Nova Roma Building Tier List

Water is the single most critical resource. Citizens without water abandon their homes within 48 in-game hours. Route aqueducts before placing any residential zone. Fountains fed by aqueducts also multiply land value and enable housing upgrades.

Foundation of the entire food production chain. Farms produce Grapes, Corn, Wheat, Cotton, Rose, Hops, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Pumpkin, Lavender, and Medicinal Herbs as they upgrade through tiers. Without sufficient farms, every downstream food building sits idle.

Dedicated crop storage that prevents the most common cause of famine — produce rotting in fields. Place within 10 tiles of processing buildings to eliminate long transporter walks. A granary without nearby farms is useless; a granary poorly placed kills your city.

The administrative heart of your settlement. Unlocks citizen registration, worker assignments, and city statistics. Every new town begins with one. Without a Town Hall you have no way to manage your labor pool or track town-level metrics.

The logistics backbone of your city. Buildings within warehouse range automatically access stored goods. Placed between producers and consumers, warehouses cut transport times dramatically. Without local warehouses, logging camps and mines operate at half efficiency as workers walk to distant drop-off points.

Converts Corn (15) and Wheat (15) into Bread, satisfying higher-tier citizen food needs. Unlocked at Farms Tier 1. Bread is the staple food for Artisan and Bourgeoisie populations — without it, housing upgrades stall.

Processes Grapes (50) into Fine Wine — the strongest export chain in the game with very high profit margins. Satisfies Bourgeoisie luxury needs and serves as a top-tier trade good. Site your Winery next to Docks for direct export without intermediate warehousing.

Basic commerce building where citizens purchase food, apparel, leisure items, and home decorations. Satisfies worker needs and generates early income through commerce. Without market access, citizens cannot spend Denarii, stalling your economy.

Unlocks new buildings, decorations, and production technologies through a research tree. Assign Research Workers to progress through tiers. Delaying research locks you out of higher Farm tiers and advanced production chains.

Agricultural blessing prevents harvest curses that are nearly impossible to recover from mid-game. The Anger Meter for gods climbs faster than expected — Ceres shifts from Indifferent to Hostile within 2-3 seasons of neglect. Build in year one.

Basic housing for Workers, the foundation of your labor pool. Workers staff farms and basic production buildings. Housing determines your maximum workforce — without enough housing, immigration of new citizens halts completely.

Weather-independent food source that buffers against drought seasons when grain output plummets. Fish production is consistent regardless of season. Supplement wheat farms with 2-3 Fishing Docks early for reliable protein supply.

Mid-tier housing for Artisans who operate advanced production buildings like Bakeries, Wineries, and workshops. Upgrades from Worker House once citizen needs (food, market access) are satisfied. Gateways the transition from basic to advanced economy.

Leisure building requiring Hops (75), Potatoes (25), Tomatoes (25), and Lettuce (25). Keeps citizens entertained and prevents happiness penalties. Unlocked at Farms Tier 3. Entertainment needs become critical at Town rank and above.

Public service building using Medicinal Herbs (80) and Hops (40). Provides healthcare services at City rank. Plague outbreaks are devastating in Nova Roma — the Apothecary is your primary prevention and treatment tool.

Fire prevention and response building. Fires spread rapidly through dense city blocks. A single undefended fire can level an entire residential district. Keep Prefecture coverage within range of all dense housing blocks.

Elite housing for your wealthiest citizens who generate the most tax income and staff advanced buildings. Bourgeoisie demand luxury goods, public services, and high beauty scores. Provides the highest tax yield per citizen in the game.

Enables export trade routes for Denarii income. Essential for converting production surplus into revenue, but serves no purpose until you have excess goods to export. Import-only use cases are niche in the current build.

Tourism building for visiting travelers. Contributes to tourism income alongside scenic routes and attractions. Strong late-game revenue source but requires dedicated tourist town infrastructure (Lighthouse, Art Atelier, scenic routes).

Fine dining serving Tomatoes, Potatoes, Pumpkin (10 each), and Beeswax (10). Unlocked at Large City rank — by this point you have already solved citizen food needs. A prestige building for optimization runs.

Public service requiring Lavender (40) and Beeswax (40). Unlocked at Large City rank. Provides religious and civic services at scale but arrives so late that earlier buildings have already handled these needs.

High-end entertainment requiring Rose (40) and Grapes (50). Unlocked at City rank. Provides leisure for wealthy citizens, but the Pub handles most entertainment needs for a fraction of the crop cost.

Creates fragrances from Lavender (30) and Rose (30). Unlocked at City rank. Apparel luxury with narrow use case — satisfies only the wealthiest Bourgeoisie citizens and contributes little to broader city function.

Coastal landmark boosting tourism appeal and navigation bonuses. Essential for dedicated tourist towns but provides zero functional benefit to non-tourism focused settlements.

Housewares building consuming Beeswax (75). Produces candles for home decoration. Unlocked at City rank. Pure aesthetic building — citizen mood bonus is real but marginal compared to addressing fundamental needs first.

Phase 1: Survival (Years 0-2)

Place your Aqueduct first — survey the map, find the water source, and route coverage before placing a single building. Build Farms on fertile land with Granaries within 10 tiles. Fish from 2-3 Docks as weather-independent backup. Build a Shrine of Ceres and check the Religion Tab monthly. Keep population small — no mass-zoning of Worker Houses until water infrastructure is confirmed.

Phase 2: Foundation (Years 2-5)

Place Warehouses between Farm districts and processing buildings. Build a Research Center and push Farms to Tier 1 for Bakery and Winery access. Build Market Stalls in residential blocks to satisfy citizen needs. Upgrade Worker Houses to Artisan Houses as food and market access stabilizes. Establish at least one export chain — Fine Wine through Docks if coastal, or Bread as internal consumption backbone.

Phase 3: Growth (Years 5-10)

Push Farms to Tier 3 for Pub access (Hops, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Lettuce). Build Apothecaries and Prefectures in dense housing districts. Upgrade to Bourgeoisie Houses in your wealthiest blocks. Diversify into Iron Tools export if ore nodes are available. Establish a dedicated tourism town with Hotels, Lighthouse, and scenic routes for late-game revenue optimization.

Phase 4: Optimization (Years 10+)

Build Cathedral, Restaurant, and Social Club at Large City rank for prestige and citizen happiness. Add Candle Makers and Perfumers for Bourgeoisie luxury fulfillment. Fine-tune warehouse placement and transporter routes to eliminate bottlenecks. This is the victory lap — if you are here, your city fundamentals are solid and these buildings add the final polish.