Blast Furnace is a technology in Age of Empires II that can be researched at the Blacksmith once the Imperial Age is reached. Once researched, it increases infantry and cavalry attack by +2.
Blast Furnace is available to all civilizations except for the Byzantines, Koreans, Malians, and Vietnamese.
Civilization bonuses
- Chinese: Blast Furnace is 20% cheaper.
- Incas: Blast Furnace gives +2 attack to Villagers.
- Magyars: Blast Furnace is free.
- Spanish: Blast Furnace doesn't cost gold.
History
The Saracens and later the Japanese made the first high-quality steel through the laborious process of folding iron over and over and hammering it. A tremendous number of repetitions of this process removed a very high percentage of impurities in the metal creating steel. The Saracens and Japanese were both known for the sharpness and strength of their best swords. Innovators learned to speed the process of making steel through a blast furnace. By blasting oxygen into the furnace when iron ore was being smelted, the temperature of the mixture was raised and more impurities were burned off. The result was steel, a useful material for weapons because it could hold a sharper point and did not fracture as easily as iron.
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