How to Change Cultures in Crusader Kings 3

You can play through entire games of Crusader Kings 3 while barely noticing certain elements. One such element is culture, which might seem insignificant but can have a massive impact on your strength and relationships with other rulers. However, you can’t just change cultures on the fly in CK3; it’s a major decision that can have serious consequences.

Below is a brief overview on what culture does in Crusader Kings 3 and why you may want or may not want to change cultures.  

Crusader Kings 3: How to Change Cultures

Before we talk about how to change cultures, we first need to go over a few of the mechanics that are influenced by culture and the potential consequences that may arise when you change cultures. 

What Does Culture Do in Crusader Kings 3?

There are two aspects of Crusader Kings 3 affected by culture, and thus two main reasons you may want to change.

The most important aspect is innovation. Switching cultures will automatically grant you the innovations of that culture. If you are far behind another ruler, deciding to change cultures can grant you some new upgrades that could have otherwise taken years to develop.

The other aspect of the mechanic relates to diplomacy. If you find yourself in control of several counties that are a different culture than you, you may find that your vassals distrust and dislike you. Peasants could rebel more, for example. Essentially, you’ll be seen as an outsider. You could always change cultures to the most prominent and reap the benefits.

For our money, though, it’s a better idea to bend your vassals to you. But we aren’t about to tell you how to run your empire!

How Do I View My Culture in Crusader Kings 3?

To look at the different cultures across the world of Crusader Kings 3, you’ll need to adjust your map view. In the bottom right corner of the screen, there are several icons that change the way the world is displayed: by realms, duchy titles, empire titles, etc.

You’ll want the icon that looks like a candle; if you hover over it, you’ll see the word Cultures pop up alongside a brief description. Likewise, if you click on or hover over a county in question, that county’s culture will appear in the tooltips that appear.

If you want to view the culture of an individual, that’s also simple. Click on the character you’re interested in, then look toward the middle of the panel that pops up. You’ll see their faith and culture right next to their statistics.

How Do I Change My Culture in Crusader Kings 3?

Occasionally, events will give you the option to change cultures, but like many events in Crusader Kings 3, you never know when you’re going to see these. If you don’t want to wait for the fickle finger of fate to point your way, you’ll want to save up a little extra Prestige.

When you’re ready to change cultures, you’ll need to move your capital to a county that has the culture you want. Then, open up the Decisions menu. It’s on the right-hand side of the screen and looks like a quill and inkwell.

At the cost of a few hundred Prestige, you’ll see a decision called Change to Local Culture. Once you select this option to change cultures, any vassal that controls counties of the new culture will have the ability to change as well. Each character can only do this once in their lifetime, so use it sparingly.

That’s all you have to do to change cultures in Crusader Kings 3. To counter any uprising you may have, you’ll need to know how to replenish Levies. And to do that, you’ll need to make money. If you need some more help with Crusader Kings 3, check out our dedicated guides page for more tips and guides to making the most of your kingdom!