Wonder
In Age of Empires III, a Wonder is one of the five civilization-specific age-up buildings selected by China, India or Japan. Completing it advances the civilization to the next Age and awards a shipment, ongoing effect or special ability. The Wonder set belongs to The Asian Dynasties and Definitive Edition; its role is distinct from European Politicians, Native Tribal Council members and later Federal State choices.
Recorded values
- Civilizations · expansion
- Chinese, Indians and Japanese · The Asian Dynasties
- Hit points
- 5,000
- Maximum builders
- 8
- Age-up time with no builders
- 120 seconds; 145 seconds for the Fortress Age
- Builder time reduction
- First 4 builders: 10 seconds each · next 4: 5 seconds each
- Construction loss
- Resources refunded if destroyed while under construction · completed Wonders cannot be rebuilt
- Build limit
- Each Wonder can be built once per game
Function
A Wonder costs the resources required for the chosen Age and can have up to eight Villagers building it. All Wonders have 5,000 hit points. Without builders, the age-up takes 120 seconds, except the Fortress Age transition, which takes 145 seconds. Each of the first four builders removes 10 seconds and each of the next four removes 5 seconds, so eight builders reduce a Commerce transition to 60 seconds. Destroying a Wonder during construction refunds the spent resources; a completed Wonder can only be built once and cannot be rebuilt if destroyed.
Placement & timing
Choose the reward for the army, economy or timing the next Age should support. Construction occupies Villagers and exposes a valuable site, so protect the builders and keep resources for production during the transition. Wonder shipments depend on the Age selected, and their later-Age quantities can be larger; compare the immediate shipment with the building’s ongoing ability before committing.
Practical direction
The fifteen Wonders share the age-up role but have different shipments and lasting effects. The list below groups their purposes by civilization so a player can compare the options before sending builders.
Chinese Wonders: units, resources and banner support
Confucian Academy ships Chu Ko Nu and Arquebusiers and automatically trains Flying Crows. Porcelain Tower generates resources, with the rate depending on the Age when it is built. Summer Palace ships Food and automatically spawns War Academy Banner Armies. Temple of Heaven supplies Villagers, Town and Rice Paddy Rickshaws, and Export; it also supports the Shaolin Master’s healing ability. White Pagoda ships Disciples and strengthens the Shaolin Master and Disciple through its Sacred Vault ability. Choose the reward based on whether the next need is an army, a resource stream, economic expansion or support for monks.
Indian Wonders: forts, sacred units and tempo
Agra Fort ships Sepoys or Gurkhas and acts as a Fort, with later upgrades to Delhi Gate or Red Fort. Charminar Gate sends a cavalry reward of Sowars or Mahout Lancers and can train Mansabdar units that strengthen troops of the same type. Karni Mata delivers Food, Wood and Coin, and its Keepers of the Rats Aura increases nearby Villagers’ gathering rate. Taj Mahal provides a Coin shipment and the Cease Fire ability, which temporarily stops all units from attacking. Tower of Victory sends Wood and its Inspiration ability temporarily increases friendly units’ hit points, attack and speed. The age-up quantities scale with the destination Age: Charminar Gate sends 2 Sowars, 1 Mahout Lancer, 2 Mahout Lancers or 3 Mahout Lancers; Agra Fort sends 2 Sepoys, 5 Gurkhas, 7 Gurkhas or 14 Gurkhas; Karni Mata sends 200 Food/200 Wood/100 Coin, 400/300/300, 400/500/500 or 800 of each resource; Taj Mahal sends 500, 800, 1,500 or 2,400 Coin; Tower of Victory sends 400, 800, 1,200 or 2,000 Wood. Their abilities therefore range from an immediate cavalry reward to a timed ceasefire, a nearby gather-rate aura or a temporary army boost. Match the reward and continuing effect to the next fight and economy.
Japanese Wonders: military bonuses and Shrine economy
Golden Pavilion ships Yumi Archers and provides an advanced Arsenal with a selectable military-stat bonus. Great Buddha ships Naginata Riders and an Orchard Rickshaw, and its Informers ability temporarily reveals enemies. The Shogunate provides 400 Experience, or an Age-scaled shipment of 300/600/1,600 Experience with Daimyo Masamune, improves the cost and training time of land military units through Country in Chains, and can retrain a Daimyo. Torii Gates ships Samurai and a Military Rickshaw while increasing experience acquisition. Toshogu Shrine ships Export, counts as two Shrines for its shipment, and improves resource generation from all Shrines. The shipment and passive ability are separate parts of each choice. Torii Gates scales from 1 Samurai and 1 Military Rickshaw to 3 Samurai plus the Rickshaw, 6 Samurai, or 12 Samurai as the target Age rises. The Shogunate’s Experience and Daimyo shipment also scale by Age.
The shipment depends on the Age advanced
A Wonder’s shipment is linked to the Age reached, and the same building may send a larger quantity at a later transition. Each Wonder can be selected only once during a match, so the player must plan which reward is best for each age-up rather than repeatedly choosing the same option. If a Wonder is destroyed before completion, the building resources are refunded; builders and lost time are not returned. After completion it has 5,000 hit points and cannot be rebuilt if destroyed, so protect a Wonder with lasting economic or production effects.