Victoria 3 Update 1.8 might just be a good time to re-evaluate this long-suffering grand strategy game. Launched without the war elements long-time players desired, Paradox’s sequel was met with a decidedly mixed reaction. However, it’s been over two years since launch, and the developer of Crusader Kings 3, Stellaris, and Europa Universalis 4 has continued to upgrade and support Victoria 3 in its typical long-running fashion. While the latest patch notes bring a host of improvements alongside its new Pivot of Empire DLC, recent reviews are back “mostly positive” and things are definitely looking up.

New Victoria 3 DLC Pivot of the Empire is the latest “immersion pack” to join Paradox’s range of thematic and tasty extensions for its best grand strategy games. This pack focuses on the evolution of India during the 19th and early 20th centuries, during a tumultuous period from its place in the Sikh Empire to its colonial rule by the East India Company and the Raj British. You will determine whether you guide its cultures towards independence and autonomy, or whether you remain a powerful pawn of the British Empire.

Whether you decide to pick up Pivot of Empire or not, the accompanying free 1.8 patch is full of reasons to check in with Pivot of Empire. Victoria 3. At the top of the Masala Chai update is a complete reform of the discrimination system, with a more nuanced acceptance of the culture and religion of your territories. The Citizenship, Church, and State laws have been reworked with a number of new modifiers for each, and you can pass laws to help bring newly arrived cultures more gradually accepted within your population. country.

Political movements have also been completely redesigned. Rather than attempting to enact or prevent a single law, they now constitute long-term ideological, cultural, or religious forces that will exert continued pressure to shape the country as they see fit. Having them on your side can be a real boon, but you’ll need to think carefully about how you treat them. At the same time, secessions and revolutions have now been adjusted so that civil wars are linked to specific movements seeking to take control of the country.

There are plenty of additional improvements and balance changes to look forward to – too many, in fact, to list here, although there are certainly some highlights. War objectives can be introduced into diplomatic games on behalf of your allied subjects. Taxation now modifies the expected standard of living rather than directly generating radicals. There is a new option to allow an early game grace period of one, five, or ten years where Radicals and Loyalists are much less common to help you get started more easily. Paradox also notes that “The Devout is no longer very racist by default.”

The AI ​​for computer-controlled leaders has also received a welcome upgrade, which should reduce some of its strange behaviors so that they become less frequent. It will now be less likely to start wars over issues it does not recognize among countries it does recognize, and it will be more difficult to convince it to accept diplomatic support. It will, however, endeavor, in most cases where possible, to establish both a police network and a network of power stations on a national scale.

Victoria 3 ‘Masala Chai’ update 1.8 is now available. The Pivot of Empire DLC is also available from Thursday November 21 – expect to pay $9.99 / £8.50 for the Indian-themed immersion pack. You can read the full update 1.8 patch notes courtesy by Paradox Interactive.

If all of this makes you want to finally jump into the game for the first time, take a look at our Victoria 3 Beginner’s Guide to help you get started. For other ways to relieve that tactical itch, here are the best 4X games.

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