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8 Manor Lords combat tips and tricksWin your battles in Manor Lords with these tips for strategic fighting
Win your battles in Manor Lords with these tips for strategic fighting
Image credit:Hooded Horse
Image credit:Hooded Horse
Looking for some tips and tricks to win battles in Manor Lords?Aside from serving as a highly detailed medieval city-builder,Manor Lordsbrings Total War-style combat to the fray, letting you direct different units in fights against invaders, rival armies, and all other forces that might threaten your growing town. Prevailing over these battles can be a tricky affair, especially for folks more accustomed to city-building games that don’t involve legions clashing against each other.
Luckily, there are a few general strategies that you can keep in mind to turn the tides in your favour. In this guide, we’ll outline 8combat tips for Manor Lordsto help you reign victorious.
Manor Lords - Release Date Announcement TrailerCheck out the release date announcement trailer for Manor Lords here. Check out those lovely roads.Watch on YouTube
Manor Lords - Release Date Announcement Trailer
1. Invest in protective gear and advanced weapons for your troops
To get your men equipped with the finest hardware, go for the Armorer’s Workshop. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse
An army isn’t functioning at its best if it’s primarily composed of unprotected fellows with subpar pointed sticks. Our guide tomaking weapons and armorhas the full details, but in quick summary, you’re going to need toupgrade your Burgage Plotsin order to unlock building extensions that can truly aid your army. These include a Blacksmith’s Workshop, a Joiner’s Workshop, an Armorer’s Workshop, and a Fletcher’s Workshop.
Out of all of these options, the Armorer’s Workshop can go a long way towards making your units hardier in the field, as it allows for the production of helmets. If you unlock theAdvanced ArmormakingandMaster ArmormakingDevelopmental Upgrades, you can also build mail and plate armor, which will raise the defensive stats - and survivability - of your men.
2. Diversify your units
Technically not a greatly diverse selection of units, as these are all spear militia. Investing in a fair few archers would go a long way towards helping me win battles. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse
Manor Lordsoffers a few different unit types, including the specialised Retinue - which are the closest thing to elite soldiers in this game - as well as polearm fighters, spear militia, and archers. Thebest units in Manor Lords, aside from the Retinue and Mercenaries (more on them below), include theMilitia Footmen, theSpear Militia, and theArcher Militia, and a good army should strive to have these three types, which nicely cover melee and ranged attacks while still offering up decent defence.
It’s possible that during your first few combats, you’ll only be able to afford one type of unit. We recommend going for the Militia Footmen and supplementing their ranks with a steady assault from Archer Militia. Continue expanding the army with Spear Militia once you can afford it.
3. Rely on your Retinue
Each Retinue member boasts a customisable uniform, a name, and even a fun fact. That’s how you know they’re elite. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse
You need tobuild a Manorbefore you can hire aRetinue, because these strong lads are specialised soldiers who hang out in the Manor all day long, just itching for a fight. It’s worth the time and effort, though, asRetinue members are the strongest melee combatants in Manor Lords.
4. Don’t be afraid to pay for Mercenaries
45 Treasury seems a fair bit, but it’s better to lose that coin than lose the lives of your people. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse
Mercenaries seem expensive, but if they die, all that you’ve lost is a bit of coin in yourTreasury. It takes time togather Families to your settlement, and every deceased Militia member means a loss to your town’s overall productivity. So don’t be afraid to spend some money to hire these men-at-arms - it’s their job, after all.
On a more specific note, theLight Mercenary InfantryandHeavy Mercenary Archerare two of the best units in the game, and more than capable of supplementing your Militia forces.
5. Use Stances to direct your troops
My Retinue’s all primed and ready to catch some missiles, as you can see. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse.
Click on any collection of units in Manor Lords and you’ll see a row of icons pop up at the bottom of your screen. These areStances, and they’re used to direct troops in combat. The stances range from Balanced, which is the default stance for units, to more concerted maneouvers like Missile Alert, which causes your units to block incoming arrows.
When dealing with minor skirmishes againstBandit Camps, you can usually keep your troops on Balanced and watch them wreck havoc. When fightingRaidersor a rival army, however, you’ll need to use strategy. We recommend watching the flow of battle and alternating betweenStand Your GroundandPush Forwardfor your melee attackers. The former doubles their defence and is excellent for shield-bearers like the Spear Militia, while the latter makes frontliners go all-out on offence to break ranks. Meanwhile, have Archer Militia useShoot at Willto fire upon enemies without shields. If you ever need to reorganise your forces or lure in enemies, make use ofSpread OutandGive Ground. And if arrows come a-flying, make sure your boys use the aforementionedMissile Alert.
6. Flank your foes and attack from the rear
There’s nothing like a good flank - especially when your archers are cornering the enemy and raining down death from above. |Image credit:Hooded Horse
To set up flanking tactics, you can select a group of units, hold the right mouse button, and drag your mouse to adjust their formation. Always try to position your units so that they’re encircling enemies - oftentimes, the easy way to do this is to have your melee attackers on one side soaking up damage, while your archers sneak up from behind to deliver a steady supply of arrow blasts from the rear. Since they’re hardier than most of your other troops, the Retinue is perfect for holding the line long enough for your ranged combatants to deliver killing missiles.
7. Monitor Morale, Effectiveness, and Fatigue
The Effectiveness of these fellows is pretty awful. What caused this? The rain. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse
Click on your units to see a box that shows their overallMorale,Effectiveness, andFatigue. Morale is basically an indicator of how willing your forces are to fight. You can keep it high if you have an overallhigh Approval ratingfor your settlement, and any militia forces fighting in their home territory will have higher morale automatically. If Morale dips too low, you’ll lose your ability to use certain stances, and units will run instead of fighting to the death.
8. Attack on the High Ground
These lines, viewable via opening the Manor Lords road planner and zooming in, give us a sense of what constitutes high ground. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Hooded Horse
Elevation plays a role in Manor Lords battles, and it’s always useful to be above your opponents when fighting, as your troops will recieve aHigh Groundbuff to their Effectiveness rating. Enemies will recieve aLow Grounddebuff, meanwhile. For maximum damage potential, try to position your archers on the high ground whenever possible.
If you’re ever wondering about the intricacies of terrain, open the Manor Lordsroad builderand zoom in close to the battlefield. You’ll see lines on higher terrain to indicate slopes and hills. You’re going to want your units to stand atop those.
If you take all of these bits into account, combat in Manor Lords should be a victorious affair more often than not! That said, Manor Lords is a truly expansive game, and if you’re searching for additional advice, head over to ourbeginner’s guide, which contains everything you need to know to survive your first year. For a general selection of hints that’ll help you in all aspects of this epic city-builder, take a look at ourManor Lords tips and tricks guide.
