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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Start with a reliable Timber supply, then build outward: connect production buildings to roads and storage, house residents, meet a small set of their needs, and keep enough workers for every job. These steps give a first settlement a stable base without trying to build every available service at once.
1. Start by securing Timber
Timber is the first bottleneck: Ubisoft says almost everything you build in Anno 117: Pax Romana requires it. Survey the island for dense forest, then place a Woodcutter where the site indicator shows 100% suitability. Send the logs to a Sawmill to turn them into Timber.
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Ubisoft’s beginner guide recommends doubling the Timber chain early. Do that when you have the resources and intend to expand; otherwise, establish one working chain first and avoid spending materials you need elsewhere. Ubisoft’s five getting-started tips provide the basic setup.
2. Connect production to roads and storage
A production building is useful only when its logistics work. Every building needs road access, and roads connect the settlement to its trading post. Warehouses and trading posts provide storage access, so place storage within range of production facilities and make sure the Woodcutter and Sawmill are connected.
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- Connect both timber buildings to a road.
- Make sure that road reaches the trading post or a nearby Warehouse.
- Check storage access before expanding a production chain; a building without a working connection can interrupt the flow of goods.
3. Build homes before expecting growth
Residents provide both the workforce and tax income. Build residences, then meet residents’ needs before expecting population growth or a tier upgrade. The first residents are Liberti in Latium or Waders in Albion; the province changes the resident name and the available production choices.
Use the top information bar to keep an eye on the settlement’s finances. If the balance turns negative, check whether current residents’ needs are met before adding more homes. Expand only as far as the economy can support.
4. Meet one need in each category, not every need
Ubisoft groups the first residents’ needs into Food, Public Services, and Fashion. The optional-needs system requires one need from each category to advance—not every option shown. This lets you grow deliberately instead of building several competing production chains at once.
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In Latium, Ubisoft gives examples including a fishing hut or porridge stand for Food, a Market or Tavern for Public Services, and tunics or a pileus for Fashion. These are examples, not a universal ranking: choose options that fit your province, available resources, workforce, and road-and-storage layout. Available choices vary by province and resident tier.
5. Check the workforce before upgrading homes
Upgrading Liberti homes replaces those residents with Plebians. That changes who is available to work in your settlement, so an upgrade can leave lower-tier production short of workers if too few Liberti remain.
Keep enough Liberti housing for the jobs still staffed by that tier, and check the workforce after upgrades. Ubisoft notes that fulfilled Plebians generate more income than fulfilled Liberti, but the gain depends on supporting their needs and maintaining the workers your existing chains require.
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6. Use building effects to shape your layout
Watch the local indicators for income, health, happiness, and fire safety when placing buildings. Their effects apply around them, so location matters as much as the building’s production role.
- Spinner: improves income nearby, so place it where neighboring buildings can benefit.
- Charcoal Burner: harms nearby health and fire safety; keep it away from other buildings where possible.
- City Watch: improves nearby safety, health, and happiness and responds to incidents.
Check the affected-area indicators before settling on a site, rather than waiting for local problems to appear.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors7. Grow in a sequence your economy can support
Use this order when laying out a first settlement:
- Find a dense-forest site with a 100% Woodcutter suitability rating.
- Build the Woodcutter and Sawmill, then connect both to roads and the trading post or a nearby Warehouse.
- Establish residences and select one accessible need from each category.
- Check the workforce after any tier upgrades and retain enough Liberti homes for lower-tier jobs.
- If income turns negative, check current residents’ needs before expanding housing further.
- Use local effect indicators to place positive-area buildings where they help and keep the Charcoal Burner away from neighbors.
Knowledge, Faith, Trade, other islands, and warfare are among the game’s later systems. They can matter as your settlement grows, but they are not prerequisites for getting the first Timber chain working.
What changed in later updates?
Anno Union’s Patch 2.1 notes, dated September 15, 2026, cover DLC support, specialist balance, interface changes, and bug fixes; the listed notes do not change the basic Timber, road, resident-needs, income, or placement steps above. Patch 2.0 did change bread: consumption increased by about 50%, bread as a need gives +3 population rather than +2, and Water Mills produce flour in 20 seconds instead of 30. If you move on to later population needs, check the patch context rather than relying on older bread figures. Read the Patch 2.1 notes at Anno Union.
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