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This article is about the building in Age of Mythology. For the the building in other games of the series, see Town Center. |
The Town Center is an economic building in Age of Mythology. It is the most important of all buildings as it trains villagers and provides Age advancement. In addition, each civilization can train certain other units and research certain myth technologies at the Town Center. It is also a drop-off site for all resources, though it is mostly used by herders and farmers.
Overview[]
Like in Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III, the Town Center can defend itself, easily dispatching early enemy units. Unlike in those games, Town Centers in Age of Mythology do not require a garrison in order to fire arrows at enemies. However, having a garrison increases the damage output. It takes several units with a high hack or crush attack to destroy a Town Center, so they are generally not threatened until the Heroic Age. Town Centers can garrison up to 25 units and initially support 15 population, though this can be increased to 20 in the Heroic Age by researching Fortified Town Center.
A factor that limits the placing of Town Centers is the fact their foundations can be laid exclusively on abandoned Settlements. This limits the areas in which villagers can be trained, and also negates any effort to rush with Town Centers.
From The Titans onwards, additional Town Centers can be built in the Classical Age (and earlier for the Atlanteans). It is very important to build them as they increase a player's population cap. However, they are expensive, take a long time to build, and can only be built on existing Settlements. There are three Settlements per player on a standard map, so the number of Town Centers that can be built is limited.
If a player does not have a Town Center, such as when the Nomad random map is played, they can build one in the Archaic Age.
Civilization and god bonuses[]
Egyptians: Town Centers cost -300 wood, +100 gold (100 food, 400 gold).- Atlanteans: Additional Town Centers are available in the Archaic Age itself. Town Centers cost -25 wood, -25 gold (100 food, 275 wood, 275 gold).
- Fu Xi: Town Centers cost -20% wood (100 food, 240 wood, 300 gold).
- Sekhmet: Can cast Citadel on own or allied Town Center to turn it into a Citadel Center.
Common technologies[]
Age ups[]
Upgrades[]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
| Hit points |  Masons: +15% Architects: +15% Fortified Town Center: +25% Athenian Wall: +20% (Hera only) Sundried Mudbrick: +10% (Hathor only) Rammed Earth: +10% (He Bo only)
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| Attack | Fortified Town Center: +50% Copper Weapons: +10% Bronze Weapons: +10% Iron Weapons: +10%
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| Range | Fortified Town Center: +2
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| Accuracy |  Crenellations
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| Armor | Masons: +20%  hack/ +5%  crush Architects: +5% crush
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| Line of Sight |  Signal Fires: +6 Carrier Pigeons: +6 Oracle: +8 (Apollo only)
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| Resource cost | Sundried Mudbrick: -15% gold (Hathor only)
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| Construction speed |  Divine Blood: +15% (Aphrodite only)
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| Work rate |  Horns of Consecration: +20% favor generation (Rheia only)
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| Other | Fortified Town Center: +5 population
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Relic bonuses[]
- Blanket of Empress Zoe: -20% crush vulnerability.
- Head of Orpheus: +8 Line of Sight.
- Nose of the Sphinx: +15% hit points.
- Arrows of the Alfar: +20% attack.
- Eye of Horus: Support +2 population.
Greeks[]
The Greek Town Center is built quite quickly but is expensive.
- Trains
- Villager
- Hippocrates and major god specific Heroes (once a Temple has been built; excluding The Argo)
- Myth technologies
- Olympic Parentage (Zeus)
- Vaults of Erebus (Hades)
- Golden Apples (Aphrodite)
- Divine Blood (Aphrodite)
- Athenian Wall (Hera)
Egyptians[]
The Egyptian Town Center is the cheapest – costing only 100 food, 400 gold – but takes the longest time to build. Egyptian players can help defend their Town Centers, especially outlying ones, by using mercenaries, which are trained almost instantly.
- Trains
- Laborer
- Pharaoh
- Priest (once a Temple has been built)
- Mercenary
- Mercenary Cavalry
- Myth technologies
- Skin of the Rhino (Ra)
- Feral (Set)
- Sundried Mudbrick (Hathor)
- Medjay (Hathor)
- Funeral Rites (Nephthys)
- Spirit of Ma'at (Nephthys)
- City of the Dead (Nephthys)
- New Kingdom (Osiris)
- Book of Thoth (Thoth)
Norse[]
Unlike many other Norse buildings, their Town Centers are as strong as the other civilizations' ones. The Norse can train three economic units plus their basic infantry unit at the Town Center in the Archaic Age. The infantry unit, the Ulfsark, acts as both scout and builder.
- Trains
- Myth technologies
Atlanteans[]
Atlantean Town Centers are cheaper and, uniquely, can be built in the Archaic Age. Before Tale of the Dragon, they had the weakest Town Centers and the least firepower, needing careful defending. The Atlanteans gain favor for each Town Center they hold.
- Trains
In the very early game, three Oracle units appear at the Town Center, though they cannot be trained at this building.
- Myth technologies
Resource trickle comparison[]
There are quite a few means of auto-generating resources in Age of Mythology.
| Resource generator | Civilization | God | Resource | Rate (per minute) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ring of the Nibelung
|
N/A | Gold | 18 | |
| Ship of Fingernails
|
Food | 24 | ||
| Ankh of Ra
|
Favor | 2.4 | ||
 Vaults of Erebus
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 Greeks
|
 Hades
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Gold | 45 |
 Plenty Vault
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 Hephaestus
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180 | ||
| Food | 180 | |||
| Wood | 180 | |||
 Monument
|
 Egyptians
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All | Favor | 4.9 - 6.9 |
 Flood of the Nile
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 Isis
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Food | 45 | |
 Hersir
|
 Norse
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All | Favor | 0.6 In combat: 1.2 |
 Town Center
|
 Atlanteans
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All | Favor | 6.3 Horns of Consecration (Rheia): 7.56
|
 Garden
|
 Chinese
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All | Food | 30 House Altars (Dabo Gong): 36
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| Wood | 30 House Altars (Dabo Gong): 36
| |||
| Gold | 30 House Altars (Dabo Gong): 36
| |||
| Favor | 3 House Altars (Dabo Gong): 3.6
| |||
 Nü Wa
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3.6 House Altars (Dabo Gong): 4.2
| |||
 Sacrifices
|
 He Bo
|
6 | ||
- Notes
-
- Gardens can be tasked to generate any resource, but they only generate one at a time.
- The Plenty Vault generates all three resources simultaneously.
Chinese[]
If the player's major god is Fu Xi, they cost -20% wood.
- Trains
- Peasant
- Immortal (with a training limit up to eight; after patch 2.7, they require a Temple to have been built)
Two Scout Cavalry units appear at the beginning of the game. However, they can not be trained from this building again.
- Myth technologies
History[]
| “ | The rise of agriculture provided a food surplus that had to be collected and stored to be available in winter months and other periods when food was scarce. The need to collect, store, and protect food surpluses gave rise to the first towns as administrative centers. Towns quickly became engaged in many additional activities, including the gathering and storage of other resources, centers of manufacturing, population concentration points, and centers of trade. All villages and towns had an administrative center that was the site of governmental power and leadership. At first this might have been the local leader's home. The Town Center was often the place where important supplies were stored, especially food surpluses. The destruction of the Town Center usually meant the loss of the town's governmental infrastructure. If this could not be restored, the town or village ceased to function. | ” |
| —In-game help section | ||
Trivia[]
- Originally, Town Centers did not require Settlements to be built, instead they were built in the final and original third Age, the Olympic Age.
- The Atlanteans originally were able to build a unique Town Center called the "Township" which was cheaper, available in the Classical Age-onwards and could be upgraded into Town Centers.
“ The Atlantean Township trains Villagers, provides population room, and acts as smaller city hub than the Town Center. You can only build Townships on Settlements. There are enough Settlements on most maps for every player to have 3, but the more Settlements you have, the less your enemy can use. If your team claims all the Settlements on a map, you win the game under standard victory conditions.The Atlanteans sent people forward to help start these smaller Townships in order to gain geographical advantages in resource gathering. These Townships became smaller centers of manufacturing, population concentration points, and centers of trade, but allowed the Atlanteans to increase the boundaries of their population and controlled land earlier than other civilizations. Gaining and holding settlements also how the Atlanteans gain favor The destruction of the Town ship does not have quite the impact as the loss of the Town Center but getting them up early and defending them well gave the Atlanteans a seemingly unfair territorial advantage. After getting a strong foothold in the area the Atlanteans would move in stronger forces and eventually rebuild Town Centers in the place of these Townships. ” - The Chinese Town Center reuses the icon of the Norse Town Center.
Gallery[]
