Manor Lordscombines city building, population management, and military warfare into one, giving you a lot to focus on. While making sure that your land thrives, you will need to manage your militia, which involves designating units and providing them with weapons and armor.
Don’t know which units to focus on? We’re here to help. Here, we are going to rank every unit in the game, as well as go over how to get them all. Overall, there are not that many, but you definitely want to prioritize the best, as every resource in the game is quite valuable.
Manor Lords is currently in Early Access on Steam and as such, the content is subject to change. We will update these articles as required.
6Polearm Militia
How To Get:
At the bottom of our list, we have Polearm Militia members. These militia members aren’t necessarily bad, but they aren’t quite as efficient as the others. A member of the Polearm Militia will need a Polearm but no shield, which can leave openings for them to take damage.
Interestingly, the Polearm Militia is similar to the Spear Militia, although this latter group has access to shields. Due to this, we’ve placed the Polearm Militia a little lower on the list. If you do want to use Polearm Militia, we highly recommend investing in some armor.
5Militia Footmen
Militia Footmen are one step above the Polearm Militia. These units have small shields, which provide some defense. Still, we also suggest making armor (and helmets) for this troop to use. While this unit type isn’t amazing, they can still get the job done.
Having various types of units is great, but try not to prioritize the Militia Footmen. If you do happen to have sidearms and small shields though, go for it!
4Archer Militia
This is the only ranged unit that you can create, making them quite valuable. Although they aren’t as defensive as other units, you will be able to attack enemies from a distance. With a line of Spear Militia taking the lead, followed by Archer Militia behind them, you can create a solid army.
Of course, the downfall of the Archer Militia is the low defense. If an enemy is at close range, you can select the ‘shoot at will’ option, which causes the archers to shoot forward rather than in a volley. This is great if the enemy is close, but you run the risk of archers taking damage. To prevent them from dying though, be sure to make armor.
3Hired Mercenaries
Hiring mercenaries can be a mixed bag, especially since there is no permanent group to hire from. Instead, you will be able to hire mercenaries from a rotating selection each month. For example, above, you can see that we have three options, with each one having at least one archer unit.
For the most part though, hiring mercenaries is a great option if youhave enough money in your treasury. This is the money that you get from taxes, displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. At the start of a game, this will be zero, making it hard to hire mercenaries right away.
To build up your treasury, be sure to set a tax rate from manors built in each territory.
2Spear Militia
The Spear Militia is the bread-and-butter of your military. Once you have enough materials, you should focus on making equipment for the Spear Militia. These units use a long spear and hold the bigger shield size, making them great for both melee attacking and defending.
While this is one of the best units, we still recommend making others, such as the Archer Militia. We know that times are tough in Manor Lords though; if you don’t have the resources to make spears, just attempt to have one militia group set up.
1Retinue
The best unit that you’re able to use is the Retinue. This is a group of soldiers that can be customized in both appearance and equipment. After successfully battling, your retinue can also gain experience. Overall, this group is the best of the best.
In addition to hiring new Retinue members, you can also spend money from your treasury to upgrade their gear. This gives them better armor as well, which can help in tough battles. Don’t forget to customize the colors of your Retinue!
Currently, you are not able to recruit Retinue members from your village, but this is a work in progress and will be available eventually.
