- Romestead olive oil is a high-value trade commodity used primarily for generating Quadrans.
- Harvest olives from trees in the Plains biome or plant your own groves using Olive Seeds.
- Manual Mills are required to process raw olives into Olive Paste through physical labor.
- The Dolium is the final station needed to refine paste and pots into valuable oil.
- Vulcan's Quest must be completed to unlock the necessary Pottery Workshop for container production.
Finding and Harvesting Olives
In the early stages of rebuilding your empire, Romestead olive oil serves as one of the most reliable sources of income. Before you can begin the complex refinement process, you must secure a steady supply of raw olives. These are primarily found in the Plains biome, characterized by open fields and scattered Roman ruins. Olive trees are distinct with their silver-green foliage and small dark fruits.
Video Highlights:
- Identifying wild olive trees in the starting Plains biome.
- Using the flint axe to harvest logs and seeds simultaneously.
- Basic base building near ghostly NPCs for protection.
- Managing character skills like woodcutting to increase yield.
While you can forage for wild olives, efficiency dictates that you establish a local grove within your town's influence. Chopping down an olive tree provides wood and a chance to drop Olive Seeds. Planting these seeds near your settlement allows for a sustainable harvest, though they take several in-game days to reach maturity.
| Resource Type | Primary Location | Harvest Tool | Respawn Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Olives | Plains Biome | Hand Pick | Fast |
| Olive Seeds | Tree Felling | Flint Axe | Random |
| Olive Logs | Olive Trees | Flint Axe | N/A |
| Wild Wheat | Forest Edge | Hand Pick | Medium |
Do not donate all your early olives to Ceres. While it levels up your favor, the economic return of converting them into oil is significantly higher for long-term progression.
Unlocking the Pottery Workshop
Producing Romestead olive oil requires containers, specifically small pots. These cannot be crafted at a basic workbench; you must first appease the god Vulcan. This involves the Sanguis Celeste quest, which serves as a mid-game gatekeeper for advanced industrialization. You will need to locate a specific dungeon marked on your map to retrieve Crystalized Blood.
Locate the Dungeon
Search your map for the Ancient Prison or Subterranean Lake POI. These are often guarded by undead legionnaires and spawners that require a shield and spear (hasta) to clear effectively.
Retrieve Crystalized Blood
Fight through the dungeon to find the central chest or boss room. The Crystalized Blood is a rare drop found within these high-tier loot containers.
Make the Offering
Return to your town's Altar and offer the blood to Vulcan. This unlocks the blueprint for the Pottery Workshop in your build menu.
Construct the Workshop
Build the station using lumber, stone, and clay. Assign a citizen with high crafting stats to ensure the kiln remains active and efficient.
| Quest Name | Required Item | Target Deity | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanguis Celeste | Crystalized Blood | Vulcan | Pottery Workshop |
| The Giant Owl | Owl Eye | Minerva | Level 2 Recipes |
| Nature's Bounty | Rare Mushrooms | Ceres | Farming Buffs |
Ensure your assigned potter is well-fed. A hungry or depressed citizen, like Cloelia found in the mines, will work significantly slower, leading to a bottleneck in your oil production line.
The Refining Process: Paste to Oil
The journey to high-quality Romestead olive oil involves two distinct processing phases. First, the olives must be mechanically crushed. This requires a Manual Mill, a structure you can build early at your workbench using four stones. Unlike other stations, the Manual Mill requires the player or a citizen to physically run into the spokes to rotate the grinding stone.
Manual Mill
- Input: 10x Olives
- Output: 1x Olive Paste
- Requirement: Physical rotation
Pottery Kiln
- Input: 2x Clay, 1x Fuel
- Output: 1x Small Pot
- Requirement: Constant heat
The Dolium
- Input: Paste + Pot
- Output: Olive Oil
- Requirement: Passive time
Once you have gathered Olive Paste and Small Pots, you must construct the Olive Oil Dolium. This large ceramic vessel acts as a fermentation and settling tank. By combining the ingredients inside the Dolium, the mixture will slowly refine over time into the final product.
| Intermediate Item | Ingredients | Processing Station | Efficiency Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Paste | 10 Olives | Manual Mill | Use high-stamina workers |
| Small Pot | 2 Clay | Pottery Workshop | Keep kiln fueled with logs |
| Empty Jar | 1 Glass | Glassblower | Late-game alternative |
Place your Manual Mill and Dolium near your olive groves. Minimizing the travel distance for your citizens will greatly improve the speed of your automated production loops.
Economic Strategy and Trading
The primary reason to focus on Romestead olive oil is its incredible value at the nomadic trader. While raw olives are nearly worthless, a single jar of refined oil can fetch up to 50 Quadrans. This currency is essential for purchasing rare metals like tin and iron, which are difficult to find in the early biomes.
Maximizing Your Profits:
- Establish a grove of at least 20 olive trees
- Assign a dedicated worker to the Manual Mill
- Stockpile clay from riverbanks for pot production
- Wait for the nomadic trader to visit for best prices
- Upgrade the Dolium to level 2 for faster refinement
Strategic players will use the profits from oil to bypass the grind of early-game mining. Instead of spending hours searching for copper deposits, you can simply sell a batch of ten oils to buy enough ore for a full set of bronze gear. This "Oil Meta" is currently the fastest way to progress into the Forest and Desert biomes.
| Item | Sell Price (Quadrans) | Complexity | Profit Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw Olives | 1 | Very Low | Minimal |
| Olive Paste | 5 | Low | Low |
| Olive Oil | 50 | High | Very High |
| Cooked Meat | 8 | Medium | Moderate |
Reaching a production rate of 5 oils per day will allow you to fully fund your town's defense budget, including the purchase of catapult ammunition and high-tier wall repairs.
Advanced Tips and FAQ
To truly master Romestead olive oil production, you must account for the seasonal changes and citizen traits. Some citizens possess the Lignator or Crafting favors, which can reduce the resource cost of building your infrastructure. Additionally, protecting your Doliums during night raids is critical, as undead enemies often target industrial buildings to cripple your economy.
| Production Factor | Impact on Yield | Mitigation Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen Depression | -25% Speed | Build decorative plants/lights |
| Night Raids | Building Damage | Construct stone walls and gates |
| Tool Quality | Faster Harvesting | Upgrade to Bronze/Iron Axes |
| Biome Bonus | Growth Speed | Only plant in Plains or Forest |
Always keep a small surplus of oil in your personal storage. Some high-level god quests require oil as a sacrifice to unlock endgame magical scrolls and teleportation nodes.
Q: Where is the best place to farm olives in Romestead?
The Plains biome is the natural home of olive trees. For the best results, harvest seeds and create a concentrated grove inside your town walls to keep workers safe.
Q: Why can't I build the Olive Oil Dolium yet?
The Dolium is unlocked through progression. You must interact with the Altar and complete initial quests for the gods, specifically those relating to town infrastructure and resource processing.
Q: How do I get the pots needed for Romestead olive oil?
You must build a Pottery Workshop. This requires clay (found near water) and fuel. The blueprint is unlocked after completing Vulcan's quest to retrieve Crystalized Blood from a dungeon.
Q: Is it better to sell olives or make oil?
Making oil is significantly better. Raw olives sell for 1 Quadran, while Olive Oil sells for 50. The processing steps are worth the time for the 50x increase in value.