Fire Galley (Age of Empires II)

"Spews fire at other ships. Good at sinking Galleys."

- Age of Empires II description

The Fire Galley is a naval vessel in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms that can be trained at the Dock once the Feudal Age is reached. Fire Galleys are automatically upgraded to Fire Ships when the War Galley upgrade is researched.

Both the Fire Galley and the Demolition Raft were introduced in The African Kingdoms to make the naval battle in the Feudal Age more versatile. Before their introduction, the only military vessel available in the Feudal Age was the Galley, so battle was very linear.

Fire Galleys are available to all civilizations except for the Vikings.

Tactics
Fire Galleys can be used as a fairly effective type of harassment ships in the early game due to the general lack of available naval power on all sides to mount an effective counterattack, allowing tactful players to destroy enemy Fishing Ships and potentially razing their Docks as well if micromanaged properly.

One-on-one, Fire Galleys easily defeat Galleys. In larger engagements, however, Galleys might come out at an advantage due to their higher range, which allows them to attack first, while the Fire Galleys first need to close the gap and might get in each others way way. Also, micromanaging Galleys with a hit-and-run strategy will prove useful against Fire Galleys.

Fire Galleys are also vulnerable to Demolition Rafts, being unable to shoot them at safe range before exploding due to their low range. However, this is only cost effective if more than one Fire Galley is caught in the explosion.

Further Statistics
Civilization Bonuses=
 * Aztecs: Fire Galleys are created 15% faster.
 * Berbers: Fire Galleys move 10% faster.
 * Byzantines: Fire Galleys fire 20% faster.
 * Celts: Herdables cannot be stolen within a Fire Galley's Line of Sight.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Fire Galleys are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
 * Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright is 50% cheaper.
 * Persians: Fire Galleys are created 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Careening and the upgrade to the Fire Ship are researched 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Dry Dock is researched 20% faster.
 * Portuguese: Fire Galleys have +10% HP and cost 15% less gold.
 * -|Team Bonuses=
 * A team containing Teutons: Fire Galleys are more resistant to conversion.

Trivia

 * The Fire Ships are the only units in the game without an integer range.
 * Fire Galleys, Demolition Rafts, and Galleys are the only units in the game sharing an upgrade.
 * Despite being introduced in The African Kingdoms, the Fire Galley is shown with a The Conquerors icon in the Scenario Editor.
 * The Fire Galley is the only unit in the game with the lowest possible attack of 1.