Paradox Interactive has announced that Europa Universalis IV’s latest expansion, titled Dharma, will launch on September 6.
The announcement came bundled with a new story trailer, which details the expansion’s focus on India, specifically the conflict between the established Indian ruling classes and the European trading companies, which began encroaching upon Indian territory in the eighteenth century.
The trailer sets the scene through the highly original medium of an allegorical chess game between the two sides, and frankly doesn’t provide much in the way of information about the expansion’s new features. Fortunately, Paradox has provided that info in abundance elsewhere.
Dharma adds more complexity to European trade companies and Indian estates, letting you upgrade provinces tied to your trade companies with the former, and introducing five new castes to the latter. These include the brahmins, who are good at maintaining public order, and the Jain, who specialise in matters of fiscal security.
Furthermore, Dharma provides more control over your government through the medium of reforms, which can be unlocked to define how your kingdom or republic governs. It’s not all bread and circuses, however, as Dharma introduces new ways to suppress rebellion, and also adds “scornful insults”, which as everyone knows are far worse than regular insults.
We’ve failed to address the elephant in the room, however, which is that Dharma will also introduce…monsoons. During monsoon season, the ground will turn muddy, slowing down the progress of military units. Monsoons can also provide significant benefits and drawbacks to nations experiencing them, which will arise in the form of new Events.
Oh, and the expansion adds elephants as well. But it’s not like that’s a big deal, is it? Here’s an image of one anyway, even though it’s barely worth mentioning.
These massive mammals are purely thematic, apparently, acting as a standard cavalry unit with no changes to gameplay. Not that it matters, as everyone knows elephants automatically make any game better. With the exception of Mousetrap, perhaps.
The expansion is priced at £15.49/$19.99. It will launch alongside a free “Mughal” update, that adds more details to the map of the Indian subcontinent, while renewing various game systems including Estates and Policies. That way Europa Universails fans will receive a little something regardless of whether they invest in Dharma. It’s as the old saying goes, Dharma’d if you do, Dharma’d if you don’t.
