Getting Mail and Plate Armor

Learn how to import or craft mail and plate armor in Manor Lords. This guide covers equipping your militia and retinue troops for better battlefield survivability.

Alright, so you've probably noticed that the basic gambeson armor your villagers start with isn't exactly cutting it on the battlefield. If you want your folks to survive longer and hit harder, you'll need to get your hands on some proper Mail or Plate Armor. You've got two main paths here: either import it directly or craft it yourself. Let's break down how to do both.

Importing Armor

The simplest way to get armor is to import it. You can grab both Mail and Plate Armor from trading posts. Each piece will set you back 18 wealth. Now, that might sound a bit steep, but there's a development you can unlock called 'Better Deals' that slashes the import cost by a whopping 10 wealth. Once you've got that, armor only costs 8 wealth, which is a much more manageable price.

Crafting Armor

If you'd rather produce your own armor, it's a bit more involved but totally doable. Here's what you'll need to do:

1. First off, you need iron ore. Either mine it yourself or import it.
2. Next, you'll turn that iron ore into iron slabs at a bloomery. You can also just import the slabs if you prefer.
3. You'll need to build an Armorer's Workshop extension onto one of your burgage plots.
4. To unlock the ability to craft mail armor, you need to research the 'Advanced Armorsmithing' development.
5. For the heavy-duty plate armor, you'll need to unlock the 'Master Armorsmithing' development.
6. Once everything's set up, click on your Armorer's Workshop burgage plot, check the general tab, and select the armor you want your villagers to start crafting.

Quick Tip: Your armorsmiths will automatically start crafting helmets if you haven't unlocked the technologies for mail or plate armor yet. So, make sure those developments are in place if you're aiming for the better stuff!

Equipping Your Troops

So, you've got the armor – now what? Equipping it is pretty straightforward.

Mail Armor is for your militia, basically your townsfolk who rally to defend the settlement. If you've got villagers living in Level 3 burgage plots, they can store mail armor there and will automatically equip it over their gambeson when they're called to arms.

Plate Armor, on the other hand, is strictly for your retinue military units. These are your elite troops. To get them kitted out:

1. First, make sure you've built a Manor.
2. Head over to the army menu.
3. Select the retinue you want to customize.
4. Click on the retinue customization option.
5. Then, click on the individual retinue members.
6. On the right side of the screen, you'll see options to 'Upgrade Armor - Import' or 'Upgrade Armor Locally'.
7. 'Upgrade Import' will buy plate armor directly for that soldier. If you choose 'Upgrade Armor Locally', it'll cost you half the price – just 9 treasury wealth per piece.

Important Note: Buying plate armor this way uses your personal Lord's wealth. You build this up through taxation via the taxation policy menu on your Manor. So, keep an eye on your treasury!

Once your troops are rocking this new gear, they'll be way more durable on the battlefield. They can take a lot more punishment before falling, which can make all the difference in a tough fight. That's pretty much it for getting and equipping mail and plate armor in Manor Lords!