The Meinwerk Palace can be chosen to quickly get Blacksmith technologies and gain an advantage over an opponent in the quality of military units in the Feudal Age, as well as providing a modest economic buff from the discounted technologies later on in the game. However, choosing this landmark means missing out on the significant economic boost that the Aachen Chapel provides throughout the game, with potential gathering bonuses for sheep, wood, and gold in the early game, and Farms in the mid-to-late game. It also significantly increases the time it takes to get to the Castle Age, where the Holy Roman Empire gain access to its strongest bonuses. Therefore, even for extended Feudal Age fighting, it can often be difficult to justify the increase in military quality over the increase in military quantity that would be achievable with the significantly better Chapel economy. Furthermore, because the Holy Roman Empire are not as fast and aggressive in the early game as some other civilizations, such as the French or English, the benefits are not as relevant, since they still require the Holy Roman Empire to build production buildings and create units initially, in which time other civilizations can build a Blacksmith and research their own technologies to compensate. The Meinwerk Palace may be useful for more unconventional strategies, such as a Feudal Age Archer push, where getting ranged attack and defense upgrades matters quickly much more than melee upgrades, especially when initial resources are distributed in a way that does not give an efficient Chapel placement, or would place it too far forward and vulnerable to Feudal rushes.
Order of the Dragon[]
Because the Order Aachen Chapel provides a much more modest economic boost than that of the Holy Roman Empire, the Meinwerk Palace economic boost from the technology discounts looks much better by comparison. Additionally, because the Order cannot achieve as fast of Castle Age timings as the Holy Roman Empire, meaning they will spend more time fighting in the Feudal Age, the faster technology upgrades can provide a more immediate benefit. The unique Zornhau and Bodkin Bolt technologies can also prove valuable to Gilded Landsknechts and Crossbowmen, respectively, in later Ages. Overall, the Palace can be much more desirable unless the Chapel placement covers a very large amount of resources.
Its real life counterpart is the Imperial Palace of Paderborn.
Changelog[]
Originally, the Holy Roman Empire Meinwerk Palace research discount was 25%. With the Season One Update, it reduces technology cost by 30%, and also increases research speed by 30%. With Season Two Update 17718, it reduces technology cost by 40%, and also increases research speed by 40%. With update 10.0.576, technology discount and research speed boost were increased to 50%.
With update 6.0.878, Riveted Chain Mail and Steel Barding added to the Meinwerk Palace for the Holy Roman Empire.
Feudal Age
Castle Age
Imperial Age
Holy Roman Empire
Awl Pikes
Steel Barding
Order of the Dragon
Golden Cuirass
Zornhau
Bodkin Bolts
Hit points
Court Architects (+30%)
Slate and Stone Construction (+5 fire armor)
Regeneration
Emergency Repairs (150 hp/s for 20 seconds)
Elzbach Palace Influence (-33%)
