DLC REVIEW: ‘Anno 117: Pax Romana – Prophecies Of Ash’ Is A Mixed-Bag But A Good Start

Ubisoft Mainz is bringing chaos and destruction with its first DLC expansion of Season 1, The Prophecies of Ash, for its recent release, Anno 117: Pax Romana. This new downloadable content is all about bringing Pompeii to Anno 117: Pax Romana. We got a chance to speak with the Anno 117 team on why going to Pompeii was always a goal of theirs for the newest addition to the Anno franchise. 

Anno 117: Pax Romana – Prophecies of Ash is the first release for the Anno 1117 Season 1 Pass, and it gives players Cinis – one of the largest islands in the franchise for players to build on -, a new resource (obsidian), a new deity (Vulcan), a new trader, Ceacilia, and of course the activation of the large volcano that sits on Cinis. This DLC will be familiar to players of Anno 1800 and the “Sunken Treasures” DLC that was also part of Season 1 for Anno 1800. 

“Sunken Treasures” of Anno 1800 might be one of my least liked DLCs of Anno 1800. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the new trader or super large island of Crown Falls or anything really particular in terms of content, but that it was a completely different zone despite having everything from the original base game, Old World. This is where Prophecies of Ash really succeeds overall. Instead of making this new, large volcanic island in a completely new zone, they just expanded the original zone of Latium.

The biggest additions to the Anno 117 DLC don’t disappoint. 

The new large island of Cinis and the new trader Ceacilia are found within the Latium zone in Anno 117 and are easily accessible. This allows players to take advantage of the new island without having to keep switching between zones, and adds to the excitement or dread when the volcano does erupt, as it will affect the entire Latium zone and all the islands there. Players just looking at the mini map may not quite tell the difference, but there are a few ways that this is really shown.

The first being the trader locations and map layouts, as, at least for now, the trader locations are mostly static, no matter the seed, and the second being that it takes a while for your boats to move across the map. Realizing my boats took much longer to get around the map was, to me, the biggest way to see this zone expansion. 

Cinis and its resident volcano are by far the biggest additions to this Anno 117 DLC, and for the most part do not disappoint. Players will need to complete the new trader questline to get their volcano to erupt to see how everything works. The volcano mechanics in Prophecies of Ash are unique, forcing players to think and prepare for a variety of outcomes. Tremors will occur across the zone and island, causing damage that will need to be repaired as a starter. 

When the volcano explodes, it rains ash, fire, and the new resource, obsidian, causing damage across every island. Players will be able to pick up the obsidian as it falls, whether on their island or even in the water. Once the eruption is complete, this is where the real challenge happens. For a set amount of time, players will enter a volcanic winter that causes productivity loss across all farms and livestock.

Anno 117: Pax Romana – Prophecies of Ash gives players plenty of options. 

This makes players really think about their stockpile and forces them to better prepare, as the time can be around an hour. If you have stockpiled food or resources from the farms or livestock, they will drain rather quickly. However, things will eventually return to normal and give the zone a nice replenishment boost in productivity for farms and livestock.

One of the things Anno 117 has done very well is give players options. This includes Prophecies of Ash. Players will be able to decide whether they want these replenishment boosts from volcano eruptions to stay permanent and stack or decline over time, only to be restarted when the volcano erupts again.

Players will also get to choose whether they want to just start their empire of Cinis or be forced to settle it later. They can also determine whether other empires can settle the island, or even if players themselves should be charged Denarii or not for settling the island.

While Cinis and its volcano are by far the biggest parts of the Anno 117 DLC, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other elements within Prophecies of Ash. A new limited resource, obsidian, is now available. It can only be obtained via mines, pits, and quarries through passive cycling at 1/t per 20 cycles or picked up during the volcanic eruption. Each island has a limited supply of obsidian, determined by island size. Large islands can hold up to 750/t, while smaller ones hold around 250/t. Once an island runs out, the only way for it to be replenished is through volcanic eruptions.

Players have the expanded options of new resources and a new deity with Vulcan. 

This obsidian is vital not only for some of the new production chains added for Residential needs, but also for the only currency used when trading with the new trader. Ceacilia, as a trader, is not quite as valuable as the other traders or even some of the other Anno DLC traders added in Anno 1800. Ceacilia really only offers fertility specialists, and they come in different productivity ranges. Common only give +50% fertility, whereas Rare gives a full +100% fertility. 

These are especially valuable, as fertility overall can be a real limiting factor in Anno 117: Pax Romana, and with such a larger island, they can allow for more use. However, it is really only fertility, and that can only do so much, especially if you are an experienced player who already knows how to expand and optimize other islands for any missing fertilities.

Anno 117 Residential needs system already allows players to more easily opt out of production chains than in previous games, so adding only fertility could be helpful or, in some cases, fall flat. There may be a specialist that I haven’t encountered yet that blows me away, but so far from my playtime, there hasn’t been anything.

Players will have the option of a new deity, Vulcan, the god of fire. He is different from Mars in that he does more mining and quarry production, boosts weapons production. His shrine provides much-needed fire safety amid the volcano and all the fire in the sky. Players will need to at least try out Vulcan, as it is part of the requirements for the very first volcanic eruption. Deity is a good addition as it fully covers the various mountain resources and should help more so than Mars. 

Prophecies of Ash Season 1 is off to a strong start despite some lingering issues. 

Overall, Anno 117: Pax Romana – Prophecies of Ash is a good start to Season 1, but it remains a mixed bag. There is no content for Albion in this DLC, and outside of the giant island and volcano, there isn’t much to explore. The production chains are pretty simple, and the trader doesn’t seem to offer anything unique, especially compared to Old Nate from “Sunken Treasures.” However, Cinis is a gigantic island with plenty of space for building, and it’s in the “starter” zone of Latium, so you don’t have to constantly ping back and forth.

Additionally, the big event of the DLC, the Pompeii-inspired volcanic eruption, is quite enchanting, especially in terms of how it alters decorations, buildings, and the weather itself. Still, it can be challenging, especially if you aren’t in a good spot when it erupts, but if you can make it through, you’ll be able to build even faster.

While I do think this DLC could end up being much like its predecessor, “Sunken Treasures,” offering a very hit-and-miss experience with players by the time Season 1 wraps up. Prophecies of Ash is a good start to Season 1 and has me excited to check out the rest of Season 1 this year.

Anno 117: Pax Romana – Prophecies of Ash is available for purchase for Stand Alone or part of the Anno 117: Season 1 Pass on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.