Romans are one of the three tribes in Travian and they are usually the second most popular tribe (30-40% players of each server are usually Romans). They are very balanced and are strong in both attack and defense. Roman troops are considered the elite of the game in which every individual is strong. Therefore, the Roman army is high in quality but low in quantity and consumes much less crop than other tribes' armies. However, to compensate for that, most Roman troops take a long time to train and it's expensive. Their infantry includes the strongest defenders against enemy infantry (Praetorian), but their defense against enemy cavalry isn't as good as that of the best Teuton infantry (Spearmen). Also the Roman Hero's Fighting Strength grows by 100 per point allocated, while other tribes' Heroes only grow by 80.
Advantages[]
- Can raise or extend a building and resource field simultaneously (withPlus, they can do 2 buildings and 1 field, or 1 building and 2 fields).
- The highest defense-bonus provided by the city wall - 81%.
- Best (speed, wheat consuming and defense included in this term) infantry, cavalry slightly behind the Gallic ones but better than Teutonic ones due to unbalance(3.5).
- Crop-wise speaking, Roman troops provide the best stats for each crop consumed and therefore, Roman is the best tribe in late game (in late game, most resources are abundant except crop). In late game, a developed Roman has the best infantry defender (Praetorian), the best infantry attacker (Imperian), the best cavalry attackers (both Equites Imperatoris, Equites Caesaris), the best scout (Equites Legati) (Gauls' Pathfinder is 1 sqr/hr faster, but consumes twice as much wheat after a Roman player builds the Horse Drinking Pool) and the 2nd best raider (Equites Imperatoris after theGauls' Theutates Thunder). Roman hammers are typically used for Catapulting the WW since the Roman Fire Catapult is the most superior siege unit. However, In terms of raw fighting power (Crop is not the issue when it comes to end game hammers, the larger the hammer the better) nothing can surpass that of a Teuton mace hammer. The best combination for this would be for a Roman hammer to follow a massive Teuton rammer and completley destroy any WW.
- A fully upgraded Horse Drinking Pool (3.5) can reduce the wheat consumption of calvary by 1 wheat, making Equites Caesaris perhaps the most powerful calvary in terms of attack per wheat consumption (60 attack/1 wheat consumption). With full improvement in smithy and with Horse Drinking Pool at level 20 EC is overtaken by Equites Imperatoris in attack/upkeep ranking. See Off/Upkeep Rankings
- Romans usually have the best infantry defense in the game. Romans have the best infantry defender Praetorian while his partner Legionnaire also has 50 calvary defense. Moreover, most hammers usually heavily focus on infantry rather than cavalry.
- Roman chief (Senator) is the best in the game.
- A Roman Hero's Fighting Strength grows by 100 instead of 80 per point allocated.
Disadvantages[]
- Roman villages can be completely stuck in the game when someone regularly raids their village (Gauls have enormous crannies, Teutons tend to build military force early).
- Roman troop training is very expensive and takes a long time. Therefore, Romans are usually very weak in the beginning stage where resources are limited.
- Romans do not have special tools to defend against farming like Trapper.
- Merchants have the lowest capacity of any of the tribes (500 resources) and only medium speed (16 fields/hour). However, in T3.5, it is changed in late game when Romans' villages have developed trade office. In T4, Merchants have middle capacity between Teutons (the lowest) and Gauls.
- The Roman city wall is brittle (easily destroyed by rams, compared to other tribes' walls).
- Worst defense against cavalry.
- Roman special building (Horse Drinking Pool) does not take effect early. It also costs exorbitant resources with limited effect (reducing 1 wheat cost the sum of 5 upgrades). Additional analysis of the effects of Horse Drinking Pool on the attacking performance of roman cavalry can be found at http://advanced-travian.net/attack.html
Troops[]
The Romans have several different types of troops, most of which are able to defend and attack adequately.
Overview[]
| Troop | 
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Speed | Capacity | Upkeep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legionnaire | 40 | 35 | 50 | 120 | 100 | 150 | 30 | 6 | 50 | 1 |
| Praetorian | 30 | 65 | 35 | 100 | 130 | 160 | 70 | 5 | 20 | 1 |
| Imperian | 70 | 40 | 25 | 150 | 160 | 210 | 80 | 7 | 50 | 1 |
| Equites Legati | 0 | 20 | 10 | 140 | 160 | 20 | 40 | 16 | 0 | 2(1) |
| Equites Imperatoris | 120 | 65 | 50 | 550 | 440 | 320 | 100 | 14 | 100 | 3(2) |
| Equites Caesaris | 180 | 80 | 105 | 550 | 640 | 800 | 180 | 10 | 70 | 4(3) |
| Ram | 60 | 30 | 75 | 900 | 360 | 500 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Fire Catapult | 75 | 60 | 10 | 950 | 1350 | 600 | 90 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Senator | 50 | 40 | 30 | 30750 | 27200 | 45000 | 37500 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| Settler | 0 | 80 | 80 | 5800 | 5300 | 7200 | 5500 | 5 | 3000 | 1 |
Legionnaire[]
The Legionnaire is widely considered a generalist and is the only unit in the game good to use for all three main functions (basic light infantry attacker/infantry raider/cavalry defender). In early game, the legionnaire can be used as both a raider and an attacker until being replaced by other specialized units (Imperian for attack and Equites Imperatoris for raiding). After that, he can be used as a cavalry defender.
To compensate this flexibility, his training is expensive compared to the Teutonic and Gallic beginning units, but has a significantly higher defense than the Teutonic Clubswinger and better attack than the Phalanx. He is good at defending against cavalry, especially when combined with Praetorians.
Strengths:
Legionnaire
Attack: 40
Defense (Infantry): 35
Defense (Cavalry): 50
Requirements:
Barracks Level 1
Movement:
Speed: 6 fields each hour (12 fields on 3x speed server)
Carry: 50 resources
Praetorian[]
The Praetorian is the infantry defender of the Roman army and he is the best infantry defender in the game. While he is good at defending against other infantry, he lacks sufficient defense against calvary. He is not a good attacker, and should not be used in attacks, with the exception of emptying out villages of their resources if needed. He is also the slowest infantry unit of Travian, with a speed of 5 fields per hour. He also carries the least amount of resource, which makes raiding difficult.
Strengths:
Praetorian
Attack: 30
Defense (Infantry): 65
Defense (Cavalry): 35
Requirements:
Academy Level 1
Armoury Level 1
Movement:
Speed: 5 fields each hour (10 fields 3x speed server)
Carry: 20 resources
Imperian[]
The Imperian is the heavy infantry attacker of the Roman army and crop-wise speaking, he is the best advanced infantry attacker. He is the foundation of the Roman's attack force because of his high attack. His defense is very poor compared to other infantry units, and he should not be used to defend at all. He is also very expensive and slow to produce.
Strengths:
Imperian
Attack: 70
Defense (Infantry): 40
Defense (Cavalry): 25
Requirements:
Academy Level 5
Blacksmith Level 1
Movement:
Speed: 7 fields each hour
Carry: 50 resources
Equites Legati[]
The Equites Legati is the Roman scout. He can scout other villages for troop count, defenses, and resource amounts. The Equites Legati can not attack, and is not good at defending. If your village has Equites Legati, he can detect enemies scouting you.
Strengths:
Equites Legati
Attack: 0 (Can not attack)
Defense (Infantry): 20
Defense (Cavalry): 10
Requirements:
Stable Level 1
Academy Level 5
Movement:
Speed: 16 fields each hour (32 fields on speed 3x server)
Carry: 0 resources
Equites Imperatoris[]
The Equites Imperatoris is the light cavalry and the main cavalry raider of Roman army. He is not the fastest type of cavalry in the game, but he is faster than any of the Teuton cavalry. Being bested by only the Gaul Theutates Thunder, he is good for raiding both light and medium defended towns depending on numbers. However, keep in mind that he eats a lot of wheat (3/hr). He is a quick and easy raider, as well as cheap by Roman standards. With the added bonus of a level 15 Horse Drinking Pool (3.5), Equites Imperatoris becomes the most powerful attack per wheat consumption cavalry (60 attack per 1 wheat consumption) tied with the Equites Caesaris.
Strengths:
Equites Imperiatoris
Attack: 120
Defense (Infantry): 65
Defense (Cavalry): 50
Requirements:
Stable Level 5
Academy Level 5
Movement:
Speed: 14 fields each hour
Carry: 100 resources
Equites Caesaris[]
The Equites Caesaris is the heavy Roman cavalry. He is very powerful, slower than Equites Imperatoris, but still has the edge in speed versus Teutonic Knights. His wheat requirements are exorbitant. However, while lacking both the carrying capacity of the Equites Imperatoris, he more than makes up for it by being a highly dangerous raider capable of taking on large defensive forces. He also makes a good defense unit, especially against other cavalry, however, he cannot match legionnaires wheat for wheat. With the added bonus of a level 20 Horse Drinking Pool (3.5), Equites Ceasaris becomes the most powerful attack cavalry per wheat consumption (60 attack per 1 wheat consumption).
Strengths:
Equites Caesaris
Attack: 180
Defense (Infantry): 80
Defense (Cavalry): 105
Requirements:
Academy Level 5
Stable Level 10
Movement:
Speed: 10 fields each hour
Carry: 70 resources
Battering Ram[]
The Battering Ram is a heavy support weapon for your infantry and cavalry. Its task is to destroy the enemy walls and, by doing so, increase your troops chances to overcome the enemy's fortifications.
Strengths:
Battering Ram
Attack: 60
Defense (Infantry): 30
Defense (Cavalry): 75
Requirements:
Academy Level 10
Siege Workshop Level 1
Movement:
Speed: 4 fields each hour
Carry: 0 resources
Fire Catapult[]
The Fire Catapult is used to destroy the fields and buildings of enemy villages. Without escorting troops, it is almost defenseless, so don't forget to send some of your troops along with it.
The higher level your rally point is, the more buildings the catapult can target. At rally point level 10, the fire catapult can target all buildings except the stonemason, cranny, and trapper. At rally point level 20, your catapults can target two buildings in one wave. If you're targeting two buildings, keep in mind that half of your catapults will do their damage to one building and the other half to the other building.
Strengths:
Fire Catapult
Attack: 75
Defense (Infantry): 60
Defense (Cavalry): 10
Requirements:
Academy Level 15
Siege Workshop Level 10
Movement:
Speed: 3 fields each hour
Carry: 0 resources
Senator[]
The Senator is a Roman unit that can conquer other villages. He can be trained at the residence or palace.
Strengths:
Senator
Attack: 50
Defense (Infantry): 40
Defense (Cavalry): 30
Requirements:
Rally Point Level 10
Academy Level 20
Movement:
Speed: 4 fields each hour
Carry: 0 resources
Settler[]
Settlers can found new villages. Three settlers will be needed to found a new village. Additionally, they need 750 units of each resource to found a new village. These resources will not be lost as they will be in your new village right away so you can begin to build.
Also, keep in mind that each settler can carry 3000 resources.
Strengths:
Settlers (Roman)
Attack: 0
Defense (Infantry): 80
Defense (Cavalry): 80
Requirements:
Residence or Palace Level 10 or 20 (15 in Palace/Capital).
Movement:
Speed: 5 fields each hour
Carry: 3000 resources
Troop Combinations[]
In defense, it is a good idea to pair the infantry defender (praetorian) and the cavalry defender (legionnaire) together. This is because praetorians don't have the best defense against cavalry, rendering them almost useless if an army of cavalry attacked. However, legionnaires do have good defense against cavalry, but not the best defense against other infantry. So, when both praetorians and legionnaires are paired together, an army of cavalry or infantry stand less of a chance attacking them. Regarding defense/crop, legionaire/praetorian pair is the best single tribe defense of the game. However, they are slow (speed 5) and slow to build (both can only be built in Barrack). Hence, Roman has the best stationary defense but is not suitable for mobile defense and anvil building.
In attack, Roman hammer usually consists of heavy infantry (Imperians) and heavy cavalry (Equites Caesaris) together to maximize attacking power.
Note: With the introduction of T3.5, there is a building called the 'horse watering place'. Here, the upkeep and training times of Equites Legati, Equites Imperatoris and Equites Caesaris can be decreased at levels 10, 15 and 20 respectively. This means that Equites Caesaris can potentially become the best cavalry unit on the game in terms of attack/wheat and attack/time, surpassing what is currently the best heavy unit, the Teutonic Knight.
A more detailed analysis of roman troops and their attributes, as well as the affect of the Horse Drinking Pool on those attributes, can be found at advanced-travian.net