Wealth

In Rome II income and expenditure are often finely balanced, with players having available to spend the relatively small difference between the two. As your empire expands so does its income generation, but so does the upkeep for the units you need to support it and expand it further. What this means is that a small increase in income can make a huge difference to the amount you can spend per turn. If expenditure is 95% of income, and your coffers are kept low as they should be to maximise the use of your wealth, a 1% increase in faction wide income will increase the amount you have to spend each turn by around 20%!

The sources of income in Rome II consist of taxation, trade, a basic 3000 or so (Denarii? Talents? Gold?) kind of “king’s purse”, and a proportion of the income of any client states you have under your wing; there is no longer any diplomacy option to make or demand regular payments rather than lump sums. Lump sums can also come from looting conquered settlements or can be given as rewards for completing objectives; the latter are very significant.

Taxation seems the major source of income in Rome II, accounting when I play for about 90% of total income. It is also the type of income most influenced by province management.