“ | 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 the National Redoubt Home City Card. It is one of the strongest defensive buildings in the game that are also capable of training infantry and cavalry, as well as serving as a drop-off point for Home City shipments.
Tactics
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
Age | Unit | Cost | Pop. | Civ. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pikeman | 40 food 40 wood |
1 | British Dutch French Germans Portuguese Spanish | |
Rodelero | 65 food 35 coin |
Spanish | ||
Doppelsoldner | 75 food 125 coin |
2 | Germans | |
Musketeer | 75 food 25 coin |
1 | British French Portuguese Russians Spanish | |
Janissary | 100 food 25 coin |
Ottomans | ||
Crossbowman | 40 food 40 wood |
French Germans Portuguese Spanish | ||
Longbowman | 60 food 40 wood |
British | ||
Strelet | 37.5 food 10 wood |
Russians | ||
Hussar | 120 food 80 coin |
2 | British Dutch French Ottomans Portuguese Spanish | |
Uhlan | 50 food 100 coin |
Germans | ||
Cossack | 75 food 75 coin |
1 | Russians | |
Grenadier | 120 food 60 coin |
2 | British Dutch Ottomans Russians | |
Abus Gun | 50 food 100 coin |
Ottomans | ||
Skirmisher | 50 food 65 coin |
1 | Dutch French Germans Spanish | |
Cassador | 80 food 35 coin |
Portuguese | ||
Halberdier | 50 food 70 coin |
Dutch French Portuguese Russians | ||
Cuirassier | 150 food 150 coin |
3 | French | |
Oprichnik | 90 food 60 coin |
2 | Russians | |
Lancer | 110 food 90 coin |
Spanish | ||
Dragoon | 90 food 90 coin |
British French Portuguese Spanish | ||
Ruyter | 30 food 75 coin |
1 | Dutch | |
War Wagon | 150 food 150 coin |
3 | Germans | |
Cavalry Archer | 100 food 60 coin |
2 | Ottomans Russians |
- Dutch Skirmishers can be trained in the Colonial Age.
Technologies
Age | Technology | 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
- 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
Building strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Most ground units, ships |
Weak vs. | Artillery, especially Rockets and Great Bombards, Siege units |
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
Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Fort | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Europeans
French
Indians
Russians
Revolutionary
|
Trivia
- 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
“ | 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. | ” |