Control represents how effectively your government manages a specific region. A province with high control pays more taxes, supports your armies, and stays loyal to your rule. On the other hand, low control leads to slower development, frequent rebellions, and reduced income.
Think of control as your administrative strength. The more control you have, the easier it becomes to maintain order, collect resources, and expand your influence.
How To Increase Control in Europa Universalis 5?
1. Build Roads To Reduce Proximity Cost
Every great empire needs roads. Constructing roads from your capital to important provinces decreases proximity costs and allows for quicker communication.
First, prioritize connection of important and developed regions. Even basic gravel roads can lower proximity costs, and as technology progresses, more road types can increase yourenrichment further. Advanced road types will improve your administrative efficiency even more.
To construct roads:
- Choose your capital.
- Go to the Roads or Infrastructure menu.
- Select the province you want to connect to.
Provinces that are well connected will have and maintain higher control.
2. Improve Maritime Presence
Sea routes are used for overland provinces as the stretch of water is seen as another road. To gain improved control over the sea, increase the number of harbors and your control over the water.
Improved control of the sea is achieved by upgrading ports, constructing wharves and shipyards as well as deploying ships for patrol. These ships can extend your power over your islands and coastal regions.
Strong control over the open sea is especially important for empires with coastal regions like Venice and Denmark and will allow them to maintain control over distant lands.
3. Use Cabinet Actions
Your cabinet has an important role in directly enhancing control. Two of the most important actions are:
- Increase Province Control
- Develop Province
For faster, more effective outcomes, appoint an able administrator to these actions. Such options are particularly beneficial for provinces that are distanced from the capital or for those that have recently been conquered.
4. Station Armies in Unstable Regions
Military presence provides a short-term, but effective boost to control nonetheless. By discouraging revolts and reassuring the local population, control is maintained when troops are kept in newly captured or rebellious areas.
Even in a time of peace, the order is maintained when small garrisons are placed in the lower control regions, so the stability can naturally improve over time.
5. Focus on Development
The productivity of a province certainly increases, but the regions also become easier to manage when you improve development. Higher development leads to better infrastructure, less difficult travel, and increased loyalty.
Use the Develop Province action to boost infrastructure and improve the core regions before expanding. Over time, this will transform fragile bordering territories into stable provinces that are profitable.
6. Integration
Each province has an integration level such as Colonized, Conquered, Integrated, or Core.
Conquered regions suffer from a penalty to control until they are culturally or administratively integrated. Turning a province into a Core by converting its culture to your primary or accepted culture gives the best control bonus.
Happy citizens are easier to govern. If your population (Pops) is dissatisfied due to poverty, overtaxation, or religious differences, control will drop. Keep an eye on local satisfaction levels by hovering over the population icons in each province.
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