Crusader Kings is a strategic, historical roleplaying game centered around the rise and fall of multiple empires. It marries the personal and political aspects of historical life, focusing on people and their interactions with others in order to simulate historical events. Crusader Kings III builds on this idea and improves upon its predecessors.

This title is great for players who favor strategy, simulations, historical themes and some micromanaging. Crusader Kings III had been long awaited by fans of the series, because Crusader Kings II lasted about seven years with expansions and downloadable content.

For new players interested in trying out Crusader Kings III or fans of the series who have been waiting to get their hands on it, here are some tips, tricks and strategies to succeed.

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Improving Crusader Kings II

A lot of Crusader Kings III draws from its predecessors. There are feuds between empires, strategic alliances through marriage and court drama that sets up a lot of the main strategy game tasks. This includes things like constructing castles, waging war with neighboring nations and researching new technology. The slightest personal vendettas between two rulers can plunge entire countries into a bloody battlefield.

Meanwhile, well thought-out marriages between nations can unite multiple kingdoms, keep the peace and strengthen an empire. However, Crusader Kings III is not meant to be an exact replica of or sequel to Crusader Kings II. Rather, it is an improvement on the many things that had made Crusader Kings II work so well.

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Personality Traits

In the previous games, each character had personality traits that did not really serve much of a function in the grand scheme of things. Crusader Kings III improves upon that by making each character's personality traits their decisions and interactions more. These personality traits now play more important roles in guiding a character's behavior, via a stress system.

For example, someone who is cruel will build up amounts of stress if they show their enemies too much mercy. This encourages players to feel more connected and roleplay more with their characters, because now personality traits affect more than just character stats. Make sure to have the correct personality trait to fit the kind of dynasty being created.

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Stress

As stated before, the main consequence to denying a personality trait is a buildup of stress. Of course, being an important person in a powerful empire can be stressful in itself, so keeping an eye on how much stress a character has is a good idea. Too much stress leads to the character having a mental break. Once this happens, a couple of choices are offered to the player that act as coping mechanisms.

These include drinking, fighting, or frequenting a brothel, all of which throw curveballs at the character's development. More opportunities for drama and conflict will open up as character begins to engage more in their stress-relieving pass time. One example could be the development of a temper. This causes characters to lash out at other important figures, like priests or other rulers, creating unnecessary enemies.

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Knights and Warfare

The addition of Knights in Crusader Kings III gives individual, named warriors larger roles to play in turning the tides of war. It also opens opportunities for more personal stories and character development. Battle resolution is a lot easier to read, with an advantage bar that shows who has the high ground during a battle. However, some additions to the game don't totally succeed.

An effort was made here to lessen the amount of micromanaging present in Crusader Kings II's warfare. Unfortunately, it's a little wonky because all the player's armies now rally at a single point. This makes it so troops do not always split up evenly, which creates more of a task to evenly distribute an attack force.

This combat system can be a little frustrating, as this system can drastically impacts the outcome of a campaign and can ruin war tactics or strategies, so try not to rely on it too much.

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Secrets and Hooks

Politics in Crusader Kings III is nothing short of shady, because manipulation and deceit are incredibly important. The new system of secrets and hooks allows players to gain leverage over other characters.

It's a perfect system for those who prefer working in the shadows to build their ideal empire off of things like blackmail, assassinations and guiding other characters to fulfill schemes. The new system is a lot more hands-on and also more rewarding.

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Religion

Religion can be customized to fit whatever suits the player and their plans for mandating the laws of their kingdoms. New forms of religions can also be created, like a new Muslim faith. Religions can be abandoned or changed whenever they no longer suit a player's goals, which makes the possibilities for a developing country virtually limitless.

Customization can be anything from equal rights between genders to the roles of the clergy and more. This allows not only for unique personal gameplay in Crusader Kings III, but also flexibility to extend an empire's longevity and reach.

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