Siegecraft

Siegecraft
Availability
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Research
Researched at	Market
Prerequisite(s)	Stone Mining
Food	190
Stone	100
Research time	60 seconds
Effect
Stone miners work rate +30% and carry +3 stone Increase Villagers attack vs. Walls/Towers Slingers +1 Attack/Range/LOS

Siegecraft is a technology in Age of Empires that is found in the Market during the Iron Age.

Civilizations

Siegecraft is available to the following civilizations:

Available	Unavailable
Assyrians Babylonians Choson Greeks Hittites Minoans Palmyrans Romans Sumerians Yamato	Carthaginians Egyptians Lac Viet Macedonians Persians Phoenicians Shang

Gameplay

This technology makes stone miners work 30% faster and carry +3 stone, and also enables them to efficiently attack walls and towers by giving them +2 bonus damage against them (to a total of 4 damage if Zealotry is also researched, since buildings in Age of Empires have 80% resistance to all attacks). This makes Villagers effective against walls and towers in large numbers. This technology also improves both the range and attack of Slingers by 1.

Before Return of Rome, Siegecraft must have also been researched in order to upgrade Catapults to Heavy Catapults.

Civilization bonuses

• Babylonians: Siegecraft costs -30%.*

Team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Researching Siegecraft is 30% faster.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Stone miners work 67% faster.
• Researching Siegecraft is required to upgrade Catapults to Heavy Catapults.

Definitive Edition

• Stone miners work 30% faster.
• With update 38862, the attack bonus granted to Villagers vs. towers and walls was reduced by ~50%.

Return of Rome

• Researching Siegecraft is not required to upgrade Catapults to Heavy Catapults.

History

“	Despite the written records and depictions of cities and fortifications being stormed with the aid of siege equipment, starvation was the only certain and effective way to take strongholds before the gunpowder age. The defender of a strong position, with adequate troops, food, and water, had all the advantages. Physical assault of strongholds was a difficult proposition accompanied regularly only by those armies posessing siegecraft- the necessary equipment, resolve, leadership, elan, discipline, and skill. Examples from ancient history were the army of Alexander the Great that conducted 20 sieges over a ten- year period, most after the fall of the Persian Empire; the Hittites, the Assyrians, and the Romans.	”
—Age of Empires manual