Mobile buildings are game objects which are internally buildings but can move around. Some of them can be unpacked, or built and then be packed up, moved to a different location, and unpacked again. This repeatable packing and unpacking mechanic was first introduced in Age of Empires IV, and then in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition; in both cases it is exclusive to certain nomadic civilizations.
The first time an object could be permanently unpacked to a building was in Age of Empires III, in the form of construction wagons, but they are internally units rather than buildings; the Mule Cart in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Mountain Royals is the only standard mobile building in Age of Empires II, with the Town Center (Packed) being introduced earlier as a mobile building which permanently transforms into a static one.
Age of Empires II[]
- Main article: Mule Cart
- Main article: Town Center (Packed)
Age of Mythology[]
While it serves the purposes of a building, the movable Ox Cart is a unit and is treated as such in all interactions, except in Retold when it is constructed.
Age of Empires III[]
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The concept of movable buildings was introduced only with the release of the Definitive Edition. It was added to the Lakota.
Once a Lakota player sends the Commerce Age Home City Card Camp Movements, their Town Centers, Community Plaza, Markets, Corrals, War Huts, Farms, Native Embassies, Estates, and Docks can be transformed into Travoises. As usual, any Travois can be moved and unpacked on valid terrain.
Age of Empires IV[]
In Age of Empires IV, the Mongols are the only civilization with the ability to move their buildings.
Mechanics and tactics[]
When packed, buildings essentially act as a unit. The default speed of a packed building is 0.75 tiles per second, and they retain the same amount of hit points they had as buildings. However, they lose all of their armor, making them much more susceptible to ranged damage. Melee units continue attacking packed buildings with torches, and packed buildings can catch on fire and lose hit points over time just like unpacked ones. If a packed landmark loses all its hit points, it will appear in its destroyed, unpacked state as soon as the area around it is free of units, awaiting repairs. If it is blocked from unpacking by map features, it will remain in its packed form with a notice indicating that it is a destroyed landmark. Packed buildings must be repaired by Villagers, they cannot be healed by other methods. Packed buildings are also the only unit other than the Scout with the ability to herd Sheep. Sheep can be tasked manually to follow any packed building by selecting the Sheep and right-clicking the building. However, this can only be done with already-owned Sheep, since packed buildings do not have the ability to actually gain control of them. This can be somewhat circumvented with the Ger, which has the ability to convert neutral Sheep when unpacked, and then can herd them while packed.
Packing and unpacking[]
The Mongols have the ability to pack up and move any of their buildings except Outposts, Docks, Ovoos, and their Wonder. Buildings are packed up using the Pack Up ability and unpacked using the Unpack ability.
- Pack Up: Pack up building so that it can be moved to another location. More than one building can be packed up at the same time by using this ability with multiple buildings selected. Packing up a building happens nearly instantly, regardless of the building. All packed buildings except landmarks take up 1 population, so they cannot be packed when population-capped.
- Unpack: Unpack building in an appropriate location. Unpacking a building takes 5 seconds by default for most buildings, but only 1 second for the Ger, Steppe Redoubt, and Pasture. If a building is trying to unpack in an area occupied by an allied unit, the unit will move out of the way of the building and continue their task, but this can occasionally not happen, interrupting the unpack. Unpacking can also be interrupted manually in the same way as a regularly constructed building. If multiple of the same type of packed building are selected, they can be sequentially unpacked by using this ability several times in a row. However, if multiple different kinds of buildings are selected, each type must be cycled through and unpacked individually.
Further statistics[]
Packed buildings benefit from the following bonuses:
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Movement speed
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 Superior Mobility (+50%); Improved: (+70%)
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| Other | Superior Mobility (+50% pack/unpack speed)
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| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Armor |  Defense Arrow (+2 melee/ranged while packed for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows)
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| Movement speed
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 Yam Aura (+15%, requires Yam Network) Maneuver Arrow (+33% for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows)
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Trivia[]
- All Mongol buildings have unique models for their packed forms. Landmarks all use the same packed skin, but get bigger the higher the Age they are from.
- When under the influence of all its bonuses, packed buildings can achieve the maximum possible speed in the game (2 tiles per second).
Gallery[]
Chronicles[]
The addition of the unconstructible Scenario Editor and campaign buildings Flagship of Nearchos and Supply Cart in Chronicles: Alexander the Great marked the introduction of mobile buildings to the game.
