EU4: 1.36.1 Hotfix is now LIVE! Checksum [fab8] - Not For Problem Reports! (2024)

It is probably not a bug, as it would be hard to see how Paradox could have missed this in testing, meaning this is likely working as designed (WAD) or intentional. I could be wrong, however. That being said, this would seem to be indeed a strange behavior, even if it is WAD. It is something they may need to look into in the future.

In the meantime, though, I think they could at least do a courtesy of adding in the information in a tooltip warning the players about this behavior where a debate bonus can replace another, preferably in red font. I recommend considering this option as a part of either a next hotfix or a next patch for now before they start looking into the problem of debate bonus replacing another.

On that note, I have in mind a possible scenario in which three different types of debate effects can co-exist at the same time:

• Fiscal - Represents the power of the purse that a Parliament possesses; lack of any fiscal issue in effect could potentially trigger a highly negative fiscal penalty applied to things like global tax modifier, loan-related modifiers, and such. For England, the fiscal penalty could be differently scaled depending on the condition: the penalty might be much higher AFTER the parliament wins the English Civil War, making their control over finances stronger. This particular type of debate could also be more difficult to enact, with higher cost of bribes and such.
• Non-fiscal - Obviously applies to any issues that have nothing to do with finances like colonization, except for special issues (see below).
• Special - For things like Acts of Union, Crown of Ireland, and such.

One intriguing possibility is to consider the relationship between fiscal issue and non-fiscal issue: the lack of fiscal issue in effect could potentially raise the cost of bribes for non-fiscal issue OR the non-fiscal debate may be locked (as to represent the refusal of the Parliament to consider it unless their demands for control over the finances is addressed), meaning no further progress unless you put fiscal issue and pass it. This would give the parliament teeth in relation to the control over the finances.

Regarding the increased cost of bribes for non-fiscal issue, as with the fiscal penalty for lack of fiscal issue in effect, this penalty to bribes in England can also become more powerful after the Parliamentarians won the civil war, furthering the parliamentary control over the purses.

In this, stakes can be much higher, especially if the fiscal debate failed to pass. It, however, can be somewhat ameliorated by appointing a ministry that can command the support of the Parliament, which can make bribes a bit cheaper. But we can flesh this part out later.

Another possibility to consider is that while non-fiscal issue effect can last for five years, fiscal issue effect could be active for only one or two years. Alternatively, fiscal issue can be five years in the beginning but, after parliamentary victory in the English Civil War, it can change to one-two years.

There are two main concerns with respect to this entire proposal, though. First concern is the potential for making England / Great Britain (and even possibly any countries with parliament mechanic) overly powerful because you have a stack of two-three different bonuses at the same time. One possibility to rectify this is to negate, change, or remove bonuses from elsewhere, like English national ideas, English events, and such, to re-balance, but this sacrifice may be an unpopular option with the players.

A second concern is whether it might make gameplay less fun if you have to deal with the parliament constantly. Because a fiscal issue in this scenario is absolutely vital in the light of their strong fiscal penalty if they are not in effect, I think it would require allowing for at least two debates to be active at the same time. This way, it ensures that you can get the fiscal issue in without incurring the strong penalty AND not need to remove the non-fiscal debate that might be already running at the time the fiscal issue's effects had expired.

As with any proposal, this requires a rigorous scrutiny, brainstorming, fleshing out, and extensive testing to determine its feasibility and what kind of effects it has on the gameplay overall.

Finally, as the gameplay is more important than accuracy, there will always be a bit of simplification here and there, so, as sad as it is to admit this, I doubt that the parliament mechanic will ever come anywhere close to what I have outlined above, even in the next generation of Europa Universalis IV. But, hey, you never know.