Emperor Edition is the free September 2014 overhaul that rebuilt ROME II's politics, building chains and campaign AI after a rough 2013 launch. It ships the Grand Campaign across 57 provinces stretching from Britannia and Hispania to Bactria, plus the Imperator Augustus campaign covering the Second Triumvirate's civil war. Turn-based empire management feeds into real-time battles of thousands of men, and these are the rules everyone still plays under.
Starting Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition is a strategy game built around Province and region system and Public order and food. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rome | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Carthage | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Macedon | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Egypt | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Parthia | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Carthage. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Parthia as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Province and region system
The Grand Campaign splits into 57 provinces, each built from two to four regions with a single provincial capital. Edicts apply province-wide but only once you own every region in it, so a half-conquered province gives you the unrest of occupation with none of the management tools.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Province and region system works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Italia
Rome's home province and the richest early economy available. Securing it alongside Magna Graecia before turn 30 is the standard Roman opening because it removes every land threat behind you.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Pike phalanx: it's the most accessible early upgrade. Sarissa blocks fielded by Macedon, the Seleucids and Ptolemaic Egypt. Frontally they are nearly unbeatable, and from the flank or rear they collapse in seconds.
Step 4: Understand Public order and food
Food surplus feeds growth while a shortage causes attrition and unrest across an entire province. Public order slides from garrison strength, corruption, foreign culture and squalor, and a province in the red spawns rebel armies behind your front line.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Magna Graecia
Southern Italy and its Greek colonies, contested between Rome, Syracuse and Carthage. Holding it also puts Sicily and the first naval war within reach.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Province and region system
The Grand Campaign splits into 57 provinces, each built from two to four regions with a single provincial capital. Edicts apply province-wide but only once you own every region in it, so a half-conquered province gives you the unrest of occupation with none of the management tools.
Public order and food
Food surplus feeds growth while a shortage causes attrition and unrest across an entire province. Public order slides from garrison strength, corruption, foreign culture and squalor, and a province in the red spawns rebel armies behind your front line.
Army traditions and generals
Armies are permanent objects tied to a general and accumulate traditions over campaigns, granting real bonuses such as faster movement or better ambush odds. Disbanding an army throws that history away, which makes retiring a veteran stack a genuine loss.
Political parties and civil war
Your faction is divided between rival houses, and Emperor Edition rewrote how their influence moves. Letting your own party's influence collapse or spike triggers a civil war that hands a large slice of your empire to the secessionists.
Combined land and naval battles
Coastal battles put fleets and land armies on the same map, with marines landing straight into the fight. Naval units also carry troops, so a fleet defeat can annihilate an army that never reached shore.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Expanding in three directions at once
Every new province drags public order down before it returns anything, and rebel armies spawn behind your front line.
2. Assaulting walled capitals without artillery and losing half a veteran army to a garrison of levy troops
3. Chasing horse archers with heavy infantry
Parthian and Steppe armies are built to make you do exactly that, and your line arrives exhausted and shot to pieces.
4. Ignoring the politics screen until the civil war notification fires
By then the split is decided and a third of your empire changes sides.
5. Disbanding veteran armies to save upkeep, throwing away accumulated traditions that cannot be bought back
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Province and region system and Public order and food
- Choose Carthage as starting build
- Clear Italia main content
- Acquire Pike phalanx or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Magna Graecia
- Province edicts only unlock once you own every region in a province, so half-conquered provinces cost you unrest without giving you the tools to fix it. Finish one province before opening the next front.
- Food is calculated per province, and a shortage causes attrition and public order damage across every region in it. Build farms in the low-value regions and keep at least a small surplus everywhere you hold.
Tips for New Players
- Province edicts only unlock once you own every region in a province, so half-conquered provinces cost you unrest without giving you the tools to fix it. Finish one province before opening the next front.
- Food is calculated per province, and a shortage causes attrition and public order damage across every region in it. Build farms in the low-value regions and keep at least a small surplus everywhere you hold.
- Armies gain traditions permanently and lose them when disbanded. Rotate a veteran army back into friendly territory to replenish instead of dissolving it and raising a fresh stack.
- Pikes are helpless from the flank and rear. Against Macedon or the Seleucids, pin the phalanx with cheap spearmen and send everything else around the side rather than trading with the pike front.
- Emperor Edition rewrote the political system so influence swings genuinely matter. Keep your own party somewhere around 30 to 50 percent influence, because both collapse and total dominance push the other houses toward civil war.
- Ambush stance in forests and hills is the cheapest force multiplier in the campaign. A smaller army in ambush routinely destroys a full enemy stack that would beat it in a straight fight.
- Naval transport is free but fragile. Armies at sea fight as poor-quality ships, so escorting a transported army with a real fleet is the difference between a landing and losing twenty units at once.
- Assaulting a walled capital without artillery is the most expensive mistake in the campaign. Bring at least two Scorpions or an Onager, or blockade the settlement and starve it out over several turns.
- Culture conversion drives unrest as much as taxation does. Building the correct religious and cultural chains in newly taken provinces is cheaper than garrisoning them forever.
- Agents are not decoration. A Champion training your armies or a Dignitary suppressing an enemy general changes battle outcomes and campaign tempo more than an extra unit of levy spearmen ever will.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Emperor Edition actually change?
It was a free September 2014 update that rebuilt the political system, revised building chains and public order, improved campaign and battle AI, and added the Imperator Augustus campaign. Every copy sold since is Emperor Edition.
Which faction should a new player pick?
Rome. It starts with Italia almost secured, has clear objectives, gets Legionary Cohorts after the Marian reforms, and forgives the battlefield mistakes that would end a Macedonian or Parthian campaign.
Is the Imperator Augustus campaign included?
Yes, it ships with Emperor Edition. It covers the Second Triumvirate period with Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus fighting over a Rome that has already fractured, alongside Parthia, Egypt, Armenia and several tribal factions.
How large is the Grand Campaign map?
57 provinces built from more than 170 regions, running from Britannia and Hispania in the west to Bactria in the east, with Africa reaching down toward Kush.
Do I need the DLC?
No. The Grand Campaign and Imperator Augustus carry hundreds of hours on their own. Culture packs add playable factions such as the Greek States and the Nomadic Tribes, while Wrath of Sparta and Hannibal at the Gates are separate campaigns rather than upgrades.
More Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Guides
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Overview
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Best Builds
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Tier List
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Walkthrough
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Tips & Tricks
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Weapons Guide
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Combat Guide
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Boss Guide
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Maps & Locations
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Crafting Guide
- Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition Classes & Characters
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