Cannon Galleon

"Long-range warship used to attack targets on shore to establish beachhead."

- Age of Empires II description

The Cannon Galleon is a warship in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Dock once the Imperial Age is reached. As it is a gunpowder unit, Chemistry must be researched in order to train it. Also, Cannon Galleons must be researched at the Dock. As soon as Chemistry is researched, the research becomes available, costing and  and taking 50 seconds to research.

Cannon Galleons are available to all civilizations except for the Aztecs, Huns, Incas, and Mayans.

In The Conquerors, the Huns had access to the Cannon Galleon, but the Britons did not. That was changed in The Forgotten.

Tactics
Cannon Galleons have an exceptionally long range and deal bonus damage against buildings and defensive structures. They can outrange Castles and Bombard Towers, so they are almost the sea-going equivalent to Bombard Cannons, only being slightly faster. They deal large damage, but their slow rate of fire and very slow projectile speed makes it weak and ineffective against Galleons and other ships, particularly Fire Ships.

Cannon Galleons should be always deployed with an escort, most likely Fire Ships and Galleons. As they outrange Towers and Castles, Cannon Galleons must almost always be used for dealing with such structures that deal bonus damage against ships.

Spanish Cannon Galleons are significantly better than the ones of all other civilizations, because their projectiles are much faster (7 tiles/second instead of 1.95 tiles/s) and hit moving targets with Ballistics-like behaviour (The Ballistics research is not required).

Further Statistics
Civilization Bonuses=
 * Berbers: Cannon Galleons move 10% faster.
 * Celts: Herdables cannot be stolen within a Cannon Galleon's Line of Sight.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Cannon Galleons are 20% cheaper.
 * Italians: Cannon Galleons are 15% cheaper. Researching Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright is 50% cheaper.
 * Persians: Cannon Galleons are created 20% faster. Careening, Dry Dock, and the upgrade to the Elite Cannon Galleon are researched 20% faster.
 * Portuguese: Cannon Galleons have +10% HP and cost 15% less gold.
 * Spanish: Cannon Galleons have Ballistics and faster missiles
 * Turkish Cannon Galleons have +15% HP. Researching and upgrading Cannon Galleons is 50% cheaper. Chemistry is free.
 * Vikings: Cannon Galleons are 20% cheaper.
 * -|Team Bonuses=
 * A team containing Turks: Cannon Galleons are created 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Cannon Galleons are more resistant to conversion.
 * -|The Forgotten Changes=
 * Britons: Get Cannon Galleons.
 * Huns: Cannon Galleon removed from technology tree.

History
''Primitive cannon were first mounted on ships in the fourteenth century. These were mounted in the stern or bow for firing forward or aft. Small weapons were mounted on the rails for use against enemy crews in close action. The first ship built specifically for carrying cannon appeared in 1406. Effectively mounting a large number of cannons on a ship took many years to work out. It required new designs to compensate for the enormous weight of the guns high on the ship’s sides. Tackle had to be designed to allow the guns to be fired and reloaded safely. Safe procedures were also needed for storing and accessing powder. Useful cannon galleons did not appear until late in the Middle Ages.''

Trivia

 * Cannon Galleons are the only non-unique gunpowder units that can be upgraded.