Galleon (Age of Empires III)

The Galleon is a warship featured in Age of Empires III.

Overview
The Galleon is a moderately fast and powerful military ship that is capable of training and transporting soldiers directly onto foreign soil. It is also a type of treasure ship (gold mine) during Act I: Blood and Act III: Steel. Spanish galleons (with cards) make excellent attack vessels and damage sponges in any age, however other civilizations will find it is only good for this purpose in the lower ages when directly compared to a Caravel.

The Galleon will only produce units normally available at a Barracks for that civilization, however the Spanish galleons can also produce Mercenaries in the form of Pirates if a Home City Card is sent.

The Spanish have the strongest Galleons in the game if they take advantage of their home city improvements. If they choose to do so the Spanish galleon has more hit points than any other ship sailing the seas in Age of Empires III and The WarChiefs.

With the release of The Asian Dynasties expansion, the Spanish Fuchuan becomes the highest hit point vessel in the game when received via the TEAM 1 Fuchuan card sent by a Chinese ally. Spanish Galleons can easily hold their own against the more expensive Frigates, Tekkousen, and Fuchuan or outrun them if necessary. If unction is used to augment the card bonuses and dock upgrades they will inflict 162 damage per shot (not including allied bonuses), but be limited to the waters near shore due to the range limitations of the aura.

While extremely durable, the Spanish Salleon is slower than a Tlaloc Canoe and can't retreat effectively from combat with them. It also lacks the range of many other ships, this can be exploited by an opponent as a means of overcoming the durability and shoreline attack power (unction). Particularly dangerous are the Fuchuan (with European Cannons), Tlaloc Canoes (with Water Dance and Offshore Support),Canoe (with Water Dance, Offshore Support or Fire Dance) and Monitors or Ironclads due to their long-range shots. If used near the shoreline for purposes of drawing upon unction, then it's recommended to back-up the galleon with Culverins, as they have greater range than all ships except Monitors, Ironclads (though it beats the Ironclad on normal attack range, but not it's long-range attack) or some ships with Offshore Support. When attacking enemy shores with the ship, the same artillery can be dangerous to the Galleon. Augmented Fire Ships (with Home City cards, etc.) can also be dangerous in large groups.

Home City cards
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; margin-bottom:0px; margin-top:1px;" ! sab="1148"| Click for a list of Caravel related home city cards
 * - sab="1147"
 * - sab="1149"
 * sab="1150"|

French / Germans / Ottomans

 * }

History
"These square-rigged, three-masted warships were used primarily by European powers in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. Well-suited for carrying cargo and for war, galleons made up the bulk of the famous Spanish Treasure Fleet that carried plunder from the Americas back to Spain's waiting coffers. They carried around 30 cannon, fired from two decks in broadsides. Adaptations to the basic galleon design yielded heavy Spanish Galleons and the lighter, more maneuverable galleons of the British and other European nations. They were eventually replaced as multipurpose ships by the clipper, a fast cargo ship, and the massive Man-of-War. Approximate weight: 500 tons. Length: 120 feet."