Is this game very complicated?

[Eutanazja]

Hi! I've never played a paradox game, and the 'grand strategy' games I've played are Total War Warhammer 1, 2, and 3. Does it take a long time to learn everything and be able to enjoy it, or will it be 50 hours of tutorial? I've heard that this game is the most beginner friendly, but I'm still worried that most of the time it will be torture. What do you think? Is it worth trying as a total noob in this genre?

[Ashling]

The dynastic & relationship part of the game can be a bit too complex for new players (simply because there's a lot of moving parts you've got to get a feel for), but the warfare and more general aspects of the game is probably on the easier side to understand.

Instead of picking a game based on difficulty I'd pick based on time period, or if a specific game has a fun mechanic that pulls you in, because they're really not that different from one another in terms of difficulty. The only exception I'd make is for EU4/colonization as EU5 is going to be released some time.

(Oh, CK3 does excel in giving the player a lot of ways to recover from a bad situation, so if you don't mind losing and then maybe/maybe not struggling for a bit, then this game is perfect.)

[armyissue69]

it is very complex. there is a tutorial that is a MUST DO, which I feel many people don't do. will take you a lengthy time to fully comprehend the complexity and even us that have been around awhile are still learning new stuff. TONS of youtube, google and reddit to find anything you need. This game will suck your life away.

[Razorblade]

What game requires you to understand everything about it before you can enjoy it? If games were like that, no one would play them. Even something like playing a basic FPS was something you surely learned at one point; no one is born with an implicit understanding of game mechanics.

Unless you're horribly impatient, you should be able to learn and enjoy yourself. Complexity doesn't matter if you can find the fun in failure.

[Delta-Kilo]

Compared to its predecessor, it is perhaps more noob friendly. Compared to other games, head-stunningly complex. It is a Paradox game, thus a million moving parts to track. As for enjoying it, strategy games are things I love and having multiply methods to overcome obstacles appeals to me so I enjoyed it while learning how to play it. If that describes you, then you'll be fine. If not, then to the rack with you and let the torture session begin.

[dbix11]

If this is your first pdx game id say yes, relatively speaking. I found the best way to learn and get inspiration for my games was watching some play-throughs on youtube

[jpcerutti]

It is a sandbox medieval dynasty game that goes in a different direction pretty much every time you unpause.

You do not have to have mastered the nuances of every mechanic to enjoy it or play - most mechanics are pretty straightforward and the tooltips will usually let you know what things are for and 'requirements' that you need to do things. There are WIKI, many threads, Youtube, and you can always ask a question here or on the PDX forums if you're not figuring something out on your own.

Youtube play videos, and the tutorial, help if you're completely lost. I'm one of those kind of folks who 'read the instructions when all else fails' and try to force the pegs in the wrong shaped holes first... but figured it out with the available tools above eventually.

VERY flexible game in the ways you can play or approach it to get the same end result - and can be modded or edited into all sorts of variants once you figure out what you like and don't like to do and for the mechanics of how it plays.

[Merrin]

Yes

[KingKickAss]

I'll try to describe it as best as I can. Wide as a lake but deep as a puddle generally feels fitting.
There are a lot of little features, but they don't go deep, and the learning curve is however long it takes you to just read whatever is relevant to what you're doing. The best feature of the game is probably the fact that every term is highlighted or underlined and simply hovering over it will tell you what it means, and you can even hover over other highlighted terms within that pop-up window.

So there's a lot you can learn about, but the game essentially will just tell you those things whenever you ask. Gameplay is mostly reading and answering questions, war is just advanced rock/paper/scissors with some math thrown in there as you're not actually managing troops, you're moving a marker around the map.

[Abacus]

You didn't play monopoly knowing all the techniques from the get go right?

You don't have to dive deep at first. You learn as you go, and it does take a good 20 hours of playing to feel like you could play "hard mode." You will always be learning new thing, but that is the game.

the best part is it having a wonderful tooltip concept, where they constantly expand to explain anything you hover over.

That is how you should look at CK3, if it is sparking an interest.

What ever yo do, avoid CK 2, which was great for it's time, but is very archaic and outdated.

It will put off most new players, as CK 3 is a tremendous improvement. Featuring much more content on the base game. (Expect someone to potentially attack what I just wrote. The're a desperate bunch in rose-tint land. Lol)

As far as DLC, I actually recommend playing before getting any. As they more expand on things added in free updates. However, Road to power extends the gameplay loop into an amazing concept.

[Puppet Pal Clem]

no, once you play the game for a bit it becomes very easy, and you also need to learn how to be a tyrant when you need too, and cultivate friends/alliances with powerful kingdoms/empires.

[Cal]

Not really, the game tells you if you need to do something at the top notification, but you shouldnt do everything it tells you. creating titles for example, if youre a kingdom and you create anotehr kingdom title in your land u will lose it when u die if u have multiple kids

[JBrown247]

pretty simple for paradox standards. probably 95% more simple than CK2