Trade Mastery Guide
Advanced strategies for dominating EU5's trading system
Why Trade Mastery Matters
Trade income in EU5 can represent 50%+ of your total economy by mid-game. Unlike tax income that requires population and development, trade income scales with your market network, trade capacity, and crown power. A nation with 50% crown power trading 100 ducats worth of goods receives only 50 ducats—meaning crown power optimization alone can double your trade income overnight.
Understanding markets, market access, and trade route prioritization separates economically struggling nations from economic superpowers. This guide will teach you the systems that determine who gets goods first, how to maximize trade capacity for more trade routes, and how to structure your market network for optimal economic output.
Crown Power
Directly multiplies trade income. 50% crown power = 50% of trade value received.
Trade Capacity
Determines how many trade routes you can establish from each market.
Market Access
The key metric determining distribution priority—who gets goods first.
Markets Fundamentals
CriticalCore Market Actions
Create new markets when you have 30+ provinces
Reduces distribution distance, increases market attraction, and allows more targeted trade routes
Build marketplaces in EVERY province (100% profit building)
Increases market attraction value, adds +0.5 trade capacity each, compounds trade route availability
Protect high-attraction markets with diplomatic agreements
High market attraction draws foreign trade routes—lock yours in with alliance trade agreements
Monitor "Inflow" and "Outflow" tabs constantly
Inflow shows what you're receiving; Outflow shows where your goods are leaking to competitors
Market Access — The Key Metric
CriticalMarket Access Goals
Build roads connecting ALL provinces to your capital market
Roads reduce distribution cost, increasing market access for your capital's trade routes
Maximize harbors in coastal provinces
Harbors grant +1.0 market attraction AND reduce maritime distribution costs significantly
Station naval fleets for maritime presence in sea tiles
Maritime presence reduces proximity cost through sea tiles, improving access to island and coastal markets
Check trade route tooltips for market access values
Hover over any trade route to see your market access score—aim for 80%+ on critical routes
Trade Advantage & Maritime Presence
CriticalMaritime Presence Strategy
Station fleets of 20 ships each in sea tiles
Each sea tile with naval presence grants +0.18 base maritime presence, reducing proximity cost
Use "Patrol Seas" fleet objective for 4 tiles per fleet
Optimal setup: 5 fleets of 20 ships covering 20 sea tiles around your coastal empire
Prioritize straits and critical trade passages
Gibraltar, English Channel, Danish Sound—controlling these with naval presence dominates trade access
Build harbors in every coastal province
Harbors increase maritime trade efficiency and stack with fleet presence for maximum access
Food Stockpile & Population Growth
CriticalFood Stockpile Strategy
Establish food trade routes to every market immediately
Grain, fruit, livestock—prioritize food inflow before luxury goods
Build granaries in capital and major urban centers
Granaries increase local food stockpile cap and grant +0.5% population growth in that province
Monitor food stockpile monthly—target +30 minimum
Below +20 stockpile, population growth stalls; above +40, growth accelerates significantly
Build food RGOs (farms, orchards, ranches) everywhere possible
Food production generates trade income from surplus AND feeds your growing population
Crown Power — The Trade Multiplier
CriticalCrown Power Optimization for Trade
Assign your king as army general (+25% crown power)
Single most impactful crown power action—increases trade income by 25-50% depending on base crown power
Assign family member as admiral (+25% crown power)
Stacks with king general bonus for +50% total crown power from military assignments
Maintain 100 legitimacy for +10% crown power
Assign cabinet member to monthly legitimacy, or use events/decisions for legitimacy boosts
Pass centralization-pushing laws and reforms
100 centralization grants +50% crown power—this is the long-term goal for trade-focused nations
Trade Capacity Sources
Trade capacity determines how many trade routes each market can establish. More trade routes = more goods imported = higher population satisfaction and trade income. Trade capacity comes from buildings (additive) and modifiers (multiplicative percentage increases).
Building Sources (Additive)
| Building | Trade Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | +0.5 | Build in EVERY province |
| Harbor | +1.0 | Coastal provinces only |
| Stock Exchange | +2.0 | Capital and major trade centers |
| Trade Port | +1.5 | Requires harbor, late-game building |
| Burgher Estate Privilege | +10% | Commercial Advisory Board privilege |
CriticalTrade Capacity Priority
Build marketplaces first (100% profit + 0.5 capacity each)
A nation with 50 provinces × 0.5 capacity = +25 trade capacity just from marketplaces
Harbors in every coastal province (+1.0 capacity each)
Coastal empires (England, Portugal, Holland) get massive capacity from harbor spam
Stock Exchange in capital market for +2.0 capacity
Late-game building but extremely high-value for capital trade hub optimization
Grant Burgher estate Commercial Advisory Board (+10%)
Percentage modifiers multiply your total capacity—extremely valuable mid-to-late game
Trade Route Management
CriticalRoute Management Strategy
Use auto-assign for initial route setup (Economy → Trading tab)
Auto-assign filters by profit, food needs, or population satisfaction—good starting point
Lock critical trade routes to prevent auto-reassignment
Food routes, high-value goods (silk, dyes, spices), government input goods (iron, lumber, stone)
Review routes monthly via Demand tab in each market
Check which goods are in shortage—establish routes for those specific goods manually
Cancel unprofitable routes and reassign capacity elsewhere
If a route shows negative profit in tooltip, cancel it unless it's fulfilling critical population needs
Trade Priority System
Trade Priority Hierarchy
Government Input Goods
Iron (military), lumber (construction), stone (buildings)—critical for development
Always prioritize these routes first
Population Needs (Food & Basic Goods)
Grain, fruit, livestock, basic textiles—fulfills population satisfaction and drives growth
Essential for population growth and stability
High-Value Trade Goods
Silk, dyes, spices, precious metals—major trade income sources
Lock these routes to prevent competitor access
Luxury & Optional Goods
Wine, tobacco, coffee, exotic goods—profitable but not critical
Fill remaining capacity with these based on profit
CriticalPriority Implementation Checklist
Check Demand tab for iron, lumber, stone shortages first
If government inputs are in shortage, all other goods become lower priority immediately
Establish food routes until stockpile reaches +30 minimum
Below +30 stockpile, population growth stalls—prioritize food over luxury goods
Lock high-value goods to prevent foreign access
If France is establishing routes to YOUR silk producers, lock those routes immediately
Use remaining capacity for profit-maximizing luxury routes
Once priorities 1-3 are covered, fill remaining slots with highest-profit routes from auto-assign
Capital Market Optimization
CriticalCapital Market Strategy
Relocate capital to coastal provinces with natural harbors
Lisbon (Portugal), Amsterdam (Holland), London (England)—coastal capitals dominate trade
Build every trade capacity building in capital province
Marketplace, harbor, stock exchange, trade port—maximize capital capacity to 100+ routes
Connect capital to all provinces with road network
Roads reduce distribution cost, increasing capital market access across your empire
Station 10+ fleets (200 ships) in capital sea region
Maritime presence around capital grants massive trade advantage to all capital market routes
Common Trading Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced EU5 players make these trading system mistakes that cost significant income and economic efficiency.
Ignoring crown power until late game
Crown power directly multiplies trade income. Going from 25% to 50% crown power doubles trade income immediately. Assign king as general and family as admiral first month, not after 50 years.
Not building marketplaces in every single province
Marketplaces are 100% profit buildings that also add +0.5 trade capacity each. A 60-province empire without marketplaces is missing 30 trade capacity—that's 30 fewer trade routes and thousands of ducats over the campaign.
Allowing foreign nations to steal goods from your markets
Check Outflow tab monthly. If France has trade routes to YOUR silk producers and higher market access, they're receiving silk before you do. Lock those routes and embargo competitors.
Creating one giant market instead of multiple regional markets
A single 80-province market has terrible distribution costs to distant provinces. Split into 3-4 regional markets (30 provinces each) for better market attraction and reduced distribution distance.
Neglecting food stockpile and population growth
Every +10 food stockpile grants +1% population growth. Nations at +40 stockpile grow 50% faster than those at 0. This compounds dramatically—prioritize food routes over luxury goods early.
Not locking critical trade routes
Auto-assign will cancel food routes if luxury goods become temporarily more profitable. Lock all food routes, government inputs, and high-value exports to prevent auto-cancellation.
Building harbors before marketplaces
Harbors cost more and provide +1.0 capacity (2x marketplace). But if you only have 5 coastal provinces and 50 inland provinces, build 50 marketplaces first for +25 capacity before 5 harbors for +5.
Ignoring maritime presence system for coastal empires
England, Portugal, Holland, Venice—coastal powers need 10+ fleets (200 ships) patrolling sea tiles for maritime presence bonuses. This increases market access by 15-25% for all coastal routes.
Not checking market Demand tab before building RGOs
If your markets show grain surplus but silk shortage, build silk RGOs not more grain. Check Demand tab before every RGO construction decision to target actual shortages.
Keeping capital in inland provinces for trade-focused nations
If you're playing a trade-oriented nation (Holland, Venice, Genoa, Portugal), relocate capital to your best coastal harbor by 1400-1450. The trade income boost pays for the admin cost within 20 years.
Not understanding market access determines distribution priority
Higher market access = goods first. If you're not receiving high-value goods despite having trade routes, your market access is too low. Build roads, increase maritime presence, or create closer regional markets.
Exporting food when stockpile is below +30
Food exports generate ducats but reduce stockpile, slowing population growth. Never export food if your stockpile is below +30. Growth speed penalties cost more long-term than food export profit.