Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries

Trade zones

Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Crusader Kings II 69866 Bug Reports 19707 User Modifications 10588 Suggestions 5969 Tech Support 6361 After Action Reports
orielense

orielense

Major
40 Badges
Sep 29, 2010
521
37
  • Crusader Kings II
  • Victoria 2: Heart of Darkness
  • Victoria 2: A House Divided
  • Rome Gold
  • Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam
  • Crusader Kings II: Sunset Invasion
  • Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome
  • Crusader Kings II: Monks and Mystics
  • Europa Universalis IV: Common Sense
  • Crusader Kings II: Horse Lords
  • Europa Universalis IV: Cossacks
  • Crusader Kings II: Conclave
  • Hearts of Iron IV Sign-up
  • Stellaris Sign-up
  • Crusader Kings II: Reapers Due
  • 500k Club
  • Crusader Kings II: Jade Dragon
  • Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury
  • Imperator: Rome
  • Imperator: Rome Sign Up
  • Imperator: Rome - Magna Graecia
  • Crusader Kings III
  • Victoria 3 Sign Up
  • Europa Universalis IV: El Dorado
  • Victoria 2
  • Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods
  • Crusader Kings II: Way of Life
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • Crusader Kings II: Rajas of India
  • Crusader Kings II: The Republic
  • Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne
  • Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham
  • Europa Universalis IV: Mare Nostrum
  • Europa Universalis IV: Art of War
  • Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise
  • Europa Universalis IV: Wealth of Nations
  • Europa Universalis IV: Call to arms event
  • Europa Universalis IV: Res Publica
  • Victoria: Revolutions
  • Europa Universalis IV: Pre-order
I'm a newbie to playing as a republic, and I'm a bit confused about the display showing trade zones. My family has 4 trade posts; only one of them shows the trade zone as including the adjacent sea zone; with the other 3, only the county in which they are located are indicated as forming part of the zone. I am the only republic in the game.

Why don't all my trade posts generate a trade zone inclusive of the neighbouring sea zone?
 
If you don't have a monopoly on the zone through port majority, it doesn't count. Check to see that the other 4 Rival Patricians haven't blocked your majority in the sea zone.
 
What Nallia said. =)
 
Unfortunately, trade zones aren't explained very well (anywhere) so I had to figure it out myself. From my experience:

Trades zones are formed by connected trade posts. These connections are determined by either:

1. Adjacent counties with your trade posts (right next to each other)

OR

2. Counties with trade posts you control that are connected by a sea zone you control (the sea zone control is determined if you have the most trade posts that border that sea zone. Having less trade posts in that sea zone or tying means that the sea zone will not count as a connection).

Knowing which sea zone a county borders is actually a little tricky. Many counties touch multiple sea zones, but you have to zoom in to see where the little port graphic is. That is the sea zone where the trade post will contribute to.
 
Here are some tips:

1. Some 'sea provinces' have only 1-2 ports. Those are easy to monopolise, though this may lead to war where otherwise another republic would have simply built posts in other counties.
2. Trade zones generate additional income because of being connected into a huge zone. Those are sometimes very large bonuses like 33%. Try to get them and keep them.
3. Trade zones connected to your capital get a +40% bonus (for which, I'm not sure but I think so, it counts when anybody in your Republic holds the connection, not necessarily you). This will be easy for Venice in the Adriatic, but far less easy for Genoa and Pisa, which sit in the same zone.
 
Note that the value of a trade zone increases linearly with the amount of posts owned. So, a trade zone of one sea province with 5 trade posts is worth the same as a trade zone of five sea provinces with one trade post each.
 
ringhloth said:
Note that the value of a trade zone increases linearly with the amount of posts owned. So, a trade zone of one sea province with 5 trade posts is worth the same as a trade zone of five sea provinces with one trade post each.
Click to expand...

Argh. Didn't know that. I though that controlling all those sea provinces actually meant something.
 
NewbieOne said:
Argh. Didn't know that. I though that controlling all those sea provinces actually meant something.
Click to expand...

What he said isn't quite right.

Things scale so that you want everything in one trade zone. It's better to have 5 trade posts in 1 trade zone, then 5 different trade zones (geographically separated) which each consistent of a single trade post.

If those 5 sea provinces are connected and/or you control the appropriate sea zones, then they should provide the same trade value as if they will all in one sea province.
 
when it says "trade zone" is it referring to the whole republic's trade zone or only your family trade zone? Also does one sea province constitute a trade zone or can a connection chain of sea provinces together make up a trade zone as well?
 
rslancer said:
when it says "trade zone" is it referring to the whole republic's trade zone or only your family trade zone? Also does one sea province constitute a trade zone or can a connection chain of sea provinces together make up a trade zone as well?
Click to expand...

Well there are two different map overlays - one that shows the whole republic (all 5 families) and one that shows each individual family.

In terms of the "trade zone" benefits to income - those depend only on a given family's (not the entire republics).

One coastal province can constitute a trade zone. A chain of coastal provinces can form a single trade zone, as long as each of them is either adjacent to each other *or* connected through a sea zone that that family controls (sea zone control determined by whether you have the most trade ports connected to that sea zone).
 
A followup question to that. Is that how increasing the value of the tradezone becomes profitable? By building that upgrade in one port it can potentially add to all ports in the trade zone chained together?
 
rslancer said:
A followup question to that. Is that how increasing the value of the tradezone becomes profitable? By building that upgrade in one port it can potentially add to all ports in the trade zone chained together?
Click to expand...

That is one possible way.

You can increase Trade Zone Value by adding more trade posts to the zone, or building that particular upgrade.

Since the Trade Zone Value applies to all trade posts (and cities) in that zone, two trade posts in the same zone will produce more gold (all other things being equal) than two separate trade posts in separate zones. This is because of the synergy from the Trade Zone Value.

However, there is a limit to how much of a bonus a Trade Zone can provide. The equation is:

Trade Value Bonus = (TV * 100) / (TV + 200)

So when Trade Value is sufficiently high, it will provide a +100% bonus (doubling the amount).

If your trade zone value is low, then increasing its value (through that upgrade) can be helpful. But if your trade zone value is already high, then increasing the trade value even higher has diminishing returns. In those cases it's better to build the other upgrade (the one which increases base gold production).

So it's sort of a multi-variable equation where you need to figure out the right mix of increasing base gold and increasing +% gold.
 
Wow very informative. Thanks a lot for the help. I have one more question for you while we're at it. In this particular game I have a port in Corsica. There are a total of 3 ports total in Cote D Azur (the sea province my port is in). I currently do not have have the majority of the ports. Genoa has the other 2 ports. Therefore it is not my trade zone but when I look at the income I make from my port it says I get X amount from trade zone bonus. In fact why does the trade zone have any value at all since I do not technically have a trade zone there?
 
rslancer said:
Wow very informative. Thanks a lot for the help. I have one more question for you while we're at it. In this particular game I have a port in Corsica. There are a total of 3 ports total in Cote D Azur (the sea province my port is in). I currently do not have have the majority of the ports. Genoa has the other 2 ports. Therefore it is not my trade zone but when I look at the income I make from my port it says I get X amount from trade zone bonus. In fact why does the trade zone have any value at all since I do not technically have a trade zone there?
Click to expand...

It may not be in your primary (or largest) trade zone, but it is still in a trade zone (it is part of its own trade zone).

A given family can have multiple trade zones. In fact sometimes, you might have one large trade zone but then it gets broken up b/c someone else disputes control of a sea zone, which results in two smaller trade zones. Or if you build every single trade post in isolated areas, each trade post will constitute a 1-size trade zone.

So your Corsican trade post constitutes a mini trade zone that only consists of Corsica (not control of the sea zone since Genoa controls that).
 
Halcyan said:
What he said isn't quite right.

Things scale so that you want everything in one trade zone. It's better to have 5 trade posts in 1 trade zone, then 5 different trade zones (geographically separated) which each consistent of a single trade post.

If those 5 sea provinces are connected and/or you control the appropriate sea zones, then they should provide the same trade value as if they will all in one sea province.
Click to expand...

blargh Halcyan, you're confusing me. What "he" said IS quite right. "He" being Ringhloth in post 8: "Note that the value of a trade zone increases linearly with the amount of posts owned. So, a trade zone of one sea province with 5 trade posts is worth the same as a trade zone of five sea provinces with one trade post each." It's the same as what you're saying.

But anyway, if you're both right, I'm glad I don't have to test it... but I do want to know how exactly the "Trade Zone Bonus" is calculated. Has anyone tested this yet? Which is better; two adjacent sea provinces with one containing 3 trade posts and the other containing 1 trade post or the two adjacent sea provinces with two trade ports per sea province? (obviously assuming one family 'owns' both sea provinces)
 
Last edited:
blargh Halcyan, you're confusing me. What "he" said IS quite right. "He" being Ringhloth in post 8: "Note that the value of a trade zone increases linearly with the amount of posts owned. So, a trade zone of one sea province with 5 trade posts is worth the same as a trade zone of five sea provinces with one trade post each." It's the same as what you're saying.

But anyway, if you're both right, I'm glad I don't have to test it... but I do want to know how exactly the "Trade Zone Bonus" is calculated. Has anyone tested this yet? Which is better; two adjacent sea provinces with one containing 3 trade posts and the other containing 1 trade post or the two adjacent sea provinces with two trade ports per sea province? (obviously assuming one family 'owns' both sea provinces)
Click to expand...

Assuming all trade posts are equally developed as well as the provinces in terms of tech and city development the two will be equal assuming your layout is either adjoining provinces or has control of both sea zones.

For example:

a-b-c-d are your 4 trade posts, assuming any of the following are true you will get the same bonus (with the tech, city, development caveat from above)

1) the provinces containing the 4 trade posts all physically border each other in some fashion or other (Amalfi, Benevento, Neapolis, Capua) regardless of sea zones and their control

or

2) any that don't share a physical border can be connected through controlled sea zone(s) (Amalfi, Neapolis, Capua + Panarmos if no other posts in Strait of Messene contest that sea zone)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back