
A Bank, a unique building for the Dutch in Age of Empires III
A unique building is a special kind of building first introduced in Age of Mythology. Unique buildings are, as the name suggests, only available to a single civilization. They are also available in Age of Empires II, Age of Empires III, and Age of Empires IV.
Age of Empires II[]

In Age of Empires II, there are six unique buildings. They were first introduced in The African Kingdoms, and since then a unique building has been introduced in every expansion except in Return of Rome. Since The Mountain Royals, the concept of shared unique buildings was introduced (similar to the Winged Hussar), which was changed to the concept of regional buildings with update 141935, hence dropping the number. Since update 141935, unique buildings appear in crimson pink in the technology tree as shown to the right, prior to which they shared the rusty red with generic buildings.
Expansion | Building | Civilization | Requires | Cost | Purpose |
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350 gold 300 stone |
Passively generates all resources Takes up 20 population space |
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150 wood | Upgrades from Dock Acts as a defensive structure by shooting arrows |
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350 stone | Acts as a mini-Castle Can train Konniks but cannot research technologies or create Trebuchets Provides 20 population |
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50 wood 175 stone |
Replaces the Watch Tower line Can train Serjeants and Pikeman and is upgraded for free with Age advancements |
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100 wood | Upgraded Mill Immediately collects 8% of the food provided by nearby Farms upon being seeded Provides 5 population |
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100 wood | Farm replacement which can be worked on by two Villagers at once Is its own drop-site |
Availability icons[]
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Age of Mythology[]
As there are only five civilizations in the game, there are many more differences between them. For this reason, there are quite a lot unique buildings.
Greeks[]
Archery Range: Classical Age building used to create and upgrade ranged soldiers
Fortress: Powerful Greek fortress
Lure: God power building that attracts animals, available only to worshipers of Poseidon
Military Academy: Classical Age building used to create and upgrade Infantry
Plenty Vault: God Power building that generates a steady trickle of resources, available only to worshipers of Hephaestus
Storehouse: Archaic Age building used as a drop-off point for wood and gold, as well as to research lumber and mining upgrades
Underworld Passage: God Power building that serves as a portal across the map, available only to worshipers of Apollo
Sentinel: A stationary defense. Available only to worshipers of Hades
Egyptians[]
Ballista Tower: Extremely powerful upgraded Guard Tower
Barracks: Classical Age building used to produce and upgrade basic units
Citadel Center: God Power building that acts as an upgraded Town Center, available only to worshipers of Sekhmet
Citadel Wall: Upgraded Fortified Wall
Lighthouse: Mythic Age lookout which provides enormous Line of Sight
Lumber Camp: Archaic Age building used to drop-off wood and research lumber upgrades
Migdol Stronghold: Egyptian fortress
Mining Camp: Archaic Age building used to drop-off gold and research mining upgrades
Monument: Used to generate favor
Obelisk: Archaic Age building with substantial Line of Sight
Siege Works: Heroic Age building used to create and upgrade Siege Units
Norse[]
Dwarven Armory: Unique Armory that is available earlier and is much cheaper, available only to worshipers of Thor
Healing Spring: God Power building that heals nearby friendly units, available only to worshipers of Forseti
Hill Fort: Cheap, but weak Norse fortress
Longhouse: Classical age building used to train and upgrade infantry units
Great Hall: Classical Age building where heroes and cavalry are trained and upgraded
Atlanteans[]
Bronze Wall: Classical Age wall
Counter Barracks: Classical Age building used to train and upgrade Counter Units
Economic Guild: Used to research economic upgrades
Hesperides Tree: God Power building used to train Dryads and block God Powers from being cast near it, available only to worshipers of Theia
Iron Wall: Heroic Age wall
Manor: Larger, more expensive replacement for the House that can garrison units
Military Barracks: Classical Age building used to create and upgrade basic units
Mirror Tower: Defensive building that is particularly strong against ships and flying units. Available only to worshipers of Helios.
Orichalcum Wall: Mythic Age wall
Palace: Atlantean fortress that is built quickly
Sky Passage: Cheap portal and tower, available only to worshipers of Oranos
Tartarian Gate: God Power building that creates Tartarian Spawns, available only to worshipers of Hekate
Chinese (Immortal Pillars)[]
Baolei: Chinese fortress which trains cavalry
Crossbow Tower: Unique upgrade of the Guard Tower
Great Wall: Unique upgrade of the Fortified Wall
Imperial Academy: Trains Chinese heroes
Machine Workshop: Trains Chinese advanced ranged soldiers and siege weapons
Military Camp: Trains Chinese foot soldiers
Silo: A drop site for food, wood, and gold
Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)[]
Castle: Chinese fortress
Earthen Wall: Archaic Age wall
Garden: Generates a steady supply of a resource
Great Wall: Extremely strong Mythic Age wall
Storage Pit: Archaic age building used as a drop-off point for food, wood, and gold, as well as to research economic upgrades
War Academy: Classical Age building used to train and upgrade basic units
Age of Empires III[]
While quite rare for European civilizations, every Asian, Native American, Post-Colonial, and African civilization has at least one unique building.
Civilization | Building | Description |
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Replacement for the House that is more expensive and spawns a Settler upon creation. |
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Produces a steady supply of coin. |
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Reskin of the Church that trains Imams instead of Priests. |
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Replacement for the Barracks that can attack enemies and supports 10 population. |
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Functions similarly to the War Hut, but produces different units. |
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Replacement for the House that supports 15 population, but is more expensive and has a lower build limit. |
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Used to produce siege units. | |
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Increases the hitpoints of nearby friendly units. |
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Replacement for the House that costs twice as much and has an extremely low build limit, but supports 20 population (40 with upgrades), can be garrisoned, can receive Home City shipments, and can also work as a Livestock Pen. |
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Replacement for the Barracks that can train Banner Armies. | |
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Provides a steady trickle of experience when being worked. Roughly analogous to the Livestock Pen. |
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Replacement for the Stable that trains camel and elephant cavalry instead. | |
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Can be worked like a coin mine; but provides wood instead. | |
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Replacement for the House that costs more but can be worked by animals (including huntable animals), producing a steady trickle of a resource. |
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Automatically creates units in a fashion similar to a Factory. | |
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Can be worked like a coin mine; but provides food instead. | |
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Roughly analogous to the Fort, but can be garrisoned by military units. |
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Replacement for the House that provides a steady trickle of food and supports 12 population, but costs more and has a lower build limit. | |
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Replacement for the Trading Post that supports 5 population, has a weak ranged attack, can garrison Villagers, and can receive Home City shipments. | |
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Functions similarly to the War Hut, but produces different units and supports 10 population; additionally, units garrisoned in a Kallanka take up 1 less population. | |
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Replacement for the House that costs more, but automatically gathers nearby resources and spawns a Berry Bush when built. |
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Replacement for the Church that can train Surgeons and research unique improvements. |
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Replacement for the Tavern. | |
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Capitol replacement that is available in the Fortress Age. Can train Wagons and research unique upgrades. | |
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Can be constructed on a coin mine on which Villagers and Abuns can be tasked to gather coin and influence. |
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Trickles experience or influence under the Sphere of Influence aura. Trickles faster when near a Town Center, Trading Post, or Palace. |
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Church building that can revive a fallen Padre, protects nearby buildings, and has powerful unique upgrades. |
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Economic building that combines Estate, Mill, and Livestock Pen. | |
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Ships powerful Papal allies and boosts nearby building construction speed. |
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Trains Outlaws and Mercenaries. Allows investing resources to gain a greater amount of another resource over a long duration. | |
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Trains Maltese infantry. Heals nearby idle units. |
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Defensive Building that can transport units across other Commanderies. Trains powerful European units. | |
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Boosts attack speed of nearby gunpowder units, artillery, and buildings. Explodes if destroyed, damaging all nearby units. | |
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Powerful stationary artillery. |
Age of Empires IV[]
Eleven out of the eighteen civilizations in Age of Empires IV have at least one unique building, not counting landmarks.
Civilization | Building | Description |
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Connect Cisterns |
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Enhances productivity of nearby Villagers, and one of military production speed, research speed, or damage resistance of nearby buildings. | |
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Used to train unique units of other civilizations. | |
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Farm which generates Olive Oil in addition to food. | |
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Provides 40 population space. |
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Serves as a more powerful Mill, improving the gather rate of nearby Farms. | |
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Generates resources when garrisoned with a Relic. | |
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Provides Line of Sight to player and +30% Line of Sight boost to allied units. |
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Generates 70 food, 45 wood passively every minute and provides population. |
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Stronger replacement for the Keep, available only in the Imperial Age |
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Combination of Mill and House - replaces both | |
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Combination of Mining Camp and Blacksmith - replaces both | |
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Sturdier Capital Town Center which can Age-up with commanderie system and also spawns Pilgrims every minute automatically |
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Keep replacement, available in the Feudal Age | |
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Generates 35 gold/min upon being placed on a Gold Vein without depleting the deposit. |
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Garrisoned Cattle generate 25 food/min. | |
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Combines the effects of the Mill, Lumber Camp, and Mining Camp. |
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Automatically gathers from Stone Outcroppings and allows nearby buildings to research improved technologies and produce two units at once. | |
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Automatically produces Sheep. | |
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Produces a specific type of unit continuously at no cost at a slower rate. |
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Mill replacement that trains Scouts and generates gold based on the number of nearby trees. |
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Outpost replacement that provides Lumber Camps within its influence with bonus wood upon drop-off. | |
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Stronger replacement for the normal Palisade Wall. | |
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Stronger replacement for the normal Palisade Gate. |
- Notes
- The Malian Toll Outpost is not counted because it is statistically identical to the generic Outpost, except for its unique Taxation Aura. However, having such influence mechanics is very common in Age of Empires IV. For example, even the Mongol Outpost, which is not listed as a unique building, has a unique Yam aura.