The Cathedral is an unconstructable building in Age of Empires II. In campaigns, it is used as an aesthetic building for large cities, but often as the focal point of an objective. Cathedrals cannot be built, but are available in the Scenario Editor.
Parts of the Cathedral were used as the basis of two other structures, the original Briton Wonder (now the Aachen Cathedral), which is based on the same building, and the Quimper Cathedral, which originated from the Age of Chivalry: Hegemony mod as Brittany's "Monument".
Campaign appearances[]
Cathedrals appear in the following campaign scenarios.
Joan of Arc[]
- The Maid of Orleans: There is a Cathedral in Orleans which must remain standing in order to not lose the siege.
- The Rising: There is a Cathedral in Rheims, where the Dauphin will be crowned after conquering the area.
- The Siege of Paris: The British have a Cathedral in Paris.
Barbarossa[]
- Pope and Antipope: Barbarossa must convert the Cathedral in the city of Milan to conquer the city. It must not be destroyed in order to achieve victory.
Battles of the Conquerors[]
- Tours: The Franks own a Cathedral in Tours, where they may bring the Trade Carts from Poitiers (under Moorish control) to the area outside the Cathedral in order to secure them. However, it is not necessary to keep the Cathedral.
El Dorado[]
- Tales of La Canela: There is a Cathedral in Quito under Spanish control.
Battles of the Forgotten[]
- York: There is a Cathedral under the control of Mercia. Destroying it provides a tribute of gold.
Francisco de Almeida[]
- The Old World: In the HD Edition version of the scenario, there is a Cathedral in Toro, next to a Quimper Cathedral.
The Grand Dukes of the West[]
- The Cleansing of Paris: There is a Cathedral in Paris.
Trivia[]
- The Cathedral's appearance is based on the historical Aachen Cathedral. A reduced version of the latter served as the Wonder of the Britons until Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, when it was made into an unconstructable building and the Britons were given a new Wonder based on Chichester Cathedral. The Cathedral was the first of the two to be created.
- The Cathedral is a remnant from the game's early development, when Wonders were planned to be much larger and only one per architecture set, as in the original Age of Empires. Other planned common Wonders were the Selimiye Mosque for the Middle Eastern set (later made into the Mosque and the Wonder of the Turks) and the Temple of Heaven for the East Asian set (later the Wonder of the Chinese).
- Originally, the Cathedral was so large compared to other buildings that it didn't have graphics for a building foundation, but it received one in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten.
Gallery[]
A Cathedral (left) next to the old British Wonder (Aachen Cathedral)
A Quimper Cathedral (left) next to a regular Cathedral
The Cathedral alongside the Aachen Cathedral and Quimper Cathedral in the Definitive Edition
The Cathedral in Paris in The Siege of Paris
The same in the Definitive Edition
