Legion

“We march, we build, we conquer. The roads we lay today will carry our legions for a thousand years.”

The Legion is Rome’s unique unit, replacing the standard Swordsman. More than mere soldiers, Legionaries are trained engineers as well as warriors, capable of constructing roads and other improvements in the field – a dual capability that makes the Legion one of the most versatile units in the game.

Stats

Unique Unit: Rome. Replaces Swordsman.

Abilities

• Melee Attack – Standard melee combat against adjacent units.
• Fortify – Digs in on the current hex for a defensive bonus.
• Build Improvement – Can construct roads and forts, combining military and civilian functions.

Available Promotions

• Combat I – +10% attack (5 XP)
• Combat II – +10% attack (15 XP, requires Combat I)
• Siege – +50% attack vs cities.

Upgrade Path

The Legion replaces the Swordsman and follows its upgrade path.

Full chain: Warrior –> Legion –> Musketman –> Rifleman

Strategy

The Legion’s unique ability to build improvements makes it extraordinarily efficient. Instead of needing separate Workers to follow behind your advancing army and build roads, your Legions can build roads as they march, creating supply lines and rapid-movement corridors in a single operation. This frees up your Workers to focus on improving city tiles while your Legions handle the infrastructure of conquest.

While the Legion’s combat stats are lower than the standard Swordsman (8/6 vs 12/8), its dual-purpose nature more than compensates. Build roads connecting your cities for trade bonuses, then march your road-building Legions towards the enemy, laying infrastructure as you go. When you reach the front, your Legions fight as capable infantry. After conquering a new city, they immediately begin building improvements in the surrounding territory. No other unit in the game combines military and economic utility so effectively.

Historical Background

The Roman legionary was the ancient world’s most complete soldier – not merely a warrior, but a builder, engineer, and labourer. Every legionary carried tools alongside weapons: a dolabra (pickaxe), a turf cutter, and wicker baskets for moving earth. Roman armies on the march constructed a fortified camp (castra) every single night, complete with ditches, ramparts, and palisades – a remarkable feat of discipline and engineering that no other ancient army consistently replicated.

The Roman road network, much of it constructed by legionary labour, was one of the empire’s greatest achievements. Over 400,000 kilometres of roads connected every corner of the empire, from Britain to Mesopotamia, enabling the rapid movement of troops, trade, and communications that held the vast domain together. The legionary’s combination of martial prowess and engineering skill was central to Rome’s success: they could march to a frontier, defeat the enemy in battle, build a fortified camp, and then construct the roads and bridges that would secure Roman control of the newly conquered territory.