Rome Civ Strategies & Tips

Civilization 7 features an extensive roster of Civs to choose from, and each has its own unique strengths. When you kick off a game in the Antiquity Age, Rome can set the tone for your Civ 7 campaign.

Victory usually isn’t the goal in the Antiquity Age unless you want to get ambitious and try to wipe out every other Settlement on the map before the Age Transition, but finishing a Legacy Path will set you up for success as a campaign reaches those final stages. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about Rome and the best Civ 7 strategies to truly channel the power of the famed Roman Empire.

Rome Civ Overview

Rome Abilities, Units, Buildings, Civics, & More

Starting a game of Civilization 7 with Rome will grant you access to the Civ’s unique ability Twelve Tables. This provides +1 Culture for all Districts in the Capital and on City Centers in Towns. Rome also gets a +30 percent Production bonus for constructing the Colosseum, and you can unlock it earlier by using the Roman Civics Tree.

While Rome isn’t too dependent on terrain for any of its bonuses, the starting bias will always spawn your Founder near Grassland. This will usually mean a decent amount of flat terrain for Farms to boost Food Yield, and it should give you space to put down several Urban Districts to beef up the boost from Twelve Tables.

Here are all the details for the Units, infrastructure, and ability exclusive to Rome:

Roman Civics Tree

You can unlock Rome’s Unique Buildings, Traditions, and several valuable bonuses by researching their Civic Tree:

Rome Civ Strategy & Tips

Best Legacy Path For Rome

With significant boosts to Culture from their ability and Unique Infrastructure, it’s usually best to target the Cultural Legacy Path with Rome in the Antiquity Age. This means you’ll focus on building seven Wonders, and Rome gains access to the Colosseum early via their Civic Tree.

Rome also happens to pair well with the Economic Legacy Path since their tendency towards placing several Towns can give you access to many different Resources. If you’re starting a game with a potential Economic Victory in mind for the Modern Age, Rome is a solid choice.

Best Leader For Rome

It should come as no surprise that the best leader for Rome is Augustus. There are several solid options you could choose that can use Rome’s strengths in different ways, but Rome and Augustus were truly built for each other in Civilization 7.

Augustus gets +2 Production in the Capital for every Town, can purchase Culture Buildings in Towns, and even gets +50 percent Gold towards purchasing Buildings in Towns. This means every new Town beefs up the speed at which Buildings and Wonders can be constructed in your Capital, and that is a huge boon for the Cultural Legacy Path in every Age.

The Legatus will help you continue to found new Settlements that beef up bonuses from his Leader Ability, and he transitions perfectly towards a Culture Victory in future Ages. The Forum will only get stronger over time, and his Gold bonus for purchasing Buildings in Towns helps you build more Temples in the Exploration Age. Once you reach the Modern Age, the ability to purchase Culture Buildings can quickly create the space for Artifacts to work on a Culture Victory.

Rome Strategy & Tips

While it may feel like working towards their unique Civic Tree is the best place to start, for Rome you actually want to study the Discipline Civic as quickly as possible. This unlocks the Legatus, and that Unique Army Commander is a key part of how you’ll begin seizing more territory.

Expand the Roman Empire & Government

With a few Warriors and a Scout, start exploring your starting continent to scope out potential new Settlement locations. Try to steer clear of conflicts with Independent Powers at first, because you don’t want to waste an opportunity to level up the Legatus. With every three levels, the Legatus gains a charge to found a new Settlement and saves you from having to spend Production or Gold on another Settler.

Independent Powers are the primary way you can earn XP for the Legatus without being forced to declare war on another Leader. Build the Forum after you’ve got a Legatus with some Military Units out leveling up and dropping new Settlements, and then you should try to slot as many Traditions in your Government Policy Slots as possible.

Traditions are a specific type of Policy Card that is kept after an Age Transition, so unlocking each of these will make them available through the Exploration and Modern Age. Traditions also give bonuses to the Forum, Rome’s Ageless Unique Quarter, when put in an open Social Policy Slot.

Fill the Capital With Wonders

As you get a foothold by settling a handful of Towns, it’s a good idea to choose one to be a second City. It’s possible to build all seven Wonders for the Cultural Legacy Path in the Capital, but putting one or two in another City will help you do this more quickly.

The Terracotta Army is a good pick since it will give you another Legatus, but building any seven Wonders will be better than waiting for specific ones only for another Civ to swoop in and build it first.

Once you’ve got this process of wiping out Independent Powers, dropping new Settlements, and building Wonders rolling along smoothly, focus on boosting Production and Culture. If you’re playing as Augustus, be sure to build a Monument in every Town to significantly increase your Culture per turn.

Resources, Production Buildings, and well-placed Improvements should help you beef up Production in the Capital and your potential second City. After you’re through the Roman Unique Civic Tree, shift to researching Civics that will unlock Wonders and increase your Settlement Limit. With the Legatus and Military Units used to expand, you’ll also be prepped to fend off any aggressive Leaders while finishing up the Antiquity Age in Civilization 7.