Fort

"Powerful, defensive building that can also train units. Can only be sent from the Home City."

—In-game description

The Fort is a military/defensive building in Age of Empires III that is unique to European civilizations and can only be built by Fort Wagons or Russian Musketeers via Home City Cards shipped from the Home City starting in the Fortress Age. It is one of the strongest defensive buildings in the game that are also capable of training infantry, cavalry, and siege infantry, as well as serving as a drop-off point for Home City shipments.

Tactics Edit

While having impressive hit points and a great range, Forts are expensive to repair and can only take on one target at a time (although there is Area of Effect damage when they fire). They are most often used to gain map control, or to defend a coastline or colony. Since it is a special Home City shipment, another Fort Wagon cannot be built if the Fort is destroyed unless multiple shipments of wagons are available. Forts are formidable defenses but are not invincible. They can be destroyed with artillery or long range ships such as Monitors or Ironclads. A large amount of units can bring it down as the Fort can only fire on one enemy at a time, though it does splash damage.

However, as with artillery pieces, if a unit is placed correctly, the fort will fire on that unit but will be unable to deal any damage. Forts are usually placed in strategic areas or near the first Town Center. When in use by the AI, easy ones will usually place the Fort near their starting location. Higher AIs tend to place the Fort near the enemy's settlement(s) and if allied, the AI will notify the player of where they are building it.

In The Asian Dynasties expansion, the Fort has been tinkered with slightly. First, European civilizations are able to build at least one Fort and most are able to build two. The main addition lies in the Russian Home City Cards, where they can allow Musketeers to build Forts by sending the National Redoubt card in the Industrial Age. This makes the Russians very powerful coupled with the ability to instantly create infantry.

Units Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Pikeman	40 food, 40 wood, 1
	Musketeer	75 food, 25 coin, 1
	Crossbowman	40 food, 40 wood, 1
	Skirmisher	50 food, 65 coin, 1
	Halberdier	50 food, 70 coin, 1
	Hussar	120 food, 80 coin, 2
	Dragoon	90 food, 90 coin, 2
	Cavalry Archer	100 food, 60 coin, 2
	Grenadier	120 food, 60 coin, 2

The Musketeer is not available to the Dutch and Germans.

The Crossbowman is only available to French, Germans, Portuguese and Spanish.

The Skirmisher is not available to the British.

Dutch Skirmishers can be trained in the Colonial Age.

The Halberdier is not available to the British, Germans and Spanish.

The Hussar is not available to Germans and Russians.

The Dragoon is only available to British, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

The Cavalry Archer is only available to Ottomans and Russians.

The Grenadier is only available to British, Dutch, Ottomans and Russians.

British Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Longbowman	60 food, 40 wood, 1

Dutch Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Ruyter	30 food, 75 coin, 1

French Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Cuirassier	150 food, 150 coin, 3

Germans Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Doppelsoldner	75 food, 125 coin, 2
	Uhlan	50 food, 100 coin, 2
	War Wagon	150 food, 150 coin, 3

Ottomans Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Janissary	100 food, 25 coin, 1
	Abus Gun	50 food, 100 coin, 2

Note: The Janissary is the only infantry available to the Ottomans.

Portuguese Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Cassador	80 food, 35 coin, 1

Russians Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Strelet	37.5 food, 10 wood, 1
	Cossack	75 food, 75 coin, 1
	Oprichnik	90 food, 60 coin, 2

Spanish Edit

Age	Unit	Cost
	Rodelero	65 food, 35 coin, 1
	Lancer	110 food, 90 coin, 2

Improvements Edit

Age	Improvement	Cost	Effect
	Revetment	500 wood, 500 coin	Forts get +50% attack, +6 LOS and +6 range
	Star Fort	300 food, 300 wood, 300 coin	Forts get +50% hit points

Civilization differences Edit

• In The Asian Dynasties, the Chinese in random map games can build one (and only one) Fort by allying with the Russians at the Consulate, which provides the Fort Wagon shipment that ships a namesake unit capable of building a Fort. The Chinese Fort trains War Academy banner armies and named after Portuguese Forts.
  • The Indians in the Act III: India campaign can build a Fort in the same way as the Chinese in random map games.

Further statistics Edit

As the Fort can only be built by European civilizations, only improvements available to them (including native improvements) are listed heres.

Building strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Most ground units, ships
Weak vs.	Artillery, especially Rockets and Great Bombards
Improvements
Hit points	Flying Buttress (+20%) Star Fort (+50%)
Attack	Heated Shot (+1.5x multiplier vs. ships) Revetment (+50%)
Construction cost (Russians)	Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-25% wood) Tupi Forest Burning (-20% wood)
Range	Revetment (+6)
Sight	Gas Lighting (+4) Revetment (+6)
Other	Iroquois League (train Iroquois Tomahawks and Iroquois Mantlets, vanilla Age of Empires III only)

Home City Cards Edit

As the Fort is exclusive to European civilizations, only other civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here.

For a revolting player, the cards will only apply if they are sent before revolting (except for the 1 Fort Wagon card).

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

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Purple: Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times Europeans Edit Card Description Age Home City level Improved Buildings Buildings get +40% hit points 10 Castramentation Ships 1 Fort Wagon and Fort build limit +1 25 Heavy Fortifications Grants all defensive building upgrades (if not already) 25 TEAM Coastal Defenses Defensive buildings get +1.0x multiplier against ships 25 The Extensive Fortifications card is not available to Germans and Portuguese. The Castramentation card is not available to the Spanish. The TEAM Coastal Defenses card is available to French, Portuguese, Russians and Spanish. French Edit Card Description Age Home City level Vauban Fortress Ships 1 Fort Wagon and Fort build limit +1 25 Indians Edit Card Description Age Home City level TEAM Improved Buildings Buildings get +25% hit points 10 Russians Edit Card Description Age Home City level Sevastopol Town Center, Blockhouse, Wall and Fort build time -50% 40 National Redoubt Musketeers can build Forts and Fort build limit +1 40 Revolutionary Edit Card Description Age Home City level 1 Fort Wagon Ships 1 Fort Wagon and Fort build limit +1 N/A

Trivia Edit

• The French having the most number of Forts may be a callback to the Franks being to build more Castles (the Age of Empires II version of the Fort) than others thanks to its cheaper cost.

History Edit

"Forts in the New World ranged from wooden palisades assembled hastily as outposts or for the protection of watersheds to sprawling star forts whose distinctively angled earthen and stone walls protected key ports, mines, cities, and overland trade routes.

Fort McHenry, once called Fort Whetstone, was a star fort surrounded on three sides by water. In 1814 it survived a 25-hour bombardment by the British. Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about his experiences during and after the battle, and the story of Fort McHenry and its star-spangled banner became the national anthem of the United States in 1931."

Gallery Edit

An in-game Fort

Add a photo to this gallery

See also Edit

• Agra Fort – Indian wonder which functions similarly to the Fort

Buildings in Age of Empires III
Economic	Town Center · Trading Post · House (Europeans except British, Aztecs) · Manor (British) · Longhouse (Iroquois) · Teepee (Sioux) · Village (Chinese) · Indian House (Indians) · Shrine (Japanese) · Market · Mill (Europeans) · Bank (Dutch) · Farm (Native Americans) · Rice Paddy (Asians) · Livestock Pen (Europeans) · Sacred Field (Indians) · Fire Pit (Native Americans) · Mosque (Ottomans) · Consulate (Asians) · Church (Europeans except Ottomans) · Plantation (Europeans and Native Americans) · Factory (Europeans) · Capitol (Europeans)
Military	Outpost (Europeans except Russians) · Blockhouse (Russians) · War Hut (Native Americans) · Castle (Asians) · Dock · Monastery (Asians) · Barracks (Europeans except Russians, Indians and Japanese) · Stable (Europeans and Japanese) · Corral (Native Americans) · Caravanserai (Indians) · War Academy (Chinese) · Artillery Foundry · Saloon (Europeans) · Arsenal (Europeans) · Fort (Europeans) · Siege Workshop (Iroquois) · Nobles' Hut (Aztecs) · Dojo (Japanese)
Other	Field Hospital · Native Embassy · Wonders (Asians)
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