trigger · is_neighbor_of

Hands-On Usage

is_neighbor_of is commonly used to check whether a country shares a border with a target country (based on actually controlled territory), making it ideal for diplomatic events, decision availability conditions, or war goal scripts to restrict trigger scope. For example, when you want a decision to apply only to adjacent enemy nations, you can write it like this:

available = {
    is_neighbor_of = GER
    has_defensive_war = yes
}

Synergy

• [any_neighbor_country](/wiki/trigger/any_neighbor_country): When you need to perform batch condition checks on "any neighboring country," use it together with is_neighbor_of—the former iterates through all neighbors while the latter pinpoints a specific nation.
• [has_defensive_war_with](/wiki/trigger/has_defensive_war_with): Checks whether you are in a defensive war with a specific neighbor. Combined with is_neighbor_of, you can restrict the trigger condition to "currently at war with that neighbor."
• [can_declare_war_on](/wiki/trigger/can_declare_war_on): In the available block of a war declaration decision, first use is_neighbor_of to confirm territorial adjacency, then check if war can be declared—this creates more rigorous logic.
• [create_wargoal](/wiki/effect/create_wargoal): After meeting the neighbor adjacency condition, generate a war goal. This is commonly seen in expansionist decision chains.

Common Pitfalls

1. Checking controlled territory, not sovereign territory: This trigger detects whether "actually controlled areas" are adjacent, not whether the target country "owns" core states or claimed states. If the target's territory is occupied by a third party such that the controlled region no longer borders you, the condition may unexpectedly return false. Pay attention to how occupation status affects the judgment result.
2. Scope placed in the wrong location: is_neighbor_of can only be used under COUNTRY scope. Beginners sometimes place this trigger directly in the limit block of STATE scope, causing script errors or silent failures. Always ensure the outer scope is a country, not a state.