Overview
Kingdom building is the long-term strategic layer of Kingmakers that sits alongside the real-time strategy mode and third-person combat. While battles determine the immediate outcome of conflicts, kingdom building determines the player's ability to fight those battles in the first place. Without a functioning economy, a steady supply of resources, and the infrastructure to produce and upgrade military units, the player's modern weapons will eventually run dry and their medieval armies will lack the numbers and quality to hold territory.
The kingdom building system operates through strategy mode's overhead view, where the player places buildings, assigns workers, and manages the production chains that keep the war effort running. It is not a separate game mode; it is integrated into the same map and the same session as the combat. Between battles (and sometimes during them), the player invests time and resources into growing their kingdom's capabilities.
Resources
Three primary resource types drive the kingdom economy:
Resource | Source | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|
Copper | Mining operations, resource nodes | Basic construction, economy buildings, unit equipment |
Gold | Mining, trade, captured territory | Advanced construction, military upgrades, premium units |
Hidden Treasures | Exploration, battlefield loot, hidden caches | Special upgrades, rare equipment, unique unlocks |
Resources are gathered through the infrastructure the player builds: mines extract copper and gold from deposits on the map, economy buildings process and distribute those resources, and exploration of the game world reveals hidden caches of treasure. Defeated enemies also drop resources, and capturing enemy territory grants access to their resource nodes.
Sending Resources to the Future
In a mechanic that ties directly into the time travel narrative, resources gathered in 1400 AD medieval England can be sent forward to the future. Once sent, these resources are converted into a currency that the player uses to unlock modern equipment upgrades, new weapons, vehicle improvements, and advanced military technology. This creates a resource allocation tension: every unit of copper or gold sent to the future is a unit that cannot be spent on medieval infrastructure in the present.
The player must balance their spending between immediate medieval needs (more soldiers, better fortifications, more siege equipment) and future-tech investments (better guns, vehicle upgrades, air support improvements). A player who sends everything to the future will have impressive personal firepower but a weak medieval army. A player who invests everything in the medieval economy will have a strong army but limited modern tools. Finding the right balance is one of the game's core strategic challenges.
Construction
The player can construct a variety of building types, each serving a different function in the kingdom's economy and military machine.
Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Settlements | Villages, towns, population centers | Generate workers and serve as hubs for other buildings; population growth |
Economy | Markets, trade posts, warehouses | Process and distribute resources; generate passive income |
Production | Smithies, armories, workshops | Manufacture equipment, weapons, and supplies for the army |
Research | Libraries, observatories, academies | Unlock new technologies, unit upgrades, and building types |
Military | Barracks, stables, training grounds | Recruit and upgrade military units |
Fortifications | Walls, gates, towers, guard posts | Defend territory and control chokepoints |
Construction requires resources and time. Buildings can be placed during strategy mode and will be built by workers over a period that depends on the building's complexity and the number of workers assigned. The player can prioritize certain buildings by assigning more workers, though this comes at the cost of slower progress on other projects. Deciding what to build and in what order is one of the first major strategic decisions in any playthrough.
Unit Upgrades and Training
Soldiers in Kingmakers are not spawned at full strength. They begin as peasant levies, the lowest tier of military unit. These raw recruits are cheap to produce but ineffective in combat. Through training and combat experience, peasant levies can be upgraded into proper soldiers who fit into the six unit types: Swordsmen, Spearmen, Cavalry, Archers, Berserkers, and Men-at-Arms.
Each unit type has two to three upgrade tiers beyond the base level. Upgrading a unit improves its stats (health, damage, armor, and movement speed) and changes its equipment visually. Higher-tier units are significantly more effective than their lower-tier counterparts, but they also cost more resources to produce and maintain. A small army of fully upgraded Men-at-Arms might hold a chokepoint more effectively than a much larger force of peasant levies, but the investment required to reach that point is substantial.
Officer Experience
Officers are individual named characters who lead squads of soldiers. Unlike the soldiers they command, officers gain individual XP from each battle they participate in. A veteran officer who has survived multiple engagements becomes progressively more effective, improving the performance of the troops under their command. This creates an incentive to keep successful officers alive: losing a veteran officer is a much bigger setback than losing the same number of regular soldiers, because the experience and leadership bonuses they provide cannot be quickly replaced.
Officer XP accumulates naturally through combat. Officers who lead charges, hold defensive positions, or participate in successful engagements gain more experience than those who sit in the rear. This encourages the player to put their best officers where the fighting is heaviest, which also puts them at the greatest risk. The tension between maximizing an officer's growth and protecting them from death is a constant consideration.
Skill Tree and Holy Relics
Kingmakers features a full skill tree that provides upgrades and new abilities for the player's forces. The skill tree is powered by collectible holy relics scattered throughout the game world. These relics are rare items found through exploration, hidden in dungeons, rewarded for completing specific challenges, or recovered from defeated enemies. Each relic unlocks or upgrades a node on the skill tree, providing benefits that range from passive stat bonuses for units to entirely new abilities for the player character.
The relic-based skill tree adds an exploration incentive to a game that could otherwise be played entirely from the strategy map. Going out into the world on foot (in shooter mode) to find hidden relics is a very different activity from commanding armies from overhead, and it adds variety to the gameplay loop. It also means that players who invest time in exploration will have a tangible power advantage over those who focus exclusively on military operations.
Supply Lines
Armies need supplies to fight. Archers need a steady flow of arrows, and the player's modern weapons need ammunition. The supply system in Kingmakers requires the player to maintain production infrastructure that keeps these consumables flowing to the front lines. An army that outpaces its supply lines will run low on arrows and ammunition, reducing its effectiveness until resupply can be arranged.
In practice, this means the player needs to think about logistics, not just tactics. Building production facilities near the front line reduces supply distance but exposes them to enemy attack. Building them in the rear is safer but creates longer supply routes that are vulnerable to raiding. In co-op, one player can specialize in logistics and supply management, keeping the other players' armies fed and armed while they focus on combat. The supply system adds a layer of realistic military planning that complements the more immediate excitement of battlefield command and personal combat.
Balancing Medieval and Modern
The central strategic tension in Kingmakers' kingdom building is the balance between medieval infrastructure and modern technology. The medieval side (settlements, economy, military buildings, fortifications) provides the army and the resources. The modern side (weapons, vehicles, air support) provides the player's personal power and the ability to intervene decisively in specific situations. Neither side is sufficient on its own. A player with a powerful modern arsenal but no army will be overwhelmed by numbers. A player with a massive army but no modern equipment will lack the ability to break through heavily fortified positions or respond to unexpected threats quickly.
The best approach involves building both sides in parallel, investing in the medieval economy early to establish a resource base, then gradually ramping up modern technology spending as the campaign progresses and the challenges become more demanding. The exact balance shifts depending on the player's faction choice, co-op partners, and the specific challenges of each campaign mission. This flexibility in approach is one of the kingdom building system's greatest strengths.