Academy (Age of Empires)

This article is about the building in Age of Empires. For other uses, see Academy.

Academy
Building
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Military
Civilization	All civilizations except the Persians
Age	Bronze Age
Use	Trains and upgrades elite infantry
Construction
Requires	Stable
Wood	150
Build time	60 seconds
Statistics
Size	3×3 tiles
Hit points	350
Garrison	10
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Line of Sight	5

“	Used to train elite infantry units that have high attack strength and armor.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Academy is a military building featured in Age of Empires, available from the Bronze Age onwards. The Persians are the only civilization that cannot build an Academy or train its units.

Trained units can be garrisoned inside by setting the building's rally point to itself. Once a unit is ejected, it cannot be regarrisoned.

The infobox uses "O" as the shorthand of "original" for the original icon. Moreover, it uses the following shorthands for different architecture sets:

• G - Greek
• A - East Asian
• E - Egyptian
• M - Mesopotamian
• R - Roman

Gameplay

The Academy allows the player to train the one heavy infantry unit: the Hoplite, which is upgraded to Phalangite, and then Centurion. Academies are unlocked in the Bronze Age after building a Stable, or if starting the game from that age.

Heavy infantry are the most powerful melee fighters, so are effective in countering Stable and Barracks units. They can also be the core troops in a base attack, shredding quickly through enemy defenses.

They are not fast, however, so are weak against Ballistae and Horse Archers, and prime targets for Priest conversion.

This weakness is mitigated by the Macedonians' conversion resistance and extra pierce armor, and the Greeks' movement bonus, so heavy infantry should typically form the backbone of their Bronze and Iron Age armies. Since the Persians lack the building itself, they are the only civilization without even the Hoplite.

Units

				Requires Stable
	➞		➞		➞
					➞		➞

Unit availability

	Available
	Unavailable

Civilization			All
Assyrians
Babylonians
Carthaginians			X
Choson
Egyptians
Greeks			X
Hittites
Lac Viet
Macedonians			X
Minoans			X
Palmyrans
Phoenicians			X
Romans			X
Shang
Sumerians			X
Yamato			X
Civilization			All

Further statistics

Technologies
Hit points	Architecture (+20%)
Line of Sight	City Watch (+3)
Build speed	Architecture (-33%)

Civilization bonuses

• Macedonians: Academies are four times more resistant to conversion.
• Romans: Academies cost -10%.

Team bonuses

• Babylonians: Academies are built 10% faster.
• Carthaginians: Academies work 20% faster.
• Choson: Academies have +2 Line of Sight.
• Palmyrans: Unit upgrades at the Academy and technologies benefiting the Academy are researched 30% faster.

Changelog

Return of Rome

• Team bonuses added:
  • Babylonians: Academies are built 10% faster.
  • Choson: With update 93001, Academies have +2 Line of Sight.
  • Palmyrans: Technologies at and benefiting the Academy are researched 30% faster.

History

“	The Academy was the Greek equivalent of a school. Students, usually only free men and favored slaves, received an education at the Academy. Subjects of study included the typical fare of schools, but also politics, athletics, and military training. The most rigorous of the Greek Academies were those of Sparta where boys were taken from their parents at an early age and educated in a military environment. The Academy prepared the individual for service to the state as a citizen and a soldier in the phalanx. In one of the remarkable encounters of history, the future Alexander the Great was educated at the Academy of Aristotle.	”
—Age of Empires manual

Trivia

• Since the Definitive Edition, the icons are different for different architecture sets, each displaying a spear and a common or characteristic helmet from each region:
  • The Greek set showcases a Corinthian helmet.
  • The Egyptian set contains headress which resembles the khepresh which was worn by a Pharaoh in ceremonies or war.
  • The Mesopotamian icon displays a crested Assyrian helmet.
  • The Roman icon is that of a Centurion's Galea.

Gallery

All Academies in the Iron Age. Top row: Egyptian, Greek. Middle: Roman. Bottom row: Mesopotamian, East Asian.

All Academies in the Iron Age in the Definitive Edition

Academy units

Buildings in Age of Empires
Stone Age Starting Tool Age Bronze Age Additional Iron Age