[Guide] Tips, Tricks, and Known Issues for Manor Lords.

[Matt (Hooded Horse)]

Hi folks, I'm Matt the Community Manager for Hooded Horse. We put together a list of tips, tricks, and other vital information to help you along in Manor Lords. If you've discovered anything about the game that you think would help others, please feel free to share it here.

Here is a list of official resources that you can use too.

• Steam Community Guide: This guide may offer additional insights or workarounds discovered by the community.
  
• Manor Lords Official Wiki:[hoodedhorse.com] Our official wiki can be helpful for troubleshooting and learning more about game mechanics.
  
• Manor Lords Discord:[discord.com] For real-time assistance, join our Discord and ask in the relevant channel. Other players and our support team may offer immediate advice.
  
  

  Essential Early Game Tips

  What should I build first to gather and store basic supplies?
  
• Start with essential structures in this order: a granary, a storehouse, a logging camp, and a woodcutter. Postpone constructing burgage plots until these are in place. Do not upgrade the Homeless People’s Tents to a Worker’s Camp.
  
  Should I focus on farming at the beginning?
  
• Avoid farming initially, as it’s a massive undertaking. Rely on hunting/gathering and burgage plot extensions (Vegetable Plots, Chicken Coops) to sustain your town. Note fertile areas for later use.
  
  When should I start building burgage plots and food production buildings?
  
• A Hunting Camp is free to build, so provided there is a nearby herd of deer, you should build that as soon as your Granary is up and running. A Forager Hut will depend on how close your nearest source of berries is – slot it in as soon as you can, but you could also prioritize getting backyard extensions up and running instead.
  
  How soon should I build a marketplace?
  
• Establish a Marketplace when your Burgage Plots are populated to distribute goods to the people. Food, firewood, clothes, and other essentials will not be distributed without a Marketplace.
  
• It’s important to note that Marketplaces have a range-like effect based on goods present. If you have 100% of your needs, you’re covering 100% of existing Burgage Plots regardless of location within the same region, however there is a proximity effect in that houses closer to the Market get their needs fulfilled first.
  
  Is it important to have a church and other amenities early on?
  
• Assuming normal difficulty settings, a Church isn’t that important within your first year, and is only a requirement once you want to start upgrading Burgage Plots to Level 2. A Food Stall with diverse food types (e.g., berries, and meat) will boost village approval ratings initially, setting the stage for additional structures like a Tannery and advancing to level 2 Burgage Plots.
  
  

  General Gameplay FAQs

  Do you need empty houses for people to immigrate to your village?
  
• Yes, empty houses are necessary for attracting new villagers. Note that if you upgraded your Homeless People’s Tents into a Worker’s Camp, your population won’t move out into empty burgage plots. This is a known issue, and we do not recommend upgrading the Homeless People’s Tents in your starting region unless you then delete the Worker's Camp.
  
  Can you set a maximum production limit on items?
  
• No, the game does not currently support setting maximum production limits, however Artisan extensions can be paused by selecting the building in question and pressing the pause button located at the top right corner of the Burgage Plot UI.
  
  Why does my Ox keep running away?
  
• Consider adding another Hitching Post or upgrading it to a Stable. Animals run away if there’s no place for them to stay.
  
  What do Horses, Oxen, and Mules do?
  
• Horses allow traders to move larger quantities of goods via carts. They are not used for anything else right now.
  Mules are used by the Pack Station to move goods between regions.
  
• Oxen are used to haul around timber, and if you take the right development branch, can be used to plow a field.
  
• Oxen are also crucial for early game transportation of timber – for construction but also for things like the saw mill. Consider buying an extra one early.
  
  What is the King’s Road, and how do I connect to it?
  
• The King’s Road connects all regions. You need to build a road that ultimately connects to a pre-existing King’s Road. There is a known issue where sometimes it says you’re not connected, even when you are.
  
  Retinue
  
• You can get a Retinue when you build your Manor. It can be increased in size by building certain buildings via the Castle Planner. To increase the size of your retinue, you must first build a Garrison Tower in the Castle Planner, and then customize your retinue, spending Treasury to add individuals.
  
  Trade
  
• Once you’ve built a Trading Post, you can import and export items.
  You have to set up a “Trade Rule” on each individual item you want to buy or sell, this can be found on the far left of each individual item line, which will be set to “No Trade” by default. This is a drop-down menu that you can change.
  
• Setting the Stockpile number will mean you will either be importing or exporting until your stockpile reaches the desired number using your Trade Rule to determine if this Trading Post will only import or export to reach the desired number, or do both to maintain it.
  
• While ALL goods can have a dedicated Trade Route set-up (which means there is a dedicated merchant buying and selling that product) certain high-tier items (e.g Tools, Weapons) can ONLY be imported and exported once you’ve set up the corresponding Trade Route. This is done by clicking on the button on the far right of each individual item line, and requires Regional Wealth to set up.
  
  Regional Wealth vs Personal Treasury
  
• Regional Wealth, found along the top info panel to the left of the settlement name, is a representation of the wealth of your population.
  It is used to purchase backyard and artisan extensions for Burgage Plots, as well as animals like Oxen, Sheep, etc. and to import goods at the Trading Post or Livestock Trading Post.
  It is generated via trade, as well as Level 2 or higher Burgage Plots
  
  
• The Treasury is found in the upper right and is a representation of your character’s personal funds.
  It is used to hire mercenaries, as well as fund the settlement of other regions using Settlers Camps.
  It is generated via Tax and other Policies, as well as clearing out Bandit Camps.
  For Tax, you need to have regional wealth. No Regional Wealth = no tax income to your Treasury
  
  

  Resource Management and Production

  How to make ale?
  Grow barley, process it into malt at a Malthouse, and brew it into ale at a level 2 or higher burgage plot with a Brewery extension. Ale is used by the Tavern to satisfy the “Entertainment” requirement of higher tier Burgage Plots, but it does not make the Ale itself. You can also import barley and malt to process it into ale, or you can directly import ale as well.
  
  How do you produce enough food?
  
• Utilize Chicken Coops for eggs and vegetable gardens for substantial produce – for the latter, a larger Burgage plot with a bigger backyard will give better yields, although requires more time to be worked on.
  
• Establish Orchards for apples, though they take three years to reach full production. Consider additional sources like honey from Apiaries (which also needs a development point) and traditional methods like hunting and farming.
  
  Hunters are refusing to hunt, why?
  
• Ensure that hides go to the Storehouse and meat goes to the Granary; otherwise, the hunters’ function will be disrupted. Families assigned to the Storehouse and Granary will move these goods to their respective storage locations. Also check that you haven’t accidentally depleted the herd, or whether the herd has depleted to your set hunting cap. Consider re-assigning hunting families to another temporary job to let the herd regenerate – for example, you could bounce the same family between the Forager Hut and the Hunting Camp, as Berry deposits are seasonal.
  
  Why does my sawmill not make planks?
  
• The Sawmill requires timber to create planks. This timber needs transporting with an Ox from the logging pit (or from the forest, if freshly cut) to the Sawmill for it to do its job. If you don’t have enough timber, or unassigned families to work the Ox to transport the timber, then production will halt.
  
  How do I know how much [X] is producing?
  
• Manor Lords deliberately obfuscates output and consumption numbers in most cases, so you will never know your production output with 100% accuracy, especially in terms of food, etc.
  
• Burgage Plots consume one food and one fuel per month, with fuel consumption doubling in Winter.
  
• The Barrel symbol to the left of the settlement name along the top info panel will tell you roughly how many months of food and firewood reserves your settlement has. Use this as an indicator as to whether your population is growing too fast, and adjust accordingly.}
  
  

  Expansion and Conquest

  How do we settle new regions?
  
• Claim regions with influence and establish a Settler’s Camp using funds from your Treasury. This camp starts with some resources, facilitating the establishment of a Logging Camp and other structures.
  
• You will need to build a Pack Station to trade resources between two regions. This requires both regions to have goods to barter, and Storehouses or Granaries to store the bartered goods. You can also trade resources between two regions using Trading Posts, but this costs regional wealth and is better reserved for later use.
  
• It costs 1,000 influence to claim an unclaimed region, 2,000 to claim a region owned by the AI lord.
  Influence can be gained from clearing out bandit camps, building a Manor, and collecting tithe at the Manor.
  
  

  Seasonal Work and Crop Management

  Do farmers still work in winter?
  
• The current cycle for farming is:
  September - Harvest
  October & November - Plowing then sowing
  Winter - Anything not sown to 100% will die off
  
  

  Strategic Expansion and Military Tactics

  How do I effectively use military forces against AI or bandits?
  
• Use notifications about AI movements to your advantage, especially if they indicate an attack on a bandit camp. This is an opportunity to engage strategically and capture resources with minimal conflict.
  Misc.
  
• You are capped at 6 militia units per region
  
• Mercenary Companies require payment every month. Available mercenaries refresh every month, however there is a known issue where sometimes the AI Baron will hire a lot of mercenaries, leaving none for the player. Make sure you disband mercenary units to disband the Mercenary Company – otherwise, you’ll keep paying them.
  
  

  Other Known Issues and Common Misconceptions

  Apart from those mentioned above, here is a collection of commonly reported known issues that you may encounter:
  
  
  Archers are potentially underpowered right now. They were considered overpowered prior to launch, and balancing them is an ongoing concern.
  
• Pressing the TAB key can reveal more information about a variety of on-map game elements.
  
• Oxen are crucial for early game transportation of timber – for construction but also for things like the saw mill. Consider buying an extra one early.
  
• Certain goods, like Tools, don’t have a function and are only there to be exported to generate regional wealth. There is a plan to make them more useful in the future as the game develops.
  
• You need to ensure there is space in the Logging Camp to pick up timber from demolished buildings, otherwise they will remain in place. You can build extra Logging Camps that don’t need to be staffed by a family to create extra storage.
  
• If you are playing in Peaceful mode, there is no underground water so you don’t need to place the Well in a specific location.
  
• The Livestock Trader comes with its own capacity to house Sheep. Sheep won’t move out of the Livestock Trader and into any Pastures you’ve created until you exceed the capacity of the Livestock Trader first. There is no way to force Sheep into pastures.
  A Sheep Farm is used to passively collect Wool from sheep in the Livestock Trader and Pastures. It also comes with its own capacity to house Sheep, but Sheep don’t need to be in it for Wool to be generated. Sheep will protitize going to Pastures over Sheep Farms if both are present.
  
• The different outpost versions when settling a new region are a WIP feature and not available currently. You can only pick the first one.
  
  If you are having an issue with the Game Pass version of the game, please consider these steps first:
  
• Check that Gaming Services, the Xbox app, and Game Bar are up to date. You can do this by opening the Microsoft Store app and going to ‘Library’
  
• Make sure the user is signed in to their Xbox account in the Xbox app and Game Bar (Win+G)
  
• Try uninstalling and reinstalling Gaming Services
  
  If you are continuing to have issues, please go to the Bug Report area of the Discord and file a bug report.

[Fernandinho Piccoli]

Hello, I am having a issue where I finish the "campaign" and when I choose to keep going with my city, the "end game" screen keep coming back, which makes impossible to keep going with the infinite mode.

[a small rabbit]

Should definitely consider incorporating some of these into a starting tutorial for the game especially if there is a recommended order for the first buildings.

[†FullDuplex†]

Originally posted by Fernandinho Piccoli:

Hello, I am having a issue where I finish the "campaign" and when I choose to keep going with my city, the "end game" screen keep coming back, which makes impossible to keep going with the infinite mode.

I just came here to say the same. I created a new "relaxed" game, but did set a goal "growth" . After the final "victory" screen i clicked on "continue in sandbox mode" and the victory screen now pops up every 2-3 minutes again. Than i can play and the screen pops up again, which makes playing now sort of annoying. Now, I don't have a problem with creating a new game but I feel it's important to let you know so that this problem can be fixed.

Also: I had supplies on the ground that would not be able to be picked up. They were in place for almost all of the game (charcoal)

[Angelillus]

Same here. I was creating my city so calmly, enjoying the experience, when the "sandbox" thing came up. Now it is impossible to continue. It's very frustrating and I don't want to start a new game, so I'm leaving the game until they fix that.

[TRUSKIE]

These tips are great Matt, thanks. I have noticed a UI bug though mainly with the trade posts, both Trading and livestock - where you are fighting against it "snapping to" the general tab and wherever else you want to be. I am having trouble getting more Oxen sadly, with both a livestock trade, several leveled up stables. Still, it's beautiful.
You and your team are doing what bigger studios struggled to do.
This is like the Last Epoch of this genre, I hope you make other studios turn heads. Remarkable work.

This game is completely and astoundingly beautiful. It reminds me of when I lived in Slovenia (the peaceful mode lol), the musical score is amazing.

[Last_Souldier]

Hello - I had a couple concerns I thought I'd bring up.

1. I bought the herb garden extension for my forager hut and when I moved the hut to another position close by the herb garden is gone. The game is asking me to re-buy the herb garden for another 25 regional wealth. I believe this should be fixed since I already bought the extension on my forager hut. I am not asking that all forager huts should now have the extension - only the ones that I bought the herb garden for.

2. Additionally - there should be an option to extend the property area of burgage plots. When I first started the game - I had no idea that the property could be extended to accommodate gardens, coups and other additions. I had to demolish my original burgage plots and regbuild them with larger areas. I think the game should allow us to extend the property area instead of demolishing and rebuilding again.

3. Roads: I was attempting to build a manor in the centre of my town but realized that roads were in the way. There should be a way to get rid of unused roads to help with cosmetics and logistics of our towns.

Thats all for now. Thanks for your help!

[Thux ei'eth]

when buildings get burnt down villagers dont move back into them after being rebuilt

[ShepherdOfCats]

I feel like markets maybe need their own sticky with more in-depth overview.

A few key questions:

Is it better to build a big market plot at the beginning? It seems like the people won't open a stall at any other plots I put down near the edges of town if they don't fill the first one, first. This seems very inefficient, so should I just demolish the first market I built and then lay out a smaller zone, wait for them to fill it and then add another market somewhere else?

What's an ideal market zone size? I don't really want markets spread out all over the place but I don't want my people starving either.

I put down a 25-stall square outline for my first market (I envisioned this being my 'city center') and then put down a smaller '4-stall-size- square down the street next to a tavern on the edge of town, hoping they'd put down some basic stall like food but they haven't built *anything* there yet, and houses on the outskirts of my village aren't getting any food. It sounds like a heck of a business opportunity but no one is building there yet.

[widespreadpanick]

Originally posted by Bokōdā:

when buildings get burnt down villagers dont move back into them after being rebuilt

I second this, and the families who lose their home seem to be permanently unable to move to any other home. I tried multiple reloads.

But also -- after this glitch I started a new game and decided to use the difficulty option that turns off adverse weather effects. But on the 2nd year, I still got two lightning fires.

[First Strike]

Winter is resetting my 100% sowed fields across 3 different saves and across all types of crops. The reset results in 0% plow, 0% sow empty ground. I'm shocked to learn that this is not by design from this post.

[drompolo]

Originally posted by Fernandinho Piccoli:

Hello, I am having a issue where I finish the "campaign" and when I choose to keep going with my city, the "end game" screen keep coming back, which makes impossible to keep going with the infinite mode.

The exact thing happened to me :( I cant continue in sandbox mode, the game hard locks you with a cutscene then it freezes.

[Nekho]

Hello, it would have been great to see a point on 'magical' thiefs stoling our ressource (or add a bit of Lore/reason under this mechanic), and the way (the only one?) we have to counter this loss. Thanks

[Einhander]

Militia cap is 5 total.... no matter how many regions you got. Makes the last fight kind of hard without having 5+ retinue.

[NeedH1l]

Hello, can I set a time when my peasants stop work on fields? They prefer to start pow fields once again in October/November instead of making grain, flour and bread, so my village starves, how can I prohibit second powing in year? I will be pleased with your answer, thank you

[LiteBreeze]

Originally posted by Last_Souldier:

Hello - I had a couple concerns I thought I'd bring up.

3. Roads: I was attempting to build a manor in the centre of my town but realized that roads were in the way. There should be a way to get rid of unused roads to help with cosmetics and logistics of our towns.

Hold ALT and click a road to remove it :)
Took me ages to figure that out, but it is noted on the road tool tips.