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Manor Lords - How To Increase Approval And Population

Entice more families to join your village by increasing your approval in Manor Lords.

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Manor Lords is all about growing your backwater village into a town that's a marvel of the medieval age. Still, before a bunch of folks move in, you have to make your own citizens happy. Here's our guide on how to increase approval and population in Manor Lords.

How to increase approval and population in Manor Lords

To increase approval, you must ensure that the needs of your villagers are being met. In fact, the approval mechanic is closely tied to population growth and living space (i.e. housing), as you can see in the upper-left portion of the information bar.

Here's a quick summary:

  • Neutral approval (50 percent) - One family may move to your village monthly if there's extra living space.
  • High approval (75 percent) - Up to two families may move to your village each month if there's extra living space.

Ideally, you should keep approval at 75 percent or higher. This should help bolster your village's growth when new families show up.

Pay attention to your character's approval, the village's population, and available housing.
Pay attention to your character's approval, the village's population, and available housing.

Factors that affect approval

These are the factors that help increase your approval in Manor Lords:

  • Having a high variety of food types in the market. Buildings and services that produce food automatically erect stalls that sell their goods.
  • Having a high supply of clothing in the market. You can learn more in our clothing/tailors guide.
  • The level of the church in the town.
  • Note that taxation rates negatively impact approval (i.e. the higher the taxes, the more your citizens will dislike your rule).
It's always a good idea to have a lot of goods being sold in the market.
It's always a good idea to have a lot of goods being sold in the market.

Living space and population increase: Pros and cons

Let's say you have a decent approval rating already (i.e. 50 percent or higher), then it's time to increase population in Manor Lords. As cited earlier, you need to have extra living space in your settlement. This is done by creating a Burgage Plot, which requires 2x Timber each. At the start of each month, one or two families should move into these homes depending on your approval rating.

Here's the thing: Burgage Plots directly use up food and fuel resources each month. As such, you can't just build a lot of homes right off the bat. You should have more than enough food and fuel to sustain your current population. Otherwise, your citizens might starve or get cold during winters. Some families might even leave and resort to banditry due to your mismanagement.

Having a lot of houses sounds neat, but you could encounter resource problems down the line.
Having a lot of houses sounds neat, but you could encounter resource problems down the line.

In any case, this is how you increase approval and population in Manor Lords. While you're taking care of your citizens, you might want to look into town upgrades and the trading post. We also have a beginner's guide that you can check out.

Manor Lords is currently an early access game. As such, some mechanics and features may change in due course. In the meantime, you can take a look at other tips and strategies in our guides hub.

Jason Rodriguez on Google+

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