Rising Lords Guide: Tips and Strategies
Rising Lords is a strategy war game based in a medieval setting, and it does a wonderful job of bringing out the glory of that era. In this guide, we’ll be taking an in-depth look into the gameplay and discussing some topics that’ll give you a better understanding of the game and how to get started.
Managing your Regions
In this section, we’ll talk about managing your regions so that you can maintain a steady supply of resources to fuel your empire.
Optimize your Economy
Each peasant can successfully herd 550 sheep, 500 cows, and 300 horses per field (the maximum limit is triple these numbers). So if you have 400 sheep and two fields, every field will have 200 sheep each, which is a waste of resources because one peasant can hold up to 550 sheep in a field.
Unless you have double the livestock in your town, it’s best to free up spare fields for wheat because it’s more efficient. So once you have 1000 sheep, get two fields for sheep and the rest for wheat or other livestock, and so on.
Some players may assign two peasants to a single field, but there is a shortage of workers in the early game. You should only invest the resources once you have all of them maxed out, such as 3 peasants and 1500 sheep.
Make use of Merchants
Buying from merchants costs almost the same as transporting goods from one region to another.
Unless you’re transporting goods in massive numbers, it’s often better to both buy and sell items from the merchants.
Resource Management
Identify a resource that’s not as important and use it aggressively to fund your growth. For example, stone is unnecessary for any early defense structures or items. You can simply mine it, sell it to a merchant, and use the gold to buy essential resources. This tip is handy at every stage of the game.
Maintaining a Diverse Food Supply
Negative events in the game can ruin your resources. So having a surplus is not always enough. You also need to diversify your supply so that if one gets affected, your people won’t starve. People also enjoy multiple food items, so having two food items will boost your region’s happiness.
Optimal Structure Placements
In Rising Lords, you can build structures on anything next to a Town Hall so make sure to fortify it with buildings on its side instead of simply walling it off. Walls get more expensive the more you build in any given region, so save them for the outermost parts, especially since constructing structures in swamps and forests consumes more resources.
Maintaining Your Army and Fighting Battles
Town management is only half the equation. It’s also important to maintain a standing army and proactively attack your enemies before they can overpower you.
Combat Strategy
Be patient, as the AI can play way more optimally than you do, so if you’re not prepared, you will fail. Every unit has a gold cost and reduces the region’s population and happiness. So be careful when you hire troops for battle.
Instead, you can invest in defensive structures and try to unlock walls and castles as soon as possible. This will protect you from an encroaching army, especially if you’re not prepared to fight them right away.
Also, try to build your defenses close to swamps, as it reduces the movement of all units (except Peasants) to 1.
Build a Specific Army
Either go for ranged or cavalry so that you can take full advantage of the skill cards at your disposal. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Archers, for example, can attack from range without getting countered. You can even increase their range by positioning them on hills. Their melee attack isn’t as powerful, so make sure to maintain distance at all times or have some cavalry tank for them.
Choosing the Right Cards
At the beginning of every battle, you can accept or reject your drawn skill cards. You start with 4 cards, and if you choose to reject your hand, you’ll draw one less card every time.
Skill cards can sway the tide of battles if used correctly, so it’s important to start with the right set, especially if you’re fighting tough enemies.
Hire Mercenaries
Mercenaries are expensive, but they are powerful and are capable of replenishing their ranks. Having at least one will bolster your army’s power rating.
Protect the General
Protect the General at all costs. Losing a General severely affects an army’s morale. If you’re in danger, make sure to have another unit nearby, as the General can try to run to a nearby unit once their unit is defeated.
Upgrade Troops
Units gain experience both by participating in battles and passively in between battles. Level 2 units have 20% more attack and defense, and level 3 units have 40% more stats instead.
How to Charge More Tax?
Increase the happiness of your region by building bathhouses, churches, and inns. Once happiness increases, you can double or even triple the tax in your region.
Charging more taxes will decrease the happiness of your citizens. If unhappiness persists for long, the people will mount a rebellion against you. Increasing taxes also affect your population growth, so try to maintain a balance between rations and taxes to maintain stable growth.
How to Get Mounted Units?
You need horses to mount units. Also, Spearmen are effective against mounted units, so position them accordingly in battles.
How to Maintain High Morale in Battles?
In Rising Lords, you must defeat more units to increase morale. Morale decreases when a unit is attacked twice in the same turn or upon losing units. Morale is also affected by supplies, so make sure you have enough gold and food before going into battle.
So if you want to win a battle without losing too many troops, target the enemy General or try to capture their camp. The resulting hit to their morale will make it easier to defeat the remaining troops, as they’ll cower in fear and even flee from the battlefield in some cases.
