20 ESSENTIAL Beginner Tips for Crusader Kings 3

Are you new to Crusader Kings III and feeling a bit overwhelmed? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll provide you with 25 tips to help you navigate the game and become a successful ruler.

First things first, if you’re a feudal vassal, consider modifying your contract to pick up Council rights and succession rights. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses. Another tip for your first playthrough is to focus on playing tall. Instead of holding a lot of land, focus on improving your County’s development and building up. This will eventually make you equally if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals – a pretty stress-free way to learn.

Key Takeaways

Modify your contract to pick up Council rights and succession rights if you’re a feudal vassal.

Focus on playing tall to improve your County’s development and building up.

Modifying Your Contract

If you are a feudal vessel, the first thing you should do is modify your contract by picking up council rights and giving succession rights instead of high levies. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it is highly recommended to play tall. This means not holding a lot of land, but instead focusing on improving your county’s development and building up. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

To deal with painful vassal uprisings, you can save hostile faith prisoners in your prisons for many years and then execute them all for easy dread. This will leave your vassals terrified and unable to do anything. Alternatively, you can use Majesty Grand to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals, as you need plus 80 opinion to stop them from rebelling.

To stop factions before they even rise up, start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. Also, make sure your most powerful vassals are on your counter, or they will hate you otherwise.

If you want to take over large amounts of land, click on a title and then click claimant. If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or abduct and recruit them, you can push their claims. However, make sure that the title you are taking is below yours, otherwise they will go independent.

If you swear field D and start a dissolution faction, you can take down entire empires easily. Get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of dukes that are much easier to take over.

To make any faith the most powerful in the world, take land outside your main djay title, create a holy order there, and grant that land away. Repeat this over and over, and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

Remember not to waste renown on disinheriting your children. Instead, reconquer the land, and you will be way more powerful and have claims. Also, educate your vassals’ heirs, as eventually, they will be on your council, so making them as good as they can be will massively benefit you in the future.

Early game, it’s better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own.

Finally, if a faction still rises up, the quickest way to take them down is to find the war leader, raise your troops next to their capital, and siege it as fast as you can. Often, this can push you over 30% war score, allowing for an easy white peace.

Playing Tall

If you’re a feudal vessel, one of the first things you should do is modify your contract by picking up Council rights. Instead of giving High levies, give succession rights. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it’s recommended to play tall. This means not holding a lot of land but instead focusing on improving your County’s development and building up. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals. It’s a pretty stress-free way to learn.

If you do decide to conquer a lot of land, there are a few tips to deal with the painful vassal uprisings, especially after inheritance when everybody seems to hate you for existing.

The first way is to save a bunch of people from hostile faiths in your prisons for many years. Then, when you inherit, execute them all for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to do anything.

Another way is to be a bit nicer. A Majesty Grand can quickly allow you to gain the opinion of your vassals. You need plus 80 opinion to stop them, so don’t make the mistake of thinking plus 50 opinion means they like you. Grand TOS make it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.

The final tip for stopping factions before they even rise up is to start a war. Place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. It’s a nice, simple, and effective way to stop them.

It’s important to make sure your most powerful vassals, seen by this symbol, are on your counter. They will hate you otherwise, of course, unless you have befriended them as friends can’t Rebel.

Probably one of the easiest ways to take over large amounts of land is by clicking on a title, then clicking claimant. If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or pick up the abductor trait and kidnap and recruit them that way, once done, you can push their claims. Although, do make sure that the title you are taking is below yours; otherwise, they will go independent.

The easiest way to take over Kingdom after Kingdom is if you reform your culture and pick up By the Sword. This allows unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars instead of the current limit of one.

If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duche, even while being an Emperor, as you will have all the vote in power to give this to your ear, keeping your primary money-making titles together on inheritance.

There are many more tips that can help you improve your gameplay, from focusing on marrying kids for alliances to holding a Grand tournament with Splendid prizes selected to farm artifacts that can give you a range of bonuses. Hopefully, you learned something new and can apply these tips to your gameplay.

Dealing with Vassal Uprisings

When you conquer a lot of land, dealing with vassal uprisings can be painful, especially after inheritance when everybody seems to hate you for existing. Here are some tips to deal with them:

Save a bunch of people from hostile faiths in your prisons for many years. When you inherit, execute them all for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to do anything.

Use Majesty Grand to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals. You need plus 80 opinion to stop them, so don’t make the mistake of thinking plus 50 opinion means they like you. Grand TOS make it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.
Start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. This will stop factions before they even rise up.
Make sure your most powerful vassals are on your counter. They will hate you otherwise, unless you have befriended them as friends can’t rebel.

Remember, it’s always better to prevent uprisings than to deal with them after they happen.

Claiming Titles

If you’re a feudal vessel, the first thing you should do is modify your contract by picking up Council rights and giving succession rights instead of High levies. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it’s recommended to play tall. This means focusing on improving your County’s development and building up instead of holding a lot of land. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

To deal with vassal uprisings, there are a few tips you can use. One way is to save hostile faith prisoners in your prisons for many years and execute them all when you inherit for easy dread. Another way is to use Majesty Grand to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals. You need plus 80 opinion to stop them, and Grand TOS makes it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.

If you reform your culture and pick up by the sword, this allows unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars instead of the current limit of one.

If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duchy, even while being an Emperor. This will give you all the vote in power to give this to your heir, keeping your primary money-making titles together on inheritance.

To make any faith the most powerful in the world, take land outside your main djay title, create a holy order there, then grant that land away and give them Independence. Repeat this over and over and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

These are just a few tips to help you claim titles and become more powerful in Crusader Kings III.

Reforming Your Culture

If you’re looking to expand your empire and become a powerful ruler, one of the best ways to do so is by reforming your culture. By picking up the “By the Sword” trait, you’ll gain access to unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars, allowing you to take over Kingdom after Kingdom without any restrictions.

But that’s not all. There are also a few other tips and tricks you can use to improve your chances of success:

Modify your contract: If you’re a feudal vessel, modify your contract to pick up Council rights and give succession rights instead of high levies. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a range of bonuses.
Play tall: For your first playthrough, focus on improving your County’s development and building up instead of holding a lot of land. This will make you equally, if not more, powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.
Deal with vassal uprisings: To deal with vassal uprisings, you can save hostile faith prisoners in your prisons for many years, and then execute them all for easy dread. Alternatively, use a Majesty Grand to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals.

Stop factions before they rise up: Start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. Also, make sure your most powerful vassals are on your counter, or they will hate you otherwise.
Take over large amounts of land: Click on a title, then click claimant. If you manage to invite any of these people to your court or kidnap and recruit them, you can push their claims. Just make sure the title you are taking is below yours, or they will go independent.
Hold primary money-making titles together: If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duchy, even while being an Emperor. This will give you all the vote in power to keep your primary money-making titles together on inheritance.

Break alliances during war: If you’re at war and some of your children are betrothed, call those allies, break the betrothal, then look for more alliances with your children and call the new allies. As if an alliance breaks during a war, they still can’t leave it.
Take down entire Empires: Swear field D and start a dissolution faction, then either get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the Empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of Dukes that are much easier to take over.
Make any faith the most powerful in the world: Take land outside your main djay title, create a holy order there, then grant that land away and give them independence. Repeat this over and over, and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

Focus on marrying kids for alliances: Early game, it’s better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own.
Use Defender bonus to your advantage: Defender bonus when going into a battle is for whoever owns that County, not the actual Defender. Think of it more like a Home Advantage, not who is actually defending.
Train Men at Arms early game: Early game Men at Arms make a massive difference, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regimens for cheap Men at Arms such as archers and max glory. This gives each regiment a plus eight size, giving you a powerful Army for pretty cheap early game.

Take down factions quickly: Find the war leader by clicking on them, raise your troops next to their capital, and siege it as fast as you can. Often, this can push you over 30% War score, allowing for an easy white peace.

By following these tips and tricks, you’ll be well on your way to reforming your culture and becoming a powerful ruler.

Managing Your Primary Duchy

If you’re a feudal vessel, the first thing you should do is modify your contract to pick up Council rights. Instead of giving High levies, give succession rights. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it’s recommended to play tall. This means not holding a lot of land, but instead focusing on improving your County’s development and building up. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

If you do decide to conquer a lot of land, there are a few tips to deal with painful vassal uprisings, especially after inheritance when everybody seems to hate you for existing. One way is to save a bunch of people from hostile faiths in your prisons for many years, then when you inherit, execute them all for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to do anything.

If you decide to be a bit nicer, a Majesty Grand can quickly allow you to gain the opinion of your vassals. You need plus 80 opinion to stop them, so don’t make the mistake of thinking plus 50 opinion means they like you. Grand TOS make it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.

One of the easiest ways to take over large amounts of land is to click on a title, then click claimant. If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or pick up the abductor trait and kidnap and recruit them that way, once done, you can push their claims. Although, make sure that the title you are taking is below yours, otherwise, they will go independent.

The easiest way is if you reform your culture and pick up by the sword. This allows unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars instead of the current limit of one.

If you’re at War and some of your children are betrothed, you can call those allies, break the betrothal, then look for more alliances with your children and call the new allies. If an alliance breaks during a war, they still can’t leave, so it’s an easy way to win wars.

To take down entire Empires, simply swear field D and start a dissolution faction. Then either get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the Empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of Dukes that are much easier to take over.

To make any faith the most powerful in the world, take land outside your main duchy title, create a holy order there, then grant that land away and give them independence. Repeat this over and over, and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

It’s worth breaking the habit of wasting Renown on disinheriting your children. Renown is just too useful, and you will massively fall behind other dynasties by doing this. Instead, simply reconquer the land.

Educate your vassals early as eventually, they will be on your Council. Making them as good as they can possibly be will massively benefit you in the future.

Early game, it’s way better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own.

If you struggle with tyranny because you revoke your vassals’ land a lot, fabricate a claim, and you can take their land without any vassals hating you.

The new economy M mode can make targeting profitable counties so easy. If the icon is yellow, it’s already built, but if it’s blue, a special building can be built there.

The new Feast activity now allows you to attempt to befriend someone as your intent. This is another easy way to stop your most powerful vassals from ever rising up. Focus on your younger vassals as this limits a faction for much longer.

When going into battle, Defender bonus is for whoever owns that County, not the actual Defender. Think of it more like a Home Advantage, not who is actually defending.

Early game, Men at Arms make a massive difference, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regiments for cheap Men at Arms such as archers and

Creating Alliances

One of the key strategies in Crusader Kings III is to create alliances with other rulers. Here are some tips to help you form strong alliances:

Focus on marrying your children for alliances rather than just traits. This is especially important early on in the game when you are still building your power base.
If you are at war and some of your children are betrothed, call those allies and break the betrothal. Then, look for more alliances with your children and call the new allies. If an alliance breaks during a war, they still can’t leave, making it an easy way to win wars.

Educate your vassals’ heirs, as they will eventually be on your council. Making them as good as they can possibly be will massively benefit you in the future.

By following these tips, you can create powerful alliances that will help you achieve your goals in Crusader Kings III.

Taking Down Empires

If you’re looking to take down entire empires, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to make it happen. Here are some strategies to consider:

Swear fealty and start a dissolution faction. This can be a super simple way to take down an entire empire. Get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of dukes that are much easier to take over.
Use the claimant feature. Click on a title and then click “claimant.” If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or pick up the abductor trait and kidnap and recruit them that way, you can push their claims. Just make sure that the title you are taking is below yours, otherwise, they will go independent.
Reform your culture and pick up “By the Sword.” This allows unlimited kingdom-level Holy Wars instead of the current limit of one. You can literally take kingdom after kingdom with nothing stopping you.

Start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. This can stop factions before they even rise up.
Hold a Grand Tournament with Splendid Prizes selected. This is a really easy way to farm artifacts that can give you a range of bonuses, including some straight-up domain limit increases.

Remember, these strategies can be cheesy and may not work in every situation. But if you’re looking to take down empires, they’re definitely worth considering.

Maximizing War Score

If you’re looking to maximize your war score in Crusader Kings III, there are a few tips and tricks that can help you achieve your goals.

First, if you’re a feudal vassal, consider modifying your contract to pick up Council rights. Instead of giving high levies, give succession rights. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it’s recommended to play tall. This means focusing on improving your county’s development and building up, rather than holding a lot of land. Eventually, this will make you equally, if not more, powerful than entire empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

If you do decide to conquer a lot of land, there are a few tips to deal with the painful vassal uprisings, especially after inheritance when everybody seems to hate you for existing. One way is to save a bunch of people from hostile faiths in your prisons for many years, then execute them all for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to do anything. Alternatively, a Majesty Grand can quickly allow you to gain the opinion of your vassals, as you need plus 80 opinion to stop them. Don’t make the mistake of thinking plus 50 opinion means they like you, but Grand TOS make it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.

The easiest way to take over Kingdom after Kingdom is if you reform your culture and pick up by the sword. This allows unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars instead of the current limit of one.

If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duche, even while being an emperor, as you will have all the vote in power to give this to your ear, keeping your primary money-making titles together on inheritance.

These are just a few tips to help you maximize your war score in Crusader Kings III. With a little bit of strategy and patience, you’ll be conquering kingdoms in no time.

Creating Powerful Faiths

If you want to make your faith the most powerful in the world, you can take land outside your main djay title, create a holy order there, and then grant that land away and give them independence. Repeat this over and over, and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

Educating your vassals’ heirs is also crucial, as eventually, they will be on your council. Making them as good as they can be will massively benefit you in the future.

Early game, it’s way better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own, as what’s the point of having an heir if they can’t do anything?

Men-at-Arms make a massive difference early game, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regiments for cheap Men-at-Arms, such as archers and Max Glory, which gives each regiment a plus eight size, giving you a powerful army for pretty cheap early game.

If you hold a grand tournament with Splendid Prizes selected, it’s a really easy way to farm artifacts that can give you a range of bonuses, some straight-up domain limit increases.

Hopefully, these tips will help you create powerful faiths and build an unstoppable empire.

Educating Your Vassals

If you are a feudal vassal, the first thing you should do is modify your contract to pick up Council rights. Instead of giving High levies, give succession rights. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it is recommended to play tall. This means not holding a lot of land but instead focusing on improving your County’s development and building up. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire empires without having to deal with loads of vassals. It is a pretty stress-free way to learn, and there is a guide available for this.

If you decide to conquer a lot of land, there are a few tips to deal with the painful vassal uprisings, especially after inheritance when everybody seems to hate you for existing. You can save a bunch of people from hostile faiths in your prisons for many years, and when you inherit, execute them all for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to do anything. Alternatively, a Majesty Grand can quickly allow you to gain the opinion of your vassals as you need plus 80 opinion to stop them. Plus 50 opinion does not mean they like you, but Grand TOS make it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.

The final tip for stopping factions before they even rise up is to start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. Please make sure your most powerful vassals are on your counter; otherwise, they will hate you unless you have befriended them as friends can’t rebel.

One of the easiest ways to take over large amounts of land is to click on a title, then click claimant. If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or pick up the abductor trait and kidnap and recruit them that way, you can push their claims. However, make sure that the title you are taking is below yours; otherwise, they will go independent.

The easiest way to take over Kingdom after Kingdom is to reform your culture and pick up by the sword. This allows unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars instead of the current limit of one.

If you are feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duchy, even while being an Emperor, as you will have all the vote in power to give this to your ear, keeping your primary money-making titles together on inheritance.

If you are at War and some of your children are betrothed, you can call those allies, break the betrothal, then look for more alliances with your children and call the new allies. If an alliance breaks during a war, they still can’t leave, so it’s an easy way to win Wars.

To take down entire empires, simply swear field D and start a dissolution faction, then either get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of Dukes that are much easier to take over.

To make any faith the most powerful in the world, take land outside your main djay title, create a holy order there, then grant that land away and give them independence. Repeat this over and over, and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

Educate your vassals as eventually they will be on your Council, so making them as good as they can possibly be will massively benefit you in the future. Early game, it’s way better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own.

Tyranny can be a problem because you revoke your vassals’ land a lot. All you need to do is fabricate a claim, and you can take their land without any vassals hating you.

The new economy M mode can make targeting profitable counties so easy. If the icon is yellow, it’s already built, but if it’s blue, a special building can be built there.

The new Feast activity now allows you to attempt to befriend someone as your intent. This is another easy way to stop your most powerful vassals from ever rising up, but focus on your younger vassals as this limits a faction for much longer.

Defender bonus when going into a battle is for whoever owns that County, not the actual Defender. Think of it more like a Home Advantage, not who is actually defending.

Early game Men at Arms make a massive difference, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regimens for cheap Men at Arms such as archers and Max Glory. This gives each regiment a plus eight size

Managing Marriages

If you’re looking to expand your territory, one of the easiest ways is to click on a title and select “claimant.” If you manage to invite them to your court or kidnap and recruit them, you can push their claims. Just make sure the title you’re taking is below yours, otherwise they will go independent.

Another way to take over large amounts of land is to reform your culture and pick up “By the Sword” to allow unlimited Kingdom level Holy Wars. This means you can literally take Kingdom after Kingdom with nothing stopping you.

When it comes to dealing with vassals, it’s important to keep them happy. If you’re a feudal vessel, modify your contract to pick up Council rights and give succession rights instead of high levies. This gives you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses. Educating your vassal heir early on is also important, as they will eventually be on your council.

If you’re dealing with vassal uprisings, there are a few tips to keep in mind. You can save hostile faith prisoners in your prisons for many years and execute them all when you inherit for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to rebel. Alternatively, a Majesty Grand TOS can quickly allow you to gain the opinion of your vassals as you need plus 80 opinion to stop them. Plus, starting a war and placing the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die is a simple and effective way to stop factions before they even rise up.

When it comes to holding land, playing tall can be a stress-free way to learn. This means not holding a lot of land, but instead focusing on improving your County’s development and building up. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

Overall, keeping your vassals happy and managing your marriages can greatly impact your success in the game. Don’t forget to focus on marrying kids for alliances early on, and to save your renown for reconquering land instead of disinheriting your children. And always remember, holding a Grand tournament with Splendid prizes selected is a really easy way to farm artifacts that can give you a range of bonuses.

Avoiding Tyranny

If you’re struggling with tyranny, there are a few tips you can follow to avoid it. First, instead of giving High levies as a feudal vessel, give succession rights. This will allow you to demand a council position fall free, which comes with a range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it’s recommended to play tall. This means focusing on improving your County’s development and building up, rather than holding a lot of land. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

To deal with painful vassal uprisings, you can save hostile faith prisoners in your prisons for many years, then execute them all for easy dread. This will leave your vassals terrified and unable to rebel. Alternatively, a Majesty Grand to can quickly allow you to gain the opinion of your vassals.

To take over large amounts of land, you can click on a title then click claimant. If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or pick up the abductor trait and kidnap and recruit them that way, you can push their claims.

If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duche, even while being an Emperor, as you will have all the vote in power to give this to your ear.

To take down entire Empires, simply swear field D and start a dissolution faction. Then, either get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the Empire will collapse leaving behind a bunch of Dukes that are much easier to take over.

Finally, if you’re struggling with factions, find the war Leader by clicking on them, raise your troops next to their capital, and Siege it as fast as you can. This can often push you over 30% War score allowing for an easy white piece.

Targeting Profitable Counties

One of the easiest ways to make money in Crusader Kings III is by targeting profitable counties. The new economy mode makes it easy to identify these counties. If the icon is yellow, it means the county is already built up. However, if the icon is blue, it means a special building can be constructed there.

To maximize your profits, focus on improving the development of your counties. This means playing tall, which involves not holding a lot of land but instead focusing on building up your county’s development. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

Another way to make money is by holding a Grand Tournament with Splendid Prizes selected. This is an easy way to farm artifacts that can give you a range of bonuses, including straight up domain limit increases.

Overall, targeting profitable counties and focusing on improving your county’s development is a great way to increase your wealth and power in Crusader Kings III.

Befriending Vassals

If you are a feudal vassal, modifying your contract by picking up Council rights and giving succession rights is a great way to start. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

For your first playthrough, it is recommended to play tall. This means focusing on improving your County’s development and building up instead of holding a lot of land. Eventually, this will make you equally, if not more powerful than entire Empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.

To deal with vassal uprisings, one way is to save hostile faith prisoners in your prisons for many years, and when you inherit, execute them all for easy dread. Another way is to use Majesty Grand to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals. Plus 80 opinion is needed to stop them, so don’t make the mistake of thinking plus 50 opinion means they like you. Grand TOS make it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.

Make sure your most powerful vassals are on your counter, as they will hate you otherwise. Of course, unless you have befriended them, as friends can’t rebel.

One of the easiest ways to take over large amounts of land is to click on a title then click claimant. If you manage to either invite any of these people to your court or pick up the abductor trait and kidnap and recruit them that way, once done, you can push their claims.

If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duchy, even while being an Emperor, as you will have all the vote in power to give this to your heir. Keeping your primary money-making titles together on inheritance is important.

Early game, it’s better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own.

To take vassals’ land without any of them hating you, fabricate a claim and take their land. The new economy mode can make targeting profitable counties so easy.

The new Feast activity now allows you to attempt to befriend someone as your intent. This is another easy way to stop your most powerful vassals ever rising up, but focus on your younger vassals as this limits a faction for much longer.

Defender bonus when going into a battle is for whoever owns that County, not the actual Defender. Early game Men at Arms make a massive difference, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regimens for cheap Men at Arms.

If a faction still rises up, find the war leader by clicking on them and raise your troops next to their capital and Siege it as fast as you can. This can push you over 30% War score, allowing for an easy white piece.

Holding Grand tournament with Splendid prizes selected is an easy way to farm artifacts that can give you a range of bonuses, including straight-up domain limit increases.

Understanding Defender Bonus

When going into a battle, it’s important to understand the concept of Defender Bonus. This bonus is for whoever owns the County, not the actual Defender. Think of it more like a Home Advantage, not who is actually defending.

Early game Men at Arms can make a massive difference, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regiments for cheap Men at Arms such as archers and Max Glory. This gives each regiment a plus eight size, giving you a powerful army for pretty cheap early game.

It’s important to note that Defender Bonus is not the actual Defender’s bonus, but rather the County’s. So, make sure to keep this in mind when going into a battle.

Training Men at Arms

If you want to make a difference in battles, training Men at Arms is crucial. Early game, Men at Arms can make a massive difference, so it’s always worth training an accolade that gives bigger regiments for cheap Men at Arms such as archers and max glory. This gives each regiment a plus eight size, giving you a powerful army for pretty cheap early game.

Additionally, feudal vessels can modify their contract by picking up council rights, but instead of giving high levies, give succession rights. This gives you the ability to demand a council position fall free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.

If you’re playing tall, focus on improving your county’s development and building up. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire empires without having to deal with loads of vassals. This is a pretty stress-free way to learn.

If you’re conquering a lot of land, there are a few tips to deal with painful vassal uprisings. One way is to save a bunch of people from hostile faiths in your prisons for many years. When you inherit, execute them all for easy dread, leaving your vassals terrified and unable to do anything. Another way is to use majesty grants to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals, as you need plus 80 opinion to stop them.

To stop factions before they even rise up, start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. Another option is to educate your vassals’ heirs, as eventually they will be on your council, so making them as good as they can possibly be will massively benefit you in the future.

Remember, early game Men at Arms make a massive difference, so train them well.

Dealing with Factions

When playing Crusader Kings III, dealing with factions can be a real headache. Here are some tips to help you keep your vassals in line and prevent uprisings.

Modify Your Contract: If you are a feudal vassal, modify your contract to pick up Council rights instead of giving high levies. This will give you the ability to demand a council position for free, which comes with a wide range of bonuses.
Play Tall: For your first playthrough, it’s recommended to play tall. This means focusing on improving your county’s development and building up instead of holding a lot of land. Eventually, this will make you equally if not more powerful than entire empires without having to deal with loads of vassals.
Save Hostages for Dread: If you decide to conquer a lot of land, you’ll need to deal with vassal uprisings. One way to stop them is to save hostile faith hostages in your prisons for many years and then execute them all for easy dread. This will leave your vassals terrified and unable to do anything.
Use Majesty Grandeur: Another way to stop uprisings is to use Majesty Grandeur to quickly gain the opinion of your vassals. You need a plus 80 opinion to stop them, and Grand TOS makes it pretty easy to get plus 100 opinion.
Start a War: To stop factions before they even rise up, start a war and place the most powerful person in the faction to lead an army of 100 levies into battle against your enemies over and over again until eventually they die. This is a nice, simple, and effective way to prevent uprisings.
Keep Powerful Vassals Happy: Make sure your most powerful vassals are on your council. They will hate you otherwise, unless you have befriended them as friends can’t rebel.
Claim Titles: Click on a title and then click “Claimant” to take over large amounts of land. Invite claimants to your court or kidnap and recruit them with the abductor trait. Once done, you can push their claims, but make sure the title you are taking is below yours, otherwise they will go independent.
Reform Your Culture: If you’re feudal, always put one of the elective laws on your primary duchy, even while being an emperor. This will give you all the vote in power to give this to your heir, keeping your primary money-making titles together on inheritance.
Break Betrothals: During a war, call allies by breaking the betrothal of your children. Look for more alliances with your children, and call the new allies as if an alliance breaks during a war, they still can’t leave it. This is an easy way to win wars.
Swear Fealty: Swear fealty and start a dissolution faction to take down entire empires. Get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of dukes that are much easier to take over.
Create Holy Orders: Take land outside your main duchy title, create a holy order there, then grant that land away and give them independence. Repeat this over and over, and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.
Focus on Marrying for Alliances: Early game, it’s better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just trait. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own.
Fabricate Claims: Fabricate a claim to take your vassal’s land without any vassals hating you.
Train Men at Arms: Early game, men at arms make a massive difference. Always train an accolade that gives bigger regiments for cheap men at arms, such as archers and max glory.
Find the War Leader: If a faction rises up, find the war leader by clicking on them, raise your troops next to their capital, and siege it as fast as you can. This can often push you over 30% war score, allowing for an easy white peace.
Revoke a Vassal’s Title: If your heir is perfect and has just come of age, revoke a vassal’s title and when they refuse, surrender the war. This passes the throne straight to your heir.

With these tips, you should be able to prevent uprisings and keep your vassals in line. Good luck!

Managing Your Bishop

If your Bishop has less than 10 learning, it can be difficult to get any duchy claims. So, it’s important to find a high-rise tower for them to fall out of. This will make it impossible to get any claims, as well as making the claims you do get cost more.

To manage your vassals, it’s important to educate your vassal’s heir, as they will eventually be on your Council. Making them as good as they can possibly be will massively benefit you in the future.

Early game, it’s better to focus on marrying kids for alliances rather than just for traits. Don’t bother trying for traits until you are strong enough to stand on your own, as there’s no point in having an heir if they are weak.

If you’re struggling with tyranny because you revoke your vassal’s land a lot, all you need to do is fabricate a claim and you can take their land without any vassals hating you.

When going into a battle, the Defender bonus is for whoever owns that County, not the actual Defender. Think of it more like a Home Advantage, not who is actually defending.

To take down entire Empires, simply swear field D and start a dissolution faction. Then, either get a lot of allies or fabricate strong hooks on the other vassals to force them to join you. Once defeated, the Empire will collapse, leaving behind a bunch of Dukes that are much easier to take over.

To make any faith the most powerful in the world, all you need to do is take land outside your main djay title, create a holy order there, then grant that land away and give them independence. Repeat this over and over and suddenly your faith has tens of thousands of men ready to fight.

So, these are some tips on managing your Bishop and vassals in Crusader Kings III. Hopefully, you found them useful.

Holding Grand Tournaments

One of the easiest ways to obtain artifacts that can provide you with a range of bonuses is by holding Grand Tournaments with Splendid prizes selected. This is a really easy way to farm artifacts, some of which can even increase your domain limit.

By holding these tournaments, you can gain prestige and fame, which can help increase your overall power and influence. Additionally, these tournaments can also help to improve your relationships with your vassals, as they will appreciate the effort you put into organizing such an event.

Overall, holding Grand Tournaments is a great way to boost your power and prestige, and it’s definitely something worth considering if you’re looking for ways to improve your standing in the game.