Siege & Defensive Structures Guide
Walls and Castles secure territory, while siege engines break enemy fortifications. Winning Castle Age and Imperial Age battles depends on pairing siege weapons with supporting ground troops.
Defensive Structures Overview
Fortifications protect vital resource nodes and hold map chokepoints.
Town Center (Early Anchor) ──> Watch Towers (Resource Guard) ──> Castle (Map Dominance)
| Structure | Cost | Primary Function | Firepower / Mechanics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Center | 275 Wood, 100 Stone (Castle Age) | Economic hub & early shelter | Fires extra arrows when workers or archers are garrisoned inside |
| Watch Tower / Guard Tower | 25 Wood, 125 Stone | Point defense on gold or woodlines | Automatic arrow fire and upgraded at University |
| Palisade Wall | 2 Wood per tile | Early raiding barrier | Low hit points that delay enemy scout rushes |
| Stone Wall / Fortified Wall | 5 Stone per tile | Mid-game fortress perimeter | High durability that stops light cavalry raids cold |
| Castle | 650 Stone | Ultimate map anchor & unique unit hub | Massive arrow fire, unlocks Trebuchets & Unique Techs |
Note: Franks build Castles for 488 Stone (-25% cost), and Incas build Castles for 15% less Stone. Cumans possess the unique civilization bonus to build a second Town Center in the Feudal Age.
Siege Weapons Breakdown
Siege engines are built at the Siege Workshop (except Trebuchets, which are constructed directly at Castles).
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Siege Weapon Roles │
└───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────────────┼─────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ Battering │ │ Mangonel │ │ Trebuchet │
│ Ram │ │ / Onager │ │ / Bombard │
│ (Walls/TC)│ │ (Massed │ │ (Castles/ │
│ │ │ Ranged) │ │ Long Range│
└───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘
1. Battering Rams (Battering Ram / Capped Ram / Siege Ram)
- Role: Pure building destruction.
- Strengths: High pierce armor renders them almost immune to arrows from Archers, Town Centers, and Castles.
- Weakness: Vulnerable to melee attacks from Villagers, Longswordsmen, and Cavalry.
- Garrison Speed Math: Siege Rams hold up to 6 infantry units. Base movement speed is 0.6. Each garrisoned infantry adds a flat +0.05 speed (max +0.30, bringing movement speed to 0.9). The Mongol Drill technology applies an independent 50% speed multiplier, letting garrisoned rams match Dark Age Scout Cavalry speed.
2. Mangonels (Mangonel / Onager / Siege Onager)
- Role: Area-of-effect ranged destruction.
- Strengths: Devastates grouped archers and infantry squads with a single boulder strike. Can cut through trees when upgraded to Siege Onager.
- Weakness: Has a minimum firing range. Fragile against cavalry flank charges.
- Tactical Tip: Use manual ground targeting to lead enemy army formations.
3. Trebuchets
- Role: Long-range Castle and base destruction.
- Strengths: Out-ranges Castles and Towers with massive single-shot damage. Unlocked in Imperial Age.
- Weakness: Requires unpacking to fire and packing to relocate. Defenseless when isolated.
- Tactical Tip: Protect Trebuchets with a wall of Spearmen and a forward Castle anchor.
4. Bombard Cannons
- Role: Mobile siege and anti-siege artillery.
- Strengths: Fires high-velocity cannonballs without needing setup time. Excellent counter to enemy Mangonels and Trebuchets.
- Weakness: Requires Gold and high Imperial Age tech investments. Vulnerable to fast cavalry charges.
Repair Mechanics and Repair Costs
Repairing structures under active attack keeps critical positions alive.
Repair Villagers ──> Consume original building resources ──> Restore HP per second
- Repair Rate: Multiple Villagers can repair a single structure simultaneously to boost hit point recovery speed.
- Repair Costs: Repairing consumes the original building resource types (Stone and Wood) in proportion to the damage healed.
- Emergency TC Repair: Assigning 5 to 8 Villagers to repair a damaged Town Center during an early ram push will out-heal the ram's damage output while your military responds.
Castle Drop Tactics and Defense
A forward Castle drop exerts immediate pressure on an opponent's main base.
Scout area ──> Gather 10 Villagers + Army ──> Drop Castle near enemy Gold/TC ──> Secure with Trebuchets
Executing a Castle Drop
- Accumulate 650 Stone during late Castle Age.
- Escort 10 to 12 Villagers across the map under the protection of your main army.
- Place the Castle foundation within firing range of your opponent's primary Gold vein or Town Center.
- Use all Villagers to construct the Castle rapidly before enemy forces can break your builder line.
Defending Against a Castle Drop
- Scout forward Stone gatherers: If your opponent mines heavy Stone in Castle Age, expect a forward Castle attempt.
- Deny the foundation: Attack the building Villagers immediately. A Castle foundation has minimal armor until complete.
- Build a counter Castle: Construct your own defensive Castle just out of range to hold the line until you hit Imperial Age for Trebuchets.