# Manor Lords Mega City Start Guide
> This guide plans the opening phase of a large settlement in Manor Lords, from stabilizing food and fuel to unlocking church access, trade, and industrial production. It is aimed at players who want a practical early-to-mid game setup for a sprawling city on the Wide Valley map.
- **Game:** Manor Lords
- **Category:** Getting Started
- **Author:** LongBeam (https://guides-factory.com/about)
- **Difficulty:** Intermediate
- **Reading time:** 12 min
- **Published:** 2026-08-31
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Tags:** Farming, Logistics, housing, industry, manor lords, militia, settlement setup, trade
- **Adapted from:** [Building the Ultimate Mega City in Manor Lords](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnnnBIugZuI)
- **Canonical URL:** https://guides-factory.com/guides/manor-lords-mega-city-start-guide
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This guide details the steps for establishing a large, sustainable settlement in Manor Lords on the Wide Valley map. You will learn how to stabilize essentials, unlock upgrades, set up trade and industrial chains, and prepare for both growth and defense. Each phase is backed by actionable steps and trade settings, so you can maximize expansion without triggering bottlenecks.
## Quick answer
| What | Answer |
|---|---|
| Starting map | Wide Valley |
| First priority | food, lumber, storage, water, shelter |
| Church requirement | 20 planks |
| Deep mine cost | 50 regional wealth and 10 planks |
| Construction yard staffing | 5 employees and 2 permanently assigned livestock |
| Raid timer | 321 days |
| Tool export target | 15 tools |
## Set up a stable early settlement
The foundation of your city is rapid access to food, lumber, water, and shelter. If you miss these, expansion stalls and your population drops.
Place the granary close to the forager's hut and the storehouse near the logging camp 1:55 ↗
Limit the logging camp's work area to the active timber zone 2:54 ↗
## Expand housing to unlock more workers
Housing shapes your population growth and supplies the labor for every chain. Carefully placed burgage plots allow for future expansions and unlock more workers.
Short plots allow future backyard extensions, such as vegetable gardens or artisan workshops 3:21 ↗
Increases total families per plot and boosts labor pool 3:51 ↗
Keep plots close to resource areas and future expansion roads 13:52 ↗
## Choose the right origin for farming or industry
Origin bonuses dictate your early game strengths. Pick the one that fits your intended growth, resource focus, and production style.
| Origin | Food & Farming | Artisans & Industry | Approval/Meta Effects | Penalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bamberg smallholders | Increased approval from food variety; improved tree planting | N/A | Tithe approval malice | None |
| Weeden Hinterlands | 20% increased farming efficiency at elevation; cheaper animal imports | Increased mining labor efficiency | Reduced artisan workshop efficiency | |
| Smiths of Passau | N/A | Increased blacksmith efficiency; weapon export value; handyman strength | Approval boost for well-equipped militia | 20% reduced livestock efficiency |
Smiths of Passau is best for settlements focused on iron and tool production, while Weeden Hinterlands favors high-elevation farming and animal import chains.
## Build the fuel, timber, and iron chain
Smooth construction and industry depend on keeping fuel, planks, and iron flowing, with careful placement and assignment.
## Use church access and level two plots to fund growth
Unlocking the church for your villagers allows you to upgrade burgage plots and start economic compounding. Control plank output so upgrades stay possible.
Starts regional wealth generation and allows artisan workshops 11:27 ↗
When limit is reached, workers switch to construction tasks 11:56 ↗
## Turn artisan workshops into a trade economy
Level two burgage plots unlock workshops that can power your trade and provide extra utility. Carefully manage output and surplus, and assign new workers to these productive sites.
| Workshop Setting | Action / Setting | Trade Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joiner's workshop | Produce wooden parts before shields | Export tools above surplus of 15 | Set workshop order: wooden parts first, then shields 20:04 ↗ |
| Livestock trading post | Import oxen, cows, calves | Export charcoal above 50 | Assign family to trading post when surplus is high 16:48 ↗ |
| Production limits | Order: wooden parts, small shields, large shields | N/A | You can pause extensions; set reserves for planks and parts |
| Export | Tools and charcoal | Minimum: 15 tools, 50 charcoal | Trading surplus earns regional wealth |
Check in game
The game does not allow fixed production limits like 10 wooden parts, 20 shields, and 5 planks; you can pause workshop extensions or reserve resources instead. Production limit controls shown in the joiner's workshop panel may reflect a previous patch. Always confirm current mechanics in your build.
## Stop the lumber bottleneck before it slows everything down
Timber and plank production will regularly stall your whole city if not managed. Oxen speed up material transport and storehouses keep workflow steady.
Responsive expansion keeps material flow steady 20:37 ↗
Reduces bottlenecks in the settlement core 17:17 ↗
## Plan food, farming, and defense for the next phase
The next phase prepares your city for seasonal shifts, raids, and further expansion. Assign production jobs seasonally, balance food sources, and start military upgrades.
Your settlement's food stability depends on early planning and the right crop mix. **Fisherman's huts and forager's huts cannot operate in winter**; set their assignments seasonally to avoid wasted labor. Backyard gardens on burgage plots will yield vegetables that mature at different rates: carrots (medium, ~14 weeks), cabbages (high, ~18 weeks), and beetroots (low, ~10 weeks). Orchards require a lead time of 2–4 years, so start plots as early as possible.
Chicken coops help bridge late-year gaps when vegetables cannot mature before winter. In addition, keep food storage above one year's supply before expanding further.
Defensively, raiders are expected in 321 days; you need a **military presence** (militia or mercenaries) before that timer runs out. Without a manor, you cannot tax or pay for mercenaries, so plan your manor placement for treasury access and make it a priority.
As your industry grows, consider placing multiple mining pits on rich iron deposits to maximize tool output. Always match housing near industry or farms for efficiency in supply chains.
## Also worth knowing
Careful planning
- **Workshops can reserve supplies before producing**. You can set them to wait for a minimum stockpile (such as 20 planks) before starting shield production, preventing immediate consumption of critical materials.
- **Sawpits benefit from minimum lumber limits**. Setting a reserve (like 10 lumber) keeps the sawpit from consuming all available wood for planks and balances timber use across needs.
- **Seasonal assignments are key for food jobs**. Assign workers to fisherman's huts and forager's huts only when they can operate — those jobs stop in winter.
- **Construction yards reduce need for unassigned families**. With a construction yard staffed, you rarely require idle families for ox assignment and construction; it also acts as a material storage point.
- **Multiple mining pits can be stacked on rich iron deposits**. This maximizes tool and iron slab output.
- **A manor is required for treasury and mercenary hiring**. Without it, you cannot tax and will be locked out of hiring mercenaries to defend against raids.
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## FAQ
### What should you build first in Manor Lords on this map?
Start with food, lumber, storage, water, and shelter. A logging camp, forager’s hut, granary, storehouse, and burgage plots create the basic stability needed to grow without running out of essentials. Once that base is in place, add fuel and production buildings before expanding too aggressively.
### What unlocks church access and level two burgage plots?
A church is the key requirement. It costs 20 planks, and once it is built, burgage plots can be upgraded to level two. Those upgrades also unlock regional wealth generation and artisan workshops.
### What is the best use of early iron and planks?
Iron should be turned into tools and trade goods as soon as possible. A mining pit, bloomery, and smithy create a chain that supports tool production and gives something valuable to export. Planks are a bottleneck, so they need limits and careful allocation rather than being spent freely.
### How do you keep sawpits and other workshops from wasting materials?
Set production limits on each workshop instead of letting them run indefinitely. That keeps key materials like planks available for construction and prevents artisans from consuming all of the output before it can be used elsewhere. It also helps if nearby workers live close to the buildings they support.