Why am I still broke?

[Carolina Warlord]

I have 3 castles, 6 villages, 5 workshops and a caravan, all averaging around 100 denars a day, except for the caravan, that averages around 250-300. When I give my wife, brother and companion their own party and try to build a large army for myself to finally seige and take my first town, I am losing 2000 denars a day! I understand not getting rich off passive income but damn, it should at least come close to paying your wages.

 

[jipped]

They need to buff it. It used to be too much income but it seems like they decreased it too much. Once you hit near 100 man army, and as you said some parties you can struggle too easily.

 

[Blood Gryphon]

Your army needs to consist of lower tier troops until you can afford high tier troops, also if you want to be a financial power house you need to take a town. You also need more caravans, as you've already identified they are your best source of income. I normally have 1 caravan for every party I have out (balance each other out).

 

[MostBlunted]

Your army needs to consist of lower tier troops until you can afford high tier troops, also if you want to be a financial power house you need to take a town. You also need more caravans, as you've already identified they are your best source of income. I normally have 1 caravan for every party I have out (balance each other out).

While this can work it can also screw you if you get unlucky with your caravans so that they get captured before they even break even.

There is not really a good way to make a safe decent income unless you abuse smithing. The best "legit" way is just fighting other lord armies.

 

[Doktor Barber]

yea particularly workshops dont really feel worth it at all

 

[HalfMetalJacket]

Because you aren't selling javelins for 100k.

Honestly, I really hope the devs do something about this nonsense. Bad enough they seem to think workshops and caravans are fine, but surely there's no way they think 100k javelins is okay at all.

 

[Sanktym]

Hear me out!
You can't both get profit AND wage war. Your main gold income while in war are loot and new fiefs. Army suppose to be expensive since they must eat and get paid.

I think the trouble is in the way you and your kingdome gather your men. Right now you suppose to always run and teach a lot of recruits and also to lose money.
It would be much better, when you have your fiefs, to somehow keep your army without big gold and resourses loss. And only when you, like, press "Gather your men" mode or start a war - only then your gold loss starts ticking and (maybe) turn you broke.

 

[Silfir]

Garrisoned troops should just cost a fraction of their regular wages, to reflect the fact they're being paid to sit around and play board games instead of doing any fighting. During peacetime you'd stash your high level troops and run around with some recruits to train up on bandits or some cavalry to stay fast. Wasn't that how it worked in Warband?

 

[Blood Gryphon]

While this can work it can also screw you if you get unlucky with your caravans so that they get captured before they even break even.

There is not really a good way to make a safe decent income unless you abuse smithing. The best "legit" way is just fighting other lord armies.

If you get this going early enough in the game the risk is minimal, my first companion is always running a caravan (trader if they are any in the first set of companions, if not get the best party leader). If you don't join up as a merc then you wont be at war with anyone so your caravans will almost certainly pay for themselves and for the creation of others. Now that we have siblings I don't use companions as party leaders anymore, so they either end up a caravan runner or my scout/healer/engineer. My last player kingdom playthrough i had 5 caravans going compared to my 4 total parties. Even in multiple wars I was able to have at least 2-3 caravans up the whole time and I was a multi-millionaire at that point.

My #1 advice is to get rich before you start your kingdom and always make sure you have at least 1 town before going independent, makes it a lot easier. Also spread out your caravans or else they will eat each others profits. And remember caravan profits can be anywhere between 0 - 1000 (even higher although not often), depending on what they buy and sell.

 

[Fryskar]

I have 3 castles, 6 villages, 5 workshops and a caravan, all averaging around 100 denars a day, except for the caravan, that averages around 250-300. When I give my wife, brother and companion their own party and try to build a large army for myself to finally seige and take my first town, I am losing 2000 denars a day! I understand not getting rich off passive income but damn, it should at least come close to paying your wages.

Cause castles are a moneysink. Unless you get insanely luck (and probably wait ages for it to rise) you'll loose way more money than you get from a castle even with a small garnison.
Workshops barly pay anything at all (50-100 are normal).
Leaves you with only a caravan to bring in money, they mostly do, but only a few 100 denar.

Atm your choices to make money are long time trading or doing the smithing exploit until you got a town.

 

[Carolina Warlord]

I don’t see how you were able to take a town only as a clan. My max party size was 144 at clan tier 4 with 100 stewardship. On realistic difficulty with excellent troops, I would have to find a town with only 100 man garrison to even have a chance.

 

[black_bulldog]

After trying caravans and workshops to see what works and what doesn't here's my advice.
Caravans:
1. Make sure you have someone with a trader background (it makes a big difference overtime).
2. Make sure you go for the upgraded caravan, they are much less likely to loses battles, in general they'll be around much much longer.
3. Make sure you spread your caravans out, in other words make sure they are at least 1 if not 2 towns apart when you make them.

Workshops:
1. Look for towns that are profitable, my minimum level of prosperity is 4000 but 4500+ is preferable and also a town that is unlikely to be attacked at least within a few months.

-My go to towns will often include (but not always): Poros, Vostrum, Sanala, Razih, Ocs Hall, Epicrota, Chaikand.
-The following towns can be good depending on whose battling who and whose winning: Makeb, Syronea, Lycaron, Zeronica.
-The following towns can work out but it's risky because they often are captured or the villages are often raided but if you're lucky they can also be profitable: Ortysia, Pen Cannoc, Jalmarys, Diathma.
The best thing to do is look at your encyclopedia to see what towns are prosperous and then look at the factions who are doing well.

2. Look for towns that have villages that produce 2 of an item such as two grain producing villages can pretty much assure that costs of production will stay as low as possible those towns will almost always turn a profit.

3. Always make sure that the starting product has a relatively low price and the end product is relatively high. This will fluctuate but should stay around the same price, check back if you think something is amiss.

4. If for example you want to start a brewery and there is one there then buy that one out instead of buying another shop and competing with them. I know that sounds pretty self evident but I've done it more than once and it definitely cuts into your profits.

 

[Apocal]

I don’t see how you were able to take a town only as a clan. My max party size was 144 at clan tier 4 with 100 stewardship. On realistic difficulty with excellent troops, I would have to find a town with only 100 man garrison to even have a chance.

You should be able to siege the town, get a camp built and launch a few assaults. For the first few, don't even bother trying to get on the walls, just let your archers harvest the junk-tier troops that usually fill out the garrison and militia. Then you can either build a ram and try to get through the front or (if you have time) build a few trebs and make a hole in the wall to just run through. Or you can just launch more assaults until the defenders are so thin you can scale the ladders and overwhelm them.

 

[Carolina Warlord]

Y’all must be playing a different game than me, If I have a 144 man army and decide to besiege a town, I will be lucky to get one assault with one tower or battering ram before I have an 1100 man army breathing down my throat

 

[Apocal]

Y’all must be playing a different game than me, If I have a 144 man army and decide to besiege a town, I will be lucky to get one assault with one tower or battering ram before I have an 1100 man army breathing down my throat

Then don't wait, just assault. It doesn't matter if you're just going to chain assaults until the defenders are drained.

 

[Carolina Warlord]

Then don't wait, just assault. It doesn't matter if you're just going to chain assaults until the defenders are drained.

I’m confused, so is there a way to instantly assault without waiting for camp bar to fill?

 

[stevehoos]

Never buy a caravan or a workshop, just smith. Sell Javelins and Two handed swords.

 

[Kut]

I’m confused, so is there a way to instantly assault without waiting for camp bar to fill?

No, you will just don't charge with siege equipments.

Charge without siege equipments, like 4-5 times (via retreating). Don't try capture the walls. Soften up enemy with your units arrow attacks. Preferably you also do same thing.

Once they soften up, build a ram and execute your final attack. If you don't have time (enemy army coming situation), accept the losses and make your final charge with only ladders.

 

[black_bulldog]

Never buy a caravan or a workshop, just smith. Sell Javelins and Two handed swords.

This is a short term fix because eventually TW is going to change this. Players need to look at how to make money without using exploits, making money outside of smithing is possible.

 

[Apocal]

I’m confused, so is there a way to instantly assault without waiting for camp bar to fill?

No. You have to build the siege camp, but after that assaults take no time at all.