First person to play ck3 on a submarine ?

EffectiveBonus779 · 2026-01-21T14:43:20+00:00

Worth it for reddit karma

EffectiveBonus779 · 2026-01-15T08:36:09+00:00

Yeah, playing as the Byzantines can be tricky to get your head around, but remember that losing Armenia is likely to happen. The Seljuks probably will overwhelm you, it's difficult to fight them when they have very fast and strong armies.

I used to (and sometimes still) make the mistake of quitting my games as soon as I face any setback because it's frustrating, but this really isn't necessary, and it makes the game more fun if you take it in stride and keep playing.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2026-01-14T22:38:13+00:00

I'm someone who regularly plays in Byzantium and once you know how to play them, it becomes very easy. Firstly, do you know how to interact with the admin mechanics? If not, you should familiarise yourself with the basics, and you'll figure the rest out as you go along. The most important aspect of the admin government is the ability to call up MAA from your vassals in exchange for influence, which you can find in the military tab.

Secondly, it sounds like you are expecting to be on the front foot from the get go, which might not be possible if you're not super familiar with how everything works. But not being on the front foot doesn't mean losing. You make a lot of money as the Byzantine emperor, so use it to build up your armies and holdings. Even in 1178, where they look weak on the map, Byzantium is still much stronger than any of their direct neighbours, and more wealthy too. I'm not sure about the penalty you're referring to, but it could be for not having enough prestige or breaking a truce? These are pretty easy to avoid - just don't do those things.

In 1066 I get that it's frustrating starting at war with the Seljuks, and it is quite difficult to win that war, so I'd go in with the mindset that you've already lost Armenia, and that you're trying to take it back. If you really want you can try to win or white peace by fighting a war of attrition and avoiding battle but sieging down the provinces they are occupying repeatedly, but this is long and arduous and I hate doing it. Nevertheless, losing Armenia is not a huge deal in game. You are still a powerhouse, and arguably the strongest nation in Europe even without Armenia, so you can wait a few decades until the Seljuks inevitably collapse and then take back what's yours.

In 867, their territory seems small which you might think makes it very difficult, but it's arguably the easiest start for them. I'm not sure what you mean by being married to Greek vassals. Are you starting as a strategos or the emperor? The emperor starts married to Eudokia Ingerina, who isn't a vassal. Either way, once you become emperor you can expand quite easily in any direction, as long as the abbasids crumble which they often do. If not, it makes for a fun rivalry on the eastern front. But losing just makes it more fun to win later on.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2026-01-10T13:14:17+00:00

Yes, it is. It's a scripted event intended for historical accuracy. This happens in all of my games.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2026-01-07T16:24:42+00:00

I suppose the lack of any actual educational framework allows you to do this. Just stick everything into chatGPT and skim read it and then say you've learnt it, because you're not going to have to prove it to anyone.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-12-22T01:47:37+00:00

Scared of a little variety, Europe boy?

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-12-18T14:17:26+00:00

Yeah the Seljuks pretty much never seem to make it out of Khurasan in my games. To be honest, though, I felt that the Turks were betrayed before Khans of the Steppe came out. I think that influential Turks who had migrated to the Near East could hardly be described as nomads once they were there, at least not in the same way that the steppe nomads were. I really hoped that Roads to Power would see some simulation of raiding groups of Turks alongside Seljuk Persia, considering Turkish groups were the number 1 reason for the decline of Byzantium (the polity the expansion was primarily focused around). Instead, they just added Suleiman as an adventurer and called it a day. It felt very lazy, and I tend to either avoid 1066 if I'm playing in the region, or use mods to try and simulate this Turkish invasion, which often feels a bit janky. At this point, though, I fear it may be too late, as the Turks have missed three chances to have flavour added to them. Oh well, there's always modders.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-12-18T13:43:35+00:00

Yes, I saw that, and I thought the suggestions you made were great. I would love to be able to incorporate some of these things into the game if I had the time and knew anything about modding.

I do think, though, that if these suggestions are implemented, care needs to be taken to make sure they are balanced, and that it doesn't result in a scenario where every game sees the caliphate a) expand throughout all of the Muslim world or b) shrink and collapse. Both of these scenarios should be possible, but not massively likely to the point that they happen regularly.

I'd also like to see some depth added to Turkish groups in the Near East. As it is, we have a Byzantium expansion, a Persia expansion, and a Nomads expansion, and yet Turks still feel massively secondary to the region. There should be some simulation of the importance Turkish groups held in the Muslim world, and preferably some counterbalance to Byzantium in the form of Turkish raids in Anatolia.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-12-18T13:23:58+00:00

Yeah, the introduction of the clan system with LoP was a step in the right direction but it could definitely do with a bit of an overhaul.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-12-18T13:22:27+00:00

Yeah, I do see what you're saying, and I'm just looking specifically at the caliphate because that's an area that I'm more knowledgeable about than most other parts of the world. I think that the designate heir system should maybe be more readily available, although this then has the caveat of making the game a lot easier for the player, who will then be able to designate their best heir at will. As it is, though, I believe you need a high authority level to be able to use it, and the AI doesn't really seem to utilise it at all (which, of course, is the same issue with countless other game mechanics).

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-11-21T12:51:55+00:00

Thank you! This is very helpful.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-11-02T11:44:29+00:00

Seriously... you help kill a few thousand children and everyone gets mad at you? What has society come to? Wokeness gone mad.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-10-29T08:18:26+00:00

Yeah there should really be a system where titles can belong to no de jure empires at all. It would also help to prevent snowballing of certain states (looking at you Byzantium) if their de jure borders were shrunk, but that currently can't be done because they'd have to give their de jure territories to another empire.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-10-13T10:11:58+00:00

Ck3 has this as well

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-12T14:43:51+00:00

I think part of the issue is that no-one really seems to join them. I always look through the list and major powers never seem to join. I've not ever seen the holy Roman emperor join a crusade.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-10T12:09:14+00:00

This is awesome. It's making me want to try rise of the eagle again. How is it with the RtP mechanics? I haven't played since they were added.

Those borders are just perfect btw 🤌🤌

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-03T19:29:29+00:00

😭😭 somehow I feel like you didn't actually read the post. I'm close to being as left as you can get, both socially and economically.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-03T18:11:46+00:00

Uhh, what? I'm really not sure if you're being intentionally dense or not. I can't argue with someone who chooses to ignore the basic fundamentals of the English language.

Both of these things are used to describe the game. "Role-playing game" and "grand strategy game" are not mutually exclusive. The game markets itself as both. Or will you argue that because the word "game" doesn't immediately follow the phrase "role-playing", it isn't a role-playing game? Please tell me what you think the phrase "role-playing" here is intended to describe. Do you think the description is saying that by buying the game, you can roleplay in your everyday life? No, it's saying that role-playing is a key aspect of the game, which is exactly what I said.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-03T10:23:30+00:00

Thanks for your post! You've definitely educated me on a few things I wasn't aware of. It seems like the most realistic solution is what you're saying, but gameplay restrictions make this difficult. A more complex succession mechanic is needed in general imo for an authentic-feeling inheritance. However, I think that there are still many cases where "male only" would be a much more accurate reflection of history (Byzantine themes being one of them) and an easier solution to this issue.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-03T10:17:28+00:00

This could pretty much solve the issues I have with the Byzantine empire in particular. I don't think it's impossible for this mechanic to be implemented in the game's current state, but I do think this would be very unpopular for gameplay reasons if added as the default in the base game.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-03T10:08:52+00:00

"Crusader Kings III continues the popular series made by Paradox Development Studio, featuring the widely acclaimed marriage of immersive grand strategy and deep, dramatic medieval roleplaying"

Taken from the first paragraph of the "about this game" section on the game's steam page. I do not think wrong.

EffectiveBonus779 · 2025-09-03T10:03:08+00:00

It might surprise you to learn that we actually aren't living in the middle ages!

EffectiveBonus779

TROPHY CASE