Appoint a mayor
- Open the settlement and select its mayor portrait or vacant mayor position.
- Compare candidates in the selection window. Hover a trait to see the industries and buildings it affects.
- Select a candidate, then check the settlement’s incumbent portrait and name to confirm the appointment.
A large percentage is only useful if it affects the activity you need. For example, Constancia Monfor’s +85% vegetable-production trait applies to the listed vegetable farms, not all production in the settlement.
The October rework removes negative production bonuses and transfer penalties and puts incumbents and candidates in the same window. This does not make every hiring or political action free.
Unlock and choose Traditional Products
Cultures have six Traditional Product slots. From Renown 2, each Renown level unlocks two more slots.
- Open the culture panel and check the unlocked slots.
- Select the plus in an available slot.
- Use Show only valid options if needed, then compare the Bonus and Trait synergies columns.
- Choose an eligible product. Check that the product and its bonus now appear in the culture’s slot.
Eligibility requires the culture to have been the largest producer of that product over the past 12 months. A currently productive settlement does not instantly erase the earlier production history.
After changing a settlement’s culture
Allow time for the past-12-month production comparison to change. In one developer-checked save, a culture became the largest producer after four months. Four months is an example, not a fixed cooldown or a universal refresh period.
If the expected trait bonus is absent, check whether you are matching a product or looking at a recipe that uses it. These are different conditions.
Understand the displayed bonus
Regional culture population share scales the bonus: the interface shows 1x from 0%, 1.5x from 50% and 2x from 75%. A base +2% doubled is +4%, not 200% total output. See Traditional Product bonuses for the worked example.
Other October changes to remember
Settlements can move nearby within the same region; free construction points can be used after construction starts. Much of the game’s time-based UI now uses months, so old annual figures need care.
A patch note about a rare raft-port configuration is not a universal fix for every trade route. Use the trade checklist to separate setup, cargo restrictions and actual delivery.