Paradox Interactive Games Thread

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I actually dabbled and got sucked in. I established the Kingdom of Nubia taking over most counties in the area, and wiped out Askum with my allies Abbinysia. My goal is to take over Egypt and then invade Europe and convert the Catholic areas, but the Fatimid area is quite powerful. Playing as my original character's grandson now, he has an evil uncle who killed his sister and still has a title so I'm plotting to kill him. Also his sister is married to the Byzantine Emperor, so we have a powerful ally.

[Kyng]

@BRTD: Good luck! I never get very far when I play in East Africa, so I generally just avoid that region.

Anyway, has anyone seen the Imperator: Rome announcement?

https://www.pcgamer.com/imperator-rome-revealed-at-pdxcon-2018/

Not a whole lot is clear about this game yet - but, it's essentially going to be CK2 set in Rome. It also promises the most detailed map ever in a Paradox game: like CK2's, it'll stretch all the way to India.

I'm very excited for this . I mentioned in my previous post that CK2's character-driven gameplay sets it apart from the other Paradox games for me - and, this game promises plenty of that. Throw in the fact that I come from a city known primarily for its Roman history, and you have something I'm going to play the heck out of (as long as it doesn't completely suck)!

[_]

@BRTD: Good luck! I never get very far when I play in East Africa, so I generally just avoid that region.

Anyway, has anyone seen the Imperator: Rome announcement?

https://www.pcgamer.com/imperator-rome-revealed-at-pdxcon-2018/

Not a whole lot is clear about this game yet - but, it's essentially going to be CK2 set in Rome. It also promises the most detailed map ever in a Paradox game: like CK2's, it'll stretch all the way to India.

I'm very excited for this . I mentioned in my previous post that CK2's character-driven gameplay sets it apart from the other Paradox games for me - and, this game promises plenty of that. Throw in the fact that I come from a city known primarily for its Roman history, and you have something I'm going to play the heck out of (as long as it doesn't completely suck)!

Well I've seen it now and I'm interested.

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

I bought CK2 for free on Steam a few weeks ago but I still have not played it. It seems different from all the other grand strategy games I have played in the past like HOI, Victoria and EU. I figured CK2 was pretty much the same as EU4, but set in a different timeline. I have read more about CK2 and the weird ruler system it has, it seems kind of intimating. I have zero idea how that ruling dynasty stuff works. I want a change from EU4, but the learning curve is going to be tough. It was very easy to jump from HOI to Victoria, then Victoria to EU4.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I bought CK2 for free on Steam a few weeks ago but I still have not played it. It seems different from all the other grand strategy games I have played in the past like HOI, Victoria and EU. I figured CK2 was pretty much the same as EU4, but set in a different timeline. I have read more about CK2 and the weird ruler system it has, it seems kind of intimating. I have zero idea how that ruling dynasty stuff works. I want a change from EU4, but the learning curve is going to be tough. It was very easy to jump from HOI to Victoria, then Victoria to EU4.

I have played it for quite a bit. AMA.

[_]

Thumb, how long will it take until you're able to launch offensive operations to retake Richmond and Virginia?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Has anyone played as a Zoroastrian? Now that I have the DLC allowing it I want to check it out, but it appears there's only one notable such country (Karen, located north of modern day Iran, around modern day Turkmenistan), and I've read it's quite difficult because you're surrounded by powerful Muslim neighbors who love to holy war.

[Bacon King]

Has anyone played as a Zoroastrian? Now that I have the DLC allowing it I want to check it out, but it appears there's only one notable such country (Karen, located north of modern day Iran, around modern day Turkmenistan), and I've read it's quite difficult because you're surrounded by powerful Muslim neighbors who love to holy war.

It's easier to play Zoroastrian if you use the 769 or 867 start dates (if you have the relevant DLC) because much more of them are still around. Also it's usually smart to practice Zoroastrianism in secret for a while while publicly professing to be Muslim (again, if you have the relevant DLC) so you have some breathing room to consolidate your land and stuff. It's challenging to play as Zoroastrians but it feels so awesome to reinstate the high priest -- and of course there's also the hilarious/weird mechanic of marrying siblings for opinion bonuses from everyone

[Bacon King]

Also, let me make an open offer here, valid for CK2 and EU4

If you are uncertain about purchasing a DLC and want a free "demo" to try it before you buy it, just let me know and I can make it happen.

In a multiplayer game as long as the host owns a DLC, all players have it even if they don't own it themselves. I own every DLC for both games because I have more money than sense. PM me or just let me know here and we can arrange a short MP game I'll host where you can play around with the pay-only features to see if it's worth the money or not.

I play these games all the time anyway so it wouldn't be any sort of inconvenience to me

[Bacon King]

I bought CK2 for free on Steam a few weeks ago but I still have not played it. It seems different from all the other grand strategy games I have played in the past like HOI, Victoria and EU. I figured CK2 was pretty much the same as EU4, but set in a different timeline. I have read more about CK2 and the weird ruler system it has, it seems kind of intimating. I have zero idea how that ruling dynasty stuff works. I want a change from EU4, but the learning curve is going to be tough. It was very easy to jump from HOI to Victoria, then Victoria to EU4.

if you could figure out Victoria you'll have zero problem figuring out CK2. Everything is much simpler in practice than it probably sounds on paper. The general concepts are fairly intuitive and if you're not sure about the details of something just hover the mouse over it because the tooltips explain everything

[dead0man]

Yeah, I found CK2 way easier to get into than EU4 was....at least for me.  I have not played Victoria.

[Blue3]

Stellaris is the best.

[Bacon King]

I have not played Victoria.

Vicky 2 is notorious for being by far the most impenetrable and difficult-to-learn Paradox game. I've spent 463 hours playing Victoria II and I love the game but still have no idea what I'm doing half the time. Mikado is one of the very few people in the world who fully understands the game in and out and I find myself asking him questions regularly whenever I play

here are three interface tabs to show you the insane complexity

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I feel like an idiot. Should've opened this thread a couple months ago--I got Steam in April!

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

I always was annoyed when the British found influencing Mexico of all countries as a top priority, when I played as the US in Victoria II. Because of British owned Belize, they do technically share a border with Mexico. I also was banned from influencing Mexico for 5 years after each war, which left the UK more time to add them to their SOI. I always kept on the British good side as the US, but them mucking around in my backyard was annoying.

[Orthogonian Society Treasurer]

yall this is why neoconservatism is kick ass. I was the USA, and stuck to the borders that the USA has today. My sphere of influence consists of all of South and Central America, Quebec, Mexico, South Africa, Portugal, Ukraine, Belarus, Iraq, Nejd, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Yemen, Persia, Afghanistan, Crete, Java, and Vietnam. Also, Columbia (the independent British Columbia) went communist so they're next in line for becoming a puppet. But I'm most proud of my military-industrial complex:

>Ottomans control the entirety of the Middle East, including Israel
>North America divided into five states rather than one, as God intended
>Godless commies ruling from Moscow to Sakhalin
>The minorities of central Europe labour under the Habsburg yoke

And you call this neoconservatism? Irving Kristol and Woodrow Wilson are looking up at you from Hell with disappointment. 0/10, try again.

[diptheriadan]

Is there any way to slow down/stop/reverse cultural conversion.

[Bacon King]

Is there any way to slow down/stop/reverse cultural conversion.

in CK2? are you asking in general or is there a particular culture you're trying to stop/keep (some have special properties)


In general yes. The most important thing is that your character needs to have the culture you want everything to be. If your ruler is a different culture and you want to switch back, the easiest way to do so is to move your capital to a county with the culture you want to have. Then when you right click on your character portrait there will be an option to adopt that culture, at the cost of some prestige. If that's not feasible you can change your heir's culture if they're tutored by someone with the culture you want them to have (if you have Conclave DLC make sure you use the heritage focus)

Once your character has the culture you want everything to have, you can begin. The counties you directly control will automatically convert to your culture over time. This conversion is faster if you have high stewardship. It's also faster in counties adjacent to a county that already has your culture (whether you control it or not).

If you have vassals at count level or higher (i.e. who control entire counties) then you need them to have the same culture as you if you want it to spread in their territory. If a vassal likes you then you can use the "assign guardian" diplomatic action on them and have their children to be tutored by someone in your court. Children will sometimes adopt the culture of their guardian. The longer they raise the child, the more likely it is to happen. It's more likely to happen for kids younger than 12 (if you have the Conclave DLC make sure you set their education focus to "heritage" to make sure they'll culture convert). If possible you should pick "diligent" and/or "gregarious" guardians because both traits double the chance their ward adopts their culture.

Like I said though some cultures behave in a different way. Some cultures will shift to new cultures over time on their own. Norse splits into Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish based on location; Frankish converts to French; Lombard converts to Italian, just to list a few examples. Some "melting pot" cultures will also be created and spread when a ruler of certain cultures rule land of certain other cultures. Here are two related examples: when a Norse ruler has French counties in his demesne then it creates the Norman culture; when a Norman ruler owns Anglo-Saxon lands then it creates the English culture.

These "natural" cultural shifts are much harder to prevent but there is a way. I don't know all the details but it requires either a King or the head of a religion (e.g. the Pope or the Caliph) to still cling to the old culture after a certain amount of time has passed. I'm sure the CKII wiki has all the information you need to know.


summary:

1. Make sure your character's culture is the one you want to have
2. Educate your family and your vassals' families with guardians of that culture
3. If you have the Conclave DLC make sure you're using the heritage focus
4. Just make sure everyone who owns land is the culture you want the land to have because land naturally shifts to the culture of its direct owner - and it happens faster for rulers with high stewardship
5. this process is usually easy and applies for any culture shifting you'd want to do - but it's much more difficult if you're trying to keep one of the cultures that are supposed to shift into something else over time. The vast majority of these cultures only exist in the 769 and 867 start dates

[diptheriadan]

Thanks! Didn't think Paradox would have allowed that.

[Bacon King]

Heads up everyone! there's a huge Steam sale, all Paradox games and DLC are 50% off

I always wait until these sales to buy new DLC, it's so much more affordable this way

[dead0man]

I need to get some DLC for CK2, any suggestions outside of the character builder one which I'm already planning on getting.  It would be nice to play as the Mongolians and/or start in 866(?) instead of 1066.  And I think vanilla limited the mod choices I had, but it's been a month or so since I looked and it was just the once.  I'd look now, but I'm at work and the DoD frowns on installing Steam on thier networks for some reason.

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

I need to get some DLC for CK2, any suggestions outside of the character builder one which I'm already planning on getting.  It would be nice to play as the Mongolians and/or start in 866(?) instead of 1066.  And I think vanilla limited the mod choices I had, but it's been a month or so since I looked and it was just the once.  I'd look now, but I'm at work and the DoD frowns on installing Steam on thier networks for some reason.

How would CK be able to properly model a tiny country like Mongolia almost taking over the entire world? Is there some event that automatically fires in a certain year, and boosts the Mongol stats and lowers the rest of the world's stats?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I need to get some DLC for CK2, any suggestions outside of the character builder one which I'm already planning on getting.  It would be nice to play as the Mongolians and/or start in 866(?) instead of 1066.  And I think vanilla limited the mod choices I had, but it's been a month or so since I looked and it was just the once.  I'd look now, but I'm at work and the DoD frowns on installing Steam on thier networks for some reason.

The Old Gods lets you start in 867 and play as pagans like Vikings with tons of extra tropps. Even if not playing as a pagan I think 867 is a more fun start date. I think you need Horse Lords to play as the Mongols that I don't have.

[diptheriadan]

I need to get some DLC for CK2, any suggestions outside of the character builder one which I'm already planning on getting.  It would be nice to play as the Mongolians and/or start in 866(?) instead of 1066.  And I think vanilla limited the mod choices I had, but it's been a month or so since I looked and it was just the once.  I'd look now, but I'm at work and the DoD frowns on installing Steam on thier networks for some reason.

How would CK be able to properly model a tiny country like Mongolia almost taking over the entire world? Is there some event that automatically fires in a certain year, and boosts the Mongol stats and lowers the rest of the world's stats?

Yep. I've not made it that far to know if the world's stats get lowered, but the Mongols spawn with a death stack sometime in the 12th or 13th century.

[Bacon King]

I need to get some DLC for CK2, any suggestions outside of the character builder one which I'm already planning on getting.  It would be nice to play as the Mongolians and/or start in 866(?) instead of 1066.  And I think vanilla limited the mod choices I had, but it's been a month or so since I looked and it was just the once.  I'd look now, but I'm at work and the DoD frowns on installing Steam on thier networks for some reason.

okay so I'm definitely late in replying to this! Shortly after you posted this I began typing a response but something came up so I saved what I had written in a wordpad file on my desktop. I just rediscovered it, saw your question was still unanswered, so I took the time to finish it. It's longer than I meant it to be but I hope it helps: here's what I consider to be the four tiers of CK2 DLC.

Very Essential DLC: these add to the game in important ways, adding features that greatly enhance your experience in every single game you play

Way of Life: the character focus system adds an entirely new dimension to gameplay with soooo much new content. The ten focus areas are fun ways to 'specialize' your characters, for lack of a better word, Adding tons of variety and gives you so much more to do. Adds so much replayability; does more than anything else to make every game unique and every character distinct.

Conclave: Internal/domestic politics become not just relevant, but a crucial part of the game. Your interactions with both your vassals and your liege matter, no longer treated as an afterthought. There's tons of depth in how you handle your own council AND what you get to do as a member of your liege's council. Realm laws are reworked. The system of childhood education is also greatly improved, allowing you to meaningfully influence your children's education.

Legacy of Rome: The improvements to Byzantium are nice but there's one reason this DLC is so important: RETINUES! You get to train an elite professional corps to bolster your normal army of levies which adds so much versatility to combat and warfare. It's pricetag is usually $5 but during sales you can buy it for two bucks. It's definitely worth $2 to access such a helpful feature that's useful in any game situation.

Cool and Good DLC: While these DLC don't fundamentally transform major parts of the game, these are generally worth the money for any CK2 player. No matter your play style, no matter where on the map you are, they add interesting and enjoyable new stuff to do and play around with. If any of these just don't sound like your thing, though, none of them really add anything essential to the game so you'll be fine skipping these.

The Old Gods: The 867 start date is great (the most popular start date in the game, according to polls on the CK2 subreddit). The Old Gods lets you play as any pagan character (except for nomads), so that's the focus of most of the new content. You don't need fancy "claims" to conquer your neighbors, you can take it just because you want it! You can send soldiers raiding in foreign lands to pillage the countryside and steal all their gold & women. You can force captured women to be your concubines, and you can sacrifice any prisoner to your pagan gods. It's especially fun to be a Viking because you can conquer coastal counties anywhere in range, letting you spread far and wide, and you have a special once-in-a-lifetime coastal invasion CB to carve out an entire kingdom for yourself to rule wherever you decide to settle down. In the right circumstances you can reform your pagan religion, centralizing it, giving it a formal religious head, and putting you on even footing with the established religions like Christianity and Islam. But while this stuff is cool, it's really only for playing as a pagan. Why do I consider it universally good then? The 867 start date. It's just that good. No matter where you're playing the map is just as detailed and filled out as the 1066 date but it's a different experience entirely and much more fun. Western Europe for example is split among six kingdoms of roughly equal size split among the various heirs of Charlemagne. Very different from the usual "BIG FRANCE, BIG BIG BIG HRE"

Reaper's Due: Greatly expands the system of disease -- you no longer just get "ill", you get specific symptoms showing up until they progress into a diagnosed illness. You have a court physician who can try to heal you ... though sometimes cures can have some nasty side effects. You can build hospitals which, in addition to limiting the spread of epidemics, can also expand it to get a variety of bonuses. The Black Death becomes something that actually matters, something to fear, you may be able to save your court by sealing the gates of your castle (assuming you don't run out of food) but serious epidemics can leave your lands depopulated for generations. There's a new system that tracks how prosperous/devastated each province is, causing various effects, and your actions impact it in various ways. Also you get a quest chain that lets you search for immortality -- while risky and unlikely to succeed, if you do pull it off your character will never die of natural causes, allowing you to possibly live forever (or at least until everyone starts hating you once they realize you're some kind of demon that's lived for centuries). Lots of fun stuff in this DLC.

Monks and Mystics: The big addition here is SOCIETIES! You can join quite a few groups that can each be fun and entertaining. You might want to join a holy order, or perhaps the learning-focused Hermetic Society, or maybe the infamous Assassins? You can publicly profess one faith while secretly worshiping something else in private -- and you can join secret cults dedicated to privately spreading your true faith, undermining the unbelievers from the inside! Or hey, you could become a Satanist, making sacrifices for unholy powers, casting evil curses on your enemies, kill your children to steal their life force to prolong your own life. Of course these evil powers come with a terrible cost, corrupting your body, mind, and soul. Also featured in this DLC is new actions available for each member of your council -- including sending your court chaplain out to hunt heretics, burning witches and satanists at the stake. Very interesting experience.

Situational DLC: These are the DLC that you might want to buy immediately or you might ignore completely. While each of these include some new features that you can use no matter where you play, the vast majority of the content is focused on specific types of characters (specific religions, regions, governments, etc). If these features sound appealing to you then definitely buy them but don't waste your money on something if you're never going to use it. Also, just a note -- I would have considered "The Old Gods" a situational DLC, except for the new start date it includes. The 867 start makes it worth the money even if you never once play a pagan.

Charlemagne: Okay, this one's going to require a lot of explanation. The main feature here is the 769 start date and includes story events related to the rise of Charlemagne and establishment of the Carolignian Empire. It can be fun and it does provide a totally new experience, however in general the 769 start date has quite a few shortcomings. Personally I like 769 but I understand why a lot of fans disagree with me. The world seems "unpolished", not quite entirely finished. Far too many counts are lonely nobodies with randomly generated stats. If you aren't playing as a known historical figure (or at least an ahistorical member of a historical dynasty, put in there to fill gaps in the historical record) then odds are, you won't be married, you will have few if any courtiers with you, and you'll usually be the only member of your dynasty, no family at all; at most you'll have a single son, random stats and traits, unmarried, who apparently was a product of asexual reproduction because you're their only parent. You click to find a spouse you can marry, and you'll probably have only five or six options to chose from (so you'll probably have to settle for a randomly generated lowborn courtier once they start showing up). In much of the world the game starts you with so much more territory than you can actually hold yourself, forcing you to find/create vassals to rule it. There are counts ruling five counties even though they have a county limit of one, there are dukes directly controlling 16 counties even though their demesne limit is only three. The start date is also dominated by several large empires, who in most cases will only grow larger and larger as the game goes on. Between the Abbasids in the Middle East, the Ummayads in Spain, Charlemagne in France/Germany/usually Italy, and Byzantium in Anatolia and the Balkans,  it can be hard to build a stable realm a safe distance away from them all. (PRO-TIP: the secret to fix these insanely large empires is to select the option to increase revolt sizes-- x2 is usually enough to prevent out-of-control expansion, but x4 or x6 is necessary if you want a chance to see these huge empires to actually break apart. Doing this is hilarious and great). A token feature not related to the 769 start date is the ability to create Custom Kingdoms and Custom Empires. Basically if you control enough territory and have enough prestige, you get to create your own higher title (so you aren't forced to fit arbitrary borders to create new kingdoms or empires). all duchies you hold become de jure vassals of your new custom kingdom, and all kingdom titles you hold become the de jure vassals of a newly created empire.

Horse Lords: This one's all about the nomads of the steppes. Allows you to play them and gives them their own unique government system. Token feature also available to non-nomads is the ability to build trading posts along the Silk Road, which can provide very lucrative economic boosts to the county they're in.

Swords of Islam: This DLC allows you to play as Muslims and gives them their own unique government system.

The Republic: This DLC allows you to play as Merchant Republics and gives them their own unique government system.

Sons of Abraham Various miscellaneous additions to the three Abrahamic faiths. Allows you to play as Jews. Creates new holy orders for every religion and gives you unique interactions with some of them. You can now jump headfirst into papal politics, handing out bribes to get your own loyal bishops elected to the College of Cardinals, and if one of the cardinals you supported gets elected Pope then he'll be very loyal to you and never refuse you when you use existing or new diplomatic actions with the pope (will give you money, free use of invasion CB, free divorces and excommunications, and you can request specific Crusade targets).

Rajas of India: This DLC allows you to play in India and as members of Eastern religions (Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Taoism). Access to many unique mechanics and events specific to India.

Bad DLC do not buuy

Sunset Invasion: at a random point, the Aztec Empire will suddenly show up after crossing the Atlantic and will invade Britain, France, Spain, and/or Morocco before spreading further west. They start with a larger army than even the Mongols and create an interesting ahistorical game. Allows you to play as Aztecs who have some unique events and mechanics available. Very wacky. It's surprising and exciting the very first time you use it, and it might still be fun the second time, and might still be interesting the third time. After that you'll turn it off and never use it again because it's just to insane and disruptive to normal gameplay. (your only options for the invasion are "off", "random", and "13th century or later," though CK2+, an overhaul mod of the game, has its default option for the Sunset Invasion to be a new setting, "rare", which gives the Aztec Invasion something like a 10% chance to happen at all, so it's rare enough and unexpected enough to be fun when it does happen.) Also if you have Sunset Invasion activated when you play the very popular Game of Thrones mod, it's still the Aztecs who show up but they ride dragons and it's hilarious


This ended up being like three times as long as I intended it to be lol but I hope it helps you and anyone else who is curious about what DLC to get.

find more info here: https://ck2.paradoxwikis.com/Downloadable_content