Embarking on the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana is like stepping into the sandals of a Roman governor tasked with rebuilding the empire’s glory. This comprehensive guide will navigate you through every mission, critical choice, and strategic decision you’ll face during your 8-12 hour journey through the campaign. Whether you’re playing as Marcus or Marcia, this walkthrough will ensure you not only complete the campaign efficiently but also understand the deeper mechanics that will serve you well in the endless sandbox mode that follows.
The campaign in Anno 117 Pax Romana serves as more than just a story—it’s your extended tutorial, introducing you to the complex systems of city management, production chains, diplomacy, and military strategy that define the Anno series. By the time you complete this campaign walkthrough, you’ll have mastered the fundamentals and be ready to tackle the challenges of building your own Roman empire from scratch.
Understanding the Campaign Structure
Before diving into the specific missions, it’s essential to understand how the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana is structured. The campaign consists of several main acts that take you through different regions of the Roman Empire, each with unique challenges and learning opportunities.
Campaign Length and Difficulty
According to player data from HowLongToBeat, the main campaign typically takes between 8-12 hours to complete, with most players finishing around the 10-hour mark. This makes it a substantial but manageable experience that teaches you the game’s core mechanics without becoming overwhelming. The campaign difficulty scales gradually, starting with basic city building and progressing to complex diplomatic and military challenges.
Key Regions and Their Challenges
The campaign takes you through two primary regions:
- Latium: The starting region where you’ll learn Roman city building basics
- Albion: The northern frontier where you’ll face Celtic tribes and more complex challenges
Each region introduces new mechanics, citizen types, and strategic considerations that build upon what you’ve learned previously.
Mission I: A Curse Dispelled – Latium Beginnings
Your Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana begins in the ruined province of Latium, where you must rebuild from nothing. This first mission serves as your introduction to the fundamental mechanics of city building.
Initial Setup and Resource Management
When you first arrive in Latium, your immediate priorities are establishing basic resource production:
Critical First Steps:
- Build a Woodcutter in the forest (requires forest trees to function)
- Construct a Sawmill near your trading post/harbor for timber storage
- Connect both buildings with roads to your warehouse
- Build 10 Libertus Residence houses to establish your initial population
Pro Tip: Click on the Timber resource to visualize your supply chain. This feature will be invaluable throughout the game for optimizing production efficiency.
Meeting Basic Needs
Your first real challenge comes with meeting your citizens’ basic needs:
Food Production (Choose ONE):
- Sardines: Build fishing huts along the coast
- Porridge: Requires Oat Farms (with surrounding fields) and Porridge Stands
Strategic Consideration: Sardines are simpler to set up but offer less population growth potential. Porridge requires more infrastructure but supports larger populations. For campaign efficiency, sardines are often the better initial choice.
Public Service Needs:
- Build either a Market (provides population and income) or Tavern (population and happiness)
- Markets are generally better for early economic development
Advancing Your Population
Once you’ve met basic needs, you can advance your population:
Key Objectives:
- Reach 100% Food, Public Service, and Fashion Needs for Liberti
- Attract 20 Liberti citizens
- Upgrade residences to unlock Plebeians
Fashion Production (Choose ONE):
- Tunics: Hemp Farm + Spinner (provides more income)
- Pilei: Sheep Farm + Pileus Felter (mix of income and happiness)
Production Chain Optimization: The sheep farm produces more wool than the felter needs, but don’t worry about efficiency early on. Focus on establishing the chain first, then optimize later.
Mission II: Julia’s Birthday – Political Intrigue
The second mission in our Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana introduces political elements and more complex production chains.
Imperial Invitation and Choices
When the Imperial Barge arrives, you’ll face your first meaningful choice:
Choice: Bring sardines or just yourself to meet the Emperor
- Impact: This choice affects dialogue but has no significant gameplay consequences
- Recommendation: Choose based on your role-playing preference
Advanced Production Chains
This mission introduces more complex production requirements:
Tile Production:
- Build Clay Pit in river slot
- Construct Charcoal Burner in wooded area (away from housing)
- Create Tile Maker to combine clay and charcoal
- Pro Tip: Build multiple tile makers early—you’ll need many tiles throughout the campaign
Optional Food Production:
- Bread: Wheat Farm → Mill → Bakery (provides more population)
- Garum: Salt Ponds + Mackerel Shacks + Garum Works (provides income but reduces happiness)
Specialist Recruitment
During this mission, you’ll encounter the Julius Lupus brothers and must choose one to recruit:
Choice: Brutus or Gaius for Juliana
- Consideration: Each specialist offers different bonuses
- Strategy: Choose based on your preferred playstyle (military vs. economic)
The Diana Dilemma
One of the more significant story choices involves finding Diana and deciding whether she should attend Julia’s birthday party:
Choices and Consequences:
- Cover for Diana: Deliver a gift in her stead
- Beg her to come: Plead with Diana to attend
Major Spoiler Warning: This choice significantly impacts Act 1 of the story:
- If Diana attends: She fights with Emperor Lucius, who has a heart attack and dies
- If you cover for her: The Emperor is assassinated by a slave
While the choice doesn’t directly impact your city’s economy, it creates different story paths and dialogue throughout the remainder of the campaign.
Mission III: The Emperor is Dead – Transition of Power
This pivotal mission in the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana deals with the aftermath of Emperor Lucius’s death and the rise of Calidus.
Funeral Rites and City Development
Key Objectives:
- Build additional houses to attract 25 more Liberti
- Visit Julia at the Imperial Palace
- Collect Lucius’s remains and bring them to the Amphitheatre Ruins
- Build decorative elements (5 trees, 5 flowers, 5 statues)
Strategic Consideration: This is an excellent time to expand your city’s infrastructure and optimize production chains before the more challenging missions ahead.
The Flagship Crisis
Calidus demands your flagship, setting up the next phase of the campaign:
Critical Decision: When to surrender your flagship
- Immediate surrender: Calidus is less angry, but you lose your ship sooner
- Delay: Gives you more time to prepare but increases Calidus’s hostility
Recommendation: Complete any essential tasks with your flagship before surrendering it, but don’t delay excessively.
Preparation for Exile
The mission culminates with your exile to Albion:
Ship Building Requirements:
- Construct a Shipyard
- Establish production chains for Rope and Sails
- Build a Penteconter (basic ship) or research Trireme for better capacity
Pro Tip: Build civilian ships with maximum cargo slots to transport construction materials to Albion. This will significantly speed up your early development in the new region.
Mission IV: Albion Adventures – New Frontiers
The Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana continues in Albion, where you’ll face new challenges and learn Celtic systems.
Island Selection Strategy
Upon arriving in Albion, you must choose between two starting islands:
Cudslip vs. Cragmore:
- Cudslip: More land area, beginner-friendly, better for long-term development
- Cragmore: More challenging, different resource distribution, good for variety
Strategic Insight: While you can eventually settle both islands, Cudslip is generally recommended for most players due to its greater expansion potential.
Celtic vs. Roman Development
In Albion, you face a fundamental choice about your development path:
Roman Path:
- Similar to Plebeians from Latium
- Procurator sells citizen needs, making progression easier
- More familiar for new players
Celtic Path:
- Requires more work to unlock advanced citizens
- Offers different bonuses and challenges
- Better for experienced players seeking variety
Recommendation: For campaign efficiency, the Roman path is generally faster, but the Celtic path offers more learning opportunities for the sandbox mode.
The Voada Conflict
The central conflict in Albion involves dealing with Voada, the local Celtic leader:
Preparation for Conflict:
- Build a Barracks (triggers Voada’s hostility)
- Set up weapon production
- Construct defense towers
- Build military ships
- Raise workforce to man defenses
Critical Timing: Delay building the Barracks until you’re fully prepared for Voada’s attack. Once built, she becomes hostile and will attack.
Mission V: Diplomatic or Military Solutions
This mission in the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana presents you with a crucial choice: resolve the Voada conflict through diplomacy or military force.
Diplomatic Solution Path
Choosing diplomacy requires building positive relations with Voada:
Relationship Building Strategies:
- Pay ransom when demanded
- Offer gifts to improve relations
- Maintain a large military presence (deters aggression)
- Avoid Romanizing Celtic territories
Key Diplomatic Quests:
- The Roots of Our Ancestors: Avoid cutting the sacred tree (+20 relations)
- The Lost Cohorts: Choose not to punish deserters (+15 relations)
- Celtic Captives: Return captive Aodhan to Voada (+220 relations)
Celtic Captives Detailed Strategy:
- Speak to the Procurator about the prisoner
- Select the correct prisoner (top-right cell)
- Choose to pretend you want to buy Aodhan for labor
- Pay 20 Eels to purchase him
- Return Aodhan to his tribe (not keep him as a specialist)
Diplomatic Victory Condition: Reach +1 relations with Voada to secure a ceasefire
Military Solution Path
For those preferring a more direct approach, the military path offers straightforward conquest:
Military Objectives:
- Conquer Carraig Mhor
- Destroy Voada’s Hall of Chiefs
- Eliminate 80% of her fortifications
Optional Military Tasks:
- Destroy Voada’s Supply Fleet
- Eliminate hidden outposts
- Send land units to torch the Granary
Military Preparation:
- Build a substantial army and navy
- Explore the map to locate Voada’s key installations
- Weaken her power through strategic strikes before the main assault
Strategic Consideration: The military path is generally faster but requires more resources and carries higher risk of losing units. The diplomatic path takes longer but preserves resources and builds relationships that may be valuable later.
Mission VI: Securing the Limes and Beyond
The final main mission in the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana focuses on securing the empire’s borders and dealing with the aftermath of your choices.
Border Security Operations
Calidus tasks you with securing the Limes (empire borders):
Key Objectives:
- Select Athr’s Governor Villa as instructed
- Build defensive walls and gates
- Recruit additional troops
- Find and deal with the Embezzling Tax Collector
Tax Collector Investigation:
- Pin the quest to locate the tax collector easily
- Interact with the thieves to catch them
- This side quest provides additional rewards and story content
Financial Demands and Resource Management
The mission culminates with a significant financial demand:
Major Challenge: Calidus demands 50,000 Denarii
- Strategic Approach: Begin saving early in the mission
- Economic Optimization: Focus on high-income production chains
- Trade Opportunities: Establish profitable trade routes to supplement income
Production Chain Optimization for Maximum Income:
- Prioritize high-value goods like Garum and advanced textiles
- Balance production to avoid bottlenecks
- Use the statistics screen to identify and eliminate economic waste
Advanced Strategies for Campaign Efficiency
Beyond the basic mission walkthrough, several advanced strategies can significantly improve your Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana experience.
Production Chain Optimization
Efficient Resource Management:
- Use paved roads for faster goods transport
- Place warehouses strategically to minimize travel distance
- Balance production ratios to avoid surplus or shortage
Example Production Chain Math: For optimal Garum production:
- Salt Pond: 1t salt every 30s
- Scomber’s Shack: 1t mackerel every 60s
- Garum Works: 1t garum every 90s (requires 1t salt + 1t mackerel)
Therefore, you need 2 Salt Ponds and 1 Scomber’s Shack per Garum Works for perfect efficiency.
Research Technology Prioritization
Essential Early Research:
- Trading Post Improvements: Reduces congestion and increases storage
- Warehouse Organization: Improves loading/unloading efficiency
- Paved Roads: Essential for goods transport speed
Religious Synergy:
- Choose Minerva as patron god for Knowledge bonuses
- Build Shrines to multiply Knowledge generation
- Use Knowledge to unlock advanced economic and military technologies
Military and Defense Optimization
Defensive Planning:
- Place Villas strategically for defense bonuses
- Use terrain features to natural advantage
- Balance between static defenses and mobile forces
Naval Superiority:
- Consider wind direction for fleet movements
- Maintain mixed fleet composition (transport + combat)
- Use naval forces to protect trade routes
Post-Campaign Transition to Sandbox Mode
Completing the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana unlocks the true potential of the game—the endless sandbox mode. Here’s how to make the most of this transition:
Knowledge and Skill Application
Campaign Lessons for Sandbox:
- Apply production chain optimization learned in missions
- Use diplomatic and military strategies as needed
- Leverage research priorities for faster development
Starting Strong in Sandbox
Post-Campaign Strategy:
- Choose regions based on preferences developed during campaign
- Apply efficient city layouts learned through trial and error
- Use specialists acquired during campaign for early advantages
Long-Term Development Planning
Sandbox Success Strategies:
- Plan for multiple citizen tiers from the beginning
- Establish diverse trade networks early
- Balance military and economic development
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Even with a comprehensive Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana, players often encounter common challenges. Here’s how to avoid them:
Resource Management Mistakes
Common Error: Neglecting workforce balance
- Solution: Regularly check workforce distribution and adjust production accordingly
Common Error: Over-specializing in single production chains
- Solution: Maintain diverse production for flexibility and trade opportunities
Military and Diplomatic Errors
Common Error: Triggering conflicts unprepared
- Solution: Complete military and economic preparations before making aggressive moves
Common Error: Ignoring relationship building
- Solution: Regularly engage in diplomatic activities even when focusing on military solutions
Technical and Interface Issues
Common Error: Missing quest objectives due to poor UI navigation
- Solution: Use the quest arrow feature and help panels (click “i” on tooltips)
Common Error: Inefficient city layout leading to transport problems
- Solution: Plan road networks and warehouse placement carefully from the beginning
Conclusion: Mastering the Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana
The Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana represents more than just a series of missions to complete—it’s your comprehensive introduction to the deep, rewarding systems that make the Anno series so compelling. By following this guide, you’ve not only learned how to complete the campaign efficiently in 8-12 hours but also gained the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the endless sandbox mode that awaits.
Remember that the true value of this campaign lies in the lessons it teaches about resource management, production optimization, diplomatic strategy, and military planning. Each choice you made, whether to pursue diplomacy or military solutions, to focus on Roman or Celtic development paths, has prepared you for the complex decisions you’ll face when building your own Roman empire from scratch.
As you transition from the structured campaign to the freedom of sandbox mode, carry forward the optimization strategies, efficient production chain management, and balanced approach to development that you’ve mastered here. The Campaign Walkthrough In Anno 117 Pax Romana is just the beginning of your journey as a Roman governor—the real challenge and reward come from applying these lessons to create an empire that will stand the test of time.
Whether you’re aiming for economic dominance, military conquest, or cultural superiority in the sandbox mode, the foundation you’ve built through this campaign will serve you well. The Roman Empire awaits your leadership, and with the knowledge gained from this comprehensive walkthrough, you’re more than ready to answer the call.