Castle Defenses | Buildings Stronghold: Crusader II Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
The last group of buildings, which, like the previous one, focuses on increasing the defenses of your castle. From this building tab you can access buildings such as:
- Barricades
- Man Traps
- Hoarding
- War Hounds
- Brazier
- Pitch Ditches
- Oil Smelter
Barricades
Cost: 15 wood
Function: preventing access
Barricades are used to prevent enemy access to a certain area - they will be forced to either burst through them, or to bypass them - the latter can be used to force the enemy to move in a certain way.
Barricades prevent the melee units from attacking anything that's behind them, but they don't offer any protection from ranged attacks.
Man Traps
Cost: 15 gold, 2 iron
Function: a deadly trap
Man Traps are an extremely effective defensive mechanism, which can decimate dozens of enemy troops in a matter of seconds. In contrast to "Pits" which were available in the previous installments of the franchise, a single Man Trap can kill more than a single unit - their numbers can go over a dozen per single trap! Excluding the most durable units in the game, the Man Trap will kill every unit in a split second. A line of them built in key locations (by the gate, for instance) will surely save you on numerous occasions. Another advantage of this building is the cheap price.
Hoarding
Cost: 50 wood
Function: protection of units stationed on the walls
Hoardings can be built on Stone Walls only. After placing them, they will protect nearby allied troops from enemy fire, significantly decreasing the amount of damage they will sustain. It's an effective defense mechanism, especially when you can't afford a line of Grand Towers and you still want to protect your troops.
War Hounds
Cost: 40 gold, 40 wood
Function: releases war hounds to attack nearby targets
War Hounds, just like in the previous installments of the franchise, allow you to release hounds upon your enemies. There are 4 war hounds in each cage, and they will be released the moment a unit approaches them, whether it's an ally or an enemy. Upon release, the hounds will attack their nearest target - it means that your troops can easily be caught by your own dogs. A good way to release the dogs without suffering any casualties is to use Assassins - hounds seem to be unaware of their presence and will not attack them.
Unfortunately, this construction is more of a curiosity - despite the quite low price, the hounds released from the cages are extremely weak, especially when they are forced to fight a huge squad, or even a single heavy armored swordsman.
Brazier
Cost: 20 gold
Function: allows your Archers to use fire arrows
The Brazier allows nearby Archers to ignite their arrows before firing them. It's required to ignite Pitch Ditches - otherwise they won't be able to do it. You can't place them one atop of another, but they have a relatively wide reach (which defies logic). Remember, that Crossbowmen won't be able to use it. If you don't plan to use Pitch Ditches, you can just forget about the existence of this building.
Pitch Ditches
Cost: 6 pitch
Function: the possibility to ignite an area
Pitch Ditches are the nightmare of anyone who have played any strategy game - after ignition, they will set a large area ablaze, inflicting huge amounts of damage (most of units will burn to death in a matter of seconds). Pitch Ditches are invisible to your enemies (and you can't see theirs) so it's relatively easy to surprise your enemies.
Unfortunately, despite their effectiveness, the game itself limits their functionality - each map allows you to build defenses in a small square around your castle, where you can place your defensive buildings (Pitch Ditches included). If you want to place them in front of your walls, so that the enemy troops will burn before they even reach your walls, you will have to sacrifice a part of that terrain. Remember to keep a distance of 6-7 spots between them, so that they won't ignite from each other.
Oil Smelter
Cost: 100 gold, 3 peasants
Function: manufactures boiling oil
Oil Smelter allows you to manufacture boiling oil. You will need pitch for that, which can be gathered from the swamps. After placing the building you will have to wait several seconds before the cauldron is filled with oil and then boiled. Afterwards you will be given two engineers carrying huge cauldrons filled with boiling oil - they can empty their container at the heads of your enemies.
It works in a similar manner to a Pitch Ditch - after pouring out the contents of the cauldron, the ground will be set ablaze for several seconds, severely wounding anyone unfortunate enough to be standing there. Afterwards the engineer will go back to the Oil Smelter to refill his cauldron.