How to get the Hohenzollern dynasty as Brandenburg in Europa Universalis V is a common goal for players who want to follow a historical path. In the early game, Brandenburg starts under the Wittelsbach dynasty. To transition to the famous Hohenzollern family, you must navigate a specific series of events and modifiers.
How to Secure the Hohenzollern Dynasty for Brandenburg in EU5
This guide breaks down the two primary methods to secure the Hohenzollern throne: the historical path and the high-speed non-historical path.
Prerequisites for the Event Chain
Before you begin, ensure you are playing as Brandenburg. You will start with a ruler from the Wittelsbach dynasty. Your main goal involves managing the Wittelsbacher Investment modifier. This modifier tracks the influence and interest the Wittelsbach family has in your nation.
To trigger the transition, you generally need to reach -20 Wittelsbacher Investment. This represents the family losing interest or withdrawing their support from Brandenburg, leaving the throne open for a new dynasty.
Method 1: The Historical Path
The historical path is longer and relies on specific interactions with Bohemia and the Luxembourg dynasty. It is the best choice if you want to follow the “canon” timeline of the game.
1. Support Bohemia
At the start of the game, switch your electoral vote to Bohemia. You want the Bohemian ruler from the Luxembourg dynasty to become the Holy Roman Emperor within the first 10 to 20 years.
2. Manage the Investment Modifier
You must reach -20 Wittelsbacher Investment. When presented with event options, always choose the bottom option (which usually starts at -15) to lower the investment level. If this modifier is removed by accident, the event chain will fail, and you may need to restart.
3. The Death of the Emperor
The Wittelsbach Holy Roman Emperor must die before you reach the -20 investment threshold. Additionally, the Luxembourg dynasty in Bohemia must maintain their power.
4. Accept a Luxembourg Ruler
Once the conditions are met, Bohemia should offer you one of their sons to rule Brandenburg. This usually happens while Jehan the Blind is the Emperor. Accept this ruler to put the Luxembourg dynasty on your throne temporarily.
5. Trigger the Hohenzollern Event
After Jehan the Blind dies and his son Karel takes over Bohemia, your own Luxembourg ruler must also die. If this happens correctly, Bohemia will receive an event to place an advisor named Friedrich von Hohenzollern on your throne.
Method 2: The Fast Non-Historical Path
If you do not want to wait for the historical timing, you can use a faster method. This path requires you to use “tag switching,” which means temporarily switching control to another country to make a specific choice.
1. Reach Maximum Neglect
Focus entirely on reaching -20 Wittelsbacher Investment as quickly as possible.
2. Keep the Bavarian Emperor Alive
Unlike the historical path, the starting Holy Roman Emperor from Bavaria (a Wittelsbach) must stay alive until you hit the -20 investment mark.
3. Switch to Bavaria
The moment you reach -20 investment and receive the notification event, pause the game. Switch your control to the country of Bavaria. You can do this by holding CTRL + Left Click on Bavaria (if enabled in game rules) or using the console.
4. Choose the Experienced Advisor
While playing as Bavaria, wait 1 to 3 months for an event regarding Brandenburg’s ruler to appear. You must manually pick the third option: Go with an experienced advisor.
Note: You must do this yourself. The computer AI will almost never pick this option because it is considered non-historical for Bavaria.
5. Return to Brandenburg
Switch back to Brandenburg. The game will generate Friedrich von Hohenzollern as your new ruler. He will always be 30 years old regardless of the year.
Using Console Commands for Troubleshooting
Because these events involve a high amount of random chance (RNG), you may want to use the game console to ensure the chain stays on track.
To use the console, you must add -debug_mode to your Steam launch options for the game. Once in-game, you can type the following commands:
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ai: This disables the computer intelligence. Use this when tag switching so the AI does not change your settings while you are controlling another country.
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kill [TAG]: For example, “kill BOH” will kill the current ruler of Bohemia. This is useful for moving the event chain forward if a ruler lives too long.
Important Event IDs
If an event fails to fire, you can trigger it manually using the console:
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flavor_bra_dynasty.1201.a: The specific event for Bohemia to give you Friedrich.
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flavor_bra_dynasty.4: Triggers Wittelsbach Neglect/Investment loss.
Final Tips for Success
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Save Frequently: The event chain has many moving parts. Saving before a ruler dies or before a major election can save you hours of progress.
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Avoid Pretenders: During this process, an “Askanier pretender” event may appear. Try to avoid this if possible, as it can disrupt the dynasty transition.
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Watch the Timer: If you are tag switching, do not let too much time pass, or the AI might ruin your original country’s economy or armies.
Last Updated on January 12, 2026
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