CK2 How to Sow Dissent

Keeping your council busy is an arduous task but can have some huge long-term benefits. One of the more mysterious actions of your counselor is the Sow Dissent ability. It is a little ambiguous and a lot of players ask how to sow dissent and what the benefits are.

CK2 How to Sow Dissent Effectively To Get Results

Let’s start off by saying that this ability is a little weaker than some of the other actions you can take, but when used properly, it is a pretty neat effect. In its most basic operation, Sowing Dissent lowers the opinion of a character toward their liege. While on its own, it doesn’t seem to do much, when combined with other strategies, it can be very effective.

Opinion Matters

Some of the interactions in Crusader Kings 2 are connected to the opinion rating between players. When trying to secure a strategic alliance or plotting to remove the competition, the opinion rating means a great deal. Simply put, you need characters to like you more than they like the other characters. Getting characters to support your plot is a whole lot easier if they dislike the target.

Sowing Dissent Effectively

When attempting to lower a character’s opinion of another character, keep these things in mind. Like most things in the game, there is a percentage chance over time of being successful. To maximize this change, make sure you have a highly rated counselor. Their ability bonus will help the event spawn more reliably.

Next, make sure to place the councilor in the location of the character you want to have the lower opinion. Most players make the mistake of placing their counselor in the capital city of the liege instead of the targeted vassal. When properly placed, the councilor with whisper dissention for as long as it takes to have an effect. With a good counselor, you can expect an average rate of three years for this event to spawn.

There is a chance that the barony of the affected county will get mad at your target as well, but such is the trade of rumors and secrets. They are unpredictable. Sowing Dissent in CK2 is definitely not the most powerful thing you can do, but it can be part of a complex strategy to help you achieve your goals.
Let me know in the comments below how you use this ability.