Last updated on February 17th, 2023 at 06:28 pm
Who doesn’t like to be filthy rich when playing Crusader Kings 3? That’s right, everybody wants that because it enables more options to get the better over your rivals and neighbors.
In this guide on earning gold in Crusader Kings 3, we will dive deep into the mechanics behind min-maxing the economy of your realm. These tips will make you (or your ruler) the richest man in the entire (playable) world.
Let’s get rich or die trying in CK3.
Holdings
- You will only receive the full benefit from county capitals and baronies directly under your control.
- Castles – 10% of gold
- Cities – 20% of gold
- Churches
- Depends on the religion
- Lay Clergy – same as castles
- Theocratic – Based on the Bishop’s opinion of you
- Threshold: 50 opinion – If your Bishop’s opinion of you is above this threshold, you receive 50% of the taxes he receives.
- Most likely the best holding in the game for maximizing your income.
- Ideal strategy: Hold one barony per county (the capital) and fill the other baronies with churches.
- Depends on the religion
- If you want to maximize the gold you earn, it is in your best interest to keep the layers between you and baronies as flat as possible. More Duke vassals is way better than one King vassal with multiple duke vassals beneath him.
- Don’t invest in your vassal’s territories or outside of your counties in general.
- Upgrade your direct holdings and buildings first.
Buildings
- The terrain determines which buildings you will be able to build.
- First off focus on buildings that decrease the building time of other buildings (e.g. Forestry)
- Second, build a Tradeport if you have coastal counties
- Extra taxes and development
- Lastly, build buildings that directly increase your income; the specific buildings will depend on the terrain of your counties
- Farms & Fields
- Manor Houses
- Duchy buildings
- Royal Reserves
- Tax Offices
Beneficial Traits
Stewardship is king. Try to maximize Stewardship in every way possible.
- Midas Touched (+8 Stewardship)
- Temperate (+2 Stewardship)
- Diligent (+3 Stewardship)
- Stubborn (+3 Stewardship)
For more information on how to educate your kids to continue your quest for unlimited riches, check out our Education Guide and our Succession Guide.
Lifestyle Focus
- Wealth Focus
- 10% bonus to monthly income
- Perks: Cutting Cornerstones -> Professional Workforce -> Centralization -> Golden Obligations
- Golden Obligations allows you to task your Spymaster with finding secrets and blackmailing everybody
- If you are the head of your culture, also grab Scientific and Planned Cultivation in the Learning Lifestyle to speed up your culture’s development
Court
- Find the best Steward for your council and task him with “Increase Development” in your capital
- Each point of development provides a 0.5% bonus to taxes and levies and increases the county’s supply limit by 150
Culture
- Top left Military civic innovations provide the ability to build higher-level castles
- Top right Civic civic innovations provide the ability to build higher-level economic buildings
Miscellaneous
- Try to become the Steward of your liege to gain a bit of extra gold
- If you are catholic, you can ask the pope for gold by spending 250 Piety
- If you are catholic, go on the cheapest pilgrimage available, giving you the “Pilgrim” trait which gives you +10% Piety per month
Interested in more Crusader Kings 3 guides? Visit our Crusader Kings 3 section – or check out the guides for all other games we cover on the website.