As you grow you can shape your realm into a system that works for you, rather than against you, and eventually become a king with a much better grasp on internal politics. As an independent Duke you can often begin to absorb some of your smaller neighbours, or as a vassal to a king you have less to worry about from threats outside the realm. Added together they give you a strong force to fight with, but individually arenвЂ™t too much of a hassle. As a Duke you can have vassals, but your vassals will generally be small and weak.

Starting as a Duke will give you the best ratio of power to responsibility. ItвЂ™s fun in its own way, but similarly quite complicated, and a new player will have enough on their hands just trying to figure out the basics. Not to mention a historical setup thatвЂ™s a horrible tangle to try and figure out. Any but the smallest of kingdoms will have to contend with a mess of vassals, each of whom will contend to bring about your downfall. Starting as a king seems like a fun idea, but is fraught with peril. As strange as it sounds, the best place to start a Crusader Kings 2 game is not as one of the largest powers, but among some of the weaker options. However, a few of these are DLC-only, and for a beginner, I donвЂ™t really recommend any of them anyway. The game does have some options for you, including interesting historical bookmarks and the characters who are most relevant and enjoyable in that time period. Even without any of the DLC there are potentially hundreds of starting characters to choose from across a 400 year timespan, before even including non-Christians and 2 additional, pre-1066 start dates. Thanks to Crusader Kings 2вЂ™s character-based play, there are plenty of options open to you, from mighty Emperors down to measly provincial Counts and everything in between. However, if youвЂ™ve already read it and just canвЂ™t wait to dive in (my definite recommendation) then you might be looking for advice on the best place to start. Of course, the advice in that guide is very basic, and I intend to flesh it out with followup articles to help you make your way through a game without complete cluelessness at a later date. It goes over the most basic mechanics that will help you to create a successful first game, from which you can self-learn everything else you need to know. If youвЂ™ve just picked up Crusader Kings 2 and canвЂ™t wait to get started, then itвЂ™s worth taking a look over my BeginnerвЂ™s Guide to Crusader Kings 2.

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