Dock (Age of Empires II)

"Used to build and improve ships, deposit food from Fishing Ships, and trade with other players by sea."

- Age of Empires II description

The Dock is an economic and military building in Age of Empires II. It builds and improves ships and can be used as a trading point when trading with Trade Cogs.

Tactics and Placement
Docks serve for both economy and naval warfare as they produce all kinds of vessels while also being a drop site for the Fishing Ships and Trade Cogs. They must be used depending the kind of map of the game.

When playing on maps like Archipelago and Islands it is absolutely necessary to build Docks and give them an extensive use since most of the action will occur on the seas. It is recommended to build at least one (preferably two) Docks in the Dark Age already in order to boost the economy with the production of Fishing Ships.

On maps like Coastal, Baltic, and Continental with important water bodies but where the settlements aren't separated by water, the use of Docks can make a huge difference in many situations while still be important for boosting economy early in the game, but are not always necessary. On these maps the naval units are mostly used to support the land army and for dealing with enemy buildings near the shoreline.

On maps like Rivers, Highland, or others that feature rivers and/or lakes, Docks become part of the defensive structures as the rivers and lakes represent a barrier for land troops, and in this case using the naval units becomes more helpful to aid fortifications near the shoreline and the shallows which in this kind of maps are the only narrow points usable for land troops in order to cross rivers.

Often it is useful to place Towers and Castles near the Docks as these buildings will effectively protect the Docks from enemy ships. It is also recommended to place the Dock in bays or gulfs as this makes it more difficult for enemy ships to reach the Dock. Also, the Docks can be easier defended that way.

Docks may only be built in shallow water or on shallows, next to the coast.

Trade
When establishing a water trade route, Trade Cogs will leave for any Dock (ally, neutral, or enemy) and will return with gold. They will always travel to the closest Dock, friend or foe alike. The amount of gold they return depends on the length of the trade route. In team games on maps like Archipelago or Islands the naval trade routes are vital. So it is important to know which Docks are better defended from enemy ships in order to protect the Trade Cogs and establish secure and continuous trade routes.

Trainable Units and Technologies
Clicking on the icon links to the corresponding page.

Blue: Units

Green: Technologies

Purple: Unique Units

Availability Grid
The following table shows the availability of the units and technologies for every civilization. Unique units and units and technologies that are available to all civilizations are not shown in the table. An 'X' in the last column indicates that all units and technologies are available.


 * [[File:Available.png]] = Available
 * [[File:Unavailable.png]] = Unavailable

Civilization Bonuses

 * Burmese: Researching Faith is 50% cheaper.
 * Byzantines: Docks have +10%/+20%/+30%/+40% HP in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Town Watch is free.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Docks are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Docks technologies are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
 * Italians: Dock technologies and ship upgrades are 50% cheaper.
 * Malians: Docks are 15% cheaper.
 * Persians: Docks have double hit points and work 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Researching Town Watch and Town Patrol is 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
 * Spanish: Docks are built 30% faster.

Team Bonuses

 * A team containing Malay: Docks have +100% Line of Sight.
 * A team containing Malians: Researching Masonry, Architecture, and Treadmill Crane is 80% faster.
 * A team containing Vikings: Docks are cheaper.

The Age of Kings

 * A team containing Vikings: Docks are 25% cheaper.

The Conquerors

 * Heresy introduced.

The Forgotten

 * Trade Cogs generate +10% gold.
 * Gillnets introduced.
 * A team containing Vikings: Docks are now 15% cheaper.

The African Kingdoms

 * Trade Cogs generate +30% gold.
 * Fire Galley introduced.
 * Demolition Raft introduced.

History
''The emergence of deep-draft merchant ships led to the construction of docks where these ships could tie up and unload. Ships of this new design could not be dragged ashore easily for unloading. Associated with docks were the shipyards where ships were built.''