This article is about the building in Age of Empires II. For other uses, see Stone Wall. |
ā | Stone wall that is difficult to breach without siege weapons. Slows down your enemies and warns you of their approach. Cannot be converted by enemy Monks. | ā |
—Age of Empires II description |
The Stone Wall is a wall in Age of Empires II that becomes available once the Feudal Age is reached. Stone Walls are much stronger than Palisade Walls and a good defense in the Feudal Age, but become comparatively weak in later stages of the game.
Tactics and placement[]
When Stone Walls are built around the player's base, it makes it near impossible for non-siege units to raid what's inside the base without the use of Siege Towers. Stone Walls are usually upgraded to Fortified Wall as soon as possible, thanks to the great value of said upgrade.
Stone Walls are essential when performing a turtling strategy, as they deter small groups of enemy units and delay the main force, giving more time to properly react. Also, they provide defense for friendly ranged units and buildings that can attack the enemy units from behind the Wall without taking any retaliation from non-ranged units.
Walls should be placed in strategic points or surround and protect the player's settlements, preferably at a little distance from important buildings like Town Centers to prevent enemy siege weapons to attack these buildings from behind the Wall. When placing a wall, the player should take advantage of the terrain. For example, placing them next to forests and cliffs helps to enclose an area as well while precious stone is saved. While 5 stone might seem cheap at a glance, for a modest 20-tile section of Stone Walls, the price will balloon up to 100 stone. The support of towers is highly valuable especially in major choke points as the Walls only serve as a blocking building and cannot attack. Placing Gates is also important to increase the efficiency of defensive structures as the Gate allows friendly units to pass through the wall while impeding enemy units to enter the walled area.
Given their passive nature, walls will require the support of units to keep themselves protected.
Further statistics[]
Building strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Nothing |
Weak vs. | Everything except Monks |
Upgrades | |
Hit points | Great Wall (+30%, Chinese only) |
Construction speed | Treadmill Crane (+20%) |
Upgrades | Fortified Wall |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Byzantines: Stone Walls have +10%/+20%/+30%/+40% hit points in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Stone Walls are 10%/15% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
- Incas: Stone Walls are 15% cheaper (they actually cost 4 stone, 2 if teamed with Mayans).
- Italians: Upgrading to Fortified Wall and researching Treadmill Crane is 33% cheaper.
- Georgians: Stone Walls receive -20% damage (-40% instead of -25%) when fighting from higher elevation.
- Romans: Stone Walls are built and repaired 5% faster.
- Spanish: Stone Walls are built 30% faster. Receive 20 gold after researching Treadmill Crane and Fortified Wall.
Team bonuses[]
- Georgians: Repairing Stone Walls costs 25% fewer resources.
- Malians: Upgrading to Fortified Wall and researching Treadmill Crane is 80% faster.
- Mayans: Stone Walls are 50% cheaper (rounded up to 3 stone per segment).
- Portuguese: Technologies that benefit Stone Walls are researched 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Stone Walls have 1,800 HP from the Feudal Age on.
- Stone Walls take 8 seconds to build.
- The upgrade to the Fortified Wall costs 200 food, 100 stone.
- Stone Walls foundations same armor while under construction as when fully constructed.
The Conquerors[]
The Forgotten[]
- Stone Wall HP reduced to 900 in the Feudal Age.
- Stone Walls take 10 seconds to build.
- Chinese: Great Wall introduced.
- Koreans: Stone Walls are built 33% faster.
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 42848, Stone Walls foundations have 0 melee armor while under construction.
- Koreans: Stone Walls are no longer built 33% faster.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 66692, Stone Walls in the Feudal Age have 1,080 hit points.
- With update 99311, Stone Walls have a new unique icon distinct from the Fortified Wall.
History[]
ā | Larger and more advanced civilizations upgraded their defenses to stone walls when they could. A well-built stone wall offered protection against raiders because it could be broken down only by a determined effort. To capture a walled town or castle might require a long siege or a battering by powerful siege engines. Stone walls were expensive and time-consuming to build but worth the cost when guarding valuable locations. One famous set of stone walls from the Middle Ages were those guarding the land approaches to Constantinople. These walls withstood intermittent assault over a period of a thousand years. They were partly responsible for deflecting barbarian tribes from the north and east toward Rome, even though Constantinople may have been a more attractive prize. The other famous stone wall of the Middle Ages was the Great Wall of China. Originally constructed in ancient times, it was extended and rebuilt in places by several dynasties. The frontier of China was so long that the Great Wall could not be defended sufficiently to be a shield. It did serve to provide warning of Mongol attack. Most importantly, it slowed the advance and withdrawal of raiders across the frontier, giving the imperial armies a chance to intercept. | ā |
—Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual |
Trivia[]
- A piece of Stone Wall has two appearances. The default appearance of a wall piece changes to a middle section wall piece if that piece is joined by another Stone Wall piece/Gate on the opposite sides.
- The Mediterranean Stone Wall in the Definitive Edition is based on Roman brick walls such as the Walls of Constantinople.
- In the HD Edition, the Eastern European Stone Wall was based on medieval Russian fortifications like the Novgorod Detinets and kremlins in general. However, this was changed to a more generic Brick Gothic inspiration in the Definitive Edition.