To win colony siege battles in Grow Empire: Rome, upgrade your frontline Swordsmen and Spearmen to absorb enemy tower fire, deploy units in a strict counter order, and shield your Battering Ram until it breaches the colony gate. Winning these assaults provides passive tribute income, but pushing forward without adequate troop bulk or gate-clearing siege support will exhaust your assault waves against defensive arrows.
Essential Troop Upgrades for Sieges
Before investing in specialized offensive units, build up base infantry stats at the barracks. Colony defense towers automatically target the closest marching soldiers, making high health and armor critical for crossing open terrain under sustained arrow fire.
- Roman Swordsmen: Serve as primary damage sponges. Their high health and armor ratings allow them to soak up incoming tower projectiles and pin garrison units in place.
- Roman Spearmen: Provide structural stopping power and piercing damage. Although they have lower defensive resilience against ranged fire than heavy infantry, their high burst damage clears out defending units that rush your lines.
- Battering Rams: Focus entirely on structural demolition. Rams cannot defend themselves against enemy soldiers, but leveling your barracks infantry ensures your escort stays alive long enough to keep the engine functional.
Upgrading Swordsmen and Spearmen concurrently gives your vanguard the durability to survive watchtower volleys while maintaining enough damage to break defending garrison lines.
Colony Garrison Unit Counters
Colonies deploy mixed garrisons featuring melee infantry, spearmen, mounted shock troops, and archers stationed behind barricades. Releasing your forces according to their target priorities prevents high-level units from being wiped out by low-tier defenders.
| Unit Type | Primary Target | Primary Colony Role | Main Vulnerability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Swordsmen | Spearmen and light melee | Frontline damage absorption and gate pressure | Heavy cavalry charges |
| Roman Spearmen | Mounted cavalry and shock units | Anti-cavalry defense and frontline support | Clustered ranged archers |
| Roman Cavalry | Archers and skirmishers | Flanking backlines and clearing ranged threats | Wall spearmen and barricades |
| Battering Ram | Fortified colony gates | Heavy gate and wall destruction | Unopposed melee defenders |
Tactical Deployment and Ram Protection
Do not deploy Roman Cavalry as your opening wave. Mounted units advance faster than foot soldiers, pulling tower targeting onto themselves and running directly into defending spearmen. Instead, follow a deliberate deployment order to create a protective pocket around your siege engine:
- Send Swordsmen first: Deploy a wave of Swordsmen to draw watchtower fire and establish the frontline.
- Release Spearmen behind them: Deploy Spearmen immediately afterward to intercept any defending cavalry rushing out of the colony gate.
- Escort the Battering Ram: Release the Battering Ram a few seconds after your frontline engages. The Swordsmen and Spearmen will hold garrison defenders several paces in front of the gate, preventing enemy melee units from attacking the ram.
- Deploy Roman Cavalry on the flanks: Send cavalry forward once enemy archers reveal their positions to clear the ranged backline.
- Fire Boulder Catapults: Direct defensive catapult shots into the cluster of garrison defenders gathered at the gate. Catapult splash damage weakens clustered defenders and clears the path for the ram to land clean hits.
Timing Hero Combat Buffs
Hold your Roman Commander's active abilities until your infantry physically collides with the colony garrison at the gate. Activating speed or damage buffs while marching across the open field wastes limited buff durations on travel time.
Triggering the commander's attack boost at the point of impact speeds up how quickly your frontline cuts through garrison ranks. The increased attack speed applies to both your melee units and the Battering Ram, allowing your forces to tear down the gate's remaining durability and capture the colony before incoming tower volleys wear down your assault waves.
Balancing Expansion with Home Defense
Do not spend all your wave earnings exclusively on colony assault troops. Neglecting your home base leaves your city walls exposed to incoming barbarian waves, and a home defeat halts conquest progress.
Split your gold between expeditionary barracks upgrades and base fortifications:
- Invest wave earnings into home wall hit points, wall archers, and defensive catapults until your city comfortably survives standard enemy waves.
- Funnel surplus gold into barracks troop levels and siege weapons to conquer neighboring territories.
- Collect the passive gold tribute generated by newly conquered colonies to continuously fund higher-tier military and defense upgrades.
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Sarah Williams
Sarah specializes in RPG and collection games, explaining team building, character growth, and beginner-friendly ways to avoid expensive early mistakes.
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Player Comments
42 players commented on this guide.
This saved me time in the early game.
This helped me understand strategy much better.
I wish I had read this before upgrading the wrong thing.
The explanation is clear, especially for beginners.