Life as a lowly peasant in the Middle Ages proved to be a hardscrabble existence. This fact is skillfully illustrated in Medieval Dynasty, a game where players are tasked with not only surviving their harsh environment but also building a sustainable and thriving community along the way. Achieving this goal requires time, and more importantly, hard work.
Luckily, practice makes perfect in Medieval Dynasty. Performing actions that correspond to a particular skill accumulates experience points. Eventually, players can unlock perks that result in new abilities that aid them in their endeavors. Some skill upgrades, however, are a bit more helpful than the rest.
Updated November 13, 2022 by Mark Hospodar: Trying to eke out an existence in the medieval world is no easy task. Racimir doesn't have much more than the clothes on his back at the start of Medieval Dynasty. A lot of hard work and shrewd business decisions are required to become successful in the game.
Thankfully, tasks become much easier once players start investing in certain skills and talents. These perks grant bonuses that will make Racimir's activities more efficient. This list has been expanded to include a few more worthwhile skills that fans should definitely consider unlocking.
13 Mule – 3 Levels
Building a community from scratch requires a lot of backbreaking labor. A myriad collection of raw materials need to be collected and transported to their proper locations before construction can begin. To make the process speedier, more inventory space definitely comes in handy.
The Mule perk comes in 3 levels, each one progressively increasing Racimir's weight capacity. At the highest level, the Mule perk bestows a +15 kg bonus to the protagonist's weight limit. This allows the player to carry more items and raw materials in fewer trips.
12 Steady Hand – 3 Levels
Hunting is certainly one of the most important skills in Medieval Dynasty. Purchasing food regularly becomes expensive and is practically unfeasible in the early game. Players need to become adept at hunting their own food supplies to avoid starvation.
Steady Hand is a highly beneficial perk that makes the protagonist more accurate with their hunting implements. Heightened accuracy means that animals can be hunted more efficiently and with less hassle. As such, taking all three levels of this perk is highly recommended.
11 Skilled Orchardman – 3 Levels
Hunting is all well and good, but players will have to come around to the idea of farming at some point. Harvesting a diverse array of crops is essential for a steady food supply as well as a long-term income. Villagers, naturally, can help with this process immensely.
Increasing the yield of one's orchards translates to more money and food in the player's pockets. Skilled Orchardman progressively increases the bonuses to orchard yields with each level. At Level 3, a 30% bonus is granted, which is a nice boon.
10 Builder – 3 Levels
In Medieval Dynasty, Racimir is going to have to roll up his sleeves and get building in order for his burgeoning settlement to get up and running. For that, players will be wielding a hammer quite frequently to construct new buildings and furniture.
The Builder skill is a useful second-tier talent in the Production branch that players may want to consider. It slows the durability loss of the hammer with each progressive level, culminating at 25% by the third level. Having to waste less time crafting new replacement hammers is a nice benefit considering that a lot of building is going to be done throughout a playthrough.
9 Castellan – 3 Levels
Players don't have to live off the land all by themselves. Once Racimir has sufficiently established himself in the region, it becomes beneficial to start inviting other villagers to join his settlement. After all, more hands allow more work to be accomplished!
However, players must ensure that their new neighbors have access to everything they need. The Castellan perk slows the decay of villagers' Food and Wood needs. Thus, existing supplies last longer and lessen some of the daily micromanagement.
8 Inspiring Speech – 3 Levels
The NPCs that join a player's village aren't just extra mouths to feed. They contribute to the overall functioning of the community. Unsurprisingly, townspeople that are happy and productive ultimately benefit the village as a whole.
The Inspiring Speech perk makes the work done by villagers more efficient. The production speed of every NPC in the community is increased at each level. At Level 3, this results in a +25% faster production time. Faster production means more materials and finished goods that can be consumed and/or sold for profit.
7 Good Host – 3 Levels
Having a town full of unhappy villagers isn't an ideal situation. Failing to ensure that villagers have access to basic necessities will result in obvious disgruntlement. When their Mood rating drops too low, NPCs in the game will leave the community altogether.
Good Host is a useful perk to have, especially when times are tough. It slows villager Mood decay by a fixed percentage with each level. By Level 3, NPCs experience a 50% slower decay to their Mood rating. As such, villagers will take longer to reach their breaking point, giving players more time to salvage the situation.
6 Insensitive – 3 Levels
Players can't afford to ignore the elements in Medieval Dynasty. As in real life, the seasons change, bringing with them different considerations when it comes to survival. Extreme temperatures in winter and summer can potentially be lethal to Racimir if he is wearing improper clothing.
The Insensitive skill under the Survival branch will help alleviate this problem. Each level of Insensitive grants better temperature tolerance for Racimir. If players find themselves in a situation where they're not wearing suitable clothing, these perks can prove useful in an emergency.
5 Iron Liver – 3 Levels
Although the need to eat is always present, the protagonist needs to be careful about what they're putting in their mouths. Consuming certain types of food found in the wilderness may result in poisoning. The same holds true when eating spoiled or uncooked food.
To help mitigate the effects of poisoning, fans may want to consider investing a few points in Iron Liver. This perk bestows a useful resistance to poison, up to 75% at Level 3. When Racimir is in a pinch, consuming otherwise dangerous food is now a much more viable option.
4 Survivalist – 3 Levels
Venturing across long distances, especially on foot, requires some degree of preparation. Racimir's Food and Water meters are constantly decaying and must never reach zero. Modifiers that help slow this process are always good to have in one's possession.
Survivalist is a great perk to be taken as early as possible. It slows the speed at which the protagonist's Food and Water meters decay, up to a maximum of 30% at Level 3. Dying out in the wilderness through dehydration or starvation becomes less of a worry with this perk.
3 Athlete – 3 Levels
Racimir isn't superhuman. His Stamina bar will deplete while performing physical activities, such as sprinting or building something. Since most of the game revolves around physical exertion, upgrading the Stamina meter is often a good idea.
The Athlete perk slows the rate of Stamina consumption whenever Racimir is moving. This is helpful, considering it allows the protagonist to sprint for longer periods of time before getting tired. This can be especially beneficial when trying to flee from predators and other enemies.
2 Barter – 3 Levels
Getting the best prices for one's goods is always an important consideration in any game with an economy system. Medieval Dynasty isn't just about scraping by on a subsistence level. Ideally, players will want to accumulate a fair bit of wealth to purchase the things they need as well as pay their taxes.
The Barter skill is a great investment in this regard. Each successive level of Barter grants better buying and selling prices, culminating in 30% better prices at Level 3. Paying less and selling for more money steadily adds up over time, resulting in greater savings and profits.
1 Creative Accounting – 3 Levels
Paying taxes is an inescapable fact of life, even in a game like Medieval Dynasty. Every year, players must pay their taxes on time or else fall into a crippling cycle of debt. The sooner players can establish an economy for their settlement, the better.
The Creative Accounting perk helps reduce the burden of taxation. By Level 3, players can expect to pay 30% fewer taxes they owe to the king. That translates into more money players can keep for themselves, which is always a plus.
Medieval Dynasty is currently available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.