| This article is about the technology in Age of Empires II. For the technology in Age of Empires III, see Town Watch (Age of Empires III). |
Town Watch is a technology in Age of Empires II available at the Town Center upon reaching Feudal Age. Once researched, it increases the Line of Sight for all buildings (except Farms, Fish Traps, walls, and gates) by +4.
Town Patrol is the further upgrade of this technology.
Strategy 
Edit
While this technology is rarely regarded as essential, especially before accumulating the food required to advance to the Castle Age, it is worth noting that a 4 tile increase can be very significant for some buildings. It triples the sight range of a House (300% increase). It also nearly doubles that of production and technology buildings such as a forward Archery Range. This can allow these structures to detect units which might have otherwise escaped and slipped past them, particularly as Houses are often placed at the outskirts of a settlement like cheap "walls".
The upgrade is less significant for defensive structures such as the Outpost which only gains 50% more radius, although this can still be useful.
Civilizations bonuses Edit
- Byzantines: Town Watch is free.
- Chinese: Town Watch is 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Persians: Researching Town Watch is 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Changelog Edit
The Age of Kings Edit
- Byzantines: Must research Town Watch like all other civilizations.
The Conquerors Edit
- Byzantines: With patch 1.0b, Town Watch is free.
History Edit
"Each town and community was responsible for its own defense for much of the Middle Ages, relying on the local lord and his retinue of soldiers for protection. The danger from bandits, raiders, or unfriendly neighbors was real. Communities developed a town watch that scouted the nearby countryside regularly. The town watch reported danger to give the community time to prepare what defense it could."
