The most recent developer diary has gone into detail on how battles will be waged in the new Victoria game. And though warfare is not the game's main point, it will be interestingly waged.
After the combat preparations have been completed, the shooting finally starts! The battle takes place over a number of rounds and will continue until one side is either wiped out or retreats. The round sequence is roughly as follows:
- Each side determines how many fighting-capable men it still has
- Each side inflicts casualties on the other side
- Each side attempts to recover wounded casualties
- Each side also suffers morale damage according to casualties
- If one side is wiped or retreats, the battle ends.
Units have two primary combat values: Offense is used when attacking and Defense is used when defending. It is wise to plan ahead and specialize your armies for the war you are planning to fight. There are of course a whole bunch of additional modifiers used in conjunction with battles.
Paradox Interactive
Casualties are determined by both sheer numbers and the relative combat stats between the two sides. For example, a numerically inferior force equipped with more modern weapons may still emerge victorious against a larger foe.
Not all pops who take casualties will end up dead though. A portion of these may instead end up as Dependents of other pops. After a long bloody war, a nation may thus end up with a large number of wounded war veterans who need to be supported by the rest of the population. In the long term, this may be a cause of unrest and financial strain on the economy.
