Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition: Complete Guide

A campaign and battle guide for ROME II Emperor Edition: provinces and economy, public order and food, armies and agents, politics, faction picks, battle tactics, and the 2026 "Pantheon Updates" beta and crossplay patch.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Crossplay Update (17 September 2026) and the first Pantheon Updates "MARS" beta (10 September 2026). Check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Start with Rome or Egypt on Normal. They're forgiving, well-documented, and teach every system.
• Build economy before armies. Early turns should improve farms, markets, and ports; one strong army with a good general beats three weak ones.
• Complete provinces. Owning every region in a province lets you set an edict, a strong bonus such as extra income or public order.
• Watch food and public order every turn. A food deficit causes attrition and unrest; low public order causes rebellions.
• Use army stances. Forced March to cover ground, Ambush to trap enemies, Raid for income at the cost of public order in enemy land.
• Recruit agents. Champions, Dignitaries, and Spies boost your armies and cities and sabotage enemies.
• Don't declare war on everyone. Trade agreements and non-aggression pacts keep your borders quiet while you focus on one enemy.
• Autoresolve only easy fights. Autoresolve favours numbers; you'll win many close battles by fighting them yourself.

Campaign Systems

Provinces and regions

Each province has a capital region (with walls and more building slots) and one to three minor regions (unwalled, fewer slots). Building choices in a province share food and public order, so plan the province as a unit.

Building chain | Purpose

Farms and livestock | Food (critical for army upkeep and growth)

Markets and trade | Income

Ports | Trade, fishing food, naval recruitment

Temples | Public order and faction-wide bonuses

Military | Unit recruitment and upgrades

Culture/entertainment | Public order and research

Squalor rises with higher-tier buildings; offset it with sanitation buildings (such as aqueducts) and public order buildings like temples.

Imperium

Imperium grows as you conquer regions and gather wealth. Higher Imperium raises your army and navy limits and the number of agents you can field, but a bigger empire also brings growing public order and political pressure. Expanding fast without temples and garrisons leads to rebellions.

Food

Armies and some buildings consume food. A negative food balance causes attrition on armies and public order penalties. Build farms in minor regions and use food edicts where needed. Capturing fertile regions (Egypt, Sicily, the Po valley) is a common food fix.

Technology

Research is split into military and civil trees. Civil tech unlocks better economy buildings; military tech unlocks units and army bonuses. For Rome, researching the Cohort Organisation military tech triggers the Marian Reforms, replacing the Hastati/Principes/Triarii line with Legionaries. The later Professional Soldiery tech brings the Imperial (post-Marian) reforms, unlocking Legionary Cohorts and Evocati Cohorts. Plan on fighting the early game with the Hastati/Principes/Triarii line; the reform is a mid-game power spike, so don't delay other research just to rush it.

Politics (Emperor Edition)

Emperor Edition reworked politics: your faction's political parties have influence, and characters have gravitas. Political actions (e.g., securing loyalty, assassinations, spreading rumours) shift the balance. If your party's influence falls too low, or rivals become too powerful, a civil war can erupt. Keep your party's influence healthy, give powerful rivals positions to keep them loyal, and don't let one general build too much gravitas unchecked.

Agents

Agent | Key uses

Champion | Train armies (experience), assassinate, sabotage, defend cities

Dignitary | Boost public order and cultural conversion, bribe armies and settlements

Spy | Reveal enemies, poison supplies, sabotage gates, incite unrest

Embed agents in armies for passive bonuses when you don't need them on missions.

Army stances

Stance | Effect

Normal | Standard movement

Forced March | More movement, can't attack, vulnerable if attacked

Ambush | Hidden trap for enemies that walk into you (terrain-dependent success)

Raid | Gain income from enemy or neutral land; hurts local public order

Fortify | Defensive bonuses; army can't move

Set Siege | Besiege a settlement; build siege equipment over turns

Armies also gain traditions as they level, which persist even when the general changes.

Diplomacy

Deal | Why it matters

Trade agreement | Income every turn for both sides; the single best early deal

Non-aggression pact | Keeps a border quiet while you fight elsewhere

Defensive / military alliance | Allies join your wars; can drag you into theirs

Client state | A subordinate faction that buffers a border and pays tribute

Payments and gifts | Sweeten deals or improve relations with a faction you need

Diplomatic attitude is driven by shared culture, shared enemies, borders, and your past behaviour. Breaking treaties makes everyone trust you less, so avoid stacking betrayals early. Big empires attract coalitions; keep friends on the far side of your main enemy.

Settlements, garrisons and growth

• Capital regions have walls and a garrison that scales with buildings, so a well-developed capital can hold against a small raid on its own.
• Minor regions have no walls. Garrison them with a nearby army or accept that raiders will take them.
• Growth is what lets settlements upgrade to higher tiers, and those tiers unlock better buildings. Food surplus and growth-boosting buildings speed it up.
• Cultural conversion matters: foreign-culture regions have lower public order until you convert them with buildings, dignitaries, and time.

Difficulty choices

Setting | Effect

Campaign difficulty | Easy to Legendary; higher settings make the AI more aggressive and give it bonuses

Battle difficulty | Separate setting for the AI's battle performance

Legendary | Forces a single save slot and harder battles; a separate challenge

For a first campaign, Normal campaign and Normal battle difficulty lets you learn without the AI snowballing.

Faction Picks

Faction | Difficulty | Why play it

Rome | Easy | Balanced, strong infantry, clear expansion paths

Carthage | Medium | Rich coastal economy, elephants, naval power

Macedon | Medium | Pike phalanx and companion cavalry; surrounded by Greek city-states

Egypt | Easy to medium | Rich food and income; mixed Hellenistic and native units

Iceni / Arverni / Suebi | Medium | Barbarian confederations; fast, aggressive infantry

Parthia | Hard | Horse archers, eastern steppe style

Pontus | Medium | Eastern kingdom with a flexible roster

DLC culture packs add more playable factions: Greek States (Athens, Sparta, Epirus), Nomadic Tribes, Pirates and Raiders, Black Sea Colonies, and Desert Kingdoms. Armenia became playable in the Grand Campaign with Emperor Edition. Check the in-game faction list for exactly which factions your copy includes.

Campaign packs

Campaign | Released (Steam) | Setting

Caesar in Gaul | 2013 | Caesar's Gallic Wars, a smaller focused map

Hannibal at the Gates | 27 Mar 2014 | The Second Punic War

Imperator Augustus | 16 Sep 2014 | 42 BC, the Second Triumvirate after Caesar's murder (free to all owners with Emperor Edition)

Wrath of Sparta | 16 Dec 2014 | The Peloponnesian War

Empire Divided | 30 Nov 2017 | The Crisis of the Third Century

Rise of the Republic | 9 Aug 2018 | Early Rome in Italy, before the Grand Campaign's start date

Imperator Augustus playable factions are Octavian, Marc Antony, Lepidus, Pompey, the Iceni, Marcomanni, Dacia, Egypt, Parthia and Armenia. It rivals the Grand Campaign in scope and is the best "second campaign" once you know the basics.

Unit packs (Beasts of War, Daughters of Mars) add units rather than factions.

Opening Build Order (Rome example)

• Take the remaining regions of Italy to complete your home province and set an edict.
• Upgrade Roma's economy buildings; add farms in minor regions.
• Raise a second army once you can support its upkeep.
• Choose one direction: Carthage (Sicily, then Africa), Gaul (north), or Greece and Illyria (east). Don't split into all three.
• Get trade agreements with every neutral faction you can; trade income is huge early.

Battle Tactics

Unit roles

Unit type | Job

Line infantry | Hold the centre, pin the enemy

Spearmen/pikes | Stop cavalry, hold flanks

Missile infantry | Weaken enemies before the clash, target exposed flanks

Cavalry | Flank, charge rears, chase routing units, kill missile units

Elephants and chariots | Shock troops; can panic and damage your own lines

Artillery | Sieges and softening dense formations

Core tactics

• Hammer and anvil: Pin enemies with infantry, then charge cavalry into their rear. Pull cavalry out and recharge (cycle charging) for repeated shock damage.
• Protect your flanks. Anchor your line on terrain (rivers, forests, cliffs) or put spearmen at the ends.
• Use formations: Testudo against missile fire, phalanx with pikes, shield wall for barbarians.
• Kill the general or break enemy morale with flanking and charging; routing units trigger cascading routs.
• Watch fatigue. Running everywhere tires units, reducing their combat stats.
• Hold the high ground. Units fighting uphill are disadvantaged.

Sieges

Build siege equipment (ladders, rams, towers) during siege turns. Attack multiple gates or walls at once so the defender has to split, and use missile troops to thin wall defenders. Starving out a settlement (waiting several turns) can be cheaper than assaulting.

Naval battles

Ramming and boarding dominate. Keep ships moving; rammed ships sink fast. Transport fleets (armies at sea) are very weak in combat, so escort them.

Recent Updates (2023-2026)

• Pantheon Updates MARS Beta (10 September 2026): Creative Assembly released the first beta of the Pantheon Updates for ROME II on a Steam beta branch. To opt in: Steam Library, right-click ROME II, Properties, Game Versions and Betas, select pantheon (about 19.6 MB). Mods may break with the beta. Feedback on the official forums shapes a second MARS beta (no date yet).
• Earlier: 2023 Game Update (22 June 2023): a compiler upgrade for better performance on modern hardware, a fix for crashes on CPUs with more than 32 logical processors, and removal of the old in-game chat (use Discord or Steam chat for multiplayer campaigns).
• Crossplay Update (17 September 2026): a small update to make ROME II cross-play work correctly across platforms. If you have problems after updating, verify game files first.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Expanding faster than your public order can handle. Imperium penalties rise with size.
• Running food negative. Attrition quietly destroys your armies.
• Too many small armies. Each army needs a general and upkeep; fewer full stacks work better.
• Ignoring politics. A neglected civil war can split your empire in half.
• Fighting on open plains against cavalry-heavy enemies with no spearmen.
• Autoresolving every battle. You lose units and experience unnecessarily.

Advanced Tips

• Plan provinces as a unit: one high-tier income city, supported by food and public order buildings in minor regions.
• Use client states and defensive alliances to buffer borders.
• Stack army traditions that match your army's role (e.g., melee infantry traditions for your frontline legion).
• Trade is king. Every trade agreement adds income; guard ports and trade routes.
• Mods: ROME II has a large modding scene on the Steam Workshop, including overhauls like Divide et Impera. Disable mods when testing the Pantheon beta.
• Legendary difficulty disables manual saves; treat it as a separate challenge after learning the systems.

FAQ

What's the difference between ROME II and Emperor Edition? Emperor Edition is the definitive version with reworked politics, building chains, battle balance, visuals, and the Imperator Augustus campaign. It released on 16 September 2014, and existing owners received it for free as an automatic update.

Is ROME II still getting updates? Yes. Creative Assembly released a crossplay fix and the Pantheon Updates beta in September 2026.

How do I join the Pantheon beta? Steam, Properties, Game Versions and Betas, select "pantheon."

What's the best starting faction? Rome or Egypt for beginners; Macedon and Parthia for more challenge.

How do I trigger the Marian Reforms? Research the Cohort Organisation military technology as Rome (a Roman faction). Professional Soldiery comes later and unlocks the Imperial-era cohorts.

Does ROME II have crossplay? Creative Assembly shipped a "Crossplay Update" on 17 September 2026 to make ROME II cross-play work correctly across platforms. If anything breaks after it, verify game files through Steam first.

Why are my armies losing men every turn? Attrition from food shortages, harsh terrain, winter, or disease. Fix food and avoid attrition zones.

Sources

• Total War: ROME II Steam news hub
• Pantheon Updates - First MARS Beta Now Available (Steam, 10 Sep 2026)
• Crossplay Update (Steam, 17 Sep 2026)
• Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition on Steam
• ROME II DLC list on Steam (campaign pack release dates)
• Total War: Rome II — Wikipedia
• ROME II 2023 Game Update (Steam, 22 Jun 2023)