Castle (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the building in Age of Empires III. For the building in other games of the series, see Castle.

Castle
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Building Military Defensive structure Frontier fortification Sees stealth*
Civilization(s)	Asians
Age	Exploration Age
Use	Attacks nearby enemies Trains and upgrades artillery Receives Home City shipments
Building
Built by	Villager and its counterparts Castle Rickshaw
Cost	250 Wood 50 Coin
Max. builders	4
Build time	55 seconds
Build limit	5
Statistics
Size	4x4
Hit points	3,000
Garrison	20 villagers, Homestead Wagons, healing units, Regent
Line of Sight	32
Build XP	60
Kill XP	120
Anti-ship attack
Damage	100 Siege
Range	40
Rate of Fire	3.0
Bonus damage	0.5x vs. Siege trooper
Ranged attack
Damage	30 Ranged
Range	24
Rate of Fire	3.0
Bonus damage	1.5x vs. Cavalry 1.3x vs. Shock infantry 0.5x vs. Siege trooper 0.25x vs. Villager
Bombard attack
Damage	60 Siege
Area of Effect	3
Range	24
Rate of Fire	3.0
Bonus damage	Same as ranged attack
Requires	"Mountain Castle" upgrade

“	A powerful defensive building that can also train and upgrade artillery.	”
—In-game description

The Castle is a military/defensive building in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Asian civilizations (Chinese, Indians, and Japanese). A combination of the Outpost and Artillery Foundry, it attacks nearby enemies, trains and upgrades artillery, and serves as a drop-off point for Home City shipments.

Units

Age	Unit	Cost	Pop.	Civ.
	Flamethrower	170 wood 170 coin	3	Chinese
	Flail Elephant	125 food 125 coin		Indians
	Hand Mortar	50 food 90 wood	1	Chinese
	Flaming Arrow	100 wood 300 coin	4	Japanese
	Siege Elephant	300 wood 350 coin	7	Indians
	Morutaru	100 wood 300 coin	3	Japanese

Banner armies

The Chinese also train two of their banner armies at the Castle: the Black Flag Army and the Mongolian Army.

• Definitive
• Original

Age	Army	Cost	Pop.	Consists of
	Mongolian Army	230 food 170 coin	4	2 Keshiks 2 Steppe Riders
	Black Flag Army	380 food 360 coin	8	4 Changdao Swordsmen 2 Meteor Hammers

Age	Army	Cost	Pop.	Consists of
	Mongolian Army	495 food 270 wood	6	3 Keshiks 3 Hand Mortars
	Black Flag Army	170 wood 425 coin	7	3 Arquebusiers 1 Flamethrower

Upgrades

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Hill Castle	400 wood 200 coin	Upgrades Castles into Hill Castles (+50% ranged attack damage)
	Mountain Castle	800 wood 400 coin	Upgrades Castles into Mountain Castles (+50% hit points, +100% anti-ship attack damage, and get a bombard attack); requires Hill Castle

Further statistics

Building strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Infantry, cavalry, shock infantry, ships
Weak vs.	Siege units, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Flying Buttress (+20%) Byzantine Legacy (+15%)
Attack	Heated Shot (+50% multiplier vs. ships)
Line of Sight	Somali Lighthouses (+10) Gas Lighting (+4)
Build time	Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-25%)
Cost	Tupi Forest Burning (-20% wood) Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-10%)
Other	Öresund Customs (generates 0.5 coin/sec.) Somali Ajuran Engineers (build limit +4) Clan Offerings (each Castle spawns 1 Samurai after 45 seconds; Japanese only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Castle

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

All

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Natural Lookouts	Outposts, Outpost Wagons, Blockhouses, War Huts, Castles and Watch Towers cost -30% wood; Nobles' Huts and Palaces cost -15% wood and coin		1
TEAM Improved Buildings	Buildings get +25% hit points		10
TEAM Coastal Defenses	Buildings get +0.8 multiplier against ships		25

• "TEAM Natural Lookouts" is available to the Haudenosaunee and Portuguese.
• "TEAM Improved Buildings" is available to the Inca, Indians, and Maltese.
• "TEAM Coastal Defenses" is available to Europeans and Federal Americans.

Asians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Improved Buildings	Buildings get +40% hit points		10
1 Flatland Castle	Ships 1 Castle Rickshaw; Castles get +10% hit points and attack (also +1 Villager for the Indians)		10
1 Hill Castle	Ships 1 Castle Rickshaw; upgrades Castles to Hill Castles, if not already (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)		1
Land Reforms	Villagers and rickshaws build buildings 50% faster; buildings' build bounty +100% (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)		25

• "Improved Buildings" is not available to the Indians.

Chinese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
1 Flamethrower + 1 Castle Rickshaw	Ships 1 Flamethrower and 1 Castle Rickshaw		1
2 Flamethrowers + 1 Castle Rickshaw	Ships 2 Flamethrowers and 1 Castle Rickshaw		1
4 Flamethrowers + 1 Castle Rickshaw	Ships 4 Flamethrowers and 1 Castle Rickshaw		N/A
Extensive Fortifications	Frontier fortifications, Walls, and Fort get +25% hit points; Castle build limit +100%; Blockhouse build limit +1		10

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Rocketeers	Upgrades Arsonists into Rocketeers that attack units with rockets at longer range; Arsonists can be trained at Castles; +1 Hindu Villager		N/A
Mughal Architecture	Buildings cost -20% wood and build time -30%; wonders' build time -16% instead; +1 Hindu Villager		40
Extensive Fortifications	Frontier fortifications, Walls, and Agra Fort get +25% hit points; Castle build limit +100%; +1 Hindu Villager		1
Battlefield Construction	Sepoys can build Barracks, Caravanserai, and Castles; +1 Hindu Villager		25

Japanese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Extensive Fortifications	Frontier fortifications and Walls get +25% hit points; Castle build limit +100%		1
Yamashiro	Castles get +6 Line of Sight and range		40
2 Mountain Castles	Ships 2 Castle Rickshaws; upgrades Castles to Mountain Castles, if not already		25
TEAM Ashikaga Castle	Ships 1 Castle Rickshaw/Outpost Wagon/War Hut Travois/Camp Builder		25
TEAM 2 Azuchi Momoyama Castles	Ships 2 Castle Rickshaws/Outpost Wagons/War Hut Travois or 1 Palace Builder		1
Forty Seven Ronin	Turns all villagers and Shrines into Masterless Samurai, Castles into Wokou Ronins, wonders and Town Centers into Ronin; costs 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin		N/A

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Military Wagons	Ships 2 Military Wagons		25

United States

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Westward Expedition	Ships 4 Military Wagons

Changelog

The Asian Dynasties

• Castles cost 250 wood, 100 coin, take 60 seconds to build, and give 72 XP when built and 144 XP when destroyed.
• Castles cannot reveal stealth enemies and have a ×1.5 ranged multiplier against shock infantry (except Mountain Castles).

Definitive Edition

• Castles cost 250 wood, 50 coin, take 55 seconds to build, and give 60 XP when built and 120 XP when destroyed.
• Castles can reveal stealth enemies, are tagged as Frontier fortification, and Mountain Castles have a ×1.5 ranged multiplier against shock infantry.
• The Hill Castle and Mountain Castle technologies now also upgrade Blockhouses built by the Chinese by allying with the Russians at the Consulate into Frontier Blockhouses and into Fortified Blockhouses, respectively.
• With update 13088, Castles have a ×1.3 ranged multiplier against shock infantry.

History

“

The fortification of towns had been in practice since ancient times, exhibited in the high-walled cities of Rome and the palaces of Byzantium; but in the ninth century, the feudal lords of Europe began to experiment with the castle, or fortified residence. These began as an elevated patch of terrain surrounded by a primitive ditch. Throughout medieval times, as siege technology developed and the threat of war constantly loomed, European rulers began to raise the walls of their fortresses higher and higher, and thicker walls were topped with towers and parapets. By the thirteenth century, castles had become highly sophisticated, and the integral spine to any kingdom. First, a strategic location was chosen, such as on a high cliff or at the bend in a river. Then a moat was dug, restricting access to a narrow point that was often blocked by a retractable drawbridge. The keep, or innermost part of the castle, was protected by a series of walls that had to be breached in order to enter, defeat the survivors, and claim victory. The earliest Japanese castle was the yamashiro, a deforested hill carved into a series of walls and courtyards. Each of the horizontal baileys gave defenders an open view of the battlefield. Because it had the same primarily defensive purpose as the European castle, the yamashiro shared many of the same features, with its squat, angular walls surrounding ditches. Also, both structures housed barracks and training facilities for a standing army led by the elite warrior class (the samurai, in the case of the Japanese).

”

Gallery

A Chinese/Japanese Flatland Castle

An in-game Indian Flatland Castle

An in-game Chinese/Japanese Flatland Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Chinese Hill Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Chinese Mountain Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Japanese Hill Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Japanese Mountain Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Indian Flatland Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Indian Hill Castle in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Indian Mountain Castle in the Definitive Edition

Chinese/Japanese Flatland Castle image from the Compendium section