How to Find and Press Claims.

A quick primer on how to find and use claims. Current to 1.091.

Intro - The Different Kinds of Claims.

There are two kinds of claims;

• Strong Claims - These claims can be pressed any time. They are inherited by the second and third heirs in line to a holding.
  
  
  
• Weak Claims - These claims can only be pressed during times of turmoil in the realm - that is, during regencies, succession crises, when a female regent is challenged by a male claim, and by pretenders to the throne. The specific conditions involved are why you often see a country (hopefully not yours!) rapidly implode; a strong claimant or crisis has opened the door for many weaker claims to be pushed.

In order of the best possible claims to claims you should never even consider pursuing:

Best:

• 1. Strong Claim - Dynasty Member - Male Claimant.
  
  
• 2. Strong Claim - Dynasty Member - Female Claimant.
  
  
• 3. Weak Claim - Dynasty Member - Male Claimant.

Needs Effort:

• 4. Weak Claim - Dynasty Member - Female Claimant.
  
  
• 5. Weak Claim - Non-Dynasty Member - Female Claimant.

It Will Be Decades Before You Make This Work:

• 6. Weak Claim - Non-Dynasty Member - Male Claimant.

1. Finding a Claim.

This section assumes you do not have a claim or are looking for a specific claim. If you have a claim in hand, go to Section Three.

Finding a claim is a two step process:

• Deciding what holding you want a claim for:
  
  For every holding there is a claim, from empire to barony. Ideally before your search, you've identified strategic holdings your liege is already eyeing. Your dream locale is one that has recently seen either a lot of dynastic conflict or that a larger neighbor has only just conquered. Either of these events signifies a lot of loose ends and a major claim war brewing just under the surface.
  
  A very basic tip to keep in mind is that claims for lower holdings are much more numerous; you may have your eyes on the kingdom, but a duchy is a good starting place.
  
  
• Scouting potential claimants:
  
  1. Click the County/Duchy/Kingdom you are looking to topple. A popup on your bottom left should display the liege as well as information on the county.
  
  
  2. Select one of the heraldric crests (the shield thingies) that appear on the upper left and right of the popup. The left crest is for the county. The inner-right, smaller crest is for the duchy and the rightmost, larger crest is for the kingdom. A realm tab should appear displaying the de jure holdings of your selected territory.
  
  3. Click the claimant button. A list with a lot of names and red thumbs should appear, like so:
  
  4. Claimants with a green thumb can be lured to your court, no questions asked. Claimants with a red thumb range from 'maybe if you paid me a little' to 'not in this life, not in the next.' You can right-click a claimant's portrait, click on the diplomacy radial option, and try and invite them to court to see specifically why they're not interested.
  
  5. Right-click a prospective claimant and click the character radial to see their char screen and, most importantly, their claims.
  
  6. Not all claims are created equal! The best claims - strong and held by dynasty members - can be pressed immediately, but are rare and the product of major dynastic spread (think Rurikovichs). Weak claims require certain conditions and weak claims held by non-dynastic members will likely take a generation to pay off. Weak claims held by non-dynastic males are the absolute worst of these and will require you to not only lure them to your court, but push them into a matrilineal marriage with a dynasty member while pressing a war you have no intention of winning.
  
  

2. Luring a Claimant.

This section assumes you have a prospective claimant but are having trouble getting them into your court. If you're ready for war (or decades of meticulous breeding), skip to Section Three.

Welcome to the tedious part of getting a claim in your court. I've tried to streamline it, but be warned this process is a lot of clicking and pain. Now please,

Follow the checklist!

1. Is their thumb green on the claimant list? Invite them to court and go to Section Three.

2. If their thumb is red, hover your mouse cursor over it to see their reasoning. You're likely noticing a lot of red dashes at this point - don't get discouraged.

3. If there is only one more red dash (two more with high diplomacy) than green dashes, offer them a cash gift for their loyalty. You typically need 75+ disposition over their current liege to win the popularity contest. This is a good example of what you're looking for:

4. If there are three or more red dashes than green dashes, then you're in trouble. Female claimants you can marry to a courtier (make sure they're a dynasty member if the claim is weak!). Male claimants you can try and score a matrilineal marriage with. Good luck at that. The last resort is to try marrying one of their parents if the claimant is a courtier and thus dragging the whole family to you, but honestly you should just move on.

5. If there are a dozen red dashes and the claimant thinks you're a jerk, won't marry anyone you know, and generally wishes pox upon you, then congratulations: you've encountered 90% of claim holders. Pick another and try again.

3. Preparing the Claim.

Always check your claim and claimant before starting a war.


Repeat it with me: Always check your claim and claimant before starting a war.

If you don't do this you will end up pushing the claim of someone who owes you nothing more than a smile and thanks for their newly sovereign holding.

1. Is the claim for a place you are the de jure liege of? i.e. if you are the King of Hungary pressing a de jure claim for a duchy, does that duchy fall under the kingdom's territory?

2. Are you pushing the claim of a dynasty member?

See that tiny green "YOUR KINSMAN" notifier?



Know it. Love it. Embrace it. Gallant backs his family and the end up as his vassal. Goofus, well, he backs this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥:



Who, after twenty minutes of sieging, levying and micromanagement says, "Thanks, sucker!" and walks off with his own ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ duchy. Always check your claim and claimant before starting a war.

...

If you did not answer yes to either of these, do not press the claim. But don't worry: there is hope. All claims can work for you, they just might need that little something extra. And here's the primer:

• Strong Claims - Non-Dynasty Members:

Marry these claimants to a dynasty member. It doesn't matter who, so long as they have a kid to succeed his parent. This will require a generation of effort, but you get a courtier and a relative on the throne - eventually.

• Weak Claims - Non-Dynasty Members:

Welcome to Hell. If you're here, this is the last resort for you, the only way to expand is through blood and sweat. This is the worst possible combination for you.

Firstly, marry the claimant to a dynasty member. Second, push the claim in war. Remember this will require any of a number of specific events, few of which you are in control of. Luckily, Paradox put an alert in place for masochists like you. Look for the crossed swords icon to appear at the top of the screen and hope it's a chance to push that specific claim.

Third, lose the war. Yes, lose. Or white peace, in which both parties are losers. If you win, your claimant gives thanks and walks away snickering. So lose and in so keep the weak claim alive for your claimant's successor. Only when your newest family member is out of his swaddling clothes and ye olde realm is again going through a crisis will you return for your hard-won land.

5. TAKE WHAT IS YOURS!

Push the claim in war! Make Christendom tremble before your armies!

Take from them everything; leave them nothing!


DEUS VULT! GOD WILLS IT!

Bonus Tip: Competent Councils Done Right!

If you've got time to spare and can't stand your 6 intrigue spymaster for another damned minute, then you can abuse the claim system for easy recruitment.


Just load up the claimant screen for a random holding, sort by the attribute you want and see who's ready to serve the great count of Nowhere! Sure we'll press your claim on the HRE, but in the meantime don't you want to teach peasants which part of the sword is the pointy end?

[nhaK niveK]

For a weak non dynasty male claimant I grant the claimant a landed title to one of my shitty counties, now he’s my vassal, press the claim, win the war, now he loves me but has more land than I want him to. I’ll Wait a bit to request to revoke titles I don’t want him to have, and because he loves me he says yes once or twice, any more titles and I’ll definitely have to fight his rebel army. But crushing a revolt improved opinions of the other vassals, so it counteracts the tyranny penalty. Wish rinse repeat. As a small kingdom I keep at least 4 counties to myself, 2-3 duchy titles. The 5th county is my bait and switch county for claimants

[Everyoneplays]

Not the Sergal!

[DerRitter]

cringy redditors tend to be bronies and furries, soo...

[kilian]

cringe redditor

[Marxxx Suckerjerk]

+rate for a crusade against Bronies and Furries

[Dr. aids]

this guide really helped me, i actually sat through the entire guide, thank you.

[YOUNGBOY NEVER CIRCUMSIZED AGAIN]

I can easily take whole kingdoms that are not De Jure my empire or kingdom, they just have to be a rank lower than you. Just give them a county for free then push your claim,, because then youd be pushing a vassals claim to a kingdom, duchy etc, So if its a lower rank than you. It would all fall under your empire or kingdom. It ofcourse destabilises everything in that kingdom if its a kingdom, Especially if you are another religion. But it will fix itself. It doesnt matter whos the king there, just keep him in your religion and convert the other counties, essentially forcing them to be your bitch and in your religion. Congrats you just boosted your own religions power and more importantly your own power

[Siberian Frontier]

Which focus should i select for those jobs? Seduction helps to get a child (At least a bastard, but generally lovers breeding modifier is 0.5, so it makes harder to get a child.) and a heir, but intrigue helps to kill those other successors.

[Kathistos Moggolos]

You can still incorporate a claim of SAME or HIGHER rank to your own, but it takes a bit more effort (and luck). Just be prepared to wait for (quite) a bit.
I did this once as a catholic king inviting over a claimant to a kingdom that had gone heretic (cathar). Everyone neutral, kings, dukes, the pope and his mother cheered me on as I installed him as a proper catholic king. A month before I had married my firstborn son to his only daughter (they couldn't even refuse, they were my courtiers). He was quite old of course by then.
A few years later my son dies on some holy war, but not before he had sired my grandson. Even later my character and the one I had installed as king died, so I am now a 18-year-old with my dear mom as queen to the other kingdom. Waited patiently and ka-ching! Profit! Double kingdom (or rather triple, I got another one in the mean time) for me!

[Oziahh]