Castle

Forts are super-strong defensive structures, and are also used to train a variety of units. Officers, spies, and all gunpowder infantry and siege units are trained from your forts.

While they may seem to be a form of overglorified Siege Workshop, this could hardly be considered close to the truth. While Forts do become the focal point of your gunpowder armies, they also perform a second task, and that is reinforcing your Borders — each new Fort constructed expands your Territory around it, thus making for a nice area-denial weapon to prevent enemies from successfully encroaching on your lands. They are only as strong as the units that fight them are weak, so remember to man them with units that can sally out should the foe bring siege weapons to bear.

Depending on your tech levels and your faction's tech tree, Forts can be upgraded to become more powerful, as will be discussed below.

Castle

Forts are available once Level 3 Military (Heraldry and code of honour) is researched, and depending on what you have researched, you can upgrade your forts to castles, and towers to keeps and bastions. Forts and Towers are upgraded to Castles and Keeps once Fortifications is researched, and can be upgraded again by Asian and Orthodox factions with Imperial Mandate at the Nobles' Court into Strongholds and Keeps, which are immensely strong.

Note, however, that despite being strong, Forts are vulnerable to siege weapons. The trebuchet, having the furthest reach in the entire game, can easily wreck anything with impunity regardless. Of lesser damage caused would be naval units, namely the Siege Galley; Carrack and Lanternas; a Castle with Military Engineering can match a Siege Galley in range; with Bombardment, Carracks are caught. Only a Stronghold with Bombardment can hope to hold off an attack by the Lanternas, and even so, several Lanternas will easily destroy a Stronghold through sheer determination and numbers.

Stronghold

The Stronghold is the Imperial Mandate-based upgrade of the Castle for China and Mongolia, and represents the powerful defences embodied in the modern form of the Great Wall towards the end of the Ming dynasty in China. As expected, it is stronger, tougher and more powerful than the average Castle, and can pose a challenge to most factions without access to the best bombardment units.

Units trained

Gunpowder infantry Name Class Arquebusiers Light gun infantry Fire Lancers Light gun infantry Divine Ordnance Division Light gun infantry Landsknecht Arquebusiers Mercenary medium gun infantry Arquebus Tercio Heavy gun infantry Kapýkulu Marksmen Light gun infantry

Siege machines Name Class Culverin Light field gun Bombard Heavy field gun Ocak Cannon Light field gun Improved Volley Gun Light multiround gun Support units Name Class Officer Command Spy Agent

Upgrades

Fortification 

Without Fortification, Castles will well fall foul of enemy siege units. Fortification enhance a fort's tactical capabilities as well as its effects on your borders.

NAME	GENERAL INFO	COST	LEADS TO
Fortifications	Good walls make the best neighbours. Prereqs: [2]; Increases border push effect of all forts and castles. Increases offensive power and range of all forts and castles. Upgrades Forts to Castles.	150; 120 Time to complete: Fast
Military Engineering	A pile of stones can either be a mighty wall or a fearsome weapon — only as long as one knows how to use them as such. Prereqs:  ;  ; Increases border push effect of all forts and castles. Increases offensive power and range of all forts and castles.	Resource cost: 300; 240 Time to complete: Rather fast	Trebuchet Springald
Bombardment	"Point this end away from self towards enemy." Prereqs:  ;  ; Required for all gunpowder units, with exception of Chinese Fire Lance Infantry and Divine Ordnance Division Increases border push effect of all forts and castles. Increases offensive power and range of all forts and castles.	Resource cost: 450; 300 Time to complete: Medium

Strategy

Strategy upgrades enhance the reliability of spies, and are also required for the creation of generals.

NAME	GENERAL INFO	COST	LEADS TO
Order of Battle	Any fool may know to fight, but a fool who picks the right battles and the right weapons is no fool, but is instead a general. Prereqs: -50% production time for Officers, Spies, Fedayeen and Hashishin Officer, Spy, Fedayeen and Hashishin LOS, Range, Speed, Hit points increased to level 1. Officer armor bonus increased to level 1.	80; 80 Time to complete: Fast
Strategy	"Any man may see the tactics which allows me to win battles, but not the strategy which brings me victory." —Sun Zi Prereqs:  ; +50% craft recovery rate for Officers, Spies, Fedayeen and Hashishin Officer, Spy, Fedayeen and Hashishin LOS, Range, Speed, Hit points increased to level 2. Officer armor bonus increased to level 2.	150; 150 Time to complete: Rather fast
Operations	Preparedness for war is sometimes far more important than winning a war itself. Prereqs:  ; -50% resource cost for Officers, Spies, Fedayeen and Hashishin Officer, Spy, Fedayeen and Hashishin LOS, Range, Speed, Hit points increased to level 3. Officer armor bonus increased to level 3.	300; 300 Time to complete: Rather fast

See also

• Fort