How to get influence in Manor Lords? It's not that hard!

In the current early access state of Manor Lords, influence is only used for one purpose. It is the sole requirement to claim new regions.

In this post, you'll read how to claim new regions. But more importantly, you will learn how to get the influence needed to claim new regions. 

Claiming new regions

To claim new regions under your rule, you need to spend influence. Quite a hefty sum of it, actually.

The game separates unclaimed regions from claimed ones. 

An unclaimed region (depicted as a gray region on the map overview) costs 1000 influence to claim. 

Claiming any unclaimed region (gray) will cost 1000 influence in Manor Lords.

A region already claimed by an enemy, in the early access version this is always the yellow hearted Hildebolt, will cost you 2000 influence if you decide to push your claim. 

To claim a new region, go the the map overview, select the region and press the claim region button. 

Getting influence can be done in two ways. Either peacefully, or not so peacefully...

Get influence - the peaceful way

If you are not a fighter, or have all enemies disabled in your game, you can still gain influence. To do this, either build and upgrade your Churches and Manor, or hand out food. 

Stone Church

Building the first Church building (a Wooden Church) will not raise your influence level.

However, if you decide to upgrade your Church to a Stone Church, your influence will increase by 250. 

Manor

As Manor Lord, of course you need to live somewhere. Manor Lords does not have great castle building (yet!), but the game will let you build a Manor. 

In fact, you can build a Manor in every region you own.

This is great news! Building a Manor has several advantages, like being able to tax your families and raising a retinu. Even more so, building a Manor will increase your influence by 250!

Tithe

Once you've built your Manor, you can do two things. 

You can set up a tax, which will require your region's families to pay you tribute. This money will be taken from the regional wealth and put into your personal treasury.

Setting a Tithe in Manor Lords will give you a steady supply of Influence, but at what cost?

Or, you can hand out Tithe. This means you will donate a part of your regional food supplies to the Church on a monthly basis. Doing so will increase your influence by a little every month. It won't be massive amounts, but a steady income of influence is always welcome!

Tithe in the Middle Ages

Tithes were an important resource for churches and monasteries in the late middle ages. The tax, set at about 1/10th of agricultural yields, was intended to sustain parish priests, maintain church buildings and provide alms for the poor.

Get influence - by fighting for it

Now, if you are a strategic general and take to the battlefield, you can gain influence by fighting bandits and raiders. 

Bandit camps

If you rally an army and march on a Bandit Camp, a defending band of bandits will come out to greet you.

A group of Brigands leaving their bandit camp in Manor Lords. They don't look particularly friendly...

Defeat this band of miscreants and you will gain a fair amount of influence. The amount depends on the size of the defending army. In general, a bandit camp will send out a group of 16 bandits, which at 20 influence per brigand will give you 320 influence once defeated. 

Conquering the camp

After defeating the bandits, you can conquer their camp. This will not only remove the tent from the map, but also reward you with money! You can choose to have this money transfered to the regional wealth so your families can use it. Or, you can send it to your personal treasury, so you can improve your retinue and hire mercenaries.

Note: I've noticed that Hildebolt does attack bandit camps, but won't actually conquer the camp. So if you wait for him to attack the bandits, you can swoop in and steal the money!

Raiders

Depending on the game settings, your region will be visited by raiders at some point. Usually, you will get ample warning before they around. 

As with the bandits, as soon as you defeat those raiders, you will see your influence level increase. The amount depends on the group size, with 20 influence per defeated raider on par with Bandits.

Taunt the raiders

Did you know you can taunt the raiders, triggering an attack in response?

Visit the map overview, select the Raider's icon at the top and send them a mean message. They'll be sure to visit one of your regions soon enough!

Summary

These are all the ways you can raise your influence in Manor Lords in the current, early access, state of the game. To summarise: