Fortress (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the building in Age of Empires II. For other uses of the term, see Fortress.

Fortress
Building information
Introduced in	Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten
Type	Defensive structure
Construction
Wood	600
Stone	600
Build time	600 seconds
Statistics
Size	4×4 tiles
Hit points	4,800
Garrison	30
Pierce attack	12 (primary projectile) 11 (x4) (secondary projectiles)
Attack bonuses	Primary projectile: +2 vs Spearman Secondary projectiles (x4): +1 vs Camel +11 vs Ship +11 vs Fishing Ship +11 vs Stone defense
Reload time	2.5
Range	10
Minimum range	1
Accuracy	100%
Projectile speed	7
Melee armor	8
Pierce armor	11
Armor classes	Building (+8) Standard building Castle
Line of Sight	14

The Fortress is an unconstructable defensive structure in Age of Empires II. It acts like Castle, but slightly differs by having a higher garrison capacity and population space (both 30), a higher base range (10, but does not benefit from the Fletching line), and a higher maximum number of projectiles (31 instead of 21).

It is only available in the Scenario Editor.

Comparison with the Castle

	Fortress	Castle
Cost	600 wood, 600 stone	650 stone
Garrison capacity	30	20
Arrow capacity	5 (default) + up to 26	5 (default) + up to 16
Garrison heal rate	2 HP/s	0.2 HP/s
Rate of Fire	2.5	2
Base attack	12 + 11(x4)	11 (x5)
Base range	10	8
Line of Sight	14	11
Other		Cannot be converted

Further statistics

For a generic civilization:

Technologies
Hit points	Masonry (+10%) Architecture (+10%)
Attack	Fletching (+1, secondary projectiles only) Bodkin Arrow (+1, secondary projectiles only) Bracer (+1, secondary projectiles only) Chemistry (+1, secondary projectiles only) Heated Shot (+4 vs ships and Fishing Ships)
Range	Murder Holes (eliminates minimum range)
Accuracy	Ballistics (hit moving targets)
Armor	Masonry (+1/+1, +3 building armor) Architecture (+1/+1, +3 building armor)
Conversion resistance	Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+4) Town Patrol (+4)
Healing	Herbal Medicine (garrisoned units heal 5x faster)

The following technologies do not work on the Fortress:

• Hoardings
• Fletching line: Does not grant range or attack boost to primary projectile

Campaign appearances

Alaric

• Legionaries on the Horizon!: Alaric has to destroy the Legionaries' Fortress in the north in order to drive back the Romans.
• Emperor of the West: There is a Fortress in Sarus' base that needs to be destroyed in order to defeat him.
• The Sack of Rome: A Fortress stands in for the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome, where Ataulf must go to capture the Emperor's sister, Galla Placidia.

Sforza

• An End and a Beginning: Sforza is given the task to destroy the Raiders' Fortress in order to open the path forward and convince all the captains to follow him.
• O Fortuna: Carmagnola has a Fortress in the northern map corner.

Francisco de Almeida

• The Old World: Isabelistas and Juanistas start with a Fortress each. Francisco is granted control of the Juanista Fortress and is given the task to either destroy the Isabelista Fortress along with all their other military buildings or destroy all of their Mills instead.

Tariq ibn Ziyad

• Razzia: The Frankish Army have a Fortress in their main base integrated into the base's wall.

Tamerlane

• A Titan Amongst Mortals: The Teutons have a Fortress overlooking their ports in the west area of their base.

Battles of the Forgotten

• York: Southern and Northern Irish Kingdoms, and Wessex control a Fortress each, in central and eastern Ireland, and in a central Wessex town. Northumbria controls 2 Fotresses, one in a western town, and one as part of the Palace in the center of York.
• Cyprus: Nicosian Fleet controls a Fortress overlooking their Docks. Destroying it eliminates the Byzantine navy.

Edward Longshanks

• Hammer of the Scots: There is a Fortress inside the Stirling Castle. It will be seized alongside the rest of Stirling by the English once the defenders are defeated.

Grand Dukes

• The Maid Falls: The French Army controls two Fortresses, in the west defending a Town Center, and in the east defending the eastern river crossing.

Algirdas and Kestutis

• No Man's Land: Two Fortresses defend the river crossing east of Kestutis' starting base and south of the Tatar refugees, one on each end of the bridge. Another Fortress blocks the southern river crossing.
• A Worthy Opponent: A Fortress is part of the Kremlin Fortress.

Jadwiga

• The Fruits of Her Labor: The eastern Teuton stronghold contains a Fortress. Destroying it, alongside the Castles inside the stronghold, will free up the besieging Polish force for the final battle with the Teutonic Order.

Jan Zizka

• The Golden City: The Italian Crusaders control a Fortress south of Prague, securing the river for the besiegers. Destroying it secures the river, allowing a shipment of allied troops to land.
• Warrior of God: The Fortress south of Prague appears again, under control of Prague.

Victors and Vanquished

• Charlemagne: Tassilo of Bavaria has a Fortress in the mountain stronghold to the east. Damaging it will allow Charlemagne to gain control over Bavaria.
• Drake: Viceroy's Men have a Fortress in their heavily fortified western town.

Trivia

• Though its primary projectile is unaffected by Fletching and subsequent upgrades, its secondary projectiles, being identical to those of a Castle, do benefit from these technologies. It heals ten times as fast as a Castle, while also benefiting from Herbal Medicine. However, it fires 25% slower than the Castle.
• The building is based on the Gravensteen located in the Flemish city of Ghent.
  • The model was originally created for the mod Age of Chivalry: Hegemony, where it served as the Flemish "Monument".

Gallery

A Fortress in-game

The design of the Fortress before the Definitive Edition

Video

FORTRESS vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT - AoE II- Definitive Edition