Summary at a glance
Goal: Master EU5's interface to make informed decisions quickly.
Do this first:
- Learn essential map modes (F1-F9)
- Master key panels (E, L, D, G, M)
- Use hotkeys for efficiency
Pitfall to avoid: Ignoring Control mode (F4) after conquests leads to rebellions. Always check supply mode (F9) before wars.
Master EU5's interface to make informed decisions quickly. This guide covers all map modes, essential UI elements, and navigation shortcuts.
Essential Map Modes
Political Map Mode (Default)
Hotkey: F1 or click Political icon
Shows: National borders, territory ownership
Use For:
- General navigation
- Identifying nations and borders
- Planning wars and expansion
- Diplomatic assessment
Color Coding:
- Your nation: Blue
- Allies: Green
- Rivals: Red
- Neutral: Gray/Various colors
- Subjects: Light blue
Terrain Map Mode
Hotkey: F2 or click Terrain icon
Shows: Province terrain types (farmland, forest, mountain, etc.)
Use For:
- Planning building placement
- Identifying terrain bonuses for RGOs
- Military planning (terrain affects combat)
- Understanding natural barriers
Terrain Types:
- Farmland (Green): Best for farms, +30% food production
- Forest (Dark Green): Timber production, defensive combat bonus
- Hills (Brown): Mining, defensive combat bonus
- Mountains (Dark Brown): Mining, major defensive bonus, slows movement
- Grassland (Light Green): Livestock, moderate food production
- Desert (Yellow): Poor development, slow colonization
- Tundra (White): Very poor development, avoid colonizing early
Trade Map Mode
Hotkey: F3 or click Trade icon
Shows: Trade nodes, trade routes, trade flow directions
Use For:
- Setting up trade routes
- Understanding trade flow
- Identifying profitable export markets
- Planning market expansion
Information Displayed:
- Trade nodes (circles)
- Trade flow arrows (direction of trade value)
- Your trade routes (blue lines)
- Trade value in each node
- Market access percentages
Control Map Mode
Hotkey: F4 or click Control icon
Shows: Administrative control levels in all provinces
Use For:
- Integration monitoring
- Identifying low-control regions needing roads
- Post-conquest planning
- Understanding control radiation from capital
Color Coding:
- Dark Green (80-100%): Excellent control
- Light Green (60-79%): Good control
- Yellow (40-59%): Moderate control
- Orange (20-39%): Poor control
- Red (0-19%): Very poor control, major issues
Development Map Mode
Hotkey: F5 or click Development icon
Shows: Province development levels
Use For:
- Identifying high-value provinces
- Prioritizing development investments
- Understanding economic centers
- Conquest target assessment
Color Coding: Darker = higher development
- Dark Purple: 40+ development (megacities)
- Purple: 20-40 development (major cities)
- Blue: 10-20 development (towns)
- Light Blue: 5-10 development (rural)
- White: 0-5 development (undeveloped)
Religion Map Mode
Hotkey: F6 or click Religion icon
Shows: Religious distribution
Use For:
- Planning religious conversion
- Understanding tolerance needs
- Identifying religious unrest
- Cultural and religious expansion planning
Color Coding: Each religion has distinct color
- Catholic: Light blue
- Protestant: Dark blue
- Orthodox: Dark red
- Sunni: Green
- Shia: Light green
- Hindu: Orange
- Buddhist: Yellow
- Others: Various colors
Culture Map Mode
Hotkey: F7 or click Culture icon
Shows: Cultural distribution
Use For:
- Planning culture acceptance
- Understanding integration challenges
- Identifying cultural unrest
- Assimilation planning
Color Coding: Each culture has distinct color based on culture group
Military Map Mode
Hotkey: F8 or click Military icon
Shows: Army positions, fort locations, military access
Use For:
- War planning
- Tracking enemy armies
- Identifying forts and strategic positions
- Movement planning
Information Displayed:
- Your armies (blue flags)
- Enemy armies (red flags)
- Allied armies (green flags)
- Forts (castle icons)
- Zone of control (shaded areas around forts)
Supply Map Mode
Hotkey: F9 or click Supply icon
Shows: Supply capacity and attrition risk in provinces
Use For:
- War planning (avoid attrition)
- Understanding supply routes
- Planning army movement
- Identifying supply problems
Color Coding:
- Green: Good supply, no attrition
- Yellow: Moderate supply, minor attrition risk
- Orange: Poor supply, high attrition risk
- Red: No supply, severe attrition
UI Panels & Windows
Location Panel (Province View)
Access: Click any province
Information:
- Province name, owner, development
- Population and employment
- Buildings and construction
- Food, housing, goods production
- Control level and integration status
Key Tabs:
- Overview: General information
- Buildings: View and construct buildings
- Population: View pops, employment, happiness
- Trade: Local trade and market access
- Military: Recruitment, garrison, fort status
Common Actions:
- Build new buildings
- Adjust production methods
- Recruit armies
- Check province modifiers
Market Panel
Access: Click Market icon (bottom right) or press M
Information:
- Market capacity and utilization
- Goods prices and availability
- Trade routes (import/export)
- Market access by province
- Trade income breakdown
Key Tabs:
- Overview: Market summary
- Goods: All goods prices and stocks
- Routes: Active trade routes and efficiency
- Capacity: Detailed capacity breakdown
- Access: Province-by-province market access
Common Actions:
- Create new trade routes
- Pause unprofitable routes
- Check capacity bottlenecks
- Analyze price changes
Economy Panel
Access: Click Economy icon (top bar) or press E
Information:
- Monthly income breakdown
- Expenses breakdown
- Trade income details
- Tax income by province
- Budget balance
Key Tabs:
- Overview: Total income/expenses
- Income: Detailed income sources
- Expenses: Detailed expense categories
- Budget: Projected income/expenses
Military Panel
Access: Click Military icon (top bar) or press L
Information:
- Army overview (total troops, manpower)
- Force limit and usage
- Maintenance costs
- Unit types and composition
- Recruitment capacity
Key Tabs:
- Overview: Army summary
- Armies: List of all armies
- Navies: List of all fleets
- Units: Available unit types
- Manpower: Manpower pool and recovery
Diplomacy Panel
Access: Click Diplomacy icon (top bar) or press D
Information:
- Active diplomatic relations
- Alliances, vassals, rivals
- Available diplomatic actions
- Trust and opinion levels
- Diplomatic power balance
Government Panel
Access: Click Government icon (top bar) or press G
Information:
- Government type and reforms
- Crown power and estate balance
- Laws and societal values
- Stability and legitimacy
- Advisors and court
Technology Panel
Access: Click Technology icon (top bar) or press T
Information:
- Current age and progress
- Available advances
- Advance points accumulation
- Institution spread
- Innovation modifiers
Essential Hotkeys
Map Navigation
- WASD or Arrow Keys: Move camera
- Q/E: Rotate camera
- Mouse Scroll: Zoom in/out
- Middle Mouse Button + Drag: Pan camera
- Home: Center on capital
- Backspace: Return to previous view
Map Modes
- F1: Political mode
- F2: Terrain mode
- F3: Trade mode
- F4: Control mode
- F5: Development mode
- F6: Religion mode
- F7: Culture mode
- F8: Military mode
- F9: Supply mode
Panels
- E: Economy panel
- L: Military panel
- D: Diplomacy panel
- G: Government panel
- T: Technology panel
- M: Market panel
Game Speed
- + or =: Increase speed
- -: Decrease speed
- Space: Pause/unpause
- 1-5: Set specific speed
Selection
- Ctrl + Left Click: Add to selection
- Shift + Left Click: Select multiple armies
- Ctrl + Number: Assign selection to hotkey
- Number: Recall selection from hotkey
UI Tips & Tricks
Outliner Customization
Access: Settings → Interface → Outliner
Recommended Settings:
- Show: Allies, Rivals, Subjects, Wars
- Hide: Distant neutral nations
Notification Settings
Access: Settings → Notifications
Recommended Settings:
- Enable: Wars, sieges, low stability, economic issues
- Disable: Minor trade changes, small opinion changes
Alert Filters
Common Alerts:
- Red Exclamation: Critical (low stability, bankruptcy, rebellions)
- Yellow Exclamation: Important (advisor died, estate demands)
- Blue Info: Informational (peace offers, alliance requests)
Province Search
Hotkey: Ctrl + F
Use: Quickly find provinces by name
Tip: Extremely useful for large empires
Pre-War UI Checklist
Before declaring war, check these UI elements:
1. Military Panel (L)
- ✓ Maintenance at maximum
- ✓ Morale at 100%
- ✓ Force limit not exceeded
- ✓ Manpower reserves adequate
2. Supply Map Mode (F9)
- ✓ No attrition in planned march routes
- ✓ Supply capacity sufficient for army size
- ✓ Identify supply-safe paths
3. Military Map Mode (F8)
- ✓ Enemy fort locations identified
- ✓ Allied army positions noted
- ✓ Enemy army strength assessed
4. Economy Panel (E)
- ✓ Monthly income positive
- ✓ Budget allows for war expenses
- ✓ Cash reserves 200+ gold
5. Diplomacy Panel (D)
- ✓ Allies called to arms (if needed)
- ✓ No defensive pacts on target
- ✓ Aggressive expansion checked
Common UI Mistakes
- Ignoring Control Mode: New players forget to check control after conquests, leading to rebellions.
- Not Using Supply Mode: Marching without checking supply causes massive attrition losses.
- Overlooking Economy Panel: Not monitoring income/expenses leads to bankruptcy.
- Forgetting Military Maintenance: Fighting wars at low maintenance means immediate defeat.
- Not Checking Market Panel: Ignoring capacity bottlenecks stalls economy.
- Ignoring Alerts: Red alerts mean critical problems. Don't dismiss them without action.
Quick Reference
Most Important Map Modes
- Political (F1) - General use
- Control (F4) - Post-conquest
- Trade (F3) - Economy management
- Supply (F9) - Before wars
- Military (F8) - During wars
Most Important Panels
- Economy (E) - Check daily
- Military (L) - Before every war
- Market (M) - Check weekly
- Location Panel - Building management
- Diplomacy (D) - Diplomatic planning
Essential Hotkeys
- Space: Pause (use frequently!)
- F4: Control mode (post-conquest)
- F9: Supply mode (pre-war)
- E: Economy panel
- L: Military panel