Starting your first realm
Warsim: The Realm of Aslona can feel overwhelming on your first turn. You are crowned monarch of a realm with a treasury, a population, an army and a long list of menus, and the game offers little hand-holding about what to do first. The good news is that the early game has a clear priority order, and once you understand it the dense menus stop being intimidating and start being a toolbox. This guide walks you through your crucial first hours: stabilising your economy, setting fair taxes, handling the throne room, fielding a small army, and keeping your people content so they never rebel. Get those basics right and the deeper systems — diplomacy, the arena, exploration — open up safely on a solid foundation.
The single most important idea to hold onto is that gold is the lifeblood of your realm. Almost everything you want to do costs money, from armies to upgrades to weathering bad events, so your first job as a new ruler is to build a steady, sustainable income. Everything else flows from that.
Warsim is turn-based and entirely menu-driven, so take your time. Nothing happens until you act, which means you can read every option, weigh it, and learn the systems at your own pace. Early mistakes are rarely fatal, so experiment.
Your first priorities, step by step
The early game rewards a clear sequence: secure income, set fair taxes, deter raiders, and keep people happy. Follow these steps in your first turns and you will build a realm that can survive long enough to learn the deeper systems.
-
1
Put peasants to work
Your steadiest income comes from peasants working the land. Recruit peasants and assign them to fields, mines and clay pits. More workers means more income, so growing and employing your population is your economic engine. This is the foundation everything else stands on.
-
2
Set a moderate tax rate
Taxes are your other main income source, but they cost goodwill. Start with a moderate rate that fills the treasury without angering your people. Watch your happiness as you adjust, and avoid the temptation to crank taxes up for a quick boost — a revolt costs far more than the extra gold.
-
3
Hire a few soldiers
You need just enough military to deter bandits and discourage rival factions from raiding. Recruit soldiers from your barracks or hire a mercenary company. Do not overspend on troops you cannot pay upkeep for; a small, affordable force is enough early on.
-
4
Work the throne room
Visit the throne room each turn and read the petitioners and events. Favour cheap, safe choices that earn goodwill or gold, and do not feel obliged to grant every request. Over time you will learn which events are opportunities and which are traps.
-
5
Watch your happiness
Keep an eye on public opinion. If unrest rises, ease taxes, add soldiers to keep order, or host a tournament or festival to lift spirits. A content realm grows; an unhappy one rebels. Address unrest early, before it boils over.
Understanding the core loop
Once your economy is stable, Warsim settles into a satisfying loop: earn gold from your land and taxes, spend it on armies, upgrades and opportunities, and manage the consequences through the throne room and your people's happiness. The key early lesson is that these systems are connected. Funding a bigger army by raising taxes can spark unrest; holding many slaves to boost harvests without enough soldiers to keep order invites an uprising; a thriving arena can both entertain your people and pay for your wars. As a beginner, your aim is to keep these forces in balance — enough income to act, enough military to stay safe, and enough goodwill to avoid revolt — rather than to maximise any single one.
A useful early habit is to make small, reversible changes and watch what happens. Nudge taxes up or down a little and observe your happiness and treasury over a few turns. Hire a modest force and see how it affects bandit raids. This experimental, observe-and-adjust approach is how Warsim is meant to be learned, and it quickly turns the intimidating menus into familiar tools.
Do not hoard slaves without soldiers. Slaves are cheap and boost harvest income with no upkeep, but they cannot work mines or clay pits, and a large slave population without enough soldiers to keep order is one of the most common causes of an early uprising. Balance them with a standing force.
Growing beyond the basics
With a stable economy, a content population and a small army, you are ready to explore Warsim's deeper systems at your own pace. Diplomacy lets you trade, ally and scheme with the realm's many factions and races. The gladiatorial arena offers a new income stream through entry fees and betting, as well as a place to use the monsters you capture. World exploration uncovers hidden cities, blackmarkets and opportunities scattered across the generated map. And the throne room keeps surprising you with its huge variety of encounters. None of these are urgent in your first hours, which is exactly why getting your economy and stability solid first matters so much — it gives you the freedom to engage with the rich stuff without your realm falling apart behind you.
From here, the game is yours to shape. Whether you build a prosperous, beloved kingdom or a feared tyranny, the foundation is always the same: a steady treasury and a content realm. For deeper strategy, see our strategy tier list on what to prioritise, our economy guide for mastering gold, and our throne room guide for handling its many encounters. If you are still deciding whether the game is for you, read our Warsim review.
Do not overextend early. It is tempting to raise a huge army, raise taxes to pay for it, and march on a neighbour in your first hours — but that often ends in an empty treasury and a rebellion at home. Build a stable economy and a content realm first, then expand from a position of strength.
