Victoria 3: Best Land Reforms

Summary

The choice of Land Reform in Victoria 3 can have significant impacts on a player's nation, and the appropriate reform can give players a boost in achieving national supremacy.
Homesteading is a useful Land Reform for players looking to regain control from Aristocrats and lay the foundation for their nation's development.
Using Tenant Farmers can provide a middle ground between family-managed farms and elite-owned farms, allowing players to enact tougher reforms on Landowners without facing major consequences.

When players manage both a nation and its interconnected Populations and Ideologies in Victoria 3, nation-building decisions go beyond diplomacy and waging war against other countries. Now that players have to understand the delicate interplay between Populations and their political interests when enacting policies, options that diversify geographical locations such as Land Reforms need to be taken with the right precautions in mind.

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By Sam Carrick

While there are only five Land Reform options in Victoria 3 so far, each of them can affect the overall balance of a player’s nation in different ways. Choosing the appropriate Land Reform at the right time or when pursuing certain objectives may give players exactly the boost they need to attain national supremacy.

5 Homesteading

De-Power The Aristocracy For Reforms

Requirements	-
Effects	Production Method: Free Peasants (Subsistence), Publicly Traded (Subsistence, Agricultural) Political Strength: +25% Farmers
Interest Group Support	Approve: Rural Folk Neutral: Industrialists, Intelligentsia, Rural Folk, Trade Unions Strong Disapprove: Landowners

Gameplay in a grand strategy title like Victoria 3 shows how even a Land Reform can become more of a political move than a leadership maneuver, and this is exactly what Homesteading can do for a nation. Key elements of note when activating this reform would be the lack of any hard requirements, the boost in Political Strength for Farmers, and the apparent disapproval of Landowners.

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By John Cunningham

At its core, Homesteading is best used to stop Aristocrats and upper-strata Pops from preventing players to enact reforms that they want to implement in the early game to build their overall foundations. Using this Land Reform in a nation where Aristocrats have a large say in nation-building can give back some level of control to players. However, gamers should anticipate some loss from the Aristocrats’ Investment Pool contributions with this activated.

4 Serfdom

The Old Works As A Foundation

Requirements	No Command Eco Laissez-Faire, Interventionism
Effects	Production Method: Serfdom (Subsistence), Privately Owned (Subsistence, Agricultural) Political Strength: +50% Landowners
Interest Group Support	Strongly Approve: Landowners Disapprove: Industrialists Strongly Disapprove: Rural Folk, Intelligentsia, Trade Unions

The rather archaic nature of Serfdom makes it seem impractical as a Land Reform at first glance for most nations in Victoria 3, especially when the setup of this grand strategy game is to precisely get people out of a feudal lifestyle. Moreover, Serfdom isn't as useful in the late game due to the lack of lasting benefits. The +50% to Landowners and Privately Owned production methods can hurt the long-term economy.

However, players who begin with an underdeveloped nation may benefit from the immediate perks that Serfdom offers. When triggered, Serfdom gives the players more opportunities to capitalize on a growing Investment Pool to lock into better Industries, especially when combined with the Agrarianism Economic System. Once players grow their economies, moving from Serfdom into a more specialized reform system may prove beneficial for players later down the line.

3 Commercialized Agriculture

Industrial Push At The Cost Of Some Rural Folk

Requirements	Mutual Funds
Effects	Production Method: Free Peasants (Subsistence), Publicly Traded (Subsistence, Agricultural)
Interest Group Support	Approve: Industrialists Neutral: Intelligentsia, Landowners, Rural Folk, Trade Unions

Unlike traditional takes on an agricultural system, Commercialized Agriculture in Victoria 3 cements the potential of Agriculture as a business and therefore transitions the nation into a more commercialized region. At its core, implementing this Land Reform will sacrifice Political Representation for Workers on behalf of doubled Capitalist contributions.

When used correctly, this should theoretically help players achieve faster Industry growth. However, players do need to take note that Commercialized Agriculture is the most expensive Land Reform. They need 150 Employment and 900 Wages to implement Commercialized Agriculture, meaning players may need to plan their development more carefully if they want to maximize the growth Commercialized Agriculture offers.

2 Tenant Farmers

Middle Ground Between Serfdom And Homesteading

Requirements	-
Effects	Production Method: Free Peasants (Subsistence), Privately Owned (Subsistence, Agricultural) Political Strength: +25% Landowners
Interest Group Support	Approve: Landowners Neutral: Intelligentsia, Industrialists, Trade Unions Disapprove: Rural Folk

Players enjoying their Victoria 3 experience may find it difficult to commit to a Land Reform when using a developing country, especially with certain Pops having a larger stake in policymaking. In this regard, Tenant Farmers may serve as a decent middle-ground between family-managed farms such as in Homesteading and the elites owning said farms as in Serfdom.

Using Tenant Farmers can provide players with a bit of breathing room should they have to rein in their Aristocrats without suffering too many consequences. Switching to Tenant Farmers still grants Landowners +25% Political Strength as opposed to Serfdom’s whopping +50%, while at the same time providing better comforts for lower and middle strata Pops. While not necessarily groundbreaking, Tenant Farmers can be a developed nation’s way of enacting tougher reforms on Landowners without outright annoying them.

1 Collectivized Agriculture

Maximize Quality Of Life For All

Requirements	Socialism, Command Economy, or Cooperative Ownership
Effects	Production Method: Free Peasants (Subsistence), Government Run or Worker Cooperative (Subsistence, Agricultural, Plantation) Political Strength: +25% Bureaucrats
Interest Group Support	Neutral: Rural Folk, Intelligentsia, Trade Unions Strongly Disapprove: Industrialists, Landowners

Similar to its Economic System counterparts in Command Economy or Cooperative Ownership, enacting Collectivized Agriculture as a Land Reform is a player’s ideal move should they plan on a more Socialist playthrough. Players do need to take note of the immediate risks of enacting the reform, as this will put Industrialists, Landowners, and most of the upper strata Pops against them.

When used correctly, however, Collectivized Agriculture could lead to massive quality-of-life upgrades for the rest of the population. Using this in tandem with Cooperative Ownership can give players access to the best means of boosting the overall Standard of Living for their entire nation. It’s also tied with Homesteading as the cheapest Land Reform option. Likewise, using Command Economy with Collectivized Agriculture could leverage stronger gains for lower-GDP nations.

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