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This article is about the building in Age of Empires IV. For the building in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, see Aachen Cathedral. |
The Aachen Chapel is a landmark in Age of Empires IV that is available to the Holy Roman Empire and Order of the Dragon in the Dark Age. For both civilizations, it acts as a resource drop-off location for all resources and increases the gather rate of Villagers within a large radius. It functions as a religious landmark for the former (with economic benefits) and as an economic landmark for the latter.
Special ability[]
Holy Roman Empire[]
| “ | Inspires units in a large radius so long as a Prelate is garrisoned. Acts as a drop-off point for all resource types. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description for the Holy Roman Empire | ||
- Mass Inspire (Passive): The Aachen Chapel inspires all units within a 6.5 tile radius while a Prelate is garrisoned. For Villagers this increases their gather rate by +35% by default.
- Note: Previously, once Inspired Warriors was researched, the Chapel also inspired military units, increasing their armor and attack. Just like with a Prelate, the inspiration lasted for 30 seconds outside of the aura. However, at some point, this effect stopped working but was not mentioned in any patch notes. Whether this is a bug or intentional is unclear.
Order of the Dragon[]
| “ | Inspires all Dragon Villagers in a large radius and increases their gather rate by +15%. Acts as a drop-off point for all resource types. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description for the Order of the Dragon | ||
- Mass Inspire (Passive): The Aachen Chapel provides a simple 15% gather rate bonus to Villagers within a 7.5-tile radius which also lasts for 30 seconds outside the aura. It does not have a garrison space, nor can a Prelate inspire Villagers.
Note: Because the landmark effect is a simple gather rate buff and not a true inspiration, the Order of the Dragon military units never did get inspired while around the Chapel after researching Inspired Warriors, even while the Holy Roman Empire units did.
Buff mechanics[]
Any villager within the Aachen Chapel's effect radius (and for the Holy Roman Empire, while a Prelate is quartered) instantly receives the buff. However, once applied, the buff only gets renewed once it expires. This means that to make optimal use of the buff for Villagers merely passing through the Aachen Chapel's effect radius, players would have to time their pathing such that their previous Prelate buff times out while in the Aachen Chapel's effect radius.
Tactics[]
For the Holy Roman Empire, the Aachen Chapel provides a massive economic power spike in Feudal Age that can last the whole game if planned correctly and is a cornerstone of many different builds. Because of its relatively small aura, the placement of the Chapel makes a huge difference in its effectiveness, so it should not be placed down randomly. If possible, the Chapel should cover as many different resources as it can, but depending on the initial resource layout, this may be difficult. In this case, which resources are covered should depend on the strategy that will be played.
- Fast Castle: Place the Chapel to cover the Gold Mine. If it is likely that Sheep will run out before reaching the Castle Age, it may be preferable to cover Berry Bushes over gold, or even Deer if nearby.
- Multiple Town Center Feudal Age Play: Place the Chapel to cover a Stone Outcropping and wood line. Typically, at least one wood line will always be within range of the initial Stone Outcropping
- Water Boom: Place the Chapel to cover as much wood as possible, with gold secondary, to prioritize ship building. Food will be collected mostly by Fishing Ships, so it is less important.
No matter which strategy is chosen, the following rules should always be followed
- Always remember to move the Prelate to the Chapel as soon as it is built. No Prelate means no bonus.
- Always think about where the Chapel will be placed from the start of the game, and drop off Sheep on that side of the Town Center. Sheep should always be gathered within range of the Chapel.
- As much as possible, do not build any buildings within the radius of the Chapel. As the game goes on and food on the map runs out, slowly transition to building Farms within this area to create a strong late-game Food economy.
For the Order of the Dragon, the same general placement rules apply. But because the economy buff is so much smaller relative to the already increased gather rates of the Gilded Villagers, the placement of the Chapel does not make or break strategies as much as for the Holy Roman Empire.
Further statistics[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Court Architects (+30%)
|
| Armor |  Slate and Stone Construction (+5 fire armor)
|
| Abilities and Enhancements | |
|---|---|
 Regeneration
|
 Emergency Repairs (150 hp/s for 20 seconds)
|
| Damage resistance |  Elzbach Palace Influence (-25%)
|
| Ability | Town Center Influence (Grants Emergency Repairs)
|
| Civilization Bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Build speed |  Order of the Dragon (+25%)
|
Changelog[]
- Since Season Two Update 17718, the Aachen Chapel serves as a drop-off location for all resources.
- Originally, the Order of the Dragon Aachen Chapel gather rate bonus was +10%. With update 10.0.576, this was increased to +15%.
- Originally, both variants of the Aachen Chapel had a 7.5-tile ability radius. With update 12.0.1974, the radius of the Holy Roman Empire Aachen Chapel was reduced to 6.5.
- With update 14.0.4963, the Mass Inspire ability gather rate buff was decreased from +40% to +35% to match the same decrease on the Prelate.
Trivia[]
- In Age of Empires II, the Aachen Cathedral was originally used as the Wonder of the Britons.
- The Aachen Chapel is modeled after the Carolingian era Aachen Cathedral, specifically the Palatinate Chapel. The Chapel was later expanded, evolving into the more modern Aachen Cathedral that is present in Age of Empires II.
- The Chapel is where Otto the Great was crowned king of East Francia in 936, that date being the starting year in the span of the Holy Roman Empire civilization.
Gallery[]
