Victoria FAQs

Victoria FAQs answered by "Blessed"

Victoria FAQ - How do I get rid of slavery? I already fought the Civil War, but there is still slavery.
ANSWER>In later patches there's a button somewhere in the diplomatic area whether slavery is legal or not. If you can't find it or you haven't downloaded the latest patches. Get a democracy and get a liberal government, they should outlaw it.

Victoria FAQ - When does W. Virginia split off from Virginia? I've already fought and won the Civil War, but no split.

Victoria FAQ - What do I do when my research points go negative? Do I keep spending full bore? I do that for years on end, but don't see any changes in the research points.
ANSWER>It's because you're wrong, education spending doesn't generate research points. That's why it's not called research spending. Instead it either increases or decreses your littracy, having it precisely in the middle means that your littracy wont increase nor fall. Its your literacy that determines how quickly you research something. This is the reason why Russia almost always end up in the rear concerning research, they have too little literacy. But if you spend full bore for a couple of years then you should see that you begin to gain more points per day.

Victoria FAQ - What do you do when you don't have resource ___? I was playing Prussia, and ran into problems because I didn't have sulfur. And it doesn't appear that any is for sale on the market. No sulfer means no ammo, no small arms and no artillery. I had the same problem with no machine parts. What's the solution? Stockpile in advance? Is there any other solution?
ANSWER>First of all, you should manufacture goods that uses ground materials you produce yourself. That way you'll always be able to make stuff, no matter what happens. But sulfur is a quite commen material and it would be strange if somebody wasn't selling it. I have discovered that when you sell goods, you first sell them too your friends ( after all, its better too sell guns to friends then enemies ). So if you want for instance machine parts, then you need to be Great Britain's very best friend.

Victoria FAQ - What triggers the reunification of Germany out of Prussia and the other parts of "Germany"? Is there a proper way to trigger the reunification or should I just conquer the other parts?
ANSWER>If you play as the Prussians, then you'll first receive a offer from the Frankfurt ensemble. Spit in their faces, they are going to reduce your power, and you don't want that. Later, around 1865, you get a couple of events sounding like "the reunification of Germany" and "Austria disputes our leadership". I like playing as the Prussians, and to this date it has never ended with anything but war. You must win this war, and quickly. After around two years France will declare war on you on a unrelated matter, and you must win this war as well. So you have two years to defeat Austria, therefore you should build up your military BEFORE the war, when you defeat Austria but kind and magnificent against her. But make it clear that you won. Demand the territory of "Troppau", if you demand more, Austria will hate you forever, and you won't like that.
Use your diplomats to improve relationships with Austria, but more impotently all the minor states of Germany. Not a single state should have a negative relationship with you, it is this relationship that determines whether they join Germany or don't.
Now comes this war with France, think the event is called "A holzenseller on the Spanish throne", but it says that Spain is going to put one of your heirs on the Spanish throne. This you like and therefore accept. France ALWAYS declare war, and now you advance into France with all of your forces, what is extremely crucial is that you don't accept peace with France till after the reunification of Germany, this happens in the summer of 1871, because it is the Prussian victories that convince the German people to join the union. After this, you'll most likely be the most powerful power in the world. Especially after you build a LOT of rails and factories.


Victoria FAQ - Should I buy land or conquer it? I have been trying to simply buy land, and while expensive, it has been going rather well. But certainly there must be trade-offs other than simply how expensive it is. What strategies do you use?
ANSWER>War!!! I don't like to buy land, think it's a bit dishonest, I only buy claims and minor territories that I need to connect parts of my empire. And the other bad thing about buying land is that you need to buy from your friends, or it gets way to expensive, and sooner or later you're going to buy one of their national provinces, which pisses the population of. And you relationship slowly degenerate, now you're forced to spend money on improving the relationship.

Victoria FAQ - What influences the efficiency of research points? How does Great Britain get so far ahead in research even when I am maxed out myself playing France, the US or Prussia/Germany?
ANSWER>See above. Plus Britain starts far ahead from anybody else, and they get psyko many research points from events. Saw one giving 80 points!!! But it should be possible to catch up with Germany. If you have time and a lot of money, you need to be maxed out for decades.

Victoria FAQ - Life factors: what influences this? Can it be changed?
ANSWER>In manual it says that health care improvements improves life factors. But I really can't see the difference. And I haven't seen anything but that.

Victoria FAQ - Why would a DoW against a Democracy increase prestige by 50%?

Victoria FAQ - Prestige increases: Are increases such as 5% simply multiplied against the current prestige rating? e.g. 100 prestige * 105% = 105 prestige.
ANSWER>No, increases gives increases on future prestige. So if you plan on annexing a small country. Which gives 100 prestige points, and research this first, you'll get 105 prestige points instead. Victoria FAQ - Why would Jingoism allow for lower defense spending than Pacifism? Because that way you can rest the economy a few years, hoarding gold, so that after this resting periode you can put defense spending on max, and keep it there J. But it does sound funny.

Victoria FAQ - Why would Jingoism allow for lower defense spending than Pacifism?

Victoria FAQ - What does 5.0 Grain mean?
ANSWER>It shows how effective a province is at producing grain. A 5.0 grain province means that one man in that province produces five times as mush as a similar guy in a 1.0 grain province. This doesn't mean that 5.0 provinces always produces more grain then 1.0 provinces. The final production is multiplied with number of people working in farm, multiplied by transport effectiveness and number of aristocrats.

Victoria FAQ - What does the expand button below 5.0 Grain mean?
ANSWER>A level 1 farm can contain 5 pops, if you would like more people to work at it. For example if you have 6 farmers in that province. Then you expand it, making in so that it can contain five more people. Which increases province output if you have more farmers then the farm could contain.

Victoria FAQ - What do the two human icons adjacent to 5.0 Grain mean? One is slaves and the other is non-slaves who work in the Resource Gathering Operations.

Victoria FAQ - Does the expand button below 5.0 Grain equal the expand button I can access after I click on the left-most human next to 5.0 Grain?
ANSWER>Yes.

Victoria FAQ - Why is it that after I click on expand after clicking on the left-most human or the button under 5.0 Grain that it still reads 5.0 Grain (rather than 6.0 or something) after the expansion is finished?
ANSWER>See above.

Victoria FAQ - Is there any way to fight crime other than simply changing the crime slider?
ANSWER>Yes, not going to war. And the people having a low conscious and military ratings.

Victoria FAQ - Is there an optimal crime fighting setting?
ANSWER>If you haven't got any crime in you country and place it a little above the middle, then you should only have sporadic crime.

Victoria FAQ - Is there an optimal tax formula (poor, middle, wealthy)?
ANSWER>Yes, but not a universal optimal formula. In the beginning of the game, the rich people have all the rights and are therefore very happy. They wont mind a high tax. The point is to put the tax as high as you can without pissing anybody out. Later during the socialist revolution put the low taxes down, a lot, you DON'T want to give the masses reasons to revolt.

Victoria FAQ - Sue for Peace: Is there no way to offer a financial settlement?
ANSWER>No. Except offering a province, then buying it back.

Victoria FAQ - What's the best thing to do to win? As the US, I've been fighting a war here and there, never declaring war initially, but not shirking war either. I've got 300,000 gold (or whatever the money is), the best battlefleet, a tiny army (25) but I was able to defeat Russia with almost the same size fleet and an army of 271 divisions. It's now 1905, I have about 15 years to go and I'm in third place. What are good strategies to help me win?
ANSWER>You haven't got a lot of time left. So industrial power is not an option. That leaves military power and prestige. Annex as many countries ass possible, and win loads of wars. An idea might be to declare war on alliances. Then making separate peaces, making prestige at all of the tables. But in all cases you need a bigger invasion force. This will also increase your military rating.

Victoria FAQ - Why does buying land cost me prestige?
ANSWER>Because there's no honor in buying land.

Victoria FAQ - Is there any way to see what other countries are producing? For instance, is there any way to know if I am the only one producing tanks?
ANSWER>If you want to check if you're the only one producing it. Cut all production of tanks. Pause the game. Check statistics. See who the biggest producer of tanks is. If its nobody, then you're the only one producing tanks. Else you know now who you main competition is.

Victoria FAQ - Airplanes: Are airplanes ever used as military units or are they just for trade?

Victoria FAQ - Is there any way to know who I am getting into war with when there is a triggered war (e.g. Spanish-American War) without knowing before hand that there is a trigger? Once such a triggered war happens, as far as I can tell, I can either select to go to war or not, but I won't know anything about Spain (it's allies, force disposition and quality or technology, etc. at hand to make a decision).
ANSWER>There's nothing to help you there. Except doing paying attention in history classes. But I know how bad it can go. Playing as the Russians, was beginning to be really powerful. Had 100 in industrial power as the Russians in 1850. And a booming research, now comes the Crimean war, I think im only going to war with the ottoman empire. And their minor alliances. Who I know I can defeat. Russia having biggest land army in world. J But now france happens to have gurantered the ottomans their independence. Long story shor. Russia vs. France, Great Britain, Spain, Ottoman Empire, Sweden, Grece, Wallacia, Serbia, Sardinia-Piermont, Frankfurt am Main and Bulgaria. Now a couple of years later, I'm "only" at war with the greatest power in the world Britain. Who has just invaded northen Finland with 200.000 troops. And my united forces number 120.000. That war was hard on Russia. The economy is devastated. But all the other peace treaties where either white peaces or Russia won. So Russia has a bit to give. But She would have been stronger had she not gone to war.

Victoria FAQ - The prestige boosts only work on future prestige, right? I've never noticed it being retroactive. So if I have 100 prestige, and then get a 5% bonus, I still only have 100 prestige until I get some new prestige for something else.

Victoria FAQ - Why does attacking some nations cost exactly 100 prestige and other nations 21, 38 or whatever?
ANSWER>It is an equation based on your prestige, their prestige, goverment and status. If you and your enemy has equal much of prestige then you don't pay much. If you have far more then your enemy then you pay a lot. Less then your enemy and you don't' pay too much. If you attack a fellow civilises country then you pay more. Attacking Great Powers and uncivilised nations cost less. The government also has some effects. For instance a democracy loses far more prestige then a monarchy going to war. Precisely the reason why I prefer monarchy's.

Victoria FAQ - Is there such a thing as strategic deployment? I saw it referenced somewhere.
ANSWER>It means, that after you've created a unit, it is ready to be placed anywhere in you country. This is strategic deployment.

Thank you "Blessed" for all of your answers to these questions.