Fort

The Fort is the strongest defensive building in Age of Empires III, and the player must be in at least the Fortress Age to build them. Age of Empires III is the first game in the installment that allows player to build Forts. The Fort has high defense and provides cannon attacks to any units that come within range. On top of this, the Fort can train Barracks units (Pikemen, Musketeers, Skirmishers*, Crossbomen, Janissaries*, Sepoys*, Cassadors*, Reolderos*, Ghurkas*, Strelets*, Halberdiers* and more) and Stable units (Hussars, Dragoons, Lancers*, Howdahs*, Mahout Lancers*, and more), and Grenadiers, but cannot upgrade units. It is Avalible only to some civilizations.

From this building, there are two technologies that will specifically benefit Forts. If one considers the Blockhouse to be an upgraded Outpost, then the Fort is the next best thing.

It can be upgraded to have further range. With a heavy attack and a large amount of hit points they can take and distribute a lot of punishment. They are mainly used to establishing footholds in regions of a lot of fighting

The Fort can be acquired in two ways. First, the player will be able to send a Fort from their Home City. Like any other cards, it will show up at the Home City shipment point and be represented as a unit. From here the player can chose a spot to build the Fort and build they will build it automatically. Once the Fort is build, it cannot be rebuilt if destroyed; however, the player can repair their standing Fort. Some civilizations do not get any Forts, most get one Fort and the French alone may construct two Forts.

The Revolution option is the only way for the player to create Forts without a limit. After the player revolts from their Home City, they are able to create Fort wagons from their Town Center. A Fort wagon requires 1000 Wood, Food, and Gold to create.

Usage
Forts, whilst having impressive hitpoints and a great range, are expensive to repair and can only take on one target at a time(although there is area of effect damage when they fire), unlike the great Castles of old, which got massive volleys of arrows once loaded with archers. They are most often used as heavy ranged support when a player is committing to a defensive battle, as dedicated siege units (or masses of heavy melee e.g. Pikemen or Halberdiers) will make short work of one if it is left unattended. Also, since it is a special Home City shipment, you can't send for another one if yours is lost, unless you have extra cards (read: Vauban Fortress for the French) that allow you to do so. In order to counter a Fort's, you will need long-ranged ships or heavy artillery, such as Monitors, Great Bombards, etc. to bring it down.

The Fort can train most types of ground units, though this does not include artillery, Settlers or Priests. This ability combined with its attack and high hitpoints makes the Fort a good building to have in as a forward base.

Strategy
In all game modes, a well positioned Fort can totally shift the tide of any war. When deciding where to place the Fort there are many things that the player must consider. For instance, how large are the teams? Where is each player located? Who is the most powerful opponent? And so on. Once a spot have been decided, the player must transport that Fort to the location. In treaty game modes, the player can move the Fort to any spot that they wish and then begin to build the Fort right after the treaty ends. Doing this can be very helpful or extremely harmful. If the spot is indeed a good spot, the player will have a tactical advantage in any nearby battles. However if the Fort is poorly placed, it will not be able to provide unit support, intercept raiding parties or Crete units close enough to be effective in battles taking place throughout the map. At least one villager should accompany the Fort wagon and convoy to the Fort location. Once the Fort is built, the villager can create military buildings such as the barracks behind the Fort. This allows for a larger base to be set up to create more units. In an area of a lot of combat, this will prove to be very helpful. It is important to note that Forts will attract the AI players. Before they go for any settlements, they will more often the not try to eliminate your Fort. Once the villager has built some military buildings, they can be tasked on buildings Outpost Towers. These should be created in a curve with the Fort in the middle (the open end of the curve should face the opposite direction of where the AI attacks. This will allow for any attacking units to be hit by multiple Outpost Towers and reduce the chance that you base is simply flanked by artillery until all your buildings are gone.

Picture to come of base and Barracks set up

Artillery
Artillery can be very useful in destroy buildings. When it comes to Forts, artillery are not needed. A group of 25 Imperial Age infantrymen can handle a Fort if they are not attacked by anything but the Fort. Artillery only works well in large battles with multiple nations fighting and where there are multiple Forts or Barracks that need to be destroyed. When there are only a few buildings it is better to build cavalry and infantry as the main conflict will be unit fighting and not building destruction.

1v1
The best place for a fort in a 1v1 game mode is to place the Fort slightly to the side of the middle passage between the player’s settlement and the opposition’s settlement. This placement will allow the Fort to intercept raids and provide an additional attack in the middle of the battlefield. The main idea is that by placing it on the side, enemy cannon will not all be within range when the Fort attacks, causing the cannon to take more time. This means less cannons are firing on your castle to start, providing time for the player to move cavalry in to take them out. Another result of this is that it the enemy cavalry and enemy infantry will not progress forward, they will have to turn and move to the Fort's position. This produces a large opening between the cavalry and infantry between the cannons, allowing the player to inject their cavalry in said spot and destroy the enemy cannons. To compensate for the other side of the middle passage, the player will need to construct Outposts. It is best to build these further behind then the Fort, this will prevent the Outposts from attacking the enemy raid early and negating the possibility of using cavalry to make a quick and devastating flank.

2v2
In a 2v2 game mode, the best place to put an Fort depends on how the player’s settlement is set up. The most effective way is to create a group of nine barracks at the player settlement and then build the Fort between the players teammate and the enemy across from the players teammate. The nine barracks at the player settlement will allow for the player to make mass amounts of units to protect their own base. The Fort will allow for the player to create a support base for their teammate. In Treaty modes, 100 musketeers (or other units) should be placed on the side with the player’s settlement. These units will absorb the enemy attack and, as they die, units should be created at the Fort (and any barracks near the fort) and sent with the players ally. Together, the player and their ally can hit the settlement of the first opponent. This opponent may send their units to one of the player’s teams settlements or to support the enemy that was fought by the 100 Musketeers. In any situation, these units will turn and return to the AI colony to defend its economy. In the rare occasion that the AI units do not return, they will go for the players Fort. If the AI should go for the players economy, (extremely rare) players will have ample time to create new units from the nine barracks as said units travel from where the 100 units fought at the start and the players settlemet. Alternate attacks from here, between the nine barracks and the Fort to work the sides of the enemy settlements. Eventually, the AI will not have the units to run back and fourth between settlements or will get congested in the middle, this provides a great opportunity to begin destroying the enemy settlements.

3v3 and 4v4
In both of these game modes, the strategy is basically the same as in a 2v2 match. For 3v3 the Fort should be closer to your own base and even closer in 4v4. This is only to make defence of the player settlement easier. In these game modes it is especially helpful to have the Extensive Fortifications card, allowing the player to construct six more Outposts. Alternativley, if the player would like, the Fort can be buit along the edge of the map, away from any settlement. The computer will still go for this Fort providing an excellent distraction. It can even be used to create a base, providing another angle of attack.

AI Forts
If a player is ever in a situation in which they are fighting against the computer, the AI forts will be located far from their beginning settlement. The computer will send their Fort wagon in a type of convoy to escort the Fort wagon the place it is going to be built. The convoy will always have artillery, cavalry, and infantry. The artillery will consist of Falconets and Horse Cannons. The AI will almost never send mortars and Culverins in their convoy to transport the Fort wagon. The cavalry will always consist of about 20 or so Hussars. Nations with unique units such as the Spanish may also send lancers in addition the Hussars. And for infantry, the AI will send melee units with the minority of the infantry being ranged units. (Skirmishers and Musketeers) In some game situations, the AI may send their Fort to be built right outside your settlement making it easily destroyable. In treaty game modes the AI will surround their Fort wagon until the treaty is over and then move in the above stated convoy system to the location for its construction.

Multiplayer Usage
In multiplayer, Forts are not as common as in games against the AI. The reason for this is that players will construct forward bases with many Stables and Barracks. As a result of this, players do not feel the need to have a Fort card. If human opponents do have a Fort, destroying it is the same as that of any Fort the player would find in against the AI. Human players that are new may send all of their units making it very easy. Experienced players will only send a group, however, chances of getting into an experienced players base will take so long (destroying walls) they will have ample time to build units at their settlements Barracks to fend off an attack. If this is the case, it is necessary to resort to artillery. Build Mortars and Howitzers to take out the enemy Forts, followed by the stables then barracks. Cavalry can easily take out your Mortars and Howitzers so it is important to destroy them first.

Strategy for destroying Forts
Once the Fort is built, the AI will use the Fort as the rally point for all their units. This makes it very easy, especially for players with spies researched, to quickly mount a speedy cavalry assault to hit the AI economy. Once the economy has been hit, the AI will send a good deal of its force back to their settlement to take out the cavalry. This provides an excellent opportunity to assault the Fort. The best way to do this is creating multiple groups of 20 or so soldiers that deal high damage to buildings such as Halberdiers. To make room for the assaulting soldiers, a player can wait until the AI has sent their troops back to their settlement and then delete their cavalry. In mass, other units such as the Musketeer can easily take down a Fort as well. The main idea is to attack from three sides as to not cause congestion. This allows for all the troops to attack at once in order to eliminate the Fort more quickly. An additional bonus is that it spreads troops out as to reduce the total amount of splash damage that will be dealt to attacking units by the Fort.

Upgrades
In the Industrial Age, the following upgrades are available: Revetment, costs 500 Wood and 500 Gold. Fort attack +50%, range +6 and Line of Sight +6.

Star Fort, costs 300 Food, 300 Wood and 300 Gold. Fort hitpoints +50%.

Fort Home City Cards
Fort - unlocked with a Level 10 Home City and is sent in the Fortress Age.

Castrametation - unlocked with a Level 25 Home City and is sent in the Industrial Age.

Vauban Fortress - Unlocked with a Level ... Home City and is sent in the Industrial Age (French only)

Wonders
The Agra Fort is a wonder that can be built by the Indian nation when advancing. This is the only "Fort" that can be available during the colonial age (II) if the player should decide to use this wonder to age. Once it is built, the Agra Fort acts like a regular Fort in producing barracks and calvary units.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
In the expansion pack, The Asian Dynasties the Fort has been tinkered with slightly. First, now all European civilizations are able to build at least one Fort and most are able to build two. The main addition lies in Russian shipment cards. The Russians are able to create two Forts, have the ability to make new Forts (2 on map at once), and are able to have Musketeers build forts. This makes the Russians very powerful coupled with the ability to instantly create infantry.

Like with the Factory, the Fort can be built by the Chinese through the Consulate. This makes the Chinese the only civilization in either The WarChiefs expansion or the Asian Dynasties expansion that can construct a Fort.