2021 Western Roman Empire Survival Guide

I initially go down a different route in terms of military and administrative imperial policy (Be advised, I have tried this method 4 times and every time it has been a success). To me, saving the Western Roman Empire comes down to having the proper mindset, by that I mean adopting an aggressive defensive policy in terms of military warfare and an economic/infrastructural reinvestment plan.

Place your governors in Italy since it is the most stable region (in terms of religious dominance) which usually leads to overall security and allows for you to invest in the region's economy , the rest of the governors should be placed in places like Corsica or Sardinia, because of their geographical isolation from other territories. Speaking of territories, please avoid taking any military or administrative actions in Britannia, since the region does not have many valuable resources, and you are always surrounded on multiple fronts (militarily), not to mention the appalling state of public order and the religious differences in the region. To the North there are the at least 2 Celtic factions that will march down as soon as they become battle-ready.

To the South and East, the Franks and Saxons will sail to your shores, even if their troops aren't as well disciplined as your Legio and Comitetanses, you will also suffer from rebellions. There are also more Celtic incursions on your Western shores, that is why I leave Britannia to its fate (ignore it and temporarily refrain from taking any action in the region).

I move my armies into the most dangerous parts of my frontier, the Balkans and Eastern Gaul. There are usually 2 of my armies in Illyria, 1 in central Gaul, 1 in the North East of Gaul, 1 small force in Spain to deal with rebellions, and finally 1 in North Africa for crushing rebels and defending cities against the desert factions.

Most Importantly, I recommend for players to create buffer zones as I did in Northern Gaul. Offer the territories right on the shores of Northern Gaul to the (horde factions because you can always get cheap mercenaries from them) vandals or Goths, since they will also convert to Christianity when they settle there. They will, unknowingly make the inevitable rush of barbaric factions from Britannia into Gaul a lot more difficult.

"With war, you TAKE your wealth but with trade, you MAKE your wealth."

If you are looking to increase your Imperial revenue, please don't dump the majority of your financial income into your military at the beginning of the game, it will cripple your economy and force you onto the offensive which you can ill-afford (because after defending your borders from your enemies, you have to march inland and suppress rebellions).

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T GO BANKRUPT ON A TEMPORARY MILITARY BUDGET, you already have a massive EMPIRE you don't need more territories, you just have to introduce reform and security to your crumbling empire and it will flourish. The aim in your campaign is the conservation of your struggling empire, not constant expansion (eventually yes but not at the beginning).

AND DON'T EVER ABANDON SETTLEMENTS, if you don't want to deal with that particular area, just ignore it and destroy any buildings that have costs (financial costs or food costs) in it.

Consolidate your Hold on every Province...

Make sure to always have farms and industries in at least 2 cities in every province (every province is usually 3 cities). I can't stress enough how important having industries are, build many industrial buildings or buildings that increase your revenue in general that provide you with profits regardless of its public order penalty (this is at the beginning of the game), the first step is to increase your financial income in every corner of your empire. You can later on build aquaducts or latrines in regions that are more stable, and focus on building sheep farms (anywhere in your empire) and wheat fields in regions that have (good) fertility. Always look to increase trade with your neighbours, it provides you with more money every turn through tariffs.

Always keep an eye (later in the game) for sanitation and religious differences, when you have money, spend it on infrastructure (aquaducts/latrines and trading ports), churches, and expanding cities (always expand the cities on your borders, they give you a larger garrison and more income).

You should look to building more garrisons in your border settlements, that way you will be able to defend or hinder enemy forces as they attempt a siege. I always build 1 guard house in every province in the eastern parts of my empire, and they have worked very well. They give you the manpower needed to defend against large armies or give you enough time to reinforce the settlement with a larger army. If you get an enemy on the back-foot meaning, when you crush the majority of their forces leaving you with an open path to attack their closest settlement to your border, take the chance to attack it and then raze it, it will deter the AI from conquering it or approaching you from that direction.

Attempt to loosely follow these factors, and I promise you, in the year 405 AD, you will have 6 large armies, a prosperous economy providing you with 35000 denars every turn, and an empire that is mostly intact (if you ignore Britannia and Northern Gaul).