Along with Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis, Victoria 2 is a member of Paradox Interactive’s primary line of grand strategy games.
There are many choices in the strategy genre, but Victoria stands out as one of the most ambitious recent releases.
Although Victoria is sometimes referred to as a “wargame,” its main objective is for you to carefully manage your economy and politics to construct one of 200 playable nations.
Victoria distinguishes itself from most other strategy games by downplaying warfare. And if that still isn’t enough to convince you to start playing again, perhaps some of these mods will.
Some of these mods require a paradox plaza account, which you may always create for free.
21. Mish Mash Map Mod
We didn’t expect to add new mods to this guide, but the Victoria 2 community is still very active and working on new projects for this classic strategy game.
The main thing that the Mish Mash mod does is use some clever magic to give the Victoria 2 campaign map a 3D front. It’s not really 3D, but it’s the closest this game will ever get.
At the moment, the mod only affects mountains and hills, but the person who made it wants to fix all of the heightmaps and maybe even add water effects in the future.
20. Divergences of Darkness Mod
The Divergences of Darkness Mod is probably the biggest mod for Victoria 2 that changes the past.
It asks some of the most interesting “what if?” questions that could take the game in ways that aren’t possible by default.
And that’s what mods are for, right?
You’ll find a lot of “points of divergence” in Divergences of Darkness that change the course of history, like China continuing to explore the seas or Isabella of Spain marrying a Portuguese prince instead of Ferdinand II.
These are just a few of the things you can do with the mod. For more information, check out the description and the forum thread.
Give this mod a try if you want to learn about history in a way that could lead you down a lot of different paths.
19. Blood and Iron
Blood and Iron is another overhaul mod that puts more emphasis on fighting than on making peace.
There are a lot of new ways to fight for control of certain areas that you can try out here.
Also, there are new units, mechanics, and Casus Belli options to make war in the game more interesting.
In addition to changes to battles, the mod adds historical events that weren’t in the base game. Just a little something to spice up your campaign.
18. Pop Demand Mod
The Pop Demand Mod, or PDM, began as an open community discussion about how the economy should be balanced and how Victoria 2 could be made better.
PDM is the most complete list of changes based on community feedback, and it will eventually be released as a full mod.
The economy is the area where PDM makes the most changes.
In addition to carefully rebalancing the game’s existing mechanics, 20 new goods have been added to the economy.
If you install this and try it out, you’ll probably never play without it again.
17. Historical Flavour Mod
The Historical Project Mod is the direct cause of HFM.
And it’s wonderful.
It basically adds to HPM, giving players a lot more choices, storylines, and options.
This lets you look at some different versions of history that you couldn’t do in HPM.
HPM is a great choice if you want to add to the base game in a good way.
But if you want something a little bit “out there” while still being true to the base game, HFM is a great choice.
16. Historical Project Mod
By far, the most popular mod on this list is the Historical Project Mod.
Even though it’s impressive, I have to say that it was made by just one man, whose goal was to make Victoria 2 as real as possible.
The person who made HPM didn’t want to change the game too much from its original state, so it doesn’t make many big changes.
But the small details here and there add up to make Victoria 2 a more refined game.
Some of the changes are the addition of slavery growth, new reforms, elections that can be skipped, and a better AI.
15. New Era Mod
The New Era mod is a different way to bring Victoria 2 up to date.
It’s based on the Historical Project Mod, or HPM, which you’ll see on this list pretty soon.
Now, with the New Era Mod, there are two new campaigns to play through. The first one starts in 1920, as the Great War is coming to an end.
In the second campaign, you are in 1936, when tensions are rising and you are about to start World War II.
How things go from here is totally up to you.
14. Cold War Enhancement Mod
The Cold War Enhancement Mod is a great place to start if you want to add more to the war part of Victoria 2.
This also brings the story closer to the present. CWEM is about the events of the Cold War, which was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union.
There are some interesting changes to the way the game is played, like adding an aging system.
This gives different bonuses depending on the time period, so some times were better for war than others.
The things that happen during the game are also true to history, which makes this the best mod for this time period.
13. Kaiserreich
Kaiserreich is a mod for Hearts of Iron that changes history. It is based on a different mod for Hearts of Iron.
Kaiserreich tries to tell history as if the Germans had won World War I. It shows how the world would be now if the Germans had won.
The timeline goes from 1921-2000, and there are new units, a reworked tech tree, and new countries to play as.
This mod has a lot to discover, and it’s a great way to play Victoria 2 in a new way.
You can even win the space race and be the first country to put a man on the moon.
12. Modern Age Mod
Now, here’s another really fun mod that changes the game to make it more modern.
The year is not 1836, but 1992.
The Berlin Wall has come down, bringing Germany back together.
The USSR is gone, and there is now democracy all over Eastern Europe.
It’s a very different time, so the game is also very different.
Technologies have changed to reflect the time period, and new events, country statistics, and units are based on real historical data.
This is the way to go if you want a more modern version of Victoria 2 with more recent history.
11. Apocalypse 1836
Before we get to the more serious Victoria 2 overhaul mods, I like to add something just for fun.
The Apocalypse 1836 scenario mod is interesting because it adds zombies to your Victoria 2 game.
Yes, zombies, you heard that right.
The mod is based on the idea that in 1836, a form of the Solomon Virus spread and turned people into zombie-like creatures.
The zombies change into a new type of rebel, and we meet a new type of government: a State of Emergency.
You have to find your way through the 19th century while the living is being killed by zombies. Sounds cool!
10. Sexii Colours
The Victoria 2 modding community has taken it upon themselves to produce a lot of graphical upgrades that improve the game’s appearance closer to modern standards, as they do with most older games.
But let’s avoid going too far. Expecting any mod to make the game resemble current AAA titles is ludicrous.
SexiiColours, on the other hand, is an excellent place to start if you’re seeking small changes that make the game easier on the eyes.
The mod not only broadens the color palette but also simplifies gameplay in general.
Country colors have been changed to improve their recognizability while preserving their historical correctness.
9. Conversion of the Flag Tweak Mod Pack
This time, a basic visual adjustment concentrates on flags from various nations.
Custom flag designs were produced by modder unmerged to more accurately represent various forms of governance in various nations.
Yes, he is also aware that the base game already has many flags for governments that practice democracy, monarchy, republicanism, communism, and fascism.
However, he believes there is space for advancement (like most modders). The outcome is as follows.
While some unmerged flag designs have been modified for an overall better look, others have undergone modest alterations to increase historical accuracy.
8. Fertilizer Danevang’s Map
If we’re going to improve the color coding of the nations and their flags, we might as well spice up the globe map.
You’ll be spending absurd amounts of time exploring the world map in Victoria 2.
Why then would you not desire a prettier appearance?
The map gets a tonne more depth thanks to this mod, which increases the amount of landscape and land mass textures. Additionally enhanced are the oceans, which now display terrain and ocean depths.
As you may anticipate, this mod will be very demanding on budget PCs. Danevang also gives us a low-res version, so don’t worry if you think your current setup won’t be able to handle it.
Even though it lacks some of the usual mod details, it still looks better than vanilla.
7. Vic2MapMap by Modestus
In another map modification, however, the emphasis is much more on enhancing the land terrain.
The Vic2MapMap by Modestus adds a tonne of topographical information to make the map appear more realistic.
The terrain stands out a lot more in Vic2MapMap. From a macro perspective, you can now see fields, woods, mountains, and snow.
It’s fantastic that some users report increased performance and greater unit visibility when using this mod. Try it out and let us know what you think.
6. Victoria 2 Advisor. (a.k.a. Lint)
Other than graphical improvements, a few utility mods can be useful in unexpected ways.
There is a lot of statistical analysis needed for Victoria 2. Having to digest such a large amount of information can get quite intimidating.
The user-friendliness of Victoria 2 has already improved from the first Victoria game, but it may still be fairly intimidating for less experienced players. The Victoria 2 Advisor wants to help with that.
The Advisor functions by having you feed it a save file, which it then uses to provide you with a wealth of useful information, like missed research, clergy, and leader values, naval overviews, and much more.
Whether you’ve been away from the game for some time or are simply having trouble recalling everything that happened when you last played, it will help you catch up quickly.
5. War Analyzer Save Game
These next two tools might be equally helpful for saving more focused game analysis.
The Save Game War Analyzer, the first of the two, essentially displays all war-related data for each Victoria 2 save file.
With each battle having a lot more in-depth menu to explore, this mod will provide you a comprehensive summary of all conflicts that have taken place in the saved game.
It lists the participants, the dates the wars took place, and information about the spoils of war. Neat!
4. Save Game Economy Analysis
As I said earlier, Victoria 2 aims to shift the emphasis away from combat and onto monetary advancements.
Therefore, the Save Game Economy Analyzer will undoubtedly be useful.
To make wise judgments for your country while you play, you’ll need all the knowledge you can gather, and as time goes on, things always get trickier.
The Economy Analyzer, like the War Analyzer, provides quick access to vital data like population statistics, export and import graphs, and unemployment rates.
3. Modifications to Player Enhancement
The Player’s Enhancement Mod is the best there is for Victoria’s quality-of-life upgrades.
Essentially, it seeks to increase user accessibility without significantly altering the normal gameplay.
A few UI adjustments have been made, including improved info windows that don’t block the view of the map any longer.
Additionally, province graphics can now display topographical qualities, and the influence slider has been updated with new colors that make it simpler to judge the strength of an impact.
A few sound improvements are also introduced for uprisings, building, and research.
2. The Colonial Era
As we delve more into the realm of Victoria 2 mods, we find that many alter the gameplay in more significant ways.
While some only want to make your experience better overall without making too many changes to the core game, others want to give you entirely new situations to play through.
Age of Colonialism is a fantastic illustration of the latter.
It’s more of an overall balance mod that seeks to correct mechanics in the basic game that players believed to be broken.
Overpowered colonies, super-rapid assimilation, and recurrent election events are a few of the topics discussed.
The proliferation of technology is more practical, which is one of the main developments here.
Today, additional elements like knowledge, conscience, and militancy have an impact on farming technology.
Another improvement is the enhanced AI, which gives them the capacity to decide more intelligently on their advancement.
Without actually changing all that much, this patch introduces so many rebalances that it will feel like a different game. It will make sense if you install the mod.
1. ZinnMod
ZinnMod, another rebalancing mod, takes an alternative approach to address game-breaking or ineffective features.
Assimilation and religious conversion modifications, a lessened necessity for national concentration, and an increased impact of crimes are a few instances of changes.
Additionally, the values for unit experience gain and slave growth have been harmonized.
It just comes down to personal preference at this point and which strikes you as being better balanced.
I’d advise trying both to see which you prefer.
