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Anno 117 Beginner's Guide: City Building Tips and Tricks
A comprehensive guide for new players starting their journey in Anno 117: Pax Romana. While the campaign serves as an extended tutorial, sandbox mode requires more self-directed learning. This guide covers essential concepts for building a successful empire.
Table of Contents
- Warehouses
- Building Radii and Attributes
- Public Service Range
- Expanding to New Islands
- Essential Tools
- Resource Management
- Production Efficiency
- Naval Forces
- Specialists
- Choices and Events
- Hall of Fame
- Latium vs Albion
Build and Upgrade Warehouses
Warehouses are the lifeblood of your supply chain. They function as pickup and drop-off points for resources and connect any buildings on the same road to your Trading Post or Governor's Villa.
Key Points
- Warehouses are essential for expanding your city beyond the shore
- When Warehouses become overloaded, build additional ones or upgrade existing ones
- Research Warehouse Organization and Warehouse Refinement discoveries to unlock upgrades
Warehouse Upgrade Costs
| Upgrade Cost | Maintenance Cost | Loading Ramps |
|---|---|---|
| 250 Denarii, 25 Timber, 5 Tiles | -12 Denarii/min, 10 Liberti/Waders | 4 |
| 500 Denarii, 50 Timber, 15 Tiles (+5 Concrete in Latium) | -20 Denarii/min, 15 Liberti/Waders | 6 |
Tips
- Epona's Exaltation: The "Great Mare's Stride" allows Logistics carts to travel 30% further
- Warehouses can connect buildings to your Trading Post or Villa without roads, useful for tight spaces
- However, bonuses travel along roads and cannot transfer through a Warehouse - use roads when possible
Use Building Radii to Maximize Attributes
Many buildings provide positive or negative attributes in a radius around them:
| Icon | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green up arrow | Positive attributes |
| Red down arrow | Negative attributes |
| Green/red diamond | Both positive and negative |
Positive Attribute Buildings
Production buildings like the Spinner, Pileus Felter, Sandal Maker, and Lavender Farm provide positive attributes:
- Income
- Population
- Knowledge
- Belief
- Prestige
- Health
- Happiness
- Fire Safety
Strategy: Place these buildings near clusters of houses to maximize bonuses.
Negative Attribute Buildings
Buildings like the Charcoal Burner, Pig Farm, and Renderer inflict negative attributes.
Strategy: Place these buildings away from residential areas to avoid incidents like fire, disease, or unrest.
Extend Your Public Service Range
Public service buildings provide bonuses to a number of buildings along the road. These are crucial for meeting citizen needs.
Road Upgrades
Upgrading your roads significantly extends the effective range of public services:
| Road Type | Effect |
|---|---|
| Dirt Roads | Base range |
| Paved Roads | Extended range |
| Marble Roads | Maximum range |
Important: As your city's status increases, so do attribute penalties. Public services are your front line in keeping citizens happy, healthy, and safe from fire.
Expand for What's Missing
Your initial island should satisfy Liberti or Waders, and may even meet Plebeian or Smith needs. Eventually, citizens will demand goods you cannot produce locally.
When to Settle New Islands
Look for islands with fertilities you are missing. For example:
Island 1: Mackerel, Lavender, Grapes, Oysters, Iron Island 2: Resin, Olives, Flax, Iron, Gold
Island 2 is an excellent settlement choice - its resources help meet Plebeian needs and begin satisfying Equites.
See Also: Fertility Guide
Relocate Buildings (Instead of Deleting Them)
City building can be messy. When you need to move buildings, use the Relocate Tool (G) instead of the Demolish Tool (X). This preserves buildings and any citizens living there.
Quick Tips
| Tip | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + Upgrade Tool | Downgrade buildings instead of upgrading |
| Planning Mode | Place blueprints for free, then upgrade when ready |
| Build Diagonally | Fit buildings into odd corners |
| Field Sharing | Some buildings can share field space (e.g., Apiaries with Lavender fields) |
| Spare Workers | Keep 20-30 spare workers for emergencies |
See Also: Starting City Layouts
Check Your Resources
Click your governor's profile to access the statistics menu. This shows:
- Green bars: Production
- White bars: Demand
- Arrows: Stock rising, stable, or falling
- Efficiency: Production chain efficiency
- Profitability: Income from goods
Addressing Deficiencies
- Build more production on your current island
- Settle a new island with needed fertilities
- Trade with NPCs to purchase needed goods
- Sell excess goods for profit
See Also: Trade Guide
Pay Attention to Efficiency
Early production chains use 1:1 ratios, but advanced chains become more complex.
Example: Tile Production
| Building | Processing Time | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Clay Pit | 0:30 | 1t Clay |
| Charcoal Burner | 0:30 | 1t Charcoal |
| Tiler | 1:00 | 1t Tiles |
Optimal Ratio: 1 Clay Pit + 1 Charcoal Burner + 2 Tilers
Boosting Production
- Specialists: Socket specialists in your Villa for production bonuses
- Deities: Worship compatible gods (e.g., Ceres boosts Bread, Porridge, Wine, Beer, and Olive Oil chains, plus +4 population to residences)
- Discoveries: Research technologies that increase efficiency
Tip: You can dedicate each island to a different god depending on your needs - embrace the power of Polytheism!
See Also: Production Ratio Guide
Build a Strong Navy
Raiders are typically more annoying than threatening, but a strong navy provides significant advantages:
Benefits
- Escort trading vessels
- Blockade pirate bases
- Defend against rival attacks
- Prevent troop landings during wars or rebellions
Strategy: Park ships outside pirate bases to intercept enemy vessels before they can threaten your shores.
Specialize, Specialize, Specialize
Specialists provide huge boosts to your empire. Socket them into the Governor's Villa on each island, then add more in an Officium.
Specialist Rarities
| Rarity | Description |
|---|---|
| Common | Minor bonuses |
| Rare | Moderate bonuses |
| Epic | Significant bonuses (e.g., Baker Augcrusta: +2 population to Plebeian, Equite, or Patrician housing when supplied with bread) |
| Legendary | Powerful, often unique effects |
Acquiring Specialists
Visit these locations to buy and reroll specialists:
- Imperial Representative
- Valeria
- Manx's Ports
Note: Higher Emperor standing = cheaper specialists and more reroll options.
Ship Captains
Specialists can also be appointed as ship captains, providing additional bonuses to vessels.
Choices Matter
Most events offer multiple choices with distinct outcomes.
Event Examples
- Gemini in the Rough: Choose between hiring Brutus or Gaius as a specialist
- Festivals: Pay outright, contribute goods, or postpone
Emperor Reputation
Choices can increase or decrease your reputation with the Emperor:
| Reputation | Effects |
|---|---|
| Positive | Discounts at traders, more specialist reroll options, special privileges at 100 |
| Negative | Penalties when buying land, Emperor may send ships to attack at open rebellion |
Note: The rebellion path may offer unique perks if you prevail in combat.
See Also: Brutus vs Gaius Guide
Hall of Fame Unlocks
Accolades and the Hall of Fame are more than achievements - they are a meta-progression system.
Unlocks Include
- New technologies
- Legendary Specialists
- New gods
- Other perks available from the start of your city
Important: Remember to spend your Fame to unlock these perks!
See Also: Hall of Fame and Accolades Guide
Latium vs Albion
Quick Summary
| Province | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Latium | Safe, spacious, beginner-friendly |
| Albion | Challenging, requires optimization |
Albion Population Paths
When you reach Albion, choose between:
| Path | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Celtic | Uses Albion-native resources, better relations with native NPCs, more Belief bonuses, may cause diplomatic friction with Empire |
| Roman | Requires Latium resources, pleases Emperor, may anger Voada and Scathach, provides more Knowledge |
See Also: Albion vs Latium Guide, Celtic vs Roman Population Guide