Trade Office
Lets each merchant carry more, so the same Marketplace moves more resources per trip.
Build times at x1 with a level 1 Main Building, which takes 100% of the base time. Click a row to start a range and another to end it.
| Level | Lumber | Clay | Iron | Crop | Total | Pop. | CP | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,400 | 1,330 | 1,200 | 400 | 4,330 | 3 | 4 | 0:50:00 |
| 2 | 1,790 | 1,700 | 1,535 | 510 | 5,535 | 2 | 4 | 1:03:00 |
| 3 | 2,295 | 2,180 | 1,965 | 655 | 7,095 | 2 | 5 | 1:18:00 |
| 4 | 2,935 | 2,790 | 2,515 | 840 | 9,080 | 2 | 6 | 1:35:30 |
| 5 | 3,760 | 3,570 | 3,220 | 1,075 | 11,625 | 2 | 7 | 1:55:50 |
| 6 | 4,810 | 4,570 | 4,125 | 1,375 | 14,880 | 2 | 9 | 2:19:20 |
| 7 | 6,155 | 5,850 | 5,280 | 1,760 | 19,045 | 2 | 11 | 2:46:40 |
| 8 | 7,880 | 7,485 | 6,755 | 2,250 | 24,370 | 2 | 13 | 3:18:20 |
| 9 | 10,090 | 9,585 | 8,645 | 2,880 | 31,200 | 2 | 15 | 3:55:10 |
| 10 | 12,915 | 12,265 | 11,070 | 3,690 | 39,940 | 2 | 19 | 4:37:40 |
| 11 | 16,530 | 15,700 | 14,165 | 4,720 | 51,115 | 3 | 22 | 5:27:10 |
| 12 | 21,155 | 20,100 | 18,135 | 6,045 | 65,435 | 3 | 27 | 6:24:30 |
| 13 | 27,080 | 25,725 | 23,210 | 7,735 | 83,750 | 3 | 32 | 7:31:00 |
| 14 | 34,660 | 32,930 | 29,710 | 9,905 | 107,205 | 3 | 39 | 8:48:10 |
| 15 | 44,370 | 42,150 | 38,030 | 12,675 | 137,225 | 3 | 46 | 10:17:40 |
| 16 | 56,790 | 53,950 | 48,680 | 16,225 | 175,645 | 3 | 55 | 12:01:30 |
| 17 | 72,690 | 69,060 | 62,310 | 20,770 | 224,830 | 3 | 67 | 14:02:00 |
| 18 | 93,045 | 88,395 | 79,755 | 26,585 | 287,780 | 3 | 80 | 16:21:40 |
| 19 | 119,100 | 113,145 | 102,085 | 34,030 | 368,360 | 3 | 96 | 19:03:50 |
| 20 | 152,445 | 144,825 | 130,670 | 43,555 | 471,495 | 3 | 115 | 22:11:50 |
| All | 691,895 | 657,305 | 593,060 | 197,680 | 2,139,940 | +51 | +115 | 145:48:50 |
Levels 1 to 20 cost 2,139,940 resources and take 145:48:50 at x1, adding 51 population and 115 culture points a day.
Increases merchant carrying capacity. The Trade Office improves capacity only; it does not increase merchant speed.
- The increase is a fixed per-level capacity effect rather than compounding from the previous Trade Office level.
- Every level adds 20% of a merchant's base carrying capacity - except for the Romans, who get 40%, twice what anybody else gets from the same building. It is a share of the base rather than of the running total, so the tenth level adds exactly what the first did.
- That makes the Trade Office a Roman building in a way it is not for other tribes: twenty levels take a Roman merchant from 500 to 4,500 on a 1x world, where the same twenty levels take a Gaul from 750 to 3,750. The Romans start with the smallest load in the game and finish with the largest.
- Because every level gives the same percentage increment while upgrade costs rise, resource efficiency declines at higher levels.
- Levels around 5 and 10 are useful practical breakpoints when logistics justify them.
Strategy. Build further only when merchant throughput is actually constraining the account.
A Gauls merchant starts at 750 resources and 24 fields an hour on a 1x world. Here that is 750 each at 24 fields an hour.
| Marketplace | Merchants | Each carries | All together | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 750 | 750 | 24 |
| 2 | 2 | 750 | 1,500 | 24 |
| 3 | 3 | 750 | 2,250 | 24 |
| 4 | 4 | 750 | 3,000 | 24 |
| 5 | 5 | 750 | 3,750 | 24 |
| 6 | 6 | 750 | 4,500 | 24 |
| 7 | 7 | 750 | 5,250 | 24 |
| 8 | 8 | 750 | 6,000 | 24 |
| 9 | 9 | 750 | 6,750 | 24 |
| 10 | 10 | 750 | 7,500 | 24 |
| 11 | 11 | 750 | 8,250 | 24 |
| 12 | 12 | 750 | 9,000 | 24 |
| 13 | 13 | 750 | 9,750 | 24 |
| 14 | 14 | 750 | 10,500 | 24 |
| 15 | 15 | 750 | 11,250 | 24 |
| 16 | 16 | 750 | 12,000 | 24 |
| 17 | 17 | 750 | 12,750 | 24 |
| 18 | 18 | 750 | 13,500 | 24 |
| 19 | 19 | 750 | 14,250 | 24 |
| 20 | 20 | 750 | 15,000 | 24 |
A Trade Office level adds 20% of the base capacity, so every level adds the same amount rather than compounding. Alliance Commerce multiplies on top of that, and it is a five-level alliance bonus rather than a figure you pick. It is the one bonus that also makes a merchant travel faster, by the same percentage - the Trade Office does not. Figures follow the world speed set for the site.
Verified against T4.6 · checked 2026-08-31 · build times follow kirilloid's model