

Early battlefield setbacks or diplomatic friction between members (especially rivals) could cause a tenuous coalition to unravel quickly as members lose the will to fight. These changes should make coalitions still very powerful but more volatile and unreliable to work with. Assuming it can be correctly implemented (which is a big ask), wavering nations should be able to switch sides during an ongoing war (something the current system doesn’t allow for). To make them fairer, however, the game should offer a measure of flexibility and diplomacy - such as the opportunity to buy off wavering coalition members with promises of land or money. They would attract rivals and other opportunistic nations looking for a quick land grab. To make them more dynamic and interesting to interact with, coalitions should be quick to form, especially against big and threatening nations. But as anyone who has played the 1508 start date knows, the war is impossible to model within the current war system. It ended with France and Venice allied against England, Castile, Austria, and the Pope. What began as an anti-Venetian alliance quickly evolved into a pact between Venice and the Papal States to drive the French from Italy.

The War of the League of Cambrai, which lasted between 15, was the type of international conflict at which EU4 should excel.
