Transport Ship (Age of Empires II)

A Transport Ship is a vessel that can transport units, but cannot attack other units. The unit enables land units to be moved across water and is useful for conducting sneak attacks. With no armor and few hit points, it possesses good pierce armor, but if sunk, all units aboard are lost. Sheep and turkeys cannot board Transport Ships. It is advisable to protect these with galleys or fire ships when transporting units.

Tactics
Available from the Feudal Age, Transport Ships can aid in overseas raids and reconnaissance. They also make effective dummies through deception; players should have several transport ships garrison an inexpensive unit and encourage opponents to pursue them. This will drive the enemies main force away from a player's intended target and improve any offensive maneuver.

Transport Ships are escential in maps with large bodies of water like Archipielago and Islands since there is no other way to transport units between islands or through sea in Age of Empires II. When the player wants to invade an important enemy location by sea, he or she must keep in mind to protect their transport ships with several warships specially Fire Gallleys since these vessels have attack bonus vs ships. The navy must also have some Cannon Galleons when arriving at the enemies coast line in order to destroy Towers and Castles that can take down easily the transport ships.

If a Transport Ship with units garrisoned in it is converted, the units inside it will not be converted. If a transport with units in it is converted, the player must destroy the transport and the enemy units in it will sink. Another tactic that involves converting enemy transport ships is to take advantage of it and hold their population of people inside, as that population can't be used by the enemy at that moment. In free for all games when this happens some players often move the converted transportship with enemy units inside to the location of a common enemy for both players in order to take advantage of the current diplomacy.

Civilization Bonuses

 * Persians Transport Ships are created 10%/15%/20% faster in Feudal/ Castle / Imperial age.
 * Celtic herdables cannot be stolen within a Transport Ship Line of Sight.
 * Chinese Technologies that benefits Transport Ships are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in Feudal/Castle/Imperial age.
 * Saracens Transport Ships have double hitpoints and +5 carrying capacity.

Team Bonuses

 * A team containing Teutons, Transport Ships are more resistant to conversion.

Changes in the The Forgotten expansion

 * Transport Ships available in Dark Age
 * Italians Dock technologies that benefits Transport Ships are 50% cheaper.

History
''Trading ships of all kinds were requisitioned when armies were moved overseas. Such ships were usually modified into transports to better accommodate troops, horses, livestock, siege equipment, and supplies. England was invaded on several occasions during the Middle Ages, including the early Saxon/Angle/Jute invasions, numerous Norse invasions (the Danes ruled much of England temporarily), and the later Norman invasion of 1066. The Normans also invaded Sicily and southern Italy. Many of the Crusades involved sea movement from France to the Holy Land. The English brought armies into France several times during the Hundred Year’s War.''