favorite dynasty legacies?

[VayneVerso]

Can I get a quick poll of which legacies the pros around here prefer? Do you vary it up by campaign, or are there a few you always try to get?

I'm pretty indecisive where it comes to selecting these dynasty perks. I do like to try to get at least the first one in blood to get a slightly better chance of inheritable traits, and the first in glory, since marriage alliances are supremely important in my games. After that? I dunno.

I do like the Glory chain in general, just because it spares you some of the nonsense that comes from people in your own kingdom not liking you. In a different campaign I went as far as the one that cuts down the length of the short reign penalty, though honestly... given how deep it is in the chain, it's kind of crazy that it's only a 20% reduction in length. I almost feel like it should get rid of the short reign penalty completely.

I think the only one I never do at all is Kin.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2312105673

[angel of derp]

I've 100% the Legacies twice now.

I usually get as much Blood as possible. Marriage alliance, I don't worry about external ones, so I don't go that route.

After rank 4 in Blood, I usually try to get the Lifestyle experience perks in the trees that I like using (rank 3s in the Warfare, Law, Guile, Erudition, in no order). I go with whatever I feel like I'll be needing for that run, but usually Guile and Erudition come first for me.

Most of the Tier 5 unlocks are garbage IMO, so I hit rank 4 and then switch.

Once I make Empire, I'm pretty good at creating stability. I mostly don't have an issue with Short Reign unless I have a terrible ruler inherit. The stacking penalties become a problem at that point, but any one penalty (like Short Reign) isn't a problem for me. (You just have to slow down conquest to avoid Offensive War penalty at the same time.)

[VayneVerso]

Thanks for the response. As I look at these, so many of these perks are weaksauce considering how long it is before you can unlock them. By the time your dynasty is large and powerful enough to unlock some of these, you're already probably a massive steamroller that, say, +5 to powerful vassal opinion doesn't mean a whole lot to you. I mean, seriously? That's the level 4 perk in the law path? This should have been more like, "50% reduction to Desires a Seat on the Council penalty."

I'd change a lot of these if I could. For example, I'd probably rather have a flat natural dread buff in guile than the 20% to dread gain. Things like this that can help you right away whenever you have a new ruler take over.

[angel of derp]

Yeah. I should have said that I prioritize the rank 3s over the rank 4s whenever possible.

It's just Blood I take to rank 4 (to lock in the Quick/Genius line of traits), and then switch. Speeding up Lifestyle picks via experience gain is a big plus for me since I like hopping trees a lot.

Very few of the Legacies are that important to me outside of Blood... and Blood only works when making babies (and really important only for the Heir), so I guess that shows you how much I prioritize the Legacies.

[Aldon]

I prefer the Kin line. Too often my daughters die at childbirth and the last perk is megahammer, if you almost always drive the learning lifestyle like me. You got plenty of free points.

[VayneVerso]

Yeah, I get you. I was just venting a bit.

Blood does seem like the one path that is almost unquestionably good for all playstyles. The intelligence inheritable traits in particular just kind of make everything better.

[EA Latium]

That's a good question. Normally I'd say either Blood, Glory and Kin seem the most versatile, I always choose at least one of them; as for the others related to Attributes I always pick first one that fits the "theme" of the run.

[VayneVerso]

Originally posted by EA Latium:

That's a good question. Normally I'd say either Blood, Glory and Kin seem the most versatile, I always choose at least one of them; as for the others related to Attributes I always pick first one that fits the "theme" of the run.

Yeah, I should probably have a theme. I sort of play it by ear, and usually end up falling back on diplomacy, because over a longer reign, you can get to a point where everybody just seems to like you and it greases the wheels to everything else you'd want to do.

[angel of derp]

Everyone has a favored style. Intrigue is mine, so I prioritize that a lot, although I use Learning for development and pacification of Empires (cross-cultural penalty avoidance while I'm converting vassals to my culture).

If you make it to 1453 with everything unlocked, that's a good run, so whatever works for you is best.

[EA Latium]

Originally posted by TheWatcherUatu:

Yeah, I should probably have a theme. I sort of play it by ear, and usually end up falling back on diplomacy, because over a longer reign, you can get to a point where everybody just seems to like you and it greases the wheels to everything else you'd want to do.

Diplomacy is great indeed. Roleplaying with legacies can be fun, it's a small thing to spice things up.

[VayneVerso]

Originally posted by angel of derp:

Everyone has a favored style. Intrigue is mine, so I prioritize that a lot, although I use Learning for development and pacification of Empires (cross-cultural penalty avoidance while I'm converting vassals to my culture).

If you make it to 1453 with everything unlocked, that's a good run, so whatever works for you is best.

I see a lot of people around here liking the learning lifestyle, and I have to admit that I almost never even looked at it before. ha! I could see where it could be useful a little later on when you've made your initial landgrab to form your empire, and you turn your focus to slow border creep and ensuring that your populace all share a common culture and religion.

[Go0lden_Archer]

I always grab 1-2 perks from blood. every game. I just can't stop breeding even when its a side-job of a side-job during side-job on the main job. so I grab it simply for my future dynasty members to be better to provide me with better lords etc.

otherwise I tend to go for control perk. and knight effectiveness perk. (don't remember which trees they are, at the top). control is always useful and knights effectiveness just created war machines out of your 20+ prowess brutes.

then whatever suits my fancy for rp or immediate/planned needs.

[Lovecraft's Cat]

Blood for the obligatory breeding program. After that anything except Guile or Glory, depending on personal taste.

[Aldon]

Originally posted by TheWatcherUatu:

Originally posted by angel of derp:

Everyone has a favored style. Intrigue is mine, so I prioritize that a lot, although I use Learning for development and pacification of Empires (cross-cultural penalty avoidance while I'm converting vassals to my culture).

If you make it to 1453 with everything unlocked, that's a good run, so whatever works for you is best.

I see a lot of people around here liking the learning lifestyle, and I have to admit that I almost never even looked at it before. ha! I could see where it could be useful a little later on when you've made your initial landgrab to form your empire, and you turn your focus to slow border creep and ensuring that your populace all share a common culture and religion.

I've had blood a few times, but I can't say it's made any impact. At first I prefer to stay with Kin, because I immediately have measurable results. Learning is an integral part of all my rulers from the beginning. Massive piety gain in connection with the ability to buy duke titles with it is simply op. Then there's learning on the job, one of the best perks ever. Less stress is great and pedagogy is also extremely powerful.

[BaCaz]

I like to focus on Blood. when it gets overly expensive compared to other options I go for specific Traits that I prefer like Faithful Magistrates and Studious Youth, but beyond that I prioritize the ones that most benefit the playstyle of the current House i'm playing.

Edit: For Blood to make sense you also have to focus on Blood in your playstyle, meaning you have to marry for inheritable traits

[VayneVerso]

Originally posted by Aldon:

I've had blood a few times, but I can't say it's made any impact. At first I prefer to stay with Kin, because I immediately have measurable results. Learning is an integral part of all my rulers from the beginning. Massive piety gain in connection with the ability to buy duke titles with it is simply op. Then there's learning on the job, one of the best perks ever. Less stress is great and pedagogy is also extremely powerful.

Well, one good thing about the Blood pathway--for me, anyway--is that eventually you'll get a lot of smart people in your dynasty that make excellent educators. Other than that, I guess it's mostly just a vanity thing.

Originally posted by Go0lden_Archer:

otherwise I tend to go for control perk. and knight effectiveness perk. (don't remember which trees they are, at the top). control is always useful and knights effectiveness just created war machines out of your 20+ prowess brutes.

Knights are amazing. I saw something funny on Reddit the other day where some guy had an all-knight army of like 58 knights, and had managed to get something like 400% knight effectiveness from technology and lifestyle perks. Crazy.