Highlights

  • Duchy Buildings provide significant bonuses in different areas, such as tax collection and military power, but can only be constructed in personally-owned territories.
  • Leisure Palaces increase control, prestige, and popular opinion, and reduce feast costs, making them useful for improving relations and reducing stress.
  • Crown Smithies bolster infantry units and travel safety, reducing maintenance costs and providing damage and toughness bonuses. Royal Armories increase levy size and reduce costs for hosting tournaments.

Duchy Buildings are a great way to reap the rewards of controlling an entire Duchy. In order to do this, players must first own every De Jure territory within a given Duchy, after which a new building option will appear in the De Jure Capital. Some cities will already have certain Special Buildings built into them, such as the Walls of Genoa or the Colosseum in Rome, and others will be able to construct Universities once a certain level of Cultural knowledge is achieved.

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However, Duchy Buildings enable the player to choose from a large variety of options, with each providing significant bonuses to a different sector of management. Some buildings may provide helpful increases to tax collection, while others can help bolster military power and make hunting success more likely. It is worth noting that players will only be able to choose the buildings they wish to construct in personally owned territories and won't be able to change vassal's constructions without first revoking their rights.

8 Leisure Palaces

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Leisure Palaces

Leisure Palaces provide a variety of small bonuses in numerous different areas, which makes them useful but not essential. Palaces will increase Control and Prestige gain, as well as provide bonuses to both Schemes and Scheme Resistance. There is also the added bonus of reducing Feast costs by 50%.

To unlock Leisure Palaces, players must first have the Manorialism innovation for Level 1, Windmills for Level 2, and Cranes for Level 3. Leisure Palaces are best suited to improving relations through their opinion bonuses and the reduced cost of Feasts; they will also provide Stress Loss, which can be useful to the player's character personally.

7 Crown Smithies

Bonus to Stationed Infantry and Travel Safety

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Crown Smithies

Crown Smithies are primarily used to bolster Men-At-Arms stats, with a particular focus on infantry units. Much like Archery and Jousting Grounds, this building will reduce the overall cost of Men-At-Arms Maintenance while providing Damage and Toughness bonuses to any stationed infantry units.

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Additionally, Crown Smithies will provide players with the Superior Armaments travel option, which greatly reduces the chance of any attacks occurring while traveling to different events and activities. This duchy building requires players to learn the Burhs innovation for Level 1, Castle Baileys for Level 2, and Royal Armory for Level 3.

6 Royal Armories

Bolsters Army Maintenance by Reducing Overall Cost

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Royal Armories

Royal Armories help to bolster levy size and are one of the most effective ways of doing so. In addition to reducing Army Gold Maintenance and increasing Damage and Toughness for stationed regiments, this building will also reduce the cost of hosting Grand Tournaments for players with the Tours and Tournaments DLC.

In order to unlock Royal Armories, players will need to have learned the Burhs innovation for Level 1, Castle Baileys for Level 2, and Royal Armory for Level 3. Innovations can be checked and prioritized through the Culture tab at the bottom-left of the screen.

5 Siege Works

Strengthens Siege Weapons and Defence Against Enemy Raids

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Siege Works

One of the most important aspects of warfare in Crusader Kings 3 is the ability to conduct quick, successful sieges while simultaneously preventing owned territories from being occupied quickly. Failing to do so can lead to a rapidly decreasing War Score, which can lead to losses even against smaller and less powerful factions.

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The Siege Works duchy building will increase the Fort Level where it is built, as well as reduce the cost of both recruiting and maintaining any siege weapons such as Onagers and Trebuchets. Stationed Men-At-Arms will also receive a bonus, and the same innovations are required as Royal Armories and Crown Smithies.

4 Royal Reserves

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Royal Reserves

Royal Reserves are a useful duchy building for a variety of reasons. In addition to increasing Development and Popular Opinion within the Duchy, they will also increase the likelihood of success during Hunts, which can be greatly beneficial in further influencing Opinion as well as improving other traits.

Constructing Royal Reserves will also grant a small bonus to Tax Collection within the holding it is built. To construct Royal Reserves, players will first be required to have Learned the Manoralism innovation for Level 1, Windmills for Level 2, and Cranes for Level 3.

3 Military Academies

Strengthen Knights and Men-At-Arms Regiments Significantly

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Military Academies

Military Academies are specialist buildings that prioritize the training and effectiveness of Knights. As one of the most effective combat units, fully upgraded Knights can be more useful than entire Men-At-Arms regiments. In addition to this, Military Academies will also reduce the maintenance cost of all armies.

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These buildings can be especially effective during wartime, but they can also be handy for overall maintenance, as well as for improving the capacity of overall Knights allowed. Players will first need to have unlocked the Manorialism innovation for Level 1, Windmills for Level 2, and Cranes for Level 3.

2 Tax Offices

Large Increase in Overall Gold Income

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Tax Office

Tax Offices only offer one advantage, which is an increase in the percentage of Holding Taxes. While this may seem like a relatively limited benefit, strengthening a duchy's economy will have a positive knock-on effect on all other areas and comes at no expense of Public Opinion.

Tax Offices will provide +10%, +15%, and +20% Holding Taxes with each respective level. For Level 1, players will first be required to have unlocked the Manorialism Innovation; Level 2 requires Windmills; Level 3 requires Cranes.

1 Marches

Massive Defensive Bonuses and Various Advantages for Armies

Crusader Kings 3 Best Duchy Buildings Marches

Marches are an extremely useful defensive building, which can be particularly useful if the holding is located near the frontlines of an ongoing conflict. Marches provide a huge variety of bonuses, including increased Fort Level, increases to Defender Advantage, Supply Limit, and Garrison Size, as well as Levy Reinforcement Rate, Hostile Raid Time, and a decrease in Danger when traveling.

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As a result, they can be of huge significance during conflicts and make for excellent rally points when assembling armies for battle. To unlock Marches, players will need to have learned the Burhs innovation for Level 1, Castle Baileys for Level 2, and Royal Armory for Level 3.

CRUSADER KINGS 3
Crusader Kings 3

Platform(s)
PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC
Released
September 1, 2020
Developer(s)
Paradox Interactive
Genre(s)
RPG , Grand Strategy