How to keep your subjects happy in Elder Scrolls Castles

Keeping your subjects happy in The Elder Scrolls: Castles can be a bit tricky before you unlock some of the more advanced happiness-boosting features. Luckily, you can still manage your castle’s overall happiness from day one by understanding how your actions affect the game. Here's a guide on how to keep your subjects happy in The Elder Scrolls: Castles.

Top tips for keeping your subjects happy in The Elder Scrolls: Castles

You'll learn about happiness pretty soon after your first ruler takes the throne, but The Elder Scrolls: Castles doesn't go too in-depth on the ins and outs of keeping your entire castle happy.

Thankfully, through a fair bit of trial and error, I've gathered up enough tips to help you keep your subjects happy, even when they're determined to skulk around the castle with their heads bowed. If you're having trouble keeping your subjects happy in The Elder Scrolls: Castles, this guide is for you.

Rulings affect happiness

Every time you make a decision in your Throne Room, it affects the happiness of your subjects. A single ruling can influence not just the person standing in front of you, but entire groups, races, and social classes. So... make one wrong decision, and suddenly half your castle is grumpy. If you're not sure what to do, go neutral. Yes, it’ll usually cost you some coin or a few resources, but it’s better than tanking the happiness levels of everyone under your roof.

Of course, if you want to play it smart, consider who’s the least happy when you’re making a ruling. Leaning toward the person with the lowest happiness can keep the balance in check. Because trust me, if a subject hits rock bottom in happiness, you might find yourself on the wrong end of an assassination. I learned that the hard way when my Queen got offed by an upstart named Jofarr (yes, that one). Don't worry, though — I made sure his life was miserable before banishing him after my new Queen took over.

Banish troublesome subjects

Speaking of banishment, let’s talk about those subjects with nasty traits. Some subjects just aren't worth the trouble. Bossy? Heartless? Get rid of them. They’ll only cause more problems by dragging down the happiness of your other, hardworking subjects. Negative traits like these can spread misery faster than a cold in winter, so it's better to remove the source entirely.

The great thing is that there’s no penalty for banishing a subject. If you’ve got a subject who’s constantly making life harder for everyone else, don’t hesitate to send them packing. It’s not like they’re going to be productive anyway.

Subjects with matching traits work best together

On the flip side, grouping subjects with matching positive traits can make for some dream teams. For example, subjects with the Considerate trait are fantastic when paired together. As a part of their trait, they are more productive at the Kitchen and Loom stations than other subjects would be. When you put two Considerate subjects to work together, not only do they get along, but their happiness levels can stay more stable, making your production more efficient.

Always try to keep subjects with similar positive traits together when assigning them jobs. If you’ve got a team of Volatile or Sophisticated workers, you’ll notice things go a lot smoother, and nobody gets too grumpy.

Best Work Stations to Boost Happiness

If you’re really in a bind and need to boost your subjects’ happiness, certain workstations and decorations can help out a lot.

The Music Stage

The Music Stage unlocks and can then be built when you reach Dynasty level 26, which is your best bet for boosting happiness at lower levels. You can assign two subjects to it, and after a few hours (no, seriously), they’ll regain happiness. If they have the Sophisticated trait, they’ll recover faster. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they’re not sitting there for longer than they need to be, or you’ll lose valuable production time.

The Bookshelf

The Bookshelf unlocks at Dynasty level 42. It works similarly to the Music Stage but does the job much faster. The same rules apply — two subjects at a time, and Sophisticated workers regain happiness faster than others. If you’re in a rush to lift the spirits of your castle’s most valuable workers, this is the way to go.

The Art Studio

The Elder Scrolls: Castles had an early rollout before its full release, launching in the Philippines back in January 2024, before making its way to various Nordic and European countries (among others!). If you were playing during the early rollout, you might remember the Art Lover bundle, which showed up in the in-game store for 675 Gems.

One of the items in that bundle was the Art Studio, which is the fastest way for your subjects to express themselves and regain happiness in the game. It’s not currently available, but don’t worry — it’s likely to rotate back into the store at some point.

In addition to these workstations, building decorations like the Iron Armor Stand can lower happiness loss by 1% for all subjects. These effects also stack, so feel free to place multiple around your castle for maximum happiness insurance!

Other Ways to Keep Your Subjects Happy

There are a few more tricks to keep in mind for boosting happiness in The Elder Scrolls: Castles. First, make sure your castle is well-stocked with food and oil, as this has a direct impact on how content your subjects feel. Also, never skimp when it comes to paying your wizards — you do not want them casting curses and spreading misery.

For those pesky Bossy traits, if you’re not ready to banish them outright, you can try pairing them with three Volatile subjects on the same workstation. It’s a risky strategy, but it might just balance out their negative influence.

Remember that not every subject is cut out for every role. If someone’s not pulling their weight or seems to be causing more problems than they’re worth, it might be time to make some tough decisions — whether that means reassigning them or saying goodbye entirely.

Keeping your subjects happy in The Elder Scrolls: Castles takes a bit of strategy, but with the right rulings, workstations, and subject management, you can build a productive kingdom.

Want to read more Elder Scrolls content at Pro Game Guides? Check out Best ESO DLCs for beginners in Elder Scrolls Online and All ESO DLCs & Chapters in order of release.