Expansion - Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury DLC

Best dlc Deus vult

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 161: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (8/10) [i]Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury[/i] is widely considered one of the best and most transformative expansions Paradox ever released for CK2—and for good reason. It overhauls religion, adds rich content for pagan playthroughs, and expands Crusades into epic narrative events. It’s a dense, ambitious DLC packed with systems, flavor, and roleplay potential—arguably CK2’s swan song before the release of CK3. 🛐[b] Pros:[/b] [list] [*] Religious overhaul. [i]Holy Fury [/i]turns religion into a dynamic, interactive force rather than a static trait. With the new Christian sainthood system, coronation mechanics, and massive Crusade events, your faith isn’t just a label—it’s a living institution. You’ll see popes canonizing saints, church politics affecting succession, and Crusades turning into full-on sagas with special roles, rewards, and branching outcomes. [*] Pagan rework and reformations. Pagan faiths were massively expanded. Each pagan religion (Norse, Slavic, etc.) now has reformation mechanics, letting you customize your new faith’s doctrines and leadership structure. Want a feminist Norse theocracy that allows human sacrifice and has temporal power? Go ahead. This adds tons of replayability and turns pagan playthroughs into spiritual and cultural evolution simulators. [*] Warrior lodges and bloodlines. Pagan rulers can join warrior lodges—akin to societies but more militaristic—and unlock bonuses, unique decisions, and prestige-based duels. Meanwhile, all characters can now found or inherit bloodlines, permanent family traits that grant bonuses, build your legacy, and tie generations together. Some are historical (Charlemagne!), others are custom, and they’re hugely satisfying to create. [*] Random and Shattered Worlds. Feeling burnt out on 867 or 1066? Holy Fury lets you randomize the map, cultures, religions—even titles. Alternatively, Shattered World mode removes all empires and kingdoms so everyone starts on equal footing. These are amazing tools for players who want something unpredictable or just pure sandbox chaos. [/list] 📜[b] Cons:[/b] [list] [*] Long Crusade events can get bloated. The revamped Crusades are genuinely epic—but sometimes a little too epic. There are multiple stages, notifications, roles, and behind-the-scenes calculations. If you’re not participating, it can feel like a lot of noise. If you are, it can be long and a bit railroaded in outcome. [*] Coronation is too shallow for non-pagans. The coronation system, meant to add legitimacy to monarchs, ends up feeling like busywork. It requires inviting a religious figure to crown you (for money, of course) and adds an extra step to every succession, but the event depth and consequences aren’t deep enough to justify the micromanagement. [*] Bloodlines can unbalance gameplay. While super fun, some bloodlines are very powerful. They grant military bonuses, relationship modifiers, or event options that can snowball dynasties hard. In multiplayer or ironman games, they can skew difficulty pretty noticeably. [*] Random worlds = shallow RP potential. Shattered/Random Worlds are cool concepts, but if you're a roleplay-focused player, the lack of historical or cultural grounding can feel jarring. They’re perfect for experimentation, less so for grounded storytelling. [/list]

It is a great addition to the game that extended my play time for over 300 hours! This makes religion in the game for important and makes boarder expansion much more fun. They left out a few Pagan religions out and I was a bit disappointed. You can bring back the Hellenic religion from the year 300 B.C.E but you cant bring back the Celtic religion in Scotland or Ireland? That was something I really wanted. Holy Fury does bring more to the table which makes the game very enjoyable.