One of the more enticing elements of Manor Lords is the combat aspect, which is quite the change-up for a standard city-builder. Manor Lords allows you to gather an army of citizens and mercenaries together to defend your settlement from bandits and any other opposing forces.
However, the military systems in the city builder are quite advanced and can be difficult to figure out. Fortunately, we have extensive experience with building an army in Manor Lords, so take a look at the guide below for all of the details.
Building an Army in Manor Lords
You can first begin getting an army together after acquiring some Military Equipment. This is only done after you have constructed a Storehouse and five Burgage Plots in your settlement. You also need to have “Armament Delivery” turned on in your game’s settings.
After completing those requirements, the game notifies you that a shipment of Military Equipment has arrived containing free spears and shields. It’s also here where the game takes a brief minute to explain how the army system works in Manor Lords, which boils down to deploying certain kinds of troops and forming a militia. You’re also able to use specifically customized troops, called your retinue, but that’s later down the line after you construct your Personal Manor.
Troop Types in Manor Lords
The kind of troops you deploy all depends on what equipment they use. There are four types of troops in Manor Lords, all of which use different equipment in combat: Footmen, Spears, Polearms, and Archers. Footmen use an axe and shield, Spears use spears and shields, Polearms use Polearms, and Archers use bows and arrows. To start building a militia, click on the “Army” tab at the bottom of your screen to see all your available equipment and troops.
To effectively send troops into battle as a militia, you need to ensure they have all the necessary equipment and the required number of men. The free spears and shields you received from the game are a good start, but not enough to form a whole militia. To do that, you need to build a Trading Post and import weapons yourself or craft them.
Getting Military Equipment
The Trading Post requires you to establish a trade route for each of the weapons you want to import, which can get pricey. This requires a ton of Personal and Regional Wealth, which isn’t easy to come by in the early going of Manor Lords.
On the other hand, crafting Military Equipment is a long, drawn-out process that requires you to build several different stations to refine various materials. You also need to upgrade to a level two Burgage Plot and establish that house as a Blacksmith’s workshop.
Neither direction is especially easy, so it will be some time before you’re able to put an entire militia together. If you want to spend some money, though, you can always hire Mercenaries, who will cost Personal Wealth, but are quick and painless to add to your army.
Combat certainly isn’t a focal point of Manor Lords, but when bandits come calling, you want an army to protect your settlement. It takes a while to secure the necessary troops and equipment to form the army, but after a while, you should have a full platoon of personal troops, mercenaries, or militias to defend your home.
