Traits play a crucial role in The Elder Scrolls: Castles — they significantly influence productivity, impact relationships among residents, and affect the outcomes of battles. If you’ve just unlocked the bed and are planning on breeding, or if you’re experiencing difficulties in keeping your subjects content, a guide on understanding traits in The Elder Scrolls: Castles can be extremely beneficial.
Why traits are important in The Elder Scrolls: Castles
Traits are integral to how effectively your subjects perform in The Elder Scrolls: Castles. Subjects with beneficial traits can enhance production, collaborate better with others, and achieve more victories in combat. Conversely, negative traits can hinder your castle’s efficiency, create conflicts, and complicate life within your castle. Some negative traits can still be advantageous if effectively managed.
For instance, the Bossy trait might make your workers unhappy, but it simultaneously increases productivity. By pairing a Bossy worker with three Volatile workers (who thrive on anger), you can transform a challenging situation into a productivity powerhouse. However, mishandling Bossy subjects can be costly over time.
In contrast, the Considerate and Leader traits are advantageous across all situations. Considerate workers excel in locations like the Kitchen or Loom, while Leaders can enhance the happiness and productivity of those around them. By assigning four subjects with matching traits to the same workstation, you’ll experience a significant boost in production, reducing resource gathering and crafting times.
Although these traits are optimal for work and combat, some, like Charming and Volatile, are more effective when questing. Charming subjects amplify your undead summons, while Volatile subjects possess formidable shock abilities.
Every trait in The Elder Scrolls: Castles
| Trait | Description |
|---|---|
| Bossy | Directs coworkers, enhancing efficiency but leading to unhappiness. |
| Charming | Distracts coworkers and excels with Summoning spells. |
| Considerate | Ideal for Kitchen and Loom, skilled with Protective spells. |
| Devious | Best in Kitchen, Furnace, and Smithy; skilled with Fire and prone to arson. |
| Emotional | Experience feelings intensely. |
| Enduring | Longer lifespan. |
| Envious | Dissatisfied when coworkers outperform them. |
| Haunted | Often pursued by a ghost, which can assist with their work. |
| Headstrong | Best utilized in the Furnace and Workshop, adept with Shields. |
| Heartless | Difficult to work alongside, skilled with Frost. |
| Jester | Enjoys telling jokes, even at inappropriate times. |
| Leader | Encourages coworkers to work more efficiently; their happiness aligns with others over time. |
| Melodramatic | Tends to recount lengthy stories with great embellishment. |
| Mighty | Best in Oil Press and Smithy; skilled with Melee weapons. |
| Perceptive | Ideal for Mill and Sewing Table; skilled with Ranged weapons. |
| Pyromaniac | Excels in Kitchen, Furnace, and Smithy; skilled with Fire and prone to arson. |
| Reckless | Works and fights passionately, possibly affecting their Health negatively. |
| Sophisticated | Less productive, but easily pleased by music, literature, and art. |
| Tribal | Performs and fights better when near family members. |
| Volatile | Driven by anger, skilled with Shock. |
In addition to these traits, some data-mined traits have appeared on the Elder Scrolls: Castles wiki (currently without full descriptions). These traits are not yet available in the game but could be introduced in the future.
- Academic
- Bookworm
- Bully
- Cheerful
- Deft
- Follower
- Generous
- Gourmet
- Influential
- Inspiring
- Jealous
- Lazy
- Moody
- Musician
The best traits in The Elder Scrolls: Castles
| Trait | Why it’s ideal |
|---|---|
| Considerate | Best for Kitchen and Loom, skilled with protective spells. These subjects focus on support and harmony. |
| Enduring | Longer-lived subjects are beneficial for your ruler. Increased lifespan means more gems for you over time. |
| Headstrong | Expert in shield usage, effective in the Furnace and Workshop. They serve as your defense specialists in combat as well as reliable workers. |
| Leader | This is among the most vital traits in the game—having a Leader at each production station is advantageous as they can occasionally trigger a Potion of Speed effect. |
| Mighty | Essential for melee fighters, and enhances productivity in the Oil Press and Smithy. If crafting weapons, these subjects are invaluable. |
| Perceptive | Ideal for archers and boosts output at the Mill and Sewing Table. They excel in long-range combat. |
| Pyromaniac | Competent in fire-related combat and shines in the Kitchen, Furnace, and Smithy. However, exercise caution as they are prone to arson. |
| Tribal | Identification enhances production and combat effectiveness when surrounded by family members. |
Why traits matter in breeding
Once you’ve unlocked the Bed, breeding subjects becomes pivotal in your castle’s daily routine. Pair subjects with positive traits to create stronger and more productive offspring.
Each couple can have one baby per day, so strategic pairing is necessary. Additionally, couples will expect only one child to be present at any given time, so you must wait until their child reaches 16 years old before they’ll consider having another. Note that, as of now, a bug in The Elder Scrolls: Castles causes adults aged up via potion to still be viewed as children by their parents. This results in a scenario where parents may refuse to have “more than one child under one.”
Breeding subjects with desirable traits increases the likelihood of producing offspring with those same traits, although it’s still subject to chance due to the RNG (random number generation) mechanism.
For example, if you breed two Considerate subjects, your chances of having a child with that benefit increase, aiding your Kitchen and Loom processes. Conversely, breeding two Bossy subjects can assure trouble. Thus, it’s crucial to position subjects with negative traits apart to maintain control over your trait pool and prevent future complications.
How to breed subjects for the best results
Planning and timing are vital in breeding. Since each couple can only produce one baby every 24 hours, establishing a consistent breeding schedule is advisable to effectively manage your workforce as your castle grows.
For optimal breeding outcomes:
- Pair subjects with good traits together. This enhances the likelihood of inheriting these positive traits.
- Isolate negative traits. Breeding subjects with undesirable traits increases the chances of unmanageable offspring, which can diminish productivity.
- Consider banishing subjects with poor traits once your castle has a sufficient workforce. Traits such as Bossy, Envious, or Melodramatic may hinder progress. If you’re unsure about the banishment process in The Elder Scrolls: Castles, you can simply drag subjects outside the castle walls. Alternatively, you may banish them during rulings, though this can take some time to appear.
Keep in mind that excessive banishment can negatively affect happiness ratings within certain groups. Children are automatically categorized as being in the yellow happiness zone, a detail not displayed by the game. Once these children mature, happiness levels should stabilize. Aim to avoid banishing family or friends whenever possible.
When a new baby is born into the castle, they can inherit between one and five traits. Some of these traits may be passed down from parents, while others will result from RNG. The number of traits is determined by the child’s rarity, based on the color of their card:
- Green cards are common, with one trait.
- Blue cards are rare, with three traits.
- Purple cards are epic, with four traits.
- Gold cards are legendary, with five traits.
The best traits for your King or Queen
The traits of your ruler influence every aspect of your castle. For instance, a ruler with the Leader trait can motivate all subjects, enhancing their productivity and overall happiness. Conversely, a ruler with the Heartless trait can cause a significant dip in happiness, even if they excel in Frost abilities—it’s not an advantageous trade-off.
Here are some of the top traits for your King or Queen:
- Leader — Enhances productivity and happiness throughout the castle.
- Enduring — A long-lived ruler leads to higher gem acquisition over time.
- Mighty — Improves the capacity of your subjects in the Oil Press and Smithy.
- Considerate — Enhances performance in the Kitchen and Loom, boosting overall output.
- Pyromaniac — Increases overall skill with fire-based abilities across the castle, though it may lead to increased oil consumption.
Bear in mind that a ruler with negative traits, such as Bossy or Heartless, can complicate castle management. It might be wise to consider changing rulers in such cases.
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