War Academy
The War Academy is China’s Commerce Age military building in The Asian Dynasties and Definitive Edition. It replaces separate Barracks and Stable queues with Banner Armies: fixed packages containing a named core and supporting units. The system can create a mixed force in one order, but commits resources and population to the entire formation.
Recorded values
- Civilization · Age
- Chinese · Commerce Age
- Cost · construction
- 200 Wood · 30 seconds
- Builders
- Villagers or Military Wagon · up to 8 builders
- Hit points · footprint
- 2,500 · 4×4
- Line of Sight
- 12 in Definitive Edition update 20322; 34 in The Asian Dynasties
- Function
- Trains Banner Armies · researches Chinese infantry and cavalry upgrades
- Build experience
- 20 XP granted when completed
- XP for destruction
- 40 XP awarded when destroyed
Function
The standard Academy costs 200 Wood, takes 30 seconds to build and has 2,500 hit points in a 4×4 footprint. It can be built by Villagers or a Military Wagon, with up to eight builders. It trains six War Academy Banner Armies and researches Chinese infantry and cavalry upgrades. Each army has a fixed price, population cost and composition; a player cannot queue only the Chu Ko Nu or cavalry component from that package.
Placement & timing
Inspect the full banner composition and population before ordering it. Old Han and Standard armies include ranged troops, while Ming combines pikemen with Keshiks; Territorial and Imperial formations mix infantry roles, and Forbidden is a cavalry group. Choose the package that addresses the opponent and leaves population for the rest of the army. Train from more than one Academy only when the economy can sustain the added queues.
Practical direction
Current Definitive Edition values list 12 Line of Sight; The Asian Dynasties originally listed 34. The table separates the building profile from the Banner Army packages, whose composition determines their battlefield role.
The six War Academy formations
The current roster contains six packages. Old Han Army costs 255 Food and 180 Wood for 6 population: 3 Chu Ko Nu and 3 Qiang Pikemen. Standard Army costs 255 Food and 170 Coin for 5 population: 3 Chu Ko Nu and 2 Steppe Riders. Ming Army costs 345 Food and 120 Wood for 5 population: 2 Qiang Pikemen and 3 Keshiks. Territorial Army costs 285 Food and 255 Coin for 6 population: 3 Changdao Swordsmen and 3 Arquebusiers. Forbidden Army costs 480 Food and 360 Coin for 8 population: 2 Iron Flails and 2 Meteor Hammers. Imperial Army costs 480 Food and 255 Coin for 7 population: 3 Arquebusiers and 2 Iron Flails. These prices and compositions are the listed standard profile; cards, allies and patches can change them.
Choose the package by its whole composition
Old Han provides ranged infantry with a pike screen; Standard adds Steppe Riders to a Chu Ko Nu core; Ming pairs Keshiks with Qiang Pikemen. Territorial Army combines Changdao Swordsmen and Arquebusiers, while Imperial Army combines Arquebusiers with Iron Flails. Forbidden Army concentrates on two heavy cavalry types. Because the player pays for the support units too, the right question is whether the whole banner helps the next fight. A package can leave an unwanted unit type in the army if the enemy composition changes, so scout before committing repeated orders.
Use upgrades and Home City effects deliberately
The War Academy also researches Chinese infantry and cavalry improvements, letting it serve as a long-term military hub after the first banner arrives. Banner School reduces banner training time, and Acupuncture changes unit training and selected Summer Palace spawn times under its card rules. Russian alliance access can allow certain armies to train at Blockhouses or Forts, but this does not make the War Academy a generic building for other civilizations. Keep enough Wood for the Academy and enough Food or Coin for its chosen armies; construction without a funded queue does not solve a military shortage.
Do not confuse the War Academy with the Castle
The War Academy’s six standard formations are Old Han, Standard, Ming, Territorial, Forbidden and Imperial Armies. Mongolian Army and Black Flag Army are Castle formations, not ordinary War Academy choices. A Summer Palace Wonder can spawn some Banner Armies over time, which follows a different mechanism from paying to train a package at the Academy. Check the building and shipment named in the order before planning a reinforcement timing.