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This article is about the structure in Age of Empires. For objects in Age of Mythology, see Embellishment object. |
| “ | Ancient structures built by now-lost cultures. Ruins can be a victory condition or increase your score. | ” |
| —In-game description in the Definitive Edition | ||
Ruins are megalithic structures in Age of Empires that can only be acquired when they appear within the Line of Sight of a unit. Starting as Gaia grey, the Ruins receive the color of the owning player.
Overview[]
| “ | All ruins have been captured. Hold them until the timer counts down to zero to win! | ” |
| —Message sent to all players when all Ruins are captured by one team | ||
A random map may contain five Ruins or none. Once all of the Ruins are acquired by a certain team or player, the countdown to victory starts with 200 in-game years in Return of Rome (16 minutes 40 seconds real time at the normal 1.7× game speed), or 2,000 in-game years before Return of Rome (five minutes in the real world at standard game speed). If an opposing team or civilization does not acquire a Ruins within the time frame, the player or team with all Ruins wins the game. Control of Ruins counts toward the player's score.
Changelog[]
Age of Empires[]
- Ruins victory countdown lasts five minutes at standard game speed.
Return of Rome[]
- Ruins victory countdown lasts 16 minutes 34 seconds at normal 1.7× game speed.
History[]
| “ | Ruins are ancient structures resembling Stonehenge that were built by now-lost cultures and bring prestige to the civilization that controls them. Ruins cannot be moved. | ” |
| —Age of Empires manual | ||
Trivia[]
- In the Scenario Editor of Return of Rome, they are listed in the Units tab rather than the Building tab. Internally, the object is classified as an Artifact.
- They have a similar appearance to Stonehenge.
- Although the in-game stats reveal the hit points to be 1, they are actually indestructible.
- Any unit that approaches unclaimed Ruins automatically convert it to the player's color once it appears in the unit's Line of Sight. Consequently, units do not have to be right next to the Ruins in order to claim them.
- If a player maintains the ownership of Ruins, other players have to approach it in close range regardless of the Line of Sight in order for the Ruins to change their ownership.
- A variant of the Ruins, hidden in the Scenario Editor, exists in the original game. It resembles the Egyptian Bronze Age Temple and is identical to the regular Ruins in all but appearance. Due to a missing asset, it is invisible when controlled by Gaia.
Gallery[]
Ruins in the original game
Ruins in the Definitive Edition
Unclaimed Ruins in Return of Rome
Hidden alternate Ruins in the original game
Icon of the hidden Ruins
See also[]
- King of the Hill
- Monument - counterpart in Age of Empires II
- Sacred Site - counterpart in Age of Empires IV
| Buildings in Age of Empires | |
|---|---|
| Civilian buildings | |
| General |  House ·  Temple ·      Government Center ·      Wonder |
| Economic |      Town Center ·  Dock ·  Storage Pit ·  Granary ·  Market ·  Farm |
| Unconstructable |  Aqueduct ·  Army Tent ·  Barricade ·  Chain ·  Colosseum ·  Granary ·  Great Pyramid ·   Hut · Monument · Pyramid ·  Ruins ·  Trade Workshop ·   Yurt |
| Military buildings | |
| Production |      Barracks ·  Archery Range ·  Stable ·  Siege Workshop ·      Academy |
| Tower |  Watch Tower ·  Sentry Tower ·      Guard Tower · Ballista Tower |
| Wall |  Small Wall ·      Medium Wall ·      Fortified Wall ·  Small Gate ·  Medium Gate ·  Fortified Gate |
| Unconstructable | Mirror Tower · Zenobia's Tower |
