Fort

The Fort is the strongest defensive building in Age of Empires III, only available from the Fortress Age onwards.

Background
Age of Empires III is the first game in the installment that allows player to build Forts. The Fort has high defense and attacks units that come within range with a cannon attack (Area 3 vs. land units). On top of this, the Fort can train Barracks units available to that civilization (Pikemen, Musketeers, Skirmishers*, Crossbowmen, Janissaries*, Sepoys*, Cassadors*, Rodeleros*, Ghurkas*, Strelets*, Halberdiers*, etc) and Stable units available to that civilization (Hussars, Dragoons, Lancer*, Howdahs*, Mahout Lancers*, etc) and Grenadiers. It cannot upgrade units and is available only to some civilizations.

The Fort can be acquired in three ways.


 * 1) The player will be able to send a Fort wagon from their Home City. Like any other unit/resource cards, it will show up at the Home City shipment point. From here the player can chose a spot to build the Fort and the wagon will move to the location and begin building it automatically. Once the Fort is built, it cannot be rebuilt if destroyed; however, the player can repair their standing Fort or ship a second one (if one is available). All european civilizations can construct at least one fort.
 * 2) The Revolution option is the second way for the player to create Forts, they will have no build limits. After the player revolts from their Home City, they are able to ship Fort wagons to their Town Center. A Fort Wagon requires 1000 Wood, Food, and Gold to create.
 * 3) The Chinese and Indians (Campaign) can use the Consulate (Russians) allies) with Export to send a Fort Wagon in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

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). They are most often used to gain map control, or to defend a coastline or colony. Since it is a special Home City shipment, you can't send for another one if the Fort Wagon or Fort itself is destroyed, unless your civilization has multiple shipments of the wagons or can build forts using units or specialized cards outside the norm (Russians). In order to counter a Fort you will need long-ranged ships (Monitor, Ironclad, etc), heavy artillery (Mortars, Heavy Cannons, etc) or massed siege troops (Pikemen, Jat Lancers, etc) to bring it down. Forts are even more effective if you put a barricade of walls around them. That way, enemy units are slowed down, your Fort is momentarily protected (giving it more time to do damge to enemy forces), and giving time for reinforcements to arrive.Despite it not actually having a Fort structure, the Ossuary is a good example of how walls help. Search for Ossuary for more info.

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 make the Fort a good building to have as a forward base, especially with all possible upgrades and cards.

Building 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 40 French Home City and is sent in the Industrial Age.
 * National Redoubt - Unlocked with a Level 40 Russian Home City and is sent in the Industrial Age.

Upgrade Cards

 * Heavy Fortifications - Unlocked with a Level 25 Home City and is sent in the Industrial Age. It provides the Star Fort upgrade for free, along with a host of other upgrades which add up to a savings of 1900 wood, 300 food and 1200 coin. This card is available to all civilizations, except those in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.
 * TEAM Coastal Defenses - Unlocked at a Level 10 Home City and is sent in the Discovery Age. Increases the multiplier versus ships by x1.0 damage (maximum is x2.5 vs. ships) for all buildings capable of attacking. Available to Spanish, French, Portuguese and Russian players.
 * Advanced Arsenal - Unlocked with a Level 10 Home City and is sent in the Colonial Age. It moves the Arsenal to the Colonial Age and provides more powerful upgrades which increase the defensive capabilities of buildings (Fort, Town Center and Outposts most notably).
 * Improved Buildings - Unlocked with a Level 10 Home City and is sent in the Discovery Age. It increases building hitpoints by 40%, including the Fort. It is available to every civilization, except Indians.
 * TEAM Improved Buildings - Unlocked with a Level 10 Indian Home City and is sent in the Discovery Age. It only provides a bonus of +25% to Indian buildings, but this stacks with the +40% available to other civilizations for a total allied bonus of 65%.
 * Sevastopol - Unlocked with a Level 40 Russian Home City and is sent in the Colonial Age. It decreases the build time for Forts, Blockhouses, Walls and Town Centers by 85%.
 * Stone Masons - Unlocked with a Level 10 European Home City and is sent in the Colonial Age. It decreases the build time for buildings by 65%, with exception to Docks, which are reduced by 50%.
 * Villagemasons (Land Reforms) - Unlocked with a Level 10 Asian Home City and is sent in the Colonial Age. It decreases the build time for buildings by 50% and increases the build bounty (experience gain) of those structures by 100% (Fort becomes worth 880 experience when built).

Minor Civilization Upgrades

 * Flying Buttress (Jesuit) - +20% building hit points.

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 (in the Industrial Age by sending National Redoubt). 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 or Indians (Campaign only) 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 outside of the campaign.
 * 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 cavalry units. There is no age penalty for building the Agra Fort in this age, it is the same strength regardless of when it is built and is much weaker than a real Fort.