Arriving with the 1.15 ‘Crown’ patch for Crusader Kings 3, alongside a slew of other changes and fixes, players now have the option to automate their armies. With this turned on, the AI will control troop movements, decide when to siege, and choose where battles are fought.
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This is great for players who aren’t interested in the warfare aspect of CK3, but it can also be good for veterans in situations where they are powerful and have a small peripheral war or rebellion to deal with.
How To Turn Automated Armies On In CK3?
To turn automatic armies on in Crusader Kings 3, players should open the military tab on the right of the screen. In the top right corner of the tab, the gear icon enables these AI-controlled armies. This same button will also disable them.
The patch also introduced improvements for AI armies, meaning players can see their intentions, and the AI will work better toward win conditions.
Automated armies will be raised by the AI, and they will move where needed and seek or avoid fights. They will split into smaller units to avoid attrition or to siege different locations. During the course of actual wars, players don’t have to do anything, but they can always step in if needed by disabling automated armies.
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Options For Automated Armies In CK3
Next to the gear icon for enabling and disabling AI armies, there is a button for advanced options. Players can choose whether the following mechanics are automated or manual.
- Assigning Commanders: This is fine to automate.
- Raiding: Only available for cultures that can raid.
- Hiring Troops: Best to set it to manual unless you have loads of gold.
For extra immersion and roleplay in CK3, consider turning automated armies on when your ruler isn’t commanding, especially if they are far away. This will leave things in the hands of your commanders.
What Players Still Need To Do Manually
While players can hand over control of warfare, there are still a few things they need to do manually.
- Hire men-at-arms and upgrade their ranks: If players don’t build an army with strong men-at-arms, their automated armies will be weak with only levies.
- Station men-at-arms units: This boosts the stats of men-at-arms.
- End Wars: While wars will eventually end by themselves, they won’t always do so upon achieving 100 warscore. Players should still keep an eye on the warscore, so that they can stand down their troops sooner and reap the rewards.
- Released
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September 1, 2020
- ESRB
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T for Teens: Drug Reference, Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes