Guide
Building upgrades
Raise a production or service building to level 2 and 3: it makes more, reaches further and wears its level on a placard in the style of its age.
Raising a level
Tap a finished building with Inspect and choose Upgrade to level 2. You pay the price up front; the work then takes a while, shown by the same bar as construction. Meanwhile the building keeps working at its current level, so nothing you rely on stops. When the work is done it climbs a level, and you can raise it again, up to level 3.
If you can't afford it yet, the button says exactly what's missing (Needs 12 more stone). The work only goes on while a road reaches the building and it isn't in ruins; you can still buy the upgrade, and the work waits for the road.
What a level is worth
Each level multiplies the building's own numbers. A level costs more than placing a second building, but needs no new land, site or road, and its workers each produce more. A service building's reach grows with its level, and so does the reach of a building's beauty (the Stadium and Biodome cheer up their neighbours); a smoky building's pollution never spreads further.
| Level | Price | Output | Workers | Reach | Upkeep | Work takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | The building as placed | ×1 | ×1 | — | ×1 | — |
| Level 2 | ×1.5 its building cost | ×1.75 | ×1.5 | +1 tile | ×1.5 | As long as building it |
| Level 3 | ×2.5 its building cost | ×2.6 | ×2 | +2 tiles | ×2 | ×1.5 as long |
Levels you can see
From level 2, an upgraded building wears its level on its front, made as the age it belongs to would make it: a wooden plank with carved tally notches in the Stone Age, a stone plaque with Roman numerals in the Bronze and Classical Ages, a painted sign on iron hooks in the Medieval Age and the Renaissance (where Arabic numerals arrive), an enamel house-number plate in the Industrial and Modern Ages, and a dark plate with glowing digits in The Beyond. Houses wear the same placards for their own, service-driven level.
Which buildings can be upgraded
36 buildings can be upgraded: every food, industry, knowledge and service building. Houses grow through their needs instead, and the Town Center, decor and wonders stay as they are.
Stone Age
Bronze Age
Classical Age
Medieval Age
Renaissance
Industrial Age
Modern Age
The Beyond
Taking it back
Right after you pay, Undo can take an upgrade back. Demolishing an upgraded building returns a share of everything you put into it, and most of the price of an upgrade still under way.
Keep reading
GuideGrowing homesThe house-growth ladder: how a home climbs from level 1 to level 11 as services reach it, and how each age raises the ceiling.
GuideConstructionNew buildings start as sites. A progress bar floats over each one, and the work only goes on while a road reaches it.
GuideUndoPlaced something in the wrong spot? For a few seconds after you place, build a road, move or upgrade, Undo takes it back and refunds what it cost.
Stone Age · IndustryWoodcutter's LodgeFells timber from the surrounding forest. The more trees nearby, the faster it works.
Generated from the Erapolis game data, with pictures from the game itself. Numbers are per minute of game time, at Standard difficulty.