Iron Shield

This article is about the technology in Age of Empires. For the technology in Age of Mythology, see Iron Shields.

Iron Shield
Availability
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Research
Researched at	Storage Pit
Prerequisite(s)	Bronze Shield
Required for	Tower Shield
Food	200
Gold	320
Research time	75 seconds
Effect
Infantry and Slingers +1 pierce armor

Iron Shield is a technology in Age of Empires that can be researched at the Storage Pit once the Iron Age is reached. Once researched, it increases the pierce armor of infantry units and Slingers by +1. In essence, it affects all Barracks and Academy units.

Before Return of Rome, Iron Shield was also required to train Armored Elephants. Tower Shield is the further upgrade of this technology.

Availability chart

Available	Unavailable
Carthaginians Greeks Hittites Lac Viet Macedonians Minoans Palmyrans Persians Phoenicians Romans Shang Yamato	Assyrians Babylonians Choson Egyptians Sumerians

Affected units

• Clubman
• Axeman
• Short Swordsman
• Broad Swordsman
• Long Swordsman
• Legionary
• Slinger
• Hoplite
• Phalangite
• Centurion

Team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Researching Iron Shield is 30% faster.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Researching Iron Shield is required to upgrade War Elephants to Armored Elephants.

Return of Rome

• Researching Iron Shield is not required to upgrade Elephants to Armored Elephants.

History

“	The iron shield replaced the bronze shield when swords and other weapons of iron became common. Iron shields were not only inexpensive to make, but also more effective in stopping all hand- to- hand and missile weapons. The basic iron shield remained in use until firearms made personal shields on the battlefield obsolete.	”
—Age of Empires manual