Murder Holes is a technology in Age of Empires II available at the University. Once researched, it removes the minimum range from defensive structures. It is the only non-unique technology to cost stone.
Murder Holes is a somewhat situational technology, because it does nothing against enemy Trebuchets or Bombard Cannons, both of which are the biggest threats to Castles and towers. The fact that Murder Holes costs 100 stone also means that researching the technology is a significant investment. In cases where a tower or Castle is focused down by a large number of melee units, such as Paladins or Champions with Arson, Murder Holes can save the building from a slow but inevitable destruction. Often, however, players prefer to simply defend a Castle with units to take out rams and to save valuable stone. For the Malay, Murder Holes can also help defend their Harbors against the Fire Galley line.
Civilizations bonuses[]
- Chinese: Murder Holes is 10%/15% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
- Italians: Murder Holes is 33% cheaper.
- Spanish: Researching Murder Holes provides +20 gold.
- Teutons: Murder Holes is free.
Team bonuses[]
- Malians: Researching Murder Holes is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Researching Murder Holes is 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
The Forgotten[]
Definitive Edition[]
- Portuguese: With update 42848, all technologies are researched 30% faster.
Lords of the West[]
- Italians: With update 44725, Murder Holes is 33% cheaper.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 81058, Murder Holes takes 35 seconds to research.
Trivia[]
- Murder Holes was originally planned to be in Age of Mythology, but was replaced with Boiling Oil for historical reasons.
- The name of this technology is misused: murder holes in reality are provisions on a gatehouse for pouring oil onto attackers trapped inside, not battlement extensions that allow archers to fire directly down. The correct name for this technology would be Machicolations, which are extensions on the battlements with holes in the floor that allow for archers to fire directly down at attackers.
- As of patch 1.0b, Murder Holes is the only non-unique technology that has a stone cost. It is unknown why Murder Holes was excluded from the patch's otherwise complete removal of technological stone costs.
History[]
“ | Hoardings were fortifications built at the top of castle walls and towers from which defenders could fight. They needed to be beyond the vertical plane of the wall so they could attack enemies at the base of the wall. At the bottom of the hoardings were trap doors called murder holes. These could be opened and defenders could shoot arrows and drop stones, boiling water, or burning sand directly down. Without murder holes, enemies up against the bottom of a wall were relatively safe. | ” |