By Lord_Chris

Stronghold 2 Multiplayer can be very daunting at first for new players. Below I've compiled three of the most efficient ways to speedrun the start of multiplayer and get your economy setup and running. I will start with my own favourite, and the one which works best for me. You don't even need to follow the entire guide, but even the first couple of steps should get you started. I always improvise once I get a certain way through but the first couple of steps help me to quickly get an advantage over other players in the game.

Strategy 1- Creating a Basic Industry

This strategy will cover around the first 8 minutes of the game and will set up a base for you to further your Empire from. Once you've done this, the game becomes a lot easier, a lot quicker.

• Place a Market, randomly and out of the way
• Place your Granary in a central location
• Place your Stockpile
• Place three Hunter's posts, near your Keep and away from your Granary
• Sell your 25 Apples, and buy 5 Cheese, 5 Meat and 5 Bread
• Play with your rations putting them on Double, but ensure that you have enough food and variety in your Granary
• Keep counting until you get 62 Honour from your Granary
• Place 4 Apple Farms
• Place 2 Hovels next to your nearest Trees to the Stockpile
• Place as many Saw Pits as possible near the trees where your Hovels are located
• It's probably time to lower your rations or buy more food
• Once your Population is 24/24, delete both your Hovels and place 2 more Saw Pits
• Sell your meat and wood to get more food in your Granary, but sell them slowly
• Don't forget to check your Honour and promote if you have enough
• Place 3 Hovels next to your Kitchen area
• Place the Kitchen very close to the Keep
• Sell wood and Apples to purchase 7 Pigs for your Kitchen. You can buy more, but you need at least 7 to generate 38 Honour
• As soon as the feast starts, place many Apple Farms around your Granary but before this, place 2 lines of 3 Hovels at the top of your estate and to the side for quick access to the farms. YOu can move these later if you would like.
• You must remember to play with the Granary rations, and when you have 56 Honour, your first feast should finish raising your total amount of Honour to 94

Strategy 2- Establish Economic Supremacy

Personally I've never used this one. However I have seen players who have used it, and I must admit it is highly effective. This one supercharges your economy in a very short space of time.

• Start by placing your free Saw Pit
• Place your Market somewhere near your estate boundary
• Place your Stockpile in an area with a large amount of free space
• Sell 25 Apples, buy 5 Cheese, 5 Meat and 5 Bread
• Place 2 Hunter's Posts near the Keep
• Place 5 Apple Farms
• Place 2 Hovels near your Trees
• Use the remainder of your Wood to place Saw Pits
• Play with your Granary rations, setting them on double and ensure there is enough food
• Build the Kitchen next to your Campfire
• With your Wood supplies coming in, place an extra Hovel and create another 8 Saw pits
• When your population reaches 32 delete the 3 Hovels and place 4 of them near the Granary
• Place 8 Apple Farms
• Buy 7 Pigs for your Kitchen
• Start feasting as soon as possible
• Delete your 4 Hovels and place 6-7 Hovels near your main Stockpile
• Place 12 Wheat Farms, and 2 Mills
• Once all those buildings are manned, delete your Hovels, and place them again near your Granary
• Place at least 40 Apple Farms
• You should have purchased an estate by now, fill it up with around 12 mills and 30+ Wheat Farms
• Delete your Kitchen and place it at the side of your Keep
• Remember to maintain your popularity, but place a Treasury and set your Taxes to -6 popularity
• Promote to a Knight
• Start a full feast
• Get some Dances going in the Keep followed by the creation of a Jousting Field
• Order your estate to send you 50 Flour
• You should have around 60 Flour in your main Stockpile when this arrives, so delete all your own Wheat Farms
• Place Bakeries, but turn them off production mode
• Delete all of your Apple Farms except 15 of them
• Turn on all of your Bakeries

Strategy 3- Defence is the best Offence

This strategy is all about defending your Castle. You will have an average army of around 60 Crossbowmen and 50 Knights. It doesn't use Dances and Feasting and the Church to gain Honour in any way.

• Place your free Saw Pit
• Place your Stockpile in a safe place, out of the reach of Trebuchets
• Place your Granary in an open central location
• Place 7 Apple Farms
• Place 2 Hovels near the Trees
• Spend the rest of your Wood on placing Saw Pits
• Promote your rank
• Place your Kitchen near the Keep
• When your Wood supply starts coming in, place 2 more Hovels and 16 Saw Pits
• Delete your Hovels and place about 6 of them near your area with Apple Farms
• Place 13 Apple Farms
• Delete your Hovels again, and this time place them near the main Stockpile
• Place 6 Mills and 15 Wheat Farms
• Your feast should end around now, so purchase an Estate
• Place Bakeries if you haven't, but keep production mode turned off
• Set up your new Estate
• Flour should be coming into your Stockpile now, so turn production mode on in your Bakeries
• Delete the Kitchen, and place it somewhere near the Trees if you do not want a second estate
• Start another feast with only 7 Pigs, which must be near the Keep, or if the Kitchen has been moved to the trees start a full feast instead
• When Bakers finish making Bread and start taking it to the Granary, sell everything in your Granary and place it next to your Stockpile
• Lock your Kitchen while the Pages are outside of it
• Promote yourself to a Knight
• Place a Bedchamber and start some Dances
• Place a Jousting Field