Well, 5 new nations have been added.
...which means now I have to scramble to make 5 new guides. Oh boy... I guess I'll start with the Netherlands.
The Netherlands, a sparkling new addition to the 30 Player Historical Map, is arguably the most interesting country in the game. After having played as the Dutchmen for well over 18 hours now, I can safely make that claim. The Netherlands is an absolutely gigantic country with a teeny military, and there used to be a time where it had the strongest economy in the game (R.I.P. 1.0 ;-;). Your capital might not last long, but the Dutch have an asset every veteran player seeks to control at some point: The East Indies.
For those of you who don't look at maps, the East Indies are modern day Indonesia, located south of Japan and the Philippines, and they are the most valuable colonies in the entire game, bar none. Accounting for 8 of Netherlands' 10 cities, it's the central point of the Dutch powerbase. It hosts most of your economy, about 80% of your total military power, and is desired by every single player in the region - making it a very risky position to control. Essentially, if you control the Indies, you're one step away from controlling all of Southern Asia.
So... how do we go from here?
1. Your first priority should be one of two things:
1a. Build propaganda offices in ALL of your colonized cities, OR
1b. start cranking out industry for your resource provinces.
Because the Indies are so isolated from your capital, they'll start losing morale very rapidly. Luckily, morale will improve naturally if you just build things in the area, but propaganda offices are the most immediate, and arguably a little cheaper. NEVER let your morale dip below 50%. If it starts getting low, crank out propaganda or industry. Higher morale directly increases resource, money, and manpower output, and you need all the help you can get!
2. Make peace with the fact that your capital is virtually indefensible. Amsterdam is damn near impossible to keep intact, given your extremely close proximity to Germany, France, Britain, and hell, even Sweden wants a slice of the Dutchman's pie. But, you're in luck! You can function perfectly fine without your mainland. 90% of your power comes from colonies, so if you think Amsterdam is doomed, relocate your capital to Soerabaja or Wono, either are acceptable.*
*You can technically build your capital wherever you want, but putting it in one of these two cities "centralizes" your capital, and distributes morale a little more evenly.
3. Boats are a Dutchman's best friend. With Naval powers in close proximity, upgrade your naval forces ASAP. Once you get your destroyers to level 3 MINIMUM, you can start assessing potential targets.
3a. Potential targets include: Siam, Belgium, and if you're really gutsy, Australia. It's not impossible to beat the Aussies, but it's gonna be a struggle - you're matched almost unit for unit in the indies. Pump out units as fast as possible!
4. Remember, you're using the allied doctrine. Avoid militias as much as you can, as they will be simply too slow.
5. If, for whatever reason, you don't lose your capital immediately, your resources heavily favor motorized infantry units. You crank out an absolutely absurd amount of oil and food! Research motor infantry ASAP, and start reaping the benefits!
6. Diplomacy is crucial. You control a very strategic point of the game, giving you a whole lot of leverage! Some good allies would be Great Britain and Australia, but you wouldn't be wrong in befriending France, Germany, or Japan. Ignore the USSR and Italy, they're too far away for you to really care.
7. Secret tech wise, try to increase your rare material production before getting too involved with it. It's your least produced resource, so don't waste it!
8. You begin with armored car research, use it. Put up as many tank plants as possible, and crank out those annoying little bastards! They're ridiculously fast, and an absolute nightmare to pin down without bombs and arty. Use this to your advantage!
And with that, hopefully you have enough info to get started. Thank you for reading!
...which means now I have to scramble to make 5 new guides. Oh boy... I guess I'll start with the Netherlands.
The Netherlands, a sparkling new addition to the 30 Player Historical Map, is arguably the most interesting country in the game. After having played as the Dutchmen for well over 18 hours now, I can safely make that claim. The Netherlands is an absolutely gigantic country with a teeny military, and there used to be a time where it had the strongest economy in the game (R.I.P. 1.0 ;-;). Your capital might not last long, but the Dutch have an asset every veteran player seeks to control at some point: The East Indies.
For those of you who don't look at maps, the East Indies are modern day Indonesia, located south of Japan and the Philippines, and they are the most valuable colonies in the entire game, bar none. Accounting for 8 of Netherlands' 10 cities, it's the central point of the Dutch powerbase. It hosts most of your economy, about 80% of your total military power, and is desired by every single player in the region - making it a very risky position to control. Essentially, if you control the Indies, you're one step away from controlling all of Southern Asia.
So... how do we go from here?
1. Your first priority should be one of two things:
1a. Build propaganda offices in ALL of your colonized cities, OR
1b. start cranking out industry for your resource provinces.
Because the Indies are so isolated from your capital, they'll start losing morale very rapidly. Luckily, morale will improve naturally if you just build things in the area, but propaganda offices are the most immediate, and arguably a little cheaper. NEVER let your morale dip below 50%. If it starts getting low, crank out propaganda or industry. Higher morale directly increases resource, money, and manpower output, and you need all the help you can get!
2. Make peace with the fact that your capital is virtually indefensible. Amsterdam is damn near impossible to keep intact, given your extremely close proximity to Germany, France, Britain, and hell, even Sweden wants a slice of the Dutchman's pie. But, you're in luck! You can function perfectly fine without your mainland. 90% of your power comes from colonies, so if you think Amsterdam is doomed, relocate your capital to Soerabaja or Wono, either are acceptable.*
*You can technically build your capital wherever you want, but putting it in one of these two cities "centralizes" your capital, and distributes morale a little more evenly.
3. Boats are a Dutchman's best friend. With Naval powers in close proximity, upgrade your naval forces ASAP. Once you get your destroyers to level 3 MINIMUM, you can start assessing potential targets.
3a. Potential targets include: Siam, Belgium, and if you're really gutsy, Australia. It's not impossible to beat the Aussies, but it's gonna be a struggle - you're matched almost unit for unit in the indies. Pump out units as fast as possible!
4. Remember, you're using the allied doctrine. Avoid militias as much as you can, as they will be simply too slow.
5. If, for whatever reason, you don't lose your capital immediately, your resources heavily favor motorized infantry units. You crank out an absolutely absurd amount of oil and food! Research motor infantry ASAP, and start reaping the benefits!
6. Diplomacy is crucial. You control a very strategic point of the game, giving you a whole lot of leverage! Some good allies would be Great Britain and Australia, but you wouldn't be wrong in befriending France, Germany, or Japan. Ignore the USSR and Italy, they're too far away for you to really care.
7. Secret tech wise, try to increase your rare material production before getting too involved with it. It's your least produced resource, so don't waste it!
8. You begin with armored car research, use it. Put up as many tank plants as possible, and crank out those annoying little bastards! They're ridiculously fast, and an absolute nightmare to pin down without bombs and arty. Use this to your advantage!
And with that, hopefully you have enough info to get started. Thank you for reading!
