There 8 settlement and 16 city buildings you can build in Imperator Rome. Some are really good, and some are nothing but a waste of your building slots. So, which buildings are good and which buildings are bad? Find out below on this detailed Imperator Rome buildings tier list guide!
1.Great Temple
Temples are religious spaces, often buildings containing a shrine, dedicated to a deity. These could often have secondary functions beyond the religious, such as the Temple of Saturn in Rome doubling as the state treasury, the olive grove dedicated to Athena at the Akademeia being the site of Plato’s academy, or the Campus Martius, the Field of Mars being the site of annual Roman military muster. Even the Roman senate had to convene in a space dedicated to the gods. The most famous ancient temple is probably the temple of Athena, the Parthenon, in Athens, the ruins of which can still be seen today.
The Great Temple is a god tier building with Grand Theater in Imperator simply because they’re converting culture and religion of pops. Always build the two in capitals of provinces needs converting. Though you need to build a solid economy first to finance Great Temple and Grand Theater buildings because they’re very expensive.
Great Temple is the best building in Imperator Rome simply because it converts religion. Converting culture is equally important but you need to convert religion first to convert culture without any penalties.
2.Grand Theater
Early Greek theater was a relatively simple affair, with a choir and masked actors performing in front of the Skene, a building that served as a backdrop, and seats built into a hillside. The Romans adopted the Greek architecture for their theaters, but built them as free-standing structures, which in turn allowed them to build completely circular theater buildings, or amphitheaters. Due to the different acoustic effects of normal semi-circular theaters and amphitheaters, they tended to host different types of events. Theaters would host plays, pantomimes, and speeches, while amphitheaters, such as the famous Amphitheatrum Flavium, would host gladiatorial combats, races, or sometimes, as in 80 CE, reenactments of naval battles, Naumachiae.
Is the same as Great Temple but instead of converting religion, Grand Theater converts culture.
State same religion and same culture pops never revolt, give more levies, and more taxes. So, you’ll want to integrate highly populated cultures for quick boost and convert almost everyone else.
3.Mine
Mining has been part of human civilization for millennia. Mines allow for more effective ore removal than surface mining, as one can reach deeper ore deposits with less effort. The oldest mining complex in the world is believed to be in Nazlet Sabaha, north of Luxor, along the banks of the Nile, which is believed to have been dug 50,000 years ago.
Mines are the backbone of your commerce as well as farming settlements in the early to mid-game.
Each settlement produces 1 trade resource as a default. They can also produce +1 for each 15-17 slave available in the settlement. What mines and farming settlement buildings does is to reduce the required slave population for +1 resource surplus. So, to make money via selling resources, you want to build mines! They’re very good especially on expensive resources such as precious metals
Pro tip: Hover your mouse over mine and farming buildings to see if it’ll increase the resource surplus upon building. Can also move slaves to the mining / farming settlements to get that +1 resource surplus bonus.
4.Farming Settlement
After the appearance of agriculture, somewhere between 11,000 and 9,500 BCE, the first large-scale farming settlements appeared in the Fertile Crescent around 9,000 BCE. The common pooling of resources gave human societies the freedom to specialize, and branch out into other areas of production, like smithing, carpentry, and trading, but also prefaced the growth of arts and culture, such as poetry, theater, and learning. A strong agricultural surplus is essential to the development of human civilization.
It’s exactly the same with mine buildings except they’re built on settlements producing food.
Always build farming settlements on your capital because your capital will be highly populated and high populations need lots of food.
5.Foundry
In Ancient Rome, Fabricae or Officinae were workshops or manufactories that worked in hard materials like metal and stone. Officinae Armorum, armories, would produce arms and armor, but such smithies could also produce iron nails and fittings for use by ship wrights and in construction. In the later Imperial period, state-run Fabricae would produce arms and armor for whole legions. Hephaistos, the Greek god of fire and smithing, operated an armory, where he forged the legendary arms and armor of the gods.
Imperator Rome foundry building can be unlocked by activating blacksmith apprentices in the martial advances > material sciences technology tree. It requires 4 inventions from top to bottom. Which isn’t a big deal, besides you get -10.00% heavy infantry cost, +10.00% heavy cavalry discipline, +2.50% discipline, and -10.00% army weight modifier on the way.
So, always build foundry on the province capital cities.
6.Port
Quickly and reliably docking and launching ships was best attempted in naturally sheltered harbors, the presence of which spelled the success of many ancient cities along the Mediterranean coast. However, man-made harbors were also constructed when the need arose, utilizing moles and seawalls to tame the waves. Perhaps the most famous of these is the great Portus of Ostia which supplied Rome with grain despite the strong winds at the Tiber’s mouth, though they became increasingly common throughout the empire.
Port building is a great way of attracting migration. I usually build it on a province capital to get the most out of capital city. You can also build ships from ports.
A level 3 port will allow you to build medium ships. Can build heavy ships with a level +5 port as well but that also requires maritime tech which I don’t even bother.
7.Aqueduct
Although most associated with Rome, aqueducts are believed to have appeared first on the Indian subcontinent. In Greece also, constructions such as the Epaulinian Aqueduct on Samos, which brought fresh-water to Pythagoreion, are from as early as the 6th century BCE. Aqueducts would bring fresh water to cities and to the countryside for irrigation from faraway rivers. The longest known aqueduct from antiquity is the Aqueduct of Valens, built in Constantinopolis in the 3rd to 4th century CE and brought water from over 250 kilometers away. The entire structure was over 400 kilometers in length.
Aqueduct is the first buildings I build playing as Rome or any other nation to be honest. Why? Aqueduct building increases population capacity.
By increasing population capacity of your capital or province capitals, you can build metropolis which is the backbone of your economy. Can also display 3 relics on metropolis religious centers which is another must have bonus. Thus, aqueduct is among the most important buildings you should build ASAP on important centers.
8.Marketplace
Early marketplaces were informal phenomena, often appearing in the fields outside a city, primarily focused on places where people congregated. As city-states grew, these Agorai often developed into the center for commercial, religious, political, and cultural life; the beating heart of any city. The Greek Agora even influenced the set-up and significance of both the Roman Fora and the Carthaginian marketplaces.
Marketplace buildings work in a very strange manner. They increase the number of import routes slightly and in a very complicated way. So, never bother building marketplace on provinces other than your capital. But for your capital province, build nothing but marketplace!
Having many import routes for your capital will allow you to get unique capital surplus bonuses for resources. For example, having iron surplus gives +10% heavy infantry discipline. It’s literally godlike. Imagine having capital surplus bonus with at least +15 different resources. How to do that for Rome?
Build +2 cities in Latium, build roads all over Latium to increase trade route bonus, get province investments giving +1 building bonus, and build nothing but marketplaces. That way you can import +30 resources to Latium and get those sweet capital surplus bonuses easily.
9.Mill
The use of small-scale hand-powered mills in the home has been around since the beginning of human agriculture. Larger versions can be powered by draft-animals. The later invention of the watermill enabled their use in mining and construction as tools for crushing ore and cutting wood and marble. Watermills generally decreased reliance on human and animal powered labor, substantially increasing productivity and efficiency in the production of raw materials.
Mill is a good economy building but very situational. What it does is to increase desired slave ratio and slave output. So, when it’s useful?
I always max out the mill buildings on metropolis capital cities. Because capitals are the main destination of slaves. Mills can increase resource production and definitely increase tax! Again and again, it’s all about stacking bonuses in Imperator Rome.
10.Tax Office
Every government needs a treasury to house the funds necessary for a functioning state-apparatus, such as public building projects or troop wages. The treasury of ancient Rome, the Aerarium Populi Romani, was located in the Temple of Saturn on the Forum Romanum, which also housed legionary standards, senate decrees, and the laws of Rome engraved on brass tablets. The funds were mainly from tax income, collected by the Publicani, Roman Equites who had won contract bids for the right to farm taxes in a specified province.
We build nothing but marketplace on our capital province to get more import routes. But that’s not a valid strategy for the rest of provinces. Because they don’t get surplus bonus and you can’t be bothered with import routes on every province. (Auto import don’t always work.)
Instead, we build foundry and tax office on every other province capital we have for strong economy. It’s all about stacking. Building foundry and the max amount of tax offices on your capital province with minimum 40-50 pops will yield high return of investment.
11.Court of Law
The most common form of Roman litigation during the Republic, Legis Actiones, Actions of Law, involved a formal hearing in front of a magistrate, upon which a judge was agreed upon by both parties. The judge had to be a Roman citizen of senatorial rank, and was selected from a list called Album Iudicum, but did not need to have any legal training or expertise. After this the trial was held in a public place, usually the Forum Romanum, during which either side could be represented by an advocate. At the end, the judge would rule in whatever manner seemed most just.
Does increase citizen happiness and citizen desired ratio. Is good for rebellious cities with a population hosting a citizen majority.
This building increase happiness and increase province loyalty.
12.Slave Estate
In the ancient world, citizenship and military service was tied to land ownership. Only land owners had the privilege of suffrage, and a duty to perform military service. Over time, more and more land was bought by the more affluent classes, and gathered farmland into larger estates, in Latin called Latifundia. These estates were worked by slaves, and grew primarily cash crops, which were more valuable than food.
If I can’t build mine or farming building on a settlement, I go with slave estate for boosting economy. Rest of the settlement buildings are useless anyways.
Keep in mind though, slave estate boosts the economy of a settlement slightly. Only build it on populated settlements with at least 15-20 pops.
13.Granary
The issue of storing food-stuffs from one harvest to the next is as old as agriculture itself. Various ancient cultures came up with solutions to storing grain over long periods while keeping it dry and pest-free; from the raised floors of Roman Granarium, the dug out pits of the Greek Silo, to the Egyptian use of cats to keep pests under control. Long-term storage of grain allowed for a food surplus, a prerequisite for population growth, and eventually civilization itself.
Granary increase food store of the province it’s built. Food storage isn’t always an issue, is it worth building?
The answer is yes if you’re playing tall and no if you’re playing wide. 12 months of food stored in your province store does increase the population growth. It’s a nice bonus to have if you’re playing tall. When I play tall, I tend to build one granary on each city for population growth. But you can increase your population way faster by fighting, conquering, looting, and enslaving.
14.Academy
The first academy was founded by Plato in the early 4th century BCE, on a property he owned on the Akademeia, a hill outside Athens, where there was a grove of olive trees dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom. Plato lectured and posed problems to the Academy’s members. Later, his student Aristotle would found the Lyceum, his own academy in Athens proper, where Aristotle would pass on his philosophy, and where he founded a library. Both schools were destroyed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 86 BCE during his siege of Athens.
Does increase noble happiness and noble desired ratio. Is good for rebellious cities with a population hosting a noble majority.
Can’t compare with court of law.
15.Forum
Influenced by the Greek Agora, the Roman Forum was the hub of the Eternal City. Apart from the commercial, judicial and religious activities of the Forum, its main function was that of political nucleus, where the senators convened in the Comitium, and where the Roman Populus came to hear political speeches, and assembled to cast their vote in election.
Does increase freeman happiness and freeman desired ratio. Is good for rebellious cities with a population hosting a freeman majority.
Not as good as court of law.
16.Library
The earliest known library was the Hittite collection of cuneiform tablets in Hattusa from 1900 BCE, but large institutional libraries became more common in the 3rd century BCE. They were commonly archives for empires or kingdoms, but also for religious institutions, or attached to institutions of higher learning. The largest and most famous library of the ancient world was the Great Library of Alexandria, which may have contained up to 400,000 texts at its height. The destruction of the Great Library is considered as one of the greatest tragedies of the ancient world.
Does increase knowledge production. But somehow, I’m always a-head of time in technology no matter what playstyle I do.
So, if you’re obsessed with technology and playing tall, build couple of libraries on your provinces. Otherwise, don’t bother because library slightly increase research points and pop conversion and do nothing else.
17.Fortress
The construction of stand-alone fortresses was not that common in the classical world, but the construction of walls to protect whole cities, such as the Servian Wall in Rome, or constructing a fortified citadel on its acropolis, such as the fabled Seven-Gated Wall of the Kadmeia of Thebes, was quite widespread. The Most famous fortification work of the Hellenic world was the Long Walls of Athens, which connected Athens itself with its port Peiraieus.
%99 of the times fortress is useless. Always demolish fortress buildings to get rid of fort maintenance.
However, there are some cases where fortress building can be useful. Your capital for example. You don’t want your capital to be sacked by a sneaky army you fail to see.
Or a strait or mountain pass where you’re bordering a powerful empire.
18.Provincial Legation
In Republican Rome conquered territory was divided into provinces, and administration of the provinces was left in the hands of Roman magistrates with Imperium. Generally these provinces had a high level of self-governance, and the governor only intervened in matters that directly pertained to the Roman state, such as taxation and presiding over judicial trials involving Roman citizens. One of the symbols of a magistrate’s Imperium was the curule chair, which could folded up and transported to wherever the magistrate was needed to perform his duties.
Is a settlement building increasing migration and assimilation slightly. Now this is very situational.
Usually, you want migration and assimilation bonuses in the highly populated capital city. But there are some cases where you conquer a province with zero cities and don’t want to build cities. Then you simply build provincial legation on the capital settlement to increase assimilation speed.
Another use of provincial legation would be for colonization. How? Simply build one next to an uncolonized land to increase migration and then colonize the empty land once you have enough population. Though you can do the same thing simply by moving pops from province to province.
19.Training Camp
The agrarian nature of the early ancient world necessitated seasonal military campaigns, during the summer months between the planting and harvest seasons. Every year the citizens would muster in a field outside the city limits, such as the Agorai of the Greek city states or the Campus Martius of Rome, in preparation for that year’s war against their neighbors.
Manpower does not determine the number of levies. Population determines the levy numbers. Since you never run out of manpower in Imperator Rome, training camp is pretty much useless. I usually destroy training camps to get 20 gold and +1 free building slot.
20.Barracks
While on the march, Roman legions would build semi-fortified camps called Castra. These were little more than palisades around their camps with a moat dug out. They would be dismantled every morning, and rebuilt in a new location in the evening. When the legion built winter quarters, the Castra would be upgraded with better fortifications and more amenities. Frequently in the more remote provinces, as a permanent military presence was established, the palisades and tents of the winter quarters would b e replaced with stone buildings to house the provincial legions assigned to the governor.
Another manpower building, this time for settlements. You already know what I think about manpower in this game, it’s useless.
So, don’t bother with barrack on settlements. Either build mine / farming settlement or go for slave estate for extra tax.
21.Earthworks
Ranging from grand ramparts to defensive banks, the art of using earthworks to funnel enemy troops into advantageous positions has significant tactical merit.
Another useless building you should never build and should demolish if it’s built by the nation you’ve just conquered.
It gives slight hostile attrition, for defense, and combat width reduction at the cost of -10% population capacity. Very useless even on chokepoints / borders. Just upgrade your fort instead if you want a strong defensive position.
22.Tribal Settlement
Tribal communities are close-knit rural groups of fiercely independent people. In the early history of Rome, a tribe, or a Tribus, originally referred to such subgroups, which became the basis for the voting classes of the Populus when the city was founded. Even though the rural lifestyle disappeared, Romans retained their tribal-mentaility long after they became urban, and were slow to adopt foreign customs and traditions.
Unfortunately, tribal settlement building has no use and pointless. Imperator Rome is a half-abandoned game and that’s why buildings like tribal settlement stil exist.
Simply ignore this building and demolish it if you have any to get a little bit of gold refund.
