For me or not for me?

[MattyT]

Hey guys,

Playing with the idea of purchasing and investing some time into Victoria 2. However, I seem to be hit and miss with Paradox titles.

CK2 - Is probably my favourite game of all time.
Stellaris - Absolutely love it.
EU4 - Like all elements of the game other than warfare. Stopped playing it. I can't get used to the idea of frequently losing battles wherein my troops out-number the enemy 5 to 1. I understand the factors that cause this but all the same - not for me. Broken too many mice already and uninstalled / reinstalled it too many times.
HOI4 - I've probably only invested about 20 hours into this and really, really wanted to love it. But it just didn't hook me and felt like a bit of a chore.
Imperator - I'm saying nothing other than refund please.
CS - Awesome.

My question is, given the age of Victoria 2 and given the games that I do enjoy, do you folks think Victoria would be worth the investment (in time more than money)?

Thanks chaps.

Matt

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

I can't get used to the idea of frequently losing battles wherein my troops out-number the enemy 5 to 1.
I understand the factors that cause this but all the same - not for me.

That's the only part of the info that appears to tell me something i can work with.

You have to understand how battles work and what you need for your armies to function properly.
In short, bigger numbers don't automatically win.

Maybe reading this helps: https://lparchive.org/Victoria-II/
...
or this Wiki Beginners Guide
https://vic2.paradoxwikis.com/Beginner's_guide
or this to see if this beginners advice already turns you off
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...a-ii-any-advice-or-tips.793246/#post-17818374

 

[Thrake]

If you aren't heavy into warfare then Vicky can be played without fighting offensive wars. In fact the AI will probably leave you do your own thing most of the time if you look strong enough (ie. don't bleed your army in wars).

IMO Vicky is about politics and economy mostly. So that could fit for you, maybe. Anyway, you can get it for a bargain during a sale.

 

[MattyT]

Thanks guys. Thinking I might give it a go. Can pick it up for £2.64. Less than a pint.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

Thanks guys. Thinking I might give it a go. Can pick it up for £2.64. Less than a pint.

You should really get the two expansions too. Basically required...also technicaly to get the latest patches.

 

[Kovax]

The base game is definitely "playable", but the expansions do a lot to balance it, otherwise France tends to build umpteen gazillion Luxury Clothing and Luxury Furniture factories, which are over-valued for industrial score, putting them in first place unless you do something radical to change it. The expansions even out the values of goods and solve a bunch of less annoying issues, as well as adding a lot of convenience features, but the economy still tends to get a bit wonky after 1900 or so. It's not perfect by any means (or there wouldn't be so much call for Victoria 3), but far and away the best 1800s "sim" out there, if you enjoy the timeframe.

This is very much a "micromanager's dream" kind of game, and the campaigns can be rather long, not really geared for the action junkie looking to put in a quick game between other activities. It's a "love it or hate it" experience, and it sounds like you're at least reasonably content with the CK/EU games, and a "probable" candidate for Victoria 2. Bear in mind that V2 tends to be a little less direct and not always obvious about what affects what. It tells you a lot less about why things are happening, at least until you know where to look and how to interpret it.

 

[RELee]

You must have the two major expansions. I can't emphasize that strongly enough. However, that's just my opinion.

 

[Jayavarman]

Yes.

 

[MattyT]

Hey guys,

Game purchased. 2 x expansion packs purchased. 7 hours of youtube beginners guide watched. Any suggests as to who I should play with first as a whiter-than-white beginner? I was thinking perhaps the US? My thinking was that I'll be a reasonable distance from other great powers (other than the UK / Canada obviously) and I could attempt to bring South America into my sphere of influence / control?

Cheers guys.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

Hey guys,

Game purchased. 2 x expansion packs purchased. 7 hours of youtube beginners guide watched. Any suggests as to who I should play with first as a whiter-than-white beginner?

I'd recommend Brasil, Hawaii or allegedly Oranje as good for a slow, uninterrupted learning game.
See descriptions in country links here https://vic2.paradoxwikis.com/Countries

The US has lot of events popping up and some forced railroading events that can overwhelm (and annoy to a degree) a new player.
So a only 50/50 recommendation from me.

If you want action though, just go with one of the European powers..or easy eastasian superpower Japan.

 

[Kovax]

Playing a Great Power adds a whole extra layer of complication, where you have to worry about spheres of influence. Playing as a significant lesser power is much easier for learning. Once you've learned how to manage an economy, Prussia makes a good game for learning spheres of influence, where you first need to sphere or annex all of the pieces to create the North German Federation, and then Germany.

At the start, depending on which country you play, you may need to set taxes up to 90-100% (your tax efficiency is probably low enough at the start that only 20-40% will actually be taxed), and possibly charge some tariffs as well, in order to cover your expenses. As your pops become more literate and "conscious", they will demand more and more, and you'll have to reduce taxes to allow them to afford more.

I generally use my National Focus point initially to increase Bureaucrats in the more lucrative regions up to about 80% Administrative effectiveness, if possible, which provides a much-improved cash flow. Techs and normal growth will gradually bring that up to 100% in most regions, and any bureaucrats over 100% effectiveness gain you nothing but still need to be paid, so you don't want to create some overgrown bureaucratic monster that eats all your income. Once your treasury is safely in the black, you can switch that NF point to promote Clerics, which will increase Literacy, boost your research, and lower the Consciousness of your pops (making them demand less). After that, it's pretty much up to you and the country you're playing.

 

[Hjaldrgud]

Brazil and Sweden are great noob countries. When you get the hang of it and want to play a GP, go for Japan, Prussia or USA.

 

[MattyT]

Thanks all! The pointers are much appreciated! Think i'm going to get started with Brazil and see how things go! No doubt i'll be back on with a million questions soon enough!

Cheers chaps.

 

[MattyT]

Hey guys - was having a quiet run with Brazil. Slowly learning the ropes. Reclaimed a couple of Brazilian cores. Got called into a few wars by allies. Literacy was creeping up. Built a few factories. Started to climb (after initially plummeting) the world rankings. Then... I fell into the UK's sphere. My finances are shot (I believe due to Brazil no longer making money on tariffs)? It's crippled me. Is that it now? How do I leave the sphere as it's bringing me nothing and driving me into the ground.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

.. My finances are shot (I believe due to Brazil no longer making money on tariffs)?

IF you relied on tariffs, then definitely yes.
In case of Brasil i kind of share the opinion, as you mostly rely on agriculture early on, that you can also max out taxes for all classes early.

Saving money by reducing unnecessary budgets like navy and military maintenance in National Stockpile and as long as no war i coming also reduced military spending (~55-65%).
I also hope you disbanded your navy. Useless and too expansive in the beginning.

Apart form that i leave it to others to make recommendations, simply as i haven't played Vic2 for a while.

 

[Guedes]

Hey guys - was having a quiet run with Brazil. Slowly learning the ropes. Reclaimed a couple of Brazilian cores. Got called into a few wars by allies. Literacy was creeping up. Built a few factories. Started to climb (after initially plummeting) the world rankings. Then... I fell into the UK's sphere. My finances are shot (I believe due to Brazil no longer making money on tariffs)? It's crippled me. Is that it now? How do I leave the sphere as it's bringing me nothing and driving me into the ground.

The reason your economy crashed is because before you sold your excess production at world market and got paid for it. When you get on uk soi, you sell on soi market and essentially dont get paid. Yes, Soi markets work that way....

The best way to not get sphered is becoming a gp yourself. How do you do that? As Brazil the best way is farming prestige through tech and kicking your weak neighbours ass eventually.

If you don't become a gp as Brazil you will eventually get sphered by either uk, us or france (or even netherlands if it is a gp). I recommend you to restart at that point.

 

[Thrake]

Brazil should aim to get its core back ASAP. Not because the provinces are interesting in any way, but because you get lots of prestige from the CB fighting nations which can barely field an army. You won't get infamy from it so try to add some prestige CB on top to rank up (which will allow you to buy otherwise scarce goods).

 

[MattyT]

Definitely starting to scratch the surface here. Discovered how to choose which factories I build and where rather than the crap spewed out through projects. I'm now the second largest supplier of luxury furniture and self reliant with artillery and small arms. Economy booming!

Really starting to make some headway. However, attempted to annex Bolivia which didn't go down well with the US which joined the war on Bolivia's side (despite not being an ally or sphere master - which I didn't understand). 26k US troops landed in Northern Brazil. I met them with 45k Brazilian troops (50% infantry, 40% artillery and 10% cav) and basically got a hammering. Assuming because they have better military tech and my generals stats are appalling. I accepted their peace terms (releasing Bolivia) and discovered all of my factories were closed and I was £20k in debt - a large portion of which was to the American's whom had been lending me money to fight them in a war.

Really impressed so far with this game. Not started playing with influence or colonisation yet either. Already prefer it to EU4 and HOI. I wonder if they'll release a Victoria 3.

 

[Thrake]

the US which joined the war on Bolivia's side (despite not being an ally or sphere master - which I didn't understand)

GP can intervene in favor of any country when they have friendly attitude (influence). They only use status quo CB which is akin to a white peace. You annexed Bolivia through a separate peace I assume which transforms the status quo CB into release Bolivia CB.

26k US troops landed in Northern Brazil. I met them with 45k Brazilian troops (50% infantry, 40% artillery and 10% cav) and basically got a hammering.

Yes, military technology plays a big role. Brazil starts out with low literacy so you will lag behind in technology. If you don't focus on land technology you will have a hard time against military powers. I mean, you don't have to as Brazil, you probably won't have anyone dangerous actively go after you, so you could just focus on economic build up but then you must keep a low profile until you catch up or can drawn people under Brazilians. Generals are important too though I never had an issue having too few officers pop, I usually have 10s of leaders to choose from.

You also need to make sure you are at maximum organization before fighting, ie. check you have nationale stockpile slider maxed out for the military and wait (organization was low and is increasing to the max). If you really play a backwater you might suffer from goods shortage (meaning organization suffers) but it doesn't look it was the case for you.

discovered all of my factories were closed

It happens when the enemy occupies your provinces: RGO and factories stop producing, fire everyone and close: mass unemployment drives militancy up, beware, it's the recipe for rebelion issues and that sort of things can have lasting consequences. Limiting how much/how long your provinces are occupied should be a priority. Wars also tend to mess the economy up, sometimes you'll see your income plumet when you're at peace but there's a massive war going on in Europe.

Not started playing with influence or colonisation yet either.

Other than in the very begining where most countries can't colonize anything of note, everyone will get to colonize Africa at the same time. You must research all the life rating technologies (their discoveries) if you want your piece of colonies.

 

[grimkm]

Also, a good tactic when fighting, especially against stronger countries is defensive wars. Let the yanks attack you in the depths of the Amazonas. You get a "dig in" bonus as well. 1 level for every 5 days or so I believe, up to your maximum level (tech based).

For colonisation, I'd not recommend doing so with countries in the americas. You get no migration to speak off to your colonies. If you're european or asian, you can fill up your colonies with your people and convert them to states. There are some benefits to this which include efficiency and output, etc.