Farm
Economic - DarkBase values, before building technologies. Masonry and then Architecture each give buildings "+10% HP, +1/+1 Armor": late in a game, the real numbers are higher.
Prerequisites
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Try it freeDescription
"Provides a renewable source of food. Villagers work farms until they are exhausted, then the farm must be rebuilt."
Strategic Analysis
Strategic Role
Farms are your sustainable food source for the entire game. Unlike berries, deer, or boar, farms never run out as long as you reseed them.
Key Tactics
Automatic Reseed
Enable farm auto-reseed on your Mill to never have idle farm villagers. This costs wood automatically when farms expire.
Eco Upgrades
Horse Collar, Heavy Plow, and Crop Rotation increase farm food. Research these to reduce reseed frequency.
Farm Placement
Build farms tightly around Mills. Each tile of walking distance reduces your food income over time.
Warning
Farms are wood-intensive. Maintain a strong wood economy to support farm reseeding, especially in long games.
Stats Analysis
Farms are the weakest buildings but essential for food. Their low HP means they are easily destroyed but also quickly rebuilt.
Food Yield
175-550
Base 175 food, improved by Horse Collar (+75), Heavy Plow (+125), and Crop Rotation (+175).
Wood Cost
60 Wood
Ongoing cost throughout the game. A strong wood economy supports more farms.
Build Time
15s
Very fast. Villagers can quickly reseed expired farms.
Placement Tip
Build farms in a circle around your Mill. 8 farms fit perfectly around one Mill for maximum efficiency.
Timing Tip
Start building farms after berries and shore fish are gone. Around 15-20 minutes into the game, most of your food should come from farms.
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Other Buildings
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
The Farm is the Dark Age renewable food building. The record gives a 60-wood cost, 15-second build time, 480 HP, 0 melee/0 pierce armor, and line of sight 1. The official help says it provides a limited amount of food before going fallow, allows only one Villager to work it, can be farmed after an enemy abandons it, and cannot be converted by enemy Monks. Its food is an economic stream rather than an attack value. A Farm is useful only when the worker is safe, the wood investment is planned, and the next rebuild or upgrade arrives before the food line stops.
History & balance
The Farm turns wood into a predictable food source when berries, hunt, or open-map safety no longer meet the economy. Its 60 wood and one-Villager limit define the classic trade: the player buys stability, but pays for the building and eventually pays again when it goes fallow. The official help keeps the design deliberately readable: food is limited, the worker is singular, and the Mill improves the food output. Farms can also be reclaimed after an enemy abandons them, so the economic history is not only production; it is control of safe ground. A farm economy is a map decision disguised as a row of tiles.
In pro play
Place Farms where the Town Center, a Mill, or a wall makes the single working Villager hard to raid. At 60 wood and 15 seconds, a clean farm transition needs a wood plan: do not add farms so quickly that Houses, production buildings, or walls stop. The 480 HP and 0 pierce armor do not protect the worker from a cavalry raid, so use buildings and vision to shorten the exposed path. Research the Mill food upgrade when the farm line will be long enough to repay it, and rebuild fallow Farms in a controlled cycle rather than letting every Villager wait for an empty tile. The best Farm timing keeps food steady without hiding a wood shortage.
How to counter it
The classic mistake is attacking the Farm tile while the one Villager keeps working safely, or raiding a row without denying the wood that rebuilds it. The official help gives no combat Weak vs. category because Farm is an economic building. Neutralize what it produces: scout the farmer, raid the worker, cut the route to the Mill or Town Center, and force the opponent to spend wood on replacement Farms instead of units. A Farm can be reclaimed after abandonment, so deny the location, not only the current tile. If you keep losing to a Farm economy without knowing where to pressure or when, AoE Coach reads your match-up and gives you the counter composition and timing.