Victoria 3 Unification Candidate: An In-Depth Guide

The process of unification exists in Victoria 3 and it is presented in the game with great detail. It refers to the process by which one nation is transformed into another nation. This newer nation is usually bigger in size as well. Historically speaking, there have been quite a few examples of unification. One such example would be the unification of Italy in the 17th century, the same era that the game is set in. 

In the unification of Italy, many small nations in the Italian Peninsula were consolidated into a greater Italian Kingdom. When talking about unification, there are two types that we need to keep in mind. They are as follows:

• Regular Unification
• Major Unification

Let us discuss the two in greater detail.

Regular Unification

Simply said, regular unification refers to a specific nation that can be created by other nations. These nations may or may not have existed in the past historically. Moreover, the time period around their existence may also vary. The game is set during 1836 and this information is relevant to understand the next bit. For example, nations like Poland which existed in the past before 1836, and nations like Germany which came into being after 1836.

In addition to these, the game also includes alternative-history countries, such as Arabia, and countries that already existed in 1836 such as the Central American Provinces. The countries that already existed can be conquered by the players, and in the case that they break up, they can be unified again. 

Conditions

For regular unification to successfully happen, there are certain conditions that must be met. They are as follows:

Primary Culture

The unification country must have one primary culture that is the same as the country that is forming it. For example, any country that has Indian as part of its primary culture can form India. Regular unification cannot happen if you try to form India from countries that do not share at least one primary culture with the country to be formed. 

Tier

The tier of the country matters a lot when talking about regular unification. The forming nation should have a tier level that is lower than the unification country. The tiers are kind of a social ranking that determines how prestigious a country is. The higher the tier of the country, the higher the prestige it has. The tiers are assigned to the nations by default, and these depend on the historical influence of the nations. 

The concept of tiers can be further clarified by an example. Let’s say that a nation had the status of being a kingdom during the 17th century. That nation would have a high level of prestige. But compare that to a nation that was regarded as an empire during the same era. In comparison, a country with the status of an empire would have much more prestige than one with the status of just a kingdom.

Although this sounds very impactful, that is not the case. These arbitrary rankings had little importance towards the end of the 17th century. Albeit these rankings serve as a good indicator of power. It lets the players understand the political situation of the world at the time a bit better. 

With that being said, there is one outlier to this rule about tiers. A nation is able to form a major unification of the same tier, provided that they aren’t a major unification themselves. This can be seen in a few nations present in the game.

Sovereign

The forming nation must be the sovereign state over a majority of the integral state regions that will form the unification country. This means that the cultural homelands of the primary culture must be under the control of the forming country. 

For example, if Germany is formed after unification, the integral state regions will depend on its primary cultures. Germany will have two primary cultures, with them being North Germany and South Germany. So according to this, any places that are the cultural homelands of either of these cultures will be the integral state regions of Germany.

Technologies

Not all unifications can be done right away. In some cases, you might need some prerequisites before you can go ahead with the unification. These prerequisites come in the form of technologies. You must have these technologies unlocked in the case of these unifications. An example of the required technology might be the Nationalism technology, which is fairly common.

In case you do not have access to these technologies, you must first unlock them before you can perform the regular unification. 

Performing The Unification

If you satisfy all of the conditions mentioned above, it means that you are good to perform the regular unification. You will see a menu to perform the unification and an option that says Form X, where x is the unification country.

Once you click on that button, the forming nation will transform into a unification country. This transition doesn’t take time and is effective as soon you press the button. Once the unification is performed, the pops that share the primary cultures will be joined together to form the unification country.

Unification is also a big reason why conquering other nations isn’t promoted in Victoria 3. Through unification, you can rule over the nations while also having control of their integral state regions. Approaching the matter in this way will give you less infamy than you would have gotten for conquering these nations through war.

Major Unification

This is the other type of unification that you can perform in Victoria 3. It is a bit different than the other unification which we just discussed. Major unifications refer to the nations that had significant nationalist movements behind their creations, historically speaking. Nations like Germany and Italy fall into this category. At the beginning of the game, this unification differs slightly.

But it is worth noting that a nation that has the same primary culture as the unification country has an opportunity to affect these options. These nations can research new technologies and unlock the Nationalism Society Technology. This unlocks new options for the player and these new options are Unification Candidates and Unification Diplomatic Plays. 

Unification Candidates

The unification candidates in Victoria 3 refer to the nations that aim to consolidate the powers behind the nationalist movements that we mentioned earlier, all under the guise of a single nation. If a country wants to be a unification candidate, it must have the rank of a major power at the very least. This rank pales in comparison if there are other unification candidates present with greater ranks, such as great powers.

At any given moment, there can be three unification candidates at the max. In the case that there are more than three candidates available, the top three from them are chosen. These are chosen on the base of their prestige and social ranking. Similarly, it is also possible that there is no unification candidate. This could be because the unification candidates do not meet the minimum ranking requirements to be considered. 

It is worth noting that these candidates are subject to change. They change as the rankings change in the game. A candidate that previously qualified to be a unification candidate can be replaced by a stronger contender. 

Support Of Other Candidates

As we mentioned earlier, the nations that do not qualify to be a candidate are replaced by other candidates. Once a nation has become a unification candidate it can receive support from the other candidates that did not get selected. It is important to note that only the nations that share a primary culture with the unification country are allowed to support the unification candidates. 

This support means one more thing in the grander scheme of things. Any unification candidate gets to hold the land controlled by nations backing them in order to hold the required number of integral state regions. In simpler terms, this means that if a nation is supporting a unification candidate that is falling short of the necessary number of integral state regions, the unification candidate can effectively control the regions of its supporters.

Diplomatic Plays

The unification candidates also get access to a few more options. These options are diplomatic plays that the nation can partake in. These are the National Leadership and Unification options. These diplomatic plays in the game are modeled with historical accuracy.

National Leadership

National leadership is one of the diplomatic plays that are available to the player. This option only comes into play when there are more than one unification candidate. Effectively, what this option mean is that one of the unification candidates is challenging the other(s) to see who comes out at the top. The target of this diplomatic play can only be another unification candidate. 

Both sides have the same war goal, which is to overcome the other candidate so that they step back from being a candidate. This is also where supporting nations play a part. Naturally, if you have more nations backing you up, you will come out on top. In case matters go towards war, these supporting nations will also help out in battle.

When the war goal is enforced by the leadership the other nation who loses the play is eliminated from being a unification candidate ever again. This reduces the maximum number of unification candidates that were present. This check is put in place so that this cycle doesn’t endlessly repeat itself where a candidate loses and another one replaces it. 

There is one important thing worth remembering here as well. In case that a nation loses the right to be a unification candidate, it does not mean at all that that nation cannot ever form the unification country. It would just have to rely on other means, such as war, in order to achieve that goal. 

Unification

In Victoria 3, this option comes into play when there is only one unification candidate left. Either there was only one unification candidate from the start, or the other candidates have been defeated. This is a special type of diplomatic play. It allows all of the nations who have the same primary culture as the unification country, and also have control over the integral state regions, to take part in the unification. 

The nations that supported the unification candidate will be on their side in this diplomatic play. All of the other nations that are involved will be on the opposing side. This happens regardless of the fact that whether or not a nation supported an opposing candidate or no candidate at all. But like other diplomatic plays in Victoria 3, the nations who have an interest in the region are allowed to interfere in this play.

When the play is initiated, the attacker is aiming for the annexation of all the nations involved in the target list. You can see how it plays out when it begins. 

In case you are not a unification candidate, you can still support one. This makes the candidates more amicable towards you and improves relations overall. 

Summary

And that is all you need to know about unification and unification candidates in Victoria 3. There are certain conditions that must be met for a country to be able to unify. The same is also true for a country to be a unification candidate. It depends on the players on which plays they choose to go with in order to perform unification. 

You will come across many instances in Victoria 3 when you need to perform unification. In case you are not satisfied with how the game looks, we have a solution for you. Don’t forget to check out our detailed guide on the best mods in Victoria 3 where we have listed the top 10 popular ones for you to try out. This will enhance how the game looks and plays out. 

With that, you should be all set to manage your nations in Victoria 3. Check out our beginner’s guide in case you are a new player. If you want a more in-depth guide to some of the mechanics in the game, be sure to check out our Victoria 3: War System, if you are interested in the warfare aspect.

Want to know more about the trade center in the game? Check out our Victoria 3 Trade Center guide for that. If you want to learn more about the trade routes then check our guide on that as well!

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