Manor Lords Guide: Quick Tips for Survival, Economy & Combat

Welcome, my lord or lady, to your new domain. Before you lie rolling hills, dense forests, and the promise of a thriving medieval fiefdom. But the path from a humble homeless camp to a bustling city is fraught with peril. Starvation looms in winter, bandits eye your meager supplies, and the complex web of production chains can tangle even the sharpest of minds. Manor Lords is a game of incredible depth, a beautiful simulation of medieval life that rewards careful planning and punishes rash decisions.

Fear not, for this report is your master guide. We have delved into every corner of this world, from the nuances of crop rotation to the hidden mechanics of the marketplace. Within these pages, you’ll find plentiful tips and tricks, meticulously researched and updated for the latest version of the game, including the sweeping changes of the experimental beta. This is your roadmap to not just surviving, but mastering the art of lordship. Let us begin.

I. The First Year: Laying the Foundation

Your first year will determine the fate of your settlement. The decisions made in these initial months are the bedrock upon which your entire legacy will be built. A strong start creates a virtuous cycle of growth, while a weak one can lead to a swift and brutal collapse.

Your First Month: The Unskippable Build Order

1. Pause the Game Immediately. The moment you load into your new region, hit the spacebar. Time is your most precious resource. Use this pause to survey your surroundings, locate key resource deposits like Berries, Wild Animals, Stone, and Iron, and plan your initial layout.
2. Protect Your Starting Supplies. Your first priority is building a Granary for food and a Storehouse for materials. Why? Because weather is a real threat. If it rains before your supplies are under a roof, they can be ruined, potentially ending your game before it has even begun.
3. The Great Build Order Debate. Should you build storage first or a Logging Camp? The answer depends on your game settings. If you are playing with challenging weather enabled, storage is always first. If you’ve chosen a “Relaxing” start with weather effects turned off, you can prioritize the Logging Camp to get a head start on timber production, which will accelerate all subsequent construction.
4. Establish Timber Production. Once your storage is placed (or if you’re on a relaxed start), build a Logging Camp near a dense forest. As soon as it’s complete, assign two families to it. Timber is the lifeblood of your early settlement; you will need a constant supply.
5. Secure Your Winter Fuel. After the Logging Camp, build a Woodcutter’s Lodge. This building converts Timber into Firewood. This is non-negotiable, as families consume double the amount of Firewood during the winter months. Running out means a massive Approval penalty and potential deaths.
6. Lay Down Free Roads. While the game is still paused at the start, use the road tool to lay out a basic network. Roads are free and built instantly. A well-planned road network dramatically reduces travel time for your villagers and, most importantly, your slow-moving oxen. Connect your core buildings and leave large, rectangular spaces for future housing.
7. Place Your Central Hubs. Designate a large, open area for your Marketplace. This will become the commercial and social heart of your village. You should also place a Well over an underground water source (visible using the water overlay).
8. Assign Workers to Storage. As soon as the Granary and Storehouse are built, assign one family to each. They will begin the crucial task of moving all your starting supplies from the open ground into protective storage. You can unassign them once the job is done to free up labor.

Securing Your People: Housing & Approval Basics

9. Build Burgage Plots After Essentials. Only begin constructing Burgage Plots (houses) after your core storage and production buildings are in place. You need to be able to supply these homes with food and fuel as soon as they are occupied.
10. Build One Extra House. Your goal is to build at least five Burgage Plots for your starting families, plus one extra. This empty plot is what attracts new families to your settlement. No empty houses means no population growth, no matter how happy your people are.
11. AVOID the Worker’s Camp Upgrade. Do not upgrade your initial Homeless People’s Tent into a Worker’s Camp. This is a known issue that can prevent your families from moving into their newly built Burgage Plots, stalling your progress. If you do accidentally upgrade it, demolish the Worker’s Camp once your houses are ready.
12. Approval is Your Growth Engine. Your population will only grow if your Approval rating is above 50%. From 50% to 74%, you will attract one new family per month (if you have a free house). At 75% Approval or higher, this doubles to two new families per month. Falling below 50% will halt all immigration.
13. The Fastest Path to 50% Approval. The two quickest ways to boost your initial Approval are:
    • Solve Homelessness: Get all your families into Burgage Plots.
    • Provide Food Variety: Have at least two different food types available at your Marketplace stalls (e.g., Meat and Berries).
14. Build a Church Early. A Wooden Church provides a significant and lasting boost to Approval. It’s also a mandatory requirement for upgrading your Burgage Plots to Level 2, so building it within the first year is a wise investment.
15. Check the Approval Tooltip. Hover over the “thumb” icon at the top of the screen. This will give you a detailed breakdown of all positive and negative factors affecting your Approval rating. If your rating is red, this tooltip tells you exactly what problem you need to solve.

Early Food & Fuel: Surviving the First Winter

16. Forage and Hunt, Do NOT Farm. Do not attempt to start a farm in your first year. Farming is a massive undertaking that requires significant labor, resources (like an Ox for plowing), and time. A farm started in the spring will not yield a harvest before the first winter, making it a wasted effort.
17. Build a Hunting Camp. This should be one of your first food buildings. It provides a steady, year-round supply of Meat and, just as importantly, Hides for early clothing production.
18. Manage Your Hunting Limit. This is a critical hidden mechanic. Do not let your hunters wipe out the entire animal population. Click on the Hunting Camp and set the “Hunting Limit” to half of the herd’s maximum size (e.g., set the limit to 10 for a herd of 20, or 20 for a rich deposit of 40). This allows the animals to reproduce, ensuring a sustainable food source.
19. Don’t Build Near Animal Habitats. When placing buildings, you may see a warning about destroying a wild animal habitat. Heed this warning. Building too close or cutting down the trees in their territory will cause the herd to migrate or disappear entirely.
20. Gather Berries Aggressively. Build a Forager Hut near a berry deposit. Berries are only available from Spring through Autumn. They will disappear completely in Winter, so it’s vital to gather and store as many as possible during the warmer months.
21. Backyard Extensions are Non-Negotiable. As soon as your first Burgage Plots are built, use your starting Regional Wealth to add backyard extensions. Vegetable Gardens and Chicken Coops are the most important early-game investments you can make. They provide a passive, year-round food source that is not dependent on seasons or wild deposits, and they will be the key to your survival through the first winter.
22. Monitor Your Reserves. In the top UI bar, there is a barrel icon. Hovering over this will give you a rough estimate of how many months of food and fuel you have stored. This is your single most important survival metric. If this number is dropping, you need to increase production or slow down population growth immediately.

II. Growing Your Settlement: From Village to Town

With the foundations secure and the first winter weathered, it’s time to expand. This phase is about transitioning from mere survival to creating a sustainable and prosperous town. Mastering housing, agriculture, and animal husbandry is key.

Mastering Burgage Plots & Backyard Empires

23. Plan for Extensions. When you lay out your Burgage Plots, always make them large enough to accommodate a backyard extension. Long, rectangular plots are generally the most space-efficient.
24. The Corpse Pit Measuring Stick. A handy, if morbid, trick for measuring plot size: a single Corpse Pit building is exactly the length of two double-sized Burgage Plots with full backyard extensions. You can use this to plan your residential blocks.
25. Double Your Housing Density. When drawing a plot, make it large enough for the small “plus house” icon to appear. This signifies a “living space extension,” which allows you to upgrade the plot to house a second family. This effectively doubles your population density, saving precious space in your town center.
26. Unlock Your Artisans. Once a Burgage Plot is upgraded to Level 2, you can convert it into an artisan workshop. This permanently assigns the family to that craft. Key workshops include:
    • Blacksmith: Forges weapons.
    • Joiner’s Workshop: Crafts shields.
    • Cobbler’s Workshop: Makes shoes.
    • Tailor’s Workshop: Makes clothes and gambesons.
    • Brewery Extension: Brews Ale for your Tavern.
27. The Artisan Trade-off. Converting a family to an artisan locks them into that profession. They can no longer be reassigned to other jobs like farming or construction. This specialization is powerful but reduces your flexible workforce.
28. Delay Level 3 Plots. An advanced strategy is to deliberately avoid upgrading to Level 3 Burgage Plots for a long time. Level 3 residents have very high demands (ale, multiple clothing types, a stone church) and don’t provide any extra labor. It is often far more efficient to create a large town of happy, productive Level 2 residents who provide a solid tax base and workforce before you take on the challenge of satisfying the elite.
29. Upgrade Empty Plots. You can upgrade a plot to Level 3 even if no one is living in it. This is a useful way to unlock development points without having to immediately meet the high demands of a Level 3 family.

Level	Requirements	Benefits
1	Basic Shelter	Provides housing for one family.
2	Water Access (Well), Church Access (Wooden), 2+ Food Types, Fuel Supply, 1 Clothing Type (Leather, Linen, or Yarn)	Generates 1 Regional Wealth/month/family. Unlocks Artisan Workshops.
3	All Level 2 requirements, Stone Church, Tavern with Ale, 2+ Clothing Types	Generates 2 Regional Wealth/month/family. Contributes more to settlement level progress.

Advanced Farming & Crop Rotation Strategies

30. Respect the Fertility Overlay. Before placing a single field, open the construction menu and activate the fertility overlays. Different overlays show the best soil for Emmer/Wheat, Barley, Flax, and Rye. Always build on the deep green areas for maximum yield.
31. Start with Small, Rectangular Fields. Do not build one gigantic field. Your families won’t have time to plow, sow, and harvest it before the seasons change. A good starting size is around 0.6 to 0.8 Morgen. Make your fields long and thin (“rectangular”) to minimize the time your Ox spends turning around while plowing.
32. The Three-Field System is Law. To prevent your soil fertility from collapsing, you must practice crop rotation. The most effective method is a three-field system. For a single crop like Wheat, the rotation across three fields would look like this:
    • Field 1: Wheat, Fallow, Wheat
    • Field 2: Fallow, Wheat, Fallow
    • Field 3: Wheat, Wheat, FallowThis staggering ensures you get a consistent harvest each year while giving each field time to recover.
33. Fallow Means Fallow. When a field is set to “Fallow,” it means nothing is grown on it for a year. This is essential for the soil to naturally regain its fertility.
34. Unlock the Heavy Plow. This should be one of your very first development points. It allows you to build a Plowing Station at your Farmhouse and assign an Ox to it. An Ox plows a field dramatically faster than families can by hand.
35. Let Sheep Do the Work. The Fertilization development point is another game-changer. It allows you to build fences around your pastures and lets your sheep graze on fallow fields. Their manure will restore soil fertility much faster than leaving it empty.
36. Unlock Rye for Poor Soil. If your starting region has poor fertility, prioritize the Rye Cultivation development point. Rye is a hardy grain that can grow in less-than-ideal soil, giving you a reliable source of flour.
37. Build Mills and Ovens Nearby. To increase efficiency, build your Windmill (for flour) and Communal Oven or Bakeries (for bread) close to your Farmhouse and Granary. This minimizes the time workers spend walking to transport grain and flour.

Animal Husbandry: Oxen, Sheep, and More

38. Oxen are Your Engine. Oxen are essential for transporting timber for construction. Without an Ox, your Logging Camp is useless. Buy a second Ox from the Hitching Post as soon as you can afford it.
39. How to Get Livestock. You cannot breed your own sheep or cows initially. You must purchase them via the Livestock Trading Post. Build one, open the “Trade” tab, select the animal you want, set the trade rule to “Import,” and specify how many you want to buy. A trader will eventually arrive to sell them to you.
40. Sheep Mean Clothes and Fertility. Sheep are housed in Pastures and their wool is collected by families assigned to a Sheep Farm. Wool is then processed into Yarn at a Weaver’s Workshop, a key ingredient for clothing.
41. The Hidden Sheep Quirk. When you import sheep, they will stay at the Livestock Trading Post, not your Pasture. They will only move into an open Pasture after the trader’s own internal storage is full. This confuses many new players; just keep importing and they will eventually fill up your pastures.
42. Horses for Trade, Mules for Logistics. Horses are assigned to Trading Posts and allow your traders to move goods faster and in larger quantities. Mules are used by the Pack Station building to transport goods between your own claimed regions.

III. The Art of the Deal: Economy & Trade

Wealth is power. A strong economy will fund your armies, supply your people with rare goods, and allow you to expand your influence across the map. Understanding Manor Lords’ unique dual-currency system is the first step to becoming a true merchant prince.

Regional Wealth vs. Treasury: Know Your Coffers

43. Regional Wealth is Your Town’s Money. This is the primary currency you’ll use. It’s generated in two main ways: by exporting goods at the Trading Post and as a passive income from every Level 2 and Level 3 Burgage Plot. You spend Regional Wealth on things for your village: importing goods, buying livestock, and building backyard extensions.
44. Treasury is YOUR Personal Money. This is the lord’s private coffer. It is primarily funded by taxing your population’s Regional Wealth. To do this, you must first build a Manor. Treasury is used for actions of state: hiring mercenary companies, upgrading your personal retinue, and paying the fee to settle new regions.
45. The Economic Balancing Act. The game creates a fascinating tension between these two currencies. Investing your Regional Wealth (e.g., building a blacksmith) improves your town’s economy and future earning potential. Converting that wealth into Treasury (via taxes) gives you immediate military power but comes at the cost of lower Approval and less internal investment. Every major financial decision is a trade-off between developing your economy and projecting your power.
46. Tax Smart, Not Hard. Do not levy a constant, high tax on your people. This is the fastest way to tank your Approval rating. A much better strategy is to let your Regional Wealth accumulate. When you need Treasury funds for a specific purpose (like hiring mercenaries for an upcoming battle), go to your Manor, set a moderate tax for a month or two to raise the required funds, and then turn it off again.

Trade Routes & Profitable Export Strategies

47. Build a Trading Post. This is your window to the world market. For each good, you can set a trade rule:
    • No Trade: Self-explanatory.
    • Import: Buy this good until you reach your “Desired Surplus.”
    • Export: Sell any amount of this good above your “Desired Surplus.”
    • Full Trade: Automatically buy or sell to maintain your “Desired Surplus.”
48. Minor vs. Major Trades. The game divides goods into two types. Minor Trades (raw materials like planks, berries, stone) can be traded with any random merchant who happens to visit your post. Major Trades (processed goods like weapons, armor, ale) require you to first spend Regional Wealth to establish a permanent Trade Route.
49. Trade Routes are Worth It. Establishing a Trade Route for a Major Trade guarantees that a dedicated merchant will visit your settlement every single month to buy or sell that specific good. This provides a reliable, consistent income stream that is essential for a trade-focused economy.
50. The Value Chain is King. Never sell raw materials if you can process them first. The profit margin increases dramatically with each step of production. This principle is the absolute core of a successful economy.
51. Overproduce and Sell Everything. A common mistake is to stop production when your storehouse is full. Don’t! Overproduction is the engine of wealth. If you have a surplus of planks, don’t unassign your sawpit workers. Instead, open your Trading Post and set Planks to “Export.” A full warehouse is not a problem; it’s a business opportunity.
52. Best Early Game Exports. Some of the most profitable and easiest goods to export early on are:
    • Warbows: They require only planks to make and sell for a high price.
    • Planks/Firewood: Easy to produce in large quantities.
    • Berries: Especially if you have a rich deposit and the “Forest Management” development point.
    • Rooftiles: Clay is often abundant, and tiles have a very high sale price.

Raw Material (Value)	Processed Good (Value)	Artisan Good (Value)
Timber (1)	Planks (2)	Warbows (5) / Large Shields (6)
Hides (4)	Leather (6)	Shoes (8)
Iron Ore (2)	Iron Slabs (4)	Tools (6) / Spears (5)
Clay (1)	Rooftiles (8)	N/A

Development Points for Economic Domination

53. Trade Logistics. This development point reduces the cost of establishing new trade routes by a flat 25 Regional Wealth. If you plan to trade heavily, this will save you a fortune. It should be one of your first picks.
54. Better Deals. This point completely eliminates the 10-unit tariff on all imported goods. It is incredibly powerful, especially if you plan to specialize your regions and import necessary resources. A region with this perk can import raw materials and export finished goods at a massive profit.
55. Charcoal Kiln. This allows you to build a kiln that converts 1 Firewood into 2 Charcoal. Since families consume fuel at the same rate regardless of type, this technology effectively doubles your fuel supply from the same amount of wood. This frees up your woodcutters and allows you to export a massive surplus of charcoal for easy money.

IV. The Art of War: Military & Conquest

While you can play Manor Lords as a peaceful city-builder, conflict is often inevitable. Bandits will raid your lands, and rival lords will challenge your claims. A wise lord knows that a strong economy must be protected by a strong sword arm.

Building Your Army: Militia, Retinue & Mercenaries

56. Militia: Your Citizen Soldiers. Your primary fighting force is the Militia, raised from the able-bodied men living in your Burgage Plots. To form a militia unit, you must have enough men and the necessary equipment (spears, sidearms, bows, shields) in your settlement’s inventory.
57. Retinue: Your Personal Guard. When you build a Manor, you gain a small unit of professional soldiers called a Retinue. These are your elite troops. You can use your personal Treasury to hire more retinue soldiers, customize their appearance, and upgrade their armor and weapons to the highest quality. They also gain experience and become more effective with each battle.
58. Mercenaries: Swords for Hire. When your own forces are not enough, you can hire Mercenaries with your Treasury. These companies are expensive (you pay an upfront fee and a monthly salary), but they are essential for winning difficult battles.
59. Use Mercenaries as a Meat Shield. A key tactic for preserving your own population is to use mercenaries to absorb the brunt of the enemy’s attack. Send them in first to engage the enemy line. It is far better for a hired sellsword to die than one of your own citizens, who is also a valuable worker for your economy.
60. Army Size Cap. You are limited to a maximum of six military units (militia and retinue) per region. This cap does not include mercenaries, which you can hire as many of as you can afford.

Battlefield Tactics & Unit Management

61. Stamina is Your Most Important Stat. Do not order your troops to run across the entire map to a battle. They will arrive with zero stamina, indicated by a panting icon, and their combat effectiveness will be drastically reduced. Always walk your soldiers into position to conserve their energy for the fight.
62. Master the Anvil and Hammer. This is a classic and highly effective medieval tactic.
    • The Anvil: Use a sturdy unit, like your Spearman Militia, and put them in a defensive formation (use the “Stand Your Ground” command). Their job is to receive the enemy’s charge and hold the line.
    • The Hammer: While the enemy is pinned against your anvil, maneuver a more mobile or high-damage unit (like your Retinue or another militia unit) around their flank and charge into their side or rear.
63. Morale Wins Battles. You don’t need to kill every single enemy soldier to win. You win when their morale breaks and they flee the field. A successful flank attack (the “hammer”) deals massive morale damage. Focusing your attacks on one enemy unit at a time can cause it to break, creating a domino effect that shatters the entire enemy line.
64. Use Your Stances. Pay attention to the command bar at the bottom of the screen during a battle.
    • Stand Your Ground: Increases defense, perfect for your “anvil” unit bracing for a charge.
    • Push Forward: Increases attack but lowers defense. Use this when you are charging or have the advantage.
    • Missile Alert: Orders your shielded units to raise their shields, significantly reducing damage from enemy archers.
65. Hills are Your Friend. Attacking from higher ground gives your units a combat advantage. Whenever possible, position your troops on a hilltop and force the enemy to attack you uphill.

Dealing with Bandits and the Rival Baron

66. Clear Bandit Camps Immediately. Do not let bandit camps linger on the map. They will periodically raid your territory, stealing valuable food and resources. Form a militia and eliminate them as soon as they appear.
67. Steal Kills from the Baron. The rival AI lord will also send his armies to attack bandit camps. If you see his army on the move, send your own. You can often swoop in while they are engaged and land the killing blow, allowing you to claim the Treasury and Influence reward for yourself.
68. The Mercenary Race. The pool of available mercenaries is shared between you and the rival lord. Before declaring war or challenging a claim, check the mercenary tab. If you have the Treasury, hire all available companies. This not only bolsters your own army but, more importantly, denies those troops to your enemy.
69. Bait and Divide. If you find yourself facing a superior enemy force, use a single, fast unit (your Retinue is perfect for this) as bait. Have them approach the enemy army until one or two units give chase, then lead them on a merry tour of the region while your main army engages and defeats the now-weakened enemy force.
70. Counter-Claim for Free Land. When the rival lord tries to claim a neutral territory, you will get an option to challenge his claim. If you do this and win the subsequent battle, you gain that territory for free, without having to spend the usual 1,000 Influence.

V. Advanced Lordship: Hidden Mechanics & Pro-Tips

You have survived, you have grown, and you have fought. Now it is time to truly master your domain. This final section contains a collection of high-level tips, hidden mechanics, and crucial information about the game’s latest updates that will elevate your play.

Efficiency Hacks & Quality of Life Tricks

71. Hold TAB for the God View. Holding the TAB key at any time will bring up a detailed information overlay. It shows you exactly where each family is assigned, the current inventory of every building, the growth status of your crops, and more. Use it frequently to diagnose problems in your settlement at a glance.
72. Unassigned Families are Your Builders. It bears repeating: only families with no job assignment will perform construction tasks or guide oxen to move timber. Always keep at least one family unassigned, designated as your construction crew.
73. Nudge Your Animal Herds. You can manipulate the location of wild animal herds. By placing a building blueprint on the edge of their habitat zone, you can “push” them in the opposite direction. Cancel the blueprint and repeat the process to carefully guide the herd closer to your Hunting Camp for maximum efficiency.
74. Resize Your Work Area. When you select a building like a Logging Camp or Forager Hut, you can hold CTRL and use the middle mouse scroll wheel to change the size of its circular work area. This allows for precise control over where your workers will operate.
75. Rebuilding is Free. If bandits raid your town and burn down some of your buildings, don’t panic. Selecting the burnt-out husk of a building and clicking the “Rebuild” button costs zero resources.
76. Pause Artisan Production. You can’t set production limits, but you can pause the work of an artisan family. Click on their Burgage Plot and hit the pause button in the top right of the UI to stop them from consuming resources.
77. Extra Timber Storage. If your Logging Camp is full, you can build another one to serve as extra storage space. It does not need to be staffed by a family to function as storage. This is also necessary to collect the timber from demolished buildings.
78. The Corpse Pit Trick. Don’t leave a family permanently assigned to a Corpse Pit. They are only needed to bury bodies after a battle. Assign a family, let them finish the job, and then unassign them to free up the labor.
79. Market Stall Logistics. The families who work at production buildings (like the Tannery or Woodcutter’s Lodge) are also responsible for running the corresponding stalls at the market. A family assigned to the Granary or Storehouse will set up a generic food or goods stall. To optimize, have your main storage buildings close to your market to minimize the travel time for stall tenders.
80. Relocate Market Stalls. In a large settlement with multiple marketplaces, you can click on an individual stall and relocate it to a different market to better balance the distribution of goods.
81. Roads Increase Speed. Villagers and oxen move significantly faster on roads than they do across open ground. Pave everything.
82. Apiary Placement. The tooltip for the Beekeeping development point is bugged. You can build multiple Apiaries in a region, not just one.
83. Apiary Logistics. Apiaries have a hidden mechanic: they will only produce one honey at a time and will not produce more until that single unit is collected. To make them efficient, you must have a dedicated Granary nearby with workers assigned to constantly empty the Apiaries, allowing them to keep producing.
84. Slain Villagers Respawn. If your villagers are killed in a raid, they will eventually respawn as long as there is free space in their home. This comes with a temporary Approval penalty but won’t permanently cripple your population.

Navigating the New Experimental Beta Changes (v. 0.8.035+)

Manor Lords is a game in active development, and the recent experimental beta patch introduced massive changes. If you are playing on this branch, you need to be aware of these new systems.

85. Building Maintenance is Now a Thing. Many of your workplaces, like mines and smithies, now have a maintenance cost. You must supply them with resources to keep them operational. Neglecting maintenance can lead to catastrophic failures, such as a mine collapsing. This adds a new layer of resource management to the mid and late game.
86. Food Has Become Granular. The generic “Vegetables” resource has been split into Cabbages, Carrots, and Beetroots. “Meat” has been divided into Mutton, Pork, Small Game, and more. This change means that satisfying the “food variety” requirement for your Burgage Plots will become more complex, making specialized farming and trade even more important.
87. The Approval System is Reworked. The new system introduces Approval Tiers. Reaching a certain tier can grant powerful bonuses, while falling into a low tier can apply harsh penalties. The system also now weighs recent events more heavily than past ones, making your Approval rating more dynamic and responsive to current conditions.
88. Stone Castles are Here. You can now upgrade your Manor and its associated castle modules (walls, gates, towers) to stone. This also includes the ability to place your soldiers directly on the walls to defend against sieges.
89. Environmental Affinities. Regions are now divided into different environments. Certain buildings will gain an efficiency bonus when placed in their preferred environment. For example, Pigsties are more efficient in woodland areas.
90. Old Saves are Incompatible. Be warned: due to the sheer scale of these changes, save games from previous versions of Manor Lords will not work on the experimental beta branch. You must start a new game to experience these features.
91. New Maps and Game Modes. The beta introduces new map layouts, including one with a giant lake, as well as new game modes like a one-on-one Duel against the AI lord.
92. Wild Animal Reproduction. Herds now require a minimum of two animals to begin reproducing, making it even more critical to not over-hunt.
93. Rich Deposits are Bigger. Rich resource deposits now have a larger mining range, allowing you to potentially place more mines on a single deposit.
94. Mine Collapse Risk. Placing too many mines too close together on a single deposit increases the risk of a collapse.
95. Homelessness Grace Period. New settlements now have a 30-day grace period where homelessness does not negatively affect Approval, giving you more breathing room at the start.
96. Consumption Scales with Level. Higher-level Burgage Plots now consume more goods. For example, a Level 2 family will consume more clothing than a Level 1 family.
97. Vegetable Gardens Need Replanting. After harvesting, vegetable gardens must now be re-plowed and re-planted by the family living there.
98. Import Tariffs Increased. The base tariff for importing goods has been increased, making the “Better Deals” development point even more valuable.
99. AI Towns. The AI lord now builds their own organic-looking towns on the map, making the world feel more alive and competitive.
100. New Progression System. The development point tree and overall progression have been reworked to offer more thematic and interesting choices.
101. How to Access the Beta. To play with these new features, you must opt-in to the experimental beta branch on Steam. Right-click Manor Lords in your library, go to Properties > Betas, and enter the code veryNiceBasket.

Conclusion

The journey of a lord is long and challenging. You will face harsh winters, bandit raids, and the constant, gnawing pressure of keeping your people fed and happy. But with knowledge, foresight, and a bit of cunning, you can transform that initial patch of wilderness into a powerful and prosperous domain.

The core pillars of success in Manor Lords are universal: start strong by securing your basic needs before you expand. Grow sustainably by mastering the intricate dance of agriculture, housing, and logistics. Build a powerful economy through specialized production and shrewd trade. And when the time comes, defend your lands with sound tactical command.

Remember that every failed settlement is not a loss, but a lesson. Each starving winter teaches you the value of a full granary. Each lost battle teaches you the importance of a well-executed flank. Take these tips, apply them to your domain, and go forth to forge your legacy. The annals of history are waiting to be written.

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Manor Lords belong to the developer Slavic Magic.

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