Diplomacy and Protectorates

Diplomacy in ETW in a crucial element,

depending on which diffuculty you are playing as, it will change how easily the
AI factions will accept deals, in vh, for instance, they will usually decline al
most all offers unless there is 5000+ in coinage attached to it.
but either way, i recommend making allies, and preferably those which wont attac
k each other (for instance as france, don't ally yourself with austria, since ev
entually the inbred king Carlos II will die, hence making a war of succession) f
or example, some allies i try to get on my side regardless on which faction i am
:
the 'buffer nations' as a call them, which includes westphalia, hanover, bavaria
, and wurttemburg, having them as allies will create a buffer zone, also, these
nations, seem to be the least likely to attack you.
Maratha is also a good one, the orange-fever that spreads from southern india wi
ll destroy anything in it's path (once as GB, i focused mainly americas - marath
a controlled all russia, ottoman and austrian lands before i noticed), so, allyi
ng yourself is a good idea, they probably will backstab you eventually,
Ottomans, the only major nations that doesn't get the 'territorial expansion' ot
her nation will get, so, if your conquer quickly, they might be the only nation
left that still is friendly to you.
great britain (unless as france or spain), mainly because having an overpowered,
filthy rich and powerfull ally is usefull. xD
Also, you will use diplomacy for trade and peace, and gaining territories, most
of these depend on you gameplay and campaign.
the threaten button, will sometimes force the nation to accept the terms, if the
y don't, they will dislike you (since you threatened to attack if they refused),
if you fail to attack them, then the next time you try to threaten somebody, th
e chances of success will decrease, if not, then it is a good reason to declare
war on them. this tool is usefull for getting protectorate or peace when they ha
ve only 1-2 regions left (especially when both are besieged)

-------- Making Protectorates

Personally, i love protectorate, as france, i like to get wurttemburg, bavaria,
hanover and westphalia as my protectorate.
Protectorate will be loyal to you in most cases, they will enter war with you (n
ot to be confused with against you), if they refuse to do so, it will automatica
lly declare war on their parent nation. you also get 50% of their income, this i
s shown in the "other" section in your economy report.
you are also granted military access in their lands. the regions they own will b
e counted as your own in the victory conditions.
they are hard to get, as, unline ntw, you cannot create a new protectorate the m
oment you capture a town.
this is a step by step guide (not so quick), on how to get one, it should usuall
y work most times:
1) conquer specific region where faction will emerge (you can to this to faction

that have not emerged, if you not location, capture and make region revolt.
2) make region revolt, other buildings that give happiness bonus, infact, probab
ly best to just destroy everything (not main government building, this will allo
w a longer time before settlement surrenders).
3) once region rebelled and new faction emerged, (declare way if not already at
war) at besiege city, (don't attack, just besiege them), with a force that is st
rong enough to win, but not too strong so they won't attack
4), wait patiently until they attack, when they do, fight the battle yourself, a
nd try to kill as many units of that new faction as possible (chase them down if
necessary after battle is won - you will be ask on a menu if you want to contin
ue battle or end - choose continue, so you can chase down the remainder), but DO
NOT destroy army completely!
5) when out of the battle and back on campaign map, go in diplomacy and ask them
to become protectorate (go for peace then new tabs will appear, one of which is
protectorate). you may have to throught a bit of money in, and perhaps trade ri
ghts.
if they refuse, you may want to break the siege, then besiege town again (this i
s to renew the surrender cycle)
repeate process 4-5 until faction is your protectorate