Capacity

{{#evt: | service= youtube | id= K3dJb4TZNQE | description= Victoria 3: July 2021 Update. A look at what has been going on in the first batch of dev diaries, including: Pops, Capacities, Buildings, Goods, and Production Methods. | alignment= right | container=frame }}

Capacities, the game's "currencies" as shown on the top-left corner near the nation's flag.

Capacities are 3 of the 4 main "currencies" in the game (with the 4th one being money). Each capacity represents one specific area of the nation's ability to govern and is used solely for matters relating to that area.

Generation and usage

Capacities are not pooled resources, instead having a constant generation and usage. The methods of generation and uses vary by capacity, as outlined in the following sections. Generally, certain society technologies provide percentage increases to capacities, as do certain happy interest groups and some event modifiers.

Beyond their direct uses, each capacity provides a benefit if generation exceeds usage (surplus) and a penalty if usage exceeds generation (deficit). The benefit of a surplus or penalty of a deficit is scaled by the relative size of the surplus or deficit compared to total generation of that capacity, with the maximum benefit when usage is half or less of generation, or maximum penalty when usage is twice or more of generation.

Most actions requiring a certain amount of a capacity cannot be taken unless that much is currently available; however most actions are not automatically cancelled by a deficit.

Capacity types

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy represents a nation's governing ability, including taxation, institutions, and trade. It is generated by the government administration building.

Bureaucracy is used by incorporated states, with a small base amount and then scaled by population. It is also used for institutions, again scaled by the population of incorporated states. Finally, bureaucracy is used for trade routes (except with a Trade Agreement) and retaining generals and admirals.

A bureaucracy deficit causes countrywide tax waste; a bureaucracy surplus increases construction efficiency.

Authority

Authority represents the head of state's personal power and ability to enact change in the country through decree. It is generated by the country's laws – generally, the more repressive and authoritarian the country, the more authority it generates.

Laws affecting authority

Category	Name	Authority
Church and State	State Religion	+200
	Freedom of Conscience	+100
	Total Separation	0
Cultural Exclusion	Ethnostate	+200
	National Supremacy	+200
	Racial Segregation	+100
	Cultural Exclusion	+50
	Multiculturalism	0
Distribution of Power	Autocracy	+250
	Oligarchy	+200
	Elder Council	+200
	Landed Voting	+150
	Wealth Voting	+100
	Census Suffrage	+50
	Universal Suffrage	0
	Anarchy	−50%
Economic System	Command Economy	+25%
	Other economy laws	—
Trade Policy	Isolationism	+50
	Other trade laws	0
Free Speech	Outlawed Dissent	+200
	Censorship	+100
	Right of Assembly	+50
	Protected Speech	0

Authority is used for the following actions:

• enacting decrees
• bolstering or suppressing interest groups
• enacting consumption taxes

An authority deficit increases the disapproval of opposition IGs; an authority surplus increases law enactment speed, up to +25% faster.

Influence

Influence represents a country's ability to conduct diplomacy. It is generated primarily from the country's rank (great powers have more base influence than major powers and so on). Rivalries also provide extra influence.

Diplomacy is used to support ongoing diplomatic actions and pacts, such as improving relations, alliances, trade deals, subjects, and so on.

An influence deficit reduces prestige; an influence surplus increases infamy decay by up to 25%, from 5 to 6.25 per year.