What are the best Development Upgrades in Manor Lords? If you’ve progressed to the point in Manor Lords where you’ve reached a new Settlement Level, you’ll likely already have seen the game’s Development Upgrade tech tree, accessible by clicking on the name of your town at the top of the screen. Here you can spend Development Points to unlock key passive benefits for your entire settlement.
If you’re unsure where to start within this tech tree, never fear. There are plenty of good options here, but the very best Development Upgrades are the ones we’ll reveal to you below. So if you want the perfect start in Manor Lords, keep reading.
What are Development Upgrades in Manor Lords?
Development Upgrades are essentially your tech tree in Manor Lords. You can access your Development Upgrades at any time by clicking on the name of your settlement at the top of the screen. Your Development Upgrades are divided into four sectors:
- Top: Farming
- Right: Trade
- Bottom: Industry
- Left: Gathering
Each new Development Upgrade costs 1 Development Point. You earn a new Development Point each time you reach a new Settlement Level in one of your settlements. A single settlement making its way from a Small Village to a Large Town will net you a total of 5 Development Points. So if you want to unlock new Development Upgrades, you need to focus on building and upgrading your Burgage Plots.
Best Development Upgrades in Manor Lords
As of the current early access version, there are 21 Development Upgrades in Manor Lords. All of them are useful in different ways, but there are a few absolute essential upgrades to prioritise. Here are the Development Upgrades we think are the best at the moment in Manor Lords:
- Trade Logistics (Trade)
- Better Deals (Trade)
- Deep Mining (Industry)
- Trapping (Gathering)
- Heavy Plow (Farming)
Trade Logistics
Description: Establishing a new Trade Route always costs a maximum of 25 Regional Wealth.
Trade Logistics is always my first Development Upgrade in any game, because establishing profitable trade routes is the most important thing that the tech tree can help with in the early-game. Setting up trade routes at a Trading Post can be astonishingly expensive (for example, 576 for Plate Armor), but this Development Upgrade will cap all those costs to a maximum of 25 Regional Wealth. Plus, it’s a required tech for potentially an even more important Development Upgrade: Better Deals.
Better Deals
Description: Removes the tariff from foreign imports, effectively reducing all import prices by 10.
Better Deals has got to be the best Development Upgrade in Manor Lords right now. Suddenly, it only costs 2 Regional Wealth to import Eggs, whereas before it cost 12. This is perhaps most important if you need to quickly import equipment for your armies. It’s very hard to furnish an army of 20 men with Polearms when each Polearm costs 18 Regional Wealth. At 8 Regional Wealth, it’s a whole lot easier.
Deep Mining
Description: Enables the Deep Mine upgrade to Mining Pits to extract resources indefinitely if placed over a Rich Deposit.
The Deep Mining Development Upgrade is vital for mid-to-late-game settlements in Manor Lords, because it essentially turns finite resources into infinite resources. Upgrade a Mining Pit into a Deep Mine over your Rich Iron Deposit, and that mine can keep churning out Iron Ore forever. It’s one of the Development Upgrades with the longest-lasting effects on your entire settlement.
Trapping
Description: Enables hunters to skillfully lay traps in the forest, which give a passive income of Meat.
Trapping is a great early-game Development Upgrade, and usually the first thing I research after unlocking Better Deals. Just like Deep Mining, it basically turns a finite resource (Meat from Wild Animal deposits) into an infinite resource (Meat from traps anywhere in the forest). It’s a great benefit especially for food in the early-game, because often Food is the bottleneck that will prevent you from growing your Population to massive levels.
Heavy Plow
Description: Enables employing Oxen at the Farmhouse for significantly faster plowing of large fields, as well as bringing crops back to storage more efficiently.
Heavy Plow is definitely the best Development Upgrade in the Farming sector at the moment. Farming is very important, but it’s a slow process (which is why I’d recommend investing your first couple of Development Upgrades into Trade instead). The Plowing Station upgrade for your Farmhouse is a game-changer, allowing you to leverage your powerful Oxen to dramatically speed up the entire farming process. Essential for large farms.
That wraps up this guide on the best Development Upgrades in Manor Lords. If you’re looking for more tips to make your settlement as strong as can be, check out our other guides on how to increase Influence, Regional Wealth, and Treasury. Or if you’re after particular resources, we’ve got you covered with our guides on Leather, Sheep, Ale, Clothes, and Herbs.
