Rushing wonders is the best strategy and best way of spending your gold in Imperator Rome. That’s the meta for min-maxing the game.
Two stone one gold tower is the best design for a brand-new wonder. Because it’ll give you tier 2 wonder as cheap as possible. It’ll also be built faster than more expensive designs.
Another thing about wonders, you want to build them in your capital province. Why? To get the province bonuses and to build them faster by taking advantage of high population in capital province.
1. Tax and Commerce
Increases income and adds new trade routes on your capital province. It’s literally the best wonder effect for all stages of the game.
I always loot cities and save golds to rush my first wonder with tax and commerce effect.
2. Cultural Memorial
Second best effect is cultural memorial because it’s boosting the monthly civilization change of all your provinces.
Now what does civilization level do? Well, it literally boosts everything such as pop growth, pop capacity, pop output, happiness, migration, and more.
3. Honored Nobles
Increases noble production which is highly boosting research and import routes.
Noble happiness will greatly reduce province disloyalty.
4. Honored Citizens
Increases citizen production which is highly boosting manpower / research.
Noble happiness will greatly reduce province disloyalty.
5. Honored Freemen
Increases freemen production which is highly boosting tax and manpower.
Noble happiness will greatly reduce province disloyalty.
6. Expanding Culture
Greatly increases cultural assimilation and religious conversion.
It’s highly beneficial because your culture / religion never revolts and give more levies, tax, and commerce income.
7. Conquering Traditions
Playing wide? Want to conquer the world? Then you definitely need conquering traditions to reduce war score cost and aggressive expansion.
Aggressive expansion is literally the only thing slowing down expansion in Imperator Rome. You want to reduce it as much as you can.
8. Government Traditions
Government traditions wonder effect will make you never worry about province loyalty, corruption, and governor loyalty. It’s literally a god-like must-have tradition.
If it’s so good, why didn’t I rank it higher? Because we want to build economic and conquering themed wonders first. Then government traditions become handy, when you expand your empire a bit.
9. For The Masses
You can only integrate a handful of cultures. Otherwise, you’ll have problems. So, how do you deal with hundreds of unintegrated cultures? With for the masses wonder effect of course!
Pre-built in City of Halikarnassos in Caria Inferioris, Asia and in city of Oskobara in Oxiana, Bactria.
Can go and conquer it as Rome or any other major power once you’re ready to do so. Much faster and cheaper than building a brand-new wonder.
10. Military Training Traditions
This wonder effect will allow you to farm military tradition with levies. It’s very important to get it very early in the game to level it up.
Remember, military traditions are what makes you win battles!
11. Civic Research Doctrine
+25% civic tech investment is a great bonus, yes. But +0.10 monthly statesmanship is what makes this wonder effect so powerful.
Statesmanship of a character increase when a government position is held. Higher the statesmanship, better the bonuses and performance. High statesmanship also provides bonus events.
Pre-built in city Babylon in Babylonia>Seleukid Empire.
12. Religious Research Doctrine
Again, +25% religious tech investment is cool. Yet, nothing can beat the +0.08 monthly stability boost coming from religious research doctrine.
Aggressive expansion and its negative impact on stability is the only thing slowing down the conquest. +0.08 stability increase helps to reduce this negative impact and allows non-stop world conquest.
Pre-built in City of Ephesos in Ionia>Ionia, and City of Taxila in Glausae>Maurya.
13. Diplomatic Education
Diplomatic education wonder effect allows children from 5 to 15 to improve charisma stat.
Charisma is good for Preator (aggressive expansion reduction) and Censor (party approval) government positions.
14. Honored Slaves
Does nothing but increasing national slave output.
It’s very good for economy and tax income, still, I build this mid-game because you don’t have many slaves at the early game phase.
15. Government Education
Government education wonder effect allows children from 5 to 15 to improve finesse stat.
Finesse is the main attribute for governors. The more finesse, the better enforcement of governor policy. Also less unrest.
16. Siege Traditions
This tradition at max level allows you to capture forts almost instantly!
+25% siege ability and +2 siege engineers’ shreds forts apart. This is kind of a god-tier tradition but again, you want to build economy and unrest wonders first.
17. Omen Observations
Omens can grand very powerful bonuses according to your pantheon deities. Thus, increasing these powerful bonuses by +20% is extremely valuable.
Pre-built in Roma in Latium>Rome, Cunetio in Durotrigia>Durotriga, and Avakana in North Tambapamni, Anuradhapura.
18. Military Education
Military education wonder effect allows children from 5 to 15 to improve martial stat.
Who doesn’t want to have extremely powerful generals? Martial level also useful for Tribunus Militum (military tradition) and Praefectus Militaris (tax) government positions.
19. Religious Education
Religious education wonder effect allows children from 5 to 15 to improve zeal stat.
Ruler with high zeal increase stability. Other than that, zeal is useful for Augur (omen power) and Pontifex Maximus (divine sacrifice cost) positions.
20. Diplomatic Traditions
It allows you to create a vassal swarm with clients thanks to the +5 diplomatic relations slot. Vassal swarms are very useful in imperial challenge wars.
It also gives +15 diplomatic reputation and integration speed which are very helpful when you decide to integrate your vassals.
Now that concludes this article. There are other traditions too, but I’ve decided to list 20 most important ones. The rest are optional and can be build depending on your playstyle and situation you’re in.