MTW Civil Wars

Faction civil wars occur when the influence of the faction leader and the loyalty of his generals get dangerously low.

Civil Wars vs. Unrest

There is a fundamental difference between civil wars and uprisings. Civil wars occur because the faction leader cannot maintain the loyalty of existing generals and their troops. Uprisings occur because the faction leader cannot maintain the happiness of the population in his provinces.

Disloyalty warning

When a good percentage of the faction's generals have loyalty levels of 3 or less, the game will display a warning to the player. This will give the player time to rearrange the unit leaders throughout the faction's stacks, to get disloyal generals under the command of higher ranking loyal generals or the faction leader himself. Other steps can also be taken, such as marrying princesses to disloyal generals, granting them titles with loyalty bonuses, or raising the leader's influence through quick conquests.

New Management Desired

Not all civil wars are bad for the player. Sometimes, a faction leader and his family line can get pretty useless, and a new direction is required for the greater good of the faction. If the player has a high ranked general that looks to be a suitable replacement, several things can be done to lower his loyalty and spur on the revolution. It may take a while to rebuild the empire and recapture lost provinces, but the fresher gene pool might be worth it.

AI Civil Wars

Civil wars in AI factions can be used to eliminate them even faster. The faction's military is divided and fighting itself, and provinces held by the rebelling side can be taken by the player with no diplomatic ill effects. A large empire can crumble quickly after a few key loses to the leader's influence.