How To Keep Ahead

[Duke of Adamski]

Okay, so I am playing as Britain, it is now around 1855, all is going well, the Empire is quiet and stable, money is rolling in etc, there was an awkward revolution about a decade before that overthrew the monarchy but heyho.

Now, my problem is that the French economy is growing much faster than mine and will overtake mine by the end of the decade at the current rate, they are allready level pegging with me on military.

So my question is, what do I do to boost my economic growth, I have done the things I could think, no taxes for rich etc, but other than that I dont have a clue. I have set my national focuses to Promote Capitalists, but other than that I am stumped.

What do you suggest that I should do?

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[GC13]

I assume you're stuck on Laissez Faire? That's a really tough economic system to be under in Victoria 2. I haven't tried it long-term from a developed economy, but I do know that it takes almost a year to get back to where your economy had been as Interventionist after a small dip (whereas the Interventionist would have been growing that entire year).

So if you can't bring yourself up, you'll have to drag France down. Look at what their spherelings are producing, and go after the ones making anything good (coal and iron, especially). If you can beat them in a land war then certainly occupy their lands, as that messes up the economy big time. Even if you can't, it's only twenty war score to take someone from their sphere, and a lot of prestige for you too. You can beat them at sea, right?

 

[Duke of Adamski]

Yeah stuck on laizzez faire, and yes indeed the RN is still supreme in Europe, I thought about a devastating little war with them to drag them down, problem is that they are allied with Prussia, so my number one go to European steamroller is out of the running. It might come down to it that I will just have to launch a preemptive war on them as soon as possible. Luckily India is pretty secure.

I was considering trying to engineer a crisis whereby France would face a large European coalition, that would wreck them completely, but no joy so far, ended up with a little conflict in the Balkans between myself and Austria instead, not quite what I was aiming for lol.

I am still about eighty points ahead so there is still time, problem is that I cannot foresee any interventionist governments anytime soon, stupid Jacobin revolution.

Cheers anyway.

 

[LordSolar]

stop using your national focus on capitalists and start using it on craftsmen. You really don't need more then one capitalist per state

 

[Duke of Adamski]

stop using your national focus on capitalists and start using it on craftsmen. You really don't need more then one capitalist per state

Ah, I didnt know that, I will give it a try.

 

[Shatterfury]

Ah, I didnt know that, I will give it a try.

Try to get a state capitalism party in power and redesign your economy from scratch.At worst, get interventionism, that way you can subsidise the factories that you want to keep.

Use your focus to promote loyalty towards a party.Be careful what choices you make in elections, they affect the party that gets chosen to rule.If you can`t promote the party you want to bring in, then chose the option that hurts the liberals.

 

[unmerged(376721)]

1. Don't be too preoccupied with promoting craftsmen or capitalist at first 20 years. The UK has very low literacy rate relative to France and Prussia, you should bring clergy level to 3% of British states and 4% to Irish states. But first bring up admin rate at British states. France's industrial score will eventually run out of steam due to low population growth.

2. Ditch LF, go state capitalism from the onset, build factories up to 6-7 slots per state, and constantly upgrade them. Then try your best to stay conservative for the first 50 years or so.

3. Build, upgrade ports vigorously throughout.

4. Humiliate Panjab, then march ALL your armies from India all the way to Europe. Faster than transporting via ship pre-Suez.

5. Kill France's ship, repeatedly. Kill some Prussian and Russian's ships as well. Total blockage. With the exception of...

6. Channel Island, and the crossing. Use that two as kill zones.

7. Ignore infamy. Strip everyone of their oversea colonial holdings. Monopolize the whole colonial race.

8. Also, don't build steamer, over rated, take up 2 precious navy points. Build good old clipper instead. Save all those navy points for war ship.

 

[Duke of Adamski]

I will try that as well, mercifully I still have the sensible first past the post system, who needs democracy when you can have stability eh, I have I figure about ten years to turn the nation around. Failing all that I will just have to launch a titanic war against France, to wreck them, I may lose my lead, but they wont benefit from it. The rise of the US is pretty inevitable I think, but I can at least do something about Europe.

 

[Shatterfury]

I will try that as well, mercifully I still have the sensible first past the post system, who needs democracy when you can have stability eh, I have I figure about ten years to turn the nation around. Failing all that I will just have to launch a titanic war against France, to wreck them, I may lose my lead, but they wont benefit from it. The rise of the US is pretty inevitable I think, but I can at least do something about Europe.

Have you taken care of the Yanks?

Don`t worry about France, Prussia will go for their behinds sooner of later and Germany will give you a run for your money in the Industrial race.

If you don`t want to exchange France for Germany, let France alone or help them when Prussia goes for the kill.

 

[Orko80]

In my opinion and experience no taxes on rich is the wrong way to go. If you have established an Industry. You only want to tax them low if you want to kick start economy.
With an established industry you want to shift taxes to the rich. lower taxes on middle and poor. This will enable your POP's to buy more goods. Increasing your overall market. Since there are significant more poor than rich. The rich will already be able to afford their needs.
Bigger home market leads to more goods being produced in your factories. More profits more employed workers more industry score.

More POP's with needs fulfilled less militancy less emigration. More workers.

 

[Duke of Adamski]

Okay, quick update on the situation. I couldn't make a war with France work, the problems were too insurmountable due to alliance system, so I elected to become friendly with France, if I can't beat them and they get better then me then at least I can have no conflict. Furthermore I have increased Tarriffs to try to stimulate a domestic market as well as almost completely cutting taxes for the lower and middle classes' I am further trying to sway the population towards voting Tory, which goes against the grain in real life lol.

Then, shock horror, France and Prussia break their alliance, and, shock, France offers an alliance with me. Should I accept do you think? I am tempted to, and then to draw the French into a war that cannot be won, maybe against Prussia, and let France be destroyed, or at least partially ravaged, while I sit high and pretty on my island behind my fleet, happily blockading my way to white peace. Would that work do you think?

 

[Shatterfury]

Okay, quick update on the situation. I couldn't make a war with France work, the problems were too insurmountable due to alliance system, so I elected to become friendly with France, if I can't beat them and they get better then me then at least I can have no conflict. Furthermore I have increased Tarriffs to try to stimulate a domestic market as well as almost completely cutting taxes for the lower and middle classes' I am further trying to sway the population towards voting Tory, which goes against the grain in real life lol.

Then, shock horror, France and Prussia break their alliance, and, shock, France offers an alliance with me. Should I accept do you think? I am tempted to, and then to draw the French into a war that cannot be won, maybe against Prussia, and let France be destroyed, or at least partially ravaged, while I sit high and pretty on my island behind my fleet, happily blockading my way to white peace. Would that work do you think?

Well tbh, if you are willing to ignore industrial score, go with Prussia and assist them in forming Germany.Germany will be the continental land power and you the sea power.Germany will have little to no colonies while you will spar with France over colonies.With Germany as ally you can start a war with any European power and win it easily.

You will have more overall score then them since you will have a bigger army due to indian troops, navy and prestige.

 

[GC13]

Quick note here: increasing tariffs won't do anything to boost your domestic market. Since goods are the same price worldwide, pops will already attempt to buy things on the domestic market before trying to find a source outside of your common market.

I'm not so sure deliberately losing a war is the way to go. You might take a big hit to your prestige, after all.

 

[Orko80]

There is a big question to be had. Did you unlock great war's yet? If you did loosing a war will be devastating...
You have always the option not to honor your alliance..

also increasing tariffs is a big no no if you want to stimulate your market. It only takes away money out of your economy. If you want to boost it make negative tariff's so your industry can buy resources cheaper from the world market.
The market works always the same. Your nation will always buy from your common market first before it moves to the world market.

 

[unmerged(376721)]

Okay, quick update on the situation. I couldn't make a war with France work, the problems were too insurmountable due to alliance system, so I elected to become friendly with France, if I can't beat them and they get better then me then at least I can have no conflict. Furthermore I have increased Tarriffs to try to stimulate a domestic market as well as almost completely cutting taxes for the lower and middle classes' I am further trying to sway the population towards voting Tory, which goes against the grain in real life lol.

Then, shock horror, France and Prussia break their alliance, and, shock, France offers an alliance with me. Should I accept do you think? I am tempted to, and then to draw the French into a war that cannot be won, maybe against Prussia, and let France be destroyed, or at least partially ravaged, while I sit high and pretty on my island behind my fleet, happily blockading my way to white peace. Would that work do you think?

Hi Duke of Adamski,
I don't understand why is war with France was 'too insurmountable?' Of course you need more brigades in Europe. 10-20 wouldn't do. A minimum of 100 is required, give or take. If you setup the kill-zones properly, you can take on all of Europe.

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Again, don't focus on industry for the first 1/3 of the game, other than setting up the proper factory chain and ample vacancy. Focus on literacy and and navy. Once the literacy rate of Irish increases to certain level, there will be promotion/demotion to craftsmen en masse. You also need navy to grant statehood to various colonial holdings. I like the Caribbean holdings myself. Do you know that Caribbean, West Indies, Lesser Antilles, and Full Guanya, each and everyone of them is equivalent to a medium France state in term of industry score contribution, if invested properly?

 

[Duke of Adamski]

Insurmountable only because of Frances alliances at the time. Spain, Holland and Prussia. Lots of coastline to cover. I m allied to France now and seem to be pulling ahead of them, have increased by lead o about 150 points again.

Luckily no great wars yet, which is good for leaving options open.

So I dropped tarriffs completely and put in minor subsidies, plus I finally ot a Conservative government so expansion and investment again yay!

 

[Shatterfury]

Insurmountable only because of Frances alliances at the time. Spain, Holland and Prussia. Lots of coastline to cover. I m allied to France now and seem to be pulling ahead of them, have increased by lead o about 150 points again.

Luckily no great wars yet, which is good for leaving options open.

So I dropped tarriffs completely and put in minor subsidies, plus I finally ot a Conservative government so expansion and investment again yay!

Regardless, Prussia will declare war on France for Elsass Lothringen, so be prepared for a war.Have they yet formed the NGF ?

British Conservatives are interventionist, not state capitalist?I guess they are interventionist, that is the norm.

I don`t know about dropping tarrifs, if you have a stranglehold of some products and or raw materials, it might be worth jamming up tariffs so you make sure the rest are paying double on their resources when they buy from you, this applies for you if you can subsidise your economy when you are interventionist.If you go back to L-A go for negative tariffs a.s.a.p.

 

[Orko80]

....
I don`t know about dropping tarrifs, if you have a stranglehold of some products and or raw materials, it might be worth jamming up tariffs so you make sure the rest are paying double on their resources when they buy from you, this applies for you if you can subsidise your economy when you are interventionist.If you go back to L-A go for negative tariffs a.s.a.p.

Sadly that is not how tariffs work in game. Only your POP's are affected by them.

 

[Shatterfury]

Sadly that is not how tariffs work in game. Only your POP's are affected by them.

But it doesn`t make any sense, your pops should be immune to them, only the foreigners should pay them.It`s a VAT not tariffs.Bloody hell, are you 100% sure ?

 

[Orko80]

But it doesn`t make any sense, your pops should be immune to them, only the foreigners should pay them.It`s a VAT not tariffs.Bloody hell, are you 100% sure ?

Yes I am sure. It only affects anyone in your nation. Every other nation is not affected by your tariff setting. It is how the world market works. There is no trading between nations. only that big blob of the world market where every excess good get dumped into after the common markets got processed.

So sadly only your own POP's and industry are affected. Not even your SOI uses your tariffs.