So you’ve just launched Knights of Honor II: Sovereign, eager to dive into its sprawling medieval sandbox. But as the map sprawls before you, teeming with factions and empty panels, one question hits hard: Where do I even begin? Fear not. This guide is your step-by-step companion for a strong, strategic start — crafted around real in-game insights to help you build a thriving kingdom from scratch.

Starting Small: The Smart Choice

Let’s get this out of the way: Knights of Honor II is a complex beast, and jumping in with a superpower like Germany or Byzantium might leave you overwhelmed and outpaced. Instead, the best way to learn the ropes is to start small — with a manageable faction in a relatively isolated position. Norway is a solid choice, but Scotland is an even more interesting option. Nestled in the far northwest, it gives you breathing room and limits the number of immediate threats.

That space matters because every single game in Knights of Honor II is randomized. Your workers, your Manpower, your resources — all are generated fresh for each playthrough. The only thing that’s consistent is your location on the map. That’s why playing with fewer provinces and border pressures allows you to learn the systems before being forced into high-stakes conflict.

A Blank Slate Kingdom

When the game begins, expect to feel like you’re starting from nothing — because you are. You’ll have no diplomacy, no traditions, no armies, no fancy buildings, and barely a Royal Court to speak of. It’s this tabula rasa approach that defines the game: Knights of Honor II wants you to build your story. Don’t worry if everything looks empty. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

Your first order of business? Pay attention to your resources: gold, books, food, commerce, religion, and Kingdom levies. These will drive every single action you take. Raising them is your ongoing mission, and it starts in your provinces.

Province Planning: Making the Most of What You’ve Got

Each kingdom is built from provinces, which consist of a capital city and several surrounding towns. The capital is where you construct and upgrade buildings, but it’s those surrounding towns that determine how valuable your upgrades will be. For example, if a province has many Seashore towns, maritime buildings like Harbors can be incredibly powerful.

Take Inverness in Scotland. Starting in 1224, Inverness has five Seashore towns and only one farming settlement. Building a Harbor here makes perfect sense. While the base Harbor doesn’t scale with towns, its upgrades do — Docks add +5 food, and Fish Markets bring in +5 commerce. Since building the same structure in other Seashore-heavy cities stacks the bonuses, you’re investing in a scalable economic engine.

Sure, a Harbor costs around 800 gold — a significant chunk of your starting resources — but it’s worth every coin. That initial economic growth opens doors to diplomacy, trade, and ultimately war.

Diplomacy: Friends First, Then Enemies

Before you raise armies, make alliances. Let’s say you suspect England will become a future problem (a fair bet). Why not cozy up to their enemy — France? Strike a trade agreement with France early. This immediately boosts the opinion of your merchant class, which directly impacts your commerce potential.

But remember: trade rights alone don’t make you money. You need a Merchant Knight in your Royal Court to actively trade. Hiring a Merchant costs gold and upkeep, but pays off when you send them to trade with France. Roughly one-third of your Commerce will go into this trade, which is why developing Commerce early matters.

Double down on this economic push by making your Merchant the Governor of a city like Edinburgh. This boosts the city’s commercial output, and because your King is already the Governor of Inverness, you get parallel development without overlap.

Preparing for War

Once you’re stable economically, you’ll likely consider military expansion. A prime target might be Galloway — a nearby one-province faction. While you can’t see their army size exactly, you can estimate it by looking at the province’s worker capacity and checking for any additional levies.

Before you fight, make sure you actually have an army. At the start, you’ll have no Marshal and no troops. You’ll need to:

1. Hire a Marshal Knight to command.
2. Recruit soldiers from your city.
3. Use your city garrison and manually drag and drop units into your Marshal’s army.

At first, you’ll only have access to Peasants — cheap and fast to recruit, but economically taxing as they take three workers from your population. That’s a hit early on, but workers regenerate over time. Later, when you’ve built a Barracks and invested in its upgrades, you’ll unlock stronger troops like Light Infantry, Bowmen, and Vikings (in Norway’s case), which cost Kingdom levies and fewer workers.

Recruit wisely. Soldiers cost gold and food, and a mismanaged army will starve you out. Timing and preparation are key.

Espionage, Religion, and Royal Influence

Beyond your Merchant and Marshal, your Royal Court can include powerful Knights like Spies, Clerics, and Diplomats. Spies are a game-changer. Send one to a rival kingdom and they might:

• Recruit enemy Marshals.
• Trigger revolts.
• Open gates during sieges.

After conquering new territory, you’ll want to bring in a Cleric to adopt or pacify the local population. Failing to do so risks rebellion and long-term instability.

Knights can drastically influence your gameplay, so build a well-rounded Court as early as possible.

Long-Term Systems (Don’t Worry About These Yet)

Some mechanics are locked until later:

• Royal Marriages to forge alliances (you’ll need children first).
• Great Powers and Rankings to track world leaders.
• Kingdom Advantages and Traditions that offer huge bonuses once you control specific resources and level up your Knights.

For now, just focus on building a stable economy, maintaining a few key relationships, and preparing for controlled expansion.

Final Thoughts

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign doesn’t hold your hand — it drops you into a living, shifting medieval world and asks you to make your mark. Starting small gives you space to learn. Managing resources and infrastructure gives you power. Carefully placed Knights give you tools to shape history.

Keep experimenting, don’t fear the blank map, and let your decisions carve a unique path through medieval chaos.

And if you’re ever in doubt, open the Royal Library at the bottom left of your screen. It’s packed with information that can clarify even the most confusing mechanics.

Good luck, and may your reign be long and glorious!