Back in Crusader Kings 2, every holding mostly had the same improvement buildings. Then in Crusader Kings 3, players had to choose which improvements go in a limited set of slots. For the most part, that's still true, but the Lance (1.9) Update has overhauled the system.
When players start a new game of Crusader Kings 3, the number of improvement slots each holding has is very limited, but this number will go up as cultures discover new innovations. On top of that, the update has introduced new buildings that have never been in any Crusader Kings game before. This guide will explain what players should expect from the new system.
Holdings and Building Slots
When players start a new game from the 867 starting date, they'll get a limited number of building slots. Regular holdings have one, county capitals have two, duchy capitals have a special slot for duchy buildings (which players can't use in the Tribal Era), and here and there are special building slots for historical buildings, universities, and holy site temples. Players can now spot these special building slots by choosing the Economy map mode, which colorizes the income of every county and shows which special buildings are (or could be) present.
As time goes on and cultures get access to new Innovations, the number of building slots increases, and new buildings will become available. These innovations are Ledger from the Tribal Era, Bailiffs from the Early Medieval Era, and Windmills and Guilds from the High Medieval Era. These extra slots apply to every holding of every type, including Tribal holdings.
To create a new building, players can choose any holding within the player ruler's realm, from their capital to their lowliest baron. Click on one of the boxes in the lower-right corner of the menu that pops up to see a list of all the buildings that the holding can support. A few buildings are common across every holding, but some are restricted based on holding type, culture, and climate. If players can afford the construction cost, they can press the "Construct" button next to the building type they want.
Players can also upgrade existing holdings. However, these upgrades aren't always available thanks to the local culture's technology level and the main holding's building level. For most holding types, the main building has one level for each technology era, but tribal holdings have two levels that are both immediately available. To upgrade a main building, players should click on the larger box above the building slots that says "Castle," "Temple," "City," or "Tribal Hold." As for the regular buildings, each building icon is yellow when upgrades are available and blue when they're not.
Something else players can do is replace a holding building. To do so, click on a holding building and then on the circular arrows next to the "Upgrade" button. Doing so will bring up the list of possible buildings in the holding, but the game mentions that doing so doesn't come with a Gold refund. Also, players can't replace buildings in holdings owned by vassals, no matter what rank they are.
Building Types and Benefits
In general, players should avoid building the warfare buildings listed below in holdings they don't own directly. Lieges never get the same benefits from a holding as the direct owner, but the stationing bonuses, in particular, are exclusively for the holding's owner.
Warfare Building | Requirements | Benefits | Stationing Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
Militia Camps | None | Less Danger More Levies Higher Supply Limit More Control Growth Lower Man-at-Arms Maintenance | Archer Damage Archer Toughness All Skirmisher Stats |
Barracks | None | Less Danger More Levies Faster Levy Reinforcements Larger Garrison | Heavy Infantry Damage Heavy Infantry Toughness Spearmen Damage Spearmen Toughness |
Stables | None | More Levies Faster Army Movement Faster Travel Speed | All Light Cavalry Stats All Heavy Cavalry Stats |
Blacksmiths | None | Extra Holding Taxes Faster Levy Reinforcements Greater Knight Effectiveness | Any Man-at-Arms Damage Any Man-at-Arms Toughness |
Regimental Grounds | Farmlands or Floodplains | Higher Supply Limit Less Danger More Levies Faster Levy Reinforcements Faster County Control Lower Man-at-Arms Maintenance Lower Army Maintenance | Any Man-at-Arms Damage Any Man-at-Arms Toughness |
Outposts | Forest, Jungle, Taiga, or Wetlands | More Gold Enemy Raids Take Longer Less Danger Defender Advantage More Levies Slightly Larger Garrison Faster County Control | Archer Damage Archer Toughness Skirmisher Damage Skirmisher Toughness Skirmisher Screen |
Walls and Towers | Castle Holding Farmlands, Floodplains, Plains, or Wetlands | Fort Level Larger Garrison Less Danger Defender Advantage More Gold Higher Supply Limit | Heavy Cavalry Damage Heavy Cavalry Toughness |
Watchtowers | Castle Holding Desert, Drylands, Oasis, or Steppe | Fort Level Larger Garrison Less Danger Defender Advantage Enemy Raids Take Longer Higher Supply Limit | Heavy Infantry Damage Heavy Infantry Toughness Light Cavalry Damage Light Cavalry Toughness |
Forest Forts | Castle Holding Forest, Jungle, or Taiga | Fort Level Larger Garrison Less Danger Defender Advantage Enemy Raids Take Longer More Gold More Levies | Archer Damage Skirmisher Damage Skirmisher Toughness |
Hill Forts | Castle Holding Hills, Mountains, or Desert Mountains | Fort Level Larger Garrison Less Danger Defender Advantage More Levies Faster County Control | Spearmen Damage Spearmen Toughness Skirmisher Damage Skirmisher Toughness |
Wind Furnace | Coastal Barony (rivers don't count) County Culture has Wootz Steel Innovation Barony is in the India region | More Gold Greater Knight Effectiveness | Any Man-at-Arms Damage Any Man-at-Arms Toughness |
Camelry | Desert, Desert Mountains, Drylands, Floodplains, or Oasis County Culture has War Camels Innovation Barony is in Persia, Middle East, or North Africa | More Gold Enemy Raids Take Longer More Levies Higher Supply Limit Greater Knight Effectiveness | All Light Cavalry Stats All Camel Cavalry Stats |
Elephantry | Jungle County Culture has Elephantry Innovation Barony is in India or Southeast Asia | More Gold Faster Building Construction Cheaper Buildings Faster County Development Greater Knight Effectiveness | Elephant Cavalry Damage Elephant Cavalry Toughness |
Horse Herds | Steppe | More Levies Faster Army Movement Faster Raid Movement | Light Cavalry Damage Light Cavalry Toughness All Archer Cavalry Stats |
Hillside Grazing Lands | Hills, Mountains, Desert Mountains | More Gold More Levies | Any Man-at-Arms Screen Light Cavalry Damage Light Cavalry Toughness Heavy Cavalry Damage Heavy Cavalry Toughness Archer Cavalry Damage Archer Cavalry Toughness |
Workshops | County Culture has Advanced Bowmaking Innovation | More Gold More Cultural Fascination Progress Lower Archer and Skirmisher Maintenance | Archer Damage Skirmisher Damage Siege Weapon Effectiveness Any Man-at-Arms Siege Progress |
Several wartime buildings will also provide discounts on Grand Tournament contests, at least if players have the "Tours and Tournaments" expansion.
Economic Building | Requirements | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
Guilds | City Holding | Faster County Development More Gold |
Monasteries | Temple Holding | Faster County Control More Gold More Piety for the Owner |
Megalith | Temple Holding County and Owner Faith has Megalithic Constructions Tenet | Faster County Development More County Development More Piety for the Owner More Prestige for the Owner |
Tradeport | Coastal Barony (rivers don't count) | More Gold More County Development |
Cattle Pastures | Any Terrain except Forest, Taiga, or Wetlands | More Gold Higher Supply Limit Larger Garrison More Levies Faster Levy Reinforcements Faster County Development Popular Opinion Boost |
Hunting Grounds | Forest, Jungle, Taiga, Drylands, Hills, Plains, Steppe, Wetlands | More Gold Enemy Raids Take Longer Defender Advantage More Levies Faster County Development Lower Man-at-Arms Maintenance |
Farms and Fields | Farmlands, Drylands, Floodplains, Plains | More Gold Higher Supply Limit Faster Levy Reinforcements Faster County Development Cheaper Temple Buildings |
Forestry | Forest, Jungle, Taiga | More Gold Faster Building Construction Higher Supply Limit Faster County Development Cheaper Temple Buildings Lower Army Maintenance |
Desert Agriculture | Desert, Drylands, Oasis | More Gold Higher Supply Limit Faster County Development Cheaper Light Cavalry and Camel Cavalry |
Orchards | Floodplains, Oasis | More Gold Higher Supply Limit More Levies Faster Levy Reinforcements Faster County Development More Prestige for Owner |
Quarries | Mountains, Desert Mountains | More Gold Faster Building Construction Cheaper Building Construction Larger Garrison Faster County Development Lower Men-at-Arms Maintenance |
Manor Houses | Farmlands | More Gold Higher Supply Limit More Levies Faster County Development Faster County Control |
Wetland Farms | Wetlands | More Gold Enemy Raids Take Longer Faster Building Construction Higher Supply Limit Cheaper Building Construction Faster County Development |
Hill Farms | Hills | More Gold Defender Advantage Higher Supply Limit Faster County Development |
Windmills | Plains, Hills, Farmlands, or Coastal County Culture has Windmills Innovation | More Gold Higher Supply Limit Faster County Development |
Watermills | Mountains, Wetlands, Forest, Jungle, Taiga, or Adjacent to a Major River County Culture has Windmills Innovation | More Gold Higher Supply Limit Faster Building Construction Faster County Development |
Caravanserai | Desert, Desert Mountains, Drylands, Oasis, Steppe, Floodplains County Culture has Guilds Innovation | More Gold Enemy Raids Take Longer Defender Advantage Faster County Development Less Danger Lower Men-at-Arms Maintenance Cheaper Mercenaries |
Several of these buildings also make feasts and other peaceful activities cheaper.
Tribal holdings are unique from the others and have their own set of buildings to choose from. They only have one upgrade each, and they cost Prestige along with Gold to build. Unfortunately, all of them tend to vanish when rulers feudalize, so players who want to move on from the tribal phase should consider these buildings to be temporary.
Tribal Building | Benefits | Stationing Bonus |
|---|---|---|
Gathering Halls | More Levies More Prestige Faster County Control | |
Markets | More Gold Higher Supply Limit | |
Palisade | Defender Advantage Fort Level More Levies Bigger Garrison | Archer Damage Archer Toughness Spearmen Damage Spearmen Toughness |
War Camps | More Levies More Knights Better Knights | Heavy Infantry Damage Heavy Infantry Toughness Skirmisher Damage Skirmisher Toughness Archer Cavalry Damage Archer Cavalry Toughness |
Overall, the different buildings are fairly well-balanced against each other. If a building has more benefits, then those benefits are smaller than a building with few benefits. Also, some benefits only appear when a building reaches higher upgrade levels. To see what a building can eventually provide, click on the "Preview" button in the construction menu.
One last thing to note is that construction restrictions only apply to the original builder. If an empire whose culture doesn't have War Camels conquers a county with a Camelry, the new ruler can upgrade the Camelry as much as their Innovations allow for.
Crusader Kings 3 is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
