How to upgrade Burgage plots in Manor Lords & why you should do it

Upgrading your Burgage plots in Manor Lords is key to building a thriving settlement, but you do need to fill out some requirements first, and it might not always be the right time to do it either.

You'll need to balance the fine line between growth and resources in the game, and like most things, upgrading your population's housing brings both benefits and negatives to the village that you'll have to contend with to survive.

How to upgrade Burgage plots

Burgage plots can be upgraded through multiple levels, with each one unlocked by completing specific designated requirements. For the first upgrade, these requirements include access to water and a church, alongside the supply of food, fuel, and clothes at a Marketplace. However, this scales as Burgage plots are upgraded, requiring more of the existing checks while also introducing new ones like entertainment through taverns.

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Moreover, something to watch out for is that these requirements are not universally achieved, so one plot might meet them whereas another might not. Somewhere that you'll typically find this is in access to supplies, as the plots closest to a Marketplace will take priority, often leaving your 'out of the way' houses short-changed and without the necessary resources.

Burgage upgrades also require supplies in order to actually be built, alongside unassigned families to build them. The first upgrade, for example, required four pieces of Timber - but this increases to additional resources like regional wealth, planks, clay, and more as you get further along.

Benefits of upgrading Burgage plots

• Increased regional wealth yield
• Needed to increase the settlement level
• Increased space for extra families
• Additional artisan specialisations

One of the best passive benefits you'll get when upgrading your Burgage plots is the enhanced regional wealth gain. This not only gives you greater flexibility when it comes to import trading, but a lot of the unlocks beyond the early game also require you to have regional wealth to hand. You can also tax this once you've placed a Manor in your settlement to increase your treasury, which you can use for all sorts of noble tasks.

Additionally, one of the main reasons that you'll likely want to upgrade your plots in the first place is to increase your settlement level. This gives you access to additional Development Points, which unlock super helpful features to help make life a bit easier in your village.

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You can also use Burgage upgrades to increase your population without having to expand your space, as it opens up the opportunity to add new families to existing plots. This is always helpful, as more hands can open up new opportunities (and even strengthen your army), but you'll also need to be careful that you've got enough resources to support these families in the first place, as expansion can quickly turn into desolation without proper planning.

Finally, perhaps my favourite part of the upgrading process is access to additional artisan specialisations. While you'll be able to add goats, chickens, or vegetables to a level one Burgage plot (space-depending, of course), level two plots and beyond can be transformed completely into their own little workshops to help your settlement out. Here are some of the specialisations that I've encountered so far:

• Bakery Expansion (Bread)
• Blacksmith's Workshop (Tools / Spears / Sidearms)
• Brewery Expansion (Ale)
• Tailor's Workshop (Clothes / Cloaks / Gambesons)
• Cobbler's Workshop (Shoes)
• Bowyer's Workshop (Warbows)
• Armourer's Workshop (Helmets / Mail Armour / Plate Armour)

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These will cost resources to be built, and some are only accessible after unlocking their corresponding Development Module, but they are extremely helpful to have in your settlement.

One thing to consider is that converting a Burgage plot into one of these expansions turns the housed families into 'Artisans', effectively taking them out of your available workforce and dedicating them solely to their craft. I found that the tradeoff was worth it more often than not, although you won't want to go over the top and turn your entire settlement into this!

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Additionally, certain expansions require supplies to produce goods like the Blacksmith and Tailor, and you can also switch between the production of items to focus on exactly what you need. However, certain others like the Cobbler don't require any supplies to produce and can be an excellent way to create a steady export.

Don't forget to check out our dedicated Manor Lords homepage too, as we've got tips to increase your population and approval rating, alongside everything you need to get more food and firewood.