[Hello, I'm Grognerd, and I am one of the playtesters for Field of Glory: Empires. As of today (May 21, 2020), this Guide has been updated up and to including all the material which came with the release of the most recent Persia DLC. I hope to continue to keep it up to date.

I want to give a big thank you here to the game's designer, Philippe Malacher aka "Pocus," for taking the time to review the first draft of this Guide. Not only did he provide many valuable insights into the game's mechanics that I was unaware of, but he also saved me from a couple key misconceptions as well!

If you have any questions or comments on this Guide, either let me know in the comments below, or feel free to chat with me directly on my Twitch channel, which you can find at: https://www.twitch.tv/grognerd. Needless to say, you'll be able to watch some halfway decent (IMHO!) FOG: E game play there as well.]


[Also, a beautiful PDF version of this Guide is now available, thanks to Simurghiyan! You can access it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hTqGaX2y8GVezX8vt05yT4bKZURHfwOw/view?usp=sharing ]


Each region in Field of Glory: Empires, at any given time, will offer you six choices of structures to build, one in each of the six building categories: Agricultural (green), Healthcare (blue), Infrastructure (pink), Military (red), Commerce (gold), and Culture (purple). The six choices are chosen with weighted randomness out of the generally available structures for each category.

Now, in case you're wondering "why can't I just build any available building I want???" the answer is simple: In FOG: Empires, you're not an omnipotent leader of a hypothetically perfect modern day Soviet-style economy. Rather, you are placed in the role of an emperor (or chieftain or king or senate leader) of a Roman-era state whose government bureaucracy is minuscule by today's standards. On top of that, many of these structures are traditionally private enterprises anyways. As a potentate of this era, you might realistically be able to nudge your development in a certain direction, but much of it will remain in the hands of market and societal forces not directly under your control.

And not only is this randomness more realistic, it also makes for great game play: You are prevented from min-max power-gaming your way to victory, by boringly choosing the same buildings in the same order, region after region, game after game. This system forces the player to improvise.

The randomness is tempered, however, by the fact that you always have a seventh choice: The "Shuffle" which allows you to spend a turn or two generating six new structure options to select from. This combined with some common sense placement rules (i.e., you won't get an option to build a Farm in a desert) means there there will usually be some order emerging from the chaos.

To help bring about this desired order and efficiency, you'll need to weigh the short and long term benefits of each structure, influenced by its current position on the map, while also taking into account the fact you might not see the opportunity to build the particular edifice again for a while.

And that's what this Guide is for: there are close to 400 (!) different structures in the game, something no doubt daunting for a new player. Below is a list of the basic stats plus my observations on the utility of many of the game's structures, gathered during my time as a playtester during the development of the game. I’ve also put together at the end an expanded list of the 51 Trade Goods in the game, detailing the various structures that will produce, import, or enable Bonuses for each good. This should hopefully be enough to make the bewildering array of choices before you a little less bewildering.


Quick note about spoilers

Some of the structures described in this Guide are rare and unique; so rare that it is entirely possibly to play an entire 500 year campaign and never see them, nor even be aware of their existence in the game. One could plausibly consider them to be Easter-eggish in nature.

That being the case, be advised that this Guide could be construed, from a certain point of view, as containing spoilers. That being the case, you may want to consider only consulting this Guide selectively, and not read it through beginning to end, in order to preserve for yourself the thrill of self-discovery. I've categorized and alphebetized as much as I can to make that usage possible.

But if you have no such qualms ... then read on!

Because the primary benefit of many of the structures is how they interact with Trade Goods, it's worth spending some time briefly reviewing exactly how Trade Goods work in FOG: Empires (see the manual section 6.1 for a more in depth treatment of the subject).

Trade goods, by themselves, are worthless. You have a region with Gold in it? 'I'm rich!' you think. Well, no, you're not. UNLESS you also have a structure that interacts with the Gold; say, for example, a Gold Mine in the region. NOW you're rich! Point here being, you need structures to make Trade Goods do anything.

Structures interact with Trade Goods in up to three ways: 1) they can produce a Trade Good; 2) they can "Needs" it, i.e., import, a Trade Good; and 3) a nearby Trade Good can trigger a Bonus in a structure.

1 is pretty self-explanatory. Build the right structure, and a new Trade Good will become available in that region.

2 is what triggers the automatic trading system in the game. A "Needs" Trade Good is imported into the region by the needy structure, provided such a Trade Good is within the Trade Range of the region.

If a Trade Good is in range, you see the words "Trading required" followed by a list of possible sources:



When this happens, the region will buy and import the Trade Good (from somewhere), and the imported Trade Good will now be considered located in that region, for the purposes of triggering other structures' Bonuses (more on that in a bit).

Now, if the "Needs" Trade Good is not in Trade Range of the region, you'll see something like this:



Note the complete absence of anything after the phrase "Trading required". This silence is a bad bad thing, as it indicates that the "Needs" Trade Good is too far away to be in Trade Range. Now, the structure will still operate, but a) you'll have to pay through the nose for the missing good (up to TRIPLE the standard cost, based on your Trade Acumen ... price gouging!) and b) to make matters worse, you don't even get the good in the region, for purposes of triggering other structures' Bonuses.

Strategically, this means that such structures are generally uneconomical to select and build. Now, there are exceptions (it might be late game and you're wallowing in cash, and/or the non-monetary benefits of the building outweighs the extreme cost) but a good rule of thumb in the very early game is to avoid "Needs ... Trading required [total silence]" structures.

By the way, if you open the Trade Goods panel of a region, you'll see a row second from the bottom which lists "Missing Trade Goods." These are the bloodsucking out-of-range goods you are paying extra for (and not even really getting). If you have an option to build a structure within the Trade Range of that unfortunate region that would create the Needed good, it is probably wise to do so. Structures that increase a region's Trade Range might be a potential solution as well.

3 is about Bonuses, and Bonuses are how you make your economy go bonkers. They are how you get full value from your structures, basically converting Trade Goods into the useful spendable commodities: Food, Money, Infrastructure, Equipment and Culture (well actually, you don't really spend Culture, but it is vital nonetheless).

The important thing to remember about a Bonus is that a Trade Good will trigger the structure's Bonus if the good is in OR ADJACENT TO the region in question. For example, Wool in the Rome region will benefit Weavers Shops in Rome itself, PLUS all the regions adjacent to Rome ... including neutral and enemy regions! Those lucky Samnites.

Generally, this means structures that create or import a new Trade Good to a region are great because they expand the possible Bonus opportunities, in or around it. Conversely, if the Trade Good is already present in a region, a structure that produces it or "Needs" it in, is possibly not the best deal. For example, why build a Fishery in a region that already is supplied from an offshore Fish Trade Good? The only benefit would be a paltry 5 Food, and hence it is probable the building slot could be put to better use.

You can check to see if a new Trade Good will immediately benefit a region Bonus-wise by opening the Trade Goods panel for the region. At the very bottom you'll see the row "Missing Bonus Trade Goods." If I'm considering building a structure that will create or import a good, I'll check that row in the region, THEN I'll check that row in the Trade Goods panel for all ADJACENT regions as well. And if a structure will satisfy a Bonus in the area, well, that's an extra plus towards possibly choosing to build it.

New Trade Good Analysis Feature!

Actually, scratch those last two sentences above. Released with the Persia DLC patch comes a new quality-of-life feature, which makes it much easier to judge the economic effects of a building on the overall production in the general area.

The boxed area in the screenshot below is an example of the new feature! As you can see, it is telling us a humble Flax Field is worth 27 Money a turn. This is so because Persia, in this example, happens to start with 3 adjacent Training Grounds, all of which lack the necessary Flax. Out-of-range surcharges comes to 9 x 3 = 27 Money.



So at a glance we can now see the effect a structure will have, not only on the region it is built, but also on the needs and bonuses of nearby regions as well. Pretty neat!

Perks and impediments were recently added to the game with the Persia DLC. These are quasi-structures that begin scattered about regions in a semi-random fashion ... every game will be different! Perks are good, and impediments are generally bad. They have zero slots, and count as the structure type they are colored coded as for purposes of unlocking higher tier structures:







Since perks and impediments are non-buildable, I wont go into detail here about each and every one (there are 84 in total). Suffice to say they exist, you can read their effects when you run across them, and you should definitely take them into account when planning your build strategy.

One nice thing about impediments is that they can be removed. Many (but not all) physical terrain impediments can removed with a Prospect for Resources regional decision; just play the decision on the region, and "poof!" the impediment will be instantly gone. The impediment description will indicate whether Prospecting will work to remove it.

Many impediments represent threats from hungry animals and rapacious human beings, and these can usually be removed by stationing a certain amount to troops in the region for a few years. Animals can typically removed by 50 strength points worth of troops, with a 10% chance of removal per turn. Humans will require an army 100 strength strong, but the removal chance is 20% per turn.

The final way to get rid of an impediment is to slowly counteract it with the right structure. The impediment description will list what structures (if any) will have a chance to remove it. Each turn, the correct structure in place will have a 2% chance PER TIER LEVEL of destroying the impediment. So this is a very long term way to handle the problem, probably lasting decades. But since this is a 500 turn games, what's a few decades, right? Anyways, I've updated the Structures sections of this Guide to make note of the impediments each structure is capable of removing.

Now ... on to the structures!

Cotton Field



A pretty straightforward ag structure, 5 Food plus a textile Trade Good (Cotton), with an interesting twist: they are pretty much limited to Egypt and India or thereabouts. The "Cotton Zone" consists of the following regions: Diospolis, Coptos, Alabastre, Meroe, Tungaria, Indus, Hydaspes, Oplana, Hyphasis, Mohenjo, Mallia, Tunkat, Suram, Sir, Bukaria, Sogdiana. This makes Cotton pretty rare, so if you get the opportunity to build this, do so. Combined with easy to obtain Wool and Flax, Cotton is a big boost to the Weavers Shop and the various Spinning Mills.


Farm



A solid 12 Food production if you get Wool and Cattle nearby (which is likely if you are creating a dedicated agricultural region). The Tier II upgrade Large Farm (which produces Grain for even more crazy Bonus food production) requires Open terrain, so optimal placement for this is Open terrain as well. However if you really think you could use that extra Food right now in a Hill or Swamp or Mountain region, go for it! 8-12 Food is not bad.


Flax Field



A very inexpensive ag structure, 5 Food plus a useful Trade Good with a nice textile Bonus for the Weavers Shop/Spinning Mills. Since Flax is Needed by Training Grounds/Barracks, and these tend to be located in provincial capitals, it is probably best to avoid building Flax Fields in capital regions (since Flax will be imported there anyways, probably netting you a few coins in internal trade as well).


Hemp Field



Another cheap ag building, which I like to build around Tar whenever possible for the extra Money. Hemp is Needed by the Harbor, so as you develop your coastline you might find yourself making a fair amount of Hemp cash in the mid to late game from internal trade.


Hunter Lodge



Limited to Forests with a difficult to obtain Bonus (Wild Beasts), these structures are pretty mediocre except maybe around the beast inhabited woodland regions of Germany. Also note the slight Manpower penalty. As far as the ranged unit manpower discount goes, keep in mind it will only mostly count if the Hunter Lodge is in the region the unit is built (ie, provincial capital if in a province). For a non-Germanic power, probably the only reason you'd spend a building slot on this is the slim chance to upgrade to the Master Hunter (see below).


Master Hunter



An extremely rare upgrade to the Hunter Lodge that doesn't become available all the time. The key selling point to this is that it is the only Fur producing structure in the game (and there are no structures that import Fur, either, making Fur super hard to get). Fur is a Trade Good with lucrative Bonuses for the Trade Post, Trade House, and Clothing Manufacturer.

The Master Hunter also has a 2% chance per year to remove the Fearsome Beasts impediment.


Oil Mill



Another low cost, 5 Food ag structure, which produces Olive Oil. Like the Cotton Field, the Oil Mill is geographically constrained (the Olive Zone is: Malaca, Massilia, Epidamnia, Corcyra, Cephallonia, Beotia, Arcadia, Atticus, Ionia, Creta Occidentalis, Creta Orientalis, Phrygia, Parthenius, Issus, Tingitana, Musalamia, Oea, Sardinia, Latium, Aufidus, Lucania, Apulia, Bruttium, Heraei, Eryx, Lesbos, Chios, Bythinia, Orontes, Samarai, Lixus, Rusucuru, Saldae, Ampsaga, Tunes, Arsinoe, Achaia, Iudea, Byzacium, Thysdrus, Africa, Zeugis, Cyrenaica). Has a small Heath bonus too, which is nice. Olive Oil is Needed by the Garum Shop, and is a Bonus to the Tavern.


Orchard



5 Food with no sexy added Trade Good produced. However, it does grow more Food with certain Bonus goods (in fact, you need at least one Bonus good nearby to build it). However, it seems kind of lackluster unless there are at least two Bonus goods in the vicinity, ie, net at least 15 Food. At only 10 Food, a Farm is probably better (although the Orchard is admittedly far cheaper).

The Orchard can also remove the following impediments, with a chance of 2% a year: Eroded Soil, Bleak Terrain, and Windblown Soil.


Ranch



Standard Tier I Ag structure: 5 Food and really useful Trade Good, Cattle is Needed by the Smokehouse and Tannery (and Cattle Pens if you're Celtic), and a Bonus for the Farm, Caravan House, Tavern, Siege Workshop, and Caravansery (and Farmers Market if you're Celtic). With so much utility, it's a great idea to build these to get an even distribution of Cattle throughout your empire.


Salt Marsh



Another pretty straightforward ag structure, this one provides the usual 5 Food and produces Salt, and is limited to Swamps. There are other ways to get Salt however (see below).


Salt Mine



The Hilly version of the Salt Marsh (see above). It also has a 2% chance per year to remove the Sterile Basin impediment.


Shepherd House



5 Food plus a Trade Good, Wool is part of the triad of textiles (along with Flax and Cotton) that power the Weavers Shop and Spinning Mills. Also, super cheap. Cheap sheep!

And where there's sheep, there's goats. Hungry goats! These goats have a 2% chance per turn of eating up the following weed-like impediments: Tenacious Grassland, Pervading Bramble, Dense Scrub, and Prairie Wildfires.


Stud



5 Food and Horses. Horses as a Trade Good are not that much in demand in the early game, mostly from Stables (a Military structure), and as a Bonus for the Caravan House. Also allows the recruitment of camelry for those desert nations with dromedaries in their force pool.


Vineyard



5 Food and produces Wine, a good needed by the often lucrative Tavern, and a Bonus for a large amount of structures. Like Cotton and Olive Oil, however, you can't just build these anywhere. The "Wine Zone" regions are as follows: Minius, Iberus, Laminium, Baleares, Pictonia, Aquitania, Remia, Nicaea, Provencia, Septimania, Istria, Etruria, Bruttium, Mosella, Rhenus, Aetolia, Lesbos, Chios, Lydia, Rhodus, Bythinia, Samaria, Rusucuru, Saldae, Granua, Sucro, Malaca, Garumna, Suessionia, Aeduica, Vocontia, Massilia, Corcyra, Cephallonia, Beotia, Creta Occidentalis, Creta Orientalis, Marestus, Taurica, Panticapeum, Ampsalis, Baetis, Mandubia, Rhodanus, Campania, Apulia, Etna, Heraei, Sicilia, Eryx, Illyricum, Mesembria, Chalybia, Lixus, Sindiera, Cyrenaica, Dernis, Naucratis, Cyprus, Cantium, Thebais, Shapharitae, Uruk, Characene, Gorgana, Darband, Sindomala, and Saba.

A general note about Health structures: Don't underestimate the power of Health. Health will not only discount you the Food cost of a growing a new population, but will reduce the number of bad random population events (i.e., epidemics) and increase the number of good population events (i.e., population boom) the region will get.


Clear Water



5 Health for free. Not even a slot cost. OK, a tiny maintenance cost. But otherwise, FREE! As such, it works great as a "shuffle" pick when you don't want to build anything else, but unlike a real shuffle, you get something out of it.


Herbalist



Cheap structure that not only boosts Health, but gives a bit of Manpower as well. So cheap, in fact, that like Clear Water I often take this as a pseudo-shuffle pick when there's actually nothing else good to build. As with all Health buildings, higher population regions will get the most benefit out of them, due to the Food discount for pop increases.

This structure also removes certain impediments, at a chance of 2% a year: Bubbling Bog, Poisonous Reptiles, Sick Animals, and Venomous Beasts.


Master Herbalist



A very rare upgrade to the Herbalist, best built in conjunction with good Orchards and Delicacy Shops. It is also a National Wonder (each country can only have one).

Needs Drugs & Herbs however, a rather scarce good that may or may not be in Trade Range. If it is, then that's great news! Drugs & Herbs are a Bonus for the Trading Post, Secret Cult, Fortune Teller, Physician House, Pleasure Mansion, and Perfumery.

This structure also removes certain impediments, at a chance of 2% a year: Bubbling Bog, Poisonous Reptiles, Sick Animals, and Venomous Beasts.


Qanat



One of the newer structures introduced with the the Persia DLC. Very expensive for a Tier I, but possibly worth it due to its zero-slot and small scaling Food bonus. It is limited to countries in and around the Fertile Crescent area, however.


Salthouse



A pretty decent structure, 5 Food AND 8 Health! And it helps distribute Salt around the map. Salt is a bonus for the Fair (or Stoa), Market, and Garum Shop.


Sanitation



8 Health and it upgrades to an excellent structure, the Tier III Sewers. The Sewers upgrade is unique in that it is a zero slot upgrade of a one slot structure, meaning the upgrade will actually open up a slot! Something to keep in mind when planning here.


Smokehouse



Similar to the Salthouse, a solid 5 Food plus 8 Health and it helps distribute Cattle around your empire.


Swamp Draining



Kind of pricey for only 8 Health, it does every now and then unlocks the Tar Deposit in the Swamp region (see below).

It can also remove the following wetlands impediments, at a 2% chance per turn: Waterless Waste, Trackless Fens, and Fuming Bog.


Tar Deposit



A very rare byproduct of Swamp Draining, this Health structure is bit odd in that doesn't actually provide any Health (update: it has been patched to provide 5 Health!). It does provide some Infrastructure and the Trade Good Tar, which is a Bonus for the Hemp Field, Drydock, Shipyard, and others.

Brickwork



Good if Stone is around, meh if not. You could probably build this near Hills prior to having Stone, reasonably expecting either the commonplace Quarry or Clay Pit will come up soon to fulfill the Bonus.


Charcoal Pile



A bit of Infrastructure and Money, this structure produces Coal which is used by the Furnace, Weapons Manufacture, Forge, Arsenal, Great Arsenal and Great Forge to make extra Metal or Equipment. It is also a clever way to get Lumber out into arid and desert regions for Bonus purposes.


Clay Pit



Like the Quarry, this structure produces Stone and has a small Health penalty, but is not limited to Hills. Requires Public Works to be in place.


Copper Mine



Limited to regions with a Copper deposit, this structure will use that Trade Good to generate 5 Infrastructure and 7 Metal a turn for you.


Expert Stonecutter



This structure used to be called the Marble Quarry, but was changed in a recent patch to insure people wouldn't be mistaken in thinking it produced Marble. It does use Marble as a Bonus good however. So it is not too great unless Marble is nearby ... but there are ways to discover new veins of Marble (see Marble Vein below).

It can also remove the Rocky Outcropping impediment in a region, at a chance of 2% per year.


Iron Mine



Limited to regions with an Iron deposit, this structure will use that Trade Good to generate 5 Infrastructure and 15 Metal a turn for you.


Lead Mine



Limited to regions with a Lead deposit, this structure will use that Trade Good to generate 10 Infrastructure and 4 Metal a turn for you.


Marble Vein



This is a rare structure unlocked by the Quarry. If it pops up I would definitely advise building it right away, as you may not get a shot at it again for a while. Marble is a very valuable Trade Good, Needed by the Noble District, and is an oft lucrative Bonus for the Marble Quarry, Oration Tribune, Large Quarry, Ceramics Works, Basilica, Thermes, Noble Gardens, The Mausoleum, Second Palace, Propylaea, and Koroplathos.


Public Works



One of the most important structures in the game, this should almost always be built it the moment it pops up. Zero slots, 5 Infrastructure, land movement bonus, and it's the prerequisite for a wide variety of very useful Commerce and Infrastructure buildings ... including Wood Cutting and Clay Pits, which are needed to double the output of your Wheelmakers and Brickworks respectively. And it upgrades to the even more incredible Regional Roads.


Quarry



Like the Clay Pit, this Structure produces Infrastructure, Stone, and a small Health penalty, but it is limited to Hills. It can unlock the very valuable Marble Vein however. It's upgrade, the Large Quarry, is only situationally an improvement.


Sawmill



Limited to the Forest, this is a more expensive Lumber maker than Wood Cutting, but with double the Infrastructure output.

The Sawmill, being so mighty at felling trees, also gives a 2% chance per year to remove the Impenetrable Forest and Extremely Dense Forest impediments.


Tin Mine



Limited to regions with a Tin deposit, this structure will use that Trade Good to generate 5 Infrastructure and 7 Metal a turn for you.


Wheelmaker



Good if Lumber is around, meh if not. You could probably build this near Forests prior to having Wood, reasonably expecting either the commonplace Sawmill or Wood Cutting will come up soon to fulfill the Bonus (so yeah, this is more or less the Lumber version of the Brickwork). Also unlocks Chariot units for those countries that use them militarily.


Wood Cutting



This is the main source of Lumber in the game, as it can be built everywhere except Arid and Desert terrain. Note that you need to have Public Works set up first.

A general note on Military structures: Many offer an XP bonus or manpower or equipment discount to units created in the region. And it's important to keep in mind that once regions are grouped into a province, all military production takes place in the provincial capital (the exception would be a province with a port-less capital, in which case a random coastal Harbour region is selected).

The XP bonus and cost discounts of Military Structures in non-capital regions will count too, albeit somewhat inefficiently. 50% of their XP bonuses will count towards units built in the capital, up to 25 XP and 2 extra levels. Discounts are given to the capital at 50% as well. So now it does kinda make sense to build Barracks outside of a provincial capital ...

Also, all Military structures count for your Military Expertise ratio. You'll probably want to keep the ratio at 1 or above (which basically will involve putting a Tier I Military structure in every region, on average) to avoid the related penalties.

Archery



Cheap, with an XP bonus for ranged units. And it imports Wool. I like to build these in provinces that offer special ranged Provincial units for construction. The Master Fletcher upgrade is awesome too (if you can get it).

This can also remove many animal impediments, at a 2% chance per year: Fearsome Beasts, Wolves, Ravenous Lions and Snow Leopards.


Armorer



Lots of Equipment and Needs Leather, you can build these in any region of a province and still get full value, as Equipment is gathered and pooled provincially.

The Armorer can also eliminate certain human impediments, at a 2% chance per year: Bandits, Savage Woodsmen, Savage Hillsmen, Hunter Gatherer, Irreducible Tribe, and Troglodyte Caverns.


Castrum Elephantidae



A National Wonder, so each country only gets one. The Ivory production is certainly a nice added feature; Ivory is Needed by the Temple of Zeus, and is a sweet Bonus for Trading Tents, the Trade House, Glass Works, Satrape Palace and the Sculpture Shop (and Koroplathos).


Castrum Equitatum



Another National Wonder, so choose it's location carefully. The capital of provinces that makes a Light or Skirmisher Provincial Cavalry unit would be a solid choice.


Guard Tower



A nifty little structure that got added with the Persia DLC, this inexpensive zero-slot building will give you a nice added garrison, and a bit of intrinsic protection against cross border raiding (10 points worth). The only real downside is its temporary nature due to removal at Pop 12.


Master Armorsmith



A very rare and very powerful upgrade of the Armorer. How it works is, you park military units in it's region, and each turn, one unit chosen at random is given "Noric Steel Armor" and has it Defense stat buffed by +1. You'll be able to see the buff in the unit description, with a "(+1)" notation next to the stat.

This can also eliminate certain human impediments, at a 2% chance per year: Bandits, Savage Woodsmen, Savage Hillsmen, Hunter Gatherer, Irreducible Tribe, and Troglodyte Caverns. It's a National Wonder, so you only get one; choose it's location wisely.


Master Fletcher



Another extremely rare Master structure, this one affects missile units only. One random ranged unit located in the region will be issued "Reflex Bows" (or the equivalent for slings and javelins) and have its Ranged stat buffed by +1 each turn. This is a one-of-a-kind National Wonder upgrade of the Archery structure.

Like the Archery structure, it can also remove many animal impediments, at a 2% chance per year: Fearsome Beasts, Wolves, Ravenous Lions and Snow Leopards.


Stable Master



This super rare upgrade of the Stables provides "Thoroughbred Mounts," and each turn buffs a single random cavalry unit station in the region by +1 Defense.

The Stable Master can also remove the following horseback humanoid impediments, with a chance of 2% per year: Native Raiders, Nomadic Raiders, Horseback Raiders, and Camel Raiders.


Mercenary Recruitment Center



A structure that lets you buy Mercs in the region or province, which are rated as medium infantry and medium cavalry. Note however that Carthage's mercenaries work differently, and can be recruited in their appropriate regions regardless of this building.


Palisade



Don't expect too much from this structure; an army of medium size or above should be able to easily overwhelm its puny Urban Militia garrison with ease. But it will save you the embarrassment of losing a region to a roaming light cavalry force, so there's that. It can also shelter damaged units from combat while your main army deploys outside.

It also upgrades to bigger and better things, so if there is even the remotest chance of enemy incursions or raids, this is probably worth a slot.


Stables



How much you want to prioritize these probably depends on how good your nation's cavalry force pool is. If you have an awesome Heavy Cavalry unit to unlock, then of course you'll want this. If OTOH you are, say, Rome and your cavalry kinda sucks, then why bother with these? Just absorb Cisalpina and recruit some top notch Provincial Celtic Cavalry instead. Note that you do not need the Stables to build a Provincial cavalry unit.

The Stables can also remove the following horseback humanoid impediments, with a chance of 2% per year: Native Raiders, Nomadic Raiders, Horseback Raiders, and Camel Raiders.


Training Ground



With zero slots, the Heavy Infantry unlocks,an upgrade and the XP bonus, there is really no good reason not to build one of these in every capital region, if you have no other option more pressing to build. (Edited for 1.04).


City Walls (Walls I)



A bit better garrisoned than the Palisade, but that's about it. It does continue to upgrade at higher Tiers, however ...


Weapons Depot



The increase in stockpile is nice. It is often advantageous to be able to build a lot of units in a single region in one turn, and the bigger stockpile allows you to do this.

The Weapons Depot is also great at dealing with local Slavers, eliminating them at a chance of 2% per year.

Anchorage



Pros: Zero slot, no upkeep. Insanely cheap. 5 Money a turn. Upgrades to even nicer things. Helps in a siege.

Cons: None. Absolutely none! Build these on every coast, but perhaps abstain from building them on lakes.

Why you ask? Because there is a Decision in the game that lets you requisition ships from your merchant marine for combat duty, and those ships then will show up at a random region with at least an Anchorage. So, you could end up with a hastily created fleet landlocked on a tiny lake. Not very useful.


Blacksmith



Not a bad structure, especially with Iron and Copper nearby. The upgrade to this produces Tools, which is a very popular Trade Good for Bonus purposes. See the Tool Manufacture entry for more details.


Bronze Works



Great if Tin is in Trade Range. Terrible if it isn't. There are less than a dozen regions on the map that produce Tin, and most are off in the boondocks. So, while you often wish you could use this to import this rare good, most of the times, sadly, you cannot.


Candle Shop



One of the Crafter shops, this is nice for helping to spread Wax around your empire, which give a healthy bonus to the basic Science buildings. Tricky to get the Bonus for this though (see Bronze Works above).


Caravan House



Easy to obtain Bonuses make this a pretty lucrative pick Money-wise, and the 10% Commerce bonus insures the structure will scale well into the later game. Definitely incentivizes picking the Market early on.


Coastal Market



Super cheap structure making the main cost here the Slot. Definitely worth it if you have Fish, debatably not worth it if you don't. Be wary of thinking "oh, I'll just build a Fishery down the road," because the sheer number of Commerce structures available can make your planned Fishery elusive (especially if you built a Crafter District).


Copper Works



Like the Bronze Works, but this moves Copper around the map rather than Tin. Copper is much easier to obtain than Tin, making this a bit more useful. And it's a Bonus for a vast amount of structures (see the Trade Goods section down below).


Crafter District



'Holy fine print Batman, look at all the cool Commerce structures this unlocks! And zero slots! And 5 Money, AND a 10% Commerce bonus! Whoa!!! You'd be a FOOL not to build this the INSTANT it pops up!' Well, hold on there partner, there is one tiny wrinkle you might want to consider first, and that is the massive number of unlocks.

There are some very important higher Tier Commerce structures not gated behind the Crafter District. The Bank comes to mind, which enables a certain powerful Decision; the Paved Road with it's Trade Range increase; same deal with the Trade Port ... you get the picture. If you're angling for one of these structures, you may find the Crafter District more of a hindrance than a help, making it more difficult to "draw" your desired structure for construction.

Of course, if you find yourself in this predicament, you could always disassemble the Crafter District. Then even rebuild it after you got what you want. So yeah, about 97% of the time, you'd be a fool not to build this, the instant it pops up.


The Delicacy Shops









The Delicacy Shops come in four flavors, each with a different "Need," the rest being Bonuses. With only a base 5 Money and a Decadence problem, Bonuses are the only way to make these worthwhile. The dream here I guess is to build one of a different type in three adjacent regions (you are not allowed to build more of one type per region), with the fourth delicious good being present naturally as well. Pull that off and you are earning a total 14 Money and 9 Culture per structure. Add a Master Herbalist for extra zest.


Fishery



Check to see if you have Fish already available in the area first, either from adjacent Fisheries or sea zones with natural Fish. If you don't, then yes build this! 5 Food, plus Fish is a nice Bonus to the early game Coastal Market and Garum Shop. And there's a good chance as your coastline develops, you'll reap the 5 Money Bonus as well.


Furnace



Imports Iron and unlocks other metal importing structures as well, so pretty useful in getting your Metal economy booming.


Garum Shop



Good income for such a cheap structure, assuming you have Fish nearby, this also helps to spread Olive Oil around your empire for other Bonus purposes. Well, certain empires, anyways ... the Need for Mediterranean-based Olive Oil means you probably won't see this built in Ireland.


Harbour



An upgrade of the Anchorage, it's important to keep in mind unlike the Anchorage, the Harbour DOES use a Slot. So unlike most other upgrade that replaces another building with a Slot, this WILL cost you a new Slot.

That being said, the Harbour is definitely worth a Slot. Leads to really good stuff, big help in sieges, boarding costs halved, and it imports Hemp, probably leading to some nice extra internal trade income from your nearby Hemp Fields (assuming there are no Carthaginians or other highly obnoxious trading countries nearby).


Market



Since you need at least one its Bonus goods present to build this, the Market will be worth at least 11 Money a turn, which is not bad for a Tier I structure. Get it up to 21 Money and its downright amazing. Couple that with unlocking the Caravans and spreading Pottery around, this a solid pick.


Master Blacksmith



A super rare structure, this gives huge Infra Bonuses for all sorts of nearby metal (which is likely as you had this unlocked by a Blacksmith). See the Intro to Tier I Military structures for the low-down on the unit construction bonus.


Pirates' Lair



Arrrrh! Built by some of the more uncivilized civilizations, this structure is both lucrative and FUN. Build this, then a decent sized pirate fleet of about a dozen ships, and your investment will quickly pay off. The only down side is the extra work involved in moving the fleet, target selection, and remembering to hit the Raid button. But the payoff in Money, slaves, and the despoiling of your neighbors regions without a formal DOW will make it all worthwhile.


Potters Workshop



One of the Crafter buildings, this will produce the Pottery Trade Good that supplies your Markets, and gives Bonuses to Mills and Ports.

Slave Market



Quite possibly the most important structure in the game.

At this point, I urge you all to double click on the game manual PDF, and read section 6.3.5, starting on page 95. READ IT COMPLETELY, AND READ IT CAREFULLY. If you don't know this section backwards and forwards, then I guarantee you ... bad things will happen.

Done? OK great! Now let me point out a couple things that might not be immediately obvious after reading about 'Managing your Slaves.' First, you need at least one Slave Market in your empire AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you're playing a small nation that doesn't already start with one, your first priority is to build one. Take the option to build it as soon as it appears, shuffling if necessary to get it to appear quicker. Don't fool around on this! If you delay, and your army and/or navy starts winning battles (both offensive at defensive), pretty soon your capital will start accumulating slaves. And faster than you can say "I'm Spartacus!" your loyalty there will drop, Unrest will break out, and soon thereafter its bye-bye capital region.

Without that one Slave Market, you will be powerless to prevent this. With that one Slave Market, you are eligible to use the Slave Markets decision to sell off or redistribute unwanted slaves (you also need 500 Money in the bank, so building up that nest egg is another priority as well).

Think VERY carefully about building a Slave Market in your capital. One one hand, a reasonable amount of slaves there is a good thing, as they are Pop and Pop = building slots. And lots of building slots in your capital allow some really amazing structures to be built. OTOH, you are at the mercy of the Slave Markets Decision popping up in a regular and timely fashion, should the slave numbers become unreasonable. The good news is, it does tend to pop up fairly regularly.

How many Slave Markets should you have, beyond the first? Four is actually a good number, as it lets you max out the Slave Markets Decision to buy slaves. You could also justify going to ten as well, as that would allow the full ten to be redistributed if you made that particular Decision choice. I don't see much point going beyond ten, however, so if you somehow manage to obtain more than ten I'd deconstruct the excess, so as to cut down on unnecessary Decadence.


Slave Workforce



A very rare structure that sometimes is generated by a Slave Market. It is basically dangling in front of you a carrot of 10 Food, 10 Infra and 3 Metal, at the cost of a building slot and making the possibly precarious loyalty situation in your Slave Market region even more precarious. It should be clarified that the Revolt risk increase is not a flat percentage increase; in other words, a 6% chance of revolt will go up to 7%, not 21%.

The Slave Workforce can also come in handy when faced with a Rocky Outcrops impediment, which it can remove at odds of 2% per year.


Tannery



One of the Crafter buildings, makes a bit of Money while importing Cattle and making Leather. Leather is Needed by the Armorer and Siege Workshop, and provides a Bonus to the Market, Fair and Clothing Manufacturer.


Trade Post



A Bonus-only structure similar to the Ag I Orchard, this can net you a fair bit of cash if you can manage to congregate the right goods in the same general area.


Trading Tents



Similar to the Trade Post, with a different list of goods more commonly found in the southern regions of the game map.


Usurer



A somewhat problematic structure (Loyalty hit plus Decadence) made worthwhile with a healthy Commerce bonus, plus that fact that it doesn't take a slot. Obviously best reserved for high income regions.


Wax Workshop



Another of the Crafter buildings, this one will import Honey and produce Wax. The latter is a Bonus for many of the Culture/Science structures, and is Needed by the Candle Shop.


Weaver Shop



A Crafter enabled structure, this can actually generate a lot of Money from easily obtainable Wool and Flax. And if you're lucky enough to live near the Cotton regions, all the better. This basic textile industry is a great way for cash poor nomad tribes to eventually make a decent amount of coin.

I'm going to pass over the various capital administration buildings in this Guide: Tribal Council, King's Residence, Imperial Palace, etc., because those tend to be built automatically by the game. Thus you don't really need to worry about them when making regional construction decisions. Just be aware that you will see them in your capital regions, both national and provincial, as Culture (Government) structures, and they sometimes call in or use Trade Goods as a Bonus. So plan around them accordingly ...


Black Market



A very rare (and expensive for a Tier I) offshoot of the Gambling Ring, the most alluring aspect of this structure is the "Illicit Wares" perk, which occasionally triggers random events in the region, for good or for ill. Great if you like surprises!


Cult Site



One of the three main Tier I Religious structures, the Cult Site IMO has an edge over the others in that it has an upgrade path. It also unlocks the Secret Cult, which is a nice little zero slot structure. Also nice is the conversion bonus, handy if the region has a different ethnicity than your own. Personally, I always try to develop my regions to have at least one Religious structure, so as to take full advantage of the 'Gods of Old' Decision when it arises. Religious buildings also decrease the odds of a region getting hit with a national disaster random event as well.

In addition, the Cult site has a 2% chance per year of removing the Rumor of Haunting Spirit impediment.


Fortune Teller



Another Tier I Religious structure. As I mentioned above, having at least one Religious building in each region is great for facilitating the 'Gods of Old: Religious Ceremony' Decision, as well as appeasing the gods to prevent natural calamity. Personally I prefer to wait for the Cult Site, but with Drugs and Herbs present a case could be made to take this one instead.

It can also remove a couple of impediments, Rumor of Spirits and Rumor of a Witch, at a chance of 2% per year.


Gambling Ring



A nice Loyalty bonus plus scale-able income from the Tax bonus, the big drawback to this structure is the icky Decadence. It does lead to the rare Black Market, however, which can be entertaining. Probably best limited to your high population regions, where the Loyalty and Tax bonuses will actually do some good.


Monument



The description of this structure implies that the "lure" of the zero slot will lead you Decadent calamity, but "bah!" I say. The 10 Culture income should more than make up for the 0.25 Decadence. Keep in mind, accumulated Decadence decays at rate of 10% per turn, so, an 0.25 structure like this will tend to top out at 2.5 Decadence; 10 divided by 2.5 is 4, which is a healthy enough CDR to not lose any sleep over. IMO.

So yep, I fearlessly build these all the time! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go swear in my horse as co-Consul ...


Oration Tribune



One of the two Tier I (non-capital) Government building, the other being the Street Parlor. I kind of like having at least one Government building per region, so as to maximize the possibilities of certain Decisions (although this is not as important as having a Religious building IMO). Government building also help prevent a region from being hit with corrupt governor random events.

All things being equal, I prefer the Oration Tribune over the Street Parlor because the former has an upgrade path, and Marble is usually a much easier Bonus to obtain than Papyrus.


Pleasure House



Decadence plus a rather rare Bonus good, I would only consider this in regions that either are having or are heading to severe Loyalty issues. The upgrade to this (Pleasure Mansion) does "Need" Perfume, so that could be useful as a Perfume magnet if it's near enough to import, I suppose.

This also has a 2% chance per year to remove the Religious Cult impediment.


Preceptor House



Ah, the infamous Preceptor House. Nothing better illustrates the divide between those rustic, western Celts and Italians who chisel crude words on stones and bronze tablets, and those urbane, educated eastern Greeks who effortlessly and effetely write their poetry and prose on fine parchment scrolls!

The structure is undoubtedly important for a couple of reasons: an upgrade path that will permit useful Science-based Decisions, and a LOT of early game Decadence reduction ... hence you definitely WANT to build them. But it can be infuriating that those Egyptians and Seleucids are literally ROLLING in natural Papyrus, and can build these structures willy nilly ... while everyone to the west of them must suffer sticker shock at the out-of-Trade-Range Papyrus costs. Unless you are playing Egypt or the Seleucids, in which case it's kind of funny.


Secret Cult



A super rare Religious structure unlocked by the Cult Site, this will import Myrrh, so you'll probably want Myrrh in Trade Range before you pick this. And Myrrh is great because it's a bonus to the Temple, which the Cult Site upgrades to.

Other pros: Zero slots, 10 Culture, Decadence reduction, Drugs and Herbs Bonus and Loyalty! Cons: A Conversion penalty, and it turns into a pumpkin at Population 20.


Street Parlor



The other Tier I Government structure (non-capital), along with the Oration Tribune. I can only see building it if Papyrus was nearby, or I was really desperate for a third cheap Culture building to unlock Tier II structures.


Tavern



Not only does this have a small Loyalty bonus and potentially great income via some common Bonus goods, but it helps move Wine around the map. Wine is a Bonus for the Fair, Pleasure Mansion, The Coliseum, Summer Palace, Circus, Racing Track, Palace Guard, Circus Maximum, Second Palace, Farmers Market, and the Druid Covenant: Fertility. OK, admittedly most of these are fairly obscure, late-game, ethnicity-specific and one-of-a-kind, but you never know ...


Theatre



Really expensive to build even considering it comes with a decent amount of Culture, it does upgrade to the even better (and four times costlier) Amphitheatre which can occasionally be useful as a Silk importer.


Worship Place



Not my favorite Tier I Religious structure (that would be the Cult Site) but I'd consider this instead if the Bonus goods Myrrh and Frankincense were present. But that does not happen often. It will of course help out during the Gods of Old religious Decision.

The Worship Place is also useful at removing the Rumor of Hideous Snowmen and the Rumor of a Cursed Place impediments, at a chance of 2% a year.

Tier II Agriculture structures are unlocked in a region by having at least three Agriculture structures already present.


Amphora Fabrica









The Amphora Fabrica is one of the new structures released with the Persia DLC. What it does is sell a certain amount of Food produced in your region, for about 3 Money per Food. Strategically, I see this as more of a late game building, since early game you tend to value Food production and population growth more highly.

Mechanically, what is interesting about the structure is that it automatically morphs depending on the level of Food production in your region. From 26 to 59 Food, you get the normal version, that sells 5 Food for 15 Money. If Food production goes to 60 but not quite 100, then 10 Food converts to 30 Money (the Profitable version). Above 100, you'll get the Thriving version, which sells 15 Food for 45 Money. And finally, should your Food production drop below 26, it will change to the Scrape By version, -2 Food and +5 Money. All modified with a scaling Pottery bonus, as well.

And just to be clear, "Food production" above refers to excess Food produced in a region after feeding the population, but before Provincial distribution. AKA "Overall Regional Food Production" in the Food tooltip, and circled in the example below:




Granary



As of 1.04, the Granary no longer requires Grain in the region to be built, although nearby Grain will make its appearance much more likely. This structure will yield a whopping 20 Food with Grain, and help out with siege defense regardless.


Irrigation System



It's an upgrade to the Wells that often feels like a downgrade, because the loss in the old flat Food production is not offset by the new Food bonus percentage. Still, you are probably overjoyed to be building this, so as to finally get to it's Papyrus producing upgrade, the reedy Irrigation Canals.

An Irrigation System can also remove many common impediments, including Waterlogged Soils, Badlands, Very Scarce Water, and Polluted Water, at a 4% chance per year.


Large Farm



Roughly doubles the Food production of the basic Farm you upgraded from, and gives you the Grain Trade Good, that usually leads to more Bonuses from the Seeds Storage and the now enabled Granary. The cornerstone of any Open ground megafood region.


Mill



15 Food with Pottery, this structure must be built on Grain, so becomes part of your dedicated Food producing region strategy. The Loyalty bonus is helpful if you are drawing in lots of slaves via a Slave Market to work the fields.


Seeds Storage



The other basic structure that you'll want to build near your Large Farm, around Nuts and Seeds too if they are available.


Wells



5 base Food plus a scalable 8% Food bonus, they main attraction to this structure is its upgrade path, at the end of which glitters a solution to the western nations' Papyrus problem (see the entry on the Tier I Culture structure Preceptor House as to the issue here).

Wells will also remove the following impediments, at odds of 4% per year: Badlands, Very Scarce Water, and Polluted Water.

Tier II Health structures are unlocked in a region by having at least three Health structures already present.


Aqueduct



An expensive yet powerful Health building, not only lowering the population growth threshold but increasing the local food production to get there, and leads to even more blockbuster Health structures.


Dam



One of the new structures released with the Persia DLC. Great for farming regions that are next to a river.

It can also eliminate the Seasonal Flooding impediment in a region, at a chance of 4% per year.


Gymnasium



Health plus Manpower at a reasonable cost, and upgrades to the much more costly Stadium.

Working out in the gym also allows a region to lose the Extreme Height impediment, at a chance of 4% per year.


Physician House



This is something you'll likely want to place in a Massive Wall + Fortress region, designed to tie down large enemy forces in years of fruitless siege operations. So yeah, VERY situational. The Hospital would be even better suited in this situation, so you'll probably want to upgrade as soon as you get the chance.


Preserved Foodstore



Like the Physician House, this is somewhat of a niche structure, especially tailored to servicing a large peacetime army camp region. The free supplies take the load away from the local peasants, giving them more real Food to grow with. And the upgrade Logistics Depot will do this even better. The free supplies extend to adjacent regions and ships in port as well.

Lastly, the many Bonus goods are not too hard to come by mid-game, typically giving this building a very nice Money income.


Public Baths



This doesn't look too amazing, because of Decadence and the fact Perfumes tend to be hard to come by for the Bonus. But wait 'till you see the upgrade to this, the Thermes!


Wash House



Just a basic, boring 8 Health. Still, it's quite cheap and thus useful if you're trying to get to the Tier III Health structures quickly.

It can also deal with a couple of impediments, with a chance of 4% per year: Strange Sickness, and Insects and Vermin.

Tier II Infrastructure structures are unlocked in a region by having at least three Infrastructure structures already present.


Bridge



The Bridge is one of the new structures that were released with the Persia DLC. It's an Infrastructure building that will probably make you more money than Infrastructure, in a high Commerce region.

The Bridge can also remove many terrain impediments, at a chance of 4% per year: Numerous Cliffs, Abundant Streams, Severe Ravines and Severe Arroyos.


Builder Hall



A sizable 22% Infrastructure bonus for a moderate Manpower hit, which can eventually be upgraded to the Builder Guild (with it's enormous 40% bonus).


Gold Mine



Sited on top of a Gold deposit, this will generate an astounding 50 Money a turn, and even more if Silver and Copper are nearby as well. Minor downsides include a slight Loyalty loss, and a Revolt risk gain.


Land Expansion



You're basically using Infrastucture to build another slot, which is great because if you are invested up to Tier II Infrastructure buildings, then surely you are need of slots to have more room to spend your large Infrastructrure on. There's a natural synergy at work here, which is why I always jump at the chance to build this. The only negative I see here is that the upkeep is a tad high.


Large Quarry



Prior to 1.04, this was probably the worst upgrade in the game. But now, with a bit of extra bonus cash (2 Money), Large Quarries are a bit more viable. It's also worth noting that since it is an upgrade, it won't cost you a slot; so, if you have one slot left and the other 5 choices will take up that last slot, then this would be a fine pick to build next.


Regional Roads



The big brother to the Public works, it is needed for lots of things including all non-country-specific Tier III "Great" structures. Plus it will likely give your region its first permanent Trade Range increase. Combine that with the Commerce bonus and better road movement, this is pretty much a must-build for every seriously developing region in your empire. It is simply too good not to build, IMO.

This would be a good time to digress a bit on my personal overall building strategy for FOG: Empires (yours may vary, of course). Generally, I try to take advantage of provincial pooling of resources, and build my regions in each province with a particular specialty in mind. For example, an Open terrain region will become my Food producer, heavily lopsided towards Green structures. A Hill might be my Infrastructure region, a coastal region dedicated to Commerce buildings, etc.. My provincial capital is usually split between Health, Military and Culture structures.

I do start, however, by giving each of my regions some basic Infrastructure with which to build things. Specifically, I'll build Public Works, plus two other Tier I Infrastructure establishments (it doesn't really matter which). Now that I've unlocked Tier II Infrastructure, eventually Regional Roads will pop up, and I'll build that as well. At this point, I've invested 2 slots into Infra buildings, freeing the remaining slots for my specialty (although I will try to build one Culture (Religious) structure per region as well, for Decision purposes).

Regional Roads are in essence the cornerstone of every region, allowing fast travel and superior trading throughout my empire.


Silver Mine



Sits atop a Silver deposit and spits out 30 Money a turn, even more with Gold and Copper in the vicinity. It has the same Loyalty and Revolt drawbacks as the Gold Mine.


Warehouse



Another structure for dedicated Infra regions, where it will almost certainly get the Stone and Lumber Bonuses.

Tier II Military structures are unlocked in a region by having at least three Military structures already present.


Barracks



Has some nice improvements over its predecessor, but it is a bummer that this upgrade will cost you a slot (Training Grounds is zero slot). Still, if you are one of those nations with Manpower issues (like Carthage) you'll probably want these regardless.


Castrum Cataphractae



Like the other Tier I 'Castrums,' this is a unique National Wonder (one per nation) so take care to place it in a region where you anticipate churning out a lot of Heavy Cavalry.


City Guard



A very situational build, designed for fortified cities you fully expect the enemy will try to assault. Three extra defending units isn't too bad in such a limited frontage situation. But if no enemy army ever comes, then you just wasted resources on lost taxes and higher Decadence.


Coastal Fortress



Just try to conquer Rhodes or Syracuse if you want good first hand knowledge of what this baby can do ... when combined with a Major Harbour and other defenses. Note that this "fortress" doesn't actually add any wall levels to your defense, it just makes siege hits a whole lot harder to get and bolsters the garrison by one unit. It can also inflict effectiveness damage to blockading ships.


Military Store



A nice Stockpile, and as of 1.04 the upkeep is reasonable. The upgrade to Army Provisioner is interesting, if you are one of those countries chronically short on Manpower.


Siege Workshop



Like the Coastal Fortress, but not limited to coasts. It can also generate a healthy amount of Equipment via commonly available Cattle and Wool.

And it has a 4% chance per turn to remove the following Impediments: Agrarian Chiefdom and Petty Noble.


Solid Walls (Walls 2)



At Wall Value 2, walls are starting to become respectable here, making an enemy army think twice before hitting that assault button. But a large amount of appropriate troops (ie, non-Phalanx) can probably still storm it. Probably.


Large Walls (Walls 3)



At Walls Value 3 I am finally beginning to feel mostly secure from an instant assault by an enemy army just entering the region. Mostly.


Watchtower



One of the new structures introduced with the Persia DLC. A cheap zero-slot building tailor-made to deal with those annoying raiding civs on your border, this will be worth 30 strength points of troops in repelling raids into the region. Not a cure-all to the problem, but it helps.

The Watchtower also happens to be the most prolific impediment remover in the game, able to handle all of the following at a chance of 4% a year: Native Raiders, Bandits, Slavers, Savage Woodsmen, Wolves, Savage Hillsmen, Nomadic Raiders, Ravenous Lions, Snow Leopards, Horseback Raiders, and Camel Raiders.


Weapons Manufacture



With one wondrous exception (the Archimedes Workshop) this structure (and its upgrade) are the only ways you can produce the Weapons Trade Good. This makes the building hard to say no to when it appears, despite its huge cost. Celtic nations are particularly hungry for Weapons, as their ubiquitous zero slot Celtic Craftsmen use it as an Infra Bonus. Same with the Romans and their Colonia and Municipium.

Tier II Commerce structures are unlocked in a region by having at least three Commerce structures already present.


Bank



Needs Gold, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the region's distance to Gold. Still, its large income will probably cancel out the out-of-range Gold cost, and you might still want one Bank (albeit a slightly unprofitable one) somewhere in your empire for the purpose of allowing a powerful trade Decision.


Bloomery



You'll almost certainly get Iron Bonus, because you need a Furnace to build this thing in the first place. So that makes this worth a considerable 5 Money, 17 Metal and 8 Culture. Oh, and it imports Coal, which benefits your Furnace. Synergy!


Caravansery



An upgrade from the Caravan House, which means one way to look at this structure is that it costs zero slots (since it is replacing something that already occupies a slot) and nets you 2 Money, a Bonus 2 Money for Horse and Cattle, and a 6% Commerce bonus. Is this worth 160 Infra? Eh, maybe, depending on how much that extra 6% is actually worth. But if you have nothing better to build, an upgrade never hurts.


Ceramics Works



Made possible by that great enabler the Crafter District, this structure will make you a good deal of Money, possibly some Culture, and produce Ceramics. Ceramics is Needed by the Major Temple and Great Temple, and is a hefty Bonus for all sorts of non-tribal capital buildings and palaces, plus other hoity-toity structures like the Noble Gardens and Basilica.


Clothing Manufacture



Another Crafter structure, this will take the Cloth you made from the Spinning Mills and turn it into more Money, oftentimes a lot of Money thanks to Bonuses.

It can also remove the Extreme Weather impediment, at a chance of 4% a year.


Coin Maker



Pretty self-explanatory: If you manage to accumulate a lot of precious metals in one general area, you can make lots of money with this (even more with the Mint upgrade).


Commercial Port



A structure made possible by the Harbour. The Money potential is undeniably good, but lets be honest: what really makes this structure eyebrow-raising is that Trade Range bonus. And the fact that it has an upgrade with an even greater Trade Range bonus!


Drydock



Another offshoot of the Harbor, and co-exists with the Shipyard, this acts more like a Military structure than a Commerce structure. Think you might be in deadly war of attrition with another naval power anytime soon? If not, this slot might well be put to better use.

But if you ARE in such a war, well, combined with the Shipyard that makes for a 40% Equipment discount on ships. Which will put you well on the way to ruling the waves.


Dyeing Mill



This Crafter structure imports Purple and produces Dye, a Trade Good Needed by Abu Simbel (a wonder in Egypt) and a Bonus for the Market, Clothing Manufacturer, Ceramics Works, Commercial Port and Trade Port. Makes good Money too when placed near your Spinning Mills and Silk.


Fair



The Fair is one of those structures that needs at least one of it's Bonus goods present to be built. The Bonuses themselves are not that hard to come by, and multiple ones can add up to a lot of Money. Helps move Pottery around the map too, so highly recommended.


Forge



Makes Money and a bunch of Metal, and also is another Copper importer (alongside the Copper Works). And Copper is a Bonus for a vast number of structures (see the Trade Goods section).


Major Harbour



An upgrade to the Harbor with many improvements, most notably a reduction in boarding costs from two movement point to one. And that Siege Resist will make any attempt to besiege an unblockaded port an exercise in futility.


Mint



A sizeable upgrade to the Coin Maker that throws in a 14% Tax bonus as well. The only thing better than lots of money is more money!

Royal Treasure









The Royal Treasure is one of the newer structures that came with the Persia DLC, and is certainly one of the most interesting to use, mechanically. They are specifically designed to allow large empires a way to deal with the massive amount of administrative burden which eats into their finances every turn.

How they work is this: They begin empty. After a while they begin to fill with cash and as they fill, they upgrade themselves to "fuller" versions ... Modest, Grand and finally Magnificent.

The rate which they fill with cash depends on the size of your basic game treasury, with higher savings leading to higher deposits into the Royal Treasures (you can have more than one). And when you want to get the cash out of a Royal Treasure, all you have to do is "disassemble" it. And like breaking a pinata on your birthday, all the Money will fall out! In the amount range listed on the current structure, influenced to some degree by your Decadence level.

So, you may be wondering what the point of all this is ... you put money in, you break it, the money (more or less) comes out ... what's the value here? Well, the value is, the money that goes into the Royal Treasure is NOT subject to the penalty for administrative burden. Presumably because it is gathered and stored locally. So, think of it as a ancient era 401K.

Of course it goes without saying ... try not to let any hostile armies get near your 401K. :o)


Shipyard



Like its sibling structure the Drydock, this Commerce building seems more Military in nature, what with the Equipment production and discount for ships. But this does produce the Sails Trade Good, which is Needed by the Drydock, Commercial Port and Trade Port, and will be a Bonus for your nearby Fisheries.


The Spinning Mills







The Spinning Mills work in a similar fashion to the Delicacy Shops, with one type importing a good and the other types having the other goods in the same group of goods as a Bonus. In this case there are three goods in the group: Cotton, Flax and Wool, and hence we have three types: Spinning Mill (Cotton), Spinning Mill (Flax), and Spinning Mill (Wool).

Unlike the Delicacy Shops, these textiles mills actually produces a useful Trade Good, Cloth, which is needed by the Clothing Manufacturer and a Bonus for the Market, Dyeing Mill and Amphitheatre.

Note that Cotton is a geographically constrained Trade Good, so quite often wont be available. In that case you can pair Flax and Wool at their respective mills, making 19 Money (8 + 11); OR build the Cotton Mill anyways, eat the out-of-range costs (6 x 3 = 18), and collect the base income plus the two Bonuses, which would net you 12 Money (8 + 11 + 11 = 30; 30 - 18 = 12). Any way you do it, you'll make Money and produce Cloth. Which is good.


Tar Workshop



One of the Crafter family of Commerce buildings, this will produce 10 Money and Tar. It's a much easier way to get Tar than the Tar Deposit you occasionally get from Swamp Draining. And Tar has its uses, most notably as a Bonus for the Hemp Field, Drydock and Shipyard.


Tools Manufacture



Unsurprisingly, this structure manufactures Tools, plus a decent amount of Money, Metal, and probably Infrastructure. The thing about Tools is, there are a lot of structures that use it as a bonus, but no structure uses it as a call-in until you get to the Tier III Builder Guild (and the Hellenic Asklepieion). This means if you want to try to create a network of Tools spread across your empire for Bonus purposes, you're going to have to do it by building a network of these. Which means early game, you'll want to lay down a network of Blacksmiths.


Trade House



Like the Orchard and the Fair, this structure revolves around getting many Bonus goods; indeed, you'll need at least one Bonus present to build the thing in the first place. And oh what a Bonus! At 15 Money each, you'll know when's a good time to build this when you see it.

Tier II Culture structures are unlocked in a region by having at least three Culture structures already present.


Amphitheatre



A very expensive upgrade to the Theatre, this is pretty good if you can actually pull in Silk. The idea here is, you build this near your textile commerce area, giving the Dyeing Mill and Clothing Manufacture there the Silk bonus. The Spinning Mills nearby return the favor by generating Cloth, earning you an extra 10 Money on top of the large amount of Culture the flat 15 plus 15% bonus gives you. Synergy!

It's worth noting that the Amphitheatre (and the Greek Odeon) are the only structures that import Silk, and can also be used to draw Silk into Trading Tents and Noble Districts.


Basilica



A little bit of Bonus culture, a little bit of Loyalty ... and the only structure in the game (along with its upgrade, the Great Sanctuary) that imports Frankincense.

The Frankincense is the big deal here, because Frankincense is a natural resource that does not get produced by any other structure (except via an event-given Emporium). So if you want Frankincense somewhere else, you'll need to use a Basilica to Need it over.

And you probably do want Frankincense elsewhere, as it is a Bonus for the Temple and its upgrades, the Perfumery, and the Trading Tents, among other structures.


Courthouse



This is why I like Oration Tribunes. They upgrade to a strong Decadence remover, that also lowers Revolt risk a bit. The only downside here is that this has no resource production whatsoever (and since it is an upgrade, the Marble Bonus from the Oration Tribune disappears as well).

And if you really want to impose law and order to stomp out Decadence, check out the upgrade to this ...


Gambling Arena



The upgrade to the Gambling Hall with even more sin and Decadence, you only really want to build this if your population is large and your Loyalty low. In which case, most certainly build this ... 12 Loyalty is huge.


Gladiator School



Pros: Gladiator trainees form 1 combat unit to defend the city from assault; massive Loyalty bonus.

Cons: -8 Money, 0.30 Decadence, -1 Manpower, increased Revolt risk (although the +16 Loyalty makes dropping below 50 Loyalty much less likely, so does this matter?)

And it imports Weapons, which is a pro or con depending on the availablity of Weapons. If I have Weapons, I'll build this in my overpopulated, troublesome national capital, for the Loyalty bonus.


Noble District



Another structure that provides a large Loyalty bonus in exchange for a large Decadence penalty. The bottom line here is, if you want to create huge cities, you are going to have to pacify them with these, paying the price down the road in Decadence. How you deal with "down the road" is one of the things that makes this game so interesting.

The Noble District is also super useful for moving Marble around your empire, provided Marble is in Trade Range.


Pleasure Mansion



Yet another structure that provides a large Loyalty bonus in exchange for a large Decadence penalty. An upgrade to the Pleasure House, this also has some common Bonus goods generating extra Money, and imports Perfume. The Perfume will come in handy as a Bonus if you have a Public Bath/Thermes in the region as well, which is not too unlikely as both types of structures are prime picks for large cities.

This also has a 4% chance per year to remove the Religious Cult impediment.


Royal Tomb/Cenotaph





The Royal Tomb and its lesser counterpart the Cenotaph are structures that were released with the Persia DLC. The Royal Tomb is a wonderful zero-slot building with great Legacy and Decadence reduction stats. Unfortunately, it seems to be randomly subject to grave robbers, and when this happens the structure permanently degrades to the far less impressive Cenotaph.


Sacred Estate



A nice upgrade to the Worship Place, with the unique ability to squelch Unrest (10% chance per turn).


School



An upgrade to the Preceptor House with a bump up in Decadence reduction and a small Wax Bonus. It is also a waypoint on the way to an Academy, of which it is great to have at least one of in your country for the purposes of unlocking a very good science-related Decision.


Scriptorium



A Science building like the Preceptor House and its upgrades, this structure also Needs Papyrus but instead of Decadence reduction, goes all in on Culture.


Temple



A pretty straightforward upgrade to the Cult Site, with strong Bonuses to Culture if you can manage to get Myrrh and/or Frankincense in or adjacent. The Conversion bonus is fairly strong too. On that subject: Because of the way the conversion mechanic works, sometime you need some sort of bonus in order to boost the ethnicity switch chance above 0% ... which makes structures like this situationally very valuable.


Thalassan Temple



If you are on a coast, you might get a chance to upgrade your Cult Site to one of these nautical-themed temples instead. This could be very useful for importing Coral. On top of that, Fish is so plentiful the Bonus is almost assured. No help on local Conversions, but there is some Decadence reduction in its place.

Tier III Agriculture structures are unlocked in a region by having at least six Agriculture structures already present.


Irrigation Canals



At long last ... Papyrus! As a paperless western nation, you will obviously want this in a good central location in your empire, so as to fulfill the needs of as many educational buildings as you possible. The income gain will likely be dramatic, as out-of-trade-range deficits get converted into new internal trade surpluses.

The 10 Food and the 25% Food bonus is nothing to sneeze at either; this is a Tier III structure so you'll have built at least 6 Agriculture structures in the region already, to take advantage of that hefty bonus.

An Irrigation Canal can also remove many common impediments, including Waterlogged Soils, Badlands, Very Scarce Water, and Polluted Water, at a 6% chance per year.


Large Mill



A pretty run-of-the-mill upgrade to the Mill, basically doubling all its benefits.


Logistics Depot



If your Preserved Foodstore isn't giving enough free supply to the local army you have camped in a region, you can build this to get even more free supply. The combined 60 supply from both structures should suffice. Although it goes without saying, the region would have to invest heavily in both Agriculture (Tier III) and Health (Tier II) to draw each of them.


Plantation



If your Large Farm isn't large enough, you could always upgrade to this. A Mill of some sort can help deal with the Loyalty problem.

Tier III Health structures are unlocked in a region by having at least six Health structures already present.


Hospital



The Hospital is the only non-unique structure that imports Drugs and Herbs, a hard to get natural Trade Good that's a Bonus for quite a few structures such as the Trading Post, Secret Cult, Fortune Teller, Physician House, Pleasure Mansion, and the Perfumery. This alone makes it interesting. But it is also interesting for its ability to accelerate healing of damaged military units parked in the regions.


Sewers



As I mentioned earlier under Sanitation, upgrading to Sewers will actually gain you a slot via the power of undergrounding. Sewers are also just about the only structure that Needs Lead, which is a Bonus for the Forge, Tools Manufacture and Arsenal.


Stadium



And upgrade to the Gymnasium with proportionally higher benefits, plus a Conversion bonus thrown in as well. Note that many of these Tier III structures are beginning to include a -10 Money surcharge. But if you've developed your economy wisely, you should be able to absorb this.


Thermes



The Rolls Royce of Health structures. A very expensive upgrade to the Public Baths, with superior Health, Loyalty, Bonuses and Decadence.

Tier III Infrastructure structures are unlocked in a region by having at least six Infrastructure structures already present.


Builder Guild



An upgrade to the Builder Hall with a whopping 40% bonus to Infrastructure. Expensive as hell but probably worth it, IF you plan on building lots more stuff in the region or province. Requires Tools, but by this time, you'll probably have some within Trade Range, somewhere.

The Builder Guild is also very useful in removing many nasty impediments, at 6% chance per year: Frequent Landslides, Unbroken Range, Frequent Earthquakes, Severe Avalanches, Chasms, Impracticable Gorge and Depression.


Land Reclamation



The upgrade to Land Expansion, this is everything I said about its Tier II predecessor Land Expansion, except this is buying two slots instead of one.


Deep Iron Mine



An expensive upgrade to the Iron Mine. The thing is, I've never played a game where Metal supply was an issue towards the later stages, so, build this if you have nothing better to build? Although that Health penalty is kind of disturbing.


Large Warehouse



A large upgrade to the Warehouse (not much more to say, really).

Tier III Military structures are unlocked in a region by having at least six Military structures already present.


Army Provisioner



An upgrade to the Military Store that imports Weapons, and reduces the Manpower and Equipment costs of new unit significantly. Expensive with a very high upkeep. If you are Manpower deficient like Carthage or Sparta this could help with your Manpower woes, but note that unit maintenance costs remain unchanged. It could also be useful in creating a lot of Heavy Infantry in a short amount of time, due to the Equipment discount.


Arsenal



An upgrade to the Weapons Manufacture that gives a Metal discount on new units. I've never run into Metal issues late game, so I'm not sure you'd ever want or need to upgrade to this (unless you're aiming to build a Great Arsenal?).


Fortress



Lots of additional defense capability as well as Equipment production, great for that region you are paranoid about losing. It can also deal up to 4 effectiveness damage a turn to besiegers.


Greek Fire Tower



And if the Fortress wasn't enough to relieve your paranoia, there's always this structure you've just unlocked. Combined, the Fortress plus GFT will add 6 Siege Resist and four additional defending units. It is also the only building that can deal effectiveness damages both to besiegers (soldiers) and blockaders (ships).

Max the Walls and add a Coastal Fortress and a Major Harbour, and I think it's fair to say you've just recreated the medieval walls of Constantinople in classical times.


Military Academy



If you'd like to experience this structure in action on Turn 1, just play Sparta, they start with one. The Leader force pool bonus is not to be underestimated; getting dealt an excellent general is often the key to winning close battles.


Military School



Can only be built atop a Training Ground and Weapons, this structure costs a lot of money and gives a wide array of moderate advantages. It does lead to a "Great" structure, which has a +2 Leader force pool bonus and the extra Legacy gain such structures bring with them.


Urban Guards



And upgrade to the City Guards, giving an extra unit and slightly less Decadence. As with the City Guards, I'd rate this a highly situational pick, but if you've already built the City Guards I guess you've determined the situation applies. This also imports Weapons.


Massive Walls



This is pretty much the end of the line in Wall technology (except for the upgrade, which is a world wonder). If you want to do more, you can; see my musings above on the Greek Fire Tower.

Tier III Commerce structures are unlocked in a region by having at least six Commerce structures already present.


Glass Works



One of the many crafty structures unlocked by the Crafter District, this has a bunch of Culture Bonuses and makes Glass. Glass is a fairly useful Trade Good, used as a Bonus in Preserved Food, Ceramics Works, Commercial Port, Hospital, Fortress, Trade Port, Necropolis, and Horologium. Unfortunately, Glass lacks a call-in structure, so any Glass Bonus will have to come from adjacent structures.


Jewelry Shop



Another top tier Crafter structure, this will produce Money, and is one of the two main sources of the Luxury Trade Good (the other being the Sculpture Shop/Koroplathos). Luxuries are Needed by many wonders and Palaces, including most notoriously the Seleucid Satrape Palace. The poor Seleucids, they start with only two Luxury sources, in Persia and Babylonia. Which means once provincial capitals get too far away, they get hit with a whopping 3 x 10 = 30 Money out-of-Trade-Range surcharge. Ouch.


Paved Road



Pretty darn expensive, but it is a Trade Range increase in heavy Commerce region, so you'll probably want to build this as soon as you get the chance. Note however that the Trade Range is really only going up by +1, due to this being an upgrade of the Regional Roads.


Perfumery



Another Crafter offshoot, this can generate some Bonus Money from rare-ish goods, and produces Perfume. Perfume doesn't have a tremendous amount of utility, however; it is Needed by the Pleasure Mansion and a Bonus for the Pleasure House, Public Baths and Thermes. The Decadence of this structure is a downside too.


Sculpture Shop



Another spawn of the Crafter District, and the other main Luxury producer besides the Jewelry Shop. The Greek version of this structure is the Decadence-free Koroplathos.


The Emporiums


...and others.

These structures are enabled by a trade Decision ... a very expensive trade Decision. However, the expense is frequently worth it, as these Emporiums will PRODUCE (not import) a randomly selected, often hard-to-get Trade Good that can fulfill Needs and Bonuses you never dreamed you'd ever see fulfilled.

After you enact the Decision, one of the following Emporiums, chosen randomly, will become available to you to build as a Tier III Commerce structure:

Silk Emporium
Ivory Emporium
Myrrh Emporium
Coral Emporium
Wild Beasts Emporium
Amber Emporium
Frankincense Emporium
Furs Emporium
Papyrus Emporium
Drugs Emporium
Purple Emporium
Marble Emporium
Sulfur Emporium
Naphta Emporium

Now, this is important: If you have a region eligible to build a Tier III Commerce structure and it has no building project it is working on at the time you make the Decision, then the randomly selected Emporium has a 50% chance to immediately become your Commerce selection for that region. A shuffle will also work, provided the region is still shuffling the turn after you make the decision (so, a 2+ turn shuffle).

If a region is working on a structure at the time, the new Emporium can still some up later, but it will be a very rare structure, so you likely won't see it for a while (if at all). So, the timing of making this Decision is crucial! Just make sure you clear or shuffle the building queues in as many Tier III Commerce regions as you can before selecting the Emporium Decision.


Trade Center



Placed in a seaport with lots of produced goods, that +5 Acumen will make you a lot of Money and piss off most of your neighbors. (Steam edited a bit of colorful language I see; in case you are wondering, the word begins with a "p").


Trade Port



An upgrade to the Commercial Port, you jump at the chance to build this ASAP due to the +1 bump up in Trade Range.

Just to give you an idea of the power of Trade Range, lets assume your base Trade Range is 3, and you've developed Regional Roads in your mainly Commerce coastal region. Then you get a Trade Port. Your Trade Range is now 6, and if your coastal region borders a coastal sea zone adjacent to the Mare Ionium, you now are able to import Papyrus from the Nile Delta (assuming your not at war with Ptolemy, of course). Notice that this includes coastal cities in western Greece, Sicily and even southern Italy. Hot!

Tier III Culture structures are unlocked in a region by having at least six Culture structures already present.


Academy



The upgrade to the School, and an absolute Decadence slayer. Good Culture generation as well, plus is useful in certain science-based Decisions. And it upgrades to a "Great" structure. Needs Papyrus (of course).


Circus



Massive Loyalty increase in exchange for massive Decadence. Decent money too, but getting direct access to Wild Beasts may be difficult. If the +40 Loyalty is doing its job, you wont need to worry about the Revolt chance increase.


Horologium



Unlocked by the Academy, the big selling feature here seems to be the zero slot. To be honest though, I've actually never managed to build one of these, so I'm thinking ... there might be an easter egg event tied to this structure? I get that feeling from the structure description (I could be wrong, however).


Major Temple



A big upgrade to the Temple that Needs Ceramics. In fact, the Major Temple (and its Great upgrade) is the only Ceramics importer in the game. Ceramics is used as a Bonus in the Basilica, Noble Gardens, and all sorts of palaces and other empire-ruling structures. So, your national capital is likely a pretty good place to build this.


Naumachia



Added in the 1.03 patch, to allow bigger city growth (via a massive Loyalty boost) to late game empires.


Necropolis



A big investment in slots (two!) but can generate a significant amount of Culture, and does draw in Myrrh for use in your Temples.


Noble Gardens



Potentially a good bit of Culture with the right Bonuses present, but with a significant Decadence problem. My thoughts on this are the same as those concerning the Monument: Take the Culture gain and divide it by the Decadence x 10 (in this case, 5) to see if the resulting ratio is reasonable enough to stomach this. It probably is. Unlike the Monument, however, this structure will actually cost you a slot.


Prison



Good all around crowd control stats and Decadence reduction makes this a fine pick for your more unruly urban centers.


Racing Track



A crowd pleaser similar to the Circus, with even more Decadence.


Tribunal



The upgrade to the Courthouse, with a nice bump up in Decadence reduction. The Revolt risk reduction is pretty strong too.

"Great" structures are Tier III "National Wonders" (each country can only build one of each type). They are generally very powerful, especially the ones with "faction-wide" bonuses, and usually confer a small per turn Legacy income. You'll probably want to build these as soon as they appear:


Grand Observatory




Great Academy




Great Arsenal




Great Justice Court




Great Engineering School




Great Forge




Great Hospital




Great Military School




Great Mills




Great Mine




Great Mint




Great Sanctuary




Great Shipyard




Great Temple




Great Trade Emporium




Medical School




Palace Guard and Extensions








Palace Library




Pleasure District



This also has a 6% chance per year to remove the Religious Cult impediment.


Royal Court

World Wonders are unique structures of which there can only be one in the game. Most are already on the map, and hence we wont worry about them in this building guide ... since you'll never be building them.

But for reference here is a list of the already built Wonders at game start; if you are curious about what they do, you can check them out in the game directly:

Campus Martius - Latium
The Capitole - Latium
Stonehenge - Regnium
Sacred White Horse - Coritania
Irminsul - Adrana
Sphinx - Acanthis
Ishtar Gate - Assyria
Obelisk - Thebais
Pythia - Aetolia
Abu Simbel - Coptos
The Parthenon - Atticus
The Acropolis - Atticus
The Mausoleum - Lycia
Hanging Gardens - Babylonia
Tower of Babel - Chaldia
The Pyramids - Acanthis
Temple of Artemis - Lycia
Temple of Zeus - Arcadia
Petra - Nabatea
Solomon Temple - Judea

Pactolus River - Lycaonia (550 BCE Scenario)
Makra Teikse - Atticus (550 BCE Scenario ... actually an Athens National Wonder)

A couple of these deserve extra mention. The Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel both start the 310 BCE scenario in a dilapidated state.

A Wonder can become dilapidated for a number of reasons, and if that happens, it can be repaired. The repairs are usually considered a Tier III structure build, so at least 5 other structures of the same color must be present in order for the repair possibility to begin to show up.

If you can manage to repair the Hanging Gardens or the Tower of Babel, here's what you'll get ... note the nice faction-wide bonuses, which is a big improvement over their run-down state:






Another on-map World Wonder which deserves mention is the Ruined Solomon Temple in Judea. However, more about that one will be said later, in the section below on Judean-specific structures.


And here are the Wonders that can be built during the course of the game. As with National Wonders, World Wonders are usually Tier III structures of their respective building category types, so the region will need to be fairly well developed in order to build them:



A quick note on Archimedes: The Wonder will get offered in game to Syracuse first. If Syracuse does not build it within a certain time frame of being offered, it will then get offered to the rest of the world to build as well.

Archimedes will invent for you a very powerful ranged unit!






















A quick note on the Colossus: The Colossus will get offered to Rhodes first, and they can build it either after a successful siege defense of their island, or after gaining access to a source of Copper. If they decline to build it within a certain time frame, it will then get offered to the rest of the world as well.










A quick note on The Odeon (not to be confused with "an" Odeon): I think this gives random great performances just like "an" Odeon does, but "The" Odeon does them either more often or more spectacularly (or both). I'm speculating a bit here, because I have yet to actually build this one myself ...


And now we get into the country and ethnic specific structures!

The Armenian structures are all fairly new, and were released with the 1.06 patch:

Levy Camp



The Armenian Levy Camp replaces the Training Ground. The most noteworthy difference between the two is that instead of an XP bonus, each Levy Camp produces free basic skirmisher infantry: a 50% chance to produce one, if at peace and with more Levy Camp than skirmishers on the map. When at war, the number generated per camp will raise to 2-5, depending on the number of ongoing wars.


Naphta Workshop



This structure is currently miscolored; it should be military red, and not infrastructure salmon. Anyways, it is a nice Tier I zero-slot military structure, and zero-slot buildings are always welcome. You just need to insure that you have a source of Naphta in Trade Range (the most likely option would be the small peninsular Thabilalea region, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea).


Tigranocerta



Tigranocerta is a special World Wonder buildable only by Armenia, and it is also unusual in that it is a Tier I wonder. So, Armenia can actually begin work on this early in the game. It would probably be best to save it for a region where it can reap the most Bonuses.

Kleros



Phrouria



The Bactrians' Kleros and Phrouria is actually one structure with two personalities. Normally, it is a Kleros, which is an improved version of the Farm (which it replaces). however, if at war and an enemy army moves adjacent to it, the structure has a 50-50 chance to flip to its more warlike Phrouria side. When the threat recedes, it goes back to being a Kleros.

Trade Settlement



The Carthaginian Trade Settlement is nice and cheap, with three fairly easy-to-obtain Bonus goods. The main problem with it is the population limit, making it pretty much an exclusively early game structure.


Cothon



Great Cothon



The Cothon is Carthage's souped-up version of the Shipyard. Its superior Equipment discount on ship construction will give Carthage a unique edge in any protracted naval war of attrition. And the Great Cothon is a National Wonder that fulfills this role even better.

The only thing that could go wrong here is if one of your neighbors has the bright idea of putting a giant falling ramp-claw on their ships. But barring that, Cothons should keep Carthage in a comfortable position of naval superiority throughout the game.


Temple to Tanit



Temple to Ba'al Hammon



Temple to Moloch



The three Carthaginian temples are very valuable in getting the Punic culture game going, instilling Loyalty in newly captured regions, as well as providing a direct path to victory via Legacy point income.

The Temple to Tanit is my favorite; as a deity she has no downside whatsoever. I'll usually build this whenever it pops up.

Ba'al Hammon, by contrast, has some rough edges. There's a small bit of Decadence, plus your Manpower takes a slight hit (always a concern for Carthage). I wouldn't eat the meat served in this temple. Still, if you have the bonuses lined up, it is probably worth it for the Culture.

Moloch, on the other hand, is a very problematic god. You probably only want to go this route if Carthage is firmly in the bottom third of the CDR track, as you can hold off the inevitable decline for a while this way. Also, the Temple to Moloch is a zero-slot, making it one of those rare occasions where an upgrade frees up a slot (like the Sanitation to Sewers upgrade). But beware of public discontent manifesting itself via event ... roasting babies alive can be an unpopular practice.

Note that the Celts also may see certain Druidic structures, that either begin the game on map, or can appear randomly due to in game events. Because the game engine handles their appearance we wont be talking about them in this building guide. But do enjoy them when they show up!


Cattle Pens



The Cattle Pens is a decent structure, that is notably valuable in unlocking the Farmer's Market (see below).


Celtic Craftsman



As a zero-slot structure, you'll want to build these, obviously. But their Infrastructure yield is relatively small ... unless you can get the Bonuses.

And that's the thing, the Bonuses here are both manufactured and you have to make some effort to get them. So that makes the Celtic nations in this game uniquely hungry for two other structures in the game: the Tools Manufacture and the Weapons Manufacture.

As a Celt, you want to prioritize Blacksmiths everywhere, which can be upgraded to Tools Manufactures. Reason being is, there are no structures which draws in Tools. So if you want to power all your Celtic Craftsmen, you'll need to create a blanket of Tools on the map ... a Blacksmith -> Tool Manufacture every other region or so.

Same deal with Weapons. But Weapons are even trickier to get (see the entry on Weapon Manufacture), although there are some structures that Need in Weapons, and this can help.


Crop Festival



A very unique structure! It only lasts a turn, but is still well worth building for the cheap burst of Food it brings in high Loyalty regions.


Farmer's Market



With three very easy-to-get Bonus goods for money, the Farmer's Market is a great little Tier I Ag building.


Epona Shrine



Borvo Shrine



Cocidius Shrine



Nantosuelta Shrine



The various Celtic shrines are individually not bad, but if you really want to have some fun, just build all four in one region as they advise. The effects might not manifest themselves right away, but when they do, you should be pleasantly surprised! :o)

Additional note on the Borvo Shrine: This structure also removes certain impediments, at a chance of 2% a year: Bubbling Bog, Poisonous Reptiles, Sick Animals, and Venomous Beasts.


Goldsmith



With the regional Acumen bonus, this is a very potentially very lucrative structure. So if there is Gold within Trade Range (adding one to this, of course), go for it!


Noble's Tomb



Most of the time this will be worth 18 Culture, as Wild Beasts are often hard to come by. The Loyalty bonus is nice too.

Dacian Fort



Dacian Redoubt



Dacian Fortress



Dacian Citadel



Dacian structures are all geared towards military defense. The national wonder Dacian Citadel is one of the few that uses up 2 slots in order to construct; given it's stats, this is quite understandable.

Settled Oasis



A pretty sweet Tier I Ag structure for Desert folk. It is a rather obvious must-build when it appears, due to it's low cost, great production, strong garrison and free unit support. Another occasional benefit is that it has a 2% chance per turn of removing the Shifting Dunes and No Oasis impediments.

The Settled Oasis has also been known to fool less experienced non-Desertic (or Egyptian) players, what with it's Olive Oil production. They might think "hey, there's some Olive Oil for all my Garum Shops, I should go grab it!" Not realizing of course, like that other famous landmark of the desert, the mirage, the Olive Oil is but an illusion ... that will disappear once you reach it if you are not also of Desertic (or Egyptian) culture.

Hunting Grounds



The Hunting Grounds does not replace the somewhat similar Hunter Lodge, so if you can build both in a forest region the stacking resources you'll get will be very nice (especially with Beasts nearby). Both are also eligible for upgrade to the rare Master Hunter.


Warrior Assembly



Keep in mind the Germanic Tradition already gives a 30% Manpower bonus, so building this will give a region a 50% Manpower bonus. And if you are still a Horde, tack on 15% to that as well.

According to the game's description of Hellenistic Tradition, the Greek cultured states get these nine special buildings that "are mostly focused on generating extra culture or legacy and fighting off decadence, allowing a possible gameplay style where you can win without having to forge a large empire on the map."

And if you do manage to follow in Alexander's footsteps and forge a large Greek empire on the map anyways, these buildings might very well allow you to romp to an early 3-1 Legacy victory:

Acropolis



A VERY powerful defensive structure, that can also supply Culture with the right bonuses. As the in-game description notes, even though Athens starts with a very famous one, all Greek regions can build these once Tier III Military is unlocked.


Asklepieon



Expensive as a Tier III structure can be, but probably worth it nonetheless for the faction-wide Health bonus. Which by the way stacks with other Asklepieons, which can make for a very salubrious empire.


Bouleuterion



A super-expensive National Wonder, but probably worth it for the faction-wide Loyalty bonus.


Koroplathos



As the description notes, this is the same as the generic Sculpture Shop it replaces, but lacks the Decadence that comes with it.


Neosoiko



Introduced with the Persia DLC, this structure has the very valuable ability to retrofit adjacent warships to require less maintenance. Combined with the warship creation XP bonus it provides, it will make a formidable addition to any Hellenic nation relying on naval supremacy.


Odeon



Expensive for a Tier II, but as you can see you'll get a lot of value if you build it ... including a direct Legacy income. As we know, Legacy = victory. It also has the feature of random "great performances" which can give a region a sudden boost of Culture.


Propylaea



Worth it for the Legacy income alone, IMO.


Stoa



This structure (along with the very similar Judean Merchant District) is probably broken. It gives a 5% faction-wide Commerce bonus, which since you can build more then one of these means that the bonuses can STACK. Two of these is 10%, 3 is 15%, etc. Throughout your entire nation.

So these can and do end up generating stupendous amounts of Money in a large empire. As a result, the structure has already been nerfed once in a recent patch, by allowing for the possibility of random "market crashes" which will drain your treasury of around 100-200 Money or so, each time they happen. I believe the odds of this occurence are supposed to be about 1% per Stoa.

In my opinion this nerf was probably not enough. A good-sized empire can still manage to build 10 or more of these by mid game, and just shrug off the market crashes, even if they occur every turn. So, don't be too surprised if these get a further nerf in a future patch.


Thesauros



This is a structure the Hellenes can build instead of a Temple (the Temple is still an option, however). The main difference between the two is that the Thesauros generates a bit more Culture in exchange for a tax penalty.


Thymela



A very nice Greek building that replaces the Worship Place, and is a huge improvement in that it can generate a fair amount of Culture with a couple easy-to-get bonuses, AND it takes up zero slots! Yes it vanishes at Pop 16, but by then you should have had the option to upgrade it.

Not only does Judea begin the campaign with the valuable perk of getting random free stuff prior to war with a neighboring Diadochi (aka "Judean freebies"), their special buildings are nothing to sneeze at, either:

Zealots Barracks



The Zealot's Barracks replaces the normal Barracks, and allows the building of Zealots, a pretty cool medium infantry with the ability to skirmish as per light infantry. It is unlocked by event, and usually requires a Synagog in place in order to be built.


Merchant District



See the entry above on the Hellenistic special "Stoa" building for my thoughts on the very similar Judean Merchant District. It too gets unlocked by event.


Synagog



A pretty strong religious Culture building that, like all other Judean structures, gets unlocked by an event. It is needed for the Zealot's Barracks to be built.


Citadel Tower



A decent Tier I defensive building, also unlocked by event.


Hezekiah's Tunnels



Zero-slot, so naturally we love these! Unlocked by event.


Solomon Temple

















Judea is able to fix up the on-map Ruined Solomon Temple once it gets it's hands on the Judea region. And what a fixer upper it is! If you can get it up to level 8, enjoy your well-deserved Omnipotence.

Macedonia has one special structure it can build, which was introduced recently with the Persia DLC:

Pella



A World Wonder with a heavy military emphasis and some very generous Bonus possibilities.

Epiteichismata



Katoikia



Both Massilian structures are interesting in that unlike almost any other buildings in the game, you can build not just one but up to three each per region. And all of the effects and bonuses will stack. And since they are all zero-slot, you might as well!

This structure was introduced with the Persia DLC:

Ecbatana



It's kind of hard to imagine Media surviving the Persian onslaught in the 550 BCE scenario long enough to build this. Thus it is more probable to see this in the 310 BCE scenario, where a resurgent Mede empire might stand a chance to flourish.

Nomad Herd



Kind of expensive for a Tier I, but the Horse bonus is easy to obtain, making this a pretty good 7 Food and 7 Money using zero slots. AND an XP bonus. Nomads usually start the game with nothing per region, however, so it may be some time before these can be built in any quantity.

One other unique quality they have is that they MOVE. They tend to migrate to nearby regions with either Steppe terrain or Steppe culture. So, if you are a steppe nomad civilization, that is another way of getting them, I suppose!

These structures were introduced in the Persia DLC. Note that Persia in the 550 BCE scenario might see three copies of a very nice structure known as the Chapar Khanah (Road of Kings), but seeing that is only given a reward for completing a special Mission, we wont cover it here. Suffice to say they are very nice, and each comes with a Paved Road!

Persepolis



A World Wonder buildable only by Persia. Quite nice in that it can allow the construction of even more King of Kings Palaces within it (see below), making it even more fabulous.


King of King Palace



You can actually build up to three of these in your Persepolis region, making them the only Wonder in the game you can build multiple copies of.

The Romans have some other special structures besides the ones listed here, but because they either indestructible on map Wonders (like the Campus Martius or The Capitole), or enter the game solely through event (Colonia and Municipium), I wont cover them here since this is a building guide and those are all non-buildable.

Here is what you, as Rome, can build:

Roman Camp



Limes



The interesting thing about the Roman Camp and the Limes is that you don't build them with Infrastructure. Instead, you delegate a Legion using the "More ..." tab and select what you want to build via the drop down menu. A Roman Camp will cost 150 Money, and its upgrade the Limes will set you back 750 Money.

If you order your Legion to move at the same time you select the build order, the structure will be built in the region it began the turn in.

It's worth noting that a Roman Legion can do the same build-in-the-field trick with all of the road structures as well: 50 Money to build Public Works, 150 Money for Regional Roads, and 350 Money for a Paved Road. All of the other prerequisites must be met for construction as well, however (for example, Paved Roads will require Tier III Commerce unlocked in the region, plus Regional Roads).


Legion Camp



Imperial Legion Camp



These Camps can only be built/upgraded to after the event for each one occurs. Legion Camps will allow the building of Marian Legions, while the Imperial Legion Camp will allow recruitment of Imperial Legions. The Campus Martius wonder in Rome will allow those Legions to be built as well, after they become unlocked.

Sparta has one unique structure, which was introduced with the Persia DLC ... the Stratopedon:

Stratopedon



The city of Sparta was noteworthy for remaining unconquered through the centuries, despite never having constructed any fortifications of note. Here we see why!

As we've seen, nearly all the structures listed above interact with Trade Goods in some way, often offering a bonus, but also sometimes either producing or importing a Trade Good.

When you see that opportunity to produce or import a new Trade Good into a region, naturally you may wonder "What good does this Good do?"

This part of the Guide shall attempt to answer that question. Note that this Trade Goods list expands on the one in the manual, by also fully detailing the Bonuses.

1. Amber
Value: 6
Produced by: Amber Emporium
Needed by: NONE
Bonuses:

• Trade Post: 8 Money
  
• Trade House: 15 Money
  
• Perfumery: 10 Money
  
• Jewelry Shop: 8 Money

2. Cattle
Value: 4
Produced by: Ranch, Nomad Herd (NOM)
Needed by: Smokehouse, Tannery, Cattle Pens (CEL), Ishtar Gate (WW)
Bonuses:

• Farm: 2 Food
  
• Caravan House: 5 Money
  
• Tavern: 4 Money
  
• Siege Workshop: 8 Equipment
  
• Caravansery: 7 Money
  
• Bridge: 5 Money
  
• Kleros (BAC): 2 Food
  
• Farmers Market (CEL): 4 Money
  
• Temple to Baal (CAR): 15 Culture
  
• Thymela (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Nomad Herd (NOM): 1 Food, 3 Money
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 1 (SAB): 15 Food
  
• The Coliseum (WW): 15 Money

3. Ceramics
Value: 8
Produced by: Ceramics Workshop
Needed by: Major Temple, Great Temple
Bonuses:

• King's Palace: 3 Culture
  
• Agora: 5 Culture
  
• Forum: 5 Culture
  
• Basilica: 5 Culture
  
• Emperor Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Grand Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Summer Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Noble Gardens: 10 Culture
  
• Royal Court: 8 Culture
  
• Great Sanctuary: 10 Culture
  
• Satrape Palace (SEL): 10 Culture
  
• Kings Palace (SPA): 3 Equipment, 3 Culture
  
• Pella (MAC-WW): 5 Equipment, 10 Culture, 5 Manpower
  
• Great Forum (WW): 10 Culture
  
• Second Palace (WW): 12 Culture

4. Cloth
Value: 5
Produced by: Spinning Mill (Cotton), Spinning Mill (Flax), Spinning Mill (Wool)
Needed by: Clothing Manufacture
Bonuses:

• Market: 5 Money
  
• Dyeing Mill: 9 Money
  
• Amphitheatre: 10 Money
  
• Trade Settlement (CAR): 4 Money, 2 Manpower
  
• Odeon (HEL): 10 Money
  
• Katoikia (MAS): 2 Food, 5 Money

5. Coal
Value: 4
Produced by: Charcoal Pile
Needed by: Bloomery
Bonuses:

• Furnace: 7 Metal
  
• Weapons Manufacture: 15 Equipment
  
• Forge: 4 Metal
  
• Arsenal: 5 Equipment
  
• Great Arsenal: 15 Equipment
  
• Dacian Citadel (DAC): 5 Equipment, 5 Money, 5 Culture

6. Copper
Value: 7
Produced by: NONE
Needed by: Copper Works, Forge, Great Forge, Grand Observatory, Sabatean Great Temple 3 (SAB), The Colossus (WW)
Bonuses:

• Blacksmith: 5 Equipment
  
• Master Blacksmith: 8 Equipment
  
• Gold Mine: 10 Money
  
• Silver Mine: 10 Money
  
• Coin Maker: 10 Money
  
• Mint: 18 Money
  
• Tools Manufacture: 8 Infra
  
• Arsenal: 5 Equipment
  
• Sculpture Shop: 7 Culture
  
• Academy: 8 Culture
  
• Horologium: 10 Culture
  
• Great Arsenal: 15 Equipment
  
• Great Forge: 6 Metal
  
• Great Mint: 18 Gold
  
• Great Academy: 12 Culture
  
• Goldsmith (CEL): 6 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Dacian Citadel (DAC): 5 Equipment, 5 Money, 5 Culture
  
• Koroplathos (HEL): 7 Culture

7. Coral
Value: 6
Produced by: Coral Emporium
Needed by: Thalassan Temple
Bonuses:

• Trade Post: 8 Money
  
• Basilica: 5 Culture
  
• Glass Works: 5 Culture
  
• Jewelry Shop: 8 Money
  
• Necropolis: 10 Culture
  
• Great Sanctuary: 10 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 6 (SAB): 15 Culture
  
• Satrape Palace (SEL): 10 Culture
  
• Ecbatana (MEA-WW): 12 Culture
  
• Petra (WW): 12 Money, 5 Culture

8. Cotton
Value: 6
Produced by: Cotton Field
Needed by: Spinning Mill (Cotton)
Bonuses:

• Weaver Shop: 8 Money
  
• Spinning Mill (Flax): 11 Money
  
• Spinning Mill (Wool): 11 Money

9. Dates
Value: 4
Needed by: Delicacy Shop (Dates), Petra (WW)
Bonuses:

• Orchard: 5 Food
  
• Master Herbalist: 8 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Nuts): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Honey): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Figs): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Trading Tents: 8 Money
  
• Settled Oasis (DES): 4 Money

10. Drugs and Herbs
Value: 7
Produced by: Drugs Emporium, Stonehenge (WW)
Needed by: Master Herbalist, Temple to Moloch (CAR), Hospital, Great Hospital, Medical School, Pythia (WW)
Bonuses:

• Trade Post: 8 Money
  
• Secret Cult: 7 Culture
  
• Fortune Teller: 5 Money
  
• Physician House: 5 Culture
  
• Pleasure Mansion: 8 Money
  
• Perfumery: 10 Money
  
• Pleasure District: 12 Money, 5 Manpower
  
• Druid Covenant: Religious Ceremony (CEL): 15 Culture
  
• Nantosuelta Shrine (CEL): 3 Culture
  
• Irminsul Gathering (GER): 10 Culture, 3 Manpower
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 2 (SAB): 5 Food, 5 Manpower
  
• Olympic Games (WW): 5 Manpower

11. Dye
Value: 5
Produced by: Dyeing Mill
Needed by: Abu Simbel (WW)
Bonuses:

• Market: 5 Money
  
• Clothing Manufacture: 7 Money
  
• Ceramics Works: 7 Money
  
• Commercial Port: 7 Money
  
• Trade Port: 12 Money

12. Figs
Value: 4
Produced by: NONE
Needed by: Delicacy Shop (Figs)
Bonuses:

• Orchard: 5 Food
  
• Master Herbalist: 8 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Dates): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Nuts): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Honey): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Settled Oasis (DES): 4 Money

13. Fish
Value: 4
Produced by: Fishery
Needed by: NONE
Bonuses:

• Garum Shop: 2 Food, 4 Money
  
• Coastal Market: 8 Food
  
• Preserved Foodstore: 5 Money
  
• Thalassan Temple: 5 Food, 5 Culture
  
• Trade Settlement (CAR): 4 Money, 2 Manpower
  
• Katoikia (MAS): 2 Food, 5 Money

14. Flax
Value: 4
Produced by: Flax Field
Needed by: Training Grounds, Barracks, Zealot Barracks (JUD), Spinning Mill (Flax), Levy Camp (ARM)
Bonuses:

• Armorer: 8 Equipment
  
• Master Armorsmith: 10 Equipment
  
• Weaver Shop: 8 Money
  
• Spinning Mill (Cotton): 11 Money
  
• Spinning Mill (Wool): 11 Money
  
• Farmers Market (CEL): 4 Money

15. Frankincense
Value: 8
Produced by: Frankincense Emporium
Needed by: Basilica, Great Sanctuary, The Mausoleum (WW),
Bonuses:

• Trading Tents: 8 Money
  
• Worship Place: 7 Culture
  
• Temple: 8 Culture
  
• Perfumery: 10 Money
  
• Major Temple: 10 Money, 8 Culture
  
• Necropolis: 10 Culture
  
• Royal Tomb: 6 Culture
  
• Cenotaph: 4 Culture
  
• Sacred Estate: 12 Culture
  
• Great Temple: 15 Money, 15 Culture
  
• Temple to Moloch (CAR): 8 Culture
  
• Thesauros (HEL): 6 Culture
  
• Synagog (JUD): 8 Culture
  
• Petra (WW): 12 Money, 5 Culture

16. Furs
Value: 5
Produced by: Master Hunter, Furs Emporium
Bonuses:

• Trade Post: 8 Money
  
• Trade House: 15 Money
  
• Clothing Manufacture: 7 Money

17. Glass
Value: 7
Produced by: Glass Works
Needed by: NONE
Bonuses:

• Preserved Foodstore: 5 Money
  
• Ceramics Works: 7 Money
  
• Commercial Port: 7 Money
  
• Hospital: 5 Culture
  
• Fortress: 5 Equipment
  
• Trade Port: 12 Money
  
• Necropolis: 10 Culture
  
• Horologium: 10 Culture
  
• Great Hospital: 10 Culture
  
• Grand Observatory: 10 Culture
  
• Acropolis (HEL): 5 Equipment, 5 Culture
  
• Asklepieion (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Abu Parvat Fortress (MAU): 5 Equipment

18. Gold
Value: 11
Produced by:
Needed by: Bank, Royal Treasure (Grand), Royal Treasure (Magnificent), Goldsmith (CEL), Great Mint, Sabatean Great Temple 5 (SAB), Midas Treasury (WW)
Bonuses:

• Silver Mine: 10 Money
  
• Coin Maker: 10 Money
  
• Mint: 18 Money
  
• Ceramics Works: 7 Money
  
• Forum: 5 Culture
  
• Noble District: 5 Culture
  
• Basilica: 5 Culture
  
• Glass Works: 5 Culture
  
• Jewelry Shop: 8 Money
  
• Summer Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Noble Gardens: 10 Culture
  
• Palace Guard: 3 Manpower
  
• Palace Guard (Extension I): 6 Manpower
  
• Palace Guard (Extension II): 9 Manpower
  
• Royal Court: 8 Culture
  
• Grand Observatory: 10 Culture
  
• Great Sanctuary: 10 Culture
  
• Dacian Citadel (DAC): 5 Equipment, 5 Money, 5 Culture
  
• Thesauros (HEL): 6 Culture
  
• Great Forum (WW): 10 Culture
  
• Second Palace (WW): 12 Culture
  
• Tigranocerta (ARM-WW): 12 Money, 8 Culture

19. Grain
Value: 4
Produced by: Large Farm, Plantation
Needed by: Crop Festival (CEL)
Bonuses:

• Seeds Storage: 8 Money
  
• Granary: 10 Food
  
• Temple to Tanit (CAR): 8 Culture
  
• Cattle Pens (CEL): 2 Food, 3 Infra
  
• Druid Covenant: Fertility Ceremony (CEL): 10 Food, 10 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 1 (SAB): 15 Food
  
• Ishtar Gate (WW): 5 Culture, 5 Manpower

20. Hemp
Value: 4
Produced by: Hemp Field
Needed by: Harbour, Major Harbour, Cothon (CAR), Great Cothon (CAR)
Bonuses:

• Hemp Field: 5 Money
  
• Drydock: 10 Equipment
  
• Shipyard: 10 Equipment
  
• Great Shipyard: 15 Equipment
  
• Neosoiko (HEL): 5 Equipment, 5 Manpower
  
• Naphta Workshop (ARM): 5 Equipment
  
• Great Pharos (WW): 5 Equipment, 5 Money

21. Honey
Value: 6
Produced by:
Needed by: Delicacy Shop (Honey), Wax Workshop
Bonuses:

• Master Herbalist: 8 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Dates): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Nuts): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Figs): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Tavern: 4 Money
  
• Naumachia: 12 Money, 10 Culture
  
• Preserved Foodstore: 5 Money
  
• Pleasure Mansion: 8 Money
  
• Pleasure District: 12 Money, 5 Manpower
  
• Nantosuelta Shrine (CEL): 3 Culture
  
• Odeon (HEL): 10 Money
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 2 (SAB): 5 Food, 5 Manpower
  
• Ishtar Gate (WW): 5 Culture, 5 Manpower
  
• The Coliseum (WW): 15 Money
  
• Circus Maximus (WW): 15 Money

22. Horses
Value: 5
Produced by: Stud, Sacred White Horse (WW)
Needed by: Stables, Stable Master, Castrum Equitatum, Castrum Cataphractae, Racing Track, Circus Maximus (WW)
Bonuses:

• Caravan House: 5 Money
  
• Caravansery: 7 Money
  
• Noble's Tomb: 8 Culture
  
• Bridge: 5 Money
  
• Temple to Baal (CAR): 15 Culture
  
• Druid Covenant: War Counsel (CEL): 25 Equipment, 15 Manpower
  
• Epona Shrine (CEL): 5 Equipment, 3 Culture
  
• Thymela (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Nomad Herd (NOM): 1 Food, 3 Money
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 4 (SAB): 15 Equipment, 5 Metal
  
• Pella (MAC-WW): 5 Equipment, 10 Culture, 5 Manpower

23. Iron
Value: 6
Produced by: The Great Mine
Needed by: Furnace, Weapons Manufacture, Tools Manufacture, Arsenal, Stratopedon (SPA), Dacian Citadel (DAC), Great Arsenal, Sabatean Great Temple 4 (SAB)
Bonuses:

• Armorer: 8 Equipment
  
• Master Armorsmith: 10 Equipment
  
• Blacksmith: 5 Equipment
  
• Master Blacksmith: 8 Equipment
  
• Bloomery: 12 Metal, 8 Culture
  
• Army Provisioner: 15 Equipment
  
• Dacian Fortress (DAC): 10 Equipment, 10 Culture

24. Ivory
Value: 8
Produced by: Castrum Elephantidae, Ivory Emporium
Needed by: Temple of Zeus (WW)
Bonuses:

• Trading Tents: 8 Money
  
• Trade House: 15 Money
  
• Glass Works: 5 Culture
  
• Sculpture Shop: 7 Culture
  
• Koroplathos (HEL): 7 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 5 (SAB): 20 Money
  
• Satrape Palace (SEL): 10 Culture

25. Lead
Value: 5
Produced by: NONE
Needed by: Sewers, Sabatean Great Temple 2 (SAB)
Bonuses:

• Forge: 4 Metal
  
• Tools Manufacture: 8 Infra
  
• Arsenal: 5 Equipment
  
• Great Arsenal: 15 Equipment
  
• Great Forge: 6 Metal

26. Leather
Value: 4
Produced by: Tannery
Needed by: Armorer, Master Armorer, Siege Workshop
Bonuses:

• Market: 5 Money
  
• Clothing Manufacture: 7 Money
  
• Fair: 7 Money
  
• Phrouria (BAC): 8 Equipment
  
• Stoa (HEL): 7 Money
  
• Merchant District (JUD): 7 Money
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 4 (SAB): 15 Equipment, 5 Metal

27. Lumber
Value: 4
Produced by: Sawmill, Wood Cutting
Needed by: Land Expansion, Shipyard, Land Reclamation, Great Shipyard, Charcoal Pile
Bonuses:

• Wheelmaker: 5 Infra
  
• Warehouse: 5 Infra
  
• Large Warehouse: 7 Infra
  
• Cothon (CAR): 12 Equipment, 3 Manpower
  
• Great Cothon (CAR): 18 Equipment, 5 Manpower
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 3 (SAB): 15 Infra
  
• Great Pharos (WW): 5 Equipment, 5 Money

28. Luxury
Value: 10
Produced by: Jewelry Shop, Sculpture Shop, Koroplathos (HEL), Midas Treasury (WW)
Needed by: Satrape Palace, Emperor's Palace, Grand Palace, Summer Palace, Necropolis, Great Trade Emporium, King of Kings Palace (PSA-WW), The Pyramids (WW), Temple of Apollo (WW), Second Palace (WW)
Bonuses:

• King's Palace: 3 Culture
  
• Agora: 5 Culture
  
• Naumachia: 12 Money, 10 Culture
  
• Noble District: 5 Culture
  
• Palace: 7 Culture
  
• Pleasure District: 12 Money, 5 Manpower
  
• Persepolis (PSA-WW): 15 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 5 (SAB): 20 Money
  
• The Coliseum (WW): 15 Money
  
• Circus Maximus (WW): 15 Money
  
• The Mausoleum (WW): 15 Culture
  
• Tigranocerta (ARM-WW): 12 Money, 8 Culture
  
• Ecbatana (MEA-WW): 12 Culture

29. Marble
Value: 6
Produced by: Marble Vein, Marble Emporium
Needed by: Noble District, Obelisk (WW), Temple of Artemis (WW), Tigranocerta (ARM-WW), Persepolis (PSA-WW)
Bonuses:

• Expert Stonecutter: 10 Culture
  
• Oration Tribune: 5 Culture
  
• Large Quarry: 5 Infra, 2 Money
  
• Ceramics Works: 7 Money
  
• King's Palace: 3 Culture
  
• Basilica: 5 Culture
  
• Thermes: 8 Money, 5 Culture
  
• Sculpture Shop: 7 Culture
  
• Emperor Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Grand Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Palace: 7 Culture
  
• Summer Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Noble Gardens: 10 Culture
  
• Great Engineering School: 35 Culture
  
• Great Sanctuary: 10 Culture
  
• Propylaea (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Koroplathos (HEL): 7 Culture
  
• Tabularium (ROM): 10 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 6 (SAB): 15 Culture
  
• Kings Palace (SPA): 3 Equipment, 3 Culture
  
• Ecbatana (MEA-WW): 12 Culture
  
• The Mausoleum (WW): 15 Culture
  
• Second Palace (WW): 12 Culture

30. Myrrh
Value: 7
Produced by: Myrrh Emporium
Needed by: Secret Cult
Bonuses:

• Worship Place: 7 Culture
  
• Temple: 8 Culture
  
• Major Temple: 10 Money, 8 Culture
  
• Great Temple: 15 Money, 15 Culture
  
• Royal Tomb: 6 Culture
  
• Cenotaph: 4 Culture
  
• Sacred Estate: 12 Culture
  
• Temple to Moloch (CAR): 8 Culture
  
• Thesauros (HEL): 6 Culture
  
• Synagog (JUD): 8 Culture
  
• Petra (WW): 12 Money, 5 Culture
  
• The Mausoleum (WW): 15 Culture

31. Naphta
Value: 5
Produced by: Naptha Emporium
Needed by: Archimedes Workshop (WW), Great Pharos (WW), Naphta Workshop (ARM)
Bonuses:

• Tar Workshop: 5 Equipment
  
• Hospital: 5 Culture
  
• Great Hospital: 10 Culture
  
• Asklepieion (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Epiteichismata (MAS): 5 Equipment

32. Nuts and Seeds
Value: 4
Produced by:
Needed by: Delicacy Shop (Nuts), Druid Covenant (CEL), Druid Covenant: Religious Ceremony (CEL), Druid Covenant: Fertility Ceremony (CEL), Druid Covenant: War Counsel (CEL), Druid Hideout, Hanging Gardens (WW)
Bonuses:

• Orchard: 5 Food
  
• Master Herbalist: 8 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Dates): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Honey): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Delicacy Shop (Figs): 3 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Seeds Storage: 8 Money
  
• Borvo Shrine (CEL): 6 Culture
  
• Cattle Pens (CEL): 2 Food, 3 Infra
  
• Nantosuelta Shrine (CEL): 3 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 2 (SAB): 5 Food, 5 Manpower

33. Olive Oil
Value: 5
Produced by: Oil Mill, Settled Oasis (DES)
Needed by: Garum Shop
Bonuses:

• Tavern: 4 Money
  
• Fair: 7 Money
  
• Merchant District (JUD): 7 Money
  
• Stoa (HEL): 7 Money
  
• Ishtar Gate (WW): 5 Culture, 5 Manpower

34. Papyrus
Value: 6
Produced by: Irrigation Canal, Papyrus Emporium
Needed by: Preceptor House, School, Scriptorium, Bouleuterion (HEL), Academy, Royal Court, Great Justice Court, Palace Library, Great Academy, The Great Library (WW)
Bonuses:

• Street Parlor: 3 Money, 5 Culture
  
• Grand Observatory: 10 Culture
  
• Tabularium (ROM): 10 Culture
  
• Persepolis (PSA-WW): 15 Culture
  
• Pella (MAC-WW): 5 Equipment, 10 Culture, 5 Manpower
  
• Parthenon (WW): 10 Culture
  
• Tower of Babel (WW): 50 Culture

35. Perfumes
Value: 9
Produced by: Perfumery
Needed by: Pleasure Mansion, Pleasure District
Bonuses:

• Pleasure House: 8 Money
  
• Public Baths: 8 Money
  
• Thermes: 8 Money, 5 Culture

36. Pottery
Value: 5
Produced by: Potters Workshop
Needed by: Market, Fair, Merchant District (JUD), Stoa (HEL), Ecbatana (MEA-WW)
Bonuses:

• Mill: 5 Food
  
• Preserved Foodstore: 5 Money
  
• Commercial Port: 7 Money
  
• Large Mill: 10 Food
  
• Fortress: 5 Equipment
  
• Trade Port: 12 Money
  
• Necropolis: 10 Culture
  
• Great Mills: 20 Food
  
• Amphora Fabrica: -2 Food, 6 Money
  
• Amphora Fabrica (Scrape By): -1 Food, 3 Money
  
• Amphora Fabrica (Profitable): -3 Food, 9 Money
  
• Amphora Fabrica (Thriving): -4 Food, 12 Money
  
• Trade Settlement (CAR): 4 Money, 2 Manpower
  
• Katoikia (MAS): 2 Food, 5 Money
  
• Abu Parvat Fortress (MAU): 5 Equipment
  
• Acropolis (HEL): 5 Equipment, 5 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 5 (SAB): 20 Money
  
• Naphta Workshop (ARM): 5 Equipment

37. Purple
Value: 9
Produced by: Purple Emporium
Needed by: Dyeing Mill, Great Forum (WW)
Bonuses:

• Emperor Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Grand Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Palace: 7 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 6 (SAB): 15 Culture

38. Sails
Value: 6
Produced by: Shipyard, Cothon (CAR). Great Shipyard, Great Cothon (CAR), Great Pharos (WW)
Needed by: Drydock, Commercial Port, Naumachia, Trade Port, Neosoiko (HEL)
Bonuses:

• Fishery: 5 Money
  
• Pirate Lair: 5 Money

39. Salt
Value: 5
Produced by: Salt Marsh, Salt Mine
Needed by: Salthouse
Bonuses:

• Garum Shop: 2 Food, 4 Money
  
• Market: 5 Money
  
• Fair: 7 Money
  
• Merchant District (JUD): 7 Money
  
• Stoa (HEL): 7 Money

40. Silk
Value: 8
Produced by: Silk Emporium
Needed by: Amphitheatre, Odeon (HEL)
Bonuses:

• Trading Tents: 8 Money
  
• Dyeing Mill: 9 Money
  
• Clothing Manufacture: 7 Money
  
• Noble District: 5 Culture
  
• Petra (WW): 12 Money, 5 Culture
  
• Tigranocerta (ARM-WW): 12 Money, 8 Culture
  
• Persepolis (PSA-WW): 15 Culture

41. Silver
Value: 9
Produced by: Citadel (DAC)
Needed by: Jewelry Shop, Sabatean Great Temple 6 (SAB), League of Delos (WW)
Bonuses:

• Gold Mine: 10 Money
  
• Coin Maker: 10 Money
  
• Mint: 18 Money
  
• Glass Works: 5 Culture
  
• Palace Guard: 3 Manpower
  
• Palace Guard (Extension I): 6 Manpower
  
• Palace Guard (Extension II): 9 Manpower
  
• Great Mint: 18 Gold
  
• Goldsmith (CEL): 6 Money, 3 Culture
  
• Druid Covenant: Religious Ceremony (CEL): 15 Culture
  
• Thesauros (HEL): 6 Culture

42. Stone
Value: 4
Produced by: Clay Pit, Quarry, Large Quarry
Needed by: Aqueduct, Dam, Paved Road, Ma'rib Dam (SAB), The Great Engineering School, Sphynx (WW), Tower of Babel (WW), The Great Wall (WW), The Acropolis (WW)
Bonuses:

• Brickwork: 5 Infra
  
• Warehouse: 5 Infra
  
• Large Warehouse: 7 Infra
  
• Propylaea (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 3 (SAB): 15 Infra
  
• Great Pharos (WW): 5 Equipment, 5 Money

43. Sulfur
Value: 6
Produced by: Sulfur Emporium
Needed by: NONE
Bonuses:

• Large Quarry: 5 Infra, 2 Money

44. Tar
Value: 5
Produced by: Tar Deposit, Tar Workshop
Needed by: Greek Fire Tower
Bonuses:

• Drydock: 10 Equipment
  
• Shipyard: 10 Equipment
  
• Great Shipyard: 15 Equipment
  
• Neosoiko (HEL): 5 Equipment, 5 Manpower
  
• Cothon (CAR): 12 Equipment, 3 Manpower
  
• Great Cothon (CAR): 18 Equipment, 5 Manpower
  
• Epiteichismata (MAS): 5 Equipment
  
• Naphta Workshop (ARM): 5 Equipment
  
• Great Pharos (WW): 5 Equipment, 5 Money

45. Tin
Value: 5
Produced by:
Needed by: Bronze Works, Sabatean Great Temple 1 (SAB)
Bonuses:

• Master Blacksmith: 8 Equipment
  
• Candle Shop: 8 Money, 4 Culture
  
• Forge: 4 Metal
  
• Tools Manufacture: 8 Infra
  
• Arsenal: 5 Equipment
  
• Horologium: 10 Culture
  
• Great Arsenal: 15 Equipment
  
• Great Forge: 6 Metal
  
• Grand Observatory: 10 Culture
  
• Dacian Citadel (DAC): 5 Equipment, 5 Money, 5 Culture

46. Tools
Value: 7
Produced by: Tools Manufacture
Needed by: Asklepieion (HEL), Builder Guild
Bonuses:

• Abandoned Palace: 5 Culture
  
• Legion Camp: 5 Infra
  
• Imperial Legion Camp: 5 Infra
  
• Commercial Port: 7 Money
  
• Plantation: 15 Food
  
• Large Warehouse: 7 Infra
  
• Fortress: 5 Equipment
  
• Trade Port: 12 Money
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 3 (SAB): 15 Infra
  
• Celtic Craftsman (CEL): 4 Infra
  
• Acropolis (HEL): 5 Equipment, 5 Culture
  
• Propylaea (HEL): 5 Culture
  
• Abu Parvat Fortress (MAU): 5 Equipment
  
• Municipium (ROM): 3 Equipment, 3 Infra, 3 Manpower
  
• Midas Treasury (WW): 25 Money

47. Wax
Value: 5
Produced by: Wax Workshop
Needed by: Candle Shop, Tabularium (ROM)
Bonuses:

• School: 5 Culture
  
• Scriptorium: 10 Culture
  
• Academy: 8 Culture
  
• Great Academy: 12 Culture

48. Weapons
Value: 7
Produced by: Weapons Manufacture, Arsenal, Great Arsenal, Archimedes Workshop (WW)
Needed by: Gladiator School, Army Provisioner, Urban Guards, Palace Guard, Palace Guard (Extension I), Palace Guard (Extension II), Pella (MAC-WW)
Bonuses:

• Weapons Depot: 10 Equipment
  
• Military Store: 15 Equipment
  
• Castrum Cataphactae: 10 Equipment
  
• Massive Walls: 10 Equipment
  
• Greek Fire Tower: 10 Equipment
  
• Phrouria (BAC): 8 Equipment
  
• Stratopedon (SPA): 10 Equipment, 5 Manpower
  
• Celtic Craftsman (CEL): 4 Infra
  
• Cocidius Shrine (CEL): 10 Equipment
  
• Druid Covenant: War Counsel (CEL): 25 Equipment, 15 Manpower
  
• Warrior Assembly (GER): 5 Equipment, 10 Manpower
  
• Colonia (ROM): 4 Equipment, 1 Manpower
  
• Municipium (ROM): 3 Equipment, 3 Infra, 3 Manpower
  
• The Capitole (ROM): 10 Equipment
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 4 (SAB): 15 Equipment, 5 Metal
  
• Kings Palace (SPA): 3 Equipment, 3 Culture
  
• Pella (MAC-WW): 5 Equipment, 10 Culture, 5 Manpower

49. Wild Beasts
Value: 7
Produced by: Wild Beasts Emporium, Temple of Artemis (WW)
Needed by: Circus, Irminsul (WW), The Coliseum (WW)
Bonuses:

• Hunter Lodge: 5 Food, -2 Manpower
  
• Master Hunter: 5 Food, 5 Culture
  
• Trade House: 15 Money
  
• Gladiator School: 7 Money, -1 Manpower
  
• Noble's Tomb: 8 Culture
  
• Racing Track: 12 Money
  
• Noble Gardens: 10 Culture
  
• Temple to Baal (CAR): 15 Culture
  
• Hunting Grounds (GER): 6 Money
  
• Circus Maximus (WW): 15 Money

50. Wine
Value: 4
Produced by: Vineyard
Needed by: Tavern
Bonuses:

• Fair: 7 Money
  
• Pleasure Mansion: 8 Money
  
• Emperor Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Grand Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Palace: 7 Culture
  
• Summer Palace: 10 Culture
  
• Circus: 12 Money
  
• Racing Track: 12 Money
  
• Naumachia: 12 Money, 10 Culture
  
• Palace Guard: 3 Manpower
  
• Palace Guard (Extension I): 6 Manpower
  
• Palace Guard (Extension II): 9 Manpower
  
• Sabaean Great Temple 1 (SAB): 15 Food
  
• Pleasure District: 12 Money, 5 Manpower
  
• Temple to Tanit (CAR): 8 Culture
  
• Druid Covenant: Fertility Ceremony (CEL): 10 Food, 10 Culture
  
• Farmers Market (CEL): 4 Money
  
• Stoa (HEL): 7 Money
  
• Merchant District (JUD): 7 Money
  
• The Coliseum (WW): 15 Money
  
• Circus Maximus (WW): 15 Money
  
• Second Palace (WW): 12 Culture

51. Wool
Value: 4
Produced by: Shepherd House
Needed by: Archery, Master Fletcher, Spinning Mill (Wool)
Bonuses:

• Farm: 2 Food
  
• Weaver Shop: 8 Money
  
• Siege Workshop: 8 Equipment
  
• Spinning Mill (Cotton): 11 Money
  
• Spinning Mill (Flax): 11 Money
  
• Kleros (BAC): 2 Food