How to Play as a Horde in Europa Universalis V

Success in Europa Universalis V often requires a shift in mindset, especially when moving from a settled nation to a nomadic one. Playing as the Golden Horde or any Mongolian Steppe Horde is not about building tall cities or managing complex trade networks. It is about speed, horse-based warfare, and keeping your people free on the open plains.

How to Master Playing as a Horde in Europa Universalis V

This guide will explain how to master the unique mechanics of the Horde, from managing your powerful levies to avoiding the common mistakes that can end a run.

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Understanding the Power of the Horde Military

The primary advantage of playing a Horde is your military. While other nations rely on mixed infantry and cavalry, the Mongolian Hordes focus almost entirely on superior mobility and shock damage.

Mongolian Levies

Your default levies are entirely cavalry-based. This provides several massive advantages in the early game:

• Damage: They deal four times the damage of standard levies.

• Speed: They move 1.4 times faster across the map.

• Flanking: They deal double damage on the flanks of an enemy formation.

• Terrain: You receive a 20% damage bonus in grasslands and sparse terrain, though you should avoid fighting in mountains or wetlands where you suffer a 10% penalty.

The Horse Archer Regular Unit

Beyond levies, Hordes have access to the Horse Archer. This unit is the backbone of your standing army. It possesses double the strength of regular cavalry and deals 20% additional morale damage. While they are expensive to hire, their maintenance costs are lower, making them sustainable for long-term warfare.

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Key Buildings for Nomadic Success

Hordes use different structures than settled nations. To maintain your momentum, you must build with a focus on manpower and slaves.

The Kurultai

The Kurultai is arguably the most powerful manpower building in the early game. It provides 50 manpower per month, which is ten times more than a standard sergeantry.

• Cost: 200 ducats.

• Requirement: It can be built in any province where your primary culture is dominant.

• Benefit: This building effectively grants you infinite manpower, allowing you to stay at war constantly.

Slave Markets

When you occupy a location, you will capture between 600 and 1,000 people as slaves. To make use of them, you should build a Slave Market in your capital. Slaves help work your Raw Goods Operations (RGOs) and fill worker shortages, providing a boost to your internal economy without the need for traditional development.

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Strategy and Economy: The Raiding Lifestyle

In a standard game of EU5, you want to increase your tax base and develop provinces. For a Horde, this is the wrong approach. You should treat the rest of the world as your bank.

Inverting the Economy

Having a large tax base can actually hurt a Horde. As your economic base grows, your court expenses increase. Because Hordes often have low control over distant territories, your expenses will often rise faster than your actual tax income.

• Focus on Loot: Your money should come from looting, slave raids, and war reparations.

• No-CB Wars: Hordes can declare war without a Casus Belli (CB) for 50% less stability cost. Combined with a 20% reduction in warscore costs, you can dismantle neighbors quickly and cheaply.

Managing Culture

Hordes have a very high cultural tradition. This allows you to ignore the culture cap and accept many different cultures into your empire without penalty. Use this to maintain stability as you expand across the continent.

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Common Noob Traps to Avoid

Many players fail as a Horde because they try to play like a European kingdom. Avoid these three major pitfalls:

Trap	Why it is Dangerous
Developing Provinces	Increases expenses more than income due to low provincial control.
Ignoring Horde Unity	Falling below 70% Unity can trigger a succession crisis that lasts decades.
Early Trade Empires	Caravanserais use too many laborers and increase court costs too early.

The Succession Crisis

When your Khan dies, you lose 50 Horde Unity. If your Unity drops below 70, there is a 5% monthly chance of a succession crisis. This disaster can lead to 30 to 50 years of constant civil war and the loss of your royal family. Always keep your Unity at 100%.

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Advanced Tactics and Cheese

If you want to maximize your impact on the map, you can use specific “cheese” tactics unique to nomadic gameplay.

Razing and Downgrading

Hordes can downgrade cities and towns for only 25% of the normal price. If you capture a rival’s powerful city, you can raze it to the ground to destroy their economic power permanently before handing the land to a vassal.

Selling Provinces

You can conquer a province and sell it back to its original owner. This is particularly effective against wealthy nations like Kiev. Selling a single location back to a rich neighbor can sometimes net you 100 ducats instantly.

Blocking the Timurids

Around 50 years into the game, the Timurids will appear near Samarkand. They have a unique mechanic where any location they occupy becomes theirs instantly. You must build forts to block their path and prevent them from touching your territory, or you will lose land without a peace treaty.

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Conclusion

Playing as a Horde is a high-speed, aggressive experience that rewards constant warfare and punishes traditional nation-building. By focusing on your cavalry, maintaining your Horde Unity, and funding your empire through raids rather than taxes, you can dominate the steppes.

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Last Updated on December 22, 2025