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This article is about the building in Age of Empires II. For the similar building in other games of the series, see Wonder. |
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| “ | Building a Wonder of the World demonstrates the superiority of your civilization. Constructing a Wonder that stands for a certain period of time is one way to win the game. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Wonder is a civilian building in Age of Empires II that becomes available once the Imperial Age is reached. The Wonder grants victory if it is built and defended for 200 years. Every civilization builds a different Wonder (although the stats are the same).
Wonders cannot be converted, due to the victory condition mentioned above.
Tactics and Placement
Wonders only serve as a victory condition, and as such they must be used only in game modes that allow that kind of victory. When a player starts to build a Wonder, every other player receives a notification with the location of the Wonder so they know where to steer their aggression.
Wonders must be placed in a well defended area so it is better to first build up a strong fortification composed of Castles, Walls, and Towers, so basically perform a late-game turtling strategy. In any case the player must be prepared to be the main focus of all enemy attacks and prepare to defend the Wonder. It is advised to have a huge army to counter attacking armies, particularly siege units. Since the Wonder takes incredibly long to be built, it is advised to build it with as many Villagers as possible while also leave them near the area once they finish in case the Wonder needs to be repaired. In team games the support of allies while defending is highly valuable.
It is possible (but costly) to create more than one Wonder so that if one does not stand, other Wonders can stand for the time required to win the game.
A Monument (an unconstructable building) can be found in the Scenario Editor and some campaigns. Its appearance varies being different for each civilization, much like the Wonder, and it has the same icon, although it merely functions as decorative. It has 9999 hit points, making it the bulkiest building in the game.
List of Wonders
The Age of Kings
Britons
The Aachen Cathedral and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Aachen Cathedral
Campaign Appearances:
- Fall of Rome
Byzantines
The Hagia Sofia and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Hagia Sophia
Campaign Appearances:
- Barbarossa's March
- Walls of Constantinople
Celts
The Rock of Cashel and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Rock of Cashel
Campaign Appearances:
- Fall of Rome
Chinese
The Temple of Heaven and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Temple of Heaven
Campaign Appearances:
Franks
The Chartres Cathedral and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Cathedral of Chartres
Campaign Appearances:
- Agincourt
- Fall of Rome
Goths
The Theodoric I Mausoleum and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Mausoleum of Theoderic I
Campaign Appearances:
- None
Japanese
The Tōdai-ji Temple and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Tōdai-ji
Campaign Appearances:
- None
Mongols
The Great Tent of Genghis Khan and a medieval depiction of the tent
Wonder: Great Tent of Genghis Khan
Campaign Appearances:
Persians
The Taq-i Kisra Palace and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Taq-i Kisra Palace
Campaign Appearances:
Saracens
The Great Mosque of Samara and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Great Mosque of Samarra
Campaign Appearances:
Teutons
The Maria Laach Abbey and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Maria Laach Abbey
Campaign Appearances:
- Fall of Rome
- Jihad!
- Pax Mongolia
- The Lombard League
Turks
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Selimiye Mosque
Campaign Appearances:
- None
Vikings
The Borgund Stave Church and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Borgund Stave Church
Campaign Appearances:
- None
The Conquerors
Aztecs
The Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan
Campaign Appearances:
Huns
The Arch of Constantine and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Arch of Constantine
Campaign Appearances:
- None
Koreans
The Hwangyong Temple and a model of the real structure
Wonder: Hwangnyong Temple
Campaign Appearances:
Mayans
The Temple of the Great Jaguar at Tikal and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Temple of the Great Jaguar
Campaign Appearances:
- None
Spanish
The Torre del Oro and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Torre del Oro
Campaign Appearances:
The Forgotten
Incas
The Sun Temple of Machu Pichu and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Temple of the Sun at Macchu Picchu
Indians
The Gol Gumbaz and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Gol Gumbaz
In Rise of the Rajas, the Indians got a new Wonder.
Italians
The Saint Lawrence Cathedral and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Cathedral of St. Lawrence
Magyars
The Hunyad Castle and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Hunyad Castle
Slavs
The Kizhi Pogost and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Kizhi Church
The African Kingdoms
Berbers
The Hassan Tower and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Hassan Tower
Ethiopians
Bete Amanuel and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Bete Amanuel
Malians
The Great Mosque of Djenné and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Great Mosque of Djenné
Campaign Appearances:
Portuguese
The Belém Tower and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Belém Tower
Campaign Appearances:
Rise of the Rajas
Burmese
The Shwezigon Pagoda and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Shwezigon Pagoda
Campaign Appearances:
Khmer
The Angkor Wat and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Angkor Wat
Campaign Appearances:
Malay
The Sewu Temple and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Sewu Temple
Campaign Appearances:
Vietnamese
The But Thap Temple and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Bút Tháp Temple
Campaign Appearances:
Indians
The Brihadeeswarar Temple and its real life counterpart
Wonder: Brihadeeswarar Temple
Campaign Appearances:
Further Statistics
| Building Strengths and Weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Nothing |
| Weak vs. | Everything |
| Upgrades | |
| Hit Points | Masonry, Architecture |
| Armor | Masonry, Architecture |
| Line of Sight | Town Watch, Town Patrol |
| Construction Speed | Treadmill Crane |
| Other | Atheism (Huns only adds 100 years to Wonder victory for all players) |
Civilization Bonuses
- Byzantines: Wonders have +40% HP. Town Watch is free.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Wonders are 20% cheaper.
- Incas: Wonders cost 15% less stone.
- Malians: Wonders cost 15% less wood.
- Persians: Researching Town Watch and Town Patrol is 20% faster.
- Spanish: Wonders are built 30% faster.
Team Bonuses
- A team containing Malians: Researching Masonry, Architecture, and Treadmill Crane is 80% faster.
Changelog
The Forgotten
- Indians: The Wonder is the Gol Gumbaz.
Rise of the Rajas
- Indians: The Wonder now is the Brihadeeswarar Temple. The Gol Gumbaz is still available in the Scenario Editor.
History
| “ | One distinguishing cultural characteristic of the great Middle Age civilizations was architecture. Buildings in Japan, Scandinavia, Britain, Constantinople, and Arabia looked quite different and employed different construction techniques. In many cases, particularly noteworthy buildings stand as icons for the building civilization, marking it for all time as a culture that achieved greatness, if only temporarily. Examples of such Middle Age cultural icons are the Cathedral at Chartres, Charlemagne’s Palace, and the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II manual | ||
See also
Template:Buildings AoE2