Anno 117 Pax Romana beginner guide: 8 things you need to do first

To get a good grip of Anno 117 Pax Romana, you need to understand what not to do at the start of a new game. While you can always start over as many times as you want to boot up a saved game, it's a lot of effort. To avoid these issues, it's best not to go in blind (unless that's what you'd prefer).

That being said, here are eight things you need to do (and know) on your first playthrough of Anno 117 Pax Romana.

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Here are 8 things you need to do first and understand in Anno 117 Pax Romana

1) Space out buildings to avoid issues

(Image via Ubisoft)

One of the first things you want to do in Anno 117 Pax Romana is learn the importance of spacing out buildings. Sure, you could clump them altogether to save space and get the benefits, but there are negative effects to deal with; one of the major ones being fire.

Once it begins to spread, well, good luck trying to contain it. Of course, if a portion of your city does catch on fire, it's not the end of the game, but it can hamper or even sever supply chains to a large extent.

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2) Have excess food production; it helps

At the start of your game, you'll want to get food production up and running as soon as possible. Without food, your city will not grow. That being said, as you expand, the need for food will increase, and as such, it doesn't hurt to have more than you need from the get-go. This shouldn't be a problem, as you will have enough free citizens to ensure a smooth supply of food.

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3) Learn timings for the production chain

The production chain is complex and can often get overwhelming, which is why it is important to learn or at least pay attention to it. For instance, the base production building could have a resource gathering time of 30 seconds, while the processing building at the second stage could have a turnover time of one minute (60 seconds).

This means that you could have two buildings on the second stage of production that will function effectively despite there being only one building that gathers the resource. Understanding the time it takes for each building will ensure your cities in Anno 117 Pax Romana will function at optimal efficiency.

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4) Don't delete buildings; drag them instead

One of the neat things in Anno 117 Pax Romana is that you don't need to delete buildings if they are out of place. Of course, you are free to delete them as resources are refunded, but in the case of housing, you will have to wait until people move in to upgrade it. To save time, instead of deleting buildings, you can drag them from one place to another using your mouse cursor.

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5) Get a positive cash flow as soon as possible

One of the first things you'll want to do in Anno 117 Pax Romana is ensure a positive cash flow. For this, you'll have to do two things: first being that you will have to check how much each building/service costs. This will ensure that you don't overspend.

Secondly, you will have to have enough citizens and amenities available to them to generate revenue. Wanting to provide a lavish lifestyle to your population will come at a cost, and if you plan your city right, you'll be doing more than just breaking even.

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6) Learn to balance out population types

(Image via Ubisoft)

While all your citizens can and will work to contribute to the city's growth, some are more skilled than others. As such, as you expand, you will need different types of people to fill job roles. However, the issue arises that as you upgrade housing, the type of population available to you changes. At times, this can lead to a dearth of a certain type of population.

To overcome this problem, you will need to keep expanding to bring in more people. This is why having large food reserves is important. It also helps to look at the type of population you need to sustain your Anno 117 Pax Romana playthrough.

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7) Separate your population center from industrial areas

One of the first things you need to learn in Anno 117 Pax Romana is how to separate areas for industry and housing. Industry often comes with adverse effects (though some can be positive), which can lead to issues that will stunt growth. To avoid this from happening, divide areas for housing and industry. Keep them apart to ensure that your populus does not suffer.

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8) Take some time to explore the UI and tooltips

One of the things (I personally found) that you need to pay attention to in Anno 117 Pax Romana is the UI and tooltips. It can take a bit of navigating to get used to, but it is important to understand how it works, or you may end up missing out on important details. To add to this, remember to read tooltips, as they provide a lot of information that will allow you to fine-tune things to

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Edited by Matthew Wilkins