Achievement hunting in EU4 is a whole hobby in itself. Some achievements are brutal — the kind that take 20 hours of careful planning and a bit of luck. But plenty of them are genuinely easy, and a few you can knock out in a single evening. If you’re new to chasing achievements, or just want to pad out your collection without pulling your hair out, this list is for you.

The One-Session Achievements

These are the ones you can grab in a single sitting, often within the first few decades of a campaign.

Forever Golden — Start as Castile, get a golden age. That’s it. Castile starts in a strong position with a decent economy, and golden ages trigger naturally once you hit 50 power projection and 50 prestige. You’ll get there within the first 20 years just by playing normally. This is probably the easiest achievement in the entire game.

It’s All About the Money — Accumulate 3000 gold. This sounds harder than it is. As any decent-sized nation, you’ll hit this by the mid-1500s just through normal play. Pick a nation with a strong economy like France, Ottomans, or even Portugal, and you’ll get there without thinking about it.

A Fine Goosestep — Form Prussia. This one takes a bit more effort but is very achievable. Start as Brandenburg, which is the classic path. You need to conquer some territory, convert to Protestantism, and form Prussia. It’s a fun campaign that teaches you a lot about the game, and the payoff is getting to play as Prussia, which has arguably the best military ideas in the game.

The Iron Prince — Form Prussia as a nation that isn’t Brandenburg or the Teutonic Order. This is a step up from A Fine Goosestep but still very doable. Pick a small German state, expand a bit, and form Prussia. It’s a good challenge for someone who’s played a few campaigns already.

The Relaxed Campaign Achievements

These take a full campaign but don’t require anything stressful or particularly skilled.

No Trail of Tears — As a native American nation, own all of your culture group’s provinces. Pick a nation like the Cherokee or the Iroquois, and just play tall. You don’t need to fight anyone major — just consolidate your region and survive the Europeans when they show up. The key is to reform your government before the colonizers get too aggressive. It’s a chill campaign that’s more about survival than conquest.

The Sun Never Sets on the Indian Empire — Form the Indian Empire. Start as any Indian nation — Vijayanagar is the easiest pick — and conquer the subcontinent. It’s a straightforward conquest campaign with no real threats from outside India until the Europeans arrive late. You can do this at your own pace.

A Manchurian Candidate — As a Jurchen tribe, form Qing. Start as Jianzhou, which is the strongest of the Jurchen tribes, and work your way through unifying the tribes, then taking on Ming. The Ming will eventually collapse on their own if you’re patient, which makes this easier than it sounds. It’s a satisfying campaign that teaches you about the Mandate of Heaven mechanics.

The Grand Armada — Have 500 heavy ships. This is a weird one because it’s purely an economy check. Play as a rich nation like Great Britain or the Netherlands, build up your economy, and then just spam heavy ships. You’ll need a lot of naval force limit, which means you need a lot of development. It’s not hard, just takes a while.

The “Just Play the Game” Achievements

Some achievements you’ll get by accident just by playing a normal campaign.

Viva la Revolución! — Have a revolution. This happens naturally in the late game if you’re playing a large nation. The revolution disaster will fire, you deal with it, and the achievement pops. You don’t need to do anything special.

The Reformer — Complete a full reform track. Any nation can do this. Just keep playing and spending reform progress, and you’ll get it eventually. It’s a nice one to pick up in any campaign.

A Decent Reserve — Have 100,000 manpower in reserve. As a large nation with a good economy, this happens naturally in the mid-to-late game. Build some manpower buildings if you’re short, but honestly, you’ll get this just by playing.

Tips for Achievement Hunting

A few things that make achievement hunting much easier:

• Use the achievement map mode. It shows you which provinces you need for each achievement. Invaluable for planning.
• Check the requirements before you start. Some achievements have hidden requirements or specific start dates. The wiki is your friend.
• Don’t be afraid to restart. If your opening goes badly, restart. The first 20 years often determine whether an achievement run is viable.
• Ironman is required. All achievements require Ironman mode, so no console commands. Get used to it.

The Bottom Line

Start with Forever Golden and It’s All About the Money — you’ll get both in your first proper campaign without even trying. Then move on to A Fine Goosestep for a fun Prussia run, and work your way up from there. Achievement hunting is one of the most rewarding ways to play EU4, and these easy ones are the perfect way to get started.