Pirating and pillaging goods has been a constant issue for many villages and towns around the world, though the most rampant and famous cases of such crimes occurred many years ago. This has been recreated in plenty of video games over the years which have forced players to deal with annoying barbarians and raiders of all kinds who intend to plunder one's riches.

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There are even some games that give the player the chance to turn the tables and do some raiding of their own! Gamers enjoying Crusader Kings 3 have a few different ways that they can perform raids and reap the benefits of razing the holdings of other rulers, though, it should be mentioned that only a specific few starting locations will grant the ability to raid due to cultural and technological factors.

Requirements That Need To Be Met Before The Player Can Raid

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Raiding is classified as a type of warfare, which usually needs some sort of catalyzing event or reason to occur, like pressing a claim for a piece of land or religious motivation, however, aspiring raiders need not depend on such criteria. If the player is controlling a character of a pagan faith or who is part of a tribal government, they can raid as much as the game will allow them.

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Additionally, the Northern Lords DLC has introduced a dynasty modifier (Legacy of Piracy) for players in this cultural group (northern Europe) to loot goods in a similar way to raiding that is considered trading which also results in positive bonuses for the holding they interact with as opposed to negative ones.

How To Raid Efficiently & Effectively

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How To Perform Faster Raids

While one can raise a raiding party without vehicles, it is highly recommended to only do so if the player has a form of ship that can let one's raiders move around faster than on foot. For this reason, cultures with Longships, West African Canoes, or other water-traveling-related innovations are the best for raiding, as these ocean-bound vessels are crucial for getting in and out of holdings quickly with the best loot.

Raiding Party Size

As for the raiding party itself, players should keep in mind that how much loot one can rip from the belly of a holding depends on how many people are in the raiding party. This would lead gamers to form huge armies for raiding, however, this means that more ships will be needed to transport them all, so balance and a gradual increase in raiding party size is the ideal method for those wishing to plunder neighboring lands.

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Raiding Party Commander Tips & Tricks

Cultures that find raiding to be a good thing (as they are the ones doing the raiding) can further promote the act of pillaging and even make players better at it. The commander of a raiding party, after a minimum of 20 completed raids, gets increasingly higher chances of gaining the Raider trait (this gives them +2 Martial, +3 Prowess, +0.3 Monthly Prestige, and +5 Same Trait Opinion).

Although it can be quite risky to have one's own character or liege leading a raiding party, having them acquire the Raider trait can lead to next-level plundering. If the ruler of a group leads a raid, there is a 30% chance that the raiding party can assault the entire county instead of a single holding (otherwise known as a barony if the target is developed enough). This can result in multiple holdings being possible targets as opposed to players having to hit each one individually, however, this also means more defenders to avoid or defeat.

Those seeking to make the most of this two-birds-one-stone raiding approach should try to rack up some easier raid successes against weaker targets while their liege lord is leading a raiding party, as the chance of being able to raid an entire county rises up to 50% if the player tries to perform a raid with a ruler who possesses the Raider trait.

Things To Avoid When Raiding

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Raiders In CK3 Are Thieves, Not Warriors

It can be exciting to head off on a pillaging adventure, however, there are plenty of things that can go wrong while one is raiding, especially in the earlier parts of the game. Raiding, as an act of warfare, will often result in a response by a holding's defensive forces, which will be better supplied and equipped than the majority of raiding parties, even if the latter boasts high stats. Raiding parties also cannot move while they are pillaging a holding, meaning that they are defenseless against armies that are summoned outside of a holding and then move in to attack one's raiders.

Speed Is Crucial When Raiding

Raiders don't cost as much to summon and gather, but that's because they are not full armies with supply lines and other factors that allow a force to be successful in protracted conflicts, so players should never intentionally face off against a real army with a raiding party. Instead, gamers should invest gold and other resources into increasing the speed at which their raiders can pillage and move around the map. Many quick hit-and-runs are much more lucrative than singular big raids, especially in the beginning. It should also be noted that if one's raiding party is caught and defeated by an enemy force, all loot will be lost, which is the worst possible outcome.

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