The developer TaleWorlds continues to tinker with Bannerlord’s economics with every major patch — and the result is that workshop profitability is far less predictable now than before.
In earlier versions, certain workshops like breweries, tanneries, or silverworks were reliably among the top earners. But as of patch 1.8.0 and later, many players report that some of those same workshops now occasionally yield zero income, depending heavily on local supply, demand, and town prosperity.
Some key observations and advice based on the current state of the game:
Table of Contents
Important Things to know before buying a Workshop
What Has Changed & What Still Matters
Economy is more volatile & context-sensitive
In modern Bannerlord, a workshop no longer guarantees passive stable income. It may stop producing profit entirely if raw material prices are too high, demand is low, or competition is too dense.Raw material supply & local demand are crucial
For your workshop to succeed, nearby villages must produce what the workshop needs (e.g. grain for a brewery). If those resources are expensive or scarce, your margin shrinks. Also, having too many workshops of the same type in nearby towns can drive prices down.Town prosperity still heavily influences results
Workshops in towns with higher prosperity tend to perform better, because local consumption tends to support higher demand and better prices.Zero income is real—don’t panic immediately
Many players have seen workshops go to zero income for days. This often happens because the workshop’s product isn’t demanded (market saturated), or because input costs are prohibitive. Check whether there’s already oversupply in that region.War, politics, raids & border dynamics matter more now
Conflicts, bandit activity, and changing allegiances affect trade routes and settlement stability, which in turn influence workshop performance. Workshops in contested regions or near borders are more vulnerable.Warehouses & linked supply chains give new options
Later versions introduced warehouses connected to workshops, which allow you to store raw materials or produced goods, helping reduce shutdowns when supplies dip temporarily.
Best Workshops in All Cities
Khuzait
- Baltakhand -> Wool – Wool Weavery (3 village)
- Chaikand -> Grain – Brewery (2 villages)
- Akkalat > Wool > Weavery > Wool – 2 villages
Aserai
- Hush Fulq – Tannery – Pottery
- Razih – Tannery
- Hubyar – Linen – Olive
- Quasira – Brewery
- Iyakis – Pottery
- Askar – Brewery
- Sanala – Silver – Brewery
- Quyaz – Olive
Vlandia
- Charas – Olive
- Sargot – Olive
- Jaculan – Wine – Tannery
- Galend – Wine – Olive
- Pravend – Wine – Linen
- Ocs Hall – Wood – Pottery
- Rovalt – Silver
- Ostican – Linen
Battania
- Pen Cannoc – Wine – Pottery
- Car Banseth – Silver – Pottery
- Dunglanys – Wine – Wood
- Marunath – Wine – Pottery
- Seanon – Wine Linen
Sturgia
- Revyl – Tannery
- Varcheg – Tannery
- Omar – Linen
- Belgard – Tannery
- Sibr – Tannery
- Varnovopal – Tannery
- Tyal – Wool
Northern Empire
- Amprela – Velvet – Linen
- Myzea – Velvet – Tannery
- Argoron – Tannery – Velvet
- Saneopa – Velvet – Tannery
- Diathma – Tannery – Velvet
- Epicrotea – Wood – Brewery
Western Empire
- Lageta – Wine – Olive
- Rhotae – Tannery – Wood
- Ortysia – Silver – Wine
- Amitatys – Tannery – Brewery
- Zeonica – Brewery – Tannery – Wine
Southern Empire
- Soros – Tannery Wool
- Lycaron – Silver – Pottery
- Phycaon – Pottery
- Syronea – Linen – Velvet
- Onira – Velvet
- Danaustica – Pottery – Wool
- Vostrum – Brewery
Best 5 Workshops in Bannerlord
Since 1.8 patch, Bannerlord has been changed massively in terms of economy and trading dynamics. Thus, the workshop system is now different than previous versions. Nevertheless, There are a few great workshops that still generates good income:
- Ortysia: Silversmith
- Sanala: Silversmith
- Jaculan: Winery
- Dunglanys: Winery
- Quyaz: Olive
How to Find workshop locations?
In order to find a workshop in a city, you’ll need to go for a tour and search by exploring and holding down the ALT key. Holding ALT key will highlight and let you see important locations with some icons. Once you’ve found your desired workshop, talk to the shopkeeper, and provided you have the denar to hand, you’ll be able to purchase the workshop.
Some workshop locations earn a better income than others. The trick is to check which resources the bound villages churn out and are going for cheap. If the bound village has an abundance of cheap grain, then having a Brewery workshop in the city might be a good investment.
Resource | Workshop | Product |
---|---|---|
Iron Ore/Hardwood | Smithy | Weapons |
Olives | Olive Press | Oil |
Grain | Brewery | Beer |
Clay | Pottery Shop | Pottery |
Grapes | Wine Press | Wine |
Rawhide | Tannery | Leather/Armour |
Silver | Silversmith | Jewellery |
Hardwood | Wood Workshop | Bows/arrows/shields |
Wool | Wool Weavery | Clothing |
Cotton | Velvet Weavery | Clothing |
Flax | Linen Weavery | Clothing |
Product Risk and Reward Table
5: High Risk High reward, 1: low risk low reward
PRODUCTION | MONEY | RISK | EFFORT |
---|---|---|---|
Wool Weavery | 5 | 4 | 3 |
Velvet Weavery | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Silversmith | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Linen Weavery | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Pottery Shop | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Brewery | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Tannery | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Wine Press | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Olive Press | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Smithy | 2 | 4 | 3 |
Wood Workshop | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Conclusion
Bannerlod is a massive game that is being constantly updated and changed. The economy of the game and trading system has been also vastly changed. In this guide, we tried to cover latest updates. Even though there are some mods that improves the economy of the game, it is still far away from being complete. If you want to add some mods to your game, we highly recommend you to to take a look at our best Bannerlord mods list as well.