Victoria 3 Wars: How To Start & Win

Although war is not the main feature in Victoria 3 for leading your empire, it certainly plays a major role. Not only does it allow you to get more area and production, but it also affects many things on the micro level. Once you start a war in Victoria 3, many things are happening simultaneously. Therefore, before you get into it, you must know how to win a war in Victoria 3.

Understanding Diplomatic Actions & Plays

Before going straight into war, your first option is diplomatic plays. It will allow you to get what you want while having minimum resources spent. Remember that war requires a lot of things. It will demand resources, troops, generals, and money.

Consider the diplomatic play as implementing a force on an empire to get something you want. However, not always a diplomatic play is a confrontational approach. Instead, it can also be peaceful, such as demanding independence.

Diplomatic Action

Moreover, it would help if you distinguished between diplomatic actions and diplomatic plays. The diplomatic actions will rely on relations, power, projection, ideological differences, and a base reluctance. Although the diplomatic actions are not aggressive, they can show your intention of war toward the other nation. 

Diplomatic Play

Diplomatic play involves using force and allies to exert pressure. Hostility leads to different war options based on national circumstances, except for puppets and vassals. Lower-ranked nations face more hurdles. It depends on strategic locations shown in-game. If a nation isn’t listed, declare an interest, ensuring access and rivalry.

Starting A War In Victoria 3

In total, three stages precede open hostility. You can check the diplomatic screen, which will show you the preparation for war on both sides and the other countries showing interest in it. You will be able to see which countries are listed there in the first phase, but you will not be able to sway them. Swaying countries will only begin in the second phase.

Opening Moves

The first phase in Victoria 3 is the “opening moves,” where troop numbers, available maneuvers, and potential war goals are revealed based on a nation’s rank. Multiple war goals can be pursued, complicating achieving peace and harming diplomatic relations with other nations.

The target nation’s disposition towards the war depends on factors like military strength, gold reserves, and loyalists. It’s important to balance troop placement to avoid territorial losses.

Diplomatic Maneuvers

The second phase before the war begins is diplomatic maneuvers. At this point in time, both sides still have the option of backing down. During diplomatic maneuvers, you can add more war goals to the list or sway more nations to be your allies.

Remember that no nation will join your side straight away. Each ally will have some aspirations of their own. Nations that have a chance of joining your side can be recognized by a green thumbs up next to them. Clicking on it will show you options you can offer them in exchange for an alliance. The more allies you add, the harder it will be to achieve peace later.

Countdown To War

The third and last phase before the war begins is the countdown to war. Consider it as an idle phase finishing off the immobilization of battalions. However, it is still not too late for either side to back down. So if the opponent’s feelings are strong and they have more allies and troops, you will still have an option of backing down.

Winning The War

War support is vital to winning a war. If it drops, the opposing side gains an advantage. Its level depends on the war goals pursued during peace negotiations, and you can offer concessions if their support is unlikely to decrease further. The goal is to win swiftly, as prolonged wars are costly.

War support changes weekly based on factors like territory occupied, radicalization, casualties, and other events. Facing a larger nation makes lowering their support more challenging.

Blocking supply lines and reducing wealth can help. Wait for their support to drop for your goals or reach -100 to force capitulation. War support rarely exceeds zero, so capturing the enemy’s capital and war goals is key. If your ally’s support is low or gone, consider not giving them their war goals.

Managing Your Army

Your army and navy consist of battalions and flotillas led by recruited generals and admirals based on their war performance. Generals provide buffs, debuffs, and modifiers according to their traits. To locate battalions and flotillas, use the military map mode within strategic regions. Local battalions support defense based on the region’s state, requiring assigned generals for orders.

Admirals are needed for flotilla actions, including naval invasions. Flotillas and battalions must share the same HQ for cooperation. Naval Bases and Barracks operate like other buildings, requiring employees and goods. Production changes take time and temporarily debuff your armies but yield battlefield benefits when complete.

• Efficiency in troop killing, morale damage, and training rate are crucial.
• Offense and defense reflect battalion effectiveness.
• Specialize barracks tasks through the military tab for organization.
• Ensure access to necessary goods for naval bases and barracks.
• The treasury covers equipment costs.
• Goods shortages adversely affect army stats and battlefield performance.
• For more troops, use conscription centers to mobilize unprofessional armies. This boosts troop numbers but disrupts the economy as workers abandon jobs, potentially facing greater risks.
• Choose the least productive region for conscription centers to minimize economic impact.

Placing And Supporting Your Army

After mastering war and troop management in Victoria 3, it’s time to lead them in battle and secure reinforcements. In battle, you can appoint one or more generals, each with three commands: advance to capture enemy territory, defend your own territory, or wait in place. Generals can be given orders until they engage in battle, after which they’ll follow their last command, which can’t be changed.

To utilize multiple generals across different areas, you’ll need to relocate them. Arrival time varies, taking weeks or even months, so plan strategically.

Overseas Battles

To launch an overseas attack, seek unoccupied friendly or adjacent enemy territory near your general. Use convoys during or before the war. If no such territory, opt for an amphibious assault post-war declaration. Recruit an admiral and form a flotilla at the same HQ as your general.

Assign a specific General to move with the admiral. You can recruit additional generals if needed, but troops will be limited, and they won’t spawn where required. They’ll march from HQ, taking about fifty days if distant.

The After Effects Of War

Both countries in war have different objectives, but only the winner can achieve what they initially wanted. A truce usually makes sure that there are no new hostilities between the nations for quite some years. Moreover, the truce will prevent getting into diplomatic plays amongst one another.

Apart from that, not all troops return from battle, so focus on barracks, hire more workers, and allocate resources. Injured soldiers work less efficiently, requiring more resources.

You should think deeply before getting on how to win a war in Victoria 3 since many things are interconnected in it. The inefficient work will reduce the standard of living, and so it will also cause radicalization. Apart from that, you should also expect a decrease in infrastructure and migration attraction.

War significantly impacts the nation’s economy, leading to poverty and emigration. These challenges apply when facing strong nations or allies, emphasizing the importance of a clear war purpose. Winning a war can provide land for production, boost GDP, attract people, improve global ranking, and enhance military power.

To keep the damages at a minimum, you must ensure your allies are strong. Moreover, you do not need to put in all your troops to get land, which is not worth much. Before thinking about how to win a war in Victoria 3, so ensure that your borders are secure because the allies of the enemies might attack you from other sides.

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