Disclaimer: This topic summarizes the perceptions of a new player. From a veteran’s point of view the information described here might appear as redundant. Empire only because reasons (favorite faction). First part will generally describe the recruitment boosting buildings of the Empire, second part contains an assessment of various Empire provinces as to their importance in regards to special recruiting buildings and other useful buildings, third part covers how to max out on recruitment ranks, including additional boosters like Lord skills & traits, Captain skills, research, items, offices and followers. When I started playing Total War: Warhammer all those “recruitment boosting buildings” managed to confuse me greatly. At first I assumed they would generally stack, so I built Warhorse Breeder’s Stables and Woodworkers’ Shops all over the place (same thing would apply to Master Swordsmith’s Forges, but there are only a few places where you can build those, so that prevented me from going full noob for this structure ;P). About recruitment boosting buildings: First thing to note is that there are two types of buildings that boost recruitment ranks for units and heroes. For sake of simplicity the buildings list will contain only the boni to recruitment ranks, excluding other effects such as increased income or reduced corruption. The full effect of those buildings will be covered in part 2 of this topic if I deem them to be relevant (a complete list of Empire general and unique buildings can be found here: http://www.honga.net/totalwar/warhammer/building.php?l=en&v=warhamm er&f=wh_main_emp_empire). In addition to buildings, there are various other sources that globally or locally boost recruitment ranks, to be elaborated on in part 2 and especially 3. Global Recruitment bonus ranks from such buildings apply globally. The affected type of unit or hero can be recruited anywhere, the bonus ranks upon recruiting will always be applied. This especially means, that you don’t need to recruit units / heroes in the province that feature such a building, only the building itself matters. Boni to Lord recruitment ranks always apply globally (and they don’t need buildings for recruitment, which sets them apart from units and heroes in that regard). List of buildings that boost recruitment ranks globally: Bokha Palace: +2 for Lords Archecclesiatium of Myrmidia: +2 for Warrior Priests Blazing Sun Chapterhouse: +1 for Empire Knights, Reiksguard, Knights of the Blazing Sun, and Demigryphs Couronne Tournament Grounds: +2 for all types of cavalry units Nuln Cannon Foundry: +2 for all types of artillery Nuln Gunnery School: +4 for all types of artillery Local Recruitment bonus ranks from such buildings apply locally. The affected type of unit or hero has to be recruited in the province featuring the related building; otherwise bonus ranks won’t be applied. This especially means that you have to plan that particular province with the military production buildings in mind, which are able to produce the units / heroes, which will profit from the “recruitment booster”. List of buildings that boost recruitment ranks locally: Warhorse Breeder’s Stables: +2 for Empire Knights, Knights of the Blazing Sun and Reiksguard, +3 for Pistoliers and Outriders Woodworker’s Shop: +3 for Empire Crossbowmen and Spearmen Master Swordsmith’s Forge: +3 for Empire Swordsmen, Free Company Militia and Greatswords Armoury: +1 for Empire infantry recruits Knights Panther Chapterhouse: +4 for Empire Knights, Reiksguard, Knights of the Blazing Sun, and Demigryphs Wizard’s Tower: +4 for Battle Wizards Temple of Sigmar: +2 for Warriors Priests Cathedral of Sigmar: +4 for Warriors Priests and Witch Hunters Altdorf Colleges of Magic: +6 for Battle Wizards Middenheim Great Temple of Ulric: +6 for Warrior Priests and Witch Hunters Province Analysis Reikland Since the Altdorf Colleges of Altdorf provide flat-out better recruitment ranks for Battle Wizards this is where you should recruit them. Other than that you only need Wizard’s Conclaves in other provinces to boost Battle Wizard hero capacity. To further boost recruitment rank, make use of Balthasar Gelt + the office of Patriarch. One of his quest items also increases Battle Wizard recruitment rank, but that is pretty late game, so level 11 wizards are what you can expect for the major part of an Empire Campaign. No point in upgrading to Wizard’s Towers as they don’t yield additional capacity, only build one if you want to set up for Luminark of Hesh production. You can make use of the Warhorse Breeder’s Stables in Grunburg if you want to focus on cavalry, but there are plenty of regions to offer this building, so there is no need per se to set up for cavalry production in this province. Altdorf plays a central role in the Empire’s economy, as it buffs the income of regions in its own and all surrounding provinces. Couronne The Couronne Tournament Grounds provide a major boost to your cavalry game and are without a doubt a highly useful unique building. They also provide a nice improvement to economy with +1200 income and with the +10 local public order buff rebellions are hardly an issue in this province. The only problem is that it isn’t exactly in your territory, meaning you will have to attack Brettonia at some point to gain access. Nuln If you want to go artillery heavy, Nuln is a crucial province. The reduced upkeep provided by the Nuln Cannon Foundry and – once the Nuln Gunnery School is built – also reduced recruitment cost compliment the boost to artillery recruitment ranks nicely. Wissensland is also one of the few provinces to feature a Master Swordsmith’s Forge, so it is recommended to setup Greatsword recruitment here. By making use of diplomacy and not making Nuln angry, you can confederate with them very early in the campaign. Talabecland The Blazing Sun Chapterhouse appears to be a less potent version of the Couronne Tournament Grounds, with the difference for secondary boni being, that it provides reduction of corruption instead of increased income and the option to recruit Knights of the Blazing Sun if you purchased the corresponding DLC. However, it should be noted that the boni to recruitment ranks stack with those of the Couronne Tournament Grounds (as is the case with all global boosts), assuming you recruit a cavalry type that matches with the requirements of the Blazing Sun Chapterhouse. So it is not a question of deciding between Brettonia and Talabecland but instead if and when to acquire both of these provinces to buff your cavalry. Once again, confederation is a realistic option, just like with Wissensland [I am still experimenting with Knights of the Blazing Sun, so no hard opinion on them yet]. Estalia You will have to travel quite far to get hold of this global rise to Warrior Priest recruitment ranks. Other than that Estalia is an economy-heavy province with ports and lots of special resource buildings. Recommended to either conquer early on before or late after dealing with Chaos. Of questionable importance if you only care about the bonus to Warrior Priests, since there are several other ways to raise Warrior Priest recruitment ranks. However it also provides a global increase to public order, which helps to stop rebellions from happening. Lastly, it features a local public order buff and reduction of corruption, so you can safely leave Estalia alone once the Archecclesiatium of Myrmidia has been built. Middenland Middenland offers two super important unique buildings: The Middenheim Great Temple of Ulric and the Knights Panther Chapterhouse. In combination with the Cathedral of Sigmar + the corresponding research you can pump out level 13 Witch Hunters and Warrior Priests for great effect (Warrior Priest level can be even further increases by making use of various other sources for higher recruitment ranks, especially Volkmar). The local bonus to public order and decrease of corruption helps to keep this province rebellion-free, but what’s more a lesser decrease of corruption is also applied in the surrounding provinces. Very helpful in the fight against Chaos (it also adds 2 Greatsword units to the garrison so in combination with walls you can put up a very strong infantry line on the walls during siege defence). If you take a closer look at the Warhorse Breeder’s Stables you will notice that it sadly does not feature Demigryphs. That is where the Knights Panther Chapterhouse comes in and with a whopping +4 gain at that. If you want to produce elite Demigryphs, Middenland it is where it is at! Under the right conditions (mainly buildings) you don’t even need a Captain to obtain max rank Demigryphs and / or Reiksguard (details in part 3). Southern Oblast Kislev is pretty much late game content. By the time you get there, you will have several experienced Lords, so the +2 bonus to Lord recruitment rank isn’t much of a game changer. Same goes for the increase income in the region (btw Vampires are better suited for making use of that trait since they feature more buildings that provide income) and the local increase to public order (at this point in the campaign there should be plenty of ways available to keep public order under control). The Wasteland This province does not feature any common let alone unique buildings for increased recruitment ranks. Nonetheless I wanted to include this province here, as it allows you to considerably improve your economy with honorable mentions going to the Marienburg Port and you can get access early on, as it is a neighboring province. Good synergy with Altdorfs’s buff to income in regions of surrounding provinces. Securing the Wasteland early on makes it easier to fund the construction of buildings in other provinces and to bolster your war efforts. Maxing out recruitment ranks Note that some recruitment rank boosters will take a while to acquire or may not suit your preferences (e.g. the Lord skill “Headhunter” requires you to heavily invest into the support skill tree), so depending on the situation recruiting at the maximum possible rank is not a realistic option. If there are several ways to achieve maximum possible rank for units, I will outline the one which is most realistic / viable in my opinion. Units Infantry without a building related to them Rank 9: State Troops Sergeants (+2), Armoury (+1), Militiaman (+1), Exemplar (+3), Headhunter (+2) Steam Tanks Rank 7: Veteran Gunners (+2), Exemplar (+3), Headhunter (+2) Luminark of Hysh Rank 5: Exemplar (+3), Headhunter (+2) Spearmen and Crossbowmen Rank 9: State Troops Sergeants (+2), Woodworker’s Shop (+3), either Militiaman, Spearmen / Crossbow Follower or Armoury (+1), Exemplar (+3) Swordsmen, Free Company and Greatswords Rank 9: State Troops Sergeants (+2), Master Swordsmith’s Forge (+3), Armoury (+1), Exemplar (+3) Free Company Militia are not mentioned in the tooltip, but are affected nonetheless (because they carry swords i guess). Pistoliers and Outriders Rank 9: Warhorse Breeder’s Stables (+3), Couronne Tournament Grounds (+2), at least second level of Exemplar (+2), Headhunter (+2) Knights of the Blazing Sun Rank 9: Knightly Preceptors (+2), Couronne Tournament Grounds (+2), Blazing Sun Chapterhouse (+1), at least second level of Exemplar (+2), Headhunter (+2) Demigryph, Reiksguard and Empire Knights Rank 9: Knightly Preceptors (+2), Couronne Tournament Grounds (+2), Blazing Sun Chapterhouse (+1), Knights Panther Chapterhouse (+4) This setup is quite unique as it doesn’t need any character skills for recruitment at rank 9. A quite viable alternative for Reiksguard recruitment at rank 9 is to use Warhorse Breeder’s Stables (+2) in combination with the office of Reiksmarshall (+2) or second level of Exemplar. As for Demigryphs you would have again to make us of at least second level of Exemplar (+2) and the elusive Headhunter skill (+2) to substitute the Knights Panther Chapterhouse. Artillery Rank 9: Veteran Gunners (+2), Nuln Gunnery School (+4), Exemplar (+3) Heroes Battle Wizards Rank 12: Altdorf Colleges of Magic (+6), Transmuter (+2), office of Patriarch (+2), Staff of Volans (+1) Witch Hunters Rank 13: Ecclesial Writ (+2), Cathedral of Sigmar (+4), Middenheim Great Temple of Ulric (+6) Warrior Priests Rank 27: Ecclesial Writ (+2), Cathedral of Sigmar (+4), Middenheim Great Temple of Ulric (+6), Grand Theogonist (+2), Heretic Hunter (+5), Jade Griffon (+5), Archecclesiatium of Myrmidia (+2) Captains No boosters for increased recruitment ranks available.