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Europa Universalis 4 uses a complex system to simulate markets and shipping across the globe. Even if your nation doesn't produce expensive goods, you can still make plenty of money if those goods pass through your territory. Some nations, like Venice, Portugal, and Oman to name a few, excel at becoming fabulously wealthy this way.

Related: Europa Universalis 4: The Most Powerful Starting Nations

Most players can be perfectly successful and content by seizing the world's centers of trade and letting the money flow into their treasury, but a player who knows how the trade system works can get even more out of it.

Updated on May 26, 2023: Avast, me hearties! We've added a section on privateering and pirates to this guide. If Spain, Britain, or another large nation is eating up all the trade profits, hoist the black flag and steal your share on the high seas!

What Are Trade Nodes?

europa universlis 4 trade overlay nodes flow

Every region in the world has several Trade Nodes, which represent individual markets for goods. The location of each Trade Node and the connections between them are fixed and can never be changed during the game by any means. However, Nodes can be made more or less valuable by manipulating the flow of expensive goods toward or away from them.

The amount of control a nation has over a Trade Node is represented by their Trade Power there. Trade Power comes from holding land within the Trade Node's territory and sending Light Ships to protect trade routes there. Merchants sent to a Trade Node also contribute Trade Power, but the amount is negligible. Think of Trade Power as your country's shares in the Trade Node - the greater the overall Trade Power you have there compared to other nations, the more money you'll be able to make.

Provinces marked as Centers Of Trade provide a disproportionately high amount of Trade Power compared to others. Holding a Node's Center Of Trade is vital to controlling that market.

A Node's Trade Value represents the amount of money there at a given time. If you have a Merchant in a Trade Node, you can either Collect your share of the money - sending it straight to your treasury - or Transfer the Trade Power to the next Node, potentially giving you a greater share of a more valuable market.

Related: The Best Idea Groups In Europa Universalis 4

Where Does Trade Value Come From?

europa universalis 4 main trade node

Money enters the trade network everywhere that goods are produced, which is to say from every controlled province in the game. Each Node starts with a Trade Value equal to the total price of all goods produced in its provinces. Prices are mostly static, but world events can cause permanent shifts in the value of goods. If a province starts producing more of a good, the amount of money that goes into the trade network will also increase.

The owner of a province also receives the value of the goods produced there as income, so you aren't losing anything when money goes into the trade network. If anything, you have an opportunity to double-dip, making money both on the production of the goods and the trading of them!

Any Trade Value that isn't collected by a Merchant is passed along to the next Trade Node. This means that every Trade Node in the game has money coming in from its provinces and from the Nodes that feed it. If a Trade Node has multiple potential destinations, the money is divided among them as directed by any Merchants present with orders to Transfer Trade Power. A Merchant whose country has a higher Trade Power will send a greater share to their chosen destination.

Money continues to flow along the trade network until it is collected by a Merchant. It also gains value the further it travels, especially if transferred by one or more of your Merchants along the way. The best strategy, therefore, is to direct as much trade toward a Node in which you have the majority of Trade Power and collect it there.

All the money that enters the trade network will eventually end up in Genoa, Venice, or the English Channel if not collected beforehand. Countries with Trade Power in those areas must collect their shares and cannot transfer them further. Since all the world's trade travels toward those three spots, controlling and dominating them is always very lucrative.

How To Steal Trade Value With Privateers

the trade screen for Beijing in Europa Universalis 4, with the map centered on the Korean Peninsula

If you don't have a strong presence in a Trade Node, it can be more profitable to send your Light Ships on a Privateering mission rather than engaging in legitimate trade. The Privateer fleet will sail to the targeted node and produce Trade Power there as normal, except that it will show on the Trade Screen as going to a dummy faction simply called "Pirates."

The Pirates will funnel their plunder into the treasuries of their host nation, listed as "Spoils Of War" in the Ledger. Privateering is most effective in a Trade Node that is largely dominated by a single nation; their profit gets a scaling bonus based on the Trade Power of the nation with the most shares in the Node.

If your own Trade Nodes are being plundered by pirates, direct your ships to Hunt Pirates there. This reduces the bonus that the Privateers receive, potentially driving their benefactors to seek a more profitable sea to plunder.

Next: Europa Universalis 4: The Best Formable Nations