Village Buildings Guide
Master rural development in EU5 — understand why Market Villages should be built in every single rural location for massive development growth bonuses.
Villages Are Utility Buildings, Not Production
The most critical mindset shift: Villages are utility buildings that provide bonuses like food capacity, literacy, harbor capacity, and development growth. Their production methods are inefficient compared to urban alternatives — that's not why you build them.
Village Type Comparison
| Village Type | Food Capacity | Key Utility | Build Requirement | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Village | 0 | Leather production | Wild game/Forest/Jungle | Skip |
| Farming Village | +100 | +% Local food production | Food RGO | Good |
| Fishing Village | +50 | Harbor capacity, sailors, trade capacity | Coast (not lakes) | Situational |
| Market Village | +50 | Burger pops, literacy, dev growth, market access | Anywhere rural | Essential |
Forest VillageSkip This
- No food capacity bonus — provides zero local food storage unlike other villages
- Only produces leather — would be useful if it produced wood, but it doesn't
- Pressures your wood supply — the tar PM consumes wood for marginal output
- Requires specific terrain — wild game, forest, woods, or jungle (restrictive placement)
Farming VillageBreadbasket Strategy
- +100 local food capacity — rural equivalent of the granary (which requires urban)
- +% local food production — stacks multiplicatively with flat food bonuses for massive output
- PM produces 0.5 cattle — provides both flat food and additional production
- Stack with high-pop food RGOs — grain (8), livestock (8), rice (10), potatoes (8), maize (8)
Fishing VillageInfrastructure Focus
- +50 food capacity + 2.5 base food — decent food production but farming villages are better for food
- Harbor capacity is the key feature — increases control for coastal RGOs and downstream provinces
- Trade capacity +0.25 per level — 2.5× more than market villages
- Sailors before docks — only source of sailors early game if you need ships quickly
Market VillageBuild One Everywhere
- Can be built literally anywhere rural — no terrain or RGO requirements
- Creates burger pops in rural areas — unlocks literacy bonuses normally urban-only
- +20-25% monthly development growth — from burger literacy bonus scaling to 100%
- +5% market access per level — increases tax base from valuable RGOs
- Jewelry without gold/silver — unique PM that doesn't require precious metals
Why Build One Market Village Everywhere
"Building a single market village in every rural location is very strong."
Burger Pop Literacy Bonus
Just one burger pop in a location enables the literacy bonus. As literacy creeps up (slowly in rural areas), you gain:
- • +20-25% monthly development growth at high literacy
- • Burger trade capacity bonus
- • Higher consumption (stimulates market)
Market Access for RGOs
+5% market access per level increases tax base from expensive rural goods:
- • Gold/Silver provinces — more value extracted
- • Spice/Saffron — expensive RGOs benefit most
- • Any valuable rural good — increased outputs
Fishing vs Market: Decision Framework
For coastal provinces with valuable RGOs, you face a choice. Here's how to decide:
Choose Fishing Village When:
- Province is a proximity tracing hub — other provinces trace control through it
- Harbor capacity is the bottleneck for control
- You need trade capacity (2.5× more than market)
- Location has 40%+ natural harbor and downstream dependencies
Choose Market Village When:
- Location produces inputs you're subsidizing (wood, clay, stone)
- You care about output quantity over tax base per input
- No downstream provinces depend on this location for proximity
- You want development growth from literacy bonus
Simple Rule: Is it infrastructure (tracing proximity to other locations)? → Fishing Village. Is it production-focused (subsidized inputs, valuable RGO)? → Market Village.
Subsidizing Your Villages
- Treat subsidies as building maintenance — like universities, you pay for the utility
- Subsidy costs are usually small — villages hover near break-even with good prices
- Utility still works at 0 market access — food capacity, literacy, etc. don't require market access
- Production efficiency helps — both general bonuses and economies of scale apply
Black Death Timing Window
Villages shine during the Black Plague because they employ peasants, who don't need pop promotions. When half your promoted pops die:
- Buildings requiring burgers sit idle (can't promote fast enough)
- Villages keep running with peasant labor
- Pre-plague strategy: Build villages in profitable RGO provinces before plague hits
Common Mistakes
Building for Production
Spamming market villages for tools/weapons is inefficient. Guilds are 250× more efficient per input.
Forgetting to Subsidize
Unsubsidized villages won't employ pops, losing all utility benefits. Always subsidize!
Building Forest Villages
Zero food capacity, inefficient leather production, and pressures wood supply. Just skip them.
Ignoring Pop Competition
Villages compete with RGOs for rural pops. Don't build villages at the expense of valuable RGO employment.