Watch Tower (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the building in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals. For other uses, see Watch Tower.

Watch Tower
Building information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals
Type	Defensive
Civilization	Africans
Age	Exploration Age
Use	Attacks nearby enemy units Train outlaws Receive Home City shipments Reveal stealth enemies
Construction
Wood	250
Max. builders	4
Build time	50 seconds
Build limit	7
Statistics
Hit points	2,000
Garrison	20
Line of Sight	32
XP build bounty	35
XP bounty	70
Ranged attack
Damage	30
Multipliers	×1.5 vs. Cavalry and Shock Infantry ×0.5 vs. Siege Unit ×0.25 vs. Villager
Range	24
Rate of Fire	3.0
Anti-ship attack
Damage	100
Multipliers	×0.5 vs. Siege Unit
Range	40
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Watch Tower that can be used to defend the border.	”
—In-game description

The Watch Tower is a defensive building in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals that is unique to the African civilizations (Ethiopians and Hausa). It functions identically to Outposts but can also train African outlaw units.

Units

Age	Unit	Cost	Pop.
	Desert Warrior	30 food, 70 coin	2
	Desert Archer
	Desert Raider	50 food, 130 coin	3

Technologies

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Sentry Tower	400 wood, 200 coin	Upgrade Watch Towers to Sentry Towers (+50% attack, +5 LOS)
	Nomadic Bandits	250 food, 250 wood	Outlaws get +20% hit points and attack, and train time -30%; Outlaws get +25% hit points and attack in the Industrial Age, and +50% hit points and attack in the Imperial Age
	Guard Tower	800 wood, 400 coin	Upgrade Watch Towers to Guard Towers (+50% hit points, +100% anti-ship attack, gets a bombard attack with an AOE of 3, and +5 LOS); requires Sentry Tower

Further statistics

Building strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Ships, infantry, weak cavalry
Weak vs.	Artillery, siege units
Improvements
Hit points
Attack
Sight
Construction cost	Cree Textile Craftsmanship (-25% wood) Tupi Forest Burning (-20% wood)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Watch Tower

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team

Europeans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Coastal Defenses	Defensive buildings get +1.0x multiplier against ships		25

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Improved Buildings	Buildings get +25% hit points		10

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Cheap Outposts	Outposts, Blockhouses, War Huts, Castles, and Watch Towers cost -30%		1

History

“

Coastal regions in Africa boasted especially sophisticated tower and fortification architecture, but many other regions had formidable outposts of their own around which settlements were built. These settlements attracted travelers, merchants, and mercenaries who variously brought intrigue, power, and vibrancy wherever they went.

”

See also

• Outpost
• Blockhouse
• War Hut
• Castle