In Anno 117: Pax Romana, your City Status is the ultimate measure of your settlement’s growth and prosperity. It’s a tiered system that unlocks new features and buildings, but it also introduces new challenges. This guide explains how to increase your City Status, the population requirements for each tier, and the crucial positive and negative effects that come with it.
What is City Status?
City Status is a core progression system that determines the scale and development of your island. It acts as a gateway, locking and unlocking new features as you advance. You can monitor your current status by looking at the Roman numeral displayed next to your island’s name at the top of the screen. A detailed tooltip provides further information, including:
Your current progress toward the next tier.
The city type and level.
Your Romanisation percentage.
Your Influence.
Various other attributes affected by your City Status.
How to Increase Your City Status
The primary method for increasing your City Status is by growing your total population. While not every citizen becomes a worker, the entire population count is what drives your city to the next level.
To effectively grow your population, focus on providing essential services and amenities. Building a Market to distribute goods and a Tavern for entertainment are highly recommended early-game strategies to attract new settlers and support a larger populace.
City Status Tiers and Population Requirements
There are five distinct tiers of City Status, each with a specific population threshold you must meet to advance.
| City Status Tier | Required Population |
|---|---|
| Outpost | 0 |
| Minor City | 200 |
| Major Colonia | 400 |
| Major Imperial City | 800 |
| Vast Imperial City | 1500 |
The Effects of Increasing City Status
Raising your City Status is a double-edged sword, bringing both significant benefits and new challenges that you must manage.
Positive Effects
As your City Status increases, you gain permanent boosts to three key attributes:
Increased Belief
Increased Knowledge
Increased Prestige
Furthermore, higher tiers unlock access to new, more advanced buildings and features, which are essential for completing achievements and expanding your city’s power and influence.
Negative Effects (Risks & Challenges)
With greater status comes greater complexity. Each level-up introduces risks that can destabilize your city if left unaddressed. The main negative effects are decreases in:
Happiness
Health
Fire Safety
This creates a dynamic risk-versus-reward system. A larger, more advanced city is inherently more difficult to keep safe, healthy, and happy.
How to Manage Negative Effects
Managing the downsides is crucial for maintaining a thriving city at higher tiers.
Managing Fire Safety: The drop in Fire Safety is one of the most immediate threats. To counter this, you can build Wells. However, to build the more effective Vigiles (firefighter stations), you must first reach City Status level 2 in Sandbox mode or level 4 in the Campaign.
Managing Health & Happiness: Counteracting decreases in Health and Happiness requires a proactive building strategy. Construct structures like Baths, Shrines, and Taverns, and ensure a diverse and efficient flow of goods through your Market to keep your citizens content and healthy.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is population the only way to increase City Status?
A: While growing your total population is the primary and essential method, other factors like Romanisation and fulfilling specific building requirements may also play a role in your overall progression.
Q: Why are my citizens unhappy even though I have enough goods?
A: This is likely a direct result of increasing your City Status. Each tier applies a negative effect to Happiness (and Health/Fire Safety). You must actively build happiness-boosting structures to overcome this debuff.
Q: When can I build the Vigiles fire station?
A: The Vigiles structure becomes available at City Status level 2 in Sandbox mode and at level 4 in the Campaign mode.
Q: Can my City Status decrease?
A: The tier itself is based on your maximum reached population threshold. However, the negative effects on Happiness, Health, and Fire Safety are permanent modifiers tied to your current tier.
Conclusion
Understanding and mastering the City Status system is key to building a powerful empire in Anno 117: Pax Romana. By strategically growing your population to meet each tier’s requirements, you can unlock powerful new features. However, success hinges on your ability to anticipate and manage the accompanying negative effects on Happiness, Health, and Fire Safety through careful planning and infrastructure development. Balance your ambition with prudent management, and your city will thrive as a Vast Imperial City.