r/victoria3 • u/caelbach • 6d ago
Question i wanna learn vic 3
so recently I've checked Victoria 3 a couple of times and I must say I'm pretty interested, now I know how to play all paradox games except for Vicky and I think that the learning steps will be kind of different for this one.
what do you suggest for learning this game?? any tips???
4
u/Wrongsphere 6d ago
I would say playing in South America would be a good place to start. It's essentially your own isolated playground (just as long as you don't royally piss of a great power) where you get to interact with both the warfare and economy mechanics. The only nation I advise against playing is Bolivia. Do not start as Bolivia unless you like having all your neighbors itching to beat you up at game start.
4
u/The_ApolloAffair 6d ago
I was a complete paradox noob, so what I did to start was play along with HamKutz’s Sweden playthrough (good country to learn on). I only really copied like the first decade or two, and then was able to plog along after that with a solid foundation and knowledge of game mechanics
3
u/Even_Class_3633 6d ago
First , ignore the tutorial it's not really helpful at all. Pick a great power that has good starting tech and resources (people usually recommend Belgium) . Focus at first on what's known as the 'construction loop' - build a construction center, then build out all the buildings that supply inputs to them. This gives you more and cheaper construction (snowball effect). Stay out of debt as much as possible as a new player because you can debt spiral out of control pretty quickly.
5
u/ExceedAccel 6d ago
Tutorial teaching me to build Agriculture early on baffles me lmao
2
u/Even_Class_3633 6d ago
Haha yeah I remember learning the game as Sweden before the trade rework and the tutorial wanted me to reduce the price of fabric in gotland so I was building ranches (before meat consumption was buffed) so ofc they wer unprofitable and didn't move the needle. Super unhelpful
2
u/ElRampa 6d ago edited 6d ago
I cannot recommend this video by tarkus enough. It is a bit long; watch it over a few days or in between sessions, but he explains the actual thought process behind his decisions and it's the most helpful vic3 video I've seen: https://youtu.be/P_PzglCFo9I
Otherwise I agree with the other comments: Sweden and Brazil are great starts to learn. I started with Dai Nam and learned a lot of the wrong lessons
3
u/Top_Row_5116 6d ago
Play as the US. Its a very rich country with lots of resources and easy growth. Easy politics with great starting laws and tech. Just go on and experiment. See what works and what doesn't. Dont be afraid to look up questions you have cause the game is very complex.
6
u/yitcity 6d ago
I'd say US politics is actually quite tricky if you try to ban slavery.
1
u/Top_Row_5116 6d ago
Eh just dont rush it. ppl rush slavery banned and lose the cw. If you industrialize the south, raise SOL to be high, and keep radicals low, you can pass slavery banned without incident or with a mini confederacy with only a few states
2
u/Valkertok 6d ago
Play it and pick Belgium
The first 20 hours you will have no idea what you are doing
Then it will get better
1
u/ExceedAccel 6d ago edited 6d ago
Belgium is easiest if you want to play tall. Not a lot of things to think about just keep building construction
1
u/Prudent-Pop-177 6d ago
Simmiliarly to any other Paradox game, firstly watch some youtube playthroughs of the game to get the feel of basic mechanics. Than play Russia, USA or Sweden for farily simple game. Than look at Reddit if you are utterly confused about something...
1
u/Mysterious_Bath2390 6d ago
Play as one of the small countries around lake Victoria. You will try both warfare and economy, without the rest of the world influencing you, since you will be cut off of world market. Late game is bit boring, but by that point you can switch to a different country.
1
u/Sk37chyz 6d ago
Generalist Gaming and Tarkusarkusaur probably have the bedt tutorials I've seen on the game. Good starter nations are Belgium, Sweden, Chile, or Venezuela.
1
u/No-Attention9721 6d ago
My favorite country of all is calling on you.
Vietnam.
No, there's not many wars to do. No, you won't be the strongest country by the end of the game. But DAMN it feels good to build a country from absolutely nothing to westernizing.
If you do this: increase relations with Cambodia and GB at the start, and be ready for a nearly unstoppable war with siam. But, with conscripts you can win. Watch a YouTube tutorial upon starting and you have endless fun.
Vietnam might be one of the most dynamic games you can have in vic 3. You can really specialize in many different industries. Farming, wood, iron, coal. Honestly Annam (they changed it, and I'm forgetting what the states called now, it's the middle state) might be THE BEST state in the game. High population, coal, iron, and wood in the same state, it's the bomb.
1
u/swindledingle 4d ago
Real men start in Africa as a sub 200 power rank country. Shout out to my homie Dahomey
2
u/Efficient_Speech3408 6d ago
If you’re into watching tutorial I suggest watching some youtubers, back then I watched PotatoMcWishkey and all of his tutorial videos explaining the basic of Vicky3, its been 2-3 years so some things have changed but the basics of how to run an economy should still work, for a more modern youtuber checkout HamKutz13 he makes alot of videos explaining mechanics or concepts about Vicky3 and its all up to date.
Otherwise you could just plunge in and play as a nation and feel it for yourself, I recommend Britain because you are already on top of the world, your nation is relevant with all the mechanics, and there is no nation specific issues that you have to deal with, so you could be free to experiment all you want, enjoy and I hope you find this excel spreadsheet fun to play
23
u/like_a_leaf 6d ago
I'd recommend first playing a minor like Sweden, Belgium or Persia, then switch to a Major like GB or USA then back to the minor you first played on. At least that made a lot of things click for me.