Raiding a region

[PunchDrunk]

Can you raid another region that you don't control WITHOUT going to war? Or do you have to be at war to do it?

[Harvester of Sorrow]

By raid I assume you mean attacking a building like a farm or a mine. If so then doing said act is an act of war so it can only be done when you are at war with the country. When you try to do it to a country that your not at war with the declare war screen comes up.

[PunchDrunk]

Ok then is it a good idea to raid the enemy city you are about to conquer?

[Slaists]

If you want to conquer and keep the city: there is no point in raiding it, you'll just have to rebuild everything yourself. In ETW there is no financial benefit to raiding (you get no loot). In Napoleon Total War, you can get considerable cash from raiding (also in Shogun 2), but not in ETW.

Raiding in ETW only makes sense if you want to slow your enemy down but do not have a sufficient force to take the territory in question (or do not want to take it for some other reasons).

[eugenioso]

raiding is oft overlooked for those reasons. the biggest issue you will face when playing the game is that raiding itself, while having little effect, will definitely help you weaken an opposing faction. remember, you dont have to raid provinces next to you, you can literally raid all the way to the enemy rear and as long as they dont catch you you can get to destroying their cities in detail.

[HauptmanT]

Use spies to do the same thing as a raid without war. They tend to cause more damage as well, thus costing more in repairs.

[eschelar]

In my experience, raiding is most useful as distraction. Send a weakened unit or army to the far side of a region capitaland watch them split up. Divide and conquer.