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Rome's first and – to many – greatest emperor is a powerful leader in Civilization 7, bringing his empire-building expertise to bear in your service.
His Unique Ability, Imperium Maius, adds Production to your Capital for every Town you have in your empire. In addition, it makes purchasing buildings with Gold cheaper and allows you to buy Culture buildings in Towns, which are usually reserved for Cities.
Naturally, this makes Augustus a potent option for strongly centralized empires, allowing you to focus your resources on just a couple of full-fledged Cities while still generating lots of Culture.
Best Civs for Augustus in Civilization 7
Antiquity Age
In the Antiquity Age, Augustus is fantastic at achieving milestones on the Military, Culture, and – a bit less so – Economy Legacy Paths.
The Military Legacy Path requires you to expand your empire as much as possible, peacefully or through war. Since Augustus wants as many Towns as possible to support the core of his realm, rapid expansion synergizes well with him.
The Culture Legacy Path wants you to build Wonders. Though Augustus doesn't have bonuses that relate to Wonders specifically, the Production bonuses he provides for the Capital are great at facilitating a substantial building program.
The Economy Legacy Path needs you to slot as many resources into your settlements as you can. This is harder to do with Towns than Cities, as they have fewer resource slots, but with the expansion you want to undertake as Augustus, the sheer number of Towns in your empire may well make this feasible — especially if you can find some Camels, which expand a City's Resource Capacity.
Naturally, Rome is a fantastic fit for Augustus. Its Civics boost the effectiveness of Towns and provide additional bonuses to the Capital based on the number of Towns in your empire. You'll benefit from an increased Settlement Limit and a powerful military, fueling expansion, as well.
Alternatively, Augustus can do great things with Aksum (immense Gold and Culture production), Egypt (Wonder production on steroids), Mississippians (massive expansion and growth for good versatility), and Persia (huge potential for expansion and Gold production).
Exploration Age
Augustus has pretty good chances at snagging points in all Legacy Paths in the Exploration Age.
The Military and Economy Legacy Paths both require expansion into the Distant Lands, which is just fine for Augustus — the more Towns, the better.
The Culture Legacy Path is quite doable as well, since Augustus will easily be able to research the necessary Civics and then pump out Missionaries to convert settlements to his religion.
The Science Legacy Path is a little more difficult, but with Augustus' Cities receiving resources from many Towns their growth should be able to support the necessary Specialists.
Spain is an excellent choice for Augustus in the Exploration Age, continuing the expansion theme from Antiquity. Fueled by his strong Capital production and Culture gain, Spain can quickly get its colonial machine up and running, taking territory in the Distant Lands and sending back Treasure Fleets, which further fuel infrastructure purchases thanks to the Gold they provide.
Alternatively, Augustus thrives when picking Chola India (Gold and Happiness abound), Hawai'i (great expansion and growth), Mongolia (holy mother of expansion), Normans (more expansion), and Shawnee (potent Town benefits).
Modern Age
Things get a little fuzzy here, as the best possible pick really comes down to your position, but in general Augustus should be well-positioned to go for the Military, Culture, or Economy Victory.
At this point, you have quite a large empire with immense production and purchasing power — and this will fuel your armies as you set out for world domination. The French Empire, Prussia, and Mexico are excellent civilization choices if you're pursuing this victory type.
You'll easily be able to research the Civics needed for the Culture Victory and then produce or buy Explorers to dig up Artifacts with the kind of empire you should have at this point. With the French Empire, this should be all the much easier.
Likewise, the massive expansion from previous Ages should enable you to build Rail Stations and Factories en masse, making your empire a manufacturing powerhouse. Both America and Prussia lend themselves well to this victory type.
The Science Victory is least suited for Augustus under normal circumstances.
Historical Route
For the best "historical" role-playing experience, we recommend picking the following civs for Augustus:
- Antiquity Age: Rome
- Exploration Age: Spain or Norman
- Modern Age: French Empire
Rome is self-explanatory. Both Spain and the Normans have been influenced by Roman culture, so they are natural successors in the context of the game. In the Modern Age, we have several candidates — but the French Empire fits best. Here we have a republic that was taken over and transformed into an empire by its most celebrated soldier and there can hardly be anything more Roman than that.
Best Mementos for Augustus in Civilization 7
In general, equipping a leader with their "signature" mementos – that's the ones you unlock by leveling those leaders up – is a good idea, as they provide the best synergy. Choosing any two of Augustus' four mementos will serve you well.
- Corpus Juris Civilis (extra Social Policy Slot)
- Corona Civica (+1 Settlement Limit per Age, +50% Convert to City cost)
- Breastplate (+2 Food per Age in Towns)
- Clipeus Virtutis (+1 Production in Capital for each Town)
With Augustus' high Culture production, you'll be able to unlock new Social Policies with ease, so that additional slot from Corpus Juris Civilis comes in very handy, boosting your empire right from the start. Corona Civica helps you expand without hitting the Settlement Limit and incurring penalties, while Breastplate and Clipeus Virtutis further improve the value of your many Towns.
We have some other picks to spice things up, however.
- Garuda Statue (+1 Population for your smallest settlement every Celebration)
- Dong Son Drum (Celebration whenever you declare war on another civilization)
Combining Garuda Statue and Dong Son Drum can be a powerful tool if you're aggressive as Augustus, as their synergy will allow your Towns to grow as you expand.
- Kiem (+1 Science for every Commander level)
- Artilleryman's Gloves (+1 Culture for every Commander level)
This is another very aggressive loadout, which is especially good if you play as Rome. Stacking up those Commander levels through constant warfare will provide a persistent boost of Culture and Science income.
Finally, we recommend Uraeus (+10% Culture if you have the most Wonders) if you're playing Augustus as a Wonder hunter, for example by picking Egypt at the start. Getting a 10% Culture modifier for essentially the entirety of the game is quite potent.
Best Attributes for Augustus in Civilization 7
As you unlock Attribute Points throughout the game, you should focus on certain areas to really get the most out of Augustus.
Three key areas stick out from the rest:
- Cultural: More Culture from Towns
- Economic: More Gold from Towns, additional Resource Capacity in Towns
- Expansionist: Faster Settlers, more Population in Towns, better Yields in Towns
Naturally, we're focusing on Town-related buffs for Augustus, which should become accessible in the Exploration Age, if everything goes well. Getting a better production rate for Settlers is an easy early game boost, which will help you spread your influence over the map quickly.
For more insights on the game, read our interview with the Civilization 7 developers.
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