Fixed Gun

The Fixed Gun is a very heavy Artillery piece that is featured in Age of Empires III and in The Warchiefs. The fixed gun is featured in the story modes and in custom scenarios in the game.

Game Info
The fixed gun is a large gun turret and is the most powerful weapon in Age of Empires III. The fixed gun cannot be built by any civilization and is stationed in a certain area. The fixed gun has a long range, high number of hitpoints, a strong attack and it is effective against ships.

The experience for destroying or building a fixed gun is 300.

The Fixed Gun is not really a unit of any kind, but is more of a building because it doesn't move and it can sometimes be repaired. In the campaigns the fixed guns are weaker and can be captured or destroyed. There is also an older version of the fixed gun that is called Ruined Fixed Gun.

The fixed gun is featured in the campaigns "Act I: Blood" and "Act III: Steel". In "Act 1: Blood", in the last level, Morgan discovers Alain Magnum has been a traitor to the Knights of St. John and is the leader of the Circle of Ossus. Soon Morgan, Lizzie, and Sahin attempt to destroy the the fountain of youth and discovers that the Circle owns a large Fixed Gun on top of a cliff which they take control of and comndeer and use to effectively destroy the fountain of youth.

In "Act 3: Steel", when Amelia Black enconters the old Spanish Galleons, there is a secondary objective saying that Kanyenke believes that the old fixed gun can be restored if the ruins are found. Then in the last level, Amelia attempts to beat the Circle of Ossus once and for all and she encounters large Fixed Guns that must be destroyed.

In the WarChiefs, during the Battle of Bunker Hill there are two Fixed Gun that Nathaniel Black and the Colonists can use against the British invaders. However, both of these guns are well outside of the usual British attack paths, rendering them almost completely useless.

Tips to destroy the Fixed Gun
Usually Fixed Guns are near large bodies of water because of their effectiveness against enemy naval units. The least effective way to destroy it is by sending a large army of land units. The most effective strategy is to advance to the Industrial Age and then build a couple of Monitors. These warships have a Mortar on them that has a special abillity which is a powerful long ranged shot that has an even longer range than the Fixed Gun itself. If the Fixed Gun is constantly bombarded like this it will eventually be destroyed.

Tips to protect the Fixed Gun
To protect a fixed gun that belongs to you or an ally build a dock (not possible during Act III: Steel) and military production buildings near the fixed gun and train a few caravels or frigates (not possible during Act I: Blood) to protect it from close range attacks, or any other attacks that the fixed gun is not able to handle. You need protection for three reasons:
 * 1) When the fixed gun is directed at a target, any changes are locked out until that target is destroyed or another target comes into range. The new target must be manually targeted by the player while having the gun selected.
 * 2) The Fixed Gun cannot attack at close range.
 * 3) If all of your land based defenders near the gun are killed when enemy land units are nearby, they will instantly recapture the gun turning it on your ships or approaching reinforcements.

Scenario Editor
In the Scenario Editor, the player can install an unlimited number of Fixed Guns for his/her own purposes during the designing stage process.