Managing squalor in Rome: Total War is one of the key challenges when expanding your empire. As cities grow in population and wealth, squalor becomes a serious issue that can lead to unrest and even rebellion if left unchecked. While it may seem like a minor annoyance at first, unchecked squalor can cripple your economy, reduce public order, and turn thriving cities into liabilities. Learning how to reduce squalor effectively is crucial for maintaining stability and growing your empire efficiently. This guide will explore various ways to reduce squalor in Rome: Total War using smart construction, population control, and strategic planning.
Understanding Squalor in Rome: Total War
What Is Squalor?
Squalor represents the negative side effects of urban development and rapid population growth. It is essentially a measure of how unhealthy and overcrowded a settlement has become. In game terms, squalor is shown as a red bar in the city’s public order panel and contributes directly to unrest.
How Squalor Affects Your City
If squalor becomes too high, it reduces public order. When public order drops below 75%, your city is at risk of rioting. Continued rioting damages buildings and can eventually lead to full rebellion, causing you to lose control of the settlement and potentially giving it to a rebel faction. This makes managing squalor vital for long-term stability.
Key Factors That Contribute to Squalor
- Population Size: The larger the population, the higher the squalor.
- Lack of Sanitation Buildings: Cities without sewers, aqueducts, or public baths generate more squalor.
- Urbanization: As cities level up to large and huge cities, squalor increases rapidly.
Effective Strategies to Reduce Squalor
1. Build Sanitation Infrastructure
The most direct way to reduce squalor is by constructing buildings that improve sanitation. Each of these structures reduces the squalor level and increases public order through improved living conditions.
- Sewers: The first step in sanitation, available in early city levels.
- Aqueducts: Provides a moderate reduction in squalor and boosts growth.
- Public Baths: Offers the greatest reduction in squalor and improves happiness.
Upgrade these buildings as soon as they become available. Prioritize them in cities with fast-growing populations to stay ahead of the problem.
2. Manage Population Growth
Since squalor scales with population, controlling population growth is an effective long-term strategy. There are a few ways to slow down population growth:
- Lower Taxes: Higher taxes slow population growth while increasing income. Find a balance that maintains order.
- Avoid Building Farms: Farms increase food supply and growth. Refrain from upgrading farms in overcrowded cities.
- Do Not Build Health Buildings in Overcrowded Cities: Temples of Asclepius and similar structures increase growth, which can worsen squalor over time.
3. Enact Population Control via Migration
If a city becomes too large and unmanageable, consider relocating your population through colonization or by moving family members and troops to newly conquered, less developed cities. Encouraging growth in smaller settlements can help balance the empire’s demographics.
4. Increase Happiness Through Other Means
Reducing squalor isn’t the only way to maintain order. If squalor is unavoidable, offset it with other sources of happiness:
- Build Entertainment Buildings: Arenas and amphitheaters boost happiness and reduce unrest.
- Use Temples Strategically: Certain temples offer public order bonuses, which counterbalance the effects of squalor.
- Station Troops: Garrison units provide law and order. Place units with low upkeep in squalor-heavy cities to stabilize them.
5. Upgrade Government Structures
Improved government buildings, such as governors’ villas and palaces, offer both increased public order and sanitation bonuses. They also increase the law level of your city, which can help mitigate the effects of squalor indirectly by increasing order and reducing corruption.
Advanced Tactics for Dealing with Squalor
Use of Governors
Assigning the right governor to a settlement can significantly affect how squalor impacts the city. Look for governors with traits that increase public order, reduce squalor, or improve health. Traits like Hygienist or Publicly Loyal are especially useful.
Also, avoid assigning governors with negative traits such as Drunkard or Corrupt, as they worsen squalor and decrease public satisfaction.
Use of Spies and Assassins
If your enemies are using agents to create unrest in your cities, you may experience increased squalor or unrest that mimics the effects of it. Use your own spies to root out enemy agents and assassins to remove them if necessary.
Revolts as a Reset Option
Though risky, allowing a city to rebel and retaking it can reset population levels and eliminate squalor temporarily. This tactic should only be used if all else fails and you have a strong enough army to retake the city quickly without further damage.
Example: Managing Squalor in Rome
Case Study: Huge City With Squalor Problems
Imagine managing a city with a population of 30,000 and minimal happiness. Here’s how to bring the city under control:
- Immediately build or upgrade public baths.
- Raise taxes to reduce growth while increasing income.
- Build an amphitheater and a temple for additional happiness.
- Assign a governor with public order traits.
- Station two units of town watch or other cheap garrison units.
- Refrain from building farms and health buildings.
By following these steps, the public order will stabilize, and the city will stop teetering on the edge of rebellion. Over time, the population growth slows, squalor reduces, and the city becomes a productive part of your empire again.
Summary of Best Practices
- Build and upgrade sanitation buildings as early as possible.
- Control population growth through taxes and building choices.
- Balance happiness with law and military presence to offset squalor.
- Use governors with positive traits to maintain order.
- Consider redistributing your population through migration or conquest.
Reducing squalor in Rome: Total War requires a proactive approach that balances construction, population control, and strategic city management. As your empire grows, so will the challenges, and cities can quickly become hotbeds of unrest if squalor is ignored. With the right buildings, tax policies, and governors in place, you can maintain high public order and keep your cities thriving. Mastering squalor control not only stabilizes your economy but also helps prevent rebellion, allowing you to focus on conquest and expansion without worrying about losing your core settlements from within.