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Beginner's Guide to a Stable Economy
By Kageoni
This short guide is designed for new players of Manor Lords who want to build a strong and stable economy from the very beginning. It covers essential tips and step-by-step instructions to help you survive the challenging early years, manage resources efficiently, and set up a thriving medieval settlement. Whether you’re new to city-building games or just new to Manor Lords, this guide will help you get started on the right foot.
   
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Created by
Kageoni
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Category: Game Modes, Gameplay Basics
Languages: Hungarian
Posted
Updated
26 May @ 4:05am
26 May @ 4:29am
370 Unique Visitors
8 Current Favorites
Guide Index
Overview
📜 Introduction – Survive, Then Thrive 
🪓 Step 1: Start With the Basics 
🏠 Step 2: Burgage Plots and Housing 
🔥 Step 3: Winter is Coming – Prepare Fuel 
🍖 Step 4: Improving Food Production 
💱 Step 5: Trading and Income 
👨‍🌾 Step 6: Workforce Management 
📈 Bonus Tips for Stability 
✅ Suggested Build Order (Quick Recap) 
🏁 Conclusion – One Year at a Time 
Comments
📜 Introduction – Survive, Then Thrive
Welcome to Manor Lords, a medieval city-building and strategy game that doesn’t hold your hand. It’s beautiful, realistic—and can be brutal if you don’t plan ahead.

This guide will help you:
  • Survive the first winter
  • Create a reliable food and fuel supply
  • Grow your population without collapsing
  • Understand the basic economy and trade

Let’s begin!
🪓 Step 1: Start With the Basics

When the game starts, pause and look around.

You will need:
  • Wood – for construction
  • Food – to avoid starvation
  • Firewood – to survive winter
  • Storage buildings – to keep things from spoiling

Here’s what to build first:

  1. Logging Camp – Place near dense forest. Assign 2–3 workers.
  2. Storehouse – This holds general goods (wood, tools, hides, etc.).
  3. Granary – Holds food like berries, meat, and bread.
  4. Forager Hut – Build near berry bushes for an early food source.
  5. Woodcutter’s Lodge – Start producing firewood immediately.

👉 Tip: Don’t rush to build houses. A small population is easier to feed and warm early on.

🏠 Step 2: Burgage Plots and Housing
Once you have wood, food, and firewood production started, it’s time to house your people.

Build 3–4 Burgage Plots. These are multi-functional:
  • They house families
  • They can produce goods in backyards (vegetables, chickens, tallow)
  • They pay taxes later in the game

Important:
  • Make sure they are near a Well (clean water) and a Marketplace
  • Place them on roads and close together for efficiency
  • Enable backyard extensions when you're ready to produce food/goods

👉 Tip: You can upgrade Burgage Plots later. Keep room behind them for extensions.

🔥 Step 3: Winter is Coming – Prepare Fuel

By now, your first year is ticking by. Winter will hit hard if you’re not ready.

Make sure you:

  • Have at least 1 Woodcutter with plenty of logs
  • Stockpile 100–150 units of firewood before winter
  • Don’t build too many houses – more families = more heating needs

👉 People without firewood during winter will freeze to death. Monitor the fuel icon on homes!

🍖 Step 4: Improving Food Production
Berry season ends in winter, so you’ll need more permanent food sources:

  • Hunting Camp – Great for early meat and hides
  • Chicken Coop (Burgage upgrade) – Provides steady eggs and meat
  • Vegetable Garden (Burgage upgrade) – Simple and sustainable
  • Fields (Farming) – Long-term solution, but takes planning

👉 Don’t try to farm in Year 1 unless you have a large workforce. Farming is powerful but requires tools, oxen, and time.

💱 Step 5: Trading and Income
Once your economy stabilizes, you can expand into trading.

Build a Trading Post and:

  • Export surplus goods (firewood, hides, berries, etc.)
  • Import tools or food in emergencies
  • Generate regional wealth – needed for militia and upgrades

👉 Use the Trade panel to set auto-trade limits: e.g., “Sell firewood above 100 units.”

👨‍🌾 Step 6: Workforce Management
Your villagers are your most valuable resource.

Every adult can work—but not all jobs are equal.

Prioritize jobs like:
  • Logging
  • Firewood cutting
  • Foraging/hunting
  • Transport (cart pushers)

Use the Workforce tab (top right corner) to reassign jobs quickly.

👉 Tip: Don’t leave too many workers idle. But also don’t over-assign—balance is key.

📈 Bonus Tips for Stability
  • Always plan for winter. Check stocks every season.
  • Build slowly. More buildings = more needs.
  • Watch for red icons. They mean something’s going wrong.
  • Upgrade Burgage Plots when you can—but only with stable supply.
  • Check the Development Tree to unlock better production (windmills, bakeries, tanneries).

✅ Suggested Build Order (Quick Recap)
  1. Logging Camp
  2. Storehouse
  3. Granary
  4. Forager Hut
  5. Woodcutter’s Lodge
  6. Well
  7. Marketplace
  8. 3–4 Burgage Plots
  9. Hunting Camp / Chicken Coop
  10. Trading Post

🏁 Conclusion – One Year at a Time

Starting a village in Manor Lords isn’t about rapid expansion—it’s about survival, balance, and careful growth.

Don’t be afraid to restart. Every failure is a lesson.
And once your little village makes it through its first winter, you’ll feel like a true medieval lord.

Good luck out there, and may your harvests be bountiful! 🌾



If you found this guide useful, feel free to leave a thumbs up or share your own beginner tips in the comments!