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
Building information
Introduced in	The Asian Dynasties
Type	Military Defensive
Civilization	Asian
Age	Discovery Age
Use	Attacks nearby enemies Trains and upgrades artillery (and some banner armies for the Chinese) Receive Home City shipments
Construction
Wood	250
Coin	100
Max. builders	4
Build limit	5
Statistics
Hit points	3,000
Garrison	20 villagers
Line of Sight	32
XP build bounty	70
XP bounty	140
Ranged attack
Damage	30 60 (deals Siege damage, Mountain Castle)
Multipliers	x1.5 vs. Light infantry (except Mountain Castle) x0.25 vs. Villager x1.5 vs. Cavalry x0.5 vs. Siege unit
Range	24
Area of Effect	3.0 (Mountain Castle)
Rate of Fire	3.0
Anti-ship attack
Damage	100
Multipliers	x0.5 vs. Siege unit
Range	40
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	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). It acts as a combination of an Outpost and an Artillery Foundry by attacking nearby enemies, training and upgrading artillery, and serving as a drop-off point for Home City shipments. The Chinese also train two of their banner armies in the Castle, Mongolian Army and Black Flag Army.

Units

Age	Unit	Cost	Pop.	Civ.
	Flamethrower	170 wood 170 coin	4	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 400 coin	7	Indians
	Morutaru	100 wood 300 coin	3	Japanese

Banner armies

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% attack)
	Mountain Castle	800 wood 400 coin	Upgrades Castles into Mountain Castles (+50% hit points and attack, +100% anti-ship attack, and a bombard attack with 3 AOE); requires Hill Castle

Further statistics

Building strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Ships, infantry, cavalry
Weak vs.	Artillery, Siege units
Improvements
Hit points	Flying Buttress (+20%)
Attack	Heated Shot (+1.5x multiplier vs. ships)
Sight	Gas Lighting (+4, Europeans only)
Construction cost	Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-25% wood) Tupi Forest Burning (-20% wood)

Home City Cards

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

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All Card Description Age HC level Improved Buildings Buildings get +40% hit points 10 The Indians have the TEAM Improved Buildings card instead of Improved Buildings. Asians Card Description Age HC level 1 Flatland Castle Ships 1 Castle Rickshaw and Castles get +10% hit points and attack (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 10 Extensive Fortifications Castles get +25% hit points and +4 build limit (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 10 1 Hill Castle Ships 1 Castle Rickshaw and upgrades Castles to Hill Castles (if not already) (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 1 Land Reforms Villagers and rickshaws build buildings 50% faster and buildings' build bounty doubled (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 25 Chinese Card Description Age HC level Confucius' Gift Technologies are researched instantly and Home City shipments arrive 33% faster 40 Europeans Card Description Age HC level Heavy Fortifications Grants all defensive building upgrades (if not already) 25 TEAM Coastal Defenses Defensive buildings get +1.0x multiplier against ships 25 The Heavy Fortifications card is not available to Germans and Ottomans. The TEAM Coastal Defenses card is available to French, Portuguese, Russians and Spanish. Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Improved Buildings Buildings get +25% hit points 10 Mughal Architecture Buildings except wonders cost -20% wood and build time -50% +1 Villager 40 Iroquois Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cheap Outposts Outposts, Blockhouses, War Huts, and Castles cost -30% 1 Japanese Card Description Age HC level Yamashiro Castles get +6 LOS and range 40 2 Mountain Castles Ships 2 Castle Rickshaws and upgrades Castles to Mountain Castles (if not already) 25 Portuguese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cheap Outposts Outposts, Blockhouses, War Huts, and Castles cost -30% 1

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

A Indian Flatland Castle