Raise Control & Access

Trade Quick Help Control v1.0
Updated for v1.0.x | Last updated: 2025-01-15

Why Control Matters

Taxes are estate-based but collected through control. This means your effective tax rate is the product of your tax rate and control percentage. For example:

  • 100% tax rate with 0% control = 0% effective taxes
  • 100% tax rate with 50% control = 50% effective taxes
  • 50% tax rate with 100% control = 50% effective taxes
Key insight: High tax rates mean nothing without control. You must improve control to actually collect taxes. Control also affects market access, which determines trade income.

Ways to Raise Control

Use these methods to improve control and access:

1. Build Roads

Build roads to improve proximity and access. Roads connect locations to your capital and improve market access. Better access means higher control, especially in inland provinces. Roads also reduce travel time for armies and improve supply lines.

💡 Tip
Priority: Build roads connecting your capital to key provinces first. This maximizes control in your core territories.

2. Secure Docks for Overseas Holdings

Coasts without docks penalize control and access. If you have overseas territories, you need ports to maintain control. Build docks in coastal provinces to enable overseas trade and improve control. Without docks, coastal provinces have reduced access and control.

3. Use Cabinet/Administrative Actions

Use cabinet and administrative actions where available. Some nations have special actions that improve control directly. Check your government interface for control-boosting options. These actions are often faster than building infrastructure but may have costs or cooldowns.

4. Improve Infrastructure

Build infrastructure to stabilize control. Infrastructure (roads, ports, marketplaces) improves both control and access. The more infrastructure you have, the more stable your control becomes. Focus on building infrastructure in key provinces first.

Practical Loop

Follow this sequence to build control systematically:

  1. Build roads/ports: Start with infrastructure. Roads improve inland access, ports improve coastal access.
  2. Stabilize food/housing/jobs: Ensure populations are satisfied. Unhappy populations reduce control and efficiency.
  3. Re-evaluate taxes by estate: Once control is stable, adjust tax rates. Higher control means you can collect more taxes.
  4. Avoid early overseas overreach without ports: Don't expand overseas until you have ports to maintain control. Overseas territories without ports are expensive and inefficient.
💡 Tip
Efficient order: Infrastructure first, then population satisfaction, then tax optimization. Don't skip steps.

Common Mistakes

Avoid these control-killing errors:

  • Ignoring infrastructure: You can't maintain control without roads and ports. Build infrastructure first.
  • Expanding too fast: New territories start with low control. Don't expand faster than you can build infrastructure.
  • Overseas overreach: Expanding overseas without ports is expensive and inefficient. Build ports first, then expand.
  • Neglecting population satisfaction: Unhappy populations reduce control. Keep food, housing, and jobs balanced.

Quick Improvement Checklist

  • Build roads connecting capital to key provinces
  • Build docks in all coastal provinces
  • Ensure food/housing/jobs are satisfied
  • Re-evaluate tax rates after control improves
  • Avoid overseas expansion without ports

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