Victoria 3 Nation Formation: How It Works

The Victoria 3 nation formation feature is vital for players looking to expand their territory by bringing states or other countries with shared cultural heritage into theirs. Victoria 3 is less of a map painting game than the other Paradox titles, with a bigger focus on building tall and home affairs, but you still have options for diplomacy and expansion. So if you want to know how Victoria 3 nation formation works, along with the nations that can be formed, we've got you covered. 

• We also have a breakdown of the Victoria 3 Debug Mode, which lets you enable console commands, allowing you to cheat when forming a nation if you desire. 

Victoria 3 Nation Formation: How It Works

When you begin a game of Victoria 3, not all the countries that exist are the ones you may be familiar with in today's world. Some of them no longer exist anymore (like Prussia or Bavaria), and some of them have been taken over by other nations (for example, Prussia and Bavaria are now in modern Germany). This means as you progress through the game and meet certain conditions, some countries can form other nations by combining land. 

To check if there are any formable nations for your specific country, select the 'Cultures' button on the left menu, and then look under the 'Nation Formation' tab. If there are potential nations that you can form, they will be listed here, along with the number of states needed to form them. Hovering over the button of the nation will also highlight the borders. Some countries don't have the ability to do this at all, some have one choice, and others have multiple nation choices - it all depends on where you are in the world. 

There are two types of nation formation in Victoria 3: minor and major. Minor unification is the simpler of the two, and requires you to take control of potential state regions by conquering or subjugating them until they become part of a formable nation. If you meet the requirements (which can be seen by hovering over the 'Form Nation' button) the states can be added to your nation by pressing the 'Form Nation' button. 

Major unification is a bit different and is only available for a few specific nations. Firstly, you will need to unlock the Nationalism technology (and in some cases Pan-nationalism) which will make your current nation a Unification Candidate. You will also need to reach the rank of a Major Power, but there can only be three candidates for a formable nation at a given time. Non-candidate nations can support a candidate of their choosing, which also counts their lands toward the candidate's state requirements. 

When there are other candidates, you will have access to the National Leadership and Unification Play diplomatic plays. The former one will allow you to challenge the other candidates to force them to give up their claims, while the latter is available when you're the only candidate left, allowing you to start the process of creating the new nation. 

• If you need to reach the Major Power rank to make a Major Unification attempt, check out how to increase GDP in Victoria 3, which raises your prestige. 

Victoria 3 Formable Nations List 

Our table below covers all of the potentially formable nations in Victoria 3, along with the cultures that are part of the requirements when forming the nation. 

That's all for our coverage of the Victoria 3 nation formation mechanic, and now you know how the nation formation process works, along with the list of potential nations. 

Our list of the best countries to play in Victoria 3 also covers some formable nations like Arabia and America.