Today’s dev diary has been a hotly anticipated one, as Paradox are finally ready to start talking about war and combat and how they will work in Victoria 3.
The first pillar of war in Victoria 3 is shared with the vision of the game as a whole: War is a Continuation of Diplomacy - anything you can gain through war should also be possible to gain through diplomacy.
War is Strategic, is exactly what it sounds like. In Victoria 3, all decisions you make regarding warfare are on the strategic level, not the tactical. What this means is that you do not move units directly on the map, or make decisions about which exact units should be initiating battle where. Instead of being unit-in-province-based, warfare in Victoria 3 is focused on supplying and allocating troops to frontlines between you and your enemies.
During war, the decisions you make are about matters such as what front you send your generals to and what overall strategy they should be following there. If this sounds like a radical departure from the norm in Paradox GSGs, that’s because it is, but the payoff is more than worth it in making Victoria 3 fell more than just a sequel to 1 and 2.
Paradox Interactive
Much of the strategic decision-making in Victoria 3 that will let you win wars are all about how well prepared you are. For example: Have you promoted the most competent generals, or were you forced to promote an incompetent wastrel for political expedience? Have you invested in the best, but very costly, rifles for your soldiers, or are you forced to fight at a technological disadvantage? These are the sort of questions that can decide who has the true advantage when going into an armed conflict in Victoria 3.
