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- Army is hired using the Army menu at the bottom of the screen. You can also hire Mercenaries.
- Army need weapons and shields, which are produced by Blacksmith’s Workshop and Joiner’s Workshop burgage plot extensions.
- You can further improve your army by producing Armor at an Armormaker’s Shop burgage plot extension.
Once you’ve meticulously planned out a thriving settlement, filled your coffers, exhausted all diplomatic options, and now fancy yourself a bit of a warlord, Manor Lords gives you the option to hit the battlefield but you’ll need an army first. However, this is Manor Lords, where every task typically involves about a dozen steps, so there’s no magic button you can tap to conjure up an army instantly.
We’ll walk you through how to recruit an army in Manor Lords, from drafting in the actual soldiers to equipping them with shields, armor, and various weapons. If you’re taking on the Restore the Peace scenario to tick off several of the Manor Lords trophies and achievements, this should help.
How to recruit soldiers in Manor Lords
To recruit soldiers in Manor Lords, click on the Army menu button (represented by two crossing swords) at the bottom of your screen. Tap the Create New Units plus sign button on the right, then select the type of unit you want to recruit – Militia Footmen, Spear Militia, Polearm Militia, and Archer Militia.
Tap the + sign to recruit different army units. Captured by VideoGamer.
Tap the Hire Mercenary button to see all available soldiers for hire. Captured by VideoGamer.
You’ll need specific weapons and shields for different unit types before they can be deployed to the battlefield. Under the Army menu you can hover over each unit to check what gear is needed. The unit name provides a major hint – Spear Militia require spears and so on. We’ll dive into how to produce weapons and shields lower down.
You can also hire Mercenary units by tapping the button on the right with a hand tossing some coins after you’ve clicked on Create New Units. This brings you to a new screen where you can hire Mercenary Units from the Mercenary Pool, which resets every month. Hiring Mercenaries costs a set amount of Treasure for every month of service, so make sure you have a stockpile of Treasury before hiring.
Retinue? What’s that all about?
Once you’ve built a Manor, you may notice a new army unit under the Army menu called the Retinue. A Retinue is an elite group of professional soldiers loyal to you as ruler of the land and bound to the region’s Manor. The Retinue is composed of court members, nobles, and even a few folks from your own family.
A Manor has six Retinue as default, but you can hire new members, known as Retainers. Tap on the Army menu at the bottom of the screen, click on the Retinue unit, then on Retinue Customization, represented by a paintbrush icon. On the next screen, you can customise their look but also recruit new soldiers by clicking on the Recruit Men-At-Arms button for 50 treasury a pop.
How to make weapons and shields
Now that you’ve got the men to form an army, you’re going to need to equip them. In Manor Lords, weapons and shields are produced by Blacksmith and Joiner burgage plot extensions or imported through a Trading Post. The Blacksmith’s Workshop (x5 Regional Wealth and x5 Planks) and Joiner’s Workshop (x4 Planks) extensions are available once a burgage plot is upgraded to level 2.
Tap Create a Backyard Extension to see a list of available extensions. Captured by Video Gamer.
Select the Armormaker to build the extension needed to produce weapons, armor, and shields. Captured by VideoGamer.
To build an extension, click on a burgage plot then tap Construct a Backyard Extension, and select the Blacksmith’s Workshop or Joiner’s Workshop extension, converting all inhabitants into specialised artisans. Once construction is finished, click on the burgage plot again and under General you’ll see Production Focus where you can choose what type of weapon or shield to produce.
Under Production Focus you can choose what types of weapons to produce. Captured by VideoGamer.
Choose what shield type to make under Production Focus. Captured by VideoGamer.
Each weapon and shield type require different combinations of Iron Slabs and Planks. Planks are made from Timber (gathered by a Logging Camp) at a Sawpit. Iron Slabs are produced by the Bloomery using Iron Ore extracted from a Mining Pit built on top of an Iron Deposit. Here’s a table with the resource requirements for shields and weapons:
| Weapon and Shield Type | Resource Requirements |
|---|---|
| Sidearms | x2 Iron Slab |
| Spears | x1 Iron Slab, x1 Planks |
| Polearms | x1 Iron Slab, x1 Planks |
| Small Shields | x1 Planks |
| Large Shields | x2 Planks |
How to make armor and helmets in Manor Lords
While weapons and shields allow you to recruit an army, providing your soldiers with armor and helmets makes them tougher and more resilient on the battlefield. Armor and helmets are produced by the Armorer’s Workshop burgage plot extension. However, the extension isn’t available automatically once a burgage plot hits level 2 – you also need to use a Development Point (obtained whenever you reach the next Settlement Level) on the tech tree to unlock the Basic Armormaking for Helmets, Advanced Armormaking for Mail Armor, and Master Armormaking for Plate Armor.
Basic Armormaking unlocks Helmets. Captured by VideoGamer.
Advanced Armormaking unlocks Mail Armor. Captured by VideoGamer.
Master Armormaking unlocks Plate Armor. Captured by VideoGamer.
Once that’s done, you’ll need to build an Armorer’s Shop extension on a burgage plot in the same way you would a Blacksmith’s Workshop or Joiner’s Workshop. It costs x10 Regional Wealth and x4 Planks to build per burgage plot. From there, you can select the Production Focus – Helmets, Mail Armor, or Plate Armor. Here’s a breakdown of the resource requirements for each armor type:
| Armor Type | Resource Requirements |
|---|---|
| Helmets | x1 Iron Slab |
| Mail Armor | x2 Iron Slab |
| Plate Armor | x8 Iron Slab |
As armor is produced, army units will automatically equip the gear as and when it’s available until every soldier has a helmet and mail/plate armor. It goes without saying that if you can spare the resources, producing Plate Armor for all your soldiers will be more beneficial than Mail Armor. It’s worth noting that combat effectiveness is also impacted by Approval rating, so make sure you’re pushing towards 100% to boost army morale before fighting.
