Strategy:Castle drop

The Castle Drop is a tactic that is popular with players in the Arena map in Age of Empires II, where Booming is at its finest, and Springboard strategies are the norm in team games. It involves focusing one's Villagers at gathering enough stone for a Castle, then advancing to the Castle Age and using said Villagers to construct a Castle, either for offensive or defensive purposes.

In general, this tactic can be applied to other maps and Age of Empires games, but mainly in maps with many chokepoints, that often benefit such tactics. For example, a "Fort Drop" can be executed in Age of Empires III in maps such as the Himalayas.

Forward Castle (Offensive Castle Drop)
In the Arena map, executing this tactic usually involves the player ordering Villagers to construct Castles close to the enemy's base (preferably just outside the enemies' Walls), in order to put a dent to the enemy's economy by harassing enemy Villagers or to put a civilization's Unique Units into good use.

It is often preferable to have a good unit for ranged warfare, such as Longbowmen. An offensive Castle Drop involves taking the fight to the enemy and keeping the pressure on his/her economy, and often have to be combined with a Siege Workshop, to rush enemies with Ram units (similarly, Monasteries can be used in order to rush with Monks and convert enemy Villagers).

It is an often advised tactic if a player has a lowly developed base, or if his/her civilization offers distinctive advantages to Castles and other fortifications.

Civilizations that often excel at this tactic include: 1) civilizations with units that can be trained rapidly at the Castle, 2) civilizations with strong ranged Unique Units or 3) ones with bonuses for their Castles:

1st category: 2nd category:
 * Berbers (Kasbah, Camel Archer)
 * Ethiopians (Shotel Warrior)
 * Berbers (Camel Archer)
 * Britons (Longbowman)
 * Burmese (Arambai)
 * Malians (Gbeto)
 * Mayans (Plumed Archer)

3rd category:
 * Spanish (Conquistador)
 * Incas (Castles cost 15% less stone)


 * Koreans (Stone Miners work 20% faster, fortifications built 25% faster)
 * Franks (25% cheaper Castles)
 * Spanish (Builders work 30% faster)
 * Teutons (Murder Holes technology free, Crenellations)

Defensive Castle
A defensive Castle Drop usually involves the construction of a Castle to strategic points (mainly inside one's base), in order to limit the enemy's offensive manoeuvres, especially useful if the opponent has executed an offensive Castle Drop. Examples of the first category include: Examples of the second category include:
 * 1) Often, a defensive Castle will be constructed by a player that acts as a "spring" in Springboard tactics, as they usually have a weaker early game military, and need to boom up to the Imperial Age in order to use their elite units, often including gunpowder units.
 * 2) However, such a tactic can also be used by a "springboard" player too, if their Castles don't offer distinctive advantages or if they want to focus on booming (for most of them however, it's usually more advisable  to try a forward Castle Drop rather than constructing a defensive one).
 * Byzantines
 * Franks
 * Persians
 * Saracens
 * Turks
 * Aztecs
 * Britons
 * Chinese
 * Incas
 * Mayans