Game Info[]
Basic troop-training building of the Ancient Era.
- Common traits:
- +15 XP for all military units produced in this city.
- +2 Happiness with Militarism Autocracy tenet
Strategy[]
Barracks provide experience for military units produced in the city, which can be used to give the units promotions that make them more effective in battle. Any unit produced in a city with a Barracks will immediately be ready for a promotion.
Barracks are only the first in a line of buildings that improve a city's military units - eventually you can chain together Barracks, Armories, and Military Academies. Though expensive and time-consuming to put together, this creates a city that produces veteran units right off the bat, cutting casualties in the field considerably. Build the Brandenburg Gate and adopt Total War for even more promotions.
Peaceful or defensive players don't need Barracks in every city. Building these is time better spent on cultural endeavors. For more martial players, it's wise to have these (or the ability to build these quickly) in every productive city so that a force can be marshaled in far less time. Note that barbarians and city-state wars can be used to "farm" experience to some degree.
A universal system of Barracks is needed if you want to build the Heroic Epic, a National Wonder that gives any troops trained in its city a 15% Combat Strength bonus. If you get this system of Barracks created early in the game, you can build this National Wonder without needing to build a lot more buildings first. Otherwise, add one per city and your Heroic Epic in a place with high Production. Make sure that it's your primary unit training center, and make sure to give it all possible military training upgrades through the Armory and Military Academy.
Civilopedia entry[]
Barracks are military buildings that house a country's professional soldiers. In addition to providing food and shelter for the soldiers, they provide training and medical facilities, as well as military jails, vehicle maintenance, and so forth.
Barracks are important to a civilization's happiness and well-being. They promote cohesion among the ranks, improving the soldiers' chances of success in combat, and they control direct contact between civilians and soldiers, limiting the friction that is almost universally caused when the two groups intermingle overmuch.
See also[]
- Barracks in other games