Stone is one of the four primary resources the player must collect in Age of Empires and Age of Empires II. Stone is mainly used to build static defenses like Towers and Walls, but it is also used for some technologies, as well as Wonders. To obtain Stone, the player must send Villagers to collect them from the Stone Mine.
Stone was also going to be a resource in Age of Mythology, but was cut before release.
Age of Empires
In the first game, Stone is required to build defensive structures (such as Ballista Towers), to research defensive technologies (as well as Siegecraft), to construct Wonders and also, to train the Slinger, the only unit to cost stone in the entire series (10 Stone).
Babylonians are the only civilization in the first game to receive a stone-related bonus, in the form of 30% faster stone mining.
Technologies that benefit Stone mining include:
Age of Empires II
Similarly to Age of Empires, Stone is required for many structures, such as Towers:
Technologies that boost stone mining are:
And, these civilizations have a stone-related bonus:
- Aztecs (Villagers carry +5 resources)
- Franks (Castles are 25% cheaper)
- Incas (Buildings cost 15% less stone)
- Koreans (Stone miners work 20% faster)
- Mayans (Natural resources last 15% longer)
Methods to obtain stone
Markets
Stone can be purchased for Gold at the market in Age of Empires II.
Mining
Stone Mines are similar to Gold Mines. They are not found in abundance on most maps and are usually found in groups of 2-5. Each one yields 250 stone in Age of Empires and 350 stone in Age of Empires II.
Tribute
Other players may tribute Stone to you on some occasions.
Cheats to obtain Stone
- Age of Empires: Quarry +1000 stone
- Age of Empires II: Rock on +1000 stone
Trivia
- The reason why Stone was removed from Age of Mythology was given by Greg Street on an AoMH Forums thread, answering to why stone was removed: It isn't just having to manage your villagers collecting 5 resources, it's also having to remember that some units, buildings or techs cost Food and Wood, others cost Food and Gold, others cost Food and Favor, others cost Gold and Stone...it just got to be too much to remember, like having a telephone number that was 26 digits long. We didn't remove Stone because it was realistic to do so. We wanted to remove a resource, and Stone made the most sense because there is almost always plenty to go around. Believe me, you're going to have enough to do in AOM without worrying about "stone mines".