How to raise armies in Manor Lords

Looking to raise your first army in Manor Lords? Manor Lords isn't just any old city-building game: it also has a surprisingly robust and in-depth combat system which calls to mind the Total War series - albeit at a less grand scale. Depending on your starting scenario, armies are a must-have in Manor Lords to help defend against bandits - or even worse, raiders.

In this quick guide, we'll walk you through how to raise armies in Manor Lords, including how to make sure you have all the equipment you need to arm them ready for battle against your enemies.

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How to raise an army in Manor Lords

You can raise an army in Manor Lords by clicking on the Army button in the bottom hotbar, or by tapping V on your keyboard. Then click the plus (+) button to create a new unit. You must select one of the four militia unit types on the left (Footmen, Spear, Polearm, or Archer), after which it will be added to your main armies list below.

Recruits

You need two things for an army: recruits, and equipment. Your available recruits are all of the healthy adult male members of your Population.

You can check how many male citizens you have in a settlement either by looking at the first icon in the recruit army menu, or by hovering over the "Total Population" icon in the top hotbar (the fourth icon along). There you'll see a breakdown of your families by the level of their Burgage Plot, and within those levels you'll also see the split between male and female members.

Equipment

Soldiers aren't worth much without weapons and armour. Even if you have enough recruits, they can't become soldiers in your army unless they have enough equipment of the correct type.

The different types of militia have different equipment requirements:

• Militia Footmen: Sidearms and Small Shields
• Spear Militia: Spears and Large Shields
• Polearm Militia: Polearms
• Archer Militia: Warbows

All of these items can be built in Backyard Extensions for Level 2 Burgage Plots. The Blacksmith makes Sidearms, Spears, and Polearms; The Bowyer makes Warbows; and the Joiner makes Large and Small Shields. They're all made out of Planks and/or Iron Slabs, so you'll need a Logging Camp and Sawpit for the Planks, and a Mining Pit and Bloomery for the Iron Slabs.

Of course, you can also import any of these resources at a Trading Post. For more information, check out our dedicated Manor Lords trade guide!

How to hire Mercenaries in Manor Lords

You can also hire Mercenaries to boost your army's ranks beyond what your recruits and equipment can offer. To do this, open the Army menu from the bottom hotbar, click on the plus (+) to create a new unit, and then click the button on the very end to "Hire mercenaries".

The Mercenary groups on offer change from month to month. They're all made up of different units, and you can hover over the unit cards to see what kind of Mercenaries they are before hiring. To hire a Mercenary group, you need to pay them an upfront Treasury cost, followed by the same cost each month. The monthly amount is shown at the bottom of each Mercenary group's details.

Mercenaries are a great way to quickly add to your military might when fighting Raiders or Bandits, but they take an awful lot from your Treasury, so make sure to only hire them for however long you need them.

Now that you know how to recruit an army and defend yourself against threats such as raiders and bandits, why not check out our guides on how to get some of the more specialised resources in the game, such as Ale, Sheep, Herbs, and Clothes? For all other aspects of the game that don't involve warring, our Manor Lords beginner's guide will serve as a pivotal resource!