Strengths
- Parallel resource-field and village-building construction helps develop infrastructure.
- Specialist infantry and several cavalry options allow a varied army.
- The City Wall and Horse Drinking Trough offer distinct development paths.
The tribes of Dominion
Romans
Build with purpose. March with discipline.
BalancedFor beginners: Intermediate
Editorial assessment
History
Build with purpose. March with discipline.
Rome’s reach grew through roads, institutions and armies that could return to the field season after season. Its achievements rested on organisation as much as battlefield courage: labour, supply and political ambition carried its influence far beyond its first hills.
Yet expansion demanded choices. Every new frontier drew on the strength of the centre. The Roman story in Dominion follows that same rhythm: build a durable foundation, give each formation a purpose, and turn careful preparation into a campaign that can be sustained.
An original historical introduction; the game roster is a fictional adaptation.
Playstyle & tutorial
Weaknesses
- Parallel queues require enough resources to keep both productive.
- Heavy cavalry costs substantial resources and crop.
- A varied roster can tempt you to fund too many plans at once.
Your first days
A suggested route, not a timed build order. Adjust to your resources, neighbours and alliance.
- Balance wood, clay, iron and crop fields. Improve storage when needed rather than allowing either construction queue to drain every reserve.
- Build Main Building level 3 and Rally Point level 1 for the Barracks. Train a small Legionnaire force while continuing field development.
- Raise Barracks level 3 for the Academy. Choose defensive Praetorians or a later offensive route according to your neighbourhood; do not research everything immediately.
- Use parallel construction deliberately: pair a useful resource upgrade with an affordable village building. Research Equites Legati when the Academy and Stable requirements are met.
Research prerequisites — Equites Legati
Academy 5, Stable 1
When to attack
Commit after scouting and after choosing an offensive force you can replace. Legionnaires can cover early needs, but a sustained offensive plan deserves a focused roster.
When to defend
Match Praetorian infantry defense with units that cover cavalry threats. Keep the City Wall developed as part of a larger defensive plan.
Working with an alliance
Coordinate troop roles with neighbours. A Roman village can contribute offense or defense, but its resource plan should make that commitment explicit.
Your army
Scroll the table horizontally to see every column.
| Unit / role | Attack | Defense vs infantry | Defense vs cavalry | Speed (tiles/h) | Carry | Cost (W / C / I / crop) | Upkeep (crop/h) | Training (h:mm:ss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 LegionnaireInfantryInfantry training Research prerequisitesNo Academy research is required for this unit; training-building and expansion requirements still apply. | 40 | 35 | 50 | 6 | 50 | 120 / 100 / 150 / 30 | 1 | 0:26:40 |
 PraetorianInfantryInfantry training Research prerequisitesAcademy 1, Armoury 1 | 30 | 65 | 35 | 5 | 20 | 100 / 130 / 160 / 70 | 1 | 0:29:20 |
 ImperianInfantryInfantry training Research prerequisitesAcademy 5, Blacksmith 1 | 70 | 40 | 25 | 7 | 50 | 150 / 160 / 210 / 80 | 1 | 0:32:00 |
 Equites LegatiEspionageCavalry training Research prerequisitesAcademy 5, Stable 1 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 140 / 160 / 20 / 40 | 2 | 0:22:40 |
 Equites ImperatorisCavalryCavalry training Research prerequisitesAcademy 5, Stable 5 | 120 | 65 | 50 | 14 | 100 | 550 / 440 / 320 / 100 | 3 | 0:44:00 |
 Equites CaesarisCavalryCavalry training Research prerequisitesAcademy 15, Stable 10 | 180 | 80 | 105 | 10 | 70 | 550 / 640 / 800 / 180 | 4 | 0:58:40 |
 Battering RamRamSiege training Research prerequisitesAcademy 10, Workshop 1 | 60 | 30 | 75 | 4 | 0 | 900 / 360 / 500 / 70 | 3 | 1:16:40 |
 Fire CatapultCatapultSiege training Research prerequisitesAcademy 15, Workshop 10 | 75 | 60 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 950 / 1,350 / 600 / 90 | 6 | 2:30:00 |
 SenatorChiefExpansion training Research prerequisitesAcademy 20, Rally Point 10 | 50 | 40 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 30,750 / 27,200 / 45,000 / 37,500 | 5 | 25:11:40 |
 SettlerSettlerExpansion training Research prerequisitesNo Academy research is required for this unit; training-building and expansion requirements still apply. | 0 | 80 | 80 | 5 | 3,000 | 5,800 / 5,300 / 7,200 / 5,500 | 1 | 7:28:20 |
Special mechanics & buildings
Trade & expansion
Each merchant carries 500 resources and travels at 16 tiles/hour at 1×, before bonuses.
A resource field and a village building can be built in parallel with the base queues.
A level 10 Cranny protects 1,000 of each resource before attack modifiers. Tribe multiplier: ×1.
Base loyalty reduction per surviving chief: 20–30, before morale and celebration modifiers. Founding requires 3 settlers, plus the usual expansion conditions.
City Wall
City Wall: 3% per level, compounded; +80.6% at level 20. This is the troop multiplier, not wall durability.
Horse Drinking Trough
The Horse Drinking Trough improves cavalry training. It reduces upkeep by one for Equites Legati at level 10, Equites Imperatoris at level 15, and Equites Caesaris at level 20. The table above shows upkeep before these reductions.
Hospital
Hospital can turn 40% of eligible losses into wounded troops, rounded down, up to 30 stored wounded per building level. Healing costs half the unit resources, rounded up.
Source files and calculation notes
Numeric cells expose their source file and key on focus or hover. Download the JSON for all unit, building and mechanic references. History, tutorials, profiles and beginner ratings are editorial.
Download the data with source references