Wonders

The pinnacle of any Nation is the creation of a monument so great, so magnificent and awe-inspiring that it can truly be considered a Wonder of the world.

In Rise of Nations, these monuments are no less amazing than their real-life counterparts. As you can see from the bonuses listed below, wonders provide your Nation with a great many bonuses and are well worth the investment. You will also notice that each wonder has an associated point value. This value is used for scoring when attempting to achieve a Wonder victory -— in certain games, you will win as long as you or your coallition maintain a wonder point lead over other factions for a certain period of time.

There are 17 wonders in Rise of Kings, spanning three eras. Only one of each wonder may be built by all players. In other words, the first player to successfully build the Temple of Tikal will be the only player in the game with that wonder. This limitation when combined with being able to set the number of Wonder points needed for victory makes for some interesting strategy and gameplay. Some of the powers of wonders are so powerful as to rival even the national bonuses of other factions.

The 17 wonders are divided into several classes:

• Free wonders are wonders that can be built by any faction. The Magnum Horologium is one such wonder.
• Religious wonders are wonders that can be built only by a certain type of faction. For instance, Baitul Hiqmat, a Muslim wonder, can be built only by the Moors, Turks and Saracens, but nobody else.
• Tribal wonders are wonders that can be built only by a certain group of factions. Almost every faction in Rise of Kings is part of a "tribal" group that has a wonder of its own. For instance, Hagia Sofia is buildable by the so-called "Levantine" group - meaning the Turks and Byzantines.

Castle Age wonders

Name	Abilities	Resource cost and wonder point contribution	Period/Ethnicity	Special remarks
White Tower	Functions as a Nobles' Court, allowing early access to its units. Trains Tower Warder Infantry with Centralisation	: 200 : 200 3	Wales, Norse, England and Scots	The cost of this wonder is about the same as a Nobles' Court +4 Fortification level to whichever region this wonder is played, up to a maximum of 8.
Aya Sofia	Spawns 5 Varangopouloi when complete. Borders +8	: 800 : 800 6	Byzantium, Armenia, Russia
Aachen Palatinate	Slowly spawns Medium Infantry over time. Trains Reiter Cavalry with Centralisation	: 200 : 290 3	France, Burgundy, HRE, and Hungary	Allows use of an additional army instead of spawning units in a campaign scenario.
Buddha Grotto Complex	Increases all your building hit points by 50% Your Wealth income increased by 66% Raises your Commerce Limit for Wealth by +200 Spawns 3 Camel Raiders when complete	: 200 : 200 4	Asians
Abbey	Functions like a house of worship City limit +1 Cities cheaper by 33% Spawns 5 Militant Clerics when complete.	: 400 : 400 7	Christians	Spawns Religious Fanatics whenever attacked or attacking during a Holy War by non Christian factions, each time you research religion if you are a Christian Added tribute income if built in either Jerusalem; Galicia; or Latium.

Castle Age wonders

Name	Abilities	Resource cost and wonder point contribution	Period/Ethnicity	Special remarks
Detinets	Increases your National Borders by +2 Attrition to enemy units in your territory increased by +33% Forts and Towers upgrades 15% cheaper Trains Kipchak Cavalry, a medium-strength cavalry unit	: 200 : 200 4	Russia, Poland
Cordoban Mezquita	Raises your Commerce Cap for Timber by +100 Increases Temple effects (on National Borders, Hit Points, and Attack Range) by 50%	: 400 : 400 7	Muslims	Spawns Ghuzat units at your capital during a Holy War whenever attacked or attacking a Christian faction Spawns occur each time you research a religious tech, depending on the level.
Marine Arsenal	Spawns 4 Sergeants when successfully completed Reduces attrition to units by 100% Ships autoheal at sea Trains Magistral Guard Infantry with Centralisation	: 400 : 400 4	[2] Sicily, Holy See, Venice	+2 tribute a turn for each colony you control
Deirul Hiqmeh	Increases Knowledge Production by +100 Granary, Lumber Mill, Smelter production upgrades are discounted by 50%	: 400 : 700 6	Muslims
Confucian Academy	Spawns 3 Imperial Legates when successfully built Reduces the non-Knowledge costs of research by 50% Siege, Artillery and Supply units move 25% faster Buildings are built 25% faster	: 400 : 700 6	[2] Asians	Hidden ability: +1 wealth per South Sea Barque
Palace District	Spawns 6 Divine Machinist Divisions when complete Retains the former powers of the Forbidden City	: 300 : 300 7	Asians	In CtW: 3 Imperial Legates are spawned from your capital once this wonder is active.
Alhambra Complex	Functions like a Barracks Increases your commerce Limit for Food, Timber, Metal, and wealth by +200 Increases the attrition damage to enemy units in your territory by 100% Spies are created instantly	: 800 : 800 6	[2] Saracens, Moors	Increases your population cap during times of Plague instead of spawning units in the Grand Campaign.

Imperial Era wonders

Name	Abilities	Resource cost and wonder point contribution	Period/Ethnicity	Special remarks
Angkor Wat	Increases your Metal gather rate by 25% Raises your Commerce Limit for Metal by 50 Cost of Barracks, Stable, and Dock units reduced by 10% Spawns 4 War Elephants	: 800 : 800 8	[3] Asians	Grants the ability to train War Elephants from the Nobles' Court in CtW for all factions except China and Turkey
Grand Cathedral	Spawns 2 Pontiff's Inquisitors and 5 Order Knights when complete -100% Attrition damage to units in enemy territory.	: 1,200 : 800 4	[3] Christians	Does not spawn units in the Grand Campaign, but prevents Christian vassals from deserting you (so long as you're Catholic). Added tribute income if built in either: Jerusalem; Galicia; or Latium.
Sagres Point	Powerful fortress with enhanced capabilities. You create ships 50% faster. Increases your income from rare resources (in your territory) and Markets by 200%. You receive the bonus ability of all unique resources in your territory, even if you don't have a Merchant there.	: 1,200 : 800 6	Spain, Portugal	+2 tribute a turn for each colony you control
Magnum Horologium	Spawns 3 Springalds when completed Sets floors on trade price at market; ceilings on purchase cost at market All research is instantaneously complete	: 800 : 2,000 7	[3]
Porcelain Tower	Caravans and merchants deployed all produce +5 knowledge each. Extensive LOS and can detect hidden units	: 800 : 1,000 9	Asians

Strategy

Because of how Wonders are set up, it is obvious that there are different ways to achieve a Wonder victory, and often, they will depend heavily on cooperation because not all factions can produce the same sort of Wonder. Asian factions clearly have the advantage in Wonder rushing, due to their large number of Wonders AND the vast number of Wonder points that they have and as a result, tend to favour booming (although it can be argued that Mongolia can both boom and rush well.

For the Western and Muslim factions, diplomacy thus is more important in comparison to booming. Picking allies with a vast number of wonders - especially the Mediterranean and Muslim factions - thus is the main strategy that you should follow. Conversely, if you fear your opponents may use wonders against you, prepare to wage pre-emptive wars against enemies the same powers before they grow too powerful enough to build Wonders.