Is there a most balanced start date?

[StefanFan]

Hey guys

I am coming from EU4, and in that game start dates are a mess beside the first one. How does CK2 fare in this regard? What start dates should I go for as a beginner? Thanks.

 

[jonjowett]

769 tends to create massive AI blobs.

867 is the best start date if you want to blob-up as any random count/duke.

936 seems pretty balanced, but I've only played it a few times so I can't be sure.

1066 is (I believe) generally accepted as the "most balanced" start.

You can select literally any date after 1066, so your experience will vary wildly. Probably best to pick interesting characters (eg. from Monarch's Journey, or from the list on the wiki, or from achievements, or from special bloodline creation conditions).

 

[EllisDee]

1066 is what the game was made for. It's fairly balanced. Pretty much every bookmark after that hasn't been patched in forever, and is an utter mess.
Anything before 1066 is pretty poorly balanced, but otherwise playable.

 

[jonjowett]

Pretty much every bookmark after [1066] hasn't been patched in forever, and is an utter mess.

I used to think this, but the post-1066 Monarch's Journey runs weren't so bad.

 

[StefanFan]

So 1066+ Monarch's Journey + achievements is. Thank you. I was about to use the first bookmark, as in EU4 the only good one is the first one.

 

[jonjowett]

I was about to use the first bookmark, as in EU4 the only good one is the first one.

Even though EU4's neglect of later start dates is understandable, I still find it pretty tragic. :-/

 

[StefanFan]

Since EU4 is getting closer to the end of the cycle we probably won't see any updates regarding this issue...

 

[Karlington]

Hey guys

I am coming from EU4, and in that game start dates are a mess beside the first one. How does CK2 fare in this regard? What start dates should I go for as a beginner? Thanks.

1066 in Ireland is generally regarded as "newbie island."

Do not make my newbie mistake and try Ireland before 1066, though. That is regarded by me as "the viking curb stomp party."

 

[StefanFan]

1066 in Ireland is generally regarded as "newbie island."

Do not make my newbie mistake and try Ireland before 1066, though. That is regarded by me as "the viking curb stomp party."

Good to know. Another question. I see that there are those challenges until 1 of September. Is there any chance I could do all before the deadline? Or they involve many days.

 

[Karlington]

Good to know. Another question. I see that there are those challenges until 1 of September. Is there any chance I could do all before the deadline? Or they involve many days.

You don't need to complete all the challenges to unlock all the rewards, only a fraction. You could probably unlock all the rewards in theory, but we're talking hardcore gaming until then, I think. I don't know how plausible that is for a beginner, though.

 

[StefanFan]

So that's a no ) I just finished the Learning Scenario and I think I have only grasped the surface of the game.

 

[StefanFan]

1066 in Ireland is generally regarded as "newbie island."

Do not make my newbie mistake and try Ireland before 1066, though. That is regarded by me as "the viking curb stomp party."

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1707045280 going to use this, and do an Ireland.

 

[Karlington]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1707045280 going to use this, and do an Ireland.

Cool, best of luck!

 

[Karlington]

So that's a no ) I just finished the Learning Scenario and I think I have only grasped the surface of the game.

Yeah, I probably wouldn't recommend trying to get all the rewards in that case.

 

[Aerotinge]

Personal opinion, with rants

769: I'd call this "hey let's fxxk up history"
867: Better than none.
936: Nice one, shattered Middle Asia and balance between pagan and christians make the world a little sense. Though Umayyad could be a little problem.
post-1066: HRE is too stable and Catholics with new crusade is OP, but you have to compromise with that.
1337: I never play it but I do want! But technology system used in CK2 is beyond capable for a a late start.
Otherwise a quick CK2 run for EU4 conversion is perfect.

BTW any game with horse lord dlc enabled is unbalanced, they can always punch through everything they want.

 

[IoannesBarbarus]

There's no comparison between EU4 alt starts and CK2 alt starts. They're totally broken in EU4, but in CK2, while they may not have as much attention as the most popular starts, they aren't broken at all. Even non-bookmark dates work fine. There's no reason to avoid them.

 

[Aerotinge]

CK2, while they may not have as much attention as the most popular starts, they aren't broken at all

Actually there are. Tons of holes and wrong vassal/tributaries relation, people dead decades ago still holding titles, totally bullshet fictional area, etc.
(You know more than me. You HIP crew, salutes.
It's not so broken comparing to these EU4 late starts, does not means that it can be called "fine".

 

[StefanFan]

769 is way too blobby for my taste. First it's Ireland in 1066, and then we shall see.

Thank you all.

 

[IoannesBarbarus]

Actually there are. Tons of holes and wrong vassal/tributaries relation, people dead decades ago still holding titles, totally bullshet fictional area, etc.
(You know more than me. You HIP crew, salutes.
It's not so broken comparing to these EU4 late starts, does not means that it can be called "fine".

that's true, there are definitely issues like that in the history files. but once the game starts, they're all resolved to something that's fully reasonable and playable if not exactly historical (e.g. new characters get generated to replace the dead ones). but by that measure, 769 is way worse than any random post-1066 date. you'd have to be looking for it or be a domain expert to notice issues.

contrast to EU4, where (at least back when i played) the game's not really playable in later start dates; core mechanics like economy & colonial regions are messed up. but it's been a long time since i tried.

 

[StefanFan]

For EU4 only 1444 is good to go. The rest lack events, province buildings, etc.