Time for the next Dev diary where I tell you a little bit about the features that will appear in the upcoming Wealth of Nations expansion for EU4. In this dev diary I will dive straight into some of the trade improvements we are doing and a especially on the thinking behind them. Bear in mind that we are still working on and tweaking these features so some of them might change between now and release.Merchants republics are among the theoretically really strong nations in the game. They have a extra merchant (giving them not only the merchant but a higher naval force limit), that have extra trade efficiency and on top of that a bonus to trade steering. Add to that the, frankly, a little bit OP ability to elect rulers. Yet you rarely see nations like Venice or the Hansa grow to conquer the world. One reason for this is their geographical weakness, especially the Hansa lacks strategic depth. Then add that to what I mentioned earlier, the trade republics are kind of dangerous. This, first order of business for Denmark - take out the Hansa and for Austria - take out Venice. So we started thinking, what kind of extra thing can we add to an expansion that adds an extra layer to the Merchant Republics.In Wealth of Nations, trading with a merchant republic is no longer a zero sum game. When a merchant republic trades in a region this will add value to the goods that are produced in the region (technically we are increasing the amount of goods produced) in proportion to how big a share the Merchant Republic is taking of trade in a region. This means that as the likes of Venice and The Hansa are spreading their tentacles and send their merchants to take over the trade lanes the nations they are trading with becomes richer and until the point where the other want to become traders or Venice is threatening to become a land power, its a win win situation.In the game trading is currently centered on your capital. Thats where you direct your trade and where you collect your money. In the base game you have some options, you can collect in other places anyway but take a trade power penalty or you can simply move your capital. In Wealth of Nations we are adding a new concept, the Main Trade Port that is the new place where you collect trade with your merchants. This trade port is easily visible in the trade mapmode and can be relocated using diplomatic power. Now as France for example you have a choice, do you go for a Mediterranean strategy or an atlantic strategy, and you don't have to relocate from Paris to do it.One aspect that we felt we wanted to add to is to make the option of inland trade nodes more attractive. On sea you can send trade ships in addition to conquering provinces and making trade deals. On land however, there are no ships. We figured that we wanted to change the dynamics of how trade works inland. We figured that if we wanted to do that one way would be to make the quality of your trading be much more influential inland. After all, trading on the oceans is all about controlling the sealanes and having lots of ships and ports while inland you are much more dependant on having access to local traders, making good deals and all that stuff that makes for a good trader. In Wealth of Nations at the moment, certain trade nodes have been marked as inland, in these trade nodes your trade efficiency is really the biggest factor in deciding how much power you get. For example for having a merchant present you will now get 50 extra trade power per trade efficiency so great trading nations have it easier inland, but on the other hand low stability will decrease inland trading so having a stable nation will also be a different factor on inland trade.Finally a small ergonomic little thing that is making it into this expansion as a free feature. At the moment in EU4 if you have a merchant collecting trade and you want change the role of the trader you have to recall him and then send him out again. After you download the 1.6 patch you can now just change the trader from collecting to steering and he will just change what he is doing, no travel time involved. Thats just one example of all the little improvements and additions we are adding for free with the patch accompanying the expansion.