Ultimate Performance Mod

A performance mod for EU5 1.2.x. Vanilla starts fast and slows as the map fills with countries, characters, buildings and trade, until the late-game calendar crawls. UPM removes the wasted work the engine repeats every tick, so a campaign holds its speed to the end instead of grinding down. It changes engine defines only: no new content, no balance edits, no map changes, and it is safe to add to an existing save.

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• Full-campaign speed: no late-game collapse; the 1700s and 1800s stay smooth.
• Faster late game on matched hardware, with the largest gains on slower CPUs where vanilla struggles most.
• Defines only: no content cut, no balance change, no map change, no save break.
• Drop-in: add it to an existing campaign and keep playing.
• Optional extras: opt-in stability buff, character culling, nation pruning, and tick add-ons, all off by default.

All changes live in engine defines, with no new content and no balance change.

• AI cadence: the AI re-checks cabinet picks, reforms, policies, privileges and diplomacy on slower timers. It still makes the same decisions, it just stops re-deciding them every few weeks.
• Trade and building evaluation: the single biggest CPU cost in vanilla. UPM samples smaller and skips tiny unprofitable moves, reaching the same economy with far less searching.
• Construction queue: large empires stop re-ranking the same build plans every tick, while build throughput is unchanged.
• Graphics and events: map markers refresh a little less often, and each country only checks the events that could actually apply to it.

These ship inside UPM and do nothing until turned on.

• Late-game stability buff: from 1500, slows rebel growth and stability decay and speeds pop conversion, so the world settles into stable empires.
• Character culling: trims unused characters to cut late-game memory and per-tick work. The ruler, heir, regent, dynasty head and the whole ruling bloodline are always protected.
• Nation pruning: an in-game panel to remove whole sub-continents from the simulation for a large speed boost on a focused map.
• Micro-pop merge: merges tiny same-type pops in a location to cut pop count without changing total population.

Separate mods loaded on top of UPM, base UPM first.

• UPM HOUR_TICK 47: the fastest option. Advances the calendar about two days per tick for roughly double the raw throughput, with combat and movement rescaled to match.
• UPM Vanilla Tick: the most compatible option. Restores vanilla tick timing so combat and movement feel exactly like vanilla, while keeping UPM’s AI, graphics and event work.

Use at most one tick add-on, and do not run either alongside Faster Universalis: they all set the same engine tick lever.

• EU5 version: 1.2.x
• Requires: none. Community Mod Framework is optional, needed only for the settings panel that controls the built-in features.
• Save-safe: defines only; load a vanilla or in-progress save and continue.
• Achievements: disabled while active, like any gameplay mod.
• Faster Universalis: use one or the other; they cover the same ground and conflict on the engine tick.
• The performance layer of the Ultimate Mod Collection.

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Version history is on the Change Notes tab.
Part of the Ultimate Mod Collection: UGM (gameplay), UPM (performance), UVM (visuals), UCT (tools).
Feedback and bug reports are welcome.

💬 Join the community Discord → https://discord.gg/hjFESNA7gz
Bug reports, feature requests, screenshots and the rest of the Ultimate Mod Collection all live there.