Victoria 3 puts you at the head of a country and places all the problems you'd expect squarely in your lap. You have to run the economy, manage your governance and lawmaking, and even direct warfare when conflicts break out.
Of course, leaders aren't infallible, and your Pops know that. You need a certain something to be able to impose laws and throw your power about. That certain something is Authority, one of Victoria 3's three government capacities, along with Bureaucracy and Influence. You have some really powerful tools at your disposal with enough Authority, so you'll want a lot of it.
What Is Authority?
As the game puts it, Authority is a measure of your ability to effect change within your country. It's a very powerful resource, used to issue Decrees, impose profitable Consumption Taxes, and either Suppress or Bolster certain Interest Groups.
As with most things in Victoria 3, Authority is a balance, not a stockpile. This means that you need to keep a positive balance of Authority, lest you become unable to make more changes.
How To Raise Authority
Your Authority is derived mainly from your laws. The stricter the law, the more power it gives the government, which equals more Authority to use. There are other ways to increase Authority, such as random events, technology, and popularity, but the vast majority will come from your set of laws.
You can't do much to affect your Popularity - it is decided by your leader's traits and some random events. Pay attention to event outcomes and watch out for events that may let you remove negative traits, such as Psychological Affliction.
The table below details every law in the game that can raise or lower authority.
|
Law Category |
Law |
Effect on Authority |
|---|---|---|
|
Distribution of Power |
Autocracy |
+250 |
|
Oligarchy |
+200 |
|
|
Landed Voting |
+150 |
|
|
Wealth Voting |
+100 |
|
|
Census Suffrage |
+50 |
|
|
Universal Suffrage |
No effect |
|
|
Anarchy |
-50% |
|
|
Citizenship |
Ethnostate |
+200 |
|
National Supremacy |
+200 |
|
|
Racial Segregation |
+100 |
|
|
Cultural Exclusion |
+50 |
|
|
Multiculturalism |
No Effect |
|
|
Church and State |
State Religion |
+200 |
|
Freedom of Conscience |
+100 |
|
|
Total Separation |
No Effect |
|
|
Free Speech |
Outlawed Dissent |
+200 |
|
Censorship |
+100 |
|
|
Right of Assembly |
+50 |
|
|
Protected Speech |
No effect |
As you can see from the table, getting more Authority will come at a cost to the rights of your Pops.
In addition to the laws above, enacting the following laws will give you percentage-based increases in Authority:
- Command Economy (Economic System)
- Isolationism (Trade Policy)
Also, the following technologies will increase your Authority by ten percent when you research them: Mass Communication, Nationalism, Pan-nationalism, Political Agitation, and Mass Communication.
If you find yourself falling behind in Authority generation, you might want to take a look at what you're currently spending it on. With the ever-fluctuating prices of Goods, it's always good to check up on your Consumption Taxes - it's often the case that you can fiddle with them to get better outcomes for less Authority expenditure.