As a historical city-building game, buildings are of the utmost importance in Anno 117: Pax Romana, and at almost all times in the game, players will be deciding which building to construct next. While some buildings are one-offs for a settlement, such as a Villa, others might need to be built dozens of times, or even hundreds of times, as is the case with houses.
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Houses (Libertus Residence)
- 1 Wood
Houses, which start out as the Libertus Residence tier, are the bread and butter of Anno 117. These provide workers, and crucially, each residence pays taxes. They are cheap to build and don't take up much space.
If players have a negative balance, they need to build more houses to increase taxes. If players are lacking in any type of workforce, such as Libertus or Plebeians, they need to build or upgrade houses.
After upgrading a house, remember to build a new one to replace the Libertus workers you just lost after they became Plebeians.
Roads
- 50 G per 10 tiles
While not really a building, roads are absolutely essential in Anno 117, as without them, buildings will not be connected and won't work. Always leave space for roads, and build lots of them. Eventually, players will want to research Paved Roads so that workers travel faster, increasing efficiency.
Roads, Houses, and Warehouses are built so often, they have their own shortcuts of R, H, and L, respectively. Check out more hotkeys for Anno 117 here.
Woodcutter & Sawmill
- 100 G & 250 G
As all early buildings are made out of wood, a Woodcutter and Sawmill are essential to build early. Without these, players will run out of wood and not be able to build anything. As the game progresses, players will want to build more of these together, as later buildings cost way more wood, as do ships.
As players gain access to new building resources, such as Tiles and Concrete, they will also want to build the relevant structures to produce these.
Warehouses
- 100 G
- 3 Wood
Warehouses are another core part of the game, as production buildings send and store their output here. Players will want to spread out their Warehouses to cover each part of their city. Upgrading Warehouses to increase their storage can be done after researching Warehouse Organization.
If a building says 'No Warehouse in Range', there either isn't a Warehouse nearby, or it is not connected via roads.
Any Food & Farm Stuffs
Depending on the region players start in, they will want to fish and farm what is available. These early options are vital for keeping Libertus happy and eventually upgrading them to Plebeians.
Markets & Taverns
- 250 G
- 5 Wood
These two buildings are the only Public Services that Libertus Residents require. Thus, they need to be built every so often, especially when building a new neighborhood that is out of range of previous Markets and Taverns.
Charcoal Burner
- 3 Wood
Charcoal is key for many industries, such as producing Tiles, Bread, and Weapons. As such, you will want to build more than one Charcoal Burner fairly early on.
City Watch Buildings (Vigiles, Custodia, Medici)
These buildings keep your city safe from fire, violent rebellions, and diseases. Rebellions can be kept in check by keeping the population happy, so Custodia aren't as important as Vigiles, for example, with fires being almost inevitable in large cities.
For fires, try to research Wells, too, as these will help.
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Grammaticus
- 1000 G
- 5 Wood
- 10 Tiles
The Grammaticus is easy to forget about as it doesn't seem too necessary. However, by providing Knowledge, players can research new discoveries faster, improving their city. It will also keep Plebeian populations happy.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 92%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- City Builder, Simulation, Strategy
