Nova Roma Gods and Favors Guide

Building a new Rome means keeping the gods happy

Nova Roma, the city-builder from Lion Shield currently in Early Access on the Epic Games Store, drops you into a familiar but punishing scenario: Rome has fallen, and it's your job to lead survivors across the sea and build something worth worshipping. Two systems will make or break your early runs — the religion mechanic, which ties your settlement's growth to the whims of five Olympian deities, and the Technology Tree, which gates every meaningful building upgrade behind a resource called Favor. Get both right and your colony thrives. Ignore either and expect lightning strikes, crop failures, or a flood that wipes out your waterfront district.

How does religion work in Nova Roma?

Religion starts the moment you place a Small Temple, which costs 10x Wood and 20x Stone. Once built, you dedicate it to one of five Olympian gods, earning +2 Favor on dedication. That Favor feeds directly into the Technology Tree, so your first temple isn't just a spiritual gesture — it's an economic decision.

Each temple also lets you activate Favor of the Gods, a permanent area buff that costs 1x Favor to trigger. The buff only applies within the temple's effective radius, so placement matters enormously. Here's a breakdown of every god and their area bonus:

Placement is the thing most new players get wrong. A Ceres temple surrounded by residential buildings does nothing useful. You need it adjacent to your farm clusters. Neptune temples belong on the coast near Fishing Huts. Vulcan temples should sit right beside your Charcoal Makers and Weaponsmiths. Mars temples need Guard Towers within range, and Jupiter temples pay off most when they're surrounded by Hovels and Insulae where citizen happiness actually matters.

What are Divine Tasks and what happens if you ignore them?

Each god periodically assigns Divine Tasks — objectives that earn you additional Favor when completed. Jupiter wants population growth and happiness buildings. Mars asks for Guard Towers and Weaponsmiths. These tasks align with each deity's domain, so they're usually pointing you toward things you'd want to build anyway.

The complication is resource offerings. Gods will ask for specific goods — Ceres requests Bread, Vulcan wants Stone — and nearly every deity will eventually ask for Gold donations. That means you need a Tax Office running early, or higher-tier Insulae apartments generating tax income, before the gods start demanding tribute you can't afford.

Neglect Divine Tasks long enough and the gods retaliate. Jupiter sends lightning strikes, Ceres triggers crop failures, and Neptune can flood entire sections of your city. These aren't minor inconveniences — a flood hitting your fishing district mid-growth can set you back several in-game seasons.

As you progress, gods will also demand Large Temples and Grand Temples in their honor. Don't treat these as optional. Large Temples unlock Festivals, which cost Gold, Wine, and Grapes but deliver significant happiness boosts across your population. Grand Temples are the real prize, letting you spend Favor to call on divine intervention:

• Jupiter: Cancels rain, droughts, and floods
• Ceres: Instantly satisfies all citizen hunger and diet needs
• Neptune: Sinks every enemy ship carrying invaders
• Vulcan: Extinguishes all active fires in your city
• Mars: Buffs friendly troops with increased damage and movement speed

How does the Technology Tree work?

The Favor you earn from temples, dedications, and completed Divine Tasks is your currency for unlocking new buildings and improvements. The Technology Tree is organized into categories running from the upper-left section clockwise to the lower-left, covering everything from basic housing to advanced trade and military structures.

According to the Epic Games Store guide for Nova Roma, the tree is broad enough that you can't unlock everything quickly, so prioritizing the right nodes early determines how smoothly your settlement scales. Here's how to think about each category:

The full tech tree layout

What are the best early tech unlocks in Nova Roma?

After testing various build orders, the categories below deliver the most value in the first stretch of a sandbox run. The Epic Games Store's official Nova Roma guide confirms several of these as priority picks.

Agriculture and food

Get Fishing Huts placed near shoaling fish early. Pair them with Grape Vines near Farms. Drop Neptune and Ceres temples close to these clusters to activate their bonuses and start farming Favor from Divine Tasks simultaneously.

Housing

Small Insula is the first housing tech worth spending Favor on. It lets more citizens share a single building, and a Food Counter built into the ground floor adds a happiness bonus on top of the density gain.

Finance

The Tax Office needs to be running early. Gold is the universal resource gods demand for offerings, and without consistent tax income you'll fall behind on Divine Tasks before your settlement is large enough to handle divine punishment.

Utilities and industry

A Fire Brigade near a well handles most early fire incidents. For industry, Foresters eliminate the need to manually clear trees for Wood, and Stone Quarries do the same for Stone if your territory has multiple deposits. The Claypit and Charcoal Maker combo feeds the Pottery Workshop, which produces goods that keep Insulae residents happy. Charcoal Maker plus Wheat also produces Bread, which satisfies Ceres's offering demands.

Entertainment and religion

Unlock Small Theater first, then Statues. These happiness buildings matter more as your population grows and Jupiter's tasks start scaling up. Push toward Large Temples and Grand Temples as soon as your Favor income allows.

Water and bathhouses

Aqueducts pull water from mountain elevation down to Water Towers in your city. Once that pipeline is established, the Bath Reservoir opens up a full bathing complex that contributes significantly to citizen happiness and health.

Logistics and trade

Start with Small Stockpiles and Small Warehouses. You'll need Transport Carts eventually to move goods between storage buildings — don't skip this or your supply chains stall. For trade, the Dock combined with the Trading Agreements tech automates buying and selling. The Trading Post increases how often Merchant Ships visit. The Shrewd Dealmaking tech applies discounts to bulk resource purchases, which matters a lot once you're importing materials for Grand Temple construction.

Defense

A few Guard Towers handle early raider waves. Unlock the Infantry Barracks when you can so you're not manually recruiting militia every time an attack comes in.

Putting it all together: a practical opening sequence

Here's a reliable opening that keeps Favor flowing without letting the gods get ahead of you:

1. Clear land and gather 10x Wood and 20x Stone for your first Small Temple
2. Dedicate to Jupiter if you're building dense housing, or Ceres if food is your immediate bottleneck
3. Activate Favor of the Gods immediately after dedication
4. Build a Tax Office before your first Gold offering demand arrives
5. Unlock Small Insula from the Housing branch as your first tech spend
6. Place Fishing Huts and Farms, then drop a Neptune or Ceres temple nearby
7. Keep completing Divine Tasks to maintain Favor income for the mid-game tree

The Epic Games Store's official guide for Nova Roma covers religion bonuses and research techs in further detail if you want to cross-reference specific building costs and tech prerequisites. For more city-builder strategy content, browse the latest guides on GAMES.GG to find tips across the genre.