. Im unsure what it is but I think it's too different from the other games. It's kinda sad that Imperator Rome failed because I kinda liked it, its not the best but its stil a good game. Victoria 3 seems nice although it crashes a lot, alough not final build so you got to expect that.

Stellaris is much more 4X than grand strategy.

openbox1980 said:
Hearts of iron 4 is just complete trash, single core game that after 1949 its unplayable. I wouldnt play any of the other games, it seems they all run on the same game engine. I rather play fallout 76 (i dont play this game).

None of their games are "single core" and hasn't been for a very long time. It might slow down (Stellaris used to be almost unplayable past a certain date, before 2.0) but the "it only runs on one core" BS needs to go away.

ShiBDiB · Oct 23, 2022

openbox1980 said:
Hearts of iron 4 is just complete trash, single core game that after 1949 its unplayable. I wouldnt play any of the other games, it seems they all run on the same game engine. I rather play fallout 76 (i dont play this game).

It's a cpu intensive game but like Frick said, not singlecore. Post your specs so we can shame you for complaining while trying to play on a calculator.

Also there's mods out there that help with endgame lag. Some will limit division production, some completely disable the AI in south america (a generally unimportant region in this game), etc..

Vayra86 · Oct 23, 2022

Stellaris, but then I didn't play a lot of the other ones in that list.

But yeah. That game wants to tickle ever sci-fi nerd's baddest dreams all the time, and isn't shy about it. Do your thing, it screams at you. Love it.

Calenhad · Oct 23, 2022

Stellaris is just fabulous. Price for the complete game is nuts though.

Chrispy_ · Oct 23, 2022

Of everything in that list, I've only played Stellaris and only the base game at that. I'm not voting, obviously. Choosing from 1 of 1 isn't a choice.

Since grand strategy isn't my default genre, I'm more than happy without the DLC because it sounds like the DLC almost ruins it (for someone who isn't into infinite choice and complexity for the sake of challenge)

AusWolf · Oct 23, 2022

Stellaris is nice, though I haven't played the rest, so it wouldn't be fair for me to vote.

openbox1980 · Nov 1, 2022

Frick said:
Stellaris is much more 4X than grand strategy.

None of their games are "single core" and hasn't been for a very long time. It might slow down (Stellaris used to be almost unplayable past a certain date, before 2.0) but the "it only runs on one core" BS needs to go away.

It does run on a single core, I have a 12th gen 12900h laptop processor, it doenst run good after 1949, my last laptop had a 11800h, that wouldnt run good after 1947. Good thing I got the game for free.

ShiBDiB said:
It's a cpu intensive game but like Frick said, not singlecore. Post your specs so we can shame you for complaining while trying to play on a calculator.

Also there's mods out there that help with endgame lag. Some will limit division production, some completely disable the AI in south america (a generally unimportant region in this game), etc..

My laptop specs, sure.

asus scar 15
i9 12900h
32GB DDR5-4800
15.6-inch WQHD
3080 Ti Laptop gpu
16tb of storage, x2 8tb m.2

I was told, all of the late game lag is from south america.

Frick · Nov 1, 2022

openbox1980 said:
It does run on a single core, I have a 12th gen 12900h laptop processor, it doenst run good after 1949, my last laptop had a 11800h, that wouldnt run good after 1947. Good thing I got the game for free.

Play the game and look in the task manager. It slowing down in late game has nothing to do with how many cores it uses.

openbox1980 · Nov 1, 2022

Frick said:
Play the game and look in the task manager. It slowing down in late game has nothing to do with how many cores it uses.

It shows 1 core maxed out at 100%, and maybe 2 more at 20-25%.

Frick · Nov 2, 2022

openbox1980 said:
It shows 1 core maxed out at 100%, and maybe 2 more at 20-25%.

Which game?

System Name	PC
Processor	Intel I9-12900KF
Motherboard	Gigabyte Aorus Pro Z690
Cooling	Corsair H170i
Memory	Corsair Dominator Platinum 5600 2x16gb DDR5
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RX 6950 XT
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Display(s)	Samsung Odyssey G7 32 240hz
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos C700P
Audio Device(s)	SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Power Supply	650w
Mouse	SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless
Keyboard	SteelSeries Apex Pro
Software	Windows 11

Processor	Intel 12600K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X
Cooling	CPU: Noctua NH-D15S; Case: 2xNoctua NF-A14, 1xNF-S12A.
Memory	Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 @3600CL16 2*16GB
Video Card(s)	Palit RTX 4080
Storage	Samsung 970 Pro 512GB + Crucial MX500 500gb + WD Red 6TB
Display(s)	Dell S2721qs
Case	Phanteks P300A Mesh
Audio Device(s)	Behringer UMC204HD
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ 560W
Mouse	Glorious Model D-

System Name	[Daily Driver]
Processor	[Ryzen 7 5800X3D]
Motherboard	[Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS]
Cooling	[be quiet! Dark Rock Slim]
Memory	[64GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600MHz (16GBx4)]
Video Card(s)	[PNY RTX 3070Ti XLR8]
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Power Supply	[CORSAIR RMx 1000]
Mouse	[Logitech G Pro Wireless]
Keyboard	[Logitech G512 Carbon (GX-Brown)]
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Processor	Intel Core i5 10400F
Motherboard	Gigabyte B460M Aorus Pro
Cooling	Scythe Choten
Memory	2x8GB G.Skill Aegis 2666 MHz
Video Card(s)	PowerColor Red Dragon V2 RX 580 8GB ~100 watts in Wattman
Storage	512GB WD Blue + 256GB WD Green + 4TH Toshiba X300
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Power Supply	Chieftec A90 550W (GDP-550C)
Mouse	Steel Series Rival 100
Keyboard	Hama SL 570
Software	Windows 10 Enterprise

System Name	PC
Processor	Intel I9-12900KF
Motherboard	Gigabyte Aorus Pro Z690
Cooling	Corsair H170i
Memory	Corsair Dominator Platinum 5600 2x16gb DDR5
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RX 6950 XT
Storage	M2 SSD
Display(s)	Samsung Odyssey G7 32 240hz
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos C700P
Audio Device(s)	SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Power Supply	650w
Mouse	SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless
Keyboard	SteelSeries Apex Pro
Software	Windows 11

What's the best Paradox Interactive grand strategy game according to you?

Which game is your favourite?

Crusader Kings 2

Crusader Kings 3

Hearts Of Iron 3

Hearts Of Iron 4

Imperator Rome

Stellaris

Victoria 2

Victoria 3

Europa Universalis 3

Europa Universalis 4

drru.zip

Dristun

ShiBDiB

The red spirit

drru.zip

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

drru.zip

The red spirit

drru.zip

The red spirit

drru.zip

openbox1980

Dr. Dro

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

ShiBDiB

Vayra86

Calenhad

Chrispy_

AusWolf

openbox1980

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

openbox1980

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
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Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

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Processor	13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900KS Special Edition
Motherboard	MSI MEG Z690 ACE (MS-7D27) BIOS 1G
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Cooling	beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
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Case	Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s)	Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
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Mouse	XTRFY M42
Keyboard	Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
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Cooling	Custom Watercooling
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Video Card(s)	MSi RTX 3080ti Suprim X
Storage	2TB Corsair MP600 PRO Hydro X
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Mouse	Logitech G903
Keyboard	Steelseries Apex Pro

System Name	Bragging Rights
Processor	Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard	It has no markings but it's green
Cooling	No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory	2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s)	Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage	32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s)	10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
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Keyboard	Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD	Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
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Benchmark Scores	I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.

System Name	Nebulon-B Mk. 4
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSi PRO B650M-A WiFi
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock 4
Memory	2x 24 GB Corsair Vengeance EXPO DDR5-6000
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7800 XT
Storage	2 TB Corsair MP600 GS, 2 TB Corsair MP600 R2, 4 + 8 TB Seagate Barracuda 3.5"
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Keyboard	Logitech G413 SE
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