Grand Trunk Road (previously named Sultans) is a technology in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten that is unique to the Hindustanis and can be researched at the Castle. Once researched, it increases the speed of all gold income (mining, trading, Relics, Feitorias, and the Trade Workshops on Aftermath) by +10% and reduces trading fee at Markets to 10%.
Strategy[]
Grand Trunk Road is a great addition to the Hindustanis' game. Essentially, it makes Gold Miners work 10% faster, Trade Carts and Cogs generate 10% more gold per trip, and Relics generate gold 10% faster (or +3 gold per minute in addition to default 30 gold per minute), and due to the reduced trading fee, players can buy and sell resources at the Market efficiently. For a civilization heavily reliant on gold intensive troops (Camel Riders, Hand Cannoneers, Bombard Cannons), Grand Trunk Road hugely benefits the Hindustanis' economy and should be researched as soon as possible.
Grand Trunk Road stacks with other bonuses. Hence, it is especially profitable when allied with an Aztec or Spanish player, which team bonuses increase the gold production of Relics and trade, respectively.
Team bonuses[]
- Portuguese: Researching Grand Trunk Road is 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Forgotten[]
- The technology is called Sultans.
Dynasties of India[]
- Sultans renamed Grand Trunk Road.
Return of Rome[]
- With update 87863, Grand Trunk Road now also reduces the trading fee to 10% and the cost is reduced from 400 food, 400 wood to 250 food, 200 wood.
History[]
Sultan is an Arabic term for a sovereign ruler that holds both secular and Islamic religious authority, but is inferior to the Caliph. The first major figure to hold the title was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, Mahmud (r. 998-1030) who invaded northwestern India from his homeland in Afghanistan. After the collapse of the Ghaznavids in 1186, several Indian Muslim rulers would style themselves Sultans.
The Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads, having linked Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent for at least 2,500 years. It runs roughly 2,400 km (1,491 mi) from Teknaf on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.