8. Military camps
Pictured above are the effects of the military camps building
Military camps are buildings aimed at increasing your holding’s levy supply and improving some man-at-arms stats. These buildings are important for stacking archer damage, which is going to be a focus for the late game. You can passively build military camps for the time being, however. Military camps are a good building to invest in early game but it is not recommended to go overboard with them until later. They provide a nice beginner’s boost to your levy count and some small archer and skirmisher damage bonuses. Until your game progresses to later eras, you will want to invest in buildings higher on this list.
How it works:
This holding
- +100 levies
Holder of this Holding
- Archer damage +4%
- Skirmisher damage +4%
- Skirmisher pursuit +2%
7. Tradeport
Pictured above are the effects of the tradeport building.
Tradeports are port-only buildings that are only useful in specific contexts. Tradeports are good for coastal realms that have cultures with baseline development modifiers, as the main selling factor of tradeports is the development increase. They will be important to build up your realm if you are Dutch for example. The money bonus will also be considerable the more you upgrade so this building is a must for realms focused in and around the coast. However, the restricted nature of where this building can be placed is what makes it rank lower on the list.
How it works:
This holding
- +0.3 tax per month
This county:
- +5% development growth
6. Pastoral Lands
Pictured above are the effects of the pastoral lands building.
Pastoral lands are a buildings that will grant a small boost to your gold and levies. This is a pretty standard building with some noticeable but small bonuses. It will be a nice boost to both gold and levies. This building is good to invest in from the beginning, as the straightforward yields to gold and levies will build up as you upgrade it over time. Adding to your personal army force will be very beneficial as your empire grows and your vassals become stronger.
How it works:
This holding
- +0.2 tax per month
- +50 levies
5. Hunting Grounds
Pictured above are the effects of the hunting grounds building.
Hunting grounds are very similar to pastoral lands but offer two additional bonuses that we will go over. This building should take priority over pastoral lands through your run, however stacking them together is not a bad idea. This building offers a defender advantage and a man-at-arms bonus that pastoral lands do not have. The gold and levy bonus will go a long way as you upgrade through the ages, and so will the man-at-arms bonuses. Light cavalry is one of the more important men-at-arms you’re going to want to own for those European plains and fields. The defender advantage is also helpful to bolster your capability to defend your holdings.
How it works:
This holding
- +0.2 tax per month
- +2 defender advantage
- +50 levies
Holder of this holding
- +2% Light cavalry damage
- +2% Light cavalry pursuit
4. Barracks
Pictured above are the effects of the barracks building.
This military building is not to be looked over and can be built on almost every type of terrain. The barracks will grant a hefty 125 levies, which is a game changer for early game starts as small counties or duchies. The versatility of where this building can be placed makes it very convenient to build. Using the levy boost with the man-at-arms boost to heavy infantry and spearmen, you will be able to gain an edge early game over similarly powerful neighbors. Every personal levy boost will count during this crucial stage.
How it works:
This holding
- +125 levies
Holder of this holding
- +4% Heavy infantry damage
- +4% Spearmen damage
3. Regimental Grounds
Pictured above are the effects of the regimental grounds building.
This building is the pinnacle of military buildings, making it number 3 on the list. This building is placed ahead of barracks for the massive 150 levy boost and +5% levy reinforcement rate. This kind of boost is invaluable, making this building a priority to build. Initially, however, you will only have a heavy cavalry damage boost. But by taking the time and money to upgrade this building, you will be rewarded with a massive amount of levies and a boost to heavy infantry, spearmen, and heavy cavalry damage.
How it works:
This holding
- +5% levy reinforcement rate
- +150 levies
Holder of this holding
- -0% men-at-arms maintenance
- +4% heavy cavalry damage
2. Farms and Fields
Pictured above are the effects of the farms and fields building.
Farm and Fields are an economic building that is going to be integral for funding your development as a whole. Farms and fields, and this goes for all economic buildings, are crucial to your economy. The economy will be the backbone of how fast you will be able to build up your realm. Farms and fields start with a hefty 0.5 tax per month and this will increase massively as you upgrade up. The ability to place this building in many different kinds of terrain will mean that almost every holding possible should have this building present.
How it works:
This holding
- +0.5 tax per month
1. Manor Houses
Pictured above are the effects of the manor houses building.
Arriving at the top of the list, these buildings are going to be your most valuable money-pumping machines. Manor houses start with an amazing +0.7 tax per month but as you upgrade your way through its tiers, you will be sitting on a massive gold mine. They even grant levy size, development, and control growth in the later tiers. The only downside of this is the fact that it is only available in farmland terrain. Some areas where farmland is very common are the Paris area, Bohemia, and many parts of India.
How it works:
This holding
- +0.7 tax per month
