Highlights
- Learning Perks in Crusader Kings 3 are not weak, despite the lifestyle's lack of popularity. The perks in the Whole of Body, Scholar, and Theologian trees offer different benefits.
- Faithful Perk improves relations with the clergy, benefiting tax collection and impressing religious leaders. Anatomical Studies Perk reduces the cost of hiring physicians and improves treatment outcomes.
- Scientific Perk boosts cultural fascination, giving players a technological advantage. Carefree Perk reduces stress gain, helping to manage a character's mental well-being. Learn on the Job Perk grants character's primary skills of councilors. Know Thyself Perk allows players to prepare for their character's imminent death.
Learning may not be the most popular Lifestyle in Crusader Kings 3, but that does not mean the Learning Perks are by any means weak. There are three Learning focuses and Perk Trees, the latter of these being Whole of Body, Scholar, and Theologian, with vastly different benefits.
As with any Lifestyle in Crusader Kings 3, players will normally want to focus on one Perk tree so that they can gain a strong Lifestyle Trait as soon as possible. However, players still need to know which are the best Learning Perks, as this will affect the order in which they unlock them, and some are strong enough to warrant dipping into another tree.
7 Faithful
If the character's faith has a Theocratic clergy, then the Faithful Perk will give +10 clergy opinion, which is great for making the realm priest pay more taxes and also for impressing the head of faith, such as the Pope. The Pope, for example, can help in numerous ways, dishing out Piety and gold and granting beneficial divorces and excommunications.
Other faiths in Crusader Kings 3, however, will instead have Lay clergy, and in this case, the buff of +5 same faith opinion reaches a much wider audience. Often an entire realm and neighboring realms will follow the same faith, meaning players will have an extra +5 opinion with everyone.
6 Anatomical Studies
Hiring a Court Physician is one of the first things players will want to do in any CK3 playthrough as if their character or character's family members get ill or injured, a competent physician can be the difference between life and death.
The Anatomical Studies Perk is the first in the Whole of Body tree and not only makes hiring a Court Physician cheaper, but it means the treatments they perform will have better outcomes. This should help avoid disastrous surgeries and ineffective remedies.
5 Healthy
The Whole of Body Trait and its tree is all about staying healthy and living longer in CK3, and the last Perk to be picked up before the Trait sums up the lifestyle perfectly. The Healthy Perk simply gives the player's character a permanent medium health boost, which for example, could make a character go from feeling poor to fine. For the time being, this would mean they wouldn't die from natural causes.
Healthy is a very strong Perk, but seeing as it is the last in its tree, there would be no point going for it without just aiming for the Whole of Body Trait as well. This entire tree can help counter some of the worst Traits in Crusader Kings 3, particularly congenital health defects.
4 Scientific
Crusader Kings 3 and other great grand strategy games don't always have to be about war; instead, players can try and progress their culture through the different phases of the Middle Ages. The Scientific Perk can be picked up first in the Scholar tree and provides a significant boost to cultural fascination.
Cultural fascination is the mechanic that allows players to become interested in a certain new technology or concept, researching it until it is unlocked. This Perk will help players gain a massive technological advantage over neighboring cultures and realms.
3 Carefree
Managing stress in Crusader Kings 3 is a tricky business, especially when players have an entire realm to rule on top of looking after their character's mental well-being. The Carefree Perk, which can be picked up second in the Whole of Body tree, however, helps enormously with managing stress, as stress gain from any decision or unfortunate event is lowered by 20%.
As Carefree can be picked up fairly early on, players can have the stress of their character reduced over almost all of their adult life. This can help the character avoid mental breakdowns, thus avoiding developing harmful coping mechanisms and even death.
2 Learn On The Job
Learn on the Job is one of the last Perks to be picked up in the Scholar tree, but taking the time to reach it is more than worth the investment due to how strong it is. The player's character will gain 20% of their Councillors' primary skills, which, if players have managed their council well in CK3, can be quite the steal.
By getting lucky with powerful vassals with outstanding stats in Diplomacy, Stewardship, Martial, or Intrigue, players can end up with +3 or +4 in any or all of these stats, for example. If players have a stable realm and can afford not to assign powerful vassals, then lowborn prodigies can be brought onto the council, making the Learn on the Job Perk even more overpowered.
1 Know Thyself
Know Thyself is not only the best Learning Perk in Crusader Kings 3 but also arguably one of the best Perks in the entire game. It can be picked up third in the Whole of Body tree and gives the player the ability to know when death by natural causes is just one year away.
Of course, accidents and murders can happen, but all being well, the player will have an entire game year to sort out their realm and lay the carpet for a seamless succession and transition of power. During this time, players can try to end any unnecessary wars, save gold, and make sure the current inheritance lines up with their wishes.
Crusader Kings 3 is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
