Best Developments to unlock first in Manor Lords

When you reach certain milestones in Manor Lords, you’ll receive Development Points that allow you to unlock new technology for your settlement. These can greatly enhance your town’s productivity, but they’re not all created equal.

Depending on your local resources and main plans for your settlement, you may want to avoid some Developments entirely for the first few hours of the game. You can always come back and get them later, and choosing the right ones early on can make you the wealthiest ruler in all the land.

Best Manor Lords Developments

Each Development branch in Manor Lords has a long and winding technology tree to progress through, but there are only a few available to new players.

If you’re in need of food, then the left side of the Development menu is for you. Depending on the availability of Berries and Meat in your area, you should either choose Forest Management or Trapping. We don’t recommend starting out with Beekeeping since food is so important in the early stages of the game.

Fuel is also important, which is why we recommend unlocking Charcoal Burning as soon as possible. This unlocks the Charcoal Kiln, which allows you to convert Firewood into Charcoal, the latter of which is far more effective. One piece of Firewood creates two pieces of Charcoal, so you’ll essentially double your fuel output with this Development.

On the top Development tree, the Heavy Plow is the best to choose since it will drastically increase the efficiency of your farmers that work the fields. It’ll keep your people fed and free up farmers’ time since the farming process won’t take as long.

For the aspiring capitalists out there, the Foreign Suppliers Development is a great way to ensure you always have a solid stash of food and fuel. As long as you have Regional Wealth to spare, you’ll always have food and fuel via the Food Cart and Firewood Cart. If you want to make more Regional Wealth, then the Trade Logistics Development will cap all trade route prices at 25, making some of the more profitable routes more attainable earlier in the game. Plus, it unlocks access to the Better Deals Development which removes the tariffs on imports, essentially reducing all import prices by 10.

Ultimately, the best Developments in Manor Lords depend on your settlement’s layout and the nearby natural resources available to you. We recommend focusing on Developments that increase your food and fuel supply so you can upgrade your settlement level faster.