Best Nova Roma upgrades in King Arthur Legion IX

Once you’ve completed the first few quests in the squad-based strategy RPG King Arthur: Legion IX, you can start to rebuild Nova Roma to its former glory. Read on to discover which upgrades are best and which to do first.

Top 10 best Nova Roma upgrades in King Arthur Legion IX

When you first take over Nova Roma (after you complete The Colony quest) you will have five buildings to invest in. You will then gain access to a sixth building after completing the next quest, where you save The Trader. I’ve ranked the buildings and their upgrades below. If you’re a little short of an expensive one between missions but have enough to take a cheaper upgrade, it is usually worth doing to gain the benefit for that extra quest. 

These are the first 10 upgrades I pick up as soon as I can afford to:

1. Guidance of Mars (500 Gold, 500 Resources): +1 to melee weapon damage. Each of your three melee heroes is likely to land two hits per round per battle, so this works out at a lot of extra damage over the campaign.  
2. Basic Physical Training (1,000 Gold): I take this earlier than the mental equivalent (above), as you’re more likely to be hit with physical damage early in the campaign. This gives +10 percent Physical Debuff Resist to all heroes.
3. Apprentice Herbalist (500 Gold, 500 Resources): This is a good low cost for a +5 percent bonus to the Vitality of all your heroes. 
4. Guidance of Jupiter (500 Gold, 500 Resources): +1 to all heavy armor. This is more than a 10 percent boost to three of your heroes’ armor values if taken early, which is a bargain at this cost.
5. Guidance of Diana (500 Gold, 500 Resources): +1 to ranged weapon damage. This affects several of your heroes so at this low cost it is still a sound investment.
6. Combat Training (1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources): Each of your three melee heroes gains 1 bonus skill point. There's always one-point skill upgrade worth having, especially at lower levels when you want to spend most points on new skills instead.
7. Target Practise (1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources): You get a skill point to spend on each of your ranged heroes. It's valuable for the same reasons Combat Training is, but the melee guys need a bit more help (skill-wise) than the ranged heroes.
8. Master Herbalist (1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources): Can only be taken after Apprentice Herbalist. It costs twice as much but gives double the benefit, adding a further +10 percent Vitality to all of your heroes.
9. Basic Mental Training (1,000 Gold): While you’re less likely to need this in the early quests, once magicians become more prevalent this +10 percent Mental Debuff Resist to all heroes is a very welcome benefit.
10. Guidance of Mercury (500 Gold, 500 Resources): +1 to all light armor. This helps your three ranged heroes but you should be trying to keep them out of harm's way anyway, so this is the weakest of the Blacksmith upgrades.

All Nova Roma upgrade buildings, ranked

The Training Ground - S

Here you can gain +5 percent Vitality for all heroes for (500 Gold, 500 Resources) (Apprentice Herbalist), which then opens up Master Herbalist (+10 percent vitality for all) for 1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources. While you may not want to take these until you’ve gained a few levels and can really see the benefit, they’re excellent upgrades for the cost because they scale as you level up (i.e. they continue to give value throughout the game).

Basic and Advanced Physical Training (1,000 and 1,500 Gold respectively) give all heroes +10 percent Physical Debuff Resist each, while Combat Training (1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources) gives Gaius, Octavius, and Gavius a skill point each. These are all excellent benefits as DOTs wear you down fast in a game with few in-battle healing options.

Lararium - A

Basic Mental Training (1,000 Gold) gives all six of your heroes a 10 percent buff to their Mental Debuff Resist and is always one of the first upgrades I take as it has no Resource cost and avoiding incoming status effects from casters really helps keep your heroes alive. If you find you’re still suffering from spell attacks too regularly, you can upgrade this with Advanced Mental Training (gaining another 10 percent) for 1,500 Gold.

Target Practice gives a skill point to Plutonius, Albina, and Florianus (your ranged heroes) for 1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources. This feels a little steep but it’s definitely in my top 10 upgrades. Enlarged Altar allows you to activate a second Lar for 1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources. This is expensive and, for me, pointless. However, if more than one Lar appeals to you, this might be a sound investment. 

The Blacksmith - A

There are eight upgrades available in the blacksmith, each giving +1 Armor or Damage to three of your heroes (two each for light and heavy armor, and melee and ranged weapons). The first upgrade for each costs 500 Gold and 500 Resources and the second 1,000 Gold and 1,000 Resources. The first upgrades are real value for money and the second tier is a little pricey, but still better than most of the upgrades you’ll find in the B and C-ranked buildings below. 

The War Council - B

The first two upgrades available here are OK but a bit niche. Spending 1,000 Gold to gain 10 percent more Building Resources on missions (Stockpile Resources) will pay off in the end, but you’ll get what you need over time anyway (and easier thanks to taking other upgrades). Reducing Decree Activation by 10 percent (Respect) is similar, but as it only costs 500 Resources you can activate that when you feel you need it most. 

Tax Collection (+25 percent Gold on missions) and Fidelity (+1 Loyalty for all heroes) require you to have 6 Morality points in Demonic and Humanity respectively. This is going to take a while, but keep an eye on your morality track and take them as soon as you can (it will be a while!). 

The Enchanted Tower - C

While this store offers some powerful items, its upgrades only remove the AP cost of using scrolls and potions and increase the duration of these items. I rarely use either and you can only take two per character on a mission, so these upgrades are very situational. Its only other upgrade option increases Dust rewards from sacrificing Relics here. This is rare too, so generally I put no effort into upgrading the Enchanted Tower until much later in the game.

The Merchant - C

Much like the Enchanted Tower above, upgrading the Merchant only increases the range of items and reduces cost prices in this shop. Your cash is much better off being spent on other upgrades that benefit all or several of your heroes, rather than giving one of them a mild bump through a piece of equipment. And if you see a great item you can still buy it. Unless you’re going to buy a lot of items, you’ll never make back the cash you spend on the upgrades. 

Best building to assign each hero to in Nova Roma in King Arthur Legion IX

Once you’ve collected all six party members, you can assign each of your heroes to one building (from which they’ll gain a benefit). I suggest the following:

As you build and lose loyalty with your companions, you can temporarily switch heroes in and out of the Merchant position. For example, if Florianus isn’t benefiting from the +4 Loyalty but it would push another hero into the next bonus bracket, it will usually be worth doing so. All the building benefits apply to any hero, so switching them to get an extra Loyalty bonus (or avoiding a negative) is the smart play.

For more on King Arthur: Legion IX here at Pro Game Guides check out my King Arthur Legion IX Gaius Julius Mento Build Guide and King Arthur Legion IX Albina Virgila Build Guide.