Unique building

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 eight 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).

Expansion	Building	Civilization	Requires	Cost	Purpose
The African Kingdoms	Feitoria	Portuguese	Imperial Age	350 gold, 300 stone	Passively generates all resources Takes up 20 population space
Rise of the Rajas	Harbor	Malay	Thalassocracy	150 wood	Upgrades from Dock Acts as a defensive structure by shooting arrows
The Last Khans	Krepost	Bulgarians	Castle Age	350 stone	Acts as a mini-Castle Can train Konniks but cannot research technologies or create Trebuchets Provides 20 population
Lords of the West	Donjon	Sicilians	Feudal Age	50 wood, 175 stone	Replaces the Watch Tower line Can train Serjeants and Pikeman and is upgraded for free with Age advancements
Dawn of the Dukes	Folwark	Poles	Dark Age	100 wood	Upgraded Mill Immediately collects 8% of the food provided by nearby Farms upon being seeded Provides 5 population
Dynasties of India	Caravanserai	Hindustanis Persians	Imperial Age	175 wood, 50 stone	Heals and improves the speed of all friendly Trade Carts by 1 HP/s and 20% respectively within 8 tiles from all edges of the building
The Mountain Royals	Mule Cart	Armenians Georgians	Dark Age	20 food, 80 wood	Mobile drop-site for wood, gold, stone, and hunted food Replaces the Lumber Camp and Mining Camp
	Fortified Church		Castle Age	200 wood	Upgraded Monastery Can also garrison and heal Monks, Villagers, Kings, and Mule Carts Garrisoned Villagers and Relics add projectiles

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 castle.
• 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.

Other: Sentinel: A statue. Considered an archer, but practically dual-classed: archer + building because it cannot move and has the armor stats of a building. 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: Provides enormous Line of Sight.
• Lumber Camp: Archaic Age building used to drop-off wood and research lumber upgrades.
• Migdol Stronghold: Cheap Egyptian castle.
• 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 castle.
• Longhouse: Classical age building used to train and upgrade units.

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 castle that is built quickly and can garrison 12 units.
• 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.

Other: Lush terrain: Grows out from buildings and cannot be built on by enemies. Available only to worshipers of Gaia.

Chinese

• Castle: Chinese castle.
• 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
British	Manor House	Replacement for the House that is more expensive and spawns a Settler upon creation.
Dutch	Bank	Produces a steady supply of coin.
Ottomans	Mosque	Reskin of the Church that trains Imams instead of Priests.
Russians	Blockhouse	Replacement for the Barracks that can attack enemies and supports 10 population.
Aztecs	Nobles' Hut	Functions similarly to the War Hut, but produces different units.
Haudenosaunee	Longhouse	Replacement for the House that supports 15 population, but is more expensive and has a lower build limit.
	Siege Workshop	Used to produce siege units.
Lakota	Teepee	Increases the hitpoints of nearby friendly units.
Chinese	Village	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.
	War Academy	Replacement for the Barracks that can train Banner Armies.
Indians	Sacred Field	Provides a steady trickle of experience when being worked. Roughly analogous to the Livestock Pen.
	Caravanserai	Replacement for the Stable that trains camel and elephant cavalry instead.
	Mango Grove	Can be worked like a coin mine; but provides wood instead.
Japanese	Shrine	Replacement for the House that costs more but can be worked by animals (including huntable animals), producing a steady trickle of a resource.
	Dojo	Automatically creates units in a fashion similar to a Factory.
	Cherry Orchard	Can be worked like a coin mine; but provides food instead.
Inca	Stronghold	Roughly analogous to the Fort, but can be garrisoned by military units.
	Kancha House	Replacement for the House that provides a steady trickle of food and supports 12 population, but costs more and has a lower build limit.
	Tambo	Replacement for the Trading Post that supports 5 population, has a weak ranged attack, can garrison Villagers, and can receive Home City shipments.
	Kallanka	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.
Swedes	Torp	Replacement for the House that costs more, but automatically gathers nearby resources and spawns a Berry Bush when built.
United States	Meeting House	Replacement for the Church that can train Surgeons and research unique improvements.
	Saloon	Replacement for the Tavern.
	State Capitol	Capitol replacement that is available in the Fortress Age. Can train Wagons and research unique upgrades.
Ethiopians	Mountain Monastery	Can be constructed on a coin mine on which Villagers and Abuns can be tasked to gather coin and influence.
Hausa	University	Trickles experience or influence under the Sphere of Influence aura. Trickles faster when near a Town Center, Trading Post, or Palace.
Mexicans	Cathedral	Church building that can revive a fallen Padre, protects nearby buildings, and has powerful unique upgrades.
	Hacienda	Economic building that combines Estate, Mill, and Livestock Pen.
Italians	Basilica	Ships powerful Papal allies and boosts nearby building construction speed.
	Lombard	Trains Outlaws and Mercenaries. Allows investing resources to gain a greater amount of another resource over a long duration.
Maltese	Hospital	Trains Maltese infantry. Heals nearby idle units.
	Commandery	Defensive Building that can transport units across other Commanderies. Trains powerful European units.
	Depot	Boosts attack speed of nearby gunpowder units, artillery, and buildings. Explodes if destroyed, damaging all nearby units.
	Fixed Gun	Powerful stationary artillery.

Age of Empires IV

Nine out of the 16 civilizations in Age of Empires IV have at least one unique building, not counting landmarks.

Civilization	Building	Description
Byzantines	Aqueduct	Connect Cisterns
	Cistern	Enhances productivity of nearby Villagers, and one of military production speed, research speed, or damage resistance of nearby buildings.
	Mercenary House	Used to train unique units of other civilizations.
	Olive Grove	Farm which generates Olive Oil in addition to food.
Chinese Zhu Xi's Legacy	Village	Provides 40 population space.
	Granary	Serves as a more powerful Mill, improving the gather rate of nearby Farms.
	Pagoda	Generates resources when garrisoned with a Relic.
English	Campfire	Provides Line of Sight to player and +30% Line of Sight boost to allied units.
Japanese	Castle	Stronger replacement for the Keep, available only in the Imperial Age
	Farmhouse	Combination of Mill and House - replaces both
	Forge	Combination of Mining Camp and Blacksmith - replaces both
Malians	Pit Mine	Generates 35 gold/min upon being placed on a Gold Vein without depleting the deposit.
	Cattle Ranch	Garrisoned Cattle generate 25 food/min.
Mongols	Ger	Combines the effects of the Mill, Lumber Camp, and Mining Camp.
	Ovoo	Automatically gathers from Stone Outcroppings and allows nearby buildings to research improved technologies and produce two units at once.
	Pasture	Automatically produces Sheep.
Ottomans	Military School	Produces a specific type of unit continuously at no cost at a slower rate.
Rus	Hunting Cabin	Mill replacement that trains Scouts and generates gold based on the number of nearby trees.
	Wooden Fortress	Outpost replacement that provides Lumber Camps within its influence with bonus wood upon drop-off.
	Fortified Palisade Wall	Stronger replacement for the normal Palisade Wall.
	Fortified Palisade Gate	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.