Brunei, Pasai, Malacca, Sulu, and the other SEA island kingdoms are complete pushovers when compared to the might of a European colonial power, and you can take huge swaths of land from them quickly with only having to place 2-3 colony provinces to get claims/cores. It's not a colonial area, but I always like to get to Southeast Asia's island areas quickly. But I have had crazy high inflation playing as the Aztecs and the like.

I've never had an issue with Spain either, you're usually too big as them for it to matter. So if you'd be rolling in money regardless you get barely any inflation. Gold increases inflation based on how much income you get from it relative to your total income. If you had all of the new world that probably contributed to inflation not being an issue. Which I can then promote to level 5 and just directly reduce inflation if it comes to that. With all those money I can also always roll for an inflation advisor. With all those provinces to convert on top of me always having 8 cardinals I never ran out of Papal Influence to perpetually run all the Papal blessings which included inflation reduction. How did you manage that? In my recent Spain game I had ALL the New World for myself as colonies and inflation was negligible (Ate Portugal, fractured France, and bullied England every time they tried crossing the Atlantic). One time I overdid it, and it made my economy implode to hyperinflation.

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