The Elder Scrolls: Castles is a 2D simulation game from Bethesda Softworks that allows you to step into the shoes of a ruler, managing a kingdom filled with citizens, quests, and challenges. Whether you’re constructing your castle, making crucial decisions, or sending your subjects on dangerous quests, the game offers a deep and rewarding experience that requires careful planning and strategy.

Before setting out on your quest to build the strongest base, it’s essential to understand the mechanics that drive The Elder Scrolls: Castles. In this guide, we’ll share key tips and tricks to help you maximize your kingdom’s productivity, manage your citizens effectively, and ensure your reign is both prosperous and peaceful. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your strategy, these insights will set you on the path to becoming the ultimate ruler.

Keeping Your Subjects Happy

Happiness is a crucial factor in The Elder Scrolls: Castles. The overall happiness of your subjects determines not only their productivity but also the stability of your kingdom. To maintain high levels of happiness, it’s essential to address the needs and concerns of your citizens promptly. When passing rulings, always consider the least happy person in the situation—ignoring them could lead to severe consequences, including potential assassination attempts or unrest.

If you find yourself facing a difficult ruling that could negatively impact your subjects, consider postponing the decision by closing and reopening the game. This can give you time to gather more resources or improve the overall happiness of your kingdom before making a tough call. Remember, a happy kingdom is a productive kingdom, and managing your citizens’ well-being should always be a top priority.

Managing Traits for Maximum Productivity

Each subject in The Elder Scrolls: Castles comes with unique traits that can greatly affect their performance in various tasks. Traits like Leader, Mighty, and Perceptive can boost productivity and combat effectiveness, making them invaluable in your quest to build a thriving kingdom. Conversely, negative traits such as Bossy or Devious can disrupt the workflow and create problems among your citizens.

To get the most out of your subjects, strategically assign them to tasks that align with their strengths. For instance, place a subject with the Mighty trait in the Smithy to enhance weapon production, or assign a Leader trait subject to oversee important tasks to trigger beneficial effects. Don’t hesitate to banish subjects with overwhelmingly negative traits, especially if they are causing more harm than good. This not only improves your kingdom’s efficiency but also ensures that your gene pool remains strong when breeding new subjects.

Strategic Breeding and Subject Management

Breeding is an essential feature in The Elder Scrolls: Castles, allowing you to produce new subjects with potentially powerful traits. To optimize this process, it’s crucial to pair subjects with good traits together, increasing the likelihood of passing down beneficial attributes. Keep in mind that couples can only produce one baby per day, so timing your breeding sessions is key to maintaining a steady workforce.

As your kingdom expands, you’ll need more subjects to fill the increasing number of workstations. Regularly breeding your subjects ensures you always have a fresh supply of workers, and by focusing on those with positive traits, you can significantly enhance your kingdom’s productivity and combat readiness. Remember, it’s not just about quantity but quality—building a strong gene pool is vital for long-term success.

Questing and Combat Strategy

Quests are a vital part of The Elder Scrolls: Castles, offering valuable rewards and experience points that can help your kingdom grow. When preparing for a quest, it’s important to carefully select your team based on the enemies you’ll face. Utilize the traits of your subjects to maximize their effectiveness in combat. For example, a character with the Pyromaniac trait will excel with fire-based abilities, while one with the Perceptive trait will be more effective with ranged weapons.

Combat in quests is automated, but that doesn’t mean you should be passive. You can still influence the outcome by strategically assigning your characters to target specific enemies. Focus on taking out enemy healers first to prevent them from restoring their allies’ health. Additionally, managing your resources, such as healing potions and resurrection scrolls, is crucial. These items are limited per battle, so use them wisely to ensure victory.

Building and Upgrading Your Castle

The heart of your kingdom lies in its castle, and building and upgrading its various rooms and facilities is key to your success. As you progress, you’ll unlock new workstations such as the Smithy, Kitchen, and Loom, each of which plays a vital role in your kingdom’s economy. Upgrading these stations should be a priority, as it not only increases production rates but also provides access to better tools, weapons, and armor.

Pay special attention to the Oil Press and Mill, as these are critical for producing the resources needed to keep your castle running smoothly. Stockpiling resources like oil and wood will allow you to complete trade orders and earn gold, which is essential for further upgrades. The more efficient your production lines are, the faster your kingdom will grow, so don’t neglect the importance of regular upgrades.

Balancing Relationships and Rulings

In addition to managing productivity, you’ll need to keep a close eye on the relationships between your subjects. Conflicts can arise if certain characters dislike each other, and unresolved tensions can lead to serious disruptions. While you can’t prevent subjects from wandering and interacting with others, you can manage these relationships by making thoughtful rulings and keeping an eye on their happiness levels.

When conflicts do arise, your rulings will play a significant role in either quelling or exacerbating the situation. Try to balance your decisions to avoid making enemies, and always consider the broader implications of your choices. Sometimes, it might be necessary to favor one group over another, but doing so with tact and caution can prevent long-term issues.

The Elder Scrolls: Castles offers a rich and complex simulation experience that rewards careful planning and strategic decision-making. By keeping your subjects happy, managing traits effectively, and focusing on building a strong, well-equipped kingdom, you can ensure that your reign is both prosperous and peaceful. As you continue to explore the game, remember that every choice you make will have lasting consequences, so always consider the bigger picture when ruling your kingdom.

With these tips and tricks in hand, you’re now ready to take on the challenges of The Elder Scrolls: Castles. Build your castle, lead your subjects wisely, and conquer the quests that stand in your way. Enjoy playing The Elder Scrolls: Castles on PC or laptop with BlueStacks!