Why Spear Militia Beat Mounted Knights in Manor Lords — Retinues, Unit Types & Battle Tactics (2026)

The moment you see “Raiders Approaching” in year two of Manor Lords, the instinct is to open the mercenary panel and spend 60 silver per month buying security. That decision drains your treasury, stalls your economy, and leaves you weaker for the next wave.

The counter-intuitive answer: two units of Spear Militia in Stand Your Ground formation will stop most early-game raids without spending a single silver on hired soldiers. Once you upgrade their armor through an Armorer’s Workshop, those militia outperform every mercenary unit the game offers.

This guide covers every layer of the Manor Lords military system — how to recruit and equip your retinue, which militia units to field for which role, the eight battle stances that shift fight outcomes, and the hammer-and-anvil tactic that carries you from the first bandit wave through the Baron’s 162-man army.

Verified on Manor Lords Early Access (2026). Specific values may change with future patches.

Military Quick Start: Your First Five Moves

1. Build a Manor at the Small Village settlement level — you automatically receive five retinue soldiers at no treasury cost
2. Draft Spear Militia as soon as you have spears and large shields available from trade or production
3. Set Spear Militia to Stand Your Ground before any engagement — this stance doubles block chance and is your default defensive position
4. Add Archer Militia to weaken enemy formations from range before your melee makes contact
5. Recruit up to six militia units before spending treasury on mercenaries — militia are free to field beyond their weapons

Your Three Fighting Forces: Militia, Retinue, and Mercenaries

Manor Lords gives you three types of soldiers with different cost structures, performance ceilings, and strategic roles. Understanding when to use each is the difference between a treasury surplus and a bankrupt settlement under siege.

Militia are your core army. You can field up to six militia units per army, each holding up to 36 soldiers drawn from your village population. They cost nothing to field beyond the weapons you equip them with. The key ceiling: once you upgrade their armor through a local Armorer’s Workshop, militia outperform every mercenary unit the game offers in sustained combat.

Retinue are professional soldiers tied to your Manor. You start with five retinue when you build your first Manor; recruit additional soldiers at 50 silver each, up to a maximum of 12 per manor (expandable to 24 with a Garrison Tower built through the Castle Planner). Unlike militia, retinue never return to civilian life — they’re full-time fighters available for every raid and campaign. Plate armor upgrades at a local Armorer’s Workshop cost 17 silver per soldier (34 silver if imported), making them the most durable individual units on any field.

Mercenaries are hired immediately for upfront silver and then billed 30–90 silver per month ongoing. They’re useful for two specific scenarios: a large bandit wave your militia cannot hold alone, and the final Baron battle. Dismiss them the moment the threat ends — that monthly cost compounds into treasury drain faster than most early economies can recover from.

The Four Militia Unit Types: Roles and Weapon Requirements

Militia Footmen are your general-purpose melee fighters, rated as the best overall close-combat unit. They require a sidearm (two iron slabs) and a small shield (one plank). Footmen are flexible — capable of holding a line or flanking — and form the “hammer” in offensive maneuvers. If you can only field one type of melee militia, field footmen.

Spear Militia are your defensive anchor. They carry large shields (two planks) and spears, giving them the best block rating among all militia types. In Stand Your Ground stance, their spear reach keeps footmen and mounted units at distance. This is where the headline claim holds up: properly positioned Spear Militia with large shields hold against enemy retinue knights because Stand Your Ground doubles block chance and the shields absorb charges that would break lighter units. Rate them A-tier for mid-game defense.

Polearm Militia are fragile but effective flankers. Without shields they take more casualties in direct fights, but their polearms are ideal for chasing routing archers and flanking a locked enemy formation. Use them as your second hammer unit alongside retinue once your spearmen have pinned the enemy frontline.

Archer Militia are underestimated early and essential late. They require warbows (two planks each) and start weaker than mercenary archers. Once you upgrade their armor at an Armorer’s Workshop, they become the best ranged unit available — outperforming every mercenary archer tier. One critical caveat: rain sharply reduces their effectiveness. In wet conditions, switch archers to melee follow-up rather than keeping them at range.

Each militia unit holds up to 36 soldiers depending on your village population and weapon availability in storage. A half-strength militia unit still provides meaningful combat value — field it rather than waiting for a full roster when a raid arrives.

Recruiting and Equipping Your Retinue

Your first five retinue soldiers arrive automatically when you build your first Manor at Small Village level. Every additional soldier costs 50 silver from treasury. The hard cap is 12 retinue per Manor; build a Garrison Tower through the Castle Planner to expand by another 12, reaching a maximum of 24 total.

Recruitment cost matters less than armor. Each retinue soldier starts in basic equipment. Local plate armor upgrades cost 17 silver per soldier and require an Armorer’s Workshop in your settlement; the imported alternative costs 34 silver per soldier but skips the workshop requirement. At a 12-man retinue, fully arming them locally costs 204 silver — a significant but decisive investment. A fully equipped retinue recruit costs roughly 67–86 silver total depending on armor source, and replacing a lost one costs the same. Treat them as expensive assets rather than expendable frontliners.

The practical implication: build your economy before committing to a full retinue. Our Manor Lords economy guide covers the trade routes and tax mechanics that generate reliable treasury income without stalling settlement growth.

The Eight Battle Stances — Four That Actually Decide Fights

Manor Lords provides eight unit stances. Most situations are decided by four of them:

Stand Your Ground doubles block chance and halves attack frequency. This is the default stance for every Spear Militia unit in any defensive engagement. It trades damage output for survivability, letting spearmen hold the line while your hammer units maneuver to the flanks.

Push Forward increases attack power at a fatigue cost. Deploy this on hammer units — footmen, polearms, retinue — once they’ve flanked and the enemy formation is disorganized. Never open a fight with Push Forward; you will fatigue your troops before they make meaningful contact.

Spread Out breaks enemy formations, including the shield-wall stance that some mercenary bands can form. Use this when advancing toward a tightly grouped enemy to dissolve their cohesion bonus before your melee strikes.

Missile Alert doubles arrow evasion for the targeted unit. Use it on melee units advancing through archer fire, or on your own archer units if enemy ranged is counter-firing.

Fatigue is the invisible fight-decider. Walk your army to the battlefield — never sprint unless making the final charge. The orange fatigue bar reduces combat effectiveness, prevents running, and accelerates morale collapse. Sprinting from your settlement to the raid spawn location can cost you the fight before contact is even made.

The Hammer-and-Anvil: Your Core Battle Tactic

Every pitched battle in Manor Lords can be approached with a single framework: the anvil holds the enemy in place while the hammer strikes from the flank or rear.

Anvil: Spear Militia on Stand Your Ground, supplemented by mercenary spearmen if available. They absorb the enemy frontline, maintain high block rates, and give your hammer units time to maneuver without being disrupted.

Hammer: Footmen, Polearm Militia, and your Retinue circle the enemy flank or push to the rear. Attacking from behind removes the enemy’s block ability entirely — the backstab mechanic makes flanking proportionally more effective than any direct assault you can mount with the same troops. Assign your hammer units to a separate control group (Control + Left-click to select, Control + 1–0 to assign) so you can command them independently while the anvil holds.

Archers: Position on elevated ground. The “Moving Downhill” terrain bonus buffs your units when they advance downslope; enemies climbing toward high ground suffer movement and combat penalties. If rain begins during the engagement, reduce reliance on archers and shift them to melee follow-up.

Formation width is a tunable variable: narrow formations increase cohesion and individual effectiveness, while wider formations cover more ground. Start narrow for defensive holds; spread wider when you want to surround the enemy formation.

Good town layout planning positions your burgage plots and Manor closer to typical raid approach vectors — see our Manor Lords town layout guide for district placement strategies that reduce march time and preserve unit fatigue.

From Bandits to the Baron: Scaling Your Military

Year 1–2 (Early Raids): The first bandit wave sends two bands of 18 brigands — 36 total attackers on default difficulty. Two Spear Militia units in Stand Your Ground, backed by one Archer Militia, handles this without mercenaries. Walk your troops into position and let the archers fire first to reduce enemy unit effectiveness before your spearmen make contact.

Year 3–5 (Scaling Raids): Later waves scale to four bands totaling 72 brigands. Prioritize filling all six militia slots, begin upgrading retinue armor at 17 silver per soldier through a local Armorer’s Workshop, and loot every bandit camp you clear — the silver funds future mercenary hires and covers armor costs. Hire mercenaries for specific large raids only, dismiss after the fight ends.

The Baron Battle: The Baron commands a standard army of approximately 162 troops: 36 archers, 72 footmen, 36 retinue, and 18 brigands. A documented winning composition relies on mercenaries as the expendable frontline: two retinue units (around 72 men) combined with two mercenary spear companies, four mercenary footmen companies, and three mercenary archer companies. Deploy mercenaries first to absorb initial casualties; keep your armored retinue for the flanking hammer where they survive the longest.

One scheduling insight most players miss: time your major engagements for winter. Your field workers aren’t farming, so fielding militia costs you no harvest disruption. Campaigns in spring or summer pull labor from food production at the worst possible moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Manor Lords have siege mechanics?
Not in the current early access version. The developer has stated plans for castle siege warfare in future updates, but the 2026 game focuses on open-field battles and raid defense. Walls and the Garrison Tower provide passive settlement protection, but there is no active siege assault or defense system yet. Expect this to change in future patches.

When should I actually hire mercenaries?
For two scenarios only: a large bandit wave your militia cannot hold with current strength, and the Baron battle. Dismiss them immediately after the threat ends. Keeping mercenaries on retainer at 30–90 silver per month is treasury you could spend on retinue armor upgrades that provide permanent returns.

How do I stop my units from routing mid-battle?
Morale breaks first, casualties follow. Prevent morale collapse by: keeping formations cohesive (narrow width, Stand Your Ground for defenders), avoiding fatigue before contact (walk to the battlefield), and flanking the enemy rather than attacking headfirst. Routing is almost always triggered by a lost flank, not raw casualty numbers.

Can I win the Baron fight without hiring mercenaries?
Unlikely on default difficulty. The Baron’s ~162-man army outmasses what militia and retinue alone can reasonably muster at mid-game without substantial armor investment across multiple regions. Budget 500–800 silver for mercenary contracts for the Baron engagement, then dismiss after the campaign and return to militia-based defense.

Do Spear Militia actually beat retinue knights?
In a defensive Stand Your Ground formation with large shields, yes — as a holding unit, not as a damage dealer. The stance doubles block chance and the spear reach prevents mounted units from closing efficiently. Spear militia won’t rout a retinue unit alone, but they hold long enough for your hammer units to flank and break the enemy from behind. That’s the combination that wins.

Building your first settlement? Our Manor Lords Beginner’s Guide 2026 walks you through year 1 decisions, economy setup, and when to start preparing for combat.

Sources

1. Combat and Army Guide: How to Battle — Game8
2. Best Militia and Unit Types — Game8
3. Best Battle Formations and Strategies in Manor Lords — Pro Game Guides
4. Battle Lord: Combat Basics (Community Guide) — Steam Community
5. How To Form A Militia and Hire Mercenaries — GameRant

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.