Manor Lords: Army Combat Guide – Militias, Retinues, And Mercenaries

Transform your peaceful villagers into a formidable fighting force when threats emerge in Manor Lords. While settlement development remains your primary focus, strategic military preparation becomes crucial when hostile forces appear on your borders.

Manor Lords primarily emphasizes economic growth and village prosperity, but warfare becomes inevitable when external dangers threaten your territory. This comprehensive combat guide delivers essential strategies for managing militia, retinue, and mercenary units effectively.

Your military readiness depends heavily on game setup/difficulty options. Peaceful playthroughs might never require military action, but enabling raiders, bandit camps, or AI opponents demands proper military preparation. Understanding recruitment mechanics and combat capabilities for each unit type ensures you’re prepared for any conflict.

Access your military management interface by pressing the “V” key or selecting the Army icon in the bottom screen panel. This centralized command center displays all available active units and recruitment options.

Key interface functions include:

• Select the plus (+) symbol to establish new military formations
• Utilize the “Form Militia” option to convert villagers into specific troop types
• Click the hand-with-coins icon to access “Hire Mercenaries” services
• Retinue units unlock automatically after constructing your Manor structure
• Designate rally points by selecting units and clicking target locations for movement and command execution
• Post-battle procedures require moving militia and retinue back to owned regions before disbanding
• Essential prerequisite: maintain sufficient Treasury resource to cover all military expenditures

The Army button has a panel that lets you recruit more units.

Pro Tip: Position rally points strategically near resource-rich areas to minimize travel time while maintaining defensive coverage.

Your Manor Lords militia represents the citizen-soldier foundation of your military power. These combatants are drawn directly from your settlement’s male population, creating both military strength and economic trade-offs.

Available militia classifications include Militia Footmen, Spear Militia, Polearm Militia, and Archer Militia. Equipment sourcing originates entirely from your settlement’s production capabilities through specialized backyard extensions on Burgage Plots:

• Fletcher’s Workshop – Manufactures specialized warbows for archery units
• Blacksmith’s Workshop – Produces spears and secondary armaments including swords
• Joiner’s Workshop – Crafts wooden components and defensive shields
• Armorer’s Workshop – Creates advanced mail and plate armor after unlocking prerequisite technologies

Unit effectiveness depends directly on equipment availability – fully equipped squads maintain maximum combat readiness. However, mobilizing militia creates significant workforce reductions, potentially slowing critical production chains and construction projects.

Your militia is a ramshackle group of armed villagers.

Common Mistake: New players often mobilize their entire workforce simultaneously, crippling their economy. Instead, maintain a balanced approach by keeping essential workers in their roles.

The Manor Lords retinue system provides a professional military core available after constructing the Manor building. Prerequisites include achieving Small Village settlement status and gathering 5x timber, 20x planks, and 15x stone for construction.

Your initial retinue includes five professional soldiers, with expansion and customization options accessible through the “Retinue Customization” interface (paintbrush icon):

• Recruit Men-At-Arms – Augments your retinue strength; requires 50 Treasury per addition
• Upgrade Armor – Import – Acquires foreign armor sets; costs variable Treasury amounts
• Upgrade Armor – Buy Locally – Purchases from domestic artisans; offers cost savings compared to imports
• Retinue warriors feature diverse troop specializations beyond basic militia types
• Customization options include visual design modifications and color scheme personalization

Your retinue is armed to the teeth, but also very costly to fully upgrade.

Advanced Strategy: Prioritize local armor upgrades initially for cost efficiency, reserving imported options for critical elite units when treasury permits.

Mercenary forces in Manor Lords provide immediate military reinforcement through Treasury expenditure. Recruitment costs cover monthly service periods with payment required upfront for each contracted month.

Important operational considerations:

• Mercenary companies consist of predetermined unit compositions with two or more squads
• Deployment isn’t instantaneous – some units spawn in distant regions requiring travel time to reach objectives
• Contract management requires careful treasury planning as payments continue regardless of active deployment

Mercenaries offer a full squad, but you need to pay them monthly.

Tactical Insight: Schedule mercenary recruitment during seasonal transitions when treasury typically sees increased revenue from harvests and trade.

Once military forces are assembled, tactical command options become available through unit selection. Each command provides specific combat enhancements with corresponding trade-offs:

• Balanced (default configuration) – Maintains standard performance without modifications
• Give Ground – Executes controlled retreat maneuvers; encourages enemy pursuit into advantageous positions
• Missile Alert – Enhances arrow defense capabilities by 100%; reduces melee defense by 50%
• Stand Your Ground – Doubles defensive statistics; decreases attack frequency by half
• Push Forward – Commits troops to aggressive advancement using maximum force
• Shoot At Will (archer exclusive) – Improves targeting accuracy at close ranges; reduces effectiveness beyond half maximum distance

Don’t expect grand warfare in Manor Lords, since you’re more likely to experience small-scale battles.

Combat Tip: Rotate between “Stand Your Ground” for defensive phases and “Push Forward” for offensive opportunities.

Mastering Manor Lords warfare requires understanding force composition dynamics and resource allocation. Optimal military development follows these principles:

Force Balance Strategy: Maintain a core of 60% militia, 25% retinue, and 15% mercenaries for balanced capability and cost efficiency. Time your military expansions during economic booms rather than resource shortages.

Common Pitfall: Over-investing in retinue customization early game can cripple your treasury. Instead, focus on establishing reliable equipment production first.

Resource Planning: Allocate at least 15-20% of your total treasury as a military reserve for unexpected conflicts. For more comprehensive gameplay guidance, consult our Complete Guide to maximize your strategic approach.

Manor Lords remains in early access development, meaning specific mechanics may evolve through updates. Meanwhile, explore additional tactical approaches in our comprehensive Weapons Unlock strategies and Class Guide for specialized unit management.

No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Manor Lords: Army Combat Guide – Militias, Retinues, And Mercenaries Master Manor Lords combat with expert militia management, retinue customization, and strategic battle tactics