Welcome to the guide of Imperator Rome pro tips. In this article, you’ll find 15 advanced tips that’ll help you up your game.
Unfortunately, Imperator Rome is a half-finished abandoned game. Thus, it doesn’t have any in-game explanations, tooltips, etc. Most features in this game must be figured out by the players. It’s hard! You can still find new features after playing 500 hours into this game.
So, to save you the hassle, I’ve listed all the advanced tips I could think of right below.
1. Integrate Key Cultures
Culture conversion takes ages in Imperator Rome, especially in the early game. What’s the solution? Integrating cultures with high populations.
For example, integrating Etruscan culture as Rome at the beginning instantly doubles your capital levies. It’s literally the best thing you can do as Rome. You also want to integrate Macedon culture since they have many pops and follow the same religion as Rome. Integrating Macedon as Rome also unlocks the Greek Poles and Greek Kingdom traditions which is almost mandatory in my opinion.
2. Rush Wonders
One building improves one city or settlement whereas one wonder effects entire country. Wonder bonuses are so good I always save my money to build wonders first. I build key wonders and then go for regular buildings.
Some key wonder effects you need to rush early to snowball entire game:
- Tax and Commerce: National tax +15%, national commerce income +15%, and local import routes +4.
- Cultural Memorial: +0.08 monthly civilization change, and +5% local civilization level.
- Expanding Culture: +40% pop conversion speed, and +40% pop assimilation speed.
- Conquering Traditions: -20% aggressive expansion, and -10% warscore cost.
- Government Traditions: Province loyalty +0.10, monthly corruption -0.10, and loyalty of governors +10.
3. Focus Trade in Capital
You need to build roads and marketplaces in your capital province to increase import routes, it’s utmost important! Why? Every resource imported to your capital gives nation-wide bonuses if you have +1 surplus.
For example, importing two iron increases heavy infantry discipline by +10%. It’s a huge boost to your army capabilities.
Thus, you need to focus nothing but trade in your capital province.
4. Designate Religious Centers
Did you know that you can designate a religious center? A religious center gives amazing local bonuses, and you can display up to 3 relics there to gain superb nation-wide bonuses. A settlement can display one, a city two, and metropolis can display 3 relics.
Religious center bonuses:
- Increase in deity modifiers by +25%.
- Local tax: +10%
- Local city building slots: +1
- Migration attraction: +5
I usually build religious centers ASAP so that any other nation can’t build them before me. If they do, I need to go on and conquer / desecrate said locations.
Best religious center locations for Rome are Clusium, Picenum, and Ariminum. Because they’re farmland region capitals, roman colonias, and located in Italia region.
5. Appoint Researchers with Traits
Researchers with scholar, polymath, or intelligent traits can give free inventions from time to time. It’s literally a cheat code for getting lots of free innovations early in the game.
These traits can be seen on the menu where you assign researchers. If you don’t see any, try to recruit prisoners or reassign council members with research traits.
6. Build Mines / Farms / Foundries
Hover over your mouse on mines, farms, and foundries to see if they’re giving +1 resource on the province. That’s just about it really. If a building is giving a +1 resource to trade, always built it. Because that’s the backbone of your economy early to mid-game.
Though you can build mines and move slaves to the location and get the +1 resource surplus even if it’s not available originally.
7. Delete Forts
Forts are unfortunately useless in this game. They are nothing but money drains. Always delete your forts to not waste money on fort maintenance.
Just remember your last Imperator Rome campaign. How many of your forts are besieged by enemies? Maybe only the ones right beside the border. The rest of the forts are rotting away and draining money for no reason.
I just leave a fort in my capital and a few on the border. Others are instantly deleted!
8. Assault Forts
Assaulting is very OP, and you should always use it on forts with low defenders to save time. I use assault on forts with approximately 250-500 defenders, or even 1000 if I’m going to disband my levies after the assault / war.
It just saves time, saves money, and even saves manpower by reducing the length of war! Not to mention the reduction in the war exhaustion.
9. Invest in Capital Region
Capital region of Rome is Italia. You can see the regions in region map. Anyways, capital region is always governed by the consul AKA your current ruler. That means it’s always going to be loyal and province government policies will not randomly change. So, it’s utmost important to invest in your capital region first.
Again, conquering cities with your capital levies gives looting option, which is the main source of income in the early – mid game. You want more investment, more pops, and more manpower in your capital region for getting lots of capital levies.
10. Use Political Power Wisely
Political power is one of the most important resources in Imperator Rome. With political power you can build wonders, upgrade wonders, fabricate claims, and build metropolises.
Can also build cities and invest in provinces but they’re not necessary. Once you complete all mandatory stuff, then you can start building cities in provinces with 0 cities.
Also, don’t bother fabricating claim on provinces with less than 75 population. It’s not worth the political power you spend. Instead, declare your targets allies or fabricate claims on their populated provinces to declare war. A little aggressive expansion won’t hurt.
11. Conquer Same Religion Culture
Converting religion and culture takes ages in Imperator Rome. Thus, it’s always recommended to conquer nations with same religion or same culture to increase your powerbase early on.
For Rome, it’s Macedonia, Illyria, and Greece. These regions follow Hellenic religion. That makes them easier to assimilate / integrate with no disloyalty. You instantly double or triple your power by conquering these regions as Rome.
12. Set Auto Trade
On capital you must micro-manager you import routes to get nation-wide capital surplus bonuses. However, it’s not the case with rest of your provinces.
I basically set the first import routes manually and then click on the automatic trade button on all provinces I conquer. It’s easier that way, you can’t micromanage import in all provinces you own.
Province auto trade doesn’t always work but it’s better than nothing. At least you get some commerce income if automatic trade works.
Then there is also auto accept trade offers tick. To do that, press F6 to unlock trade screen, then tick accept all trades. It saves lots of time and improves the quality of game really.
13. Don’t Allow Your Provinces to Get Occupied
Never let an enemy occupy your lands during war. It’s the worst. Because some pops die, and some pops gets enslaved when provinces occupied. If you want to snowball the game, you must plan your battles carefully and don’t lose a single pop.
A hardcore looting can turn your cities into settlements or completely destroy the province and turn it into uncolonized land.
14. Loot / Sack Cities
Always occupy cities with your king / consul. Why? To get that sweet city looting pop-up! It’s your main source of income in the early game and can finance your first wonder buildings.
Capital levies are the key for this. So, always invest in your capital region and sack cities with your capital levies.
Let me expand more, if your king or consul occupies a city, you’ll get a pop-up to sack and loot. Hard-core looting is the only way to rush wonders and snowball the game in my opinion.
Cities occupied by mercenaries, governors, or cohort generals does not give you a looting pop-up. So, always micro-manage your levies and see who’s in charge of the siege.
15. First Convert, Then Assimilate
Cultural assimilation takes ages unlike converting religion. That’s why you want to convert pops first and get rid of the dominant religion is not state religion debuff on cultural assimilation.
Converting religion also reduces revolt chance by a lot. So, convert religion and sit back to relax. Let cultures assimilate slowly. Can also integrate cultures and be done with it.