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File:Ruinedfixedgun.jpg

A Fixed Gun on its Fixed Gun Base over a cliff.

The Fixed Gun is a very heavy artillery piece in Age of Empires III. It is featured in the story modes and in custom scenarios, but cannot be built by the player.

Game Info

The Fixed Gun is a large gun turret and is the most powerful weapon in Age of Empires III. It cannot be built by any civilization and is stationed in a certain area. It has 80 range, 10,000 hit points, 500 attack and is 3 times more powerful against ships. The experience for destroying or building a Fixed Gun is 300.

The Fixed Gun is not really a unit of any kind, it is more of a building because it doesn't move and it can sometimes be repaired. In the campaigns, fixed guns are weaker and can be captured or destroyed. There is also an older version of the fixed gun that is called Ruined Fixed Gun.

The fixed gun is featured in the campaigns "Act I: Blood" and "Act III: Steel". In "Act 1: Blood", in the last level, Morgan discovers Alain Magnan has been a traitor to the Knights of St. John and is the leader of the Circle of Ossus. Soon Morgan, Lizzie, and Sahin attempt to destroy the the fountain of youth and discovers that the Circle owns a large Fixed Gun on top of a cliff which they commandeer and use to effectively destroy the fountain of youth.

In "Act 3: Steel", when Amelia Black encounters the old Spanish Galleons, there is a secondary objective saying that Kanyenke believes that the old fixed gun can be restored if the ruins are found. Then in the last level, Amelia attempts to beat the Circle of Ossus once and for all and she encounters large Fixed Guns that must be destroyed.

In the WarChiefs, during the Battle of Bunker Hill there are two Fixed Gun that Nathaniel Black and the Colonists can use against the British invaders. However, both of these guns are well outside of the usual British attack paths, rendering them almost completely useless.

In the Asian Dynasties, the British base in the last mission of Act III: India is protected by two Fixed Guns, both of which can be captured to level the British fortifications. Note that they will do anything to regain them, should the player capture them.

Tips to destroy the Fixed Gun

Usually Fixed Guns are near large bodies of water because of their effectiveness against enemy naval units. The least effective way to destroy it is by attacking it using only units with short range. The most effective strategy is to advance to the Industrial Age and then build a couple of Monitors. These warships have a Mortar on them that has a special ability which is a powerful long ranged shot that has an even longer range than the Fixed Gun itself. If the Fixed Gun is constantly bombarded like this it will eventually be destroyed.

Tips to protect the Fixed Gun

To protect a fixed gun that belongs to you or an ally build a Dock or an Artillery Foundry (not possible during Act III: Steel) near the fixed gun. Train a few units that corresponds to each building, preferably the strongest unit such as a Frigate or a Falconet (not possible during Act I: Blood) to protect it from close range attacks, or any other attacks that the fixed gun is not able to handle. You need protection for three reasons:

  1. When the fixed gun is directed at a target, any changes are locked out until that target is destroyed or another target comes into range. The new target must be manually targeted by the player while having the gun selected.
  2. The Fixed Gun cannot attack at close range.
  3. If all of your land based defenders near the gun are killed when enemy land units are nearby, they will instantly recapture the gun turning it on your ships or approaching reinforcements.
Note: The gun during Act I: Blood will never automatically target the fountain, it must be manually tasked to this job. If no enemies remain for you to kill (destroyed all enemy settlements), tasking the gun on the fountain will be an endgame timer as it can never switch targets. Leaving the gun idle after destroying all boneguard buildings and units will allow you to keep the map running, generating experience for Act II: Ice.

Scenario Editor

In the Scenario Editor, the player can install an unlimited number of Fixed Guns for his/her own purposes during the designing stage process.

History

Forts have been used in warfare for thousands of years. Some forts included cannon that could be used to keep the fort secure from enemies. Fixed guns didn't guarantee your fort would be secure, however. In 1775, Fort Ticonderoga in New York was captured from the British by a small band of Americans who snuck in the fort through an unlocked gate. The sleeping British were overcome by the American "Green Mountain Boys," and only one shot was fired.

Many forts were abandoned as they became irrelevant; Fort Ticonderoga was abandoned in 1780.
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