How to claim new regions in Manor Lords

How to claim new regions in Manor Lords
Images via Slavic Magic

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

7th May 2024 09:11

If you've got big dreams in Manor Lords, learning how to claim new regions should be at the top of your to-do list in-game.

It's all well and good building a thriving settlement with enough food and fuel to last for years, but you're not going to get anywhere - nor gain any real influence - without expanding your control beyond your initial borders. This isn't easy though, requiring some tough choices and strategic victories - but it's definitely worth it in the long run.

Claiming new regions

You'll need to use 1,000 Influence or 'King's Favor' in order to claim an uncontrolled region in Manor Lords, and this scales up to 2,000 Influence when the region is controlled by another army.

Image of claiming a new region in Manor Lords
Click to enlarge

1,000 Influence is quite a significant amount, but this can be earned fairly easily once you start properly growing your settlement. You'll gain a fair amount once you first place your Manor - and will continue to earn more when you sign any new policies. However, I found that the best way to quickly earn it is by defeating bandits and raiders - or opposing armies if you're capable enough.

It doesn't appear as if there is a way to earn King's Favor in the current early access version, so you'll have to rely on your own Influence to be the driver of expansion.

Image of combat in Manor Lords
Click to enlarge

I was just under the 1,000 Influence required to unlock my first additional region, and winning a fight between both bandits and raiders earned me just under 900 of it in total, meaning that I wasn't too far away from two new regions! You will, of course, need to have an army that's good enough to do this - but you can always use some mercenaries to do the dirty work for you.

How to start a settlement in a new region

You'll already have a camp set up when you start a new save in Manor Lords, but when you expand into a new region, you'll have to use 250 Treasury in order to build a Settlers Camp. Without this, families will not be able to move into any Burgage plots that you build, as regions are entirely independent of each other.

Image of a Settlers Camp in Manor Lords
Click to enlarge

You can increase your Treasury by raising the taxation percentage in the Manor menu, which is pooled from your population's regional wealth. This does lower your approval rating, but it's a price worth paying in order to increase your power.

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Increase your skills alongside your influence by checking out our Manor Lords homepage, where we have everything you'll need to upgrade your Burgage plots, alongside my very own glowing review of the game.

Harry Boulton
About the author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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