trigger · has_intelligence_agency

Hands-On Usage

has_intelligence_agency is commonly used to check whether a player or AI nation has established an intelligence agency, thereby unlocking subsequent intelligence-related decisions, focus trees, or advisor options. For example, you can set a prerequisite condition in the available block of a decision to ensure the player must establish an intelligence agency before executing espionage-related content.

# Example: A decision requiring the nation to have established an intelligence agency
my_spy_decision = {
    available = {
        has_intelligence_agency = yes
    }
    ...
}

Synergy

• [create_intelligence_agency](/wiki/effect/create_intelligence_agency): The most direct pairing—first use has_intelligence_agency = no as a conditional check, then create the intelligence agency via this effect to avoid duplicate creation that could cause script errors or logic confusion.
• [agency_upgrade_number](/wiki/trigger/agency_upgrade_number): After confirming the intelligence agency exists, further check the upgrade count; the two are often nested together to unlock content in tiers.
• [has_done_agency_upgrade](/wiki/trigger/has_done_agency_upgrade): When combined with this trigger, you can establish a dual threshold of "agency established + specific upgrade completed," used for advanced espionage events or decision available checks.
• [any_operative_leader](/wiki/trigger/any_operative_leader): After confirming the intelligence agency exists, check whether the nation has operative personnel; commonly seen in comprehensive conditional blocks that determine whether a nation's spy network is operationally capable.

Common Pitfalls

1. Mixed positive and negative logic: Beginners sometimes forget to write has_intelligence_agency = no in the prerequisites of a create_intelligence_agency effect, causing the script to attempt creating an agency for nations that already have one, triggering silent errors or agency data corruption; always use this trigger as a protective check first.
2. Scope object errors: When used inside loop blocks like any_allied_country / any_neighbor_country, the trigger automatically switches to the child nation scope and requires no manual target specification; beginners often add the ROOT:has_intelligence_agency syntax by mistake, resulting in checking the root nation instead of the loop target.