Claiming territory is the main objective of both domination and conquest end goals in Manor Lords. However, gaining the ability to actually claim a region isn’t all that well explained, so I will try to demystify it.
Maps are broken up into 8 regions that you can see by scrolling all the way out. Depending on the rules you set, your AI opponent might start out with two of these claimed already, and it’s only a matter of time before they grab the rest.
At the time of writing, much of the AI opponent mechanics have not yet been entirely implemented. For example, since the AI doesn’t exist on the map, their ability to claim regions must be based on some factor that isn’t performance. For now, the best I can do is explain how region claiming works.
Currently, your only means of claiming territory is through influence.
How to gain influence in Manor Lords
Influence is gained in a number of ways. Raising a settlement’s level is the one you’re most likely to trip over. You also gain influence through outright conflict. Whenever you fight off brigands, you’ll be given influence based on your success.
The last and most consistent way to get influence is by giving tithes to the church. You can set a certain percentage of your surplus food stores to go to the church, which provides you with a steady flow of influence.
To pay tithes to the church, you need to construct a manor, which becomes available after you reach the small village stage. Once this is created, click on it to bring up its properties, then select the tax tab. You can then increase the amount of tithes that go to the church.
Over time, your influence will build. You’ll need 1000 of it to claim an empty region, and 2000 to claim one owned by an opponent.
How to claim a region
To claim a region in Manor Lords, zoom all the way out to the map view. Click on either an empty region or one held by your opponent. At the bottom of the screen will be the option to spend influence to claim the region.
This starts a timer. I assume this will, at some point, allow an opponent to counter-claim a region. Maybe it will be like an auction in Monopoly. It’s hard to say. But for now, I have never seen an opponent dispute a claim. Even when there were brigands parked in the region, nothing even slowed the timer.
Once it’s done, you have claimed the region. However, you have some more work to do in order to settle the region.
How to settle a region in Manor Lords
To settle a region in Manor Lords, you need to build a settlers camp, but that’s not as easy as it sounds. Each region has its own regional wealth, and it doesn’t carry over to other regions. In order to buy a settlers camp in a new region, you need money in your treasury.
You can’t directly transfer regional wealth to the treasury, unfortunately. Instead, you do this through taxes. As before, you use the manor to set taxes. The one you need to look at is Land Tax. However, note that this will affect your approval. If you’re trying to grow your village and your approval is already low, you won’t want to use this tax.
Once you set the tax, you just have to wait until the tax works its magic. At the minimal, you will need 250 in your treasury. However, if you pay more, you can provide better starting resources for your new settlement.
After you place the settlers camp in a new region, you’re going to go through the familiar process of establishing a town. It’s essentially isolated from your other region, so it needs its own resources to function. However, you can create a pack station that will allow you to send resources between your regions.
How to gain King’s Favor in Manor Lords
Another way to purchase in Manor Lords is to use King’s Favor. However, as of right now, this mechanic has not been fully implemented. So, don’t worry about it for now. Instead, just focus on influence.
