There are 5 castles you can have in LOR2. If you want to defend a county, you NEED a castle. The peasents in the Town Hall won't do much against a decent army.
Cost:400 wood, 40 stone
Troops:150
Tax boost:50%
Palisades are only useful for the tax boost. Only build these deep in your own territory where there isn't any fear of attacks from other nobles.
Cost:800 wood, 80 stone
Troops:200
Tax boost:75%
Mottes are OK While they won't hold back and serious invasion, they are somewhat useful in the beginning when no one has many resources. Later, you will want to upgrade this to at least a Keep. This is also a good castle to build deep in your own territory to collect extra taxes.
Cost:200 wood, 1000 stone
Troops:300
Tax boost:100%
A decent castle. It will keep the enemy away from your county for a while. You should build this castle in any territory that is exposed to the enemy.
Cost:400 wood, 2000 stone
Troops:400
Tax boost:125%
An excellent castle with one major weakness. This is the only castle where one can get to the flag without breaking down an inner door. Be careful when defending a stone Castle, especially against a good human player. If it didn't have this weakness, it would otherwise be an excellent castle.
Cost:800 wood, 3000 stone
Troops:600
Tax boost:150%
This is a tough castle to take on. A battering ram can't get through the inner cross-walls, which means you can't ram down the 2nd door unless you knock the wall down with a catapault. This is a VERY difficult castle to capture. If you are in a strategic location and you need to defend it, the steep price for this castle is worth it.
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