Religion in Anno 117 significantly influences how your islands develop and perform. In this Anno 117 Religion Guide, you learn how Patron gods function, what each deity specializes in, and how Belief and Devotion unlock powerful buffs for your settlements. You also receive tips on managing happiness, selecting the right god for your playstyle, and speeding up your progress.
Table of Contents
Anno 117 Religion: Basics
Religion in Anno 117 is more than just world-building. It gives you real control over how your islands feel and operate. The system lets you shape your city’s identity, increase production, and tap into the cultural chaos of the ancient world. Basically, you decide which god supports you.
In the game, you unlock Religion after settling your first Plebeians. Build a sanctuary, and you can select a patron deity for the island. Each island can worship a different god if you want to go full chaos mode.
At the beginning, you only have a small pool of gods available. More unlock as you advance in Anno 117: Pax Romana and discover them through the Discovery Tree. Early on, your three choices are simple:
- Ceres for everything farming
- Neptune for anything tied to the sea
- Mars for military power
Each god in Anno 117 provides unique buffs. Choose the one that enhances what your island already excels at. As devotion increases, these buffs become more powerful. If you want to switch later, you can replace the current shrines with ones dedicated to your new patron.
Choosing the right god is a small decision with a big impact. It sets the tone for your island, enhances the appropriate production chains, and allows you to customize your city to match your playstyle. Perfect for anyone who enjoys tweaking every detail.
Overview of the Different Gods
Choosing a patron god in Anno 117 essentially sets your island’s long-term strategy. Each deity enhances a different aspect of your economy or military, so selecting the right one can turn a slow-growing settlement into a powerful engine. As your population increases, your Devotion rises, making those buffs even stronger. Here is what each god offers to your city and when to utilize them.
Ceres
If your island resembles a farming paradise, Ceres is your best friend. She increases the production of most agricultural goods and grants all residences an extra villager. That means a larger workforce and quicker growth. Choose her if your island focuses on wheat fields, vineyards, and stable food chains.
Neptune
Running a fishing empire or building a fleet? Neptune is your guy. He boosts all Sea-based production and makes new ships cheaper and tankier. Great for islands surrounded by rich waters or when you want a steady fish-based income without babysitting your supply chains.
Mars
Mars transforms your industry in Anno 117 into a war machine. He enhances weapons, armor, iron, coal, and anything related to military supply. Troops trained on his island have higher morale and require less workforce and money. Perfect for players who favor large armies or anticipate early conflict.
Minerva
Unlocked through the Discovery Tree, Minerva is ideal for islands with a heavy focus on textiles. She enhances clothing chains and provides additional Knowledge to all your residences. If you depend on production lines with cloth, flax, togas, or dyes, she will significantly boost your economy.
Mercury Lugus
You discover him through research, and he becomes every trader’s dream. Passive trading becomes more profitable, and each Depot, Trading Pier, and Harbour Warehouse provides a bonus to Prestige. He excels on islands built around shipping, selling, and prestige farming.
Epona
If you focus on farms and livestock, Epona is amazing. She boosts farm animal production and allows production buildings to contribute to your total population. Perfect for rural islands filled with pastures, sheep, pigs, or horses.
Cernunnos
Cernunnos provides you with raw building power. He increases the effectiveness of building materials like wood, reeds, resin, and more. Residences also produce additional Health and Knowledge, making your settlement stronger and more educated over time. He is the ideal choice for early expansion or layouts that require a lot of materials.
Anno 117 Devotion and Belief
Devotion fuels every god’s special effects in Anno 117. Each Patron provides strong buffs, but you only unlock them by building up Devotion over time. Think of Devotion as the trust your people have in their chosen deity. Increase it, and the island becomes stronger. Ignore it, and your god is just a fancy statue.
You increase Devotion by raising Belief, which is the core stat here. Belief grows when your population is happy, their needs are met, and your religious buildings reach enough homes. Over time, Devotion automatically rises until it matches Belief. More Belief results in more Devotion, leading to more buffs. Simple loop. Huge payoff.
How Devotion Works
When you open the Religion menu in Anno 117, you’ll see a progress bar with several markers. Each time your Devotion passes one of these markers, you unlock a new upgrade for your Patron. The effects grow stronger as the bar fills. For example:
- Neptune increases seafood production early on and later provides shipwrights who work more quickly and build stronger vessels.
- Ceres boosts farm yields and enhances the storage of agricultural products.
- Mars improves troop morale and reduces the cost of maintaining your army.
If you ever change your Patron, Devotion for that island drops to zero. The Belief remains unchanged, so Devotion will gradually recover, but you lose all unlocked effects until it does. Switching gods is possible but expensive, so plan accordingly.
Local vs Global Effects
There are two kinds of Patron power:
- Local effects boost the island where that Patron is assigned.
- Global effects kick in once a Patron becomes your dominant god, meaning they have the highest combined Devotion across all your islands.
This system encourages you to specialize. Perhaps Neptune rules your fishing islands while Mars controls your war provinces. Once a Patron becomes dominant, every island benefits from the global buff. Neptune’s global effect, for instance, increases ship speed on the world map.
How to Raise Belief
Belief is truly what matters in Anno 117. Devotion just follows from it. You strengthen Belief by making your citizens’ lives good enough that they trust the gods again. That means:
- Meeting their needs: Click on a house to see what they require. Food, clothing, luxury goods. If something is missing, their Belief drops.
- Building religious structures: Sanctuaries and Shrines from Plebeians, Fanum from Mercators. Place them among houses so they cover as many residents as possible.
- Enhancing your City Status: Governor Concordia prefers religious allies. Find her early and maintain her support to increase Belief and stability.
You can check Belief anytime from the top bar or through the Religion tab. After switching Patron gods, Belief remains high but Devotion resets, so there will be a delay before your buffs come back online. Keep everyone happy during that time so Devotion rises quickly.
Keep Your People Happy
Belief collapses if your people are unhappy. Always make sure:
- No neighborhood is missing essential goods.
- Dirty or loud buildings aren’t placed next to homes.
- You maintain high Health, Happiness, and City Status.
When your city thrives, your Belief rises. And when Belief rises, Devotion follows, and your god goes into overdrive.
Power Up Your Religion Game With PLITCH!
If you want to increase your island’s faith without waiting for slow population growth or difficult resource chains, the PLITCH Anno 117 trainer gives you a real advantage.
With “All needs fulfilled”, you immediately eliminate the biggest Belief blocker. Your citizens remain happy, their Belief soars, and Devotion increases to match it. This allows you to unlock Patron buffs much earlier and makes switching gods far less punishing.
If your temples or shrines need resources to keep things running smoothly, the harbor tools are perfect. Min 50 percent of all resources, Max all resources, or Max available resources keep your storage full so you never stall a production chain tied to your religion buildings. No more waiting for a slow farm or a delayed fishing boat.
You can also control your economy and research speed using Add Credits, Sub Credits, and Set research multiplier. This enables you to quickly progress the Discovery Tree to unlock advanced deities like Minerva or Mercury Lugus much earlier in your game.
Head over to this blog and our YouTube channel to learn more about PLITCH.
Happy Gaming!
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