Settler Traits & Perks Guide
⚠ IMPORTANT: Going Medieval settlers possess traits and perks that affect their skills, mood, and work efficiency. However, specific trait names, exact numerical bonuses, and complete trait lists may vary between game versions. This guide focuses on general trait categories and evaluation strategies. Do not assume traits from other colony sims (e.g., RimWorld) exist in Going Medieval — the trait systems are different games with different designs.
Every settler who arrives at your colony comes with a personality defined by their traits. These traits influence how quickly they work, how well they learn, how they respond to hardship, and how other settlers perceive them. A settler's traits are just as important as their skill levels — sometimes more so, because skills can be trained while traits are permanent. Understanding the trait system is essential for building a colony where each settler thrives in their assigned role.
How Traits Work in Going Medieval
When settlers generate — whether as your starting group, new arrivals seeking to join, or prisoners you hope to recruit — they are assigned a set of traits. Traits appear in the settler's character panel and affect various aspects of gameplay:
Work Speed & Efficiency
Some traits boost or reduce how quickly a settler completes tasks. A positive work-speed trait makes the settler more productive across all activities — mining, building, crafting, cooking, farming, researching. Conversely, a negative work-speed trait means they take longer to complete the same tasks, effectively making them less valuable regardless of their skill levels.
Skill Learning Rate
Traits can accelerate or slow how quickly a settler gains XP in their skills. A fast-learning settler will reach high skill levels much sooner than an average settler, making them ideal for roles you want to specialize. A slow learner will lag behind — they may never reach the highest skill tiers even after years of dedicated work.
Mood & Mental Resilience
Some traits affect baseline mood, how strongly a settler reacts to negative events, and their resistance to mental breaks. A settler with strong mental resilience can endure corpse-filled battlefields, cramped quarters, and food shortages without breaking. A settler with fragile morale may break from relatively minor setbacks, becoming useless (or dangerous) at critical moments.
Physical Attributes
Traits can affect carry capacity (how much a settler hauls per trip), movement speed, and combat durability. Haulers and miners benefit enormously from carry-capacity boosts. Combat settlers need durability traits to survive extended fights. Stationary workers (researchers, crafters) are less dependent on physical traits.
Social & Specialized Traits
Social traits affect how other settlers perceive this character, influencing relationship formation and colony-wide mood. Specialized traits may provide bonuses to specific activities — crafting quality, trade prices, crop yields, or research speed. These traits are powerful when matched to the right job but offer no benefit if the settler works in an unrelated role.
Trait Categories to Look For
While specific trait names are community-documented and subject to change, the trait system in Going Medieval follows predictable categories. When evaluating a new settler, ask yourself which of these categories their traits fall into — this tells you whether they'll be an asset or a liability.
| Trait Category | What It Affects | Ideal Settler Role | Recruitment Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work Speed Boost | Faster completion of all tasks | Any role — universally valuable | High — always recruit |
| Fast Learning | Accelerated skill XP gain | Specialists you want to train long-term | High — compounding value |
| Mental Resilience | Better mood management, fewer breaks | Combat, medical, high-stress roles | High — prevents catastrophe |
| Physical Strength | Carry capacity, hauling efficiency | Miners, builders, haulers | Moderate — role-dependent |
| Crafting Quality | Higher-quality crafted goods | Crafters, tailors, cooks, smiths | Moderate — role-dependent |
| Social / Trade | Better prices, faster recruitment | Merchant traders, recruiters | Low-Moderate — situational |
| Specialized Activity | Bonuses to specific work types | Match trait to job type exactly | Variable — check match quality |
Categories are inferred from community observation. Actual trait names, exact bonus values, and availability may vary by game version. Always check settler traits in-game before making recruitment decisions.
Evaluating a New Settler Before Recruiting
When a new settler appears — whether as a wanderer seeking to join, a prisoner you've captured, or a starting character — take time to evaluate them thoroughly before committing. A bad recruit consumes food, occupies a bedroom, and can drag down colony mood for months. A great recruit pays for themselves within a season.
Step 1: Read Every Trait
Open the settler's character panel and read each trait description. Hover over traits for tooltip details if the game provides them. Note which are positive and which are negative. Count the ratio — a settler with 2 positive and 0 negative traits is a strong candidate. A settler with 1 positive and 2 negative traits needs careful scrutiny before accepting.
Step 2: Check Skill Levels Against Traits
Match their starting skill levels to their traits. A settler with crafting-related traits and high Crafting skill is a ready-made specialist. A settler with combat traits but low combat skills can be trained. A settler with no traits relevant to their high skills is less valuable than they appear — they have the skill but no bonus to make them exceptional.
Step 3: Assess Your Colony's Needs
An average settler who fills an urgent gap (you have no cook and they have Cooking 6+) may be worth recruiting despite mediocre traits. A great settler who duplicates a role you already have filled is a luxury — recruit them if you can support the extra mouth, but don't feel obligated. Match the settler to your colony's current bottleneck.
Step 4: Look for Red-Flag Negative Traits
Watch for negative traits that are difficult to manage. A significant work-speed penalty affects everything the settler does. A severe learning penalty means they'll never improve meaningfully. Traits that cause dangerous behavior (if any exist in the current version) should make you reject the settler outright. One mild negative trait balanced by two strong positives is usually acceptable.
Matching Traits to Job Assignments
The most efficient colonies match each settler's traits to their daily work. A settler working a job that aligns with their traits is dramatically more productive than one working against their nature. Use the 14 skills in Going Medieval as a framework for job matching:
| Skill / Role | Best Trait Categories | Traits to Avoid | Assignment Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | Work speed, physical strength | Significant work speed penalty | Match trait to role exactly |
| Mining | Work speed, physical strength, carry capacity | Physical weakness, slow work | Physical traits matter most |
| Crafting / Smithing / Tailoring | Crafting quality, work speed, fast learning | Crafting penalties, slow learning | Quality traits are premium |
| Cooking / Brewing | Crafting quality, work speed | Work speed penalties | Speed matters for volume |
| Farming / Harvesting | Work speed, specialized farming bonuses | Work speed penalties | Volume workers; traits help but aren't critical |
| Research | Research speed, fast learning | Slow learning (makes research crawl) | Fast learning is heavily preferred |
| Combat (Melee/Marksman) | Mental resilience, physical durability, combat bonuses | Fragile morale, physical weakness | Resilience is non-negotiable for frontline |
| Hauling / Cleaning | Carry capacity, movement speed | Physical weakness | Low-priority role; assign weaker settlers elsewhere |
Skill-to-job matching is based on the 14 confirmed skills in Going Medieval. Specific trait interactions with each skill may vary by game version.
Managing Settlers with Negative Traits
You cannot remove negative traits from a settler. Once a settler joins with a negative trait, it is permanent. Your options are to manage it, work around it, or replace the settler. Here's how to handle each category of negative trait.
Work Speed Penalties
Assign these settlers to low-priority or non-critical tasks. A slow cook causes food shortages; a slow researcher delays your entire tech tree. Instead, make them a secondary farmer, hauler, or cleaner — roles where speed matters less and quantity fills the gap. If the penalty is severe and the settler has no compensating positive traits, consider replacing them at the next recruitment opportunity.
Slow Learning
Only recruit slow learners if their starting skills are already high. A slow learner with Construction 12 is still a skilled builder — they just won't improve much. A slow learner with all skills at 2-3 will never become useful. Never assign a slow learner to a role you need to develop from scratch. They work best in maintenance roles where their existing skills are sufficient and no further growth is needed.
Mood / Morale Penalties
Give these settlers extra attention to their needs. A private bedroom (even a small one) goes a long way. Ensure they have access to beer, mead, or Rough Wine if your colony produces it. Keep them away from corpses, filth, and other mood-draining environments. Do NOT assign them to combat roles — a settler with fragile morale on a battlefield is a mental break waiting to happen at the worst possible moment.
Physical Weakness
Assign physically weak settlers exclusively to stationary jobs — research tables, crafting stations, cooking fires, and tailoring benches. Never make them miners (they'll carry too little per trip), builders (slow construction), or haulers (inefficient transport). A physically weak researcher with fast learning is still an excellent researcher because physical traits don't matter at a research table.
Starting Settler Selection Strategy
Your three starting settlers set the foundation for your entire colony. Reroll them until you have a balanced team with complementary traits. Here's a framework for a strong starting trio:
Settler 1: The Builder/Miner
Prioritize Construction and Mining skills. Look for physical-strength traits and work-speed bonuses. This settler will build your first shelter, dig your first underground rooms, and construct your walls. They're your most active settler in the first 10 days. A work-speed penalty on this settler is particularly painful because early-game construction speed directly determines how fast you get shelter and defenses up.
Settler 2: The Crafter/Cook
Prioritize Crafting and Cooking skills. Quality and work-speed traits are ideal. This settler produces your weapons, armor, tools, and meals. Once the initial construction rush ends, this settler becomes your most economically valuable colonist. Fast learning is excellent here because crafting skills scale dramatically — a level 15 crafter produces vastly better equipment than a level 5 crafter.
Settler 3: The Researcher/Support
Prioritize Intellectual (research) skill. Fast learning is the best trait for this role because research takes the longest to level up. This settler can also handle farming, hauling, and medical duties early on. Mental resilience is valuable — a researcher who breaks from stress halts your entire tech progression. Consider giving them a secondary role as a backup combat settler since they'll spend most of their time at the research table and will be available for emergencies.
FAQ
Can negative traits be removed or changed?
No. Traits in Going Medieval are permanent. There is no in-game mechanic to remove a negative trait, add a positive one, or change a settler's traits after they are generated. The only way to replace a bad settler is to recruit a better one and either exile the problematic settler or accept their limitations. This is why trait evaluation at recruitment is so critical — a bad decision now affects your colony for the rest of that save.
Are traits more important than skills?
It depends on your colony's stage. For a new colony (first 10 days): skills matter slightly more because you need immediate productivity to survive. For an established colony (after the first winter): traits matter more because skills can be trained but traits are permanent. A settler with great traits and mediocre skills will eventually surpass a settler with great skills and mediocre traits — it just takes time. The ideal recruit has both.
How many traits does each settler have?
Settlers in Going Medieval typically have 2-4 traits, with a mix of positive and negative. The exact number and distribution depend on the game version. Early Access games frequently adjust trait generation balance. Observe your settlers' trait panels to understand the current version's system, as known traits and their effects change across versions.
Do traits affect combat performance?
Yes. Physical traits affect durability and damage output. Mental resilience traits affect whether a settler breaks morale during extended combat. A settler with strong combat-related traits is significantly more effective than one without, even at the same skill level. For your primary defenders, prioritize combat-relevant traits alongside high Melee or Marksman skill. A skilled archer with fragile morale is less reliable than an average archer with iron nerves.
Where can I find a complete list of Going Medieval traits?
Going Medieval is in Early Access — traits may be added, removed, rebalanced, or renamed between updates, so no static list stays complete for long. For the most current information, cross-reference any trait list with what you see in your own game.