Europa Universalis (EU5): How To Survive Black Death

Survive the Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 and make sure that your nation recovers swiftly with these methods.

How to survive Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (Image via Paradox Interactive)
How to survive Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (Image via Paradox Interactive)

The Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 is a lethal disease that can cause massive damage to your nation. This outbreak happens during the early stage of your empire and is not preventable so far. While it has a grip on your nation, you will see destabilization due to a drastic population drop, food shortage, reduced production, etc. Furthermore, even though this unavoidable disease travels through individuals, there are certain things you can do to survive it. Let’s discuss.

How Does Black Death Spread in Europa Universalis 5 (EU5)

Army movement also spreads Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (Image via Paradox Interactive)
Army movement can spread Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (Image via Paradox Interactive)

The Black Death appears out of nowhere during the first decades, such as 1347-1351, of your playthroughs most of the time. From there, it spreads like wildfire across various continents, such as North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. It is inevitable and cannot be prevented. So the only way to deal with it is to cope for the 4-5 years.

When it hits your nation, you will see a loss of population, a decrease in tax and goods production, and even riots can occur due to the food shortage and overall unhappiness of your people. Since the disease spreads through individuals, the moving populace of your country, such as merchants and armies, will be the primary carrier. So, you must control and monitor their movements when tackling the Black Death in EU5.

How To Make Preparations for Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (EU5)

Build Roads in Europa Universalis 5 to prepare for the Black Death (Paradox Interactive | @Whoozaa / YouTube)
Build Roads in Europa Universalis 5 to prepare for the Black Death (Paradox Interactive | @Whoozaa / YouTube)

While you cannot prevent the Black Death from happening and ravaging through your nation, you can prepare for it and cut your losses a little bit. You can do so via the following methods:

Build a Solid Infrastructure

Now that you know the potential timeframe of the Black Death occurrence, you can make sure that you have a strong infrastructure to tackle it whenever it arrives. It basically means that you must focus on building roads, hospitals, markets, and anything that can be the backbone of your nation’s economy as well as welfare.

Keep Your Stock Loaded

You will inevitably see a loss of goods and food production during the Black Death. So we advise you to stockpile food and other important resources to ensure that the population’s needs are met.

Improve Disease Resistance

In Europa Universalis 5, various cabinet and policy actions can improve your nation’s resistance to various diseases. This will make sure that the important regions and provinces are protected as much as possible.

Also Read: Europa Universalis 5 (EU5): How To Declare Rivals

What To Do During the Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (EU5)

Protect valuable provinces first in EU5 during the outbreak (Image via Paradox Interactive)
Protect valuable provinces first in EU5 during the outbreak (Image via Paradox Interactive)

While stockpiling important resources and building infrastructure are good practices for preparations, you must also know how to actually manage your nation during the Black Death. Otherwise, everything you have built so far will collapse before your eyes. To learn more about that, follow the instructions below.

Avoid War

We have already covered how the movement of your army can spread the Black Death rapidly throughout the country. Thus, it is essential to avoid that and, by extension, any kind of war during this disastrous event. Keep your troops away from the population, and do not engage in any conflicts if not necessary.

Prioritize Important Provinces

While the thought of saving everyone during a disease outbreak is noble, it is simply not practical or achievable when the Black Death hits in EU5. So, we recommend that you prioritize and focus all the resources on your most important and valuable provinces. It would be a better way to protect your nation’s interests rather than giving a small amount of aid to every single area.

How To Recover From the Black Death in Europa Universalis 5 (EU5)

The Black Death will hurt a good chunk of your population. So, if you want to recover, you must focus on that aspect. Once the disease has claimed its last victim, focus on regrowing your population slowly and steadily. Build new infrastructure and buildings while increasing the production of your nation.

In addition to that, one thing you must avoid during your recovery period is any kind of large-scale war. You simply won’t have enough manpower to win, so we advise growing it back up before attacking another country.

Read More: Europa Universalis 5 (EU5): How To Transfer Occupation


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