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This article is about the Age in Age of Empires II. For the Age in Age of Empires IV, see Castle Age (Age of Empires IV).

The Castle Age is the third Age in Age of Empires II. Upon reaching this Age, more buildings become available, including the Castle. Some of these buildings are related to the choice of new and powerful units, including three new unit types: siege units, unique units, and Monks. In addition, Age-related civilization bonuses also increase in effect, reinforcing the civilizations' unique tactics. A variety of both economic and military strategies are possible during this Age. The Castle Age is preceded by the Feudal Age and followed by the Imperial Age.

Strategy[]

Age to castle aoe2de

Advancing to the Castle Age

The Castle Age is rather influential on the game. Military, defensive, and economic options begin to open up and deepen with increased numbers of buildings, technologies, and unit types. This is an age where small advantages can quickly snowball into large leads, as militaries and economies greatly expand and spare resources are tight.

Most notable among the new military units is the Knight, a powerful cavalry unit that can be immediately trained from Stables. The Knight and the Crossbowman, the upgrade of the Archer, are the typical backbones of a Castle Age military, each with its own unique sets of strengths and weaknesses. The Siege Workshop and Monastery also become available, which can create units such as the Mangonel and Monk. These four units can have a significant influence on a Castle Age strategy.

Economically, the ability to create multiple Town Centers causes Villager numbers to skyrocket. Defensively, the Castle aids the player's ability to pressure an opponent and relieve pressure on themselves.

As a result of the new choices available, the battle on the map intensifies and sieges become possible. Stone starts to become more important in constructing defensive walls and Castles, as does gold used for an increasing number of technologies, including 800 gold to age up to the Imperial Age.

Note: The list below is not cumulative, and only shows new units, buildings, and technologies that are activated when a player advances to the Castle Age.

Available buildings[]

CastleageDE

The Castle Age symbol

Civilian buildings[]

  1. The Town Center is also a defensive structure.

Military buildings[]

  1. The Castle and the Krepost are also defensive structures.

Defensive structures[]

  1. The Guard Tower and the Fortified Wall have to be researched at the University.
  2. The Harbor is also a military and a civilian building. Requires Thalassocracy.

Available units[]

Civilian units[]

Civcastle

A civilization in the Castle Age

At the Monastery:

At the Fortified Church (Armenians and Georgians only):

  • Monk aoe2DE Monk - anti-cavalry unit
  • AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest - Religious infantry that can fight, carry Relics, and heal allied units. (Armenians only)

Military units[]

At the Barracks:

At the Archery Range:

At the Stable:

At the Castle:

At the Siege Workshop:

At the Dock/Harbor (the latter for the Malay only):

At the Krepost (Bulgarians only):

  • Konnikicon Konnik - heavy cavalry unit which respawns as an infantry unit upon death

At the Donjon (Sicilians only):

Available technologies[]

Economic technologies[]

At the Town Center:

At the Mill (Folwark for the Poles):

At the Lumber Camp:

At the Mining Camp:

At the Mule Cart (Armenians and Georgians only):

At the Market:

  • CoinageDE Coinage - decreases tribute fee (since patch 5.8; moved from Feudal Age)
  • BankingDE Banking - removes tribute fee (before patch 5.8 where it moved to the Imperial Age)
  • CaravanDE Caravan - increases the speed of trade units by 50%
  • GuildsDE Guilds - reduces commodity trading fee (Burgundians only)

At the Dock/Harbor (the latter for the Malay only):

At the University:

Military technologies[]

At the Barracks:

At the Archery Range:

At the Stable:

At the Dock/Harbor (the latter for the Malay only):

  • CareeningDE Careening - increases ship pierce armor by 1 and Transport Ship capacity by 5
  • WarGalleyDE War Galley - Upgrades Galleys, Fire Galleys, and Demolition Rafts to War Galleys, Fire Ships, and Demolition Ships respectively

At the Blacksmith:

At the University:

At the Castle:

  1. Not all unique technologies are military technologies.

Religious technologies[]

At the Monastery (Fortified Church for Armenians and Georgians):

Civilization bonuses[]

  • CivIcon-Bengalis Bengalis: Spawn 2 villagers from every Town Center when they reach the Castle Age.
  • CivIcon-Burgundians Burgundians: Imperial Age economic technologies are available in the Castle Age. Castle Age economic technologies are available in the Feudal Age.
  • CivIcon-Dravidians Dravidians: Receive 200 wood when they reach the Castle Age.
  • CivIcon-Ethiopians Ethiopians: Receive 100 food, 100 gold when they reach the Castle Age.
  • CivIcon-Italians Italians: Advancing to the Castle Age is 15% cheaper, 680 food, 170 gold instead of 800 food, 200 gold.
  • CivIcon-Khmer Khmer: No buildings are required to advance to the Castle Age.
  • CivIcon-Malay Malay: Advancing to the Castle Age is 66% faster (96 seconds instead of 160).
  • CivIcon-Persians Persians: Town Centers and Docks work 15% faster in the Castle Age. Advancing to the Castle Age is 10% faster (145 seconds instead of 160).

History[]

ā€œCastles began appearing across the landscape of Europe in the ninth century as local lords sought to solidify their power. Castles protected them from neighbors and provided a safe haven from which mounted warriors could ride out and control the nearby country. Typical of the Castle Age was the conquest of Wales by Edward I of England. By placing a series of massive castles at strategic points throughout Wales, Edward accomplished his conquest with a minimum of fighting. The castles were impregnable to the scattered warriors of Wales. English soldiers inside could ride out at their leisure and control the conduct of trade, gathering of crops, and collection of taxes. The Castle Age witnessed a rise in population, economic growth, increased trade, the Crusades to the Holy Land, a new interest in the arts, the rise of knights, and the formation of great kingdoms.ā€
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual
Ages in the Age of Empires series
ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires
Stone Age Icon (DE) Stone Age Ā· Tool Age Icon (DE) Tool Age Ā· Bronze Age Icon (DE) Bronze Age Ā· Iron Age Icon (DE) Iron Age

Cut: Prehistoric Age Ā· Republic Age
AoE2-DLCicon-0 Age of Empires II
DarkageDE Dark Age Ā· FeudalageDE Feudal Age Ā· CastleageDE Castle Age Ā· ImperialageDE Imperial Age
Aom original icon Age of Mythology
ArchaicAge Archaic Age Ā· ClassicalAge Classical Age Ā· HeroicAge Heroic Age Ā· MythicAge Mythic Age Ā· SecretsOfTheTitans Titan Age
3Icon48px Age of Empires III
Age I tech tree aoe3 Exploration Age Ā· Age II tech tree aoe3 Commerce Age Ā· Age III tech tree aoe3 Fortress Age Ā· Age IV tech tree aoe 3 Industrial Age Ā· Age V tech tree aoe 3 Imperial Age

Revolution Revolution
GameIcon-AoE4 Age of Empires IV
GameIcon-DarkAgeAoE4 Dark Age Ā· GameIcon-FeudalAgeAoE4 Feudal Age Ā· GameIcon-CastleAgeAoE4 Castle Age Ā· GameIcon-ImperialAgeAoE4 Imperial Age
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