Manor Lords: All unit types and how to recruit them to your army

A lord must protect their fief

Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse

Though medieval city-builder Manor Lords is not intended to rival Total War or Age of Empires, it does feature a combat system and throws threats like bandit incursions or battles against fellow lords in your way to spice up the peaceful settlement development at its core.

However, armies are still intricately linked with your settlements: Every soldier you field is one of the townspeople living under your protection. While they’re out on military service, they can’t get any of their regular work done. If they die, they leave not just a hole in the hearts of their families, but also in your economy. Likewise, all the gear your troops use must be physically present in your settlements and either be produced there or imported. Your approval rating amongst the people feeds into military matters as well, as troops will have higher morale if they like living under your rule.

A healthy town leads to a strong military in Manor Lords, so be sure to check out our beginner tips to get the foundations right. As for what unit types Manor Lords has to offer and how to get them recruited into your army, you can find out all about that below.

All unit types in Manor Lords and how to recruit them

Units in Manor Lords are generally divided into two categories – militia and mercenaries. We’ll begin with the militia category, as it’s the one you’ll rely on for much of the early game.

• Militia Footmen – requires Sidearms, Small Shields, and 36 men
• Spear Militia – requires Spears, Large Shields, and 36 men
• Polearm Militia – requires Polearms, and 36 men
• Archer Militia – requires Warbows, and 36 men
• Retinue – no gear and manpower requirements

Militia troops are raised from the men of your settlements and equip themselves with the gear stored in their houses. Each unit is generally formed from 36 individuals, so to field one unit of Militia Footmen you’ll need 36 men, 36 Sidearms, and 36 Small Shields. Learn how to grow your population in order to field larger armies.

The military panel easily lets you recruit new units or hire mercenaries. / Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse

In addition, all troops can be equipped with Helmets, Gambesons, and Mail Armor to boost their effectiveness in combat – but consider these a bonus. Units can still be raised and set to battle without this protective equipment.

There is also the Retinue, a heavy infantry unit consisting of professionals living at your Manor. After building a Manor (and not just the first one; each Manor comes with its own Retinue unit), you initially get five of these men with the option to hire up to a dozen. By building a Garrison Tower at your Manor, you can increase their unit size limit to 24. You don’t need to provide your Retinue with equipment and instead hire them fully equipped in exchange for Treasure.

You can already customize the looks of your Retinue. In the future, these men will be able to gain different skill sets. / Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse

Which gets us to the second category of army units in the game – mercenaries. They are not formed from townsfolk and you won’t need to provide them with gear either. Instead, you hire them by paying Treasure – ideally for a short time, as costs quickly mount up.

• Brigands
• Light Mercenary Footmen
• Light Mercenary Spears
• Light Mercenary Archers
• Heavy Mercenary Archers

Mercenaries always come as part of Mercenary Companies. / Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse

Naturally, using mercenaries in combat has the advantage of not putting your loyal subjects into danger and ensures that you’re fielding experienced veterans – your militia won’t quite have the discipline a strong mercenary outfit does.