Crusader Kings 3 will feel the touch of winter when Update 1.3 launches later this year. As the cold season sets in, snow will begin to cover portions of the grand strategy game’s map, somehow making it prettier.
Winter in CK3 comes in three variants: mild, normal, and harsh. “Mild and normal winters will be fairly common throughout central Europe and parts of southern Europe, while harsh winters are rarer but can still occur. If you find yourself lost in the frozen landscape of places such as Sápmi, Mongolia, or Himalaya, expect harsh winters to be the norm and plan accordingly,” Paradox explains.
You’ll also be able to easily differentiate between the different winter variants by simply glancing at the map. Mild ones will still have green patches of land standing defiant. Harsh winters, on the other hand, cover the entire region in snow with clouds and steady snowfall further driving the point home.
Although winter looks pretty in CK3, it’s bad news for your armies, which lose supply over time. The harsher the cold, the more supply they lose. Fatal casualties also increase in number as the cold sets in.
Normal and harsh winters will also cause your cavalry units to perform worse. Heavy cavalry will be particularly impacted, receiving “hefty penalties.” Units that are accustomed to the snow, like the Tibetan Mountaineers, actually get a bonus when fighting in harsh winters.
CK3’s Update 1.3 will also bring a first set of map changes that target both Ireland and Italy. “The baronies in Ireland were a bit too large, making the emerald island have a significantly less holding density than its neighbors, England and Scotland. The western half of Ireland in particular suffered from a few quite large baronies,” reads this week’s developer diary.
“To solve this issue, we’ve added a number of new baronies, along with a couple of new counties, that should improve the overall experience of playing in Ireland.”
As far as Italy is concerned, players should see “significantly less counties with only two baronies.” Update 1.3 doesn’t yet have a release date but will accompany Crusader Kings III’s first post-launch DLC, which we should also hear more about soon.
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