Victoria 3 Beginner’s Guide: 17 BEST Tips & Tricks

Victoria 3 is the hottest strategy game in the block. The game features a rich and diverse system of mechanics. These mechanics are complex and intertwined with each other. To get a better understanding of these mechanics and to familiarize you with the game, we have compiled a definitive guide. This is our Victoria 3 beginner’s guide!

For the sake of this guide, we have chosen Great Britain as our starting point, but that is not very relevant. You can go with any country or nation that you want, and these points will be applicable in the same way. 

Here’s a quick rundown of all the tips and important information we’ve compiled for Victoria 3 beginners: 

Understanding The Tutorial

Many players overlook the tutorial in games, but it’s crucial to pay attention to it. Understanding game mechanics through the tutorial is essential for avoiding confusion later.

Don’t worry if you missed the tutorial; we’re here to assist you. Victoria 3 continues to guide you even after the tutorial. The hints system is detailed and can rescue you from tough situations. Keep an eye out for hints related to your tasks; they’re sure to be helpful.

Managing Your Goals

In Victoria 3, your goals will often conflict. Prioritize and make sacrifices to progress effectively. For instance, increasing GDP may require producing valuable goods, but exporting them to maintain balance can incur costs.

Simplifying decisions by aligning them with clear long-term goals is key. Defining your goals helps you choose between conflicting options. Now, let’s delve into the details of the guide.

POPS

Pops are central to Victoria 3, representing your nation’s population. They come in various classes based on profession, culture, religion, and location. Pops change categories based on prerequisites, such as wealth and literacy.

Roles of pops are pivotal. They impact your economy through income, spending, and wealth accumulation. Pops’ income, if sufficient, boosts wealth and discretionary spending, benefiting the economy. Insufficient income leads to basic spending, reducing wealth.

Qualifications, like literacy, affect pops’ roles in elections and politics. Institutions like universities improve literacy and influence politics.

Pops join interest groups, shaping laws and faith, depending on their professions.

Employment for pops depends on qualifications and job requirements, placing them in lower, middle, or upper classes. Auto-employment occurs if qualifications match job requirements.

Interest Groups

Interest groups in Victoria 3 are pivotal, representing pops with shared political ideologies based on factors like religion, culture, or living standards.

Pops can be active members of an interest group or politically inactive, depending on factors like literacy and living standards. Education influences support for educational interest groups, while peasants may favor labor rights advocates.

Categories

The interest groups in Victoria 3 are divided into 8 major categories. These interest groups are:

• Armed Forces
• Petite Bourgeoisie
• Devout
• Industrialists
• Intelligentsia
• Landowners
• Rural folk
• Trade unions

The game categorizes interest groups into 8 major types, each with distinct ideologies and traits, influencing the passage of laws. The dominant interest group with the most pop support decides law outcomes, and ideologies can evolve over time.

Interest group strength depends on the political power of supporting pops. A wealthy pop carries more weight than multiple impoverished ones. Balancing these factors is crucial to interest group influence and policy changes in your nation. The passing of laws is a key aspect influenced by interest groups.

Laws

Laws in the game significantly impact geopolitics and economics, originating from the Victorian Era. Each country starts with a set of laws, but you can modify them, considering various factors such as interest groups. This grants you the power to legalize or criminalize based on your ideology, with potential consequences for society.

Laws may stem from personal beliefs or people’s desires, influencing the strength of interest groups. Political strategy becomes crucial, as your decisions can either appease or alienate specific groups, shaping the nation’s overall strength and societal dynamics. It’s important to note that laws also influence population movement in and out of the country, reflecting how individuals are treated.

Passing Laws

Passing laws is not a straightforward process. To enact a law, you need backing from an interest group, determined by their approval score. Representation of an interest group in the government can help you push through a law. Once passed, changes occur gradually, often taking months for full implementation. Opposition can further delay or stall the process, with an official six-month period for passing a law in the game.

Types Of Laws

There are multiple types of laws in Victoria 3. They can be classified into 3 main groups and then further into some categories. Here are those laws.

Power Structure Laws

These laws determine who runs the various facets of the country. Things like who will the head of state be and how power is distributed in the government are decided through these laws.

Here are the power structure laws.

• Army Model
• Bureaucracy 
• Church and State
• Citizenship
• Governance Principles
• Distribution of Power
• Internal Security

Economy Laws

The economic laws determine where the nation’s money comes from and how it is used. Things like the percentage of tax and how a nation trades with other nations are all determined through these laws.

Here are the economic laws in the game.

• Colonization
• Economic System
• Education System 
• Health System
• Policing 
• Taxation 
• Trade Policy 

Human Right Laws

Human rights laws determine how pops are treated in their nation and what degree of freedom they have.

Here are the human rights laws present in Victoria 3.

• Children’s Rights 
• Free Speech  
• Labor Rights  
• Migration  
• Rights of Women  
• Slavery 
• Welfare 

It is worth noting that you can include interest groups in your government as you please. The laws that you pass will decide how legitimate an interest group is and in turn, decide whether or not you have a high-legitimacy government. 

Markets

Markets are an important aspect of Victoria 3. The economy stands on the pillars of trade and markets, thus, it is essential that you understand how they work. The markets in the game work in a similar fashion to real life. When goods are produced, they are sold at a predetermined price.

This price is determined by the demand for that particular good. This means that prices are always shifting because supply and demand are constantly evolving. The game allows you to trade as well, using buy orders and sell orders.

Types Of Goods

There are 4 types of goods that are present in Victoria 3. These are as follows:

1. Staple Goods: Essential for the survival of the population, including food and clothing.

2. Industrial Goods: Produced by manufacturing industries and used by other industries, like coal and rubber.

3. Luxury Goods: Consumed by pops with high wealth and living standards, such as tea and sugar, which are status symbols.

4. Military Goods: Utilized by the nation’s armed forces, including weapons and ammunition.

National Market

The national market of a country determines the prices of goods and plays a vital role in the nation’s economy. As a nation’s territory expands, so does its national market, with more raw materials and pops contributing to the economy. The national market is connected to the capital and other states through a network of ports, and prices depend on supply and demand, even within the national market.

Trade

Balancing supply and demand requires establishing trade routes. You can trade goods that your nation excels at producing and sell them at high values. Forming relationships with other nations allows you to trade goods that they specialize in, creating mutually beneficial trade routes. For instance, your nation might excel in producing opioids, while another nation is proficient in tea production, enabling a mutually advantageous trade relationship.

Buildings

Buildings are another pivotal part of the game. We will discuss all of them in detail here in our beginner’s guide for Victoria 3. Basically, buildings represent a wide array of facilities. Pops work at these buildings to produce goods and other resources. The buildings are divided into four major groups in the game. These groups are:

• Urban: This category contains buildings such as food industries and textile mills. A higher scale of production uses raw materials to produce more widely consumed goods such as food and clothes.
• Rural: This category mostly contains buildings like farms that produce raw materials and resources. Stuff like wheat farms and metal/mineral mines come under this category.
• Development: This category contains buildings related to the armed forces and the like. Buildings like barracks and naval bases are part of this category. 
• Construction: This category contains the construction sector. This sector determines how fast you build other buildings and how cost-effective they are. 

You can find detailed information about these categories in the in-game menu, which specifies the required goods and employees for each sector. Keep in mind that constructing these buildings requires specific resources, and changes in factors like wages can affect them, influencing your nation’s political landscape over time.

Each building has adjustable properties, including the quality and quantity of goods produced, as well as the wages of the pops working there. You can also select different production methods and funding sources.

Furthermore, buildings can be expanded or upgraded based on specific requirements. Effective management of these buildings and resources is crucial for success in the game.

Types Of Buildings

Among the four major categories of buildings, there are various types of buildings. These buildings affect your nation in varying capacities. For example, government administration buildings will produce bureaucracy instead of feasible goods.

But bureaucracy is an important asset. It is used to influence your armed forces and trade routes, among many other things. Similarly, if you construct universities, the literacy rate of your pops will increase. Victoria 3 has many unique buildings like these, which you must discover on your own!

Technology Tree

The technology tree is a very vital part of Victoria 3, and we will explain it in depth here in our beginner’s guide. The technology tree utilizes innovation to progress in various technologies. Innovation can either be obtained by doing nothing, as there is a base rate for it.

But it can be increased by the number of universities you have in your country and the overall literacy rate of your country. No matter which country you choose, you will already have a handful of technologies researched already as other facets of your nation depend on them.

The technology tree is divided into three major categories which are:

• Production Technology: These technologies all focus on improving the production and economy of your country. These technologies may include things like unlocking electricity and better modes of transport like railways.
• Military Technology: These technologies focus solely on improving your armed forces. They may contain new weapons and also manage the manpower that goes into these institutions.
• Society Technology: These technologies are about improving the society in your nation. They contain things like political ideas which will aid the pops that reside in your nation.

The technology trees form complex branches. Some technologies require prerequisites, and you will have to invest your innovation points wisely depending on where you want to go.

The innovation score will refresh each week. Keep in mind to implement new technology regularly so that your nation may thrive. Advancements in one field may lead to breakthroughs in areas you would never have expected. 

Capacities

Capacities are the main currencies that you will be using throughout Victoria 3. and we will touch upon their uses here in our beginner’s guide. The capacities determine various facets of a country’s power and influence. These capacities are:

• Bureaucracy: This capacity represents a nation’s capacity to govern its subjects. It will be used in doing tasks like collecting tax and providing back to the pops. It is produced by institutions such as government administration buildings, which we have already discussed.
• Authority: This capacity is a direct representation of the amount of power the head of state has. It is used to determine how easily he can make changes to the nation. This authority itself is decided by the laws of the nations.
• Influence: This capacity is a representation of a country to conduct diplomacy. It is a very important currency when it comes to the global stage. It is used to improve relations with other countries as well as influence wars.
• Money: Technically, this is not treated as a capacity in the game, but it is one. The treasury will define how much money your nation has, and it is the backbone of every action that you perform.

Victoria 3 has managed to do a great job of making these capacities have tangible effects on the game itself. They are not just placeholder numbers that you use to perform transactions. They actively affect your nation and the actions that you are able to take.

Diplomatic Aspects

To understand diplomacy, we must first understand the fundamental building blocks that make it up. These diplomatic mechanics further affect other aspects of your nation, especially warfare. We will discuss warfare in the next section of our guide, but for now, here are the 3 main aspects of diplomacy:

• Relations
• Infamy
• Interests

Relations

Relations represent the diplomatic standing between two nations and are represented on a numerical scale from -100 to 100, with a total range of 200 points. The value of relations influences various actions, such as which side a country supports in a war or diplomatic situations. You can improve or worsen your relations with other countries through your actions.

Infamy

Infamy measures your nation’s reputation and is affected by your actions. At the start of the game, your nation has an infamy value of zero, which can change based on your actions. Exceeding a certain infamy threshold results in sanctions, including trade restrictions and worsening relations with other nations. Infamy has both global and regional effects, potentially leading to regional isolation or even war if not managed carefully. Avoid violating other countries’ laws, diplomatic breaches, and uphold your agreements to keep your infamy score low.

Interests

Interests gauge a country’s stake in specific strategic regions within the game. This mechanic influences diplomatic interactions and incidents. While having many interests may lead to conflicts, it can also provide opportunities for colonization and the declaration of official interests by a country.

War

Wars in the game arise from failed diplomatic negotiations, with disputes escalating to brute force conflicts between nations. These wars involve a country’s armed forces, as previously discussed.

During a war, a series of battles occur, with land warfare focused on defending or capturing specific territories and naval warfare involving attacks or defenses of trade routes.

Speed Of The Game

You can adjust the game’s speed from 1x to 5x and pause it using the number keys 1-5. The outliner provides crucial task highlights and information, allowing you to pin tasks for easy reference.

Outliner

Pay attention to the outliner. It will highlight the important tasks at hand and show some information regarding them. You can also pin tasks to this list so that you can remember them.

Current Situation Tab

The current situation tab helps you stay updated on in-game events, especially during overwhelming moments.

Natural Resources

The natural resources you get will heavily depend on the country that you start with. It is important that you take advantage of these natural resources. These will help to kickstart your economy and ensure that you have enough raw materials for goods.

Savescumming And Cheats

While savescumming and cheats are options for more casual gameplay, they are generally discouraged by the community. Console command cheats can help bypass challenges, and saving before critical situations, like wars, allows for reloading if things go awry. However, it’s recommended to experience the game as intended for a more authentic gaming experience.

Summary

Victoria 3 features a massive scale, unlike many others of its type. You can use your diplomatic values to bargain with other nations and improve your ties with them. Moreover, you can wage wars and conquer territories. You can even colonize nations and make them part of your own kingdom. All these elements come together to form a huge and realistic world that you will not get bored of.

That was our Victoria 3 beginner’s guide. Were we able to help you out? Were you stuck wondering about a certain aspect of the game? What do you think about the game’s numerous systems? Let us know all about it in the comments section below!

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