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This article is about the building in Age of Empires. For other uses, see Wonder.

A massive structure that is the crowning achievement of a civilization. Building a Wonder can be a victory condition or increase your score.
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Wonder is a massive structure that can be built in the Iron Age in Age of Empires. It greatly increases the player's score, and is a victory condition in Random Map games. It has a high amount of hit points, yet no attack, and it takes a very long time to build and repair. If it is constructed and stands for two thousand years (two hundred in Return of Rome), the player will automatically win the game.

Gameplay[]

Wonders require 1,000 wood, 1,000 gold, and 1,000 stone to build, making them the costliest building in the game. As such, it is highly recommended that the Wonder be built as far away as possible from the enemies, either near the heart of the player's city or by the edge of the map, as they will mount a relentless assault on it until it is brought down. Wonders are among one of the few buildings that cannot be converted by Priests. If a player's Wonder is destroyed, the player does not lose the game, although the player does not receive any resources back. The Wonder represents the prestige of a player's empire.

If a player attempts to build a Wonder, all players in the game will receive a notification, and the Wonder's foundation will be revealed as well. Clicking on the foundation will give other players a clue on how close the Wonder is to completion, since it will reveal its hit points. Once the Wonder has been completed, all players will gain line of sight on the area around it without fog of war.

By default, the timer between Wonder completion and victory is 2,000 years in the original game, or 200 years in Return of Rome. Both are equivalent to 1,000 seconds unpaused at the slowest speed, or 16 minutes 40 seconds on the in-game clock. Some scenarios have different timers for Wonder victories.

Upgrades[]

Team bonuses[]

Changelog[]

Return of Rome[]

  • Team bonuses added:

Variations[]

The appearances of a Wonder is determined by which cultural group its civilization belongs to, resulting in five different possible variations of the structure, depending on the civilization's architectural style.

East Asian architecture[]

Returnofrome wonder east asian compare

The East Asian Wonder, the Temple of Heaven, and its in-game counterpart

Choson AOE DE ROR icon Choson, Lac Viet AOE DE ROR icon Lac Viet, Shang AOE DE ROR icon Shang, Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato
Wonder: Temple of Heaven, built by the Chinese Ming dynasty in 1420 AD.
Campaign appearances:

Egyptian architecture[]

Returnofrome wonder egyptian compare

The Egyptian Wonder, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and its in-game counterpart

Assyrian AOE DE ROR icon Assyrians, Egyptian AOE DE ROR icon Egyptians, Hittite AOE DE ROR icon Hittites
Wonder: Pyramid of Khufu, also known as the Great Pyramid, built by the Egyptians in 2600 BC.
Campaign appearances:

Greek architecture[]

Returnofrome wonder greek compare

The Greek Wonder, the Monument of King Leonidas, and its in-game counterpart

Greek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks, Minoan AOE DE ROR icon Minoans, Phoenician AOE DE ROR icon Phoenicians
Wonder: Monument of King Leonidas
Campaign appearances:

Mesopotamian architecture[]

Returnofrome wonder mesopotamian compare

The Mesopotamian Wonder in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, a recreation of Etemenanki, and its in-game counterpart

Babylonian AOE DE ROR icon Babylonians, Persian AOE DE ROR icon Persians, Sumerian AOE DE ROR icon Sumerians
Wonder: Etemenanki, built by the Babylonians between 14th and 9th Centuries BC.
Campaign appearances:

AoE Wonder mesopotamian comparison

The Mesopotamian Wonder in Age of Empires, the ruins of Ziggurat of Ur, and its in-game counterpart

Babylonian AOE DE ROR icon Babylonians, Persian AOE DE ROR icon Persians, Hittite AOE DE ROR icon Hittites
Wonder: Ziggurat of Ur, built by the Sumerians in 2100 BC and restored by the Babylonians in 600 BC.
Campaign appearances:

Roman architecture[]

Wonder-romans

The Roman Wonder, the Colosseum, and its in-game counterpart

Carthaginian AOE DE ROR icon Carthaginians, Macedonian AOE DE ROR icon Macedonians, Palmyran AOE DE ROR icon Palmyrans, Roman AOE DE ROR icon Romans
Wonder: Colosseum built by the Romans in 80 AD.
Campaign appearances:

History[]

A Wonder is a massive structure, a crowning achievement of technology, resources, and construction time for civilizations who build one. Examples of historic ancient Wonders that have become icons for their civilization are the Egyptian Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and the Athenian Acropolis.
Age of Empires manual

Trivia[]

  • The East Asian Wonder, the Temple of Heaven, is anachronistic for the time period, as it was built in the Middle Ages.
  • The Ziggurat of Ur was built by the Sumerians in real history, but that civilization in the game has the Pyramid of Khufu as their Wonder instead. While the Sumerians were changed to use Mesopotamian architecture in Return of Rome, the Mesopotamian Wonder has been changed to a different structure before this.
  • In the original game, the East Asian and Egyptian Wonders look different in their icons because they are from the beta. Also, the Mesopotamian Wonder in the beta is the Temple instead of the Wonder.
  • The Pyramid of Khufu, Temple of Heaven, and Colosseum reappear in Age of Empires II, as the Great Pyramid, Chinese Wonder, and Amphitheatre, respectively. There is a separate Colosseum building as well.
  • While not matching any monument that ever existed, the Greek Wonder was likely inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes.
  • By in-game appearance, the Great Pyramid is the fourth tallest Wonder in the game. In reality, it was the tallest man-made structure from its completion in about 2470 BC until the early 1300s AD, where it was overtaken by Gothic cathedrals of France and England.
Buildings Tree
Stone Age Icon (DE)
Stone Age
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede greek barracks available
   
   
Starting
Aoede greek town center available
   
   
Aoede storage pit available
   
   
Aoede house available
   
   
Aoede granary available
   
   
Aoede dock available
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Tool Age Icon (DE)
Tool Age
   
   
Aoede stable available
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede archery range available
   
   
   
   
Aoede watch tower available
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede market available
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede small wall availableReturnofrome small gate available
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede farm available
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Bronze Age Icon (DE)
Bronze Age
   
   
Aoede greek academy available
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede siege workshop available
   
   
   
   
Aoede sentry tower available
   
   
Aoede greek government center available
   
   
Aoede temple available
   
   
Aoede greek medium wall availableReturnofrome medium gate available
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Additional
Aoede greek town center available
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Iron Age Icon (DE)
Iron Age
   
   
Wonder
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede greek guard tower available
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede greek fortified wall availableFortified Gate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aoede greek ballista tower available
   
   


Gallery[]

Buildings in Age of Empires
Civilian buildings
GeneralReturnofrome stone age house icon House · AOEDE Temple icon Temple · AOEDE Government Center icon Government Center · Returnofrome greek wonder icon Wonder
EconomicAOEDE Town Center icon Town Center · AOEDE Dock icon Dock · Storage Pit icon Storage Pit · AOEDE Granary icon Granary · Market AOEDE icon Market · AOEDE Farm icon Farm
UnconstructableAqueduct aoe2DE Aqueduct · Army Tent icon nuRoR Army Tent · Barricade aoe2DE Barricade · Chain aoe2DE Chain · Amphitheatre aoe2DE Colosseum · 2de granary new icon Granary · Pyramid aoe2DE Great Pyramid · Hut small aoe2DE Hut · Returnofrome greek wonder icon Monument · Pyramid aoe2DE Pyramid · Returnofrome ruins icon Ruins · AOEDE Trade Workshop icon Trade Workshop · Yurt thatch small aoe2DE Yurt
Military buildings
ProductionAOEDE Barracks icon Barracks · AOEDE Archery Range icon Archery Range · AOEDE Stable icon Stable · AOEDE Siege Workshop icon Siege Workshop · AOEDE Academy icon Academy
TowerAOEDE Watch Tower icon Watch Tower · AOEDE Sentry Tower icon Sentry Tower · Returnofrome greek guard tower icon Guard Tower · Returnofrome greek guard tower icon Ballista Tower
WallReturnofrome small wall icon Small Wall · Returnofrome greek medium wall icon Medium Wall · Returnofrome greek fortified wall icon Fortified Wall · Small Gate (AOE RoR) icon Small Gate · Medium Gate (AOE RoR) icon Medium Gate · Fortified Gate (AOE RoR) icon Fortified Gate
UnconstructableReturnofrome greek guard tower icon Mirror Tower · Returnofrome roman guard tower icon Zenobia's Tower
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