The people living in your Dominion have a big impact on your economy. Your Dominion’s maximum population is determined by your total land, constructed buildings, number of Homes, number of Barracks, and any population modifiers you have.
By increasing your Dominion’s population, you gain two major benefits: more Peasants to employ and more Peasants to draft into your Military. Each employed Peasant provides 2.7 Platinum per hour to your Dominion in taxes. Draftees are created by having a Draft Rate that is higher than your Dominion’s population ratio of Military units to Peasants.
Peasant Population
Peasants are the life-blood of every Dominion. It is the Peasants that work the jobs, pay the taxes, and fill the military with Draftees. These brave and loyal subjects will mostly take care of themselves so long as you provide them with food, employment, and a place to live. Each Peasant consumes 0.25 Food per hour. Each employed Peasant produces 2.7 Platinum per hour in taxes. When Peasants are drafted, they are converted into Draftees at a rate of 1% of your total Peasant population per hour. Peasants reproduce naturally at 3% per hour. Military units are not considered for population growth totals or hourly Peasant increases.
Population Growth Rate
The standard rate of population growth is 3% per hour. This means that each hour you will gain new Peasants equal to 3% of your total amount of Peasants. Be careful to consider that your military units do not count toward this growth rate.
How to increase your Population growth rate
There are a few way you can increase your population growth rate: casting the Harmony spell or constructing Temples.
- Cast Harmony: You can quickly increase your population growth rate by 50% for 12 hours by casting the Harmony spell.
- Construct Temples: You can increase your Dominion’s population growth rate by 6% for every 1% of Temples owned.
Employment
Managing the amount of Peasants and Jobs within your Dominion can make a significant impact on your economy. Poorly managing your Dominion’s employment can quickly spiral out of control since you are missing out on 2.7 Platinum per hour for each unemployed Peasant even though each Peasant still continues to consume 0.25 Food per hour.
How to increase your Employment rate
There are a few ways to bring your employment rate back into equilibrium.
- Job Overrun: If you have more jobs than available Peasants you should consider building more Homes or Barracks. You could also invest in your Castle’s Keep to gain more Peasants.
- Job Underrun: If you have more Peasants than available jobs you should consider constructing more non-residential buildings.
Military Population
Your Dominion’s military is composed of various units that can be classified as Draftees, In-Training, or Trained Units. Military units are the only population group that can reside in Barracks.
In this section we will cover how your Dominion’s military fits into your overall Population. For more specific details about your military, check out the Complete Military Guide.
Draft Rate
The size of your military is determined by your Draft Rate. Your Dominion’s Draft Rate is a very important metric that must be set by each player on the Military Page. Having a Draft Rate of 30% for example, means that Peasants will be turned into Draftees until your Dominion’s overall population total equals or exceeds 30%. The rate at which Peasants are turned into Draftees is 1% per hour. This means if your military’s percentage is lower than your draft rate, 1% of your Peasants will be turned into Draftees.
Housing Your Population
The residents of your Dominion are strong people capable of living in many environments. Each acre of land houses 5 people, even without a building. Acres with constructed buildings or buildings that are in construction house an additional 10 people (15 total). Acres with a Home are capable of housing an additional 15 people beyond other buildings (30 total). Acres with a Barracks are unique in that they can only house Military units. Each Barracks can house 36 military units.
Population Modifiers
There are many ways you can increase your population. Many races provide modifiers for their population totals.
Comparing Homes to Barracks
The important thing to remember when comparing Homes to Barracks is that Homes are affected by modifiers while Barracks are not. If you are able to get your Population modifier to exceed +20% then Homes are considered a strictly better choice. You can review the Formulas Guide for more information about how Homes and Barracks differ.