Force limit

A force limit is a soft limit on how many ships or regiments a country can possess. It can be exceeded at a monetary price.

If a country goes past its force limit the maintenance cost per unit will increase by as many percent as they are above the force limit, eventually making further expansion of the army or navy prohibitively expensive.

There are two independent force limits, one for naval units and one for land units, but both operate largely the same.

Computing force limit

Province modifiers

Provinces contribute to the force limit through their development level and through the following modifiers and buildings. Note that only coastal provinces may contribute to a country's naval force limit.

Condition	Land Force Limit	Naval Force Limit
Per development	+0.1	+0.1
Trade good bonus: Grain (only with Rights of Man)	+0.5
Trade good bonus: Naval supplies (only with Rights of Man)		+0.5
Regimental Camp	+1	0
Conscription Center	+2	0
Shipyard	0	+2
Grand Shipyard	0	+4
Important center of trade	0	+2
Being in trade company	0	+0.5
Local autonomy (per 1%)	-1%	-1%*

• Note: Having the province under control of the nobility, cossacks, or tribes estates will remove the effect of local autonomy on land force limit, while the burghers estate removes the effect of local autonomy on naval force limit. (only with The Cossacks)

Country modifiers

Condition	Force Limit modifier
	Land	Naval
Independent nation	+6	+12
Army Organizer advisor	+20%	0
Subject nation	-3	-6
March nation	+30%	+30%
Trading in bonus: Grain	+20%	0
Trading in bonus: Naval supplies	0	+20%
Being the revolution target	+40%	+40%
Being an invading nation	+100	+100

More sources of force limit

Ideas and policies

Ideas and policies that increase force limits:

Land force limit

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+50%	—	Russian idea 4: Life-Long Conscription	Full Quantity	—
+33%	Scottish traditions	Sonoran idea 6: Uniting the Outlaws	Muscovite ambition Ottoman ambition	—
+25%	Chickasaw traditions Daimyo traditions Nepali traditions Satake traditions Sindhi traditions	Goslar idea 5: Hunting Down the Robber Barons Hessian idea 6: Hessian Mercenaries Moldavian idea 3: Upper Boyars Permian idea 7: Permian Army Reform Ryazan idea 1: The Arsenal of Ryazan Tripuran idea 4: Extended Military Control	Rûmi ambition Sukhothai ambition Welsh ambition	—
+20%	Arawak traditions Imagawa traditions Incan traditions Mazovian traditions Shoni traditions Toki traditions Tverian traditions Westphalian traditions	Offensive idea 6: Grand Army Albanian idea 1: All Lands Under Skanderbeg Ando idea 3: Clan Unification Ava idea 2: Rajadhiraja Cornish idea 5: Cornish Royalist Army Deccani idea 4: Empower the Paigah Hosokawa idea 4: The Eastern Army Mori idea 2: Leader of Kokujin Ikki Thomondian idea 2: Subdue the Clans	Baluch ambition Lan Xang ambition Laotian ambition Somali ambition	—
+15%	—	Roman idea 4: The Roman Legions Rothenburg idea 4: The Knights of the Hinterland Tyrone idea 4: Arming the People	—	—
+10%	—	Corsican idea 4: The Corsican League	—	Diplomatic-Quantity: The Pen Relies on The Sword Act Economic-Quantity: Agricultural Cultivation Quantity-Expansion: Colonial Garrisons

Naval force limit

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+50%	Dutch traditions	Maritime idea 4: Grand Navy Danish idea 6: Found the Copenhagen Dockyard Knights Hospitaller idea 6: Scourge of the Corsairs	—	—
+33%	—	Gutnish idea 6: Gutnish Merchant Navy	Cypriot ambition	Maritime-Expansion: Naval Infrastructure
+25%	Moroccan traditions Sulawesi traditions	Exploration idea 7: Global Empire Alaskan idea 6: Alaskan Navy Berber idea 1: Barbary Pirates Candarid idea 6: Sinop Shipyard Couronian idea 5: Couronian Colonization Dalmatian idea 6: The Independent Arsenal Estonian idea 2: Baltic Ties Genoese idea 6: Setup the Office of Grand Admiral Hadramhi idea 5: Sailors of the Indian Ocean Hormuz idea 7: Hormuzi Naval Expansion Ionian idea 5: Naval Expansion Kono idea 1: Shugo of Iyo Leonese idea 5: Expand the Leonese Navy Orissan idea 7: Heritage of the Sadhabas Pomeranian idea 7: German Navy So idea 6: Port Maintenance Spanish idea 3: Treasure Fleet Sumatran idea 7: Rule of The Sea Venetian idea 1: Venetian Arsenal West Indies idea 7: Colonial Legacy	Breton ambition Cham ambition Hamburger ambition Malagasy ambition Tunisian ambition	—
+20%	Corsican traditions Navarran traditions Sardinian traditions	Mogadishan idea 6: Horn of Africa Naxian idea 1: Maritime State Ragusan idea 4: Ragusan Arsenal Sligonian idea 6: Sligo's Naval Ambition	Al-Haasa ambition	—
+15%	Croatian traditions	—	—	Maritime-Defensive: The Fleet is our Wooden Wall
+10%	—	Aragonese idea 2: Protection of the Coastlines Provençal idea 6: Toulon Dockyard	—	—

Government

Land force limit

Type	Modifier
Steppe nomads	+10%/+20%/+30% depending on government level
Tribal Federation	+10%
Dutch Republic	+25% if the Orangists are in power
Revolutionary republic	+20% if the Girondists are in power
Shogunate	+0.5 land force limit per subject daimyo if Sword Hunt decision has been taken (only with Mandate of Heaven). Also gives -2 to all subject daimyos.

Additionally, the Holy Roman Emperor gets +0.5 land force limit per member state.
Natives who build the fortified house building gain +10 land force limit.

Naval force limit

Type	Modifier
Dutch Republic	+10% if the Statists are in power

Subjects

• Vassals and client states give +1 land force limit to their master.
• Marches give +2 land force limit to their master.
• Large (more than 10 provinces) colonial nations give +5 land force limit and +10 naval force limit to their master.
• Junior partners in a personal union and protectorates don't increase the land force limit of their masters.

Following ideas and policies that increase force limits increased by subjects. For example, an increase of 100% would mean that all above mentioned bonuses would be doubled (4 instead of 2 force limit from marches).

	Traditions	Ideas	Bonuses	Policies
+100%	—	Influence idea 7: Marcher Lords Andalusian idea 2: Taifa Administration Ashikaga idea 7: Reform the Shogun - Shugo System Bosnian idea 5: Land of Princes Herzegovinian idea 5: Land of Princes	—	Influence-Aristocratic: Autonomous Estates Influence-Economic: Vassal Obligations Act Plutocratic-Influence: Unified Army Command

Effect on maintenance

If a country has more land or naval units than the corresponding force limit, maintenance for those units will be multiplied by the ratio of units to the force limit, with the units over the force limit counting twice. ${\text{Maintenance increase}}={\frac {{\text{Force limit}}+{\text{Number of units over the force limit}}\cdot 2}{\text{Force limit}}}$

For example, having 12 regiments of infantry while at a force limit of 10 will increase maintenance for all regiments by 40%, independent of the type of unit.

As can be seen, going over the force limit will very quickly increase the maintenance costs and should only be done when absolutely necessary. Going over the land force limit will not increase the costs for naval units and vice versa.

Total maintenance cost

The total maintenance cost of an army or navy is:

${\text{total maintenance cost}}={\text{average base maintenance}}\cdot {\text{number of units}}$

Or, when above force limit:

${\text{total maintenance cost}}={\text{average base maintenance}}\cdot {\text{Maintenance increase}}\cdot {\text{number of units}}$

In this case, when above the force limit:

• A multiplier to force limit has the same effect as a reciprocal multiplier to maintenance.
• The number of units that can be fielded for a fixed maintenance cost grows as the square root of the force limit.

Footnotes

Warfare