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Towers prev aoe2

A western Tower from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

Towers are a class of defensive structures featured in all of the games in the Age of Empires series.

Every tower in the series is able to attack, except Age of Empires II's Outpost, and Age of Mythology's Sentry Tower and Obelisk. In Age of Empires IV, the Outpost and Toll Outpost cannot attack without garrisoning before researching emplacements.

Overview[]

Along with walls, towers are the most ubiquitous defensive structures in the Age of Empires series. They are typically small buildings with moderate defenses, a ranged attack, and an impressive line of sight. They thus provide a way to warn players of incoming enemies and fend them off without using their own units. Castles are very similar to towers, but the latter is characterised by huge size, high garrison capacity, high ranged attack, high hit points, and the ability to produce units and research technologies. The gameplay difference between towers and Castles becomes blurry at times.

Although other defensive structures such as the Castle, Fort or Keep are often more durable and/or powerful than towers, towers have several key advantages that can make them useful. First, they are often available earlier than more powerful defensive structures. They can be much cheaper; for example, in Age of Empires II, the Watch Tower costs less than 20% of the Stone required to build a Castle. This leads into a third point, that players can build several towers over a wider area for the cost of one more powerful defensive structure, thus defending a larger area from enemy attackers.

Though typically treated as defensive structures, towers can be built near an enemy base to limit their expansion and deprive them of resources. The Tower Rush is a recurring strategy in the series.

ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires[]

Age of Empires has a single line of Towers that can be upgraded at the Granary. All civilizations have access to Watch Towers in the Tool Age and Sentry Towers in the Bronze Age, with many civilizations having access to even stronger towers in the Iron Age.

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonuses[]

AoE2-DLCicon-0 Age of Empires II[]

Age of Empires II has three distinct groups of constructable Towers: the Outpost, the Watch Tower line, and the Bombard Tower. Of these, all civilizations have access to at least the Outpost and Watch Tower (or the Donjon for the Sicilians), with the Watch Tower's upgrades and Bombard Towers only being available to certain civilizations.

The Outpost is notable for being available early, being remarkably inexpensive, and lacking any attacking capability. Instead, it is meant to help the player observe its surrounding using its impressive Line of Sight, which grows from 6 to 12 tiles away as one advances through the Ages.

The Watch Tower line of buildings resembles its counterpart in Age of Empires, but its attributes differ enough to change its role. For one, buildings in Age of Empires II, including the Watch Tower, require the Castle Age technology Murder Holes to fire at units directly next to them. This makes Watch Towers more vulnerable to attacks from infantry, cavalry, and even Villagers. On the other hand, buildings such as the Watch Tower are also far sturdier than in the previous game; while the base hit points of a Villager is 25 in both games and the original game's Watch Tower has a base hit points of 125, the Watch Tower in Age of Empires II has a base hit points of 850 in the Feudal Age and 1,020 onwards. These factors, combined with a tower's ability to garrison units, changes how the Watch Tower line is used in practice, even if they strategically fill a similar role as before.

The Bombard Tower is available to less than half of the civilizations, and only in the Imperial Age after researching Chemistry and then subsequently Bombard Tower at the University. Their attacks are both far stronger and slower than the conventional Watch Tower series, making them better suited against certain kinds of units, such as slower groups of infantry and foot archers, and enemy buildings. This last attribute makes Bombard Towers uniquely adept for offensive purposes, denying enemies of map control and resources.

One questionable example of a Tower in Age of Empires II is the Sicilians' unique building, the Donjon. This building is in many ways similar to the Watch Tower line of buildings, and in fact replaces the Watch Tower line for the Sicilians. Compared to the Watch Tower series, the Donjon has comparable hit points, attack, applicable technologies, and a strategic role. However, there are a few key areas where the Donjon stands out. For one, the Donjon is larger than any usual Tower, taking up four tiles of space instead of one. For another, the Donjon is capable of training the Sicilian unique unit, the Serjeant, as early as the Feudal Age, which in turn is capable of building more Donjons. Also, unlike the Watch Tower line, which needs to be upgraded to the Guard Tower and Keep at the University, the Donjon receives free attack upgrades by advancing in Age.

One moderately common strategy in Age of Empires II is the so-called "Tower Rush," which involves building Watch Towers around an enemy's base in the Feudal Age to constrict their growth. Civilizations adept at this strategy include the Incas (due to their early economic bonuses and Stone discount for Towers), the Koreans (for their Stone Mining bonus and Villager's increased Line of Sight), the Sicilians (due to the unique properties of the Donjon), and the Spanish (for their faster building times).

Constructable[]

Unconstructable[]

The unconstructable defensive structures can only be found in the Scenario Editor.

Hero Towers[]

The following defensive structures are hero towers, and as such cannot be converted and regenerate hit points (the latter only after being fully constructed). They appear across many campaign scenarios and can also be found in the Scenario Editor.

Unique technologies[]

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonuses[]

Aom original icon Age of Mythology[]

Major god bonuses[]

  • Fu Xi: Towers cost -20% wood.
  • Gaia: Towers create Lush areas where opponents cannot construct buildings. Towers slowly recover hit points.
  • Hades: Towers have +25% hit points and +20% attack.
  • Isis: Priests build Obelisks 60% faster; Obelisks cost 33% less.

Myth technologies[]

  • Athenian Wall: Towers have +20% hit points.
  • Oracle: Towers have +6 Line of Sight.
  • Rammed Earth: Increased hit points and hack armor of Towers by 10%.
  • Safeguard: Towers have +100% hit points and are 25% cheaper.
  • Sundried Mudbrick: Increases Tower hit points by 10% and reduces their Gold cost by 15%.
  • Titan Shield: Improves Hack and Crush resistance of Towers by 15%.

3Icon48px Age of Empires III[]

GameIcon-AoE4 Age of Empires IV[]

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