Of course while it is now a little easier, it’s still not particularly fun. The combination of all these changes makes it much easier for small trade nations to become global superpowers, even without a large home territory. Although with a functional trade system, your army certainly should be up to scratch. Conversely, it can make you vulnerable to enemy attack if your army isn’t up to scratch. Trade therefore becomes not only a way to make money, but a way to truly gain power and territorial influence. Working in tandem with the privateer action, it’s now possible for you and other nations to declare war based on conflicting trade power on one node. Then there’s the greater implication of trade into EUIV ’s diplomacy system, probably the best addition to the game in Wealth of Nations. It’s a lot more difficult without the help of a navy, but it’s an interesting scenario for more experienced players to try. More significant is the improvement of inland trading: specific inland trade nodes are now available, allowing landlocked nations to try their hand at trade.
It’s a good way to build up extra finance and damage enemy trade, but in reality it works in a very similar way to the protect trade feature in the base game. The ability to send privateers out to foreign trade nodes is both amusing and helpful just imagining all your ships bothering the French tradesmen is a pleasant experience. The irony of this is that the changes that have been put in place to effect the trade mechanics are generally good. The trade was many critics’ and fans’ primary complaint when the game was first released and it’s surprising to see that this DLC, supposedly intended to rejuvenate the mechanic, fails to make it interesting.
If Paradox really wanted Wealth of Nations to be a worthy addition to the game then the trade mechanic needed a full overhaul. The system of placing merchants in trade nodes, either collecting goods or directing trade flow, is relatively unchanged, which is a problem. The main issue is that the core trading system has remained essentially unchanged, which means it’s still boring and practically passive. There are a few good worthwhile additions, but none that come close to the game-changing mechanics introduced in Conquest of Paradise. For a multitude of reasons, the expansion fails to bring the revolution to the trade system as promised. ‘Claims’ is the operative word there as this is ultimately a disappointing outing from Paradox, especially if you consider the publisher’s excellent history with post-release content.
Wealth of Nations, the second main DLC for Paradox’s most recent grand strategy title, focuses on that very trade mechanic and claims to turn it from one of the game’s weakest aspects, to a fun and integral mechanic of its own. No title is perfect, and one of EUIV ’s weakest elements is the trade system that feels more like a tacked-on mechanic than a remotely important part of the game. Yet there are, as you’d expect, small issues with the game.
With consistent free updates as well, EUIV is an incredible package. The first expansion, Conquest of Paradise, brought some excellent new mechanics including the brilliant randomised America feature. The deep, vibrant world in which the grand strategy takes place is practically made to be expanded. Reviews // 26th Jun 2014 - 8 years ago // By Ryan Davies Europa Universalis IV: Wealth of Nations Reviewįor a game as good as Europa Universalis IV, any addition is a welcome addition.