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Research · Defense

Fortification

Raises troop defense — a deeper study of the wall than Armor alone.

Entity ID
fortification
Branch
Defense
Stat buffed
defense — Defense
Bonus per level
+2%
Maximum level
10
Bonus at maximum level
+20%
Power per level
85
Power at maximum level
850
Base study time
160 seconds
Study time at maximum level
1h 48m
Prerequisites
Armor at level 8

Cost, time and bonus at every level

Fortification runs to level 10, adding +2% to defense and 85 power each time. Studying it out costs the four soft resources — the same amount of each — and takes 1h 48m for the final level alone. Gems are only ever the optional instant finish; the study itself is bought with what your fields already make.

Fortification: what each level costs and what it grants.
LevelTotal defensePowerStudy timeEach resourceGems to finish instantly
1+2%8510m 13s12,00011
2+4%17013m 17s15,60014
3+6%25517m 17s20,28018
4+8%34022m 27s26,36423
5+10%42529m 12s34,27330
10+20%8501h 48m127,254109

Taken from nothing to level 10 that is 7h 15m of raw study and 511,434 of each of food, wood, stone and iron — 2,045,736 resources in total.

Where it sits in the tree

Fortification belongs to the Defense branch — the walls line — what an attacker has to get through before they reach your granary. It stays locked until Armor reaches level 8. Studying it opens 4 further techs.

Techs gated behind Fortification.
TechBranchRequires this tech at level
Siege CraftDefense5
PalisadesDefense3
StoneworkDefense5
WatchtowersDefense8

The road here: Weaponry to level 3 → Armor to level 8 → Fortification. That is 2 studies standing between a fresh Academy and this one.

What Fortification costs before its own first level: the prerequisite chain, at the levels it demands.
PrerequisiteLevel requiredEach resourceStudy time
Weaponry347,88040m 47s
Armor8286,2924h 3m
Total before you may begin—334,1724h 44m

What it eventually opens: 18 studies sit downstream of Fortification, counting every remove.

Everything gated behind Fortification, directly or at a remove.
StudySteps outBuffsAt its capStudy time at cap
Palisades1defense+12%28m 37s
Siege Craft1attack+15%1h 55m
Stonework1defense+14.4%34m 21s
Watchtowers1defense+12%20m 20s
Barbicans2defense+9.6%14m 2s
Battlements2defense+12%23m 43s
Counter-Siege2defense+12%23m 43s
Moat Works2defense+12%23m 43s
Murder Holes2attack+12%23m 43s
Siege Engineering2attack+9.6%14m 2s
Arrow Slits3attack+9.6%14m 2s
Bombardment Doctrine3attack+7.2%13m 46s
Concentric Castles3defense+7.2%13m 3s
Deep Cisterns3defense+7.2%13m 3s
Portcullis3defense+12%23m 43s
Curtain Walls4defense+9.6%14m 2s
The Long Memory4production_rate+6%10m 57s
Gatehouses5defense+9.6%16m 2s

Guide: Research & the Academy · Research Priorities. Studied at the Maester's Academy. Index: all 81 studies · the whole database.

Rest of the Defense branch: Siege Craft · Palisades · Stonework · Watchtowers · Moat Works · Battlements · Portcullis · Curtain Walls · Barbicans · Gatehouses · Counter-Siege · Murder Holes · Arrow Slits · Siege Engineering · Concentric Castles · Deep Cisterns · Bombardment Doctrine

Every figure above is generated from the shipped game code — the same constants and formulas the running game uses — and regenerated whenever the balance changes. Nothing on this page is hand-typed.

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