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

The Imperial Age is the fourth and final Age in Age of Empires II. It gives access to gunpowder units (except for the Aztecs, Huns, Incas, Cumans, Mayans, and Romans) and heavy siege units.

Additionally, once the Imperial Age is reached, a Wonder can be built by any civilization. When playing a random map, Post-Imperial Age can be chosen as the Starting Age, which is the same as the Imperial Age, but with all technologies (available to each civilization) already researched.

The Imperial Age is preceded by the Castle Age.

Strategy[]

Age to imperial aoe2de

Advancing to the Imperial Age

As the final Age, the Imperial Age offers a wide selection of improvements, though it features relatively few new unit lines and buildings compared to the previous ages. It comes at a high cost to research, and has a long research time, so it is careless to research without a game plan.

Access to the Trebuchet from the start gives an Imperial Age player an advantage, as Trebuchets are the first unit available that is able to safely besiege enemy Castles. Later, the Bombard Cannon can also do this while being more maneuverable. On water, the Cannon Galleon, Elite Cannon Galleon, and Dromon are available as the first siege ships.

Civimpage

A civilization in the Imperial Age

By this point, long-term gold supplies start to become valuable, and army compositions will finalize. Late-game army compositions typically consist of a combination of a strong gold unit, a trash unit, and an anti-building siege unit. When gold supplies are abundant, Paladins, Heavy Cavalry Archers, Siege Onagers, and Bombard Cannons become the most dominant units available. Bombard Towers also become available during the Imperial Age, possessing the best combination of damage output and cost of any defensive structure.

Control of important resources becomes paramount as the game progresses, with gold access being very important. In the uncommon case where gold supplies runs out for both players and neither has a clear advantage, the game will enter the "trash wars", where trash units become dominant.

Note: The list below only shows the units, buildings, and technologies that are activated when a player advances to the Imperial Age.

Available buildings[]

Civilian buildings[]

  • Wonder aoe2DE Wonder - special building that grants victory when constructed and defended for 200 years (the countdown is longer for bigger maps)
  • Feitoria aoe2DE Feitoria - generates resources (Portuguese only)
  • Ao2de caravanserai icon Caravanserai - heals and increases speed of nearby Trade Carts (Hindustanis and Persians only)

Defensive structures[]

  1. Both the Keep and the Bombard Tower have to be researched at the University.

Available units[]

Only military units that are unlocked in the Imperial Age are shown.

At the Barracks:

At the Archery Range:

At the Stable:

At the Castle:

At the Siege Workshop:

At the Dock/Harbor (the latter for the Malay only):

At the Krepost (Bulgarians only):

  • Konnikicon Elite Konnik - heavy cavalry unit which respawns as infantry unit upon death

At the Donjon (Sicilians only):

Available technologies[]

Economic technologies[]

At the Mill (Folwark for the Poles):

At the Lumber Camp:

At the Market:

At the University:

Military technologies[]

At the Archery Range:

At the Dock/Harbor (the latter for the Malay only):

At the Castle:

  1. Not all unique technologies are military technologies.
  2. Spies is not available in Regicide and Deathmatch games.
  3. Treason is only available in Regicide games.

At the Blacksmith:

At the University:

Religious technologies[]

At the Monastery (Fortified Church for the Armenians and Georgians):

Civilization bonuses[]

  • CivIcon-Bengalis Bengalis: Spawn 2 villagers from every Town Center when they reach the Imperial Age.
  • CivIcon-Burgundians Burgundians: Imperial Age economic technologies are available in the Castle Age.
  • CivIcon-Dravidians Dravidians: Receive 200 wood when they reach the Imperial Age.
  • CivIcon-Byzantines Byzantines: Advancing to the Imperial Age is 33% cheaper (667 food, 533 gold instead of 1,000 food, 800 gold).
  • CivIcon-Ethiopians Ethiopians: Receive 100 food, 100 gold when they reach the Imperial Age.
  • CivIcon-Italians Italians: Advancing to the Imperial Age is 15% cheaper (850 food, 680 gold instead of 1,000 food, 800 gold).
  • CivIcon-Khmer Khmer: No buildings are required to advance to the Imperial Age.
  • CivIcon-Malay Malay: Advancing to the Imperial Age is 66% faster (114 seconds instead of 190).
  • CivIcon-Persians Persians: Town Centers and Docks work 20% faster in the Imperial Age. Advancing to the Imperial Age is 15% faster (165 seconds instead of 190).

History[]

ā€œThe rise of great kings and their quest for empire brought about the final segment of the Middle Ages that can be called the Imperial Age. The feudal system was being replaced by kings at the head of nations in England, France, Spain, and Scandinavia. Trade was booming and cities were growing in size and power. The Renaissance was underway in Italy and spreading across Europe. Technology and learning surpassed that of the ancient world. Firearms and other innovations brought an end to the military dominance of knights and castles. This end of the Middle Ages can be marked by several important events, including the Turkish capture of Constantinople, the discovery of the New World, trading contact by sea with Asia, and Martin Luther's Reformation.ā€
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual
Ages in the Age of Empires series
ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires
Stone Age Icon (DE) Stone Age Ā· Tool Age Icon (DE) Tool Age Ā· Bronze Age Icon (DE) Bronze Age Ā· Iron Age Icon (DE) Iron Age

Cut: Prehistoric Age Ā· Republic Age
AoE2-DLCicon-0 Age of Empires II
DarkageDE Dark Age Ā· FeudalageDE Feudal Age Ā· CastleageDE Castle Age Ā· ImperialageDE Imperial Age
Aom original icon Age of Mythology
ArchaicAge Archaic Age Ā· ClassicalAge Classical Age Ā· HeroicAge Heroic Age Ā· MythicAge Mythic Age Ā· SecretsOfTheTitans Titan Age
3Icon48px Age of Empires III
Age I tech tree aoe3 Exploration Age Ā· Age II tech tree aoe3 Commerce Age Ā· Age III tech tree aoe3 Fortress Age Ā· Age IV tech tree aoe 3 Industrial Age Ā· Age V tech tree aoe 3 Imperial Age

Revolution Revolution
GameIcon-AoE4 Age of Empires IV
GameIcon-DarkAgeAoE4 Dark Age Ā· GameIcon-FeudalAgeAoE4 Feudal Age Ā· GameIcon-CastleAgeAoE4 Castle Age Ā· GameIcon-ImperialAgeAoE4 Imperial Age
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