I wanted to post this in the paradox forum, but it wont let me, so here you are :)
As a Slavic player, I love playing in the Balkans and Russia, but it is deeply frustrating how "forgotten" the Slavic cultures feel compared to the Norse, Iberians, Persians, or Greeks. While the 1.13 Roads to Power update was great for Byzantium, the Slavs remain stuck with generic mechanics, broken attire logic, and a total lack of historical identity. Tho I do not talk here about problems regarding western Slavs in this thread, I guess the problems they have are similar to my complaint.
1. Slavic paganism is broken
Currently, visual immersion for Slavs is broken. If you play as a Russian/Slavic Pagan, your character often wears a crown with Christian icons and crosses. Even after converting to Catholicism, the attire doesn't dynamically update correctly. They are either "Generic Westerner" or "Greek Doux Lite." We need a dedicated Slavic Attire pack that reflects the actual historical aesthetic of the region, separate from the Byzantine or Frankish styles. (Regarding Slavic paganism, upon converting to Christianity wether Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy it isnt that important. What bugs me out is, how I played with Rurik Rurikid (for example) and upon "adopting realms ways" (or however the decision is called), my character became russian and slavic pagan as opposed to norse and asatru. But the attire was literaly how orthodox russian rulers styled themselves, it completely breaks the immersion, my crown literaly had the cross on top and byzantine icons.)
2. Generic "Slavyanska" Problem
Slavic paganism is currently just a "placeholder" faith. It lacks the unique tenets, events, and "cool factor" that Asatru or the reformed Eastern faiths have. It feels like a generic facade that you are forced to abandon immediately because the AI Byzantines/Hungarians will Holy War you into extinction by year 870. Especially if you play in the Balkans. It feels as if it was left unchanged since the release of the game and just stayed the same generic unreformed pagan faith.
3. Titles & Localisation:
It is immersion-breaking to see the "King of Serbia" or "Emperor of Russia." The game already has dynamic titles for other cultures (Jarls, Khans, Shahs). Why are the Slavs ignored?
Emperor: Tsar / Czar
King: Kralj / Kral
Duke: Vojvoda / Voivode / Knez / Boyar
Count: Ban / Župan / Vlastelin
4. New Major Decision: "Claim the Byzantine Legacy"
Historically, Bulgarian and Serbian rulers (and later Russian ones) didn't just want to fight the Byzantines—they wanted to be the new Roman Empire. I propose a new major decision for South/East Slavs - "Claim the Byzantine Legacy"
Requirements could be something like:
- Serbian/Bulgarian/Russian
- Relligion: Eastern Orthodox
- Have the title King of Serbia, King of Bulgaria or Emperor of Russia as your main one
- Control regions like (not all, I cant remember all duchies and names - these are just generic locations) - Thessaly, Epirus, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Philippopolis
- Control Constantinopile and have it as your realm capital
Decisions that could be implemented:
- Option to Dismantle the Greek Pretenders (similar to the HRE decision).
- The ability to replace the Ecumenical Patriarch with a Serbian/Bulgarian/Russian Patriarch.
- Access to the Administrative Government type.
- The ability to form the Roman Empire as a Slavic Tsar.
Conclusion:
The addition of the Banate of Bosnia was a great step, but the rest of the Slavic world feels like it’s still in the "launch version" of the game. Giving us the ability to claim the Byzantine mantle and fixing our titles would make the Balkans one of the most exciting and high-stakes regions to play in.
In the end, let me know what you think about it.