Wood
Wood is a standard resource used mainly for buildings, ships, housing and many ranged or support units. Its demand often rises sharply when a colony expands production or controls water.
How it works
Villagers gather Wood from trees and certain map or civilization sources. Unlike Food and Coin, it is frequently required to establish the buildings that create unit production, so running short can halt the army before the resource queue catches up.
Player decision
Plan Wood gathering around the next buildings and population needs, then reduce it when the base is established and another resource limits production. Market upgrades can improve gathering when the long-term demand justifies their cost.
Trees and forest access
Settlers collect Wood by chopping trees, which are plentiful on most Age of Empires III maps but still finite. Forests also form movement barriers, so a woodline determines where armies and workers can pass. Scout the trees near the base and note whether a road, shoreline or enemy approach makes the site vulnerable. Cutting a path through a forest may open movement or construction space, but it can also remove a defensive barrier. Long-term gathering requires workers to move as trees are consumed; use the map layout to keep the next woodline accessible and avoid sending the entire economy to an exposed edge.
What Wood pays for
Wood is needed for most buildings, including housing, resource infrastructure and military production. It also pays for ranged units, siege units, ships and many technologies. As a result, Wood competes with the need to establish production buildings and increase population capacity. A player who spends heavily on Houses, a Dock and several military buildings may delay the unit queue or economic upgrades that those structures were meant to support. Before placing buildings, identify the next required unit and the Wood still needed to complete its production chain.
Market research and buying Wood
The Market offers technologies that improve tree-chopping rates and can exchange resources for Wood under the rules of the current game. Researching a gathering upgrade has more value when many workers will continue chopping after it completes; it is weaker when the economy is about to move to a new source or the match requires immediate units. Buying Wood can solve an urgent shortage but has a resource cost and is not a renewable income plan by itself. Compare the market price with the time workers would need to chop the same amount and with the Coin or Food needed for the next army.
Trade Routes and passive production
Trading Posts on Trade Routes can grant free units of a selected resource each time a Coach or Train completes a route loop; choose Wood where the route and available settings allow it. The amount depends on route length and the particular map. Factories provide an automatic Wood source, the Chinese Porcelain Tower can be assigned to Wood, and Japanese Shrines can also generate it. These routes have distinct civilization, Age, card or mode requirements. Passive income frees workers for other sources but should be valued against the building, shipment, alliance or Wonder needed to unlock it.
Wood across different civilizations
Civilizations do not all sustain Wood in the same way. Japanese players can use Shrines and improve their output through civilization effects; Chinese players can assign the Porcelain Tower to Wood; a Factory can provide a large late-game trickle for eligible civilizations. Other factions may receive a shipment, trade-route reward or a building that lets workers gather Wood in a specialized way. Check the specific civilization entry and current card list rather than assuming a passive source is universal. A civilization with a special income option may still need workers for early structures before that option becomes available.
Construction and gathering trade-offs
Builders temporarily stop gathering while constructing, so starting several buildings at once reduces resource income during the opening. This can delay a unit batch even if the player has enough Wood for the structures. Choose which production site or housing building must be completed now and which can wait until the army is safe. A forward structure can shorten reinforcement travel but may be lost; a base structure is safer but can leave a long walk to the battle. The cost of Wood includes not only the printed amount but also the work time of the Settlers assigned to construction.
Wood in naval and siege plans
Ships and siege weapons place significant pressure on Wood, alongside the infrastructure needed to produce them. A naval opening needs a Dock, Fishing Boats and often additional ships; a land push may need an Artillery Foundry and siege units. Decide whether the map supports that commitment before assigning a large share of the economy to Wood. If the opponent’s army makes a naval plan impractical, redirect workers before more infrastructure is paid for. A balanced economy maintains the required Wood while still supplying Food and Coin to crew the buildings.
Woodlines, defense and expansion
A distant forest can become a safe expansion or a vulnerable raid target. Outposts, walls and military patrols can protect workers, but they consume resources and attention that might be better spent taking another source. Use the shape of the forest to choose where to gather and where to place a defensive building. When the current woodline is nearly exhausted, move workers in stages so the base continues to function. A cleared route may help friendly reinforcements but also give the opponent a direct approach, so revisit the map after large areas are chopped.
Plan around the next tree line
When the nearby forest is almost exhausted, scout the next woodline before moving a large worker group. A safe route and a nearby replacement source prevent building production from stopping unexpectedly. Leave a small escort when the path crosses open ground.
Version-specific sources
Factories, Porcelain Towers and Shrines have different access and resource settings. Check the civilization and mode before counting their output as part of the Wood budget.
Preserve a construction reserve
Keep enough Wood for the next required building or housing before spending the entire stockpile on a second production site. This avoids a queue that cannot begin because its prerequisite structure has not been built.
Use the market deliberately
Buying Wood can bridge a shortage, but it spends another resource and does not replace a stable gathering plan. Compare the exchange with the value of the Coin or Food you would otherwise use.
Woodlines shape movement
Forests slow or block army movement, so a woodline can protect a flank or channel an attack. Cutting through it changes those routes for both players. Before clearing trees for gathering or building space, consider whether the opening creates a direct path to the base. A newly exposed woodline may need a patrol or defensive structure, while an intact forest can make a safer gathering pocket behind the frontline.
Review passive income
A passive source can reduce worker exposure, but its access, rate and building cost remain civilization- and Age-specific. Recalculate the budget when the match changes.
Protect income
Secure the workers and the buildings that keep Wood flowing.
Gathering priority
Match workers to the building or unit cost next in the queue.
Summary
Plan the next build.
Reassess after expansion
Recheck the woodline after advancing.
Keep workers safe
Cover exposed gatherers where needed.
Keep a reserve for the next building cycle
Wood demand often arrives in bursts: Houses and production buildings may be followed by ships, artillery, ranged units or Market upgrades. If every worker is moved to Wood too early, the player can fall behind on Food for Villagers and the next Age; if too few gather it, an army may be unable to add its second production site. Set a near-term target from the next two or three purchases, then move workers when the order changes. Tree sources are finite and can be exposed far from the base, so scout the next woodline before the current one is exhausted. Use a safe Outpost or army escort when workers must gather on a contested edge. Banks, factories, shipments or civilization-specific alternatives can change the amount of active labor needed, but each has its own cost, cap and timing. Treat passive Wood as support for the economy rather than as a reason to ignore remaining trees or worker safety.