First game

[Lambatatte]

Long time Paradox fan here - mainly earlier versions of HoI and Eu4 - with way way to many hours into em.

I tried CK2 a little almost a year ago, and figured out I didnt have the time to get to caught up in there and then. Got all DLC's + pack's. My question is; should I start right away with all DLC's active, or would it be better to have a game with some DLC's deactivated to learn better some basic game mechanics? I've read through several beginner guides, and I see myself as a quick learner. But if I end up spending 2k+ hours here also, I dont mind spending the first hundred on the base game if that will make me learn the game faster. Thoughts?

In settings I can toggle on/off all kinds of stuff. Leave everything standard, while having aztec invasion off is a good starter?

Also pointers for where to start? I see 1066 and William the Conquerer, or playing in Ireland is recommended... any other, and why?

 

[Cardolam]

Go for the whole experience and play with all dlc. The game is easy if you are not in a hurry to conquer half of Europe. Money is very easy to come by in the vanilla game. Ireland is the ideal spot to learn the game.

 

[Dolin]

Some say Ireland, and that's probably the easiest spot if you want to grab extra counties pretty fast.

However, if you prefer to be a French, Saxon or Arabic lord, go for it! Some lords may have more difficulties than others, but I think generally speaking you should be fine with starting any "non-special" county.

Don't expect to be a mighty emperor in 50 years, though. Be happy with an additional barony and you'll be fine.

 

[Lambatatte]

I have no plan of conquering half of Europe, or becoming a mighty emperor in 50y I just wanna have some fun while learning it.

 

[Dimitri Cosmos]

At 769 start any pagan is also easy, if you plan to expand fast. Maybe, just don't pick an independent count with a single county and a small levy, unless you want to swear fealty to someone.

 

[Tvarog]

Starting as two county vassal in the viking age bookmark, some riding and conquering england seems really easy and fun gameplay.
Also, read a lot about sucession laws, so you wouldn't be surprised after death of your first ruller.

 

[Serenity84]

Play with the DLC. A lot of just unlocked other government and religions anyways. So you won't really notice if Swords of Islam is activated or not. And the ones that add new mechanics change the experience for the better
If you read guides and watch YT videos they'll usually assume you have the DLC too. At least things like Way of Life and Conclave that you'll constantly deal with

Ireland is a good place to learn the interface and basic mechanics. But don't go farther than uniting Ireland. If you try to expand to Britain it can become boring. For a more dynamic game try Duchess of Tuscany or Duke of Apulia.

Leave everything standard, while having aztec invasion off is a good starter?

You can set minor epidemics to fewer so you don't get so many diseases. Especially when you play in coastal areas. Somewhere inland the standard is fine though

Try defensive pact off for a more aggressive gameplay. Less sitting around and waiting is good as a beginner

For Monks and Mystics turn off devil worshippers. And turn off secret cults unless you use the feature yourself

Turn "generate families" off. This is a great setting in theory, but it's bugged at the moment

 

[Matoro_TBS]

I'd use all settings as ordinary, except I like random Mongol and Turkish invasions instead of historical. There's probably hundreds of different settings people will recommend, but to be honest I think only good way to find out how you want to play is to start with the defaults and change the settings according your experiences.

For learning the basics, I usually recommend playing as duke-tier vassal - or other powerful vassal in strong realm like HRE. That way you don't need to manage all foreign politics and so on and you have safeguard against foreign invasions.

 

[Tvarog]

Try defensive pact off for a more aggressive gameplay. Less sitting around and waiting is good as a beginner

If you would like more agressive gameplay that's good advice.
I would also recommend shattered retreat off.

For Monks and Mystics turn off devil worshippers. And turn off secret cults unless you use the feature yourself

Why?

Turn "generate families" off. This is a great setting in theory, but it's bugged at the moment

What's the bug?

 

[makaramus]

At 769 start any pagan is also easy, if you plan to expand fast. Maybe, just don't pick an independent count with a single county and a small levy, unless you want to swear fealty to someone.

despite finding scandinavians easy
1)hordes are VERY confusing at begining because you dont know retinues yet(YET! yea I didnt know about them for long time I was like "what am... I supposed to do as horde")
2)having stable realm as slavic king is very hard
on the other hand at 769 you can become emperor of scandinavia with your first ruler if you start as ragnar's tribe

on the other hand I dont suggest VERY FIRST run as tribe.
instead go future for a little longer than classic start date and play as william the CONQURER(NOT BASTARD! if you find bastard its hard starting but if you find conquerer title one its good one. its second starting timeline just after classic)
yea you ruling to wrong culture but you start strong and you are very safe since at start of game there are not so much ships other nations have to land their navy. if you want to cheese you can make a marriage with danish son and press his claim to put your dynasty there . this will lead to either
1)Giving you access to "blood of ragnar" wich is cool to have for passive modifiers
2)giving you chance of uniting denmark and england wich is good as naval kingdom.

rules I suggest: Keep defensive pacts on so you can see how they work. I love it but most dont (wich I understand reason) so in future you can decide for yourself
turn off locking movement. as starter it may ruin you. when you are more experinced turn it on

 

[makaramus]

What's the bug?

it appears generated family members start with no base stats... this means only stats they gain are coming from traits they have

 

[Dimitri Cosmos]

despite finding scandinavians easy
1)hordes are VERY confusing at begining because you dont know retinues yet(YET! yea I didnt know about them for long time I was like "what am... I supposed to do as horde")

They are confusing, but you can read about them. Then they are not so confusing and you can create a large realm quite fast. Plus they have titular empires early on and at least two historic bloodlines close by. But, yeah, maybe nomads are not for the first game.

despite finding scandinavians easy
2)having stable realm as slavic king is very hard

It's not VERY hard. It's a bit of pain for the first few generations. But there are options:

1) Adopting Romuva and changing to Eldership.
2) Converting/Reforming> adapting feudalism>implementing respective laws>Primogeniture/Seniority/Ultimageniture
3) Dueling your brothers for claims
4) Using the bastard legitimization strategy

I think it's equally hard as Ireland, because it takes time to build up in Ireland anyway. As a pagan, at least you can reach a safe spot in 2 or 3 generations.

 

[WJS]

Yeah, Sigurd Ring in 769 is tribal easy mode. Otherwise, not so much.

If you're looking for a small count start, a tribal start, and you like Ireland, then I recommend Olafr of Dyflinn (Dublin), 867. He's a Viking count under Ivar the Boneless, and you'll be active in war from the beginning because the game opens with the Great Heathen Army.

If you prefer exciting, dangerous, but still small enough to keep tabs on things, one of the northern Iberian kingdoms: Castille, Leon, Galicia would be a good choice. It's in the tutorial for good reason.

I don't recommend a nomadic start. It's relatively simple but involves juggling mechanics you won't use otherwise. Similarly, I wouldn't start with a merchant republic. Juggling unique mechanics again, but more complex.

Part of what's best depends on what you want to do. Want to conquer your neighbors without worrying about claims? Tribal pagan. Want a stable place to figure things out without too many threats to self? Be a vassal under a large kingdom/empire (and here you can be Christian, Muslim, or Indian without issue). You can build taller as a Feudal vs. Tribal, but money matters a lot more. Stuff like that.

 

[WJS]

I think it's equally hard as Ireland, because it takes time to build up in Ireland anyway. As a pagan, at least you can reach a safe spot in 2 or 3 generations.

Or, just be pagan in Ireland. See Olafr above. I actually love starting as Ivar the Boneless, because you can conquer Ireland within a decade.

 

[Bulldog773]

I would recommend you play with all DLC on & start as a French duke or count. Great Britain is just to slow to really get a full taste of all the mechanics, but that's JMO. Good luck to you

 

[Serenity84]

Want to conquer your neighbors without worrying about claims? Tribal pagan. Want a stable place to figure things out without too many threats to self? Be a vassal under a large kingdom/empire (and here you can be Christian, Muslim, or Indian without issue)

Apulia has all of that. You can holy war against the Muslims for easy land. You have some de jure claims once you form the kingdom. You can get Croatia with marriage. You can decide to swear fealty to HRE or ERE if you want to be more safe.

You also have lots of money and start with a large family. You are well placed to go crusading. Creating an empire is difficult though unless you go custom or join the HRE

 

[Lambatatte]

Thanks for all the advices. I'll post an update here once I fire it up - and use this thread to ask questions about things I wonder about.

 

[SSA]

Long time Paradox fan here - mainly earlier versions of HoI and Eu4 - with way way to many hours into em.

I tried CK2 a little almost a year ago, and figured out I didnt have the time to get to caught up in there and then. Got all DLC's + pack's. My question is; should I start right away with all DLC's active, or would it be better to have a game with some DLC's deactivated to learn better some basic game mechanics? I've read through several beginner guides, and I see myself as a quick learner. But if I end up spending 2k+ hours here also, I dont mind spending the first hundred on the base game if that will make me learn the game faster. Thoughts?

In settings I can toggle on/off all kinds of stuff. Leave everything standard, while having aztec invasion off is a good starter?

Also pointers for where to start? I see 1066 and William the Conquerer, or playing in Ireland is recommended... any other, and why?

If you are beginner playing, I recommend playing as a count vassal of either France or one of the as a vassal of one of the Muslim superpowers in the 1066 timeline, William the Conquerer is an interesting choice as well. Ireland is not something I recommend, nor should you start the game as a OPM that's independent unless you want to swear fealty to someone else. You should play with all the DLCs, the one region I don't recommend is the Indian subcontinent, unless you want to live a world apart from what's going on in the rest of the world. Pagans are an interesting option, but by the 1066 timeline, they lost almost all power, so I'd only try them out in an earlier timeline.