MEDIEVAL REAL TIME STRATEGY Your First Hour in Medieval RTS
Two builders, the back farm, mills, then knights - the 2026 beginner opening.
MEDIEVAL REAL TIME STRATEGY throws you into an online match the moment you spawn. There is no offline campaign to hide in. You appear at a castle, you share a server that can hold 200 players, and you win only when every enemy castle is rubble. This page is the first-hour walkthrough: what to click, what to buy, and what to ignore until the mill line is real.
The video on this page is Adish’s 2026 beginner guide. Use it for the camera, then keep this text beside the match so you are not scrubbing timestamps while a Watchtower lands on your second farm.
Spawn kit: castle, King, and the keep menu
Your King is free and already on the field. He is not a second builder and he is not disposable. Stand him near the first mill jobs so the aura can speed building, then walk him with the army later so attack and heal stay buffed. If he dies, you do not get a replacement from the keep.
The castle prints about $25 per minute, chips nearby units, and can be upgraded. Community quotes put level 2 near $130. Do not dump your first purse into that upgrade. Right-click or tap the castle instead. The keep can recruit Builder, Archer, Swordman, and Repairman. Builders are about $10. Buy two.
The 2026 opening, in order
Beginner videos in 2026 keep repeating the same sequence because it still wins lanes against other new accounts:
- Two builders. Some players add three swordsmen on the same breath if they expect a tower on the first contested tile.
- Send builders to farm tiles. Place Windmills. A mill next to a farm is worth about $11 per minute.
- Take the backmost farm relative to the path you will attack first. That tile is the one least likely to be raided while you have no army.
- Contest mid farms next. Speed matters more than a pretty ring of walls.
- If the opponent plants a Watchtower (about 40 HP, slow damage), stop feeding builders into it. Add swordsmen, kill the tower, then resume mills.
- After three or more Windmills, drop a Barracks (about $35, 35 HP, the building is not upgraded) and start Knights. A Siege Workshop can wait unless you already see a blob you need Catapults for.
A click-order version of that list lives on the timed opening planner if you want it on a second monitor. The why behind mill placement is in the windmill income breakdown.
Split the two builders. Stacked builders cover one tile. Split builders cover two, and you need two. Keep them alive. A dead builder is a stalled mill and a stalled mill is a lost mid farm.
What the first hour is allowed to buy
Buy builders, mill Windmills, add swordsmen only to kill towers, drop a House when the troop cap yells, then Barracks into Knights with a Repairman on the keep or mill line. Skip wall rings, Spell factory, navy, balloons, and Robber hunts until three mills exist. Ports, fishing boats, attack ships, battleships, Armory, and limited Outposts are real buildings - they are also how you lose the first ten minutes. Siege spend waits for wall-breaking siege notes. Builder Huts raise the builder cap (around six, extra slot from Armory research) when farms are still open, not as decoration beside an empty barracks.
Knights are the first real line. Crossbowers come later as cheap mass and die to Wizard splash if you clump them. Spearman are weak on land and exist to dismount cavalry. If a name slips, open the full unit roster cheat sheet. Walk the King with the job, not as a ram - king aura and army roles has the aura details.
Clicks that lose games
Left-click selects, E dumps the selection, Shift plus left-click peels one unit, Q (interact on mobile) loads wagons and boats, and players mention F to line troops. Recruit is a right-click or tap on the castle. If that is still fuzzy, use the PC and mobile hotkey table. Do not send the King or builders at a Watchtower, and do not chase a scout while a builder idles.
Codes, badges, and the ranked door
Codes redeem in the Skins panel. Players have reported RTS for 500 coins and 2K for 1000 coins; they may expire. Follow the skins-panel redeem steps. Badges you can trip without trying: Played, Teamwork (alliance win), Legion (15 swordmen in one match), Skillful at level 10, Heraldry if you buy a skin. Ranked locks until level 7, with matchmaking buckets at 1-5 and 6+. Read ranked unlock and etiquette before that queue. Private-server commands are a game pass for owners, not a first-hour tool.
After the first live match
If you ran out of money, the income guide is next. If a wall or tower froze the push, siege is next. If you had mills and knights and still could not crack a keep, jump to macro and army compositions. All of those sit under the guides overview.
The first hour is a loop, not a lore dump: spawn, two builders, back farm, mills, swordsmen only as tower answer, barracks into knights, King in range, enemy castles as the only finish line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for codes, ranked, windmills, and siege fights.
Should I start with more than two builders?
Usually no. 2026 beginner openings use two. Add swordsmen rather than a third builder if you expect a Watchtower on the first contested farm.
When do I build Barracks instead of another Windmill?
After three or more mills. The windmill income breakdown covers the breakpoint. A barracks before that often starves the next mill.
Is Medieval RTS playable solo against bots only?
No. It is online multiplayer with alliances. You can meet bots in some lobbies, but the game is not a single-player-only title.
Where do I redeem the RTS and 2K codes?
In the Skins panel. Use the skins-panel redeem steps. Both codes may expire; do not invent replacements.
What if I keep losing because I cannot select units?
Stop the match and learn the PC and mobile hotkey table. E unselects all, Shift plus left-click peels one, and Q loads wagons.