Plate Mail Armor

Plate Mail Armor
Availability
Introduced in	Age of Empires II
Civilization	See table
Age	Imperial Age
Research
Researched at	Blacksmith
Prerequisite(s)	Chain Mail Armor
Food	300
Gold	150
Research time	70 seconds
Effect
Infantry +1/+2 armor

Plate Mail Armor is a technology in Age of Empires II that can be researched at the Blacksmith once the Imperial Age is reached. Once researched, it increases infantry armor and pierce armor by +1/+2.

Availability chart

Available	Unavailable
Armenians Aztecs Berbers Bohemians Britons Bulgarians Burgundians Burmese Byzantines Celts Chinese Cumans Dravidians Ethiopians Franks Georgians Gurjaras Inca Italians Japanese Khitans Koreans Malay Malians Maya Mongols Persians Poles Portuguese Saracens Shu Sicilians Slavs Spanish Teutons Turks Vietnamese Vikings Wu	Bengalis Goths Hindustanis Huns Jurchens Khmer Lithuanians Magyars Romans Tatars Wei

Despite lacking Plate Mail Armor, the Romans have a civilization bonus giving their infantry units double the effect from Scale Mail Armor and Chain Mail Armor, more than compensating the fact that they cannot research the technology.

Further statistics

Civilization bonuses
Resource cost	Bulgarians (-50% food) Chinese (-15%) Spanish (-100% gold)
Other	Inca (affects Villagers) Malay (free) Spanish (receive 20 gold after researching Plate Mail Armor)

Team bonuses
Research speed	Bulgarians (+80%) Portuguese (+25%)

History

“	Armor made of large metal plates was the best defense obtainable against missiles and hand weapons. It was stronger and absorbed more energy. Large sheets of hammered steel were fashioned to fit the wearer's body. Making plate mail armor became an important craft. Specialists in Italy received orders for armor from all over Europe. The booty from battle or tournaments included valuable armor. Armor required regular oiling to prevent rust and this was the duty of squires indentured to knights. Plate mail armor appears ponderous today but was actually reasonably light and well designed for mobility. Athletic knights could perform handstands wearing armor. Knights could mount their horses without much difficulty and did not require cranes for a lift.	”
—Age of Empires II manual