Expanding your empire is part of the Europa Universalis 5. Eventually, you will reach a point where it will become difficult for you to handle any form of rebellion or conflicts from different parts of your empire.
This is where Vassals come in clutch, which will make your life very easy.
Vassals are one of the strongest tools you can use in Europa Universalis 5. They help you expand without overextending, manage culturally distant regions, and provide both manpower and income.
How to Create Vassals in Europa Universalis 5
Vassals serve as an extension of your empire, meaning that they do not lie within your empire. You won’t need to monitor these countries, and you can use them to your advantage. Let’s take a look at how you can create a Vassal:
- Press F5 to bring up the Diplomacy tab.
- Click on the “Create Subject” option on the right side of the menu.
- Choose the part of your empire you want to turn into a Vassal.
- This will send a noble from your empire to rule that particular area, freeing you from the trouble of governing them.
To check the Vassals under your control, open the same menu and click on Manage Subjects. You can also annex a Vassal from your rule using this menu.
Vassals can be used to monopolize resources that you don’t own, purchase, or produce within vessels. This alone is a pretty huge benefit to get Vassals. Aside from that, it serves as a buffer between you and your neighboring states. This is pretty useful, especially if you don’t have good relations with them.
That’s not all, as if you have created a Vassal near your borders, all pressure during a war would mostly affect them, which would minimize the loss. Vassals also supply taxes for your nation, increase prestige income, and support institutions for research. I think those are enough reasons for why you should build a Vassal, so let’s get to maintaining them:
How to Maintain Vassals in EU5
Leaving Vassals unattended will affect your relations with them. Head to the Manage Subjects tab to improve your relations with them and play your role in maintaining them. Smaller nations won’t be a problem; larger ones will be harder to govern due to more autonomy. Just enforce your culture on them, and you will efficiently maintain them without a problem.
If things don’t go as planned, your best bet is to annex the Vassal, which is getting out of control.
If your long-term goal is to fully integrate a subject into your empire, you can annex them, though the process is gradual and there are some requirements you must meet:
- A minimum number of years as your vassal (e.g., 10 years)
- High opinion and trust
- Enough diplomatic power to sustain the process
Choosing Between Vassals or Fiefdoms
The decision of going with Vassals or Fiefdoms depends on your government and economic needs. Let’s see what would be best for you.
Fiefdoms worked under the Monarchy’s rule. You can only get Fiefdoms within the states that have the same religion and culture as your Empire. They are easier to maintain than Vassals.
As for Vassals, they are easier to obtain and don’t have any religion or cultural requirements. Vassals require you to keep good relations with them, and they are a great way to work on your Prestige. They are harder to maintain as compared to Fiefdoms
Now, it’s up to you whether to choose between Vassals or Fiefdoms according to your needs. If you are having trouble with unprofitable buildings, then check out the guide on that as well. I hope you found this Europa Universalis 5 guide helpful.
