The Elder Scrolls: Castles is a mobile game in The Elder Scrolls series. Android and iOS fans of The Elder Scrolls series can enjoy playing this mobile game, where they control their castle and dynasties. Players oversee subjects, play through in-game years, watch families grow, and have new rulers take the throne.

Managing a dynasty isn’t easy. Players must make difficult choices, like choosing between rulings, keeping subjects happy, and even banishing people from the dynasty. Happiness is the most important factor in The Elder Scrolls: Castle. It contributes to productivity and stability. Luckily, several choices in the game can increase a subject’s happiness.

How To Improve Your Subject’s Happiness

The Best Methods To Increase Happiness

The happiness of your subjects is vital to keeping your dynasty in order. Some decisions, like where you assign your subjects, are easy to make and will keep them happy. Other choices, like choosing different rulings, require more thought and strategy. Here are the best ways to improve the happiness of your subjects in the latest Elder Scrolls title.

Assign Subjects To The Music Stage

Your subjects deserve some time to enjoy leisurely activities. One such activity is the Music Stage, where subjects can relax and listen to music. The Music Stage isn’t unlocked until level 26, but you can assign up to two subjects at a time when it's unlocked. Then, it’s just a matter of checking their card to know when their happiness reaches the maximum amount.

Sophisticated subjects will react better to the Music Stage than those without the trait.

The Music Stage takes 200 Gold and 30 Limestones to build. Upgrades to the Music Stage will cost more, with the first upgrade costing 1,000 Gold, 150 Quarried Stones, and 50 Quartz, and the second upgrade costing 5,000 Gold, 300 Sandstone, and 150 Quartz. Each upgrade will improve the subject's happiness at a faster rate.

Assign Subjects To The Bookcase

The Bookcase is another station in The Elder Scrolls: Castles that increases subject happiness much faster than the Music Stage. However, the Bookcase doesn’t unlock until level 42. You can assign two subjects at a time, and Sophisticated subjects will respond better.

While assigned to stations like the Music Stage or Bookcase, subjects can also benefit from rulings that improve their happiness.

Since the Bookcase is higher than the Music Stage, it requires a bit more resources to build. For the initial Bookcase, you’ll need 350 Gold and 40 Limestones. The first upgrade requires 1,750 Gold, 200 Quarried Stone, and 75 Quartz. The final and most expensive upgrade costs 87,500 Gold, 400 Sandstone, and 200 Quartz.

Assign Subjects To The Art Studio

The Art Studio is one of the fastest ways to increase subject happiness. Unfortunately, unlocking the Art Studio requires 675 Gems, which can be challenging without spending real money. You’ll also need to be patient as the Art Studio isn’t always available in the store to purchase, but when it is, it will be part of the Art Lover bundle. Besides the Art Studio, the bundle comes with a few neat decorations.

The Art Studio is pretty big, taking up as much space as the Throne in The Elder Scrolls: Castles. It also comes with the added benefit of asg three subjects to it at a time. Since the Art Studio is unlocked through the in-game store, it doesn’t require any resources to build. Still, whether it’s worth 675 Gems is up to you.

Choose The Right Rulings For Subjects

Choosing the right rulings is the final best method of increasing subject happiness. This is not something to take lightly, as selecting the wrong rulings can throw your entire dynasty through a loop. Rulings can affect both individuals and whole groups, so be careful.

If a subject is upset at the ruling you enact, assign them to the Music Stage or Bookcase to help settle them down.

Since you’re dealing with unique traits, it’s hard to pick rulings that suit everyone’s needs. In that case, focus on choosing rulings that will benefit those with the lowest happiness ratings. You can also choose neutral rulings, but those will cost a lot of gold and resources. However, it might be worth it if it keeps all your subjects in a good mood. Don’t pick based on your needs but on the needs of your subjects.

Other Methods Of Increasing Happiness

Maintain Happiness Levels To Stay In Good Favor

While the above methods are undoubtedly the fastest and easiest ways to increase subject happiness in The Elder Scrolls: Castles, you can do a few other things to keep your subjects happy without actually increasing their joy. These tasks might require more decision-making and thought. Still, whether it is easy or not, keeping your subjects happy is your responsibility.

Build The Right Decorations

Certain decorations and items, like the Iron Armor Stand, help keep a subject's happiness stable. The Iron Armor Stand lowers the amount of happiness lost. While it doesn’t improve happiness, keeping it stable is just as important.

Similar to Fallout 4's building mechanics, effects of decorations stack, so you can build multiples of the same decoration and have the same effects build up. The Sword Banner is another decoration worth building as it lowers the chance of regicide or killing the King.

Banish Subjects Who Cause Trouble

No matter how well you run your dynasty, you’ll likely end up with one or two unruly subjects. These subjects might have bad traits that affect those around them, but that’s not always the case. So, banishing should be used as a last resort.

Before you banish a subject, try lecturing them to see if anything changes. Sometimes, a lecture is all it takes to repair a relationship. If the subject continues to act out and cause trouble, then banishing might be in the best interest of your dynasty. It won’t be easy, but sometimes, getting rid of one bad apple is necessary to preserve the rest.

Pair Subjects With Similar Traits

In real life, subjects with similar traits work better together. However, this is only true for positive characteristics. You wouldn’t want to stick two Bossy subjects together, as this could lead to tension and decrease happiness.

Instead, group subjects with positive traits, such as Considerate, Sophisticated, or Charming traits. Then, you can stick these subjects in the Kitchen or at the Loom. Their stable happiness will make their production more efficient.

When dealing with negative traits, like the Bossy trait, you can try grouping them with Volatile subjects. It doesn’t always work, but it might balance out the negativity. If that doesn’t work and production is slipping, you might need to banish the negative subject or assign them to another role.

Be Strategic With Breeding

Like dwellers in Fallout Shelter, rulers and their dynasties are nothing without their subjects. If you’re getting low on subjects or want new ones with better traits, it’s time to start breeding. Now, you can do the logical thing and pair subjects with positive traits to increase the chance of ing down positive attributes. Or you can pair up enemies to force them to turn into lovers.

Forcing two enemies to marry and become lovers will cause them to learn to work together. As they learn to be around each other and even like each other, the hostilities will fade, and happiness will increase. However, there is a risk of them ing down their negative traits to their children, thus creating more problematic subjects. But you can cross that bridge when you get to it.

Increasing subject happiness in The Elder Scrolls: Castles should be a top priority. After all, a happy dynasty will keep things running smoothly and will make for an easier mobile gaming experience. Assign your subjects to happiness-building stations, pair up positive traits, enact the right rulings, and banish those who cause too much trouble, and your dynasty will prosper for years to come.