We sometimes witness very small armies defeating huge armies on the battlefield in EU4. We see this more frequently, especially in countries that are constantly at war, such as the Ottoman Empire or France. The Ottoman Empire can destroy huge armies of 40k+ with armies of just 15,000. The formula for achieve this is to increase the EU4 army professionalism.
Unfortunately, most EU4 players either ignore or don’t quite know how to increase their army professionalism. Fear not; this guide will tell you all about the best possible tips for improving your army.
How To Get EU4 Army Professionalism?
When you start a new game in EU4, the first thing you need to do is press F1 to open the “Military” page. You can see the status of your country’s army most clearly here. Moreover, you have your Eu4 army professionalism value in a green bar at the top. This value can reach a maximum of 100% in total. So what exactly can we do to increase this level of professionalism? Let’s find the answer to this question together.
- First of all, from the first moment you start the game, you need to recruit Generals to your soldiers. Because every general you recruit will grant you +1 army professionalism.
- Another critical step is to start your army drilling. Drilling can give you up to a maximum of 1% annual army professional per army. However, this percentage depends on the size of your army. For example, when you perform drilling with an army of 14,000, you can earn 0.3% annual professionalism. In the later years of the game, when your army amount and the number of generals increase, you have a chance to gain 100% army professionalism almost every 20 years by drilling.
Apart from these two, there are not many methods that can increase Eu4 army professionalism. Only some events and missions can affect army professionalism for a short time. However, since these are temporary, they will not be of much use to you.
What Negatively Affects Army Professionalism?
There are also elements that devalue the EU4 Army professionalism. Sometimes players can lower their professionalism, either intentionally or unknowingly.
Most of what is done unknowingly is experienced in the recruitment of mercenaries. You may need mercenaries when there is an enemy with a much larger army than you. But did you know that every mercenary you buy costs you -5.0 army pro? That’s why it’s better to stay away from mercenaries unless necessary.
Another way that negatively affects Eu4 Army professionalism is the “Slacken Recruiting Standards” feature. You can access this feature from the bottom of the Military page. Due to its working mechanics, it takes “-5.0 army professionalism” from you and gives “+100% Manpower Recovery Speed” in return. This is one of the most useful game mechanics in EU4. In case of emergency, especially when your country is in danger of invasion, you can use this feature to get your army back on its feet.
Is Professionalism Worth it?
To answer this, you need to know how army professionalism contributes to your army. You can have an idea by taking a quick look at the list below. Meanwhile, the list reflects the positive effects of 100% army professionalism.
- Siege Ability +20.0%
- Land Fire Damage: +10.0%
- Shock Damage: +10.0%
- General cost: -50.0%
- Reduced Morale Damage Taken By Reserves: +50.0%
- Army Drill Gain Modifier: +100.00%
- Regiment Drill Loss: -50.0%
As you can see, there are many buffs that really work for you. However, most of these features are used more in the later stages of the game. Because in the early game, most people do not usually have the resources and money to spend on army professionalism.
Therefore, especially after the 1500s, army professionalism will allow you to move away from mercenaries. For you to survive in the crowded wars, you will need the manpower recovery speed that you will get from the army professional. Furthermore, the drill buffs you will get from army professionalism will make your job much easier as you will be doing army drills with 6-7 generals all the time.
By the way, if you’re new to the game and haven’t gotten used to the mechanics, maybe you might want to check out some EU4 Ironman cheats.
F.A.Q
What is army professionalism?
Why is my army so bad in EU4?
1. Your army professionalism is low.
2. Your armies have lower morale than enemy armies.
3. Your army tradition percentage is not high enough.
4. The army discipline level is quite low.
5. The last and most important reason is that all the features of your armies such as siege ability, shock damage, and combat witdh are insufficient.
