Manor Lords On the Edge Mode Guide – How to survive raids

The On the Edge scenario gives you a limited time (one year) to build defenses against enemies while trying to establish your town's highest level of development. In addition to managing resources and infrastructure, you must deal with raiders who can burn your settlement to the ground. 

How to quickly upgrade town and survive raids in Manor Lords (On the Edge)

To survive raids in Manor Lords, you must plan your economy and heavily focus on trading. But not all territories are the same; depending on the land fertility and resource availability, you must decide between herding and agriculture. It’s crucial to build your town near resources and the main road, as trading is crucial for the fast development of your town.

While these steps are similar for all scenarios, On the Edge throws other lords and raiders at you, making city-building even more challenging. 

Plan your town development

Follow our building order guide to solve the basic needs of your villagers and prepare for more complex activities. As you don’t have time to waste, upgrade your settlement to a Village by building five Burgage Plots (houses). Planning is essential, so leave a place for a church, tavern, and market so they're in the same "neighborhood."

Acquire weapons for your Militia

As the On the Edge scenario includes very active enemies, you should get weapons as soon as possible. You'll need Level 2 Town and an upgraded Burgage Plot to Level 2 and assign artisans to produce bows. While creating your weapons is a goal, you can get weapons for your Militia (armed villagers) via trade faster. Focus on trade from the early beginnings, so you have enough wealth (money) to buy at least 20 weapon pieces (sidearms, bows, polearms, etc.).

Hire Mercenaries to hunt bandits

Destroy bandit camps found on the map to acquire extra resources in Manor Lords. You should deal with them as soon as you can as they will steal your resources. If you don't have enough soldiers, you can always hire mercenaries, which will cost you wealth. Mercenaries roam the realm looking for work, but you can only hire ones on your territory. Hiring mercenaries is a good idea as you don't lose workers in battles.

Related: Top 5 things I wish were in Manor Lords Early Access

Prepare your army to fight raiders

By the end of year one, you should have enough stored weapons to deal with raiders. Be sure to have enough helmets and armor so your soldiers can be more efficient in battles. I'm a fan of archers, as I want to minimize casualties, as every death impacts your economy (one less worker). The downside of archers is that they won't fire at enemies if your melee troops have engaged them. But if you're pragmatic, you can issue friendly fire orders, giving archers the green light to shoot at enemies at the cost of hitting your troops.

While fending off raiders and other lords is crucial, don't forget that a victory condition is to build the town to the highest level. Hence, keep your focus on the economy, especially after you defeat raiders (and lords if they're part of a scenario).

For more on Manor Lords, check out Best ways to improve influence in Manor Lords on Pro Game Guides.