Northgard is a Viking real time strategy game from Shiro Games, first released on 7 March 2018 and now sold on Steam as Northgard: Definitive Edition. You settle a newly discovered continent one territory at a time, assigning villagers to jobs, feeding them through winters that raise food and wood consumption, and choosing which of the several victory paths to chase. Clans are the real depth here: the base roster of Stag, Wolf, Goat, Raven and Bear plays very differently, and the clan list has grown past fifteen with Kraken, Ox, Lynx, Squirrel, Rat and more. A match usually runs 40 to 90 minutes and is decided long before the fighting starts.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Your Town Hall territory | Territory colonisation with Food and Krowns basics | Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir) | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Fertile Land | Winter and the seasonal clock mastery | Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir) | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Iron Deposit | Villager job assignment + gear | Clan of the Stag (Eikthyrnir) or Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir) | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Yggdrasil | Build optimization | Clan of the Stag (Eikthyrnir) | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Odin's Sword | Min-max | Clan of the Stag (Eikthyrnir) or Clan of the Bear (Bjarki) | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Your Town Hall territory)
The zone you start in, holding the Town Hall that produces villagers and stores resources. Losing it is a Domination loss, so it should be the last territory you leave undefended, and its building slots are the ones you plan around first.
Level/Difficulty: Year 1, from the first minute Key Rewards: Villager production, resource storage, the starting building slots
What to Do in Your Town Hall territory
- Learn Territory colonisation with Food and Krowns. The map is divided into fixed territories, and taking one costs Food or Krowns and often means clearing wolves, draugr or a kobold camp first. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir) as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Send your Scout out in the first seconds of a match, because unexplored territories hide relics, hostile camps and the special victory zone you may want to plan around.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Shield Bearer or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Territory colonisation with Food and Krowns fundamentals
- Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir) selected and functional
- Your Town Hall territory main content cleared
- Ready for Fertile Land
Phase 2: Early Game (Fertile Land)
Territories flagged as fertile are the only ones where Farms produce well, which makes them the food backbone of any long game. Clans without a way around this fight over them, which is why the Goat clan's Sheepfold bonus is as strong as it is.
Level/Difficulty: Year 1 to Year 2 Key Rewards: Farm output, food security through winter, contested early expansion
What to Do in Fertile Land
- Work on Winter and the seasonal clock. The year cycles through seasons and winter raises both food and wood consumption while cutting production, so every summer is spent stockpiling for it. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Shield Bearer if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Never colonise a territory you cannot feed through the coming winter, since starving villagers die and a lost population takes far longer to rebuild than the zone was worth.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Iron Deposit.
- Consider whether Clan of the Stag (Eikthyrnir) might suit your playstyle better than Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir).
Phase 2 Checklist
- Winter and the seasonal clock integrated into gameplay
- Shield Bearer acquired
- Fertile Land fully cleared
- Ready for Iron Deposit
Phase 3: Mid Game (Iron Deposit)
Iron gates your Warchief, your Forge upgrades and much of your late military, and it comes only from deposits held in specific zones. A player who takes no iron territory will be capped militarily no matter how many Krowns they have.
Level/Difficulty: Year 2 onward Key Rewards: Iron for the Warchief at 5 per hire, Forge upgrades, military scaling
What to Do in Iron Deposit
- Master Villager job assignment. Villagers are generic until you drop them into a building, which turns them into woodcutters, hunters, fishermen, farmers, miners, sailors, brewers, healers or merchants. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Warrior. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Build a Silo before your first winter, as it cuts the food you lose during the season and is cheaper than the farms you would otherwise need.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in The Lore tree and the four blessings for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Villager job assignment mastered
- Warrior acquired or in progress
- Iron Deposit fully cleared
- Ready for Yggdrasil
Phase 4: Late Game (Yggdrasil)
One of the map special victory zones, guarded by four Fallen Valkyries that must be defeated before you can begin. Colonising it takes six in-game months and 1500 Food across all difficulties, which is an enormous commitment that opponents can see coming.
Level/Difficulty: Mid to late game, Year 4 onward Key Rewards: Instant victory once the colonisation completes
What to Do in Yggdrasil
- Finalize your build. You should be running Clan of the Stag (Eikthyrnir) or Clan of the Wolf (Fenrir) with optimized gear.
- Warrior should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Villagers can be reassigned between buildings instantly and for free, so pull farmers into the woodcutter's lodge when wood runs short rather than training new people.
- Five separate victory paths optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Odin's Sword.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Warrior upgraded to max
- Yggdrasil fully cleared
- Ready for Odin's Sword
Phase 5: Endgame (Odin's Sword)
Another map special zone, where you must take control of the area and then reforge three parts of the sword using a Smith, each part costing 15 Iron. It is the fastest special condition for a clan already sitting on iron income.
Level/Difficulty: Mid to late game, Year 4 onward Key Rewards: Instant victory once all three sword parts are forged
What to Do in Odin's Sword
- Odin's Sword tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Idle villagers still eat, so an unassigned villager standing at the Town Hall through a winter is a pure loss.
- The endgame loop: run Odin's Sword, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Clan of the Bear (Bjarki) for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Five separate victory paths mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Odin's Sword fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Expanding into four or five territories in the first two years, then losing half the population to the first winter because food never kept pace.
- Leaving villagers idle at the Town Hall, which costs food every season while producing nothing at all.
- Choosing a victory path late, after the map has already been divided and the 12 or 14 territories a Fame win needs are no longer available.
- Attacking without a Warchief or Shield Bearers, which sends expensive Axe Throwers into towers that kill them before they fire.
- Ignoring Happiness until villagers stop being produced, then trying to fix it with a Brewery in the middle of a war.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Send your Scout out in the first seconds of a match, because unexplored territories hide relics, hostile camps and the special victory zone you may want to plan around.
- Never colonise a territory you cannot feed through the coming winter, since starving villagers die and a lost population takes far longer to rebuild than the zone was worth.
- Build a Silo before your first winter, as it cuts the food you lose during the season and is cheaper than the farms you would otherwise need.
- Villagers can be reassigned between buildings instantly and for free, so pull farmers into the woodcutter's lodge when wood runs short rather than training new people.
- Idle villagers still eat, so an unassigned villager standing at the Town Hall through a winter is a pure loss.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Northgard: Definitive Edition Guides
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Northgard: Definitive Edition Overview
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Best Builds
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Tier List
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Beginner's Guide
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Tips & Tricks
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Weapons Guide
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Combat Guide
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Boss Guide
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Maps & Locations
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Crafting Guide
- Northgard: Definitive Edition Classes & Characters
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