I don't really need to go much later than 1700 to beat the REF. Once you reach the threshold for having an adequate economy and populace to beat the REF, there isn't much more to do.
The biggest change in that missions are massively weaker. I didn't use them much before unless I was playing as the French, and don't use them at all now. Colonists that can't be armed or turned into experts aren't that useful, IMO, unless you choose to get Chief Powhatan instead of a founding father who will help you get to revolution faster. I also never used to build stables and use ranchers, but with the increase in horse prices I build a ranch in every game now.
