The Basics | Economy Eador: MotBW Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Balancing the budget - managing the kingdom in such a way as to produce income - is one of the most important elements in the game. It's not an easy task, either - money literally evaporate right before your eyes and acquiring new sources of income is both time-consuming and expensive. This is where we will try to figure out how to manage administration and economy properly.

The most important thing to know is to learn what affects your gains and losses. You can view the current balance sheet by moving the cursor over gold and crystals icons at the bottom of the screen (see below). As you can see, military units under the command of the leader consume almost the entirety of the kingdom's budget. You can either: dismiss them, conquer a new province, use a ritual or invest in buildings that will increase revenues - there are the four major ways to improve your finances.

So what is it that consumes your gold and crystals? The list is pretty long and contains a range of factors. In fact, you can practically say that the whole idea is spending money in such a way to receive even more money later. Below is the list of all in-game elements that require financial outlays:

Loss Factors

Type	Nature of the Loss	Required Materials
Buying troops (mercenaries cost twice as much)	One-time	Varying depending on troops
Army upkeep (mercenaries cost twice as much)	Constant	Gold and/or crystals
Hiring heroes	One-time	Gold and crystals
Resurrecting heroes	One-time	Gold and crystals
Resurrecting the undead after battle	One-time	Crystals
Undead army upkeep	Constant	Crystals
Guards upkeep in provinces	Constant	Gold and/or crystals
Casting spells	One-time	Crystals
Building buildings	One-time	Varying depending on building
Buying or repairing items	One-time	Varying depending on item
Performing rituals	One-time	Varying depending on ritual
Random events	Various	Varying depending on event
Corruption	Constant	Gold and crystals

How to make up for the above losses? The first choice would be to conquer a new province: they guarantee some substantial monetary injection and open up further development possibilities. Interestingly, the more populous the province, the more revenues it generates, so make sure to take good care of your lands by allowing them to grow. The growth is in turn hampered mainly by the current state of uncovered terrain, which can be further uncovered by sending a hero on reconnaissance (see below). Exploring terrain in 100% is crucial as it will get you an additional bonus to income. You can read more about it in the chapter devoted to Exploration.

The tiles you conquer are divided into four categories: plains, hill, forests and swamps. While planning expansion, consider the benefits each type of terrain can give you. These are:

Types of Provinces

Name	Revenues	Exploration Rate
Plains	Very large amounts of gold, little amounts of crystals	Vey fast
Hills	Large amounts of gold, little amounts of crystals	Moderately fast
Forests	Comparable amounts of gold and crystals	Moderately fast
Swamps	Large amounts of crystals, little amounts of gold	Very slow

The problem with conquering provinces is that the further they lay, the more powerful creatures defend them. Sometimes it's better to restrain your imperial impulses and focus on internal politics. Bandits' and creatures' hideouts that lay within your borders provide an excellent source of one-time income. If you've discovered such locations, dispatch a hero with a properly suited army to defeat their guardians (see below). This will get a you a nice financial injection while often involving additional bonuses, such as acquiring random items. Notice that the more powerful the creatures that defend the area, the bigger the treasures you can squeeze out of them. Also, it's worth mentioning that you receive a certain amount of gold and crystals after every victorious battle - though these are not huge sums.