Crusader Kings 2

[hellheaven1987]

Holy longbow retinue is ridiculous tough!!

[Yayattasa]

Yep, I have 10k of those as a merchant republic around the 900s (started in Charlemagne). Also, as a bonus, you can declare war 1 day before they reach one of their counties. No one in the map is up to it, really. That's what I was complaining in this post:

Never having played a game in the pond, I started a Manx playthrough, starting tribal. So, I became a republic and started puring out thousands of retinue troops. I've heard it before the longbowmen were the best troops in the game, but I've realised they are simply too overpowered. I'm roleplaying the republic, so I'm just taking cities and pushing some claims from around, keeping only the republic as my county-level title, but, really, I could've conquered the whole Europe if so I wished. There should be some kind of mechanic against single type armies. Really, if any army found 6k longbowmen unsupported by neither infantry or cavalry, the obvious move is all out charge against their position. Instead, in the game you are in for at least 12 days skirmishing.

[hellheaven1987]

I am getting bored about my Cathar Welsh campaign and decide to start a Cuman campaign; turn out Tribal Invasion is ridiculous fun, especially you still have that after reform (which is quite easy if you play as Cuman).

[Basil II the B.S]

I was bored, so I made this:

Alexiad start, playing historically until the death of Manuel Komnenos.
Forced events: fall of the Fatimids/Rise of the Ayyubids (Saladin), Kingdom of Jerusalem survives until 1190, Hohenstaufen (Barbarossa then Frederick II controlling Sicily), Plantagenets (Anjou bastards).

Ended up being a race against time to complete the Roman Empire reconquests before 1453, had to assassinate a dozen of HREmperors.

Message of completion of the Roman Empire:


Actual Map, since I had a decade until the endgame, I took Dacia too, though I didn't have the CB


Ending with a genious Emperor:


Though I had crap luck through the entire game with that. Finally the elder brother wanted to join the Holy Sepulchre and the younger succeeded.

Roman provinces names, because it, why not:

[Kaiser Quanah]

Now that is a world I would love to compare and contrast! Convert it to EUIV dude, spread your 'guiding light' across the seas to lands yonder, and unify the Earth under the banner of Rome before the extraterrestrials come about.

[Gandalfus]

Got a cool game going as Britanny, after starting as Haestein of Nantes. Year is around 950, I own Britanny, Cornwall and Normandy, and my culture has turned Norman.

Not much really going on there, although in another game as the Abbasid Caliph in 1066, the Holy Roman Empire converted to Islam...

[Candy_Licker]

So, Horse Lords dlc announced.

Again, Crusader Kings is further expanding away from the European medieval core. It will bring some nice new features though, like tributary systems, clan structure. Looks like a nice expansion if it makes playing different cultures more distinct. I really hope they take the chance to introduce a proper blob breaking mechanic.

[Basil II the B.S]

Eh, with that tribal factions are now more in depth developed than feudal one.
I think it has a potential as an expansion and I find it a lot more interesting than Charlemagne and Ways of Life.
Wishlist still includes: revamp feudalism, catholic-orthodox relations possibly with events, give more importance to prestige in how it affects raising armies, revenue, diplomatic options, negative traits should affect prestige too. Kind of ridiculous to see a crappy Fatimid Caliph steamrolling the world.
Catholics get way too many holy orders compared to Muslims after a while, that needs to be rebalanced.

[Candy_Licker]

Eh, with that tribal factions are now more in depth developed than feudal one.
I think it has a potential as an expansion and I find it a lot more interesting than Charlemagne and Ways of Life.
Wishlist still includes: revamp feudalism, catholic-orthodox relations possibly with events, give more importance to prestige in how it affects raising armies, revenue, diplomatic options, negative traits should affect prestige too. Kind of ridiculous to see a crappy Fatimid Caliph steamrolling the world.
Catholics get way too many holy orders compared to Muslims after a while, that needs to be rebalanced.

I agree, especially with the bolded part. What I like to see on top of that is a realistic swear fealty mechanic for each new ruler with the possibility to deny feudal levies, and a HRE/elective revamp, with interregnum and travel to Rome, a real Papal/curial overhaul with the Gregorian reforms, treuga dei/peace movement. One can dream.

[Yayattasa]

Excited for this DLC. Also, check the patch notes and the last 4 dev diaries. Several things were improved.

Other than that, still waiting for the implementation of a proper bureaucratic government type, hopefully improving the BIZ and making way for a later China DLC.

[Basil II the B.S]

Tbh I get why they are hesitant to make further developments and they often added just a few centuries or small tweaks.
To the new player the interface is overwhelming. I remember trying CK2 after having become very good at EU3 with all the dlcs and the first 4-5 times I opened the game I simply said ''looks beautiful, love the music, looks waay too complicated and there's too much to learn'', and I closed the game.
It's not, most of the stuff works automatically without requiring too much player intervention.

And I don't want China tbh unless proper trade mechanics are developed and Europe/Biz/Muslim receive another revamp, especially in terms of diplomatic possibilities.
Then yes a Mongol invasion starting from actual Mongolia, steamrolling China, Persia and reaching the Middle East is something I'm interested in seeing.

I agree, especially with the bolded part. What I like to see on top of that is a realistic swear fealty mechanic for each new ruler with the possibility to deny feudal levies, and a HRE/elective revamp, with interregnum and travel to Rome, a real Papal/curial overhaul with the Gregorian reforms, treuga dei/peace movement. One can dream.

I'd be fine with the possibility to walk away with your levies and backstab the ruler if you don't like him and he raised you up for his campaign. Possibly related to your level of intrigue. Attributes still need to have a more significant impact on the success of your campaign. A character with 1-3-2-1-5 as attributes shouldn't be able to get anywhere.

[Yayattasa]

And I don't want China tbh unless proper trade mechanics are developed and Europe/Biz/Muslim receive another revamp, especially in terms of diplomatic possibilities.
Then yes a Mongol invasion starting from actual Mongolia, steamrolling China, Persia and reaching the Middle East is something I'm interested in seeing.

Oh yeah, count me on that.

Clan mechanics are being added with HL, so it could be applied to China and many other regions. The Silk Road is going to be a thing finally, probably landlocked trade posts too, hopefully making way for landlocked republics. Hoping they include the Amber Road.

Then, with a bureaucratic government and unlanded family gamplay, the Byzantines will finally make sense. This would also ease Roman Republics mods, and a likely future China DLC.

[eXistenZ]

Are they finally gonna do something about the muslim blibs ir have they just given up on making decadence work properly?

[Yayattasa]

Are they finally gonna do something about the muslim blibs ir have they just given up on making decadence work properly?

I only witnessed muslim blobs in the earliest stard dates (Charlie and OGs), Abbassids and sometimes Umayyads. Though in several playthroughs the Abbassids were wiped by decadence revolts, starting the biggest border gore I ever saw, after some 200-300 years.
The thing is they can lower their decandece too easily, having so many potential targets nearby, including the ERE.

[Basil II the B.S]

Decadence worked fine until Rajahs of India was introduced (or around that time), I don't recall the exact dlc/patch that changed it. A dynasty that suffered a number of defeats was likely to suffer a decadence war, but could still fix itself. Now the decadence riot never happens.

[Salah ad Din Yusuf]

A failed period of vassalage and a comedy of errors, has mad the Caliphate a Republic. Led by a Wali-Malik: Line of Succession: Open Elective. The mechanism of a Caliph being chosen at random does wonders to decadence, although rendering him unplayable. He had declared himself a Grand Prince.

Meanwhile, in the west, a king-bishop formed in my game and decided he's the heir to the papacy (theology focus ). He also declared himself an Emperor, of Francia.

I was tempted to send assassins after the Pope only to see what will become of the Emperor, the Emperor ceded to become Pope and another Emperor was chosen.

[Basil II the B.S]

That's so messed up it hurts.

Still doesn't beat the female pope.

[Salah ad Din Yusuf]

That's so messed up it hurts.

Still doesn't beat the female pope.

I had (installed) a female pope once. Catharism replaced Catholicism, so a female pope was to be expected.

[ccllnply]

I had (installed) a female pope once. Catharism replaced Catholicism, so a female pope was to be expected.

Some men just like you watch the world burn......

[Yayattasa]

Horse Lords will be released July 14th.
The extended map for Horse Lords was revealed earlier this month. The map extends to Anxi, and finally the Uyghurs and the Liao (and maybe the Xi Liao) are coming to CK2. Check here or here if the pics don't show for you. We can also see the Silk Road, the trade posts for land and sea trade (available to non-republics) and some more.
Check other screenshots for more details.