Town Center (Age of Empires II)

"Used to create villagers, deposit resources (food, wood, stone, gold), advance to next age, and improve buildings, villagers. Units can garrison inside for protection."

- Age of Empires II description

The Town Center is an economic building in Age of Empires II that becomes available once the Castle Age is reached. As it trains and improves Villagers, advances through Ages, and serves as a drop off point for all resources, it is the most important of all buildings. Town Centers also provide five population.

In regular random map games every player starts the game with a Town Center. Until the Castle Age is reached, no more Town Centers can be built unless the only Town Center is destroyed, in which case the player may build one new Town Center. If the player has no starting Town Center (e.g. in Nomad), one Town Center can be built (and rebuild if destroyed) before the Castle Age.

Up to 15 Villagers can garrison in Town Centers for shelter from attacks. By doing so, they give the Town Center an attack (arrow fire). This way, players can survive and fend off early attacks. Archers can also garrison in Town Centers to give it an attack.

Town Centers cannot be converted.

Tactics and placement
The Town Center is the most important building in the game, it is the nucleus of every players settlements and the only way to produce Villagers that are the backbone of every player's empire.

Once the Castle Age is reached, building more Town Centers is critical as it allows the player to increase Villager production and with it the entire economy. Town Centers should be built close to freely available resources, preferably gold or stone, because Miners are often target of aimed attacks.

Losing Town Centers in the Castle and Imperial Age will often hinder the economy of the player, so they are often target of attacks.

There is a game mode called Sudden Death in which the players are limited to their starting Town Center. If the player loses it they are automatically defeated, so when playing Sudden Death, players must defend their Town Center at all cost.

Town Center rush
The Town Center rush is a tactic that was very popular in the earliest times of Age of Empires II, before The Conquerors made it nearly unviable due to balance changes. It revolves itself around deleting the own Town Center at the game start and rebuilding it close to the enemy's. That way, it could function as a tower and drastically hamper the targeted player's economy early on. To successfully employ that tactic, the Teutons were the only civilization in question, because their Town Centers got +5 range and +2 attack. With that bonus, the Town Center could be placed so that it could attack the enemy's without being in range to be attacked itself. That led to many hosts adding 'No Teutons' in the lobby description, and kicking players choosing the Teutons. That was very unfortunate for those favoring the Teutons for other of their qualities. Persian players can still employ this tactic, as their Town Centers have double hit points, but at the risk of losing Villagers in the process.

Repairing
Repairing a Town Center doesn't cost any stone but twice the wood building a new one requires. So repairing an almost destroyed Town Center costs almost 550 wood compared to 275 wood and 100 stone for building a new one. That's very different from usual repairing costs which are simply half the building costs.

Civilization bonuses

 * Britons: Town Centers cost -50% wood from the Castle Age on.
 * Byzantines: Town Centers have +10%/+20%/+30%/+40% HP in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Town Watch is free.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Town Centers are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Town Center technologies (except Age advance) are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Town Centers support 10 population and have +5 Line of Sight.
 * Incas: Town Centers cost 15% less stone.
 * Malians: Town Centers cost 15% less wood.
 * Persians: Town Centers have +100% HP and work 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
 * Spanish: Town Centers are built 30% faster.
 * Teutons: Town Centers can garrison 25 units.

Team bonuses

 * A team containing Malians: University technologies that benefit Town Centers are researched 80% faster.

The Age of Kings

 * Teutons: Town Centers have +2 attack and +5 range.

The Conquerors

 * Teutons: Town Centers now have +2 attack and +5 Line of Sight.

The Forgotten

 * Town Centers now benefit from Chemistry.
 * Chinese: Town Centers now have +5 LOS (moved from Teutons).


 * Teutons: Town Centers now can garrison 25 units instead of having +2 attack and +5 LOS.

The African Kingdoms

 * Camels are moved out of the ship armor class, and the Town Centers lose their attack bonus against them. They now have +1 attack against them.

History
''All villages and towns had an administrative center that was the seat of governmental power and leadership. During the Dark Ages this might have been the local leader's home. Later it might have been the town hall or local lord's manor house. The town center was often the place where important supplies were stored, especially food surpluses. The destruction of the town center usually meant the loss of the town's governmental infrastructure. If this could not be restored, the town or village ceased to function.''