Hello, fellow Datafriends!
Wouldn't it be nice if we could get good commanders? Like this experienced artillery commander and defensive strategist. Or this meticulous offensive planner and supply expert. Or this expert naval commander. There is a hidden experience system in Victoria 3, so it is possible to train your commanders.

We will talk about the following:
How the Experience System Works
How you can get better Commanders
How Commander Level Affects Retreating
How Battle Conditions are Chosen
So, let's talk about the experience system. This is how the game stores a general in a save file. Here you can see his traits and

this is the expected trait value. This corresponds to the level of a general. Although it works more like skill points which a general can use to buy traits. Each trait costs a certain amount of skill points. There are personality traits,

like brave or persistent. These traits always cost 3 skill points. Then there are skill traits, which cannot level up, like pillage or mountain commander. These traits always cost 2 skill points. And then there are skill traits which can level up, like offensive

planner. These cost 1 skill point per level.
When a commander has a higher expected trait value than the total cost of his traits, there is a weekly chance that this commander will gain a new trait. Each character can get two personality traits, two skill traits, and two

skill traits. There may be some events which can add more traits, but two traits from each category is the normal limit. This commander has one personality trait and one skill trait, which can level up. So they cost 4 skill points. Once this guy reaches level 5,

He can get a new trait. While he has only one free skill point, he can still get a new personality trait, which costs three. In such an event, his traits will cost 7 skill points. So he needs to reach level 8 to get another trait. But how does a general actually gain experience?

Mostly by just existing. Each week, each existing character gets 0.25% of a level. Which means it takes 400 weeks or about 7.7 years to level up once. But if a commander is

executing an order, he may gain extra experience. If a general is at a front, he gets an extra 0.1% experience per week. That is a 40% increase. Then you only need 285 weeks or 5.5 years to

level up. Admirals only get more experience if they raid or escort convoys. Escorting convoys gives 0.05% extra experience, and raiding convoys gives 0.1% extra experience. It's not about

actually escorting or raiding convoys during a war. It's just about having the order active in a sea node. At least, I am 90% certain about this. Powerful politicians also get an extra 0.1%

experience per week. Powerful means your head of state, your heir, and any leader of a powerful interest group. So you can try to use those as commanders to level up faster. But be aware that being a politician makes getting politician traits more likely.

Those usually don't help in commanding.
There are two more rules for experience: 1. Characters in the agitator pool get a reduced rate. They only get 0.1% per week in total. So their experience gain is reduced by 60%. 2. Generals in the recruit pool get only 0.05% experience per week. So their experience gain is reduced by 80%. But how can we use that information to get better generals?

At first, there's the obvious solution: If you don't plan to go to war anytime soon, start a tiny war against some unimportant nation and station your generals with a defend order at the front. Each week at a front gets them more experience. The size of the army does not matter. Leading 100 units or just 1 unit does not make a difference in experience.

Secondly, characters can get the most experience if they exist for a long time, which is not exactly the same as getting old. Let's talk about the recruitment pool. Although we can only see three generals, the game has a recruitment pool of 5 generals.

Each time you recruit a general, the game creates a new one for your recruitment pool and shows you the three best options available. If a commander gets older than 55, he is removed from the pool.

When a new character is created, the game rolls 5 normal six-sided dice. It adds the rolls together and adds 20. This means a new character can be between the ages of 25 and 50. The average is 37.5 years.

Each character also gets a health value and will die according to a normal distribution, which can be shifted by the health value. Conditions can also shorten the life of a character. Conditions usually appear above the age

of 60. The median life expectancy at baseline health is 75 years, so we will work with this. Normally, a new general is created at level 4. Say a character was created at the age of 50 and dies at the age of 75. Then he exists for 25 years and gets about 4 levels during his lifetime. But if the character was created at the age of 25, then he exists for 50 years, he gets about 8 levels during his lifetime. And you can use that character longer. So, in conclusion:

younger generals will become stronger during their lifetime than older generals. Of course, the starting traits are also important. But remember, the average age for new generals is 37. So getting a commander below, say 35, is a good catch.

Now we know how to get generals with a lot of traits, but can we influence which traits they will get? Well, somewhat. Personality traits are only slightly influenced by being an agitator or a politician. But these either get reduced experience or can

roll politician skill traits. Both are bad. So, we can't really influence personality traits. We can do more about skill traits: Researching logistics makes a resupply commander more likely.

An artillery commander is only possible if you researched artillery. You can increase the chance of getting this trait if the army of

your commander has at least 20% artillery. This is per type, so you need 20% mobile artillery, for example. 10% cannon artillery and 10% mobile artillery does not work. More modern artillery makes this trait even more likely. A stalwart defender needs field works researched.

Stalwart defender can upgrade to trench rat if you researched trench works. If you have 25% trench infantry or squad infantry, then it is way more likely. Trench rat can upgrade to defense in depth specialist if you researched defense in depth.

If you have 25% trench infantry or squad infantry, then it is way more likely. Offensive planner needs Napoleonic warfare. Defensive strategist needs military drill. Naval commander and convoy raider needs admiralty. That's all you can do to influence traits.

But a general's level also influences when a general retreats. I prepared a small war and I will attack with only 5 units, to make sure that we will lose. On the left side, I will attack with a level 4 general. On the right side is a level 9 general.

On the left side, you can see a panicked retreat once we are below 20% manpower, so below 1,000 soldiers. But the experienced general uses a controlled retreat. Controlled retreats are only available to generals above level 5.

Though I am not sure if that means we need a full level 6 general or if level 5.1 is enough. But this means that any general below level 5, so whom you recruited less than 7.7 years ago, will always use the panicked retreat,

which is way more punishing. An experienced general may still use panicked retreat, but it is way less likely and they will only use it once they are below 10% manpower. Should you happen to have a general below level 4, then this general will retreat once 30% manpower is left.

This can make a huge difference if your general runs at 30% manpower, but your enemy only runs at 20% manpower. And a controlled retreat will recover a lot more men than a panicked one. There are some traits, like the defensive strategist, which make some battle conditions

more likely to appear. But how good is that? In the case of 'dug in,' that gives +20% defense and -10% morale loss. That is a lot, especially since you could also roll something bad. Poor visibility

reduces offensive and defensive by 25%. Of course, there is randomness and you can get almost any battle condition. But some battle conditions make other battle conditions more likely or impossible. It gets kind of messy here, but stick with me. We will start with 'exhausted.'

Depending on the previous battle condition, 'exhausted' will be more likely to appear. A green arrow adds a value of 2 to the random weight, which usually triples the chance. So, if you start with 'rapid advance,' which can only appear for an attacking army, you are more

likely to get a 'blunder' or a 'surprise maneuver.' And then you are more likely to go to 'exhausted.' Some battle conditions are not allowed to immediately follow some other battle conditions. In this case, if you get a 'broken supply line,' you are not

allowed to get 'logistics secured' and vice versa. And some battle conditions are only possible for the defender. As I said, it gets a bit messy. You can also find this in a table in the Victoria 3 wiki, but in my opinion, a chart is still helpful. But now, say you have an increased chance to get a

careful maneuver, which reduces casualties and morale loss. If you are attacking, then you have an increased chance for secured logistics, which gives -20% morale loss. And then you have an increased chance for aggressive maneuver, which increases casualties by 20%

but also increases morale damage by 25%. And then the battle is probably over. So, more careful maneuver chance is fine for an attacker, but not as good for a defender, since you cannot get the secured logistics. This also makes surveyor a really good defensive

trait, especially if you defend your very own provinces. You get 10% defense and an increased likelihood to roll charted terrain or good visibility. Good visibility gives +25% defense and charted terrain gives kill rate. And then you have an increased chance to roll surprise

maneuvers or dug in, which are again pretty good. If you want to know how Taxes and Radicals work in 1.8, click on the top video. Thanks a lot for watching. Please consider liking and subscribing.

The Hidden Experience System For Generals

Data Timelapses

Introduction to Victoria 3's Commander Experience System and its Benefits

Explains the existence of a hidden experience system for training commanders in Victoria 3.

Outlines the topics to be covered: experience system mechanics, improving commanders, retreat effects, and battle condition selection.

Details how the experience system works, using skill points to acquire traits.

Specifies the trait limits for commanders (two personality, two skill, two level-up skill traits).

Explains how commanders gain experience, primarily through time and actions like leading troops.

Strategies for Obtaining Better Commanders

Suggests starting small wars to gain experience for generals through prolonged frontline presence.

Discusses the recruitment pool mechanics, including the creation of new generals and their age range.

Concludes that younger generals gain more levels over their lifespan.

Explains the limited influence on personality traits but discusses the impact of research on skill traits.

Commander Level's Impact on Retreats and Battle Conditions

Illustrates how commander level affects retreat type (panicked vs. controlled).

Explains how certain traits influence battle conditions.

Describes the complex interrelation between different battle conditions and their probabilities.

Analyzes the impact of battle conditions on attackers and defenders.