A player's allegiance rank is a function of the number of Vassals and how they are organized. First, take the two highest ranked vassals. Now the Patron's rank will either be one higher than the lower of the two or equal to the highest rank vassal, whichever is greater. For example, if a patron has two vassals and one is rank 5 and the other is rank 7, the patron's rank will be rank 7, and if both vassals were rank 3 instead, the patron's rank would be rank 4. Below is the minimum number of followers for a given rank (many more will be required if not organized optimally).