Mastering Duchy Buildings in Crusader Kings 3
Unlock the power of duchy buildings in Crusader Kings 3 by securing the coveted building slot in your barony holding As part of a larger hierarchy, your barony is not only an independent entity, but also a vital piece of the county, duchy, kingdom, and empire above it Don't miss out on the benefits of these valuable buildings
Crusader Kings 3 features a multi-layered map that consists of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties, and baronies. Every barony is an autonomous town or city, known as a holding, which belongs to the county, duchy, kingdom, and empire that are above it.
While the de jure borders of kingdoms and empires may change throughout the game, duchy borders remain constant. This is primarily due to the game's mechanics, but it also serves as the reason why each duchy has access to a single powerful building. However, not all players can immediately access these buildings.
To unlock duchy buildings, players must meet certain requirements.
If players choose the 867 starting date in Crusader Kings III, they will face a challenge in constructing duchy buildings. This is because the player ruler's culture needs one of two innovations in the Early Medieval Era to build duchy buildings. However, this era only becomes available in 900, and to unlock it, a culture needs half the Tribal Era innovations and then still has to wait several years to get access.
Once they have unlocked the Early Medieval Era, players will need to discover the Burhs innovation for military buildings and the Manorialism innovation for economic buildings in order to construct duchy buildings. Each duchy building has three upgrade levels, which unlock during the next two eras. Specifically, players will need Castle Baileys and Royal Armory for military buildings and Windmills and Cranes for economic buildings.
Each duchy has a designated capital county, and within this county lies a unique building slot for duchy-specific constructions. Although players are able to move their county capital to any barony they directly control, the duchy building slot remains fixed.
Players can easily spot duchy building slots by the arrows that point inward from the four corners of the box, which is distinct from the special building slot that has two leaves in the corners.
To construct a duchy building, players must fulfill several requirements. Firstly, the county owner should possess the duchy title. For instance, if the Duke of Berry owns three of the Berry Duchy's counties, but another duke owns Berry County itself, neither of them can build the duchy building in Déols, nor can the King of France construct it for them. Moreover, the King of France cannot select a duchy building for Paris unless he also holds the title Duke of Valois.
Furthermore, the county's culture must have the necessary innovations to access the duchy buildings. Finally, players must have around 500-600 gold, which is significantly more than what a typical building costs. However, the benefits of constructing a duchy building are well worth the extra expense. Here's a brief summary of each building's function:
Military Academies: Improve the effectiveness of your army with less maintenance and cheaper men-at-arms. Train Knights can also be utilized when traveling, ensuring that your knights are always at the ready. Marches: Fortify your defenses across the duchy and increase taxes from hill and mountain holdings. Traveling through the duchy will also be less dangerous with a -10 Danger modifier. Siege Works: Stationing siege weapons in this holding will make them tougher and more effective, while also reducing the cost of siege weapons across the duchy. The Fort Level will also increase across the duchy. Royal Armories: Men-at-arms stationed in this holding will be tougher and deal more damage, with reduced maintenance costs. You'll also receive more levies from the duchy and cheaper Grand Tournaments in the holding. Jousting Grounds: Give your cavalry units a boost in everything, while also reducing men-at-arms maintenance costs. Half off Joust and Horse Race contests for the Grand Tournament will also be available in the holding. Crown Smithies: Heavy infantry and spearmen stationed in the holding will be stronger with increased damage and toughness, while also reducing men-at-arms maintenance costs. Host Grand Tournament Duels for half off in this holding and utilize Superior Armaments when traveling. Archery Grounds: Archers and skirmishers stationed in this holding will receive a buff, with less men-at-arms maintenance costs. Half off Grand Tournament Archery contests will also be available in the holding. Tax Offices: Increase your taxes from every holding in the duchy. Leisure Palaces: Gain more prestige, experience less stress, receive a slight scheme success boost, and see faster Control growth. Receive half off Feasts and more rewards for hosting a Grand Wedding in the holding. Royal Reserves (requires good terrain): Increase taxes, see faster development growth throughout the duchy, boost Popular Opinion, and increase your odds when Hunting in the holding. Royal Gardens (requires Garden Architects tradition): Increase taxes and prestige, experience less stress, boost Popular Opinion, and receive more rewards for hosting a Grand Wedding. Great Megalith (requires Megalithic Constructions tenet): Increase taxes and faster development growth, boost Popular Opinion, gain more Renown, Piety, and Learning XP, and increase naval speed. There are also two unique duchy buildings: the Aurelian Walls in Rome and the Theodosian Walls in Constantinople. Players who own the right county and duchy can replace these buildings, but the benefits they provide are at least as good as a level 3 duchy building and are completely unique. Crusader Kings 3 is now available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
