Imperial trade summary
Trade can happen between two factions in the campaign mode. Trade agreements can be made in the diplomacy screen, allowing factions to exchange trade resources and generating extra income for both factions.
Requirements[]
In Warhammer I and II, trade may only be agreed between two factions if their capital cities are connected by road or ports and generally only where relations are good. Overland routes cannot go through another faction's territory.
In Warhammer III, trade agreements no longer require the two factions be geographically connected.
For the Greenskins and most Chaotic factions there is no trade, only war. Slaanesh is the exception.
Overview[]
- If a trade agreement is agreed between factions, commerce will flow and bring in additional cash. Even without any resources produced, a trade agreement will generate income through tariffs. Tariffs are taxes imposed on foreign merchants that visit your realm to trade. These are not affected by tradable resources and provide a base income from every trade agreement you have.
- Owned resources will be automatically traded and provide income depending on production, number of trade partners and base value of a resource unit. Resource trade values can be found in the treasury menu by clicking the chest icon and navigating to the trade overview.
- A trade agreement counts as a treaty, and therefore breaking it by declaring war on the other participant incurs diplomatic penalties. It can be officially ended via the diplomacy menu, but war cannot be declared within ten turns of ending it without incurring the same penalties.
Strategy[]
- While nearly every other option's value depends on context, trade agreements are strictly beneficial. You should strive to get as many trading agreements as possible for a steady trickle of income. As you expand (and provided your trading partners or you don't betray one another), the income will gradually increase.
- The number of resources and tariffs can be increased by building various infrastructure buildings, such as ports or Trading Depots. To max out your income, consider devoting one or two provinces exclusively to trading.
- The income from trade is a strategic consideration. Always check the income from trade from your target or ally before committing to a war. Shooting a hole through your budget is hardly conducive to a good war.
- Trade is crucial for High Elves (due to their espionage mechanic), Tomb Kings (due to their Mortuary Cult) and Dwarfs (due to The Forge). It is also fairly important for Empire and Bretonnia. Vampire Counts, Skaven, Lizardmen and Dark Elves can trade, but have a harder time due to diplomatic penalties with many factions. As mentioned above, Greenskins and Warriors of Chaos cannot trade.
- Beastmen can trade, but most players may not be aware of this due to a few caveats. Firstly, the initial Herdstone must be placed in a position that enables trade with other factions (preferably a settlement with a port). Secondly, Beastmen can only engage in diplomacy with other Chaotic factions (like Norscans, Skaven and Chaos Dwarfs), so by extension those are the only races that they can form trade agreements with. Due to their start positions, some of their Legendary lords (such as Khazrak and Morghur) may have an easier time trading than others (namely Malagor and Taurox), so keep this in mind.
- The Chaos god factions also do not trade (except for Slaanesh), though they can exploit trade resources present in their settlements for other purposes.
- Trade agreements work like any other form of diplomatic treaty, boosting diplomatic relations between partners over time, while also affecting relations with other factions. Third parties who dislike one trade partner will also not be fond of the other, etc.
- If a faction that you're on good terms with is not interested in a trade agreement, it's likely because your exports are at or near maximum output and thus there's no value in it for them. Increase output by upgrading resource buildings (or taking new ones) and then try again.
- As breaking a trade agreement has the usual penalty, it might not be wise to agree to trade agreements with a faction that is likely to become an enemy sooner or later. Even if the penalty can be avoided, trading with a future enemy essentially makes them stronger.
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