Worth a buy? Need advise.

[† Aramis †]

I never played and of the CK games. Is this worth the buy? Is the learning curve steep or can anyone just jump in a play? What are your thoughts on the game? Fun?

[brownacs]

Whether it's worth a buy or not's real subjective. The learning curve isn't shallow but it's the most approachable CK game by a mile. I love the game and think it's really fun. My main criticism would be that the game as it stands feels like it's waiting for a fair bit of DLC before it's really 'complete', as it were. That's Paradox for you though. They seem to be going for fewer DLC but bigger ones than they did with CK2 which I personally don't mind but the wait's testing my patience a little.

[StarFishon]

if you want playing role play and war game it will suite you

you have you toturials and nice in game toturial.. but its a game that your learn every run new things

i have close to 100 and i dont sure i know everything.

you not going to conquer all the world you going to make your family known to the world.

[Jrunko]

Originally posted by brownacs:

Whether it's worth a buy or not's real subjective. The learning curve isn't shallow but it's the most approachable CK game by a mile. I love the game and think it's really fun. My main criticism would be that the game as it stands feels like it's waiting for a fair bit of DLC before it's really 'complete', as it were. That's Paradox for you though. They seem to be going for fewer DLC but bigger ones than they did with CK2 which I personally don't mind but the wait's testing my patience a little.

In short: is it not interesting to play without DLCs?

[Fatbill]

I am still holding off and waiting to buy CK3 until it is cheaper and/or "more finished". And I have played CK3 plenty via shared Steam library. It is not a bad game, but it is currently just "ok".

There are a good number of things that still need work, as compared to CK2: the combat, war/allied AI, and crusades still work poorly, and the family/marriage/vassal system is still way too chaotic.

I am not even talking about things that are "missing", as the previous poster mentioned.

Maybe I am too used to how things work in CK2, but it least in CK2 they actually do work.

[StarFishon]

you have only one small dlc..

[Viktor Von Groyper]

Its worth it. But a protip is NEVER pay full price. Its on sale all the time. Tried to get a friend into CK2. Was going to cost like $150. Ive never paid more than $7 for any DLC

[brownacs]

Originally posted by Tsunkeo:

Originally posted by brownacs:

Whether it's worth a buy or not's real subjective. The learning curve isn't shallow but it's the most approachable CK game by a mile. I love the game and think it's really fun. My main criticism would be that the game as it stands feels like it's waiting for a fair bit of DLC before it's really 'complete', as it were. That's Paradox for you though. They seem to be going for fewer DLC but bigger ones than they did with CK2 which I personally don't mind but the wait's testing my patience a little.

In short: is it not interesting to play without DLCs?

I've played it for several hundred hours and had a blast but I feel like I now need some more DLC to hook me back in. It's definitely interesting without DLC; I just feel personally like this could be near to my perfect game when all's said and done and we have several years worth of DLC.

[Jrunko]

Originally posted by brownacs:

Originally posted by Tsunkeo:

In short: is it not interesting to play without DLCs?

I've played it for several hundred hours and had a blast but I feel like I now need some more DLC to hook me back in. It's definitely interesting without DLC; I just feel personally like this could be near to my perfect game when all's said and done and we have several years worth of DLC.

does it mean that you can still spend a good time in it without buying a royal edition?

[brownacs]

Originally posted by Tsunkeo:

Originally posted by brownacs:

I've played it for several hundred hours and had a blast but I feel like I now need some more DLC to hook me back in. It's definitely interesting without DLC; I just feel personally like this could be near to my perfect game when all's said and done and we have several years worth of DLC.

does it mean that you can still spend a good time in it without buying a royal edition?

Yeah I think so (this is all just my opinion). I'd recommend the royal edition if you're going to want the DLC down the road though. You'll end up paying a lot more if you buy them individually.

[Jrunko]

Originally posted by brownacs:

Originally posted by Tsunkeo:

does it mean that you can still spend a good time in it without buying a royal edition?

Yeah I think so (this is all just my opinion). I'd recommend the royal edition if you're going to want the DLC down the road though. You'll end up paying a lot more if you buy them individually.

but the royal edition has only 3 DLCs, and you still have to pay for future DLCs, right?

[brownacs]

Originally posted by Tsunkeo:

Originally posted by brownacs:

Yeah I think so (this is all just my opinion). I'd recommend the royal edition if you're going to want the DLC down the road though. You'll end up paying a lot more if you buy them individually.

but the royal edition has only 3 DLCs, and you still have to pay for future DLCs, right?

Yup. You'd only save money on those 3 DLCs (Northern Lords, Royal Court and TBC... to be confirmed, not the burning crusade... although that could be awesome...).

[Viktor Von Groyper]

Like I said earlier. The game is on sale constantly. You can get all the DLCs for under $9. They also had cheap "DLC"s in CK2. Like $1.99 for outfits and what not. You dont have to have DLC when its release. Just wait a month or 2 and Paradox will have some promotion. They like slashing the base game so they can nickle and dime you with DLC

[brownacs]

Originally posted by Viktor Von Groyper:

Like I said earlier. The game is on sale constantly. You can get all the DLCs for under $9. They also had cheap "DLC"s in CK2. Like $1.99 for outfits and what not. You dont have to have DLC when its release. Just wait a month or 2 and Paradox will have some promotion. They like slashing the base game so they can nickle and dime you with DLC

This is true.
EDIT: Not sure about getting Royal Court for under $9 though. Might be waiting a while on that one. It's like $30 now.

[Archer the Bowless]

I only skimmed the previous posts...

Yes get the game if you're into the medieval period.
This is a Sandbox Sim of the medieval age with RPG elements.
Two starting dates being 867 and 1066 where the world is different in each.

Learning curve is there, but it's a nice and good one. The kind that's going to get you to keep coming back to it and will have a fun time learning everything. I'd highly recommend registering your game on the official Paradox forums and going there for help if need be. Forums here are also decent, but I think the official forum people are especially interested in helping new players and discussing the game in general.

I wouldn't wait around for sales... It's true CK2 would constantly be on sale as are most of Paradox games but CK3 is "new" so I wouldn't expecting any worth while savings for some time. Feel free to wait, but it could be some time before the savings become meaningful.

Newbies.
Play the game....don't be afraid, and just play it out. You're first few games aren't going to be the ones where you achieve a lot and everything goes as planned. Allow yourself time to make mistakes, and watch the world evolve around you. Test things out, watch how the AI reacts in war and try to make sense of it. I say this because there are some players who go onto the forums and begin asking a million and one questions after their first couple of minutes into the game. Questions they'd have been able to answer themselves after they've put a couple hours into it. Like I mentioned, allow yourself to just play the game and don't be afraid if you made the wrong/dumb decision. In a game like Hearts Of Iron, another Paradox game, you'll want to make sure you do certain things on day 1 to properly set yourself up for the future. In Crusader Kings, press the play button and allow time to pass, it's cool, allow some time to pass and see what happens.
Don't freak out... Sometimes things will happen where you'll feel there is no possible explanation and you may want to rage, only to find out that there was a very good reason as to why that happened... There ARE also some bugs, you can check these on the official forums, I hope they don't cause you to much issue with learning the game. They patch the game and work on these all the time, but new ones pop up and that means sometimes even if you understand the game you will run into a wall, and that's when the forums can really help.

Okay whoa I typed way more than I was expecting.
End of the day, this game is unlike anything I've ever played. It's got it's issues and may be seen as "hollow" compared to the "overly fleshed out" CK2 but I think CK3 has taken the right steps in creating a better Crusader Kings game. The new Royal Court DLC looks to be friggin' awesome, and there's lots to look forward to in the future.

This is a good game. If you can afford it, get it.

[Dorf]

Just follow the alerts on the top of the screen. They will make you aware of most things that need attending.

Sort marriages by alliance power. Just having a strong alliance can stop most from attacking you. The closer the ally the better.

Murchad in Ireland is the go-to for noobs. Plenty of opportunity for learning both war and diplomacy.