Introduction
Many players find themselves losing battles despite having superior numbers. In EU4, understanding how combat mechanics work is the key to maximizing the efficiency of your troops and resources. This guide, based on Levick’s comprehensive breakdown, covers early to late-game combat strategies and advanced techniques used by top players.

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Early Game Combat (Pre-Artillery)

1. Combat Width Awareness: Engage with the exact number of units as your current combat width allows. Additional units in reserves or second row will take morale damage and arrive weaker.
2. Reinforcement Strategy: Start the battle with full combat width and drip-feed reinforcements every few days to replace casualties, keeping the front line at full strength.
3. Use of Cavalry:
   • Best used when flanking is possible (enemy line is shorter than yours).
   • Avoid using cavalry when facing equal or larger forces where flanking isn’t possible.
4. Shift Consolidate:
   • Before battles, use shift + consolidate to ensure all regiments in the fight are full strength.
   • Conserve manpower by not reinforcing empty regiments during combat.

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Mid Game Combat (With Artillery)

1. Artillery Placement:
   • Artillery fights from the second row.
   • Never have more artillery than infantry. If the front line breaks, artillery will move to the front and die quickly.
   • Example: With 34 combat width, use a 34/0/34 (Inf/Cav/Art) stack.
2. Reinforcement Awareness:
   • Reinforce battles based on the estimated number of casualties.
   • Use larger reserves in late game as casualties increase drastically (30k reserves can die in 3 days).
   • Avoid reinforcing too late. If the front breaks, artillery dies.
3. Overstacking vs. Efficiency:
   • Slight overstacking is better than losing your frontline too early.
   • Prioritize winning the main battle over being 100% efficient.

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Advanced Combat Tactics

1. Scorched Earth:
   • Slows enemy movement by 50%.
   • Useful for delaying reinforcements or catching AI/player stacks individually.
   • Use when defending key terrain or anticipating staggered reinforcements.
2. Terrain and River Crossings:
   • Use the terrain map mode to see defensive bonuses.
   • Favor hills/mountains with river crossings to get -2 or -3 penalties for attackers.
3. Back Row Stacks:
   • By mid to late game, maintain 2-4 full artillery back row stacks.
   • Use them to catch reinforcements or support multiple battles simultaneously.
4. Interception of Reinforcements:
   • Attack reinforcing stacks separately to delay them.
   • Even if you lose the skirmish, delaying can win the main battle.
5. Flank Raiding via Retreat Mechanics:
   • Late game: join a battle with a full stack, retreat it manually after 13 days, and use it to attack enemy backlines.
   • Risky: morale drop in the main battle upon retreat. Only use with overwhelming support.

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Summary Tips

• Always know your combat width.
• Use shift consolidate before battles.
• Keep artillery in second row—never let it take front line.
• Stack wipe opportunities arise from AI/player reinforcement mistakes.
• Use scorched earth and terrain to your advantage.

Mastering these strategies will give you the upper hand in both singleplayer and multiplayer campaigns, even against stronger or more numerous enemies.

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Final Note
Remember to subscribe to Levick and participate in community giveaways. Keep practicing, and good luck conquering the world!