生活重心（英文：Focus）明确了角色的总体发展目标。如果开启了
生活之道DLC，成年人可以在十个可选的生活重心选择一个作为长期努力方向（每项属性对应两个生活重心)。
通过选择生活重心，统治者可以:
生活重心列表
任何成年且非
无能的可游玩角色都能设置生活重心。被囚禁的角色只能选择
勾引，
学术或
神学。
每五年可以改一次生活重心。如果玩家想从多个生活重心中收集正面特质和角色修正，或者已经集全了某一生活重心的主要收益时要注意好时间。
AI角色根据特质和政体类型来选择生活重心，而不是根据需要选择。他们很少在选完之后改变生活重心。
| 生活重心 | 要求 | 修正 | 可能出现特质和结果 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
统治 | - | +3财政 | |
|
商业 | - | +2财政 +20城市封臣观点 |
|
|
勾引 |
|
+2密谋 +25%生育能力 |
|
|
密谋 | - | +3密谋 +5%阴谋力量 |
|
|
狩猎 | 不能是 耆那教徒
|
+2军事 +1健康 |
|
|
战争 | - | +3军事 +10个人实战能力 |
|
|
狂欢 | 如果是穆斯林,必须是:
|
+3外交 | |
|
家庭 | - | +2外交 +1健康 |
|
|
学术 | - | +3学识 |
|
|
神学 | - | +2学识 +20教会好感 |
可得的角色修正
你只能有一个生活方式特质,另外如果你的个性特质超过6个那么就容易消失一两个。而角色修正不一样，你可以收集一大堆。
大多数生活重心都有一个升级机制，首先让你获得角色修正，然后有机会获得对应的生活方式特质。
| 生活重心 | 长期修正 | 机遇 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
统治 |
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商业 |
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勾引 |
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Intrigue |
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Hunting |
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War |
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Carousing |
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Family |
|
Chance on success in focus events:
|
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Scholarship |
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Theology |
|
Random |
Strategies
能力值和特质的养成策略
- 优先提升角色短板能力，因为所选野心的事件可以提高你的基础能力值
- 磨练你角色的长处以获得议会席位
- 调整生活重心以提高你的教育水平（例如，外交能力对应家庭和宴会、密谋能力对应勾引和阴谋、财政能力对应统治和商业）
Managing traits
Focuses are a fairly easy way to gain positive traits and lose negative or less desirable ones:
- Lose
and gain 
, 
and 
from Rulership - Gain
from Business - Lose
and gain 
from Seduction - Lose
and gain 
from Intrigue - Gain or +1 health and lose
and 
from Hunting - Gain
and 
from War - Lose and from Carousing
- Gain , ,
, 
or 
from Scholarship - Gain
from Theology
However, some focuses can also cause characters to gain negative traits; remember that gaining a trait which is "opposite" of one which you currently have will remove the current trait as well.
Choose your lifestyle trait carefully
or 
, if you want a very large family. Compared to the level-2 character modifier, it gives +20 sex appeal and a special bedding option.
, if spying is crucial to your strategy. Compared to the level-2 character modifier, it makes spying significantly faster.
, if your stewardship is 8 or higher, and you want the +10 vassal opinion
Consider Business before getting a lifestyle trait
The Business focus tower and maze events give great character modifiers, but can only fire if you do not have a lifestyle trait. Note that these event chains can get very expensive if your income is high.
Choose complementary leadership & lifestyle traits
- stacks with
. 
stacks with 
.
stacks with 
.- Most combat specializations go well with
(+20% defense) or 
(+20% pursuit).
Change focus depending on your needs
- Troops: War gets you demesne levies. Seduction helps form NAPs and Carousing helps turn NAPs into alliances. Intrigue gets you faction members.
- Cash: Business lets you invest in potentially lucrative opportunities. War gets you loot. Intrigue gets you ransoms.
- Vassal opinion: Carousing (+100 from friendships), Rulership (+20 from , , respected ruler), Business (+8 from tower and pavilion), War (+10 from , ), Scholarship (+10 from , , and possibly more), Theology (+5 from for Christians). Even Intrigue helps, by giving +3 realm opinion per rank of prisoner released for 30 months, or by letting you replace your vassals.
Use a sequence of focuses to improve your health
- Seduction to improve health in many ways
- Establish affairs with kind/diligent characters: if you are not getting along with your wife, lovers can invite you to a getaway. This gives you +1 health for 1 year, and perhaps more importantly, can remove stressed/depressed. The event will trigger more often if you have many lovers, if your lovers are
, and if your lovers are . - Establish affairs with old/dying characters: can find a Lover's Memento (+0.5 health), if you have The Reaper's Due
- Establish rivalries with jealous husbands, if you plan to duel while using the War focus
- Establish a large family, so your Court Physician can more easily gain the
trait and the "received professional praise" opinion modifier
- Establish affairs with kind/diligent characters: if you are not getting along with your wife, lovers can invite you to a getaway. This gives you +1 health for 1 year, and perhaps more importantly, can remove stressed/depressed. The event will trigger more often if you have many lovers, if your lovers are
- War or Hunting for chance of trait; Hunting can help lose
/ 
- More chances if you duel, at the risk of
or 
- Best in or near the Byzantine empire, where there are many blind characters: they are unlikely to win duels.
- More chances if you duel, at the risk of
- Scholarship and/or Rulership risks (additional risk for for Rulership), but can allow you to pick up and other great traits.
- Carousing if you still need to de-stress yourself (or your relatives)
- Hunting at old age (+1 health while focus is active, +1 health for dog's lifespan, +1 health permanently for training dog while diligent)
Avoid peacetime focuses when war is likely
The following focuses are more useful when at peace:
- Carousing focus: "Invite to Carousing" requires peace.
- Theology focus: "Go on a Pilgrimage" (Christian/Dharmic) requires peace.
- Hunting focus: "Hold a Grand Hunt" requires peace. The demesne levy boost is useful before war, but less so during war.
- War focus: "Challenge to Duel" requires peace.
Furthermore, some focuses are less useful if you plan to lead troops:
- Business focus: most events won't fire while leading troops
- Seduction focus: targeted seduction tombola is skipped if leading troops
- War focus: training events (MTTH) won't fire while leading troops
- Family focus: events to improve relations won't fire while leading troops
Consider not only whether you plan to initiate a war, but also whether you are likely to be pulled into one:
- Your factions are likely to rebel
- Your provinces are likely to revolt, especially with dangerous religious or liberation revolts
- Your allies are subject to faction rebellion
- Your allies are likely to go to war and request help. They will request help until combined strength is 1.5 times the enemy's.