One of the basics aspects of the game Kingdoms of Middle Earth is acquiring and building up your cities. When starting the game, you have one city, but this can be expanded to 4 cities, and a special 5th Lake-Town city. Cities can contain a number of different buildings, each with their own function and dependencies.

In this article, I will summarize what each building does. Two types of buildings are mentioned: The City buildings contained within your City Walls, and the Field, or resource buildings, which are constructed on field plots. Buildings from the 5th Lake-Town city will come in a separate article.

Although most building and research dependencies for each building have been mentioned, this article on normal construction, and this article on Runecrafting can also help figuring out requirements.

NOTE: Images of the buildings are courtesy of the HobbitArmies Wikia page here

1. City Buildings

1.1 Keep

The Keep is the center of your cities. Here you can for example get an overview of your resource production, change tax rates. The Keep is also part of a line of building dependencies for both normal construction and Runecrafting. A city only has one Keep and it can not be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Resource production overview
  • Change tax rate
  • Hide/unhide troops
  • Conquered wilds overview
  • Unlock plots in City 3 and 4

• Building dependencies
  • City Wall
• Runecrafting dependencies
  • City Wall

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1.2 City Guardian Statue

The Guardian Statue, or City Guardian, helps the player’s city by providing a number of buffs for training, fighting, and resource production. Materials to enable these buffs can be farmed in campaign. The building has no level and is present as soon as a city is constructed. Likewise, it cannot be destroyed. For an in-depth look at the City Guardian, go to this article!

• Functions
  • Attack buff: Ferocity, 10% max
  • Defense buff: Resilience, 10% max
  • Resource production buff, 50% max
  • Troop training speed buff: Activation, 50% max

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1.3 Barracks

Barracks are used for training troops. Upgrading the Barracks along with the Forge, Stables and Armory progressively unlocks more units, while Runecrafting enables Tier 4 training. Each constructed Barracks adds a 100% modifier to training speed, while each additional level of barracks adds 10%.

• Functions
  • Training troops
  • Unlock troops
  • Increasing troop training speed
  • Enable ‘Honed blades’ research

• Building dependencies
  • –
• Runecrafting dependencies
  • Home

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1.4 Home

Homes provide the population needed to run your cities and train your army. The higher the level of the Home, the more population it generates. Population is first send to resource production buildings. Once they have enough, any remaining peasants form the Idle population which can be used for training troops.

The maximum population number is, besides number and level of Homes, dictated by the set Tax rate in that city. Population used to train troops slowly regenerates over time. Runecrafted Homes provide a bonus to population happiness, which allows for higher taxes without influencing max population. Can be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Provide and increase population
  • Increase happiness (Runecrafted)

• Building dependencies
  • Keep
• Runecrafting dependencies
  • Keep
  • Quarry
  • Mine

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1.5 Academy

The Academy is the intellectual center of your cities. Within the Academy, research is done to boost many of the processes that take place in your Cities. Once research is completed, its effect is spread to all your cities. Although this means you only need one Academy in one city, it can save time to construct more than one Academy, to research multiple research lines simultaneously. Academies can be destroyed once constructed. Please note that some troops, buildings and other research lines are dependent on the researches mentioned below, beyond what is mentioned here.

• Functions
  • Moon Rune bonus items
  • Provide research (10 levels)
    • Fertilizer, increase food production
    • Arbors, increase wood production
    • Masonry, increase stone production
    • Smelting, increase ore production
    • Siege Weapons, increase troop training speeds
    • Far Seeing, improve scouting information
    • Honed Blades, increase attack
    • Metal Alloys, unlock troops and Horse Shoes
    • Horse Shoes, increase mounted troop speed
    • Saddle Bags, increase troop carrying capacity
    • Cartography, increase troop marching speed
    • Fletching, unlock advanced troops
    • Strongbox, increase Vault storage capacity
    • Vigor, increase troop life
    • Engineering, increase building construction speed
    • Gem Pouch, increase Gem shard mining efficiency
    • Oystering, increase Pearl production

• Building dependencies
  • –

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1.6 Forge

At the Forge, your precious gear is stored, ready to be used by your Heroes. Smaller Gems can also be combined at the Forge, while the Forge also gives a bonus to troop training speeds. To maximize gear storage room, construct and upgrade a Forge in each of your cities. Can be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Increase troop training speeds
  • Increase gear storage (5 spaces/level per Forge)
  • Combine Gems 1-5
  • Unlock troops
  • Enable ‘Metal Alloys’ research

• Building dependencies
  • Mine

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1.7 Stables

The Stables are used to train certain mounted units, and provides a bonus to mounted troop speeds. If you want to train units in a certain city, a Stable will be necessary to unlock some units. Can be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Unlock troops
  • Increase troop training speeds
  • Enable ‘Horse Shoes’ research

• Building dependencies
  • Farm

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1.8 Armory

The Armory is where your Ranged troops come to pick up bow and arrow and train. More advanced units also need an armory to be trained. Can be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Unlock advanced troops
  • Increase troop training speeds
  • Enable ‘Siege Weapons’ research

• Building dependencies
  • –

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1.9 Watch Tower

The Watch Tower watches over the surrounding lands, warning you of incoming attacks. With increased levels, the tower is able to provide to increasingly more detailed information on incoming forces. The view from the tower also enables players to look for Goblin Caverns to mine for Gem shards. Here, higher level towers are able to search a larger area for caverns. Once constructed, the Watch Tower cannot be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Detect incoming attacks
  • Search for Goblin Caverns (120×120 at level 10)
  • Conceal city for enemy scouts (5 mith/ 24 h)

• Building dependencies
  • Barracks

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1.10 Tavern

The Tavern is the starting point and end point for long journeys between friendly cities. Construct this building if you want to travel faster between your own cities and those of Allies, but beware, once constructed it cannot be destroyed, so most players do not use it in fact. Increased levels boost marching speeds more.

• Functions
  • Increase marching speed between own cities and allies (10%/lvl)

• Building dependencies
  • ‘Horse Shoes’ research

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1.11 Vault

The Vault is used to store your precious resources, which are needed for constructing buildings and training troops. Leveling up the Vault increases the amount of resources that can be protected from enemy attack. Note that gold cannot be protected with the normal Vault in cities 1-4. The Vault can be destroyed.

• Functions
  • Protect resources (200k per level base)

• Building dependencies
  • –
• Runecrafting dependencies
  • –

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1.12 Sage Tower

The Sage Tower acts as the market place of your cities. Events happening in the Kingdoms of Middle Earth world will be displayed here, and many items can be traded in the Sage tower provided you have the materials. The tower also increases the drop chances of artifacts from Goblin Camps. Only one Sage Tower can be constructed, but its effects count in all your cities. The Sage Tower cannot be destroyed. For an in-depth look at the Sage Tower, look at this article!

• Functions
  • Increase Goblin camp artifact drop rate (10% / lvl)
  • Display special events and event trades
  • Provide trades for certain items
    • Gear
    • Gem I (from shards)
    • Hero Legendary Books
    • Construction runes
    • Guardian Statue artifacts

• Building dependencies
  • –

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1.13 Embassy

The Embassy functions as the political center of your cities, enabling you to join Alliances or create your own, and receive reinforcements from allies in times of war. Increased levels of Embassy increase the number of armies you can receive. Embassies can be build in every city, and can be destroyed when the player is not in an alliance. An Embassy only enable reinforcements in the city it is build in.

• Functions
  • Join or create Alliances
  • Receive reinforcements (1 army / lvl)
  • View encamped allies/reinforcements

• Building dependencies
  • –

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1.14 Musterfield

The Musterfield is the central rallying point for your troops before they attack. The maximum number of armies that can be send out is related to the level of the Musterfield, as is the size of the army (100k at level 10). Runecrafting the Musterfield increases the army sizes to 122k at *11, but does not offer additional armies to be send out. Once constructed, the Musterfield cannot be destroyed, but this is not a problem, as it is a vital building in each city.

• Functions
  • Send out armies (1 army / lvl, 10 max) on coordinates
    • Transport
    • Reinforce
    • Attack
    • Reassign
  • View troops in current city
  • View troop movements

• Building dependencies
  • –
• Runecrafting dependencies
  • Lumber mill
  • Quarry

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1.15 City Wall

The City Wall protects your city from attacks, although it is unclear exactly how this is calculated. Increased levels of the City Wall increase the defensive rating of a city.

• Building dependencies
  • Armory
  • Quarry
• Runecrafting dependencies
  • Armory
  • Quarry

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1.16 Great Hall

The Great Hall is where your heroes are gathered and ready to be send out. When your heroes need to put on equipment or be given a specific duty for the their city, the Great Hall is the place to do this.

• Function
  • View and level up Heroes
  • Equip Heroes
  • Appoint Heroes to city duties
    • Production, boost resource production
    • Training, increase training speed and lead defense of the city
    • Research, speed up research times
    • Construction, speed up building

• Building dependencies
  • –

2. Production buildings:

Resource production buildings are constructed outside of the city walls, providing food, wood, stone and ore for construction and training. Increased levels simply increase production at a higher population cost. All resource buildings can be destroyed, and have no building dependencies.

2.1 Logging Camp/Arboreum

Produces wood to be used in construction and training.

2.2 Mine

Produces Ore to be used in construction and training.

2.3 Quarry

Produces stone to be used in construction and training.

2.4 Farm

Produces food to be used in construction and training.