As a building incapable of attacking or producing units, the placement of a Blacksmith must not be given much thought. All it needs to do is provide researches and optimally stand until it is done doing so. Once all necessary technologies have been researched, the Blacksmith is a completely useless building and can freely be deleted (unless it is walling out an area of importance, in which case it should be replaced). Having a Blacksmith is prerequisite to get access to the Siege Workshop. Losing the Blacksmith does not lose the access to the Siege Workshop. In some rare cases, having two Blacksmiths can be of help if time is of essence. But generally speaking, the Blacksmith researches fast enough to make a second one redundant.
Blacksmith upgrades are of key importance in any stage of the game and should be researched as soon as possible. Generally speaking, it makes more sense to upgrade the armor of melee units before their attack because that improves their fighting capabilities against ranged units as they live longer and can close the gap easier. For ranged units, it is the other way around, they should have the highest possible damage output in order to prevent melee units from reaching them at all.
Technologies[]
Clicking on the icon links to the corresponding page.
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
→
Availability grid[]
The following table shows the availability of the technologies for every civilization. Technologies that are available to all civilizations (Scale Mail Armor, Padded Archer Armor, Forging, Iron Casting, Fletching, Bodkin Arrow) are not shown in the table. An 'X' in the last column indicates that all technologies are available. So 8 of the 39 civilizations have access to all Blacksmith upgrades.
Blacksmith HP staggered: 1,800/2,100/2,100 in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Incas: Villagers are affected by Forging and Scale Mail Armor starting from the Feudal Age.
Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free, but require a Blacksmith.
Rise of the Rajas[]
Magyars: With patch 5.5, free Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace no longer require a Blacksmith.
Definitive Edition[]
Bulgarians: Originally, Blacksmiths work 50% faster (as a team bonus). With update 42848, they work 80% faster, and all Blacksmith technologies cost 50% less food.
Koreans: With update 42848, Padded Archer Armor, Leather Archer Armor and Ring Archer Armor is free.
Portuguese: With update 42848, Blacksmith technologies and technologies that benefit Blacksmiths are researched 30% faster.
Lords of the West[]
Incas: With update 47820, Villagers are affected by Forging and Scale Mail Armor starting from the Castle Age.
History[]
“
Iron-working technology had been learned by the barbarian tribes of Europe prior to the fall of Rome and was carried forward into the Dark Ages. Iron working was done at the blacksmith, named partially for the black iron worked there and for the black soot that covered the workers each day. At the blacksmith iron was forged and hammered into tools, weapons shields, and armor. The ability to make superior weapons and armor became a highly prized and well-rewarded skill. Blacksmiths, armorers, and weapon makers moved into the rising middle class.
”
Gallery[]
All Feudal Age Blacksmiths in The Age of Kings and The Conquerors
All Feudal Age Blacksmiths introduced in the HD expansions
All Castle Age Blacksmiths in The Age of Kings and The Conquerors
All Castle Age Blacksmiths introduced in the HD expansions
All original game Feudal Age Blacksmiths introduced in the Definitive Edition
All expansion Feudal Age Blacksmiths introduced in the Definitive Edition
All original game Castle Age Blacksmiths introduced in the Definitive Edition
All expansion Castle Age Blacksmiths introduced in the Definitive Edition