Anno 1800: How to Upgrade Farmers & Citizen Class

How to Upgrade a Citizen’s Class in Anno 1800

The citizens of any city-state are its most important resource, and the same is true in Anno 1800. Carefully managing your populace, and ensuring they have everything that their little heart’s desire, is crucial to your long-term financial viability. Here’s how to upgrade a citizen’s class in Anno 1800.

But that is something much easier said than done. In addition to having their houses connected to public amenities like markets, pubs, churches and schools, they will also need to have a steady stream of luxury items at their disposal in addition to the basic goods they need for survival.

Just to save on repetition, more advanced classes require everything that came before, in addition to the new amenities that come with unlocking their respective class.

So, when you unlock a Worker, they still need the fish that the Farmer did, in addition to the new industries that have been unlocked with the Worker, in addition.

Let’s take a look at what is required to move up the social ladder in Anno 1800, shall we?

Upgrading Farmers to Workers

Farmers are your initial class of settler, and they are produced by building Farmer’s Houses. They are simple folk and don’t really need a whole lot to prosper. All they need are a steady supply of fish, work clothing, and access to a marketplace.

As for luxuries, it is as simple as providing them with schnapps, and access to a pub.

Providing all of the above will increase the population in each Farmer’s House, and once it reaches the maximum, you can upgrade them to Workers.

Upgrading Workers to Artisans

Workers are going to make up the bulk of your population, as this skilled pool of labor provides most of the raw goods that will be required to build out your city with things like bricks and steel.

In addition to the above, Workers require a steady stream of sausage, bread and soap as basic goods. Their luxuries include access to a church and a supply of beer. It is around this time you will want to consider settling a new island, as chances are if you are producing wheat for bread, then your initial island won’t be able to produce the hops required for beer as well.

Upgrading Artisans to Engineers

Ah, the bourgeoisie! These fancy folk are where things really start to get out of hand, and whole industries are required to keep your new citizens happy.

The payoff, though, is that you will start to see a return on your investment by taxing this class of folks, and it is around this point in the game you will really start to make bank.

In addition to everything that came before, Artisans need access to schools and universities, and a steady supply of canned food, sewing machines and fur coats. Again, chances are you may need to look to other islands or to trade with your competitor, to acquire things like the fur coats you will need.

As for luxury goods, Artisans appreciate access to a theater and casks of rum, which sounds like a pretty great combination to me.

Upgrading Engineers to Investors

At this point in the game, your city is really going to be hitting its stride, and money should no longer really be an issue for you. Keeping up with demand will be, however, and some aggressive expansion may be required.

Representing the intelligentsia of 19th-century society, Engineers need the kind of things academics of a certain standard might come to expect.

On top of everything else, their basic needs are glasses, light bulbs, electricity and coffee. Coffee will have to be obtained in the New World, so if you haven’t dispatched expeditions before, you will have to now.

As for luxuries, Engineers enjoy access to banks, pocket watches and penny-farthing bicycles.

Keeping Investors Happy

And here we are, at the pinnacle of industrial society, the 1%. Investors bring in a staggering amount of money, but as you would imagine keeping them happy is no mean feat. By this point, you are truly in the endgame, and your once fledgling trading port has by now become a mercantile empire.

Investors, snooty fat cats that they are, need champagne, cigars, chocolate and steam carriages as a baseline. In addition, to really keep them happy, they require access to a clubhouse and a steady stream of jewelry and gramophones as their luxuries.

And that’s it, everything you need to know to upgrade your citizenry and dominate society in Anno 1800. If you need some further help, be sure to check out our other Anno 1800 guides like How to Keep Your Citizens Happy or How to Set Up Trade Routes.