Even though the city-building aspects are at the forefront of Manor Lords, there are some combat elements as well. But while you can build an army, before it can even take the battlefield, it needs the proper military equipment, which is difficult to come by early on in Manor Lords.Â
How to Get Military Equipment in Manor Lords
There are a few different ways to acquire military equipment, which is simply the weapons and defenses that your army can use in battle. Among the four different types of soldiers, there are several unique pieces of equipment you need to give them so they can fight. This includes spears, polearms, axes, shields, and bows.
Without the right equipment, your army won’t be allowed to enter battle, so it’s important you get military equipment as quickly as possible. The first time you’ll likely encounter military equipment is through a free “Armament Delivery” that happens after you’ve hit a certain milestone in Manor Lords. This occurs if you have the “Armament Delivery” option enabled in your game’s settings and after you’ve constructed one Storehouse and five Burgage Plots.
Once that happens, you’ll receive an in-game message that explains the military equipment and army systems in Manor Lords. This also comes with 20 free spears and shields, which you can give to your first militia. All of this is viewable by selecting the “Army” button at the bottom of the screen.
After you receive that free delivery, there are only two ways to acquire military equipment, which you can see below:
Related: How to Make Ale for the Tavern in Manor Lords
Using a Trading Post to Import Military Equipment
The first and perhaps most straightforward way of getting military equipment is through the trading system in Manor Lords. After constructing a Trading Post, you can use it to import specific goods for your settlement. This includes every possible piece of military equipment.
To use the Trading Post, you need to establish a trade route for each individual piece of equipment. This allows your settlers to import each of the goods. Of course, all of this costs money, and you’ll need plenty of Regional Wealth to secure all of the equipment you need. We have a separate guide going over how to get Regional Wealth, but don’t expect to have much of it in the early going.
Once your trade routes are established and your settlers have enough funds to import the equipment, you should have enough to build a full militia in a short amount of time. Then you just have to make sure each soldier in your militia has a weapon they require, and you’ll be ready to send out the army.
Crafting Military Equipment
The second way to get military equipment is through crafting it yourself. However, I must warn you this is a lengthy process, as you need different crafting stations, families assigned to various jobs, and plenty of resources to go through.
It’s also required to upgrade Burgage Plots to level two and have them become a Blacksmith’s Workshop, Joiner’s Workshop, or Bowyer’s Workshop. The family at that house will then turn your resources into weapons. Upgrading a Burgage Plot to level two requires you to have a church, water access, and a food, clothing, and fuel marketplace stall. Once your plot is upgraded, you can choose to have it become a weapons Workshop by clicking on the hammer icon at the top of its box.
From there, your workshops need to have access to certain materials. For the most part, you need Planks and Iron Slabs to make all the military equipment you need in Manor Lords.
Essentially, you have to decide between the more expensive route or the longer route to get military equipment. You’ll have to progress your save quite a ways before worrying about this issue, though.
Manor Lords is available now on Xbox and PC.
