How to get more fighters for your Retinue in Manor Lords. How to hire Retinue units in Manor Lords

While Manor Lords emphasizes peaceful settlement development, military readiness becomes crucial when confronting bandits and rival lords. Your Retinue represents the cornerstone of defensive capabilities—elite heavy infantry units that unlock after constructing your Manor. These professional soldiers operate through a specialized interface that requires strategic financial planning and resource allocation.

Managing your Retinue effectively demands understanding two distinct currency systems: Regional Wealth for civilian development and Treasury coins exclusively for military expenditures. This separation ensures that military expansion doesn’t compromise your settlement’s economic foundation, though it requires careful budgeting to maintain both aspects simultaneously.

Accessing Retinue management begins with opening your army interface and selecting the Retinue option. A distinctive paintbrush symbol will materialize above the selected unit—clicking this icon reveals the comprehensive management panel where recruitment, equipment purchases, and customization occur.

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Currently, the recruitment system offers two potential pathways for expanding your Retinue, though one remains inaccessible during early game phases. Presently, your only option involves recruiting Men-At-Arms at a cost of 50 Treasury coins per soldier—note that this expense draws from your military treasury rather than general Regional Wealth. Each newly recruited unit arrives fully equipped with standard-issue gear, eliminating immediate additional equipment costs.

Seasoned players should prioritize establishing stable Treasury coin generation before significant military expansion. A common mistake involves recruiting too many Retinue members prematurely, which can cripple your economic development. For optimal strategy, maintain a balance where military spending constitutes no more than 30-40% of your total economic output during the mid-game phase.

The armor enhancement interface appears on the right side of the Retinue management screen. Critical understanding: advanced armor pieces like Plate Mail that you’ve previously acquired or manufactured won’t automatically equip your Retinue units—unlike militia troops who receive automatic gear updates. You must deliberately purchase these improvements through your merchants, again utilizing Treasury coins exclusively.

Fortunately, armor purchases for Retinue convert the Treasury coins back into Regional Wealth, creating an economic circulation that benefits your settlement’s overall development. The import armor alternative carries significant financial drawbacks—costing twice the standard price while providing no economic return to your treasury.

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Advanced armor upgrades typically require 4-6 hours of in-game time to become economically viable through domestic production. Prioritize establishing blacksmith operations before military expansion to ensure cost-effective equipment access. The armor improvement progression generally follows: Leather → Chainmail → Plate Armor, with each tier providing substantial defensive improvements but requiring progressively greater economic investment.

Successful Retinue management hinges on anticipating military needs 2-3 seasons in advance. Begin Treasury coin accumulation during peaceful periods to ensure readiness when threats emerge. The most effective commanders establish military infrastructure during Year 2, allowing for full Retinue deployment by Year 3 when external threats typically intensify.

Avoid the common error of treating Retinue as disposable militia—these elite units represent long-term investments requiring protection during engagements. Their superior equipment and training make them significantly more effective than standard troops but also represent greater financial loss if eliminated in battle.

For comprehensive military strategy development, consult our Complete Guide to understand how professional armies function across different gaming environments.

Understanding unit specialization is crucial—different Retinue types excel in specific combat scenarios. Our Class Guide provides additional insights into military role differentiation that can inform your Manor Lords tactics.

Weapon proficiency directly impacts Retinue effectiveness. While this guide focuses on armor and recruitment, our Weapons Unlock resource offers parallel principles for equipment optimization that translate well to medieval warfare contexts.

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