Kaiser Anony’s Atlas: What country should I play as?

Overview

Victoria 2 has a daunting 131 countries you can play as. Luckily, Anony1200, creator of Let’s Explain Victoria 2, is here to help you detirmine your choices.

Section 1: Intro

Hello there, I’m Kaiser Anony. You may know me from the Let’s Explain Victoria 2 series. Or you might not. Either way, I saw this function, and as the patron saint of people who talk too much about Victoria 2, I’m here to cast the metaphorical maiden voyage of the Victoria 2 guide section.

So, with that being said, today I’m here to expand upon a topic: A lot of people are daunted by what they see at the beginning of the game startup. Why, there’s 131 whole countries to pick from or more in AHD or modding! Which one of these many nations should I possibly play as?
Well, you gotta ask yourself one big question. Did you ask it? Good, then look through the following chapters to find what you need.

Question 1: What’s a good country for a newcomer to Victoria 2?

Well, firsthand, that’s a good, broad question you asked there. But with that said, even this depends on a few things: Firstly, have you ever played a Paradox Grand Strategy game before? Secondly, have you tried the Tutorial or watched some of the Let’s Explain Victoria 2 videos? With these two questions in mind, keep in mind that at this stage, those of the first category are still urged to at least try some of the second if any of the first countries manages to go over their heads.

Well, good on you, but you’ve got to realize something about Victoria 2: Like many of the other games of the 3rd generation of Paradox strategy games, Victoria 2 is pretty much entirely different than the other Europa III engine games. So with that said, I’d at least give the Tutorial or some of my videos a passing glance. But that’s up to you, so forwards to the strategy:

Since one could assume that you have at least a grasp of what you’re doing, you aren’t going to need the splendid isolation that the newer players are going to need to use. So with the controls down, a basic grasp on the economy in your mind, I’d recommend a starting spot in Europe.

Portugal is a good starter: Still relatively isolated, yet in a position to still be able to meddle in world affairs. They start with a good shot at Africa for the colonialist in you (even starting off with some bordering colonizable areas of Mozambique!), and is almost inevadably going to end up in the sphere of influence (protection at some costs) of one of the Great Powers of Europe, particularly France, the U.K., or neighboring Spain.

For those wanting to flex their muscles and learn how a Great Power works, the Ottoman Empire offers a strong potential early game as well as still being, you know, a GP, with all the bells and whistles, though you better have a good grasp on how either your military or diplomacy works.

Overall, though, the winner has to be Sweden.

With a stable starting economy, few major threats, a GP threat potentially able to be tackled, and in a great position looking over Europe, Sweden is in a great starting position in 1836, and is a great place to get yourself acquainted with how Victoria 2 works differently from the likes of EU3 or HoI3 while still having some beginning margin for error.

Well, in that case, I congratulate you for trying to get into this kind of game: Few people are willing to open their mind enough to try and play something like Victoria II. Therefore, just for playing this game, you can brag to your friends that the Kaiser called you “Open minded”, at which point you may either achieve their jealousy or simply be commited to a mental hospital.

Either way, welcome to Victoria 2. I’d strongly encourage you to try out the tutorial from in-game, and after you’re acquainted with the bare-basics, check out some of my Let’s Explain Victoria 2 videos, made exactly for people like you. You can check these videos out at my channel, but I at least want you to start here:
…With that being done, let’s discuss your countries.

Beginners of Victoria 2 who are also new to this whole “Grand Strategy” thing would not only be well advised to stay out of Europe in general, they’re also pretty well advised to stay out of playing the Uncivlized countries you see in Africa and Asia. With that being said, the only real continent to start on would be Latin America.

Haiti is about as isolated as things get: The tiny island nation is a far reach away from any other country on the entire planet, only even near the oft’ undefended colonies of the European powers and closest to the friendly United States. This’ll give you the ability to experiment with your controls and basics without too much threatening from the surrounding nations.

Ecuador is another fair choice: Though surrounded by enemies, Ecuador is a better country for the more adventerous starter, though lacking in population. Having the Galapagos will let you experiment with having a navy without being confined to it like Haiti, and the generally more advanced and literate Ecuadorians are a better populace to guide.

However, as far as your first-time nations go, nothing’s quite as good as Chile.

With a good, literate, strong starting population, resources good enough to keep exported on their own yet still good enough to practice building factories with, cores on nearby enemies to practice warring, and a good position to lear how colonialism works, Chile, at the farthest retreat of the western world, is a forgiving, sizable bastion for learning the ins and outs of Victoria 2.

Question 2: I’ve had my share of Victoria 2 games. What’s a country where I can…

Industry is one of the biggest points of Victoria 2, so it isn’t very hard to find a good Industrial country within the sphere of the game.

Belgium is a nice little industrialized state, starting off the game with plenty of good RGO provinces, and if you play your diplomatic cards right and maneuver yourself out of getting sphered by France and keeping yourself in the sphere of the U.K., you even have what amounts to a 100% chance to eventually get the Congo in your lap, which has a further array of nice resources. But why stop where Belgium stopped historically? Belgium, being in the sphere of the U.K., gets a “Get out of intervention free” card oftentimes when attacking places that the U.K. spheres for its resources, such as Johore or some of the Pakistani Minors.

Another good industrial nation is another Latin American power, Brazil. Starting off as a secondary power is a nice boon in itself. Starting next to the great resource deposits in Pampalona, Arucania, parts of Bolivia, Paraguay (who you both start with cores on) and Peru as well as being only a small distance away from Africa is also nice. Brazil is only hampered by the fact that its RGOs and populations are almost distinctive from eachother- Your populated areas only provide standard crops and other generall non-industrial materials, meaning you have to play your Craftsman NFs well.

However, as far as industrializing nations are concerned, there’s no country on earth quite like the Oranje Vrystaadt.

Tucked in a corner in faraway Africa, the Oranje Vrystaadt starts with 3 provinces with amazing RGOs, an uncivilized neighbor to the east that can provide an army if conquered (Note: Might want to encourage Soldiers at the start of the game, it’d be a shame to lose to Zulu) and an equally valuable neighbor with the same culture as you to the north that you get a Conquest casus bellis on a good way into the game (but nothing’s stopping you from doing it earlier but your own infamy limit), and is a good, fertile area to make a strong economy. Attempts to justify putting Brazil or Belgium over this amazing bit of territory ended up failing- Where else on earth are you going to find an industrializable nation that literall starts next to colonizable territory?

Military men of Victoria 2 would be satiated with a game of Austria. Surrounded by potential targets, including the very juicy Ottoman Empire to the south, Austria, though technologically lacking a bit as far as its military goes, Austria is a good country with which to brute force your will on Europe.

Also technologically lacking but still militaristic, the Russian Empire is in pretty much the same boat as Austria, and has mostly the same targets in Europe (with 2 notable exceptions: Prussia and Austria) as well as several uncivilized targets in Asia, up to and including the Chinese Empire. Russia can have quite some fun mounting invasions against hordes of untrained, underequipped troops.

But, as accurate to the time period, as far as armies go, no one will beat Prussia/The North German Federation/The German Empire.

Prussia has the most advanced and 3rd most numerous land army on Continental Europe at the start of the game (2nd discounting Russia), starts with a Military-Industrial complex causing you to research stuff faster, and eventually upgrades to “Junkers, Heer, & Krupp”, which makes you research your military the fastest in Europe. Your decisions are based around your army, and even give benefits to it. Early game, your little micro-states help you out in wars; later, when unified, their regions offer you troops of massive numbers. You even have neat-looking unique skins for your units. North Germany truly is the military power of Europe at this time.

GET OUT.

Well, in all fairness, there are probably some people out there who exist who don’t have an irrational hatred for every single other country besides the one they’re playing as. A few of you at least.

Firsthand, we have any Germanic state. Returning winner Prussia, former Bronze winner Austria, Bavaria, Hanover, Holstein, or even Hesse-Kassel all have the same goal: Try to unite Germany as they possibly can, or at least, make sure that the formed German state doesn’t collide with your interests. To do this, they have to play “Who can be the best GP”, which pretty much amounts to “Spamming military and prestige techs”.

Secondly, we have a surprise choice, The Netherlands. The Netherlands has a unique predicament at the start of the game: Belgium, to the south, can be annexed entirely with 1 fell war, giving the Netherlands all of the advantages of owning an entire secondary power under it. Problem is, it starts under the British sphere of influence, while you start under pretty much no one’s- though dangerously close, however, to Britian itself. To solve this quandry, the Netherlands can either give up hope entirely- or play a nasty game of “workaround” to destroy Belgium and re-assert itself over the Low Countries.

However, the Knife-Back Award for Most Diplomatic nation goes to the Two Sicilies.

Sardinia-Piedmont, to the north, forms Italy with its brute force. The Austrian Duchies do little else but conflict against themselves, without even the hope of forming Italy. The Papal States ride on their own prestige to a spot in their own capital. However, the Bourbon King of the Two Sicilies must use all of his cunning to make the European powers sympathetic to him, get the Romagnan and Tuscan banners under his cause, defeat the Savoiard king of Sardinia, and collaborate to steal Lombardy from under Austria’s nose. If you want to play a high-flying high-stakes game of diplomacy, there’s almost no better nation for it but Napoli.

And as an extra bonus section for all those wondering what my personal favorite pick is…

No contest. No stupid top 3. No one else gets any medals, they don’t even get a national anthem. The award for most potentially varied nation goes to the United States of Central America.

(NOTE: The USCA does not come with Belize or Panama at the start of the game. If you think it starts with Dominica, please look at a map sometime.)
The USCA has a little bit of everything. It’s in a great place to be a naval power, it’s in a great place to start up its industry, it has areas to conquer, a Secondary Power to the north with tons of similiar populations, it has a decent literacy rate, a stable beginning democracy, and is all-around my absolute favorite country to play. Use your NFs wisely, and avoiding the historical fate should come pretty easily.

Question 3: I figure myself a bit of an advanced player. What’s a game that will…

Well, if exotic tastes are what you seek, it may pay of to turn your eyes eastward and south of Europe. The Uncivilized world may be treacherous, but also potentially rewarding as a new experience. An Uncivilized nation that civilizes at an inopportune time for European colonial intentions can find itself putting the other Great Powers at a check, particularly in places like South and South East Asia, where the cursed Europeans may be expelled from the land once and for all.

One of the most commonly-played Unciv countries is Panjab. The kingdom of the Sikhs is the most powerful independent state in the whole of India at the turn of 1836, and is the only real country in the entire area that has enough power to actually challenge the United Kingdom. The Brits hold almost all of India under either direct colonial rule, or under the rule of “Princely States”, a collection of various uncivilized minors that hold one province at worst and 2 regions at best. Panjab is the ultimate country to finally get back at the U.K., but it takes a serious player to be able to do so.

One of my personal favorite picks is Siam. While not having such a clear-cut goal as the likes of Panjab, Siam is a country that can effectively seek to unify the whole of South East Asia. With the weak, but British ruled Burma to the west, a wealthy, somewhat advanced Johore to the south, Dai Nam and its lackey Cambodia to the east, and the ailing, declining sultanates of Atjeh and Brunei in the middle of Indonesia, Siam has unique opportunities that few other Uncivilized countries hold to their name.

With the runners up of Kalat and Sokoto, the pattern is clear and the choice is obvious and often picked for first prize in this unique category: Japan.
With a strong, nearly homogenous population, a strong amount of Soldiers, a strong ability to leap into the first world stunningly via the Meiji Restoration, and a secluded Island home, Japan, like in real life at the time, has a strong power base to push its influence over all of Asia, to make a power base to expel the likes of the European powers out of Asia all together. Japan, simply put, is strong.

Former bronze-winner Panjab, as well as the rest of the Indian states already have the set challenge of ahistorically forming India by liberating it from the U.K. and unifying the Pakistani warring states. This is by far one of the hardest nations to form of Victoria 2. There’s only 1 country that’s actually harder to form…

Romania, represented by Wallachia and Moldova have the toughest unification challenge of all of Victoria 2. Initially chained to the declining Ottoman Empire, the Romanian States start as sattelites, with no ability to dictate anything diplomatically as well as being dragged without warning into any conflict the Sultan brings upon himself to start. The only way to stop this is to either win a war against the Ottomans by yourself, with almost no chance of Great Power assistance, or become a Great Power yourself, which is impossible for either of the starting states at the beginning of the game- you have to either take your chance by warring, hope someone’s kind enough to free up whatever second region your duchy has cored (Sillastria/Bessarabia), or have the other state fall to pan-nationalists.
You could also just play Romania from the 1861 scenario…y’know, if you’re really boring.

But as far as a new experience goes, it’s good to remember why the game starts in 1836 and not at the coronation of the queen, and give a big ol’ hearty salute to Texas, our Texas.
(NOTE: Sorry, history buffs. You only start with the indisputed territories- Mexico controls El Paso, Laredo, and the other areas that Texas controlled in real life, meaning that, outside of a very lucky victory against a stronger, more competent Mexico, you’ll never become a state like this- and, in the constraints, you’re not even able to take the peices of Colorado that Texas did. Sorry!)
Texas starts out in a real predicament. Their small, advanced armies are put at odds with the hugely numerous Mexican armies in a war of independance that Mexico intends to fight to the end. You’ve got to start out diplomatically- San Jancinto won’t bail the Texans out this time, and having the U.S. intervene is pretty much a must- but as long as they don’t ally with Mexico, this shouldn’t be a real problem for you. Once this happens, you have to start thinking about where you want to expand- Mexican New Mexico, uncolonized Oklahoma, you can expand to the east when the CSA comes to the world stage, and most interestingly, you can contest the U.S.A. to expand your little republic…but be ready for the fight of your life if you do.

Bonus Chapter & Conclusion.

So, you want to play Victoria 2 like Battletoads? Are you really up for such monumental challenges as these? If you are, post an AAR on the Paradox Forums of your attempt at this challenge- But if you do, you better be in it to win it!

Also, don’t cheat. If you cheat, I’ll know. And the consequences will be very…drastic.

The first is the Andes Challenge, starring Bolivia. Bolivia, at the start of the game, holds 1 ally- Peru- and also holds cores from every single other neighboring Country. Brazil holds cores in Acre, Chile holds theirs in Potosi (in Vanilla), or Tacna (if you’re not). Argentina is vengeful for Jujuvy, and contests Alto Paraguay with its namesake Paraguay. There are 2 goals of this challenge and 1 bonus challenge:

• Protect all of your territory. Never surrender an inch to any other nation diplomatically, therefore, win every war.
• Take your cores that Argentina starts with once the war with them inevitably starts.
• —BONUS CHALLENGE: Paraguay also contests Paraguayan Mato Grosso with Brazil. Take this sulfiric inch of land, and hold it until the end of the game.

The second challenge is the Meteoric Ascent challenge, starring Sikkim. Sikkim is the smallest, most sparsely populated country in the entire game. Starting on the Indian subcontinent, once again, your challenge is to take your single, wool-producing province and make it the true king of all of India. This is your only condition, except for the BONUS CHALLENGE of also conquering the Hindu lands of Tibet. My only peice of advice to you is to try and start your empire with the other one-province states that aren’t under Britian’s thumb, in Nepal and Bhutan.

Finally, for the Ultimate challenge, you may try The Last Stand, starring Tripoli.
Pictured: Tripoli’s natural state

Tripoli starts out with the outright worst start in the whole of Victoria 2. Sure, you start with a higher population and far more provinces than Sikkim could hope to start for, but anyone who’s ever played Victoria 2 knows there’s 1 big thing about Tripoli:
Tripoli starts out at war with the Ottoman Empire, where they start seeking to conquer it entirely. The armies of the Ottomans are far technologically superior as well as more numerical, and even if, in some miracle, you do defeat the opening onslaught, the main armies in Anatolia, Arabia, and Rumelia are surely on their way. Tripoli must play like a madman to even avoid being conquered, much less accomplish these herculean tasks:

• Survive the Ottoman onslaught and become a civilized, independent nation.
• Take back all of old Tripolitania- That is, to say, conquer the rest o Libya back from the Ottomans-and become a Great Power. You don’t have to capture your realm in the beginning war, just at some point.
• Once that is done, or really any time if you feel like it, conquer the whole of starting North Africa. Yes, that includes modern Egypt and French Algeria. No, I really have no mercy.
• —BONUS CHALLENGE If you’re playing Rylock’s New Nations Mod, you may have noticed the above part of the challenge lets you form a minor Pan-Arabic nation in North Africa. If you want to make me truly impressed, have small, fledgling Tripoli found and conquer the whole of the Arabian Caliphate.

Yeah, you’d be about right.

So with that being said, that’s all of the recommended countries in this edition of Kaiser Anony’s Atlas. Future countries, challenges, and events shall be documented in further editions, where I’ll go over some of the various countries listed here and others. To hear me talk about other points of the game, or to see some more of my work, check out my Youtube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/Anony1200 Thanks to all of you who have left comments while this was (mistakenly not hidden admittedly) in development, and finally:

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Want to try and face me in Multiplayer? Drop me a friend request and ask me/tell me what you think.