is this game hard to learn?

[BooQueefius]

title ive never really played 4x game or stradgy games will this be too much for me?

[Average AMD neanderthal]

well you've certainly chosen the most difficult series paradox has to offer. the only saving grace is that its way more streamlined and organized than ck2.

its a fun game, but you'll have to commit several hours to it to master the basics. and then its trial and error by playing campaigns and improving.

[Tarshaid]

There are strategy games, and there are Paradox' grand strategy games. Expect a mess of information.
The advantage with CK3 is that, for once, there is something that looks like a tutorial, and the game is sandboxy enough that you don't really have to "win" anything and can theoretically take things at your own pace, or at least accept that weird things happen. Playing a tribal ruler can make some stuff pretty easy and the game less difficult to understand, as long as you accept that rejecting civilisation might come with downsides.

[GorishiDan]

you wont know until you try it, its def not a genre for everybody, i personally wasnt that into it in the beginning and now i got over 1k hours in it - but you need to at least try to like it even if you don't understand things and think its too complicated, give it some time and you'll get there

check some guides online, youtube vids, it'll help you get the hang of things faster, unless youre one of those that like going in blind and learning as you go along, tho i wouldn't recommend that if youre not familiar with grand strategies at all but whatever you prefer

but to answer the question in your title: no, not really, slow start but got there, game'll be even better once we get our much needed dlcs

[Aven Oul]

this game is so easy to learn, and its difficulty isnt even hard on its highest one.

[Thor's Wrath]

It's definitely a time commitment. You will definitely need to look up the wiki and maybe even some guides. I still remember the first 15-20 hours spent in total frustration over CKIi. But once you get the basic mechanisms, it's smooth sailing from there. There are always little things to pick up along the way.

And CKIII is better in that it has a tutorial and even more helpful tooltips.

[Metals]

It is very deep and somewhat hard to learn. I'm on my first play-through (the tutorial start) and even though I'm lost 75% of the time, I still seem to be trodding along just fine.

[EA Latium]

Probably we could say it's "easy to learn, hard to master". Ultimately it depends by the start, but as a Paradox game is really not difficult.

It's confusing at the beginning if you are new, but you will pick it up just fine.

I should probably mention there is no "winning" in the game, is all about the personal goals and emergent stories.

[Metals]

Well, looks like it is time to start over (7 hours in). I did not realise that my entire realm would be divided up between my 3 sons, and that the one I would control would receive the smallest stake...

[Nerdlin Geeksly]

Originally posted by BooQueefius:

title ive never really played 4x game or strategy games will this be too much for me?

if you buy the game, play the tutorial it will teach you all the basics you need to know; then if you want to up your game you can either experiment with what you can do or look up tips and guides on the internet.
there are some good videos that can teach you some things, but if they say a certain thing is cheesy or might get patched out then it likely already has been given how long it's been out.
I came from civ 5 and 6 and enjoy the game, for me personally it's one of those games that's easy to learn (If you follow the tutorial) but difficult to master and I highly recommend for your first few game that you don't play on iron man so you can save scum and learn from your mistakes.

[Forblaze]

CK3 is way easier to learn than other paradox games i've played. Succession is the main thing that confuses people because it has a habit of sneaking up on people that aren't thinking of it. War and economy are pretty simple.

[Twelvefield]

It takes a while to learn, but if I can do it anybody can. I agree with: easy to learn, hard to master. It takes a few tries to understand the deeper aspects of the game, but there are some technical details that are truly boggling. Fortunately, they tend not to come up often if you are careful.

At its core, CK3 is much a like a choose-your-own-adventure game, with chess piece characters you can move around and sometimes they have sex or kill one another using secret means.

[Average AMD neanderthal]

Originally posted by Metals:

Well, looks like it is time to start over (7 hours in). I did not realise that my entire realm would be divided up between my 3 sons, and that the one I would control would receive the smallest stake...

and that's why you should check your succession under the realm tab everytime you get sons, new lands, or are about to die. a tutorial on handling it wouldn't hurt either.

[Dimebag]

Originally posted by Metals:

Well, looks like it is time to start over (7 hours in). I did not realise that my entire realm would be divided up between my 3 sons, and that the one I would control would receive the smallest stake...

Yep. This game has a lot less control over inheritence and is very ticker bar heavy in gameplay. Not a fan of it I must say.

[Shiny49]

Originally posted by Dimebag:

Originally posted by Metals:

Well, looks like it is time to start over (7 hours in). I did not realise that my entire realm would be divided up between my 3 sons, and that the one I would control would receive the smallest stake...

Yep. This game has a lot less control over inheritence and is very ticker bar heavy in gameplay. Not a fan of it I must say.

Even in 866 you have plenty of options to control inheritance. Be it killing off / murdering heirs, putting your heirs in zelibate / make them eunuchs after imprisoning them (with a fabricated hook), disinheritation, or making (feudal) election laws on your duchies. (chosen heir by you will always inherit the full duchy with all counties, as long as you don't have any vasalls in this duchy - so that no one can also take in the election). Sometimes I am wondering what the people are complaining for in terms of succession...

[SGT DZL]

"Is it difficult to learn"? Oh yes, it has a very steep learning curve, having played the tutorial twice, watch several guides on YT and with 25 hrs of play, I now feel I maybe able to play with some knowledge. However I still expect to lose my next few campaigns. No easy wins, it is a long and hard struggle. Paid almost 45 quid, so my stubborn side will not let that go wasted. Beside during lockdown here in the UK what else do I have to do?