Developer Pugstorm provided an in-depth look at the initial business and political spheres of its upcoming medieval life simulator The Guild – Europa 1410. In a new development diary, the team detailed the importance of choosing a starting profession and the complex mechanics involved in growing a business and climbing the social and political ladder in the 15th century.
The first crucial decision players face is selecting their starting profession, a choice that determines both their primary source of income and their initial experience of the game world. While most professions revolve around production and trade, they each offer unique opportunities, quirks, and advantages:
| Profession | Initial Products/Activities | Unique Advantage |
| Stone Mason | Sanding blocks, grindstones, spinning tops. | Can improve roads and buildings to preserve infrastructure integrity. |
| Joiner | Wooden nails, handles, walking sticks, bows. | Can improve carts to slow their degradation, reducing repair costs. |
| Tailor | Warm socks, woollen cloaks, cart covers. | Skilled at gathering information and collecting evidence against rivals. |
| Perfumer | Salves, potions, fragrances from flowers. | Scents can increase the attractiveness of buildings, drawing more customers. |
| Alchemist | Potions, paint, and bombs from herbs. | Can improve building hygiene by getting rid of pests, preventing illness. |
| Preacher | Paper, poems, parchment (for skill increase). | Can hold masses and grant absolution for extra income. |
| Innkeeper | Meals to replenish energy, and beverages. | Creates a “hearty and loose atmosphere” ideal for collecting evidence and gossip. |
The wealth earned from a profession is the key to progress, allowing players to upgrade their business, expand their residence, construct new buildings, and ultimately ascend the social ladder. Future development diaries are expected to delve into less lawful professions, such as the Thief and the Moneylender.
Once a profession is chosen, players transition into business owners responsible for production, sales, and management. To maximize profits, players must hire workers and assign them to produce goods or perform specialized tasks, such as a Smith sending employees out to improve a building’s protection against burglars.
Managing the business building itself is vital. Improvements allow the hiring of more workers, the production of more profitable goods, and the expansion of storage capacity. Additionally, you must maintain the building’s integrity, as low repair status increases the risk of accidents and diminishes customer appeal.
Goods can be sold in the business’s storefront or transported to the marketplace via carts. While the marketplace offers faster sales, using the storefront helps preserve the cart’s integrity. Cart journeys, however, must be planned wisely: travel time and the risk of being waylaid by robbers outside the city walls must be factored into the economic equation. As your dynasty grows, you can purchase improved carts for better speed, integrity, and storage capacity.
To have a voice in the City Council, players must first qualify for and secure full citizenship at the Town Hall. Once established, the long climb toward political power begins. The rise is strictly hierarchical: players can only apply for low-level positions like Town Servant, Night Watchman, or Spy.
Advancement is gradual, as one can only apply for an office one level higher than their current position. Earning the favor of politicians in higher offices is essential, achievable through special items from the Marketplace, honing rhetoric skills during elections, or employing less honorable methods.
In The Guild – Europa 1410, the range of actions, from finding a spouse and applying for office to buying absolution, is initially limited by costs and requirements. As the city expands and the player’s residence and skills are upgraded, more powerful actions become available, ensuring that early strategic choices have lasting consequences throughout the game.
