Lucky Lucca

Lucky Lucca

Possible if

• Start date is 11 November 1444.
• Playing in ironman mode.
• Provinces with historical tax and manpower values.
• No custom nations.

Playing as Lucca

Achieved if

• Not playing as a released vassal.
• Is Lucca
• Own and core Lucknow

Initial strategies

Lucca is an OPM situated in northern Italy. A campaign in India will require Lucca to grow before taking on such a task. Their neighbours, consisting of Milan, Florence, Genoa and Ferrara, are all stronger than Lucca and therefore careful diplomacy is needed before expansion is possible. The other smaller states in Italy will usually rival Lucca, so they are often not viable options. However, thanks to the small size of Lucca it is possible to ally with larger nations as they regularly have a rival that Lucca feels threatened by, giving a beneficial 20 points for securing an alliance. Austria, France and Aragon may be good choices to seek an alliance with for Lucca. Allying with Austria (as the Emperor) also gives Lucca the possibility to expand within the HRE without incuring maluses concerning unlawful territory. Other beneficial allies closer to home could be The Papal State, Genoa or Milan.

Siena is the only state that Lucca can have a chance of taking on without the help of others or aid by fortunate circumstances, thus the player should early consider whether they want to expand there. Florence can also be taken early with the help of The Papal State, in exchange for promising them some territory. Be careful about expanding the borders of Lucca too quickly in the high development regions of Italy though, as a coalition can easily form as a result of all the incurred aggressive expansion.

With some provinces conquered Lucca will become more equal to the other Italian states. The player should nevertheless not overreach in conquering their neighbours and instead strike when a good opportunity arises. By chipping away, taking one or two provinces at a time, Lucca will soon enough become strong and rich enough to start expanding around the world.

Beneficial ideas

As Lucca will need to travel and conquer across half of the world to gain the achievement, the exploration and expansion idea groups are highly necessary. By setting up colonies in Africa and on the Indian coast, Lucca will gain both income and stepping stones that make it easier to station troops closer to India before expanding into it. The completion of the expansion idea group will be very advantageous for Lucca, as they then gains the ability to fabricate claims on all the coastal states in India. When choosing a military idea group, offensive is a good choice as it grants an additional edge over the Indian troops with the bonuses to discipline and land leader shock/fire and also a slightly higher force limit. The trade idea group is profitable for Lucca, as they can easily get trade power in the two end trade nodes of Genoa and Venice.

Expanding across the world and into India

As explained in the previous chapter, it is beneficial for Lucca to colonise in Africa and Asia, gaining both territory to station troops closer to India and a higher income. Assigning trade companies may likewise be a good idea and synergizes well with the trade idea group. When the player has completed the expansion idea group, they should assess which side of India is the weakest - the east or the west - and strike there when opportune. The position of Lucknow is somewhat deep in the Indian interior and Lucca may have to expand through several Indian states, such as Delhi, Sind, Bengal or Jaunpur before reaching this goal. The player should keep the coring costs of these provinces in mind. Often, the aforementioned Indian states may have allied with each other and should not be underestimated early in the game, as they are then closer to the quality of European soldiers than later and can possibly resist Lucca's invasion force.

When Lucca has finally expanded all the way to Lucknow and cored it, the achievement will be given to the player. If the player is still early in the game, they could also reach for the achievement Master of India by further spreading Lucca's borders inside India.

Achievement guides