Leadership Skill Leveling

Leveling Leadership can feel like a grind in the early game, but it accelerates exponentially once you understand the mechanics. Unlike combat skills, you don't need to hit things—you need to lead.

Understanding how XP is calculated is the first step to efficient leveling.

Method 1: The Army Loop (Fastest)

The absolute fastest way to level Leadership is to lead an army.

1. Join a Kingdom: You must be at least a mercenary, preferably a vassal.

2. Form an Army: Use the Kingdom menu to call other parties to you.

3. Maintain Cohesion: As you march, cohesion drops. Boosting it costs Influence. The more parties you have, the more XP you gain.

Pro Tip: If you have companions running their own parties, you can call them to your army for 0 Influence cost. This allows you to march around permanently as a mini-army, gaining Leadership XP every second, even during peace time.

Keeping your army gathered for long durations maximizes XP gain.

Method 2: Passive Morale

Before you can form armies, you rely on Morale.

• Keep your party morale above 75.

• Buy diverse food (Grain, Meat, Cheese, Butter, etc.) to get the "Food Variety" bonus.

• Win battles frequently.

• This method is slow but steady and works from day 1.

The reward for your grind: massive party sizes that can conquer map.

Recommended Perks for Leveling

While leveling, some perks help you go faster:

• Combat Tips (Lvl 25): Passive XP helps your troops, keeping your power high so you can win battles and maintain morale.

• Stout Defender (Lvl 50): Helps you win defensive battles, which give huge morale boosts.

• Leader of the Masses (Lvl 125): Once you hit this, your party size jumps, allowing you to lead more men and gain XP faster.

Common Mistakes

• Starving Troops: Low food variety tanks morale, stopping passive XP gain.

• Disbanding Armies: Don't let cohesion hit 0. Spend influence to keep the army together as long as possible.

For a full breakdown of what perks to pick once you've leveled up, check out our Leadership Skill Guide.