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Paradox Development Studio’sVictoria 3,a sweepinggrand strategy gameset during the Victorian era, features intricate game play with a focus on economic development. It offers a fantastic range of countries to play as during the tumultuous Victorian era — some great and powerful,others far less so. While it can be a lot of fun to play as the historical winners of the period — Great Britain, France, and Russia — lots of players find the challenge of bringing minor nations to the forefront of Victorian politics.
But that’s easier said than done, as primitive economies suffer from major competitive disadvantages inVictoria 3.Still, it can be an incredibly fun and rewarding journey to take a primitive nation and its economy from an under-performing traditional economy to something on the cutting-edge of the Victorian world. So let’s take a look at how to modernize a primitive economy in Victoria 3.
Easy Route: Join A More Advanced Country’s Customs Union
An “easy” way to modernize inVictoria 3is to become part of a larger, more advanced country’sCustoms Union. This is technically an easier way of managing it, since the demand for goods in the Customs Union is going to be much higher than inside a primitive economy. This means the economy can be modernized without much thinking about which goods are in balance.
This route can allow players tofocus mostly on the changing of lawsto allow better forms of government, better institutions, and so on. It also means players won’t need to worry about trade laws, because they don’t control the market for the Customs Union and won’t need to trade.
But, it can be quite difficult to join another country’s Customs Union, and in the latest patch, it requires becoming a subject nation. This has its own advantages and disadvantages, but subject nations are subject to the whims of their overlord and can eventually be annexed against their will.
Subjects generally don’t need to worry about getting attacked by larger countries, so sometimes it can be a good option.
Harder Route (But More Rewarding): Go It Alone
Players who don’t want to join another country’s Customs Union can instead opt to go it alone. This is more difficult in some ways and easier in others, but it does require a bit more thinking. Players who opt to go it alone will need to change the relevant laws,boost productionacross a range of industries, andmaintain a military and diplomatic presencethat’s enough to keep them from getting conquered.
Learn Your Nation’s Government & Laws
After selecting any country inVictoria 3it’s a good idea toscope out the country’s government— which interest groups are most powerful, to which groups the leader belongs, and which system of power it uses — as well as the starting laws. These factors are all incredibly important for the management of a country inVictoria 3as the interest groups affect which laws can be changed — and which laws they can be changed to.
Primitive economies typically don’t have any advantageous policies, and usually the interest groups in power are those that support the status quo.
Bolster & Suppress Interest Groups
Depending on the specific make-up of the country’s government, it’s a good idea to start suppressing and bolstering various interest groups in the country. The reason to do this is because Interest Groups (IGs) all havespecific laws and institutionsthey support.
In many primitive economies, the major IG is the Landowners, a group with many different names across different nations inVictoria 3.
The problem with the Landowner IG is that, in general, it doesn’t support the kinds of reforms needed to modernize a primitive economy. Landowners typically support the institution of slavery, oppose any trade policy that isn’t Isolationism, and are unhappy with changes from a Traditionalist economic policy. But, the Landowners often form the only viable government in many nations, soSuppression isn’t a viable option.
It’s a good idea toBolster other Interest Groups instead.Good choices for a primitive economy are theIntelligentsiaand theRural Folk. The Rural Folk are a good choice because they support changes to the economic policies, as well as land management, whereas the Intelligentsia typically support changes to trade and slave policy, among others.
The Rural Folk are often the easiest group to bolster for primitive economies because populations working in agriculture are attracted to this group, and primitive nations tend to build more farms and other agricultural buildings. This works out well for changing land management and economic policy laws later on, too.
How To Bolster Or Suppress Interest Groups
Interest Groups can be Bolstered or Suppressed by using Authority. There are a few ways to start Bolstering or Suppressing an Interest Group. In the Outliner on the right-hand side of the screen, there’s a list of Interest Groups. To Bolster or Suppress, players can right-click the icon for the IG and select to either Bolster or Suppress them.
Alternatively, IGs can be Bolstered or Suppressed from theGovernment screen. Again, click on their icon and select the desired option.
The effects of Bolster or Suppress on an IG’s pop attraction depends on the country’scensorship laws.
Countries with theCensorship institutionhave a much more effective Bolster or Suppress action.
Decide What Laws & Institutions To Change
Generally speaking, primitive economies will suffer from aTraditionalist economic policy, combined with aSlave Trading economyand a policy ofIsolationism.But, as nice as it would be to change those things immediately, it’s usually not possible — nor is it desirable.
It is a good idea to know what institutions and laws are already in play. For example, some countries will have the National Supremacy law enacted, which makes migration into the country less common.
Generally speaking, laws that will need to be changed ASAP includeTrade Policy, Economic Policy,andLand Management laws.
Check The Nation’s Technologies
Next to consider is theissue of technologies. Primitive economies inVictoria 3usually have very few technologies unlocked, including key technologies required to build necessary buildings, such as the Tooling Workshop. Some start in a better position than others, but the most primitive economies inVictoria 3start with only the basic first-tier technologies available.
Generally speaking, it’s a fantastic idea toget the capacity to build Industrial buildings as soon as possible, so it’s a good idea to select theManufactories technologyfirst.
Build Up The Nation’s Economy In Victoria 3
Primitive economies will start out being able to build basic agricultural buildings, basic resource buildings (such as the Logging Camp or the Fishing Wharves), and often no Industrial buildings of any sort. But, that doesn’t matter first-off, asthe economy will need Wood and Grainto get moving anyway.
A good first option is theLogging Camp, followed by the player’s choice ofagricultural building. It can be a good idea to look at the Market to see which resources are most necessary. Players can access the Market by clicking on theMarket tab in the Outlinerat the right-hand side of the screen.
Then, once in the Market view, players can sort the list by goods surplus/deficit to see which goods are required.
It’s a good idea toincrease production of the goods in deficit, whichever goods those are.
Establish Your Country’s Industry In Victoria 3
As soon as the relevant technologies are researched, it’s time to establish an industry for the nation. This starts off small — aTooling Workshop, aTextiles Mill— but must be grown continuously throughout the game.Tools are typically the most importantgoods to get flowing into the economy, so build a workshop for those first.
How To Change Production In Victoria 3
Most buildings inVictoria 3have several different production methods they can switch between. These include things like “does not use tools” or “uses tools.” Changing the production methods can influence the demand for other goods. In the example of tools, demand for tools can be increased by (for example) changing the production on Maize, Millet, or Wheat farms to require tools.
Primitive countries won’t have many options for this at first, butthis is key to developing demand for goods and industries in the nation. So, it pays off to manipulate production methods, as nobody will work in an unproductive building because it won’t pay enough. If the economy has no use for tools, the Tooling Workshop won’t get any workers.
It’s possible to change the production methods to use resources the country doesn’t have, and this is abad idea. If the country has no access to iron and can’t trade for it, don’t switch production methods to use iron.
Good Industrial Building Choices In Victoria 3
In a primitive economy, the best choices for Industry buildings are going to be things that are necessary for the population, eg clothes, furniture, and tools. But, it’s a good idea toestablish a Paper Mill for Universities and Government Administration to use, as well asGlassware and Food Industries.
If the nation has access to iron, it can be a good idea to build anArms Industrytoo.
Establish Universities To Buff Technology Research
Universities help with researching technologies. They directly buff the research rate, but they also increase access to education and literacy, both of which help research. So, it pays off tobuild at least one or two Universities—when the economy can support them, of course.
Universities need Paper to function. They’ll also help attract more pops to the Intelligentsia IG, which can be useful for some reforms.
Key Technologies To Research In Victoria 3
There are several key technologies for primitive economies to research. These techs will allow a range of different but essential changes such as new laws and institutions, new industries, and new production methods. Without these, primitive nations can’t modernize at all.
Important Laws To Change In Victoria 3
To properly modernize an economy andimprove standard of living inVictoria 3, laws are paramount. Generally speaking, there are three laws that can drag an economy into the modern era, with some others that are very helpful.
Realistically, any policy in theEconomic Policiescategory thatisn’t Traditionalismwill work for modernizing a country, but some are better than others — and others are easier to achieve.
Possibly the easiest one to switch to isAgrarianism.Agrarianism doesn’t require much technology to enact, as the Romanticism tech is early in the Society tech tree. Plus, it’s easy to get the Rural Folk to support Agrarianism, so it can spawn as a target of aPolitical Movement.
To properly modernize an economy, it’s absolutelyessential to switch away from the Isolationism trade policy. Isolationism means countries can’t establish any trade routes, which means that any inefficiencies or deficiencies in the economy can’t be addressed through trade — while also blocking off exports to shift surplus goods.
Any of the three available Trade policies are better than Isolationism. It’s generally easiest to enactProtectionism, as that can be supported by lower-class populations and spawn as aPolitical Movement.
Serfdom as a law can work, but it results in a much poorer lower-class and prevents them from migrating between the country’s states in search of work. Alternatives to serfdom, such asTenant Farmers,are better because they result in better paid farmers who have more money to spend on the rest of the economy.
Other options such asHomesteadingboost the incomes and political power of farmers a lot, so it can be worth considering whether that’s a good thing, but it does let farmers migrate. In any case, it’s a good idea to move away from Serfdom once the economy has diversified away from farming, as this will boost the money available for these pops to spend on the rest of the economy.
It can be tempting to move away from Slave Trading as soon as possible, but this isn’t always a good idea for the economy. While slave-based economies are inefficient and disadvantageous to more advanced economies, primitive economies benefit from being able to use unpaid labor, which can boost productivity.
But, as the economy diversifies, it’s a great idea to get rid of slavery, since slaves have no money to spend on goods.Slavery Bannedis the best option, but sometimesLegacy Slaveryis the only available compromise.
Many pops will clamor forNational Supremacy,which requires pops to share Cultural and Heritage traits with the primary culture to be accepted. But for primitive economies,Racial Segregationis the much better option because it allows anyone with the same Heritage trait tomigrate to the country. This means that, if playing Merina Kingdom in Africa, any pop with theAfrican heritageHeritage trait will be able to migrate to the country. That provides a massive boost to the economy.
Additional Tips To Modernize Your Victoria 3 Economy
Build & Maintain An Army
With everything else going on, it can be easy to forget about the military. But, not only is themilitary key to defending the nation, it also drives demand for some key goods. So it literally pays to remember the military and the navy.
Don’t Skimp On Diplomacy
Primitive nations need to have powerful allies to prevent getting conquered or pressed into a larger nation. Strong relations with an AI country can prevent them from starting wars, while some larger nations can even offer Defense Pacts and other boons.
