The Maps: Valley and Oxbow

The two playable maps, their starting villages, and the other settlements you trade and recruit at. Plus what makes a good build site and how to choose between Valley and Oxbow.

Medieval Dynasty has two main maps, and you pick one when you start a new game. The Valley is the original single-player map, built around the starting village of Gostovia. The Oxbow is the newer co-op-capable map added in December 2023, built around Piastovia. Both are dotted with non-hostile settlements that act as trading and recruiting hubs. You do not own these villages and they are never attacked. Your own settlement is whatever you build from your first house outward, on a site you choose yourself.

The Valley

The Valley is where most players start. Your spawn sits just south of Gostovia, the starting village, where the Castellan Uniegost lives and collects your taxes. Gostovia is also where you finish “Starting a New Life” to unlock building.

The Valley’s named villages are Gostovia, Denica, Lesnica, Branica, Borowo, Tutki, Rolnica, Hornica, Jezerica, and Baranica, plus Sambor’s Hut. Each is a place to trade surplus, sell crafted goods, and recruit villagers once your Dynasty Reputation is high enough. Spreading your sales across several towns matters, because stolen goods are flagged and cannot be sold back in the town they came from.

The Oxbow

The Oxbow arrived with co-op in December 2023 and is the dedicated co-op map, though you can also play it solo. Its starting and central village is Piastovia, the biggest and most developed settlement on the map and the local political center. Piastovia is home to the Castellan who collects taxes for the King.

The Oxbow is described as having denser wildlife and more structured trading loops than the Valley, which can make hunting and trade more active but also raises the threat level out in the wilds.

The other Oxbow settlements are Ostoya, Skauki, and Klonica. Co-op on the Oxbow supports up to 4 players online via join codes, with no local split-screen. Note that multiplayer launched as an Early Access feature, so not all single-player content is guaranteed present in co-op, and there is no cross-progression between single-player and co-op saves. Verify current parity before relying on a specific co-op feature, since updates may have closed gaps.

Choosing a map

	The Valley	The Oxbow
Starting village	Gostovia	Piastovia
Co-op	Single-player focus	Up to 4 players, online
Wildlife	Standard	Described as denser
Best for	A first solo run	Playing with friends

If this is your first run, the Valley is the well-trodden path and the chapter walkthroughs you will find are sourced from it. Pick the Oxbow if you want co-op or a slightly more active world. Whether the Oxbow’s chapter quests, rewards, and build-limit steps match the Valley list exactly is not confirmed in the sources, so treat the chapter ladder as Valley-canon.

Where to settle

You build your village wherever you like, and the spot shapes everything that follows. The source-supported guidance is consistent:

Build near water. Villagers need easy water access and you will want a Well.
Build near a dense forest. Buildings consume a lot of wood and you will be logging constantly.
Look for stone. Near Gostovia there is an abundance of stones by the river, useful early for crafting Stone Knives to sell.
Choose flat ground with room to expand. You will add fields, pens, and many buildings.

Exact “best spot” coordinates are guide opinion, not canon. Use the principles, not someone else’s pin.

The seasonal clock

Both maps run on the same calendar. There are four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, each a default 3 in-game days, making a default year 12 in-game days. You can set season length anywhere from 1 to 30 days at new game or in Customize Game, and a longer setting is gentler on a first run. Taxes come due every Spring, paid to the Castellan in your starting village.