Newbie stronghold question

[tenthousand]

Hey there,

So I see that I can claim different strongholds, but I'm not sure the benefit.

I have the first stronghold, and enough manpower to claim a second. My party is only 4 players so no one gets left behind.

What's the benefit of switching strongholds? Is there an ideal stronghold you want? Or should I stick with the first stronghold until I max it out?

So far I only have a quartermaster, a merchant, and 4 party members. When should I look at moving my stronghold?

[Voldski]

Well i am not 100% sure about this, but from what i seen and observered the manpower needed to claim increases your maximum followers or unit number. While you need manpower in itself to unlock addiotional npcs with unique functions, like qaurtermaster and so forth..

So guess depends on how you prioritize things, for instance you can have a small camp with small number units and a lot of NPC with camp functions with manpower of 8000 for instance, while initially having few party units.

Or you can have a massive party roster and prioritize less on npcs with camp functions.

Or try aim for a balance. Personally i would try to get get Qaurtermaster, blacksmith and appraiser or merchant as soon as possible. As i personality think those are really crucial npc units to have a maximum efficient base. Then later locksmith, but in essence you don't really need locksmith as you will find one in a dungeon. So his more a convience npc unit really but others i think to me are essential.

Qaurtermaster because he/she will unlock extra camp inventory space, but will also try sell items for you with moderately low success.

Blacksmith because they're essential to upgrading items to eventually unlock soul weapons which are best in game.

Appraise because they can really opt money value you get for items, which can then be spend to buy items from merchants to upgrade equipment quicker.

Merchant because they randomly appear with items you can buy to upgrade weapons, opposed to have to seeking them out through ransom options or chests.

As for last part, i would say it's always a good thing to have some free space for NPC you meet you want to have. Especially since if you asked them to join and don't have space for them they will disappear from recruiting options(so if you don't have camp space for more, remember not to ask to recruit them till you do). That said if you're not recruiting specific important character i would personally aim for high manpower foremost, you unlock more npc with camp functions as it will help a lot more than recruiting units you don't use.

Hope it covered some questions you had.

[Amateur Nitpicker]

Meh just gonna say this, if you have only one more space for a single member left, then it is time to find a new stronghold.
Most players miss out special companions ( companions that have special scenes and such) because there is no room for them in the stronghold ***These companions once gone are gone forever, unlike the the generic or "roster" characters***. The top 2 that usually misses out are Kirilo OR Greave

Here is a list of Strongholds and their upkeep
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LO2On47Ui0-HHoLH5do79GYtiUPEKKXayKub9Ip_wwA/edit#gid=0

And a list of special characters
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y1YUntfJnsBSKlEbfScJZw20wVnKmI5G_s-EpgzHXTY/edit#gid=987419516

Also there are great guides on how to produce a higher amount of manpower to get better strongholds

[tenthousand]

Thanks, that's super helpful!