Victoria 3: How To Declare War [Explained]

Waging War in Victoria 3 is not the option to be put on your priority list to take over the world, yet it can’t be just ignored. You’ll find yourself in a war with some country one way or another due to political or diplomatic interests. If you must be at war, then why not be fully prepared for it and know your options beforehand? This is exactly what we are going to discuss in this Victoria 3 guide. This guide will take you to every minute detail of declaring war in Victoria 3 and how to win it.

Declaring war bluntly isn’t going to help you to achieve your goals, and you’d also not be able to do this until you have grown into a huge empire with no reliance on any other country. Also, this can take time, and for you to declare war in Victoria 3, you have to go through a process of Diplomatic Play.

Diplomatic Play in Victoria 3 

Diplomatic Play can be understood as a legal or worldwide accepted excuse to declare war on a country to meet your diplomatic, political, or social goals in Victoria 3. Here is all the Diplomatic Play option you have in Victoria 3 and what consequences they’ll have.

• Annex Subject: Incorporate conquered land into your country without creating puppets.
• Ban Slavery: End slavery in a target country.
• Conquer State: Take control of a targeted state from another country and include it in your own.
• Cut Down to Size: Reduce the size of a country by liberating occupied states or subjects.
• Humiliate: Lower a threatening country’s prestige to mitigate potential harm for a period.
• Independence: Liberate your country from any overlord.
• Liberate Subject: Assist a target country in freeing itself from its overlord.
• Make Dominion: Make a country your dominion, paying 10% of weekly treasury income without joining your wars.
• Make Puppet: Subject a country to paying 20% of weekly treasury income and joining your wars.
• Make Vassal: Oblige a country to join your wars and pay 15% of its weekly treasury income.
• Open Market: Forcefully convert the trade laws of a target country to open the market.
• Regime Change: Overthrow the government in a target country and install your own with enforced laws.
• Return State: Reclaim occupied states from countries asserting them as rightfully theirs.
• Take Treaty Port: Seize a treaty port from a subject country to trade freely and avoid tariffs.
• Transfer Subject: Forcefully establish overlordship of a target country.

Where Can Diplomatic Play Be Used?

It is important to keep in mind that you can not even use Diplomatic Play against every country. Rather, it can only be used against certain countries that you have marked an interest in. Also, the overall ranking and prestige of your country decide the number of countries you can declare interest in.

The giant country you are, the wide will your interests gets. Thus, the number of countries that you can use Diplomatic Play against increases with your ranking and prestige.

Escalation and Maneuvers Phase

After getting done with the Diplomatic Play, the next step towards declaring war in Victoria 3 is the Escalation and Maneuvers phase. Then, right after the selection of the Diplomatic Play in Victoria 3, war requires you to undergo two more steps.

Escalation Phase

• Purpose: To set specific war objectives.
• Process: Players select additional goals for the conflict, depending on the initial diplomatic play and the target country’s characteristics. This phase involves tailoring the war’s aims to align with your strategic interests and capacities.

Maneuvers Phase

• Purpose: To garner support from other nations.
• Process: This phase involves diplomatic efforts to align other countries with your cause. Players use the Sway tab to persuade other nations to join their side, either through shared regional interests or via obligations. Some nations may join without needing incentives, based on their existing stance in the regional conflict. However, securing support often requires offering something in return, which could entail future military support in their conflicts. This is the most critical phase for building alliances and weakening the opponent’s position by swaying their allies to at least neutrality, if not outright support.

Countdown Phase 

• Purpose: To provide a final opportunity for de-escalation.
• Process: After maneuvers are set, there is a countdown during which both sides can choose to back down based on their perceived strength or weakness relative to their opponent. This phase is crucial for avoiding unnecessary conflict if a clear disadvantage is evident, helping to preserve economic stability and prevent loss of life. If neither side backs down, the conflict escalates to full-scale war.

Tips To Lead Towards Victoria 3 Wars

The strategy must be opted to win a war and here’s how you can do that

Generals and Battalions

• Utilize Generals Strategically: Generals are crucial in warfare. Ensure that generals with specific skills, like an Expert Offensive Planner, are deployed in scenarios where those skills can be most beneficial. Positioning them correctly can turn the tide in battles.
• Consider Political Impacts: Promoting generals can affect the political dynamics within your country. Higher-ranked generals command more troops and can influence domestic politics, potentially leading to unrest or power struggles.

Army Size

• Expand the Military: Construct more barracks and consider drafting civilians if necessary, but be mindful of public happiness.
• Maintain Troop Readiness: Regularly train and upgrade your forces to ensure they remain competitive.

Diplomatic Standing

• Strengthen Alliances: Improve diplomatic relations to gain allies; align your interests with other nations for better support.
• Assess AI Reliability: Understand that AI allies may have their own agendas, which can affect their support reliability.

Handling Of Country Affairs

Having said that, you should not expect your allies to help you blindly in the war; this is also to be followed by you. So, players must not forget about the handling of their country during a war. This means you must run your country simultaneously with the war.

Up Next:

• How To Switch Country in Victoria 3
• Victoria 3 Beginners guide
• Victoria 3 Explosives