This article is about the building in Age of Empires. For other uses, see Temple. |
“ | Used to train Priests and research technology that increases their powers. | ” |
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition |
The Temple is a special building in Age of Empires that becomes available once the Bronze Age is reached.
Trained units can be garrisoned inside by setting the building's rally point to itself. Once a unit is ejected, it cannot be regarrisoned.
Gameplay[]
The main purpose of Temples in is to train and improve Priests, which can heal allied units and convert enemies. To build the Temple, a Market must be built beforehand, unless the match starts from the Bronze Age or later.
The Priest, and all technologies available at the Temple, rely solely on gold; no other resource is used. While many technologies are available at the Temple, nearly all of them affect only the Priest. The one exception is Zealotry (formerly Jihad), which affects Villager combat effectiveness. However, most players prefer not to research this technology, as it reduces Villagers' economic capability, and still doesn't make them a capable fighting force. Priests can only be upgraded with Temple technologies, so they receive no benefit from any Storage Pit armor upgrades.
Priests are expensive, slow, and fragile, but can switch an enemy unit's allegiance from a lengthy distance, making them a devastating counter to slow melee units such as War Elephants. Against faster troops, they need screening with buildings or units to prevent the enemy getting close before the conversion finishes. They can be somewhat useful against lone archers: the Priest will take damage, but if they are mass-healed by a group of other Priests, they should survive long enough to make the conversion. The Priest is also one of the few units in the game that can beat the range of a Stone Thrower, and these siege units' slow movement means they are unlikely to escape conversion. But this will usually be a straight trade, as Priests need to start dodging immediately after a projectile is fired to stand a chance of avoiding it; a single accurate hit is fatal.
Priests are somewhat vulnerable to the reach and power of Ballistae. They are highly vulnerable to Chariots, Chariot Archers, and ships, which have a degree of conversion resistance, and move so quickly that they can easily turn the tables on the Priest.
The Macedonians are the only faction unable to build Temples and field Priests, but also have little to fear from enemy Priests, as all their units and buildings take far longer to convert. Egyptian Priests are the deadliest in the game, as their reach can exceed even the Heavy Catapult, they can access the entire Temple tech tree, and in Return of Rome, they gain a little pierce armor.
The Temple's counterpart in Age of Empires II is the Monastery. Note, however, that Temples cannot garrison Artifacts, the closest Age of Empires equivalent to Relics. Garrisoning was not introduced to the game until Return of Rome, in which Temples can only garrison a production queue of Priests.
Trainable units[]
Stone Age*[]
Technologies[]
Age | Technology | Gold cost | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
Astrology | 175 | Priests convert and heal 30% faster | |
Mysticism | 120 | Priests get +20 hit points | |
Polytheism | 120 | Priests get +40% speed | |
Afterlife | 275 | Priests get +3 range and Line of Sight | |
Monotheism | 350 | Priests can convert enemy buildings and Priests | |
Fanaticism | 150 | Priests rejuvenate 50% faster Enables the Legionary upgrade | |
Zealotry | 120 | Villagers get +40 hit points, +7 damage and +10% speed Villagers carry -6 food, -8 wood, stone and gold | |
Medicine | 150 | Priests heal 33% faster | |
Sacrifice* | 400 | Priests can be sacrificed to instantly convert an enemy unit | |
Theocracy* | 400 | Only one Priest in group must rest after a conversion |
Technology availability[]
= Available | |
= Unavailable | |
= Researched for free |
Civilization | All | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assyrians | X | ||||||||||
Babylonians | X | ||||||||||
Carthaginians | |||||||||||
Choson | X | ||||||||||
Egyptians | X | ||||||||||
Greeks | |||||||||||
Hittites | |||||||||||
Lac Viet | |||||||||||
Minoans | |||||||||||
Palmyrans | |||||||||||
Persians | X | ||||||||||
Phoenicians | X | ||||||||||
Romans | |||||||||||
Shang | X | ||||||||||
Sumerians | |||||||||||
Yamato | |||||||||||
Civilization | All |
Upgrades[]
Hit points | Architecture (+20%) |
Line of Sight | City Watch (+3) Writing (share exploration with allies) |
Build time | Architecture (-33%) |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Romans: Temple cost -10%.
Team bonuses[]
- Babylonians: Temples are built 10% faster.
- Choson: Temples have +2 Line of Sight.
- Palmyrans: Temples research 30% faster, and technologies which benefit Temples are researched 30% faster.
Changelog[]
Age of Empires[]
- Temples have 5 Line of Sight.
Definitive Edition[]
- Temples have 4 Line of Sight.
Return of Rome[]
- Team bonuses added:
- Babylonians: Temples are built 10% faster.
- Palmyrans: Technologies at and benefiting the Temple are researched 30% faster.
- Sacrifice removed and replaced with Theocracy.
- Choson (team bonus): With update 93001, Temples have +2 Line of Sight.
Trivia[]
- The Priest is actually available in the Stone Age (viewable through the Scenario Editor) despite the building itself not being available until the Bronze Age.
History[]
“ | The temple was a religious center. It was often the earthly home or point of communication with a particular god or goddess. Priests or priestesses in the temple acted as the servants of the resident god or goddess and managed contact to and from the people, plus instruction, rituals, petitions, and answers to questions. The most common form of petition was the prayer. Another was the provision of gifts that supported the temple and its servants. A less common petition was the sacrifice of animals or even humans. The general belief of the time was that the more elaborate a temple, the taller it was, and the more grand, the more disposed the god or goddess would be to provide good weather, rainfall, and crop yields, while keeping away pests, disease, and human invaders. | ” |
—Age of Empires manual |
Tech tree[]
- Blue: Units
- Red: Buildings
- Green: Technologies
Market |
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Gallery[]
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 |