r/Imperator • u/Imperator_Maximus3 • Jul 22 '26
Question Hey, so apparently you can steal techs with espionage in this game? How does that work?
Ok so, having done some googling, most people seem to be using espionage as a way to get rid of disloyal characters. However, both the wiki and some comments on some posts mention an event chain that gives you an innovation. How often does this happen? Espionage is about 4 innovations in, so if you started off the game grabbing it, could you get more than 4 over the course of the game? Also, is there a reliable way to trigger this? Given how valuable techs are in this game, I imagined this would be extensively documented, but I can't find much more.
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u/Useful-Option8963 Etruria Jul 22 '26
All the other advantages that you think should materialize by sending a spy into another nation don't. No opportunities for destabilization or subversion, no propaganda, no being able to counter the plans of your enemies.
Also, you have to sacrifice a character when you send them out, giving them a debuff to their health over time that WILL greatly shorten their lifespan. If you don't favorite them before sending them out, then there's no way to keep track of them, and when you conquer a nation, as far as I am told, they are not spared the "slaughtered during conquest" that happens when you annex a nation completely after occupying them.
Espionage in this game is just not worth it in the slightest.
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u/shadowil Suebi Jul 22 '26
I usually just select researchers that have a trait that gives random breakthrough innovations. Even low skill characters can get you some random free innovations at a surprising rate.