Missionary & Conversion FAQ v1.08
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Index
I Overview
Ia. What is a missionary and what does he do?
Ib. So how do I get missionaries?
Ic. How do I use them?
Id. What are the effects of a conversion?
Ie. What variables affect the conversion process?
If. Is there another way to convert a province?
II Cost to Convert
IIa. What variables directly affect the cost to convert?
IIb. What is the formula for calculating cost to convert?
IIc. Can you explain that in English?
IId. Are there any special rules?
III Chance of Conversion
IIIa. What variables directly affect the chance of conversion?
IIIb. What is the formula for chance of conversion?
IIIc. Can you explain this bit slower, in English?
IIId. What if your state religion is Pagan?
IV Time to Convert
IVa. What factors affect time to convert?
IVb. What is the formula for time to convert?
IVc. Can you explain that simpler?
V Conclusions
Va. How do I compare conversion costs of two provinces with different costs and success rates?
Vb. Should I convert large or small provinces first?
Vc. What factors are most important in determining whether a conversion will be a reasonably possible?
Vd. Dude, you are such a lamer! I found an obvious error in your FAQ! What is the best way to let you know you have been pwned?
I Overview
Ia. What is a missionary and what does he do?
A missionary is what is used to convert a province to your state religion. You will receive or lose a certain number per year, depending on your religion and slider settings. The most that can be stored at one time is six, but you can have as many working at once as you can manage. To see how many missionaries you have, look at the upper right hand corner of the game screen at the little guy with the white collar. The number beside the scroll is how many missionaries you currently have. If you hover the cursor over the number, a tool tip will pop-up telling you how many you gain or lose per year, and break the down the factors of each. Very handy.
Ib. So how do I get missionaries?
You will generate or lose merchants annually depending on your domestic policy settings and religion. Domestic policy usually plays the more important role. The only slider that matters is the innovativeness slider. At innovativeness 0 you gain 2.00 missionaries a year, at innovativeness 10 you lose 2.00 missionaries a year, with each increment in between affecting it by 0.40 missionaries. Here is a simple chart:
Religion also affect missionaries. This varies by religion, and is always a bonus of anywhere from 0.00 to 2.00 missionaries a year. Here is a listing of the religions and the bonuses they provide:
To give a simple example, a reformed England with an innovativeness setting of 3 will generate 1.30 missionaries a year, broken down as +0.80 domestic policy, +0.50 religion.
Most missionaries are gained though annual production as described above. You can, however, also receive them in set amounts with some historical and random events, but such events are rare.
Ic. How do I use them?
Easy! Select the "missionary" button on the interface on the left (again ,the guy with the white collar). Any province you own not of the state religion will have the symbol of its religion on it. If you hover over the province, it will list the cost to convert, time to convert and chance of success. In order to convert, you must have a spare missionary and the required amount of gold. Assuming you meet the requirements just left click on the province and click convert. You will then see the priest/monk/shaman/whatever doing his thing on the province while the conversion is in progress. To see how much time is left, hover the mouse over the figure and it will tell you time remaining.
At the end of the conversion process, one of two things will happen. Hopefully, you will receive a message saying the conversion was successful. If that is the case, the province converts to your state religion and your missionary has done his job. If (as it often happens) he is unsuccessful, not only will you lose the money and the missionary with no return, but the province will revolt. Besides the revolt there are no other negative effects of a failed conversion, and you may try again at no additional penalty. Please note that whether a conversion is successful is determined at the time the missionary is sent. Saving and reloading does not change this. This means if you send a missionary under a good monarch, and a bad monarch subsequently takes the throne (or vice versa) the chance and time to convert are only affected by the monarch on the throne the moment you sent the missionary. Should you lose control of a province, the missionary working there will disappear from the map and cannot be recovered. The funds spent on him are lost with no recourse.
Id. What are the effects of a conversion?
Although not technically about missionaries, it is useful to review the effects of a province not of the state religion. Speaking very generally, a province that is not state religion suffers from increased revolt risk, lowered province tax income and, most importantly, greatly increased stability cost. Converting Pagan provinces is also very useful, since that will convert the culture of the province to your national culture.
Ie. What variables affect the conversion process?
The three basic factors when converting a province are cost to convert, time required to convert and chance of success. These factors are affected by many variables, and sections II, III and IV will detail exactly how each is affected. (For clarity's sake, whenever I refer to a factor, I am speaking of one of the three basic factors as listed above. Whenever I use the term variable, I am referring to something that modifies a basic factor). At the moment I will simply list the variables that have some effect, and some that do not. Please note not all factors are effected by all variables listed below; for example cost to convert is not affected by monarch administrative skill. If a variable is listed as "has an effect" it means it affects at least one, but not necessarily all three, of the basic factors.
Has an effect:
Province population, culture, monarch administrative skill, fortress size, inflation, basic tax value and whether a province is connected by land to the capital. Also, Pagan religions/provinces have special rules.
Has no effect:
Slider settings, stability, state religion, province religion, game year, tech group, previous missionary attempts, trade goods, colony status and province improvements other than fortress.
Here is a chart showing which variables affect which factors:
If. Is there another way to convert a province?
There are two other ways a province can be converted. The first is through the random event "conversion of heretics", which will convert one non-state religion province in your empire at random to the state religion. This is a wonderful event, and can save you thousands of ducats if it manages to hit a particularly difficult province. Unfortunately, although you can increase the odds of it triggering through slider settings, there is no way it can be dependably triggered, so I usually view it as more of a free gift rather than a conversion technique. There are two random conversion events, one of which only kicks in if your innovativeness is 3 or lower. It is also worth noting that the event shafts counter-reformed Catholics, since it will often target already catholic provinces, making the event worthless for them.
The second alternative to player conversion is some historical events convert provinces. These are stored in the event files of the appropriate nation and are fixed throughout the game. The most obvious one is Constantinople converting to Sunni after an Ottoman event, but there are ones for Spain, England, France and a host of other countries. Some consider it cheating so I will not list them here, but if you really want to know if a country has a historical conversion event, feel free to check that countries event file.
Also note event based conversions do not change the culture of a pagan province. Since pagan provinces are easy to convert, this means you usually do not want random conversion events hitting your pagan provinces, since there is no way to change the culture once the province religion is no longer pagan.
II Cost to convert
IIa. What variables directly affect the cost to convert?
The cost to convert a province is only affected by the province population, base tax value, inflation and whether there is a land connection to the capital.
IIb. What is the formula for calculating cost to convert?
There are two formulas, one for when there is a land connection, one for when there is not a land connection.
With land connection:
C = (100 + DF + (4 * BTV) + (.004 * P)) * (1 + I)
C = cost to convert
BTV = Base tax value
DF = distance factor
P = Population
I = inflation
DF seems to range from 0 – 10 ducats, depending. I am not sure exactly how it is computed, but it is higher further away from your capital. Even maxed, it is not very material to the cost of the conversion.
Example:
Wales has a population of 25,850 and a base tax value of 6. Inflation is 20 percent and the distance factor is 2. Cost to convert is calculated as follows:
C = (100 + DF (4 * BTV) + (.004 * P)) * (1+I)
C = (100 + 2 + (4*6) + (.004*25850)) * (1+0.20)
C = (100 + 2 +24 + 103.40) * 1.20
C = 274
Very simple. Slightly more complicated (and expensive) for overseas provinces.
Here is the formula for converting cost with no land connection to the capital. Please note this includes all islands as well as provinces on the same land mass separated by other countries provinces, including your own vassals.
C = (175 + DF + (7 * BTV) + (.007 * P)) * (1 + I)
C = cost to convert
DF = distance factor
BTV = Base tax value
P = Population
I = inflation
Same as above but the costs are higher. Also, I am not sure exactly how the distance factor is calculated for provinces lacking a land connection. It appears to be a function of how far away the province is from the capital, since moving the capital changes the factor. It tends to be from 0 - 50d depending. For example, British-controlled Massachusetts is an extra 21d for the distance factor. Since there is no perfect way to calculate it, it is going to have to be estimated in most cases. Importantly, it is not a multiplier but a lump sum cost added, so it is usually not so important.
Example:
Delaware has a population of 15,250 and base tax value of 5. Inflation is at 10 percent and the distance factor is 24.
C = (175 + DF + (7 * BTV) + (.007 * P)) * (1 + I)
C = (175 + 24 + (7*5) + (.007*15,250)) * (1+0.10)
C = (175 + 24 +35 + 106.75) * 1.10
C = (340.75) * 1.10
C = 374.825
IIc. Can you explain that in English?
Alright, simple as possible. To convert a province with a land connection to the capital, it will cost you a minimum of 100d. Throw in an extra 4d per base tax value of the province, and throw in an extra 4d for each 1,000 population. Overseas provinces will generally cost a little less than twice as much as a home province to convert. To convert these, it will usually cost you anywhere from 175-225d base, plus an extra 7d per basic tax value and extra 7d per 1,000 population. Like most things, the cost is directly modified by your inflation.
IId. Are there any special rules?
It is useful to know if a province loses a land connection, the price for conversion does not increase until you save and reload the game.
III. Chance of conversion
IIIa. What variables directly affect the chance of conversion?
Chance of conversion is affected by province population, monarch administrative skill, fortress size, a small distance factor and province culture.
IIIb. What is the formula for chance of conversion?
Here is the formula for calculating chance of conversion:
C = (0.30 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
C = chance of conversion
A = monarch administrative skill
F = fortress size
DF = Distance factor
P = province population
CF = culture factor (n/a if Pagan province)
The monarch administrative skill cannot be less than 0 or more than 9, even if events actually push it higher or lower.
Fortress size converts whatever fortress to a number from 0 to 6:
Distance factor kicks in if there is no land connection to the capital. If present it is always 4 percent.
Province population is capped at 100,000 for this formula, so (P * .000002) can never be more than 0.20.
The culture factor is 1.00 if the same as your accepted cultures, and 0.50 if not an accepted culture. Pagan provinces receive no culture penalty.
Example A:
Wales has a population 130,000 and the fortress size is small. It has an accepted state culture and it's monarch has an administrative skill of 7. Distance factor is 0.
A = 7
F = 2
DF = 0
P = 100,000 (cap)
CF = 1.00
C = (0.30 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
C = (0.30 + (.04*7) + (.02*2) - (100,000*.000002)) * 1
C = 0.30 + 0.28 + 0.04 - 0.20
C = 42%
Example B:
Venice has a population 80,125 and the fortress size is minimal. It has a non-accepted state culture and it's monarch has an administrative skill of 8, which is raised by event to 11. It has the full distance factor of 4 percent.
A = 9 (capped)
F = 1
DF = 0.04
P = 80,125
CF = 1.00
C = (0.30 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
C = (0.30 – 0.04 + (.04*9) + (.02*1) - (80,125*.000002)) * 0.50
C = (0.30 – 0.04 + 0.36 + 0.02 - 0.16) * 0.50
C = 0.48 * 0.50
C = 24%
IIIc. Can you explain this bit slower, in English?
I'll give it a shot. You start out with a base chance to convert a province of 30%. You then add 4% per point of monarch administrative skill (up to 36%), 2% per fortress level and subtract 1% per 5,000 population (up to 20%). If it is a non-accepted culture, you divide the whole result by 2, unless the religion of the province you are converting is Pagan.
IIId. What if your state religion is Pagan?
If you are Pagan, the formula is the same, except you are given a base chance of 0.50 instead of 0.30. Essentially, all Pagans have a 20 percent bonus to the conversion chance formula. Here is the formula for Pagans:
C = (0.50 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
IV Time to convert
IVa. What factors affect time to convert?
Time to convert is only affected by distance from the capital and monarch administrative rating.
IVb. What is the formula for time to convert?
Here’s the formula for calculating time to convert:
T = 36 + (12 * (9-A)) + DF
T = Time to convert
A = Monarch administrative rating
DF = Distance factor (always at least one)
Administrative rating s capped at 9.
Distance factor cannot be directly calculated, but is generally 1-2 months for every province away from the capital. The bigger the provinces (Russia versus France) the higher the penalty per province. There is no specific penalty for crossing a body of water.
Example:
Novgorod is 8 provinces from the capital and has a distance factor of 15. The monarch administrative rating is 6.
A = 6
DF = 15
T = 36 + (12 * (9-A)) + DF
T = 36 + (12*(9-6)) +15
T = 36+ (12*3) + 15
T = 36 + 36 + 15
T = 87 months
IVc. Can you explain that simpler?
How long it takes you to convert a province depends mainly on your monarch skill. It will be a minimum of three years, plus one year for each administrative point it takes to get your monarch skill up to nine and two months (or so) for every province the target is separated from the capital.
V Other miscellaneous questions
Va. How do I compare conversion costs of two provinces with different costs and success rates?
The best way to compare conversion costs is to compute what I think of as the true cost of conversion. Let's say you had a province with a 30 percent conversion rate that costs 150d per attempt. It might take you one try, it might take you 10 tries to convert it. But let's say you had 100 such identical provinces, and tried to convert them all. At the end, chances are you will have converted 30 of 100 provinces and spent 15,000d (100*150). If you got 30 conversions for 15,000d, you spent 500d per conversion. 500d is the true average price of this conversion - it will be more or less in this game, but if you play enough, it will average out to 500d.
The quick way to calculate the true cost of conversion for any province is to divide the cost to convert by the conversion percentage. So if it costs 480d to convert with a 28% success chance, the true cost of conversion is 480 / 0.28 or 1,714d.
Vb. Should I convert large or small provinces first?
It has been my experience the greatest benefits of province conversions in most cases is lowered stability costs. Since stability costs do not vary by province size, focusing on smaller provinces allows you to convert more provinces quicker at a lowered cost in ducats, so I usually start with my smallest accepted culture provinces and work my way up, then go with my smallest non-accepted culture provinces and work my way up. Of course, any Pagan provinces are the top priority, since they are easy to convert and will change culture upon conversion.
The major exception to this is if I have an uber-monarch that will be replaced by some not so great ones in the future. If that is the case, I will often (ducats permitting) try to knock out the biggest, hardest provinces first, since converting difficult provinces is near impossible with lousy monarchs.
Vc. What factors are most important in determining whether a conversion will be a reasonably possible?
Overall, I find the following factors most important, in this order:
1) Whether province is Pagan
2) Whether culture is accepted
3) Monarch administrative skill
Generally, in order to get a decent chance of conversion, you need at least one of these factors, otherwise it will be a very low percentage chance.
Vd. Dude, you are such a lamer! I found an obvious error in your FAQ! What is the best way to let you know you have been pwned?
Send me a PM and I'll be glad to correct it.
Seriously, anyone who finds any sort of error is much appreciated. I tried to be as careful as possible, but I am sure I made mistakes.
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Index
I Overview
Ia. What is a missionary and what does he do?
Ib. So how do I get missionaries?
Ic. How do I use them?
Id. What are the effects of a conversion?
Ie. What variables affect the conversion process?
If. Is there another way to convert a province?
II Cost to Convert
IIa. What variables directly affect the cost to convert?
IIb. What is the formula for calculating cost to convert?
IIc. Can you explain that in English?
IId. Are there any special rules?
III Chance of Conversion
IIIa. What variables directly affect the chance of conversion?
IIIb. What is the formula for chance of conversion?
IIIc. Can you explain this bit slower, in English?
IIId. What if your state religion is Pagan?
IV Time to Convert
IVa. What factors affect time to convert?
IVb. What is the formula for time to convert?
IVc. Can you explain that simpler?
V Conclusions
Va. How do I compare conversion costs of two provinces with different costs and success rates?
Vb. Should I convert large or small provinces first?
Vc. What factors are most important in determining whether a conversion will be a reasonably possible?
Vd. Dude, you are such a lamer! I found an obvious error in your FAQ! What is the best way to let you know you have been pwned?
I Overview
Ia. What is a missionary and what does he do?
A missionary is what is used to convert a province to your state religion. You will receive or lose a certain number per year, depending on your religion and slider settings. The most that can be stored at one time is six, but you can have as many working at once as you can manage. To see how many missionaries you have, look at the upper right hand corner of the game screen at the little guy with the white collar. The number beside the scroll is how many missionaries you currently have. If you hover the cursor over the number, a tool tip will pop-up telling you how many you gain or lose per year, and break the down the factors of each. Very handy.
Ib. So how do I get missionaries?
You will generate or lose merchants annually depending on your domestic policy settings and religion. Domestic policy usually plays the more important role. The only slider that matters is the innovativeness slider. At innovativeness 0 you gain 2.00 missionaries a year, at innovativeness 10 you lose 2.00 missionaries a year, with each increment in between affecting it by 0.40 missionaries. Here is a simple chart:
Code:
Slider setting Missionaries Per Year
Innovativeness 0 +2.00
Innovativeness 1 +1.60
Innovativeness 2 +1.20
Innovativeness 3 +0.80
Innovativeness 4 +0.40
Innovativeness 5 +0.00
Innovativeness 6 -0.40
Innovativeness 7 -0.80
Innovativeness 8 -1.20
Innovativeness 9 -1.60
Innovativeness 10 -2.00Religion also affect missionaries. This varies by religion, and is always a bonus of anywhere from 0.00 to 2.00 missionaries a year. Here is a listing of the religions and the bonuses they provide:
Code:
Religion Missionaries Per Year
Counterreformed +2.00
Catholic +1.00
Orthodox +1.00
Sunni +1.00
Shiite +1.00
Buddhism +1.00
Protestant +0.50
Reformed +0.50
Confucianism +0.00
Hinduism +0.00
Paganism +0.00To give a simple example, a reformed England with an innovativeness setting of 3 will generate 1.30 missionaries a year, broken down as +0.80 domestic policy, +0.50 religion.
Most missionaries are gained though annual production as described above. You can, however, also receive them in set amounts with some historical and random events, but such events are rare.
Ic. How do I use them?
Easy! Select the "missionary" button on the interface on the left (again ,the guy with the white collar). Any province you own not of the state religion will have the symbol of its religion on it. If you hover over the province, it will list the cost to convert, time to convert and chance of success. In order to convert, you must have a spare missionary and the required amount of gold. Assuming you meet the requirements just left click on the province and click convert. You will then see the priest/monk/shaman/whatever doing his thing on the province while the conversion is in progress. To see how much time is left, hover the mouse over the figure and it will tell you time remaining.
At the end of the conversion process, one of two things will happen. Hopefully, you will receive a message saying the conversion was successful. If that is the case, the province converts to your state religion and your missionary has done his job. If (as it often happens) he is unsuccessful, not only will you lose the money and the missionary with no return, but the province will revolt. Besides the revolt there are no other negative effects of a failed conversion, and you may try again at no additional penalty. Please note that whether a conversion is successful is determined at the time the missionary is sent. Saving and reloading does not change this. This means if you send a missionary under a good monarch, and a bad monarch subsequently takes the throne (or vice versa) the chance and time to convert are only affected by the monarch on the throne the moment you sent the missionary. Should you lose control of a province, the missionary working there will disappear from the map and cannot be recovered. The funds spent on him are lost with no recourse.
Id. What are the effects of a conversion?
Although not technically about missionaries, it is useful to review the effects of a province not of the state religion. Speaking very generally, a province that is not state religion suffers from increased revolt risk, lowered province tax income and, most importantly, greatly increased stability cost. Converting Pagan provinces is also very useful, since that will convert the culture of the province to your national culture.
Ie. What variables affect the conversion process?
The three basic factors when converting a province are cost to convert, time required to convert and chance of success. These factors are affected by many variables, and sections II, III and IV will detail exactly how each is affected. (For clarity's sake, whenever I refer to a factor, I am speaking of one of the three basic factors as listed above. Whenever I use the term variable, I am referring to something that modifies a basic factor). At the moment I will simply list the variables that have some effect, and some that do not. Please note not all factors are effected by all variables listed below; for example cost to convert is not affected by monarch administrative skill. If a variable is listed as "has an effect" it means it affects at least one, but not necessarily all three, of the basic factors.
Has an effect:
Province population, culture, monarch administrative skill, fortress size, inflation, basic tax value and whether a province is connected by land to the capital. Also, Pagan religions/provinces have special rules.
Has no effect:
Slider settings, stability, state religion, province religion, game year, tech group, previous missionary attempts, trade goods, colony status and province improvements other than fortress.
Here is a chart showing which variables affect which factors:
Code:
[b]Factor[/b]
[b]Variable[/b] Cost Chance Time
Culture N Y N
Fortress Size N Y N
Population Y Y N
Admin. Rating N Y Y
Distance From Cap. Y Y Y
Land Conn. To capital Y N N
Inflation Y N N
Base Tax Value Y N N
Pagan State Religion N Y NIf. Is there another way to convert a province?
There are two other ways a province can be converted. The first is through the random event "conversion of heretics", which will convert one non-state religion province in your empire at random to the state religion. This is a wonderful event, and can save you thousands of ducats if it manages to hit a particularly difficult province. Unfortunately, although you can increase the odds of it triggering through slider settings, there is no way it can be dependably triggered, so I usually view it as more of a free gift rather than a conversion technique. There are two random conversion events, one of which only kicks in if your innovativeness is 3 or lower. It is also worth noting that the event shafts counter-reformed Catholics, since it will often target already catholic provinces, making the event worthless for them.
The second alternative to player conversion is some historical events convert provinces. These are stored in the event files of the appropriate nation and are fixed throughout the game. The most obvious one is Constantinople converting to Sunni after an Ottoman event, but there are ones for Spain, England, France and a host of other countries. Some consider it cheating so I will not list them here, but if you really want to know if a country has a historical conversion event, feel free to check that countries event file.
Also note event based conversions do not change the culture of a pagan province. Since pagan provinces are easy to convert, this means you usually do not want random conversion events hitting your pagan provinces, since there is no way to change the culture once the province religion is no longer pagan.
II Cost to convert
IIa. What variables directly affect the cost to convert?
The cost to convert a province is only affected by the province population, base tax value, inflation and whether there is a land connection to the capital.
IIb. What is the formula for calculating cost to convert?
There are two formulas, one for when there is a land connection, one for when there is not a land connection.
With land connection:
C = (100 + DF + (4 * BTV) + (.004 * P)) * (1 + I)
C = cost to convert
BTV = Base tax value
DF = distance factor
P = Population
I = inflation
DF seems to range from 0 – 10 ducats, depending. I am not sure exactly how it is computed, but it is higher further away from your capital. Even maxed, it is not very material to the cost of the conversion.
Example:
Wales has a population of 25,850 and a base tax value of 6. Inflation is 20 percent and the distance factor is 2. Cost to convert is calculated as follows:
C = (100 + DF (4 * BTV) + (.004 * P)) * (1+I)
C = (100 + 2 + (4*6) + (.004*25850)) * (1+0.20)
C = (100 + 2 +24 + 103.40) * 1.20
C = 274
Very simple. Slightly more complicated (and expensive) for overseas provinces.
Here is the formula for converting cost with no land connection to the capital. Please note this includes all islands as well as provinces on the same land mass separated by other countries provinces, including your own vassals.
C = (175 + DF + (7 * BTV) + (.007 * P)) * (1 + I)
C = cost to convert
DF = distance factor
BTV = Base tax value
P = Population
I = inflation
Same as above but the costs are higher. Also, I am not sure exactly how the distance factor is calculated for provinces lacking a land connection. It appears to be a function of how far away the province is from the capital, since moving the capital changes the factor. It tends to be from 0 - 50d depending. For example, British-controlled Massachusetts is an extra 21d for the distance factor. Since there is no perfect way to calculate it, it is going to have to be estimated in most cases. Importantly, it is not a multiplier but a lump sum cost added, so it is usually not so important.
Example:
Delaware has a population of 15,250 and base tax value of 5. Inflation is at 10 percent and the distance factor is 24.
C = (175 + DF + (7 * BTV) + (.007 * P)) * (1 + I)
C = (175 + 24 + (7*5) + (.007*15,250)) * (1+0.10)
C = (175 + 24 +35 + 106.75) * 1.10
C = (340.75) * 1.10
C = 374.825
IIc. Can you explain that in English?
Alright, simple as possible. To convert a province with a land connection to the capital, it will cost you a minimum of 100d. Throw in an extra 4d per base tax value of the province, and throw in an extra 4d for each 1,000 population. Overseas provinces will generally cost a little less than twice as much as a home province to convert. To convert these, it will usually cost you anywhere from 175-225d base, plus an extra 7d per basic tax value and extra 7d per 1,000 population. Like most things, the cost is directly modified by your inflation.
IId. Are there any special rules?
It is useful to know if a province loses a land connection, the price for conversion does not increase until you save and reload the game.
III. Chance of conversion
IIIa. What variables directly affect the chance of conversion?
Chance of conversion is affected by province population, monarch administrative skill, fortress size, a small distance factor and province culture.
IIIb. What is the formula for chance of conversion?
Here is the formula for calculating chance of conversion:
C = (0.30 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
C = chance of conversion
A = monarch administrative skill
F = fortress size
DF = Distance factor
P = province population
CF = culture factor (n/a if Pagan province)
The monarch administrative skill cannot be less than 0 or more than 9, even if events actually push it higher or lower.
Fortress size converts whatever fortress to a number from 0 to 6:
Code:
None 0
Minimal 1
Small 2
Medium 3
Large 4
Mighty 5
Maximum 6Distance factor kicks in if there is no land connection to the capital. If present it is always 4 percent.
Province population is capped at 100,000 for this formula, so (P * .000002) can never be more than 0.20.
The culture factor is 1.00 if the same as your accepted cultures, and 0.50 if not an accepted culture. Pagan provinces receive no culture penalty.
Example A:
Wales has a population 130,000 and the fortress size is small. It has an accepted state culture and it's monarch has an administrative skill of 7. Distance factor is 0.
A = 7
F = 2
DF = 0
P = 100,000 (cap)
CF = 1.00
C = (0.30 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
C = (0.30 + (.04*7) + (.02*2) - (100,000*.000002)) * 1
C = 0.30 + 0.28 + 0.04 - 0.20
C = 42%
Example B:
Venice has a population 80,125 and the fortress size is minimal. It has a non-accepted state culture and it's monarch has an administrative skill of 8, which is raised by event to 11. It has the full distance factor of 4 percent.
A = 9 (capped)
F = 1
DF = 0.04
P = 80,125
CF = 1.00
C = (0.30 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
C = (0.30 – 0.04 + (.04*9) + (.02*1) - (80,125*.000002)) * 0.50
C = (0.30 – 0.04 + 0.36 + 0.02 - 0.16) * 0.50
C = 0.48 * 0.50
C = 24%
IIIc. Can you explain this bit slower, in English?
I'll give it a shot. You start out with a base chance to convert a province of 30%. You then add 4% per point of monarch administrative skill (up to 36%), 2% per fortress level and subtract 1% per 5,000 population (up to 20%). If it is a non-accepted culture, you divide the whole result by 2, unless the religion of the province you are converting is Pagan.
IIId. What if your state religion is Pagan?
If you are Pagan, the formula is the same, except you are given a base chance of 0.50 instead of 0.30. Essentially, all Pagans have a 20 percent bonus to the conversion chance formula. Here is the formula for Pagans:
C = (0.50 - DF + (.04 * A) + (.02 * F) - (P * 0.000002)) * CF
IV Time to convert
IVa. What factors affect time to convert?
Time to convert is only affected by distance from the capital and monarch administrative rating.
IVb. What is the formula for time to convert?
Here’s the formula for calculating time to convert:
T = 36 + (12 * (9-A)) + DF
T = Time to convert
A = Monarch administrative rating
DF = Distance factor (always at least one)
Administrative rating s capped at 9.
Distance factor cannot be directly calculated, but is generally 1-2 months for every province away from the capital. The bigger the provinces (Russia versus France) the higher the penalty per province. There is no specific penalty for crossing a body of water.
Example:
Novgorod is 8 provinces from the capital and has a distance factor of 15. The monarch administrative rating is 6.
A = 6
DF = 15
T = 36 + (12 * (9-A)) + DF
T = 36 + (12*(9-6)) +15
T = 36+ (12*3) + 15
T = 36 + 36 + 15
T = 87 months
IVc. Can you explain that simpler?
How long it takes you to convert a province depends mainly on your monarch skill. It will be a minimum of three years, plus one year for each administrative point it takes to get your monarch skill up to nine and two months (or so) for every province the target is separated from the capital.
V Other miscellaneous questions
Va. How do I compare conversion costs of two provinces with different costs and success rates?
The best way to compare conversion costs is to compute what I think of as the true cost of conversion. Let's say you had a province with a 30 percent conversion rate that costs 150d per attempt. It might take you one try, it might take you 10 tries to convert it. But let's say you had 100 such identical provinces, and tried to convert them all. At the end, chances are you will have converted 30 of 100 provinces and spent 15,000d (100*150). If you got 30 conversions for 15,000d, you spent 500d per conversion. 500d is the true average price of this conversion - it will be more or less in this game, but if you play enough, it will average out to 500d.
The quick way to calculate the true cost of conversion for any province is to divide the cost to convert by the conversion percentage. So if it costs 480d to convert with a 28% success chance, the true cost of conversion is 480 / 0.28 or 1,714d.
Vb. Should I convert large or small provinces first?
It has been my experience the greatest benefits of province conversions in most cases is lowered stability costs. Since stability costs do not vary by province size, focusing on smaller provinces allows you to convert more provinces quicker at a lowered cost in ducats, so I usually start with my smallest accepted culture provinces and work my way up, then go with my smallest non-accepted culture provinces and work my way up. Of course, any Pagan provinces are the top priority, since they are easy to convert and will change culture upon conversion.
The major exception to this is if I have an uber-monarch that will be replaced by some not so great ones in the future. If that is the case, I will often (ducats permitting) try to knock out the biggest, hardest provinces first, since converting difficult provinces is near impossible with lousy monarchs.
Vc. What factors are most important in determining whether a conversion will be a reasonably possible?
Overall, I find the following factors most important, in this order:
1) Whether province is Pagan
2) Whether culture is accepted
3) Monarch administrative skill
Generally, in order to get a decent chance of conversion, you need at least one of these factors, otherwise it will be a very low percentage chance.
Vd. Dude, you are such a lamer! I found an obvious error in your FAQ! What is the best way to let you know you have been pwned?
Send me a PM and I'll be glad to correct it.
Seriously, anyone who finds any sort of error is much appreciated. I tried to be as careful as possible, but I am sure I made mistakes.
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