Quote Originally Posted by Ironside
The difference is that great kings supplies multiple generations of great hiers. I've gotten more 8-9 star generals than I need several times.

The most annoying thing is when the king dies, on the same turn his oldest hier turns 16, when that hier sucks. Suddenly all those younger brothers for the king stops being in the royal line and the new king will affect the quality of his brothers. It can ruin several generations of breeding if you're unlucky.

As elbasto said, high influence increases the chances of getting a better hiers, while low influence can really ruin them.

Assassination works well, as attacking with your king in larger empires gives loyalty problems. Best way is to letting the lousy crown prince have an accident before he ascends to the throne.
I agree with both of you. I kind of do it in a cycle. I'll pay a lot of attention to the king for a while so his heirs get good stars, then keep the lesser heirs for later for their stars. Then wait a generation and do it again. However, I NEVER kill off a stinky heir when his brother has 5 or more stars. I'd rather have the general as long as I can hide his idiot brother somewhere where he won't end up leading a crucial battle (since king's automatically lead regardless of rank).