Ascension is the mechanics of upgrading a building to a higher tier.
Ascension rights
There are four tiers of residences; Pioneer residences, Vassal residences, Merchant residences and Imperial residences. The basics for ascension is that for every 10 residences of a certain tier, 5 can be ascended to the next tier.
Each tier stands alone, meaning that the ascension of Merchants stands on Vassal residences alone. The number of Pioneer residences has no bearing on the number of Merchant residences you can have other than indirectly since they control the number of Vassal residences available.
Vassal ascension
For every 10 Pioneer residences you have, 5 can be ascended to Vassal residences. Another way to look at it is to take the total number of Pioneer and Vassal residences you have, and for every interval of 10, half of them can be ascended.
 → 
|
 # of Pioneer residences
|
 # of Vassal residences
|
|---|---|---|
 x 10 - 19
|
Pioneer residences x 5-9
|
Vassal residences x 5
|
| x 20 - 29
|
Pioneer residences x 10 - 19
|
Vassal residences x 10
|
| x 1,000
|
Pioneer residences x 500
|
Vassal residences x 500
|
Merchant ascension
Merchants follow the same ratio as Vassals, for every 10 Vassal residences you can ascend 5 to become Merchant residences.
→ 
|
# of Vassal residences
|
 # of Merchant residences
|
|---|---|---|
| x 10 - 19
|
Vassal residences x 5-9
|
Merchant residences x 5
|
| x 20 - 29
|
Vassal residences x 10 - 19
|
Merchant residences x 10
|
| x 500
|
Vassal residences x 250
|
Merchant residences x 250
|
Imperial ascension
Imperials have a different ratio than the other tiers. For every 5 Merchant residences you can upgrade 2 to become Imperial residences, or 4 Imperial residences for every 10 Merchant residences to keep the base the same as for other tiers.
→ 
|
# of Merchant residences
|
 # of Imperial residences
|
|---|---|---|
| x 5 - 9
|
Merchant residences x 3-7
|
Imperial residences x 2
|
| x 10 - 14
|
Merchant residences x x 6 - 10
|
Imperial residences x 4
|
| x 250
|
Merchant residences x 150
|
Imperial residences x 100
|
Rate of which residents move in
When you build a Pioneer residence it won't come full of Pioneers, they'll slowly move into their new homes. Similarly, when you upgrade a Pioneer residence into a Vassal residence, it'll take time for the new Vassals to move in. The same goes for any of the tiers.
In short one new resident per residence will move in at set intervals. The length of that intervals is set based on the type of residence your people are moving into, see the table below:
 Type of residence
|
 Intervals
|
 Residents
|
Time to fill up [1]
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer residence
|
1 minute | 8 Pioneers
|
7 minutes |
| Vassal residence
|
17 minutes | 15 Vassals
|
1 hour and 42 minutes |
| Merchant residence
|
24 minutes | 25 Merchants
|
3 hours and 36 minutes |
| Imperial residence
|
32 minutes | 40 Imperials
|
7 hours and 28 minutes |
- ↑ This is the time it takes from a newly built or ascended residence to have all its residences moved in.
Reaching ascension
As your population grows and you get more and more residents of a certain type, their needs will increase, be refined. Once a residence has reached full potential, all their needs refined and met, they will be ready for ascension.
Required services for moving in
While it is possible to deprive your population of so many things that they refuse to move in, it is usually all about their need for community, services, faith and entertainment.
Some buildings are only required to make residents move in and ascend, but not to simply let them live there in peace. As such, a valid strategy is to remove unnecessary buildings once your residents have moved in. This will of course require you to make sure you ascend all the necessary residences before removing the extra buildings.
For more detailed information, see needs.
| Buildings / Residents | Community
|
 Services
|
 Faith
|
 Entertainment
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [1]
|
Pioneers | 
|
|
|
|
| [2]
|
Vassals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Merchants |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Imperials |
|
|
|
|
- ↑ Once your Pioneer residents have moved in, they will no longer need the carpenter's workshop or the chapel to remain happy. So if you've upgraded all the Pioneer residences you needed to get your desired number of Vassals, they can be removed.
- ↑ Once your Vassal residents have moved in, they will no longer need the tavern or the fire station to remain happy. So if you've upgraded all the Vassal residences you needed to get your desired number of Merchants, they can be removed.
Fullfill all their needs
In order to ascend, all the needs of a residence has to be filled before they can ascend. This includes all goods and buildings listed in food, drinks, clothing, community, services, faith and entertainment.
There is one exception. Once you get enough Vassals to unlock the fire station, it will show up under services for Pioneers, without actually being a requirement.
See needs for more details on the needs of residents.
Other buildings
There are many other buildings with tiers too, like harbourmaster's office (adds a pier slot), distribution houses (adds a cart), the treasury (increases the coin limit), lighthouse, piers (additional slots) etc. Unlike residential buildings, these buildings can be upgraded as you pass certain thresholds in your population (like 1,500 Vassals or 500 Merchants).
See the timeline for more details on when certain buildings become available to you.