Victoria 3: What to Choose – Conquest or Annex Puppet

How do you decide if you should conquer a nation or annex a Puppet nation? The answer isn’t quite straightforward and puzzles even the best strategists of Victoria 3!

Like every other action in Victoria 3, there are several consequences that may or may not be in your favor.

Understanding these is key when you’re planning to do a conquest or annex a puppet nation in Victoria 3, and that’s exactly what I’m about to help you out with today!

What to Choose – Conquest or Annex Puppet in Victoria 3?

Firstly, you should take your target country and your motive into consideration. Your infamy and relationship with countries associated with the target country will also play a part in your decision.

If your motive is to obtain a specific resource, such as coal, then making the nation into a Puppet through Diplomatic Play is the safer, but slower option.

In that way, you can get a portion of their income for the first few years, thus helping your economy. After that, the nation or state can be comfortably annexed, giving you access to all its resources.

Trying to annex a Puppet nation soon after the Diplomatic Play can do more harm rather than good, so it’s better to wait and take your time.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to start a war or need resources and men fast, then leading a Conquest is your way to go.

Conquering nations will bring a huge influx in the form of armies and goods, which can be quite useful in wars and further Conquests. You’ll have access to larger land area, buildings, factories, and opportunities for expansion.

However, it does come at a cost of huge infamy. Add to that the costs of managing a conquest or war as well as damaging relationships with several countries.

Conquests will also lead to an increase in Pops, so if you don’t have enough resources to maintain that, you’ll probably end up in a bad financial position. This wouldn’t be the case while annexing puppets, though.

If you wait for a long enough time, annexing a Puppet nation will also lead to much lesser infamy than Conquests.

It should be mentioned, however, that you’ll be spending Maneuver Points while carrying out Diplomatic Plays. The points are limited in number and based on what rank you are in.

That means, you can’t puppet each and every nation you come across, and using these points wisely is important.

Furthermore, you should look out for the outcomes before turning a nation into a Puppet.

If you have high infamy and a poor relationship with the targeted country, you might end up increasing infamy even more while carrying out the Diplomatic Play.

The targeted country might as well call for other allies to go against you if it’s strong enough, putting you in a more unfavorable position.

In these cases, conquest is the simpler and easier option.

At the same time, don’t opt for Conquests if the country has a strong army or strong allies, because even if you come out on top, it will only weaken you in the long run.

Wrapping Up

As you have seen so far, the decision to lead a conquest or annex puppet is totally up-to you, depending on a variety of factors.

Victoria 3 is a tricky game; each and every decision you make, whether you’re going for a Diplomatic Play to make a nation into Dominion, or forming a Customs Union with another nation, will have varied consequences that you need to keep in mind.

In case you’re still having confusion between Conquest and Annexing Puppet, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!