Demolition Ship

"Filled with explosives. Self-destructs when used."

- Age of Empires II description

The Demolition Ship is a naval vessel in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Dock once the Castle Age is reached. Demolition Rafts are automatically upgraded to Demolition Ships when the War Galley upgrade is researched.

It is packed with explosives that blow up against enemy ships, Docks, land units caught in shallows and anything too close the shore.

Demolition Ships are available to all civilizations except for the Aztecs and Koreans.

Tactics
Its tactics resemble those of a cruise missile, used to strike against key targets (such as fully loaded Transport Ships). It can cause great damage when it hits and will destroy most ships or groups of ships in one shot due to it's Area of Effect damage, but since it's a suicide unit it may not be worth the resource cost. The Demolition Ship and its upgrade are the fastest military vessels in the game (especially with Dry Dock researched), much faster than most naval units, making it capable of chasing down enemies. It is very useful against tight groups of Galleys - especially using groups of Demolition Ships, most human opponents will immediately prioritize Demolition Ships when spotted - allowing other ships like Fire Ships to close the distance. It all depends on the exact situation, they are very similar to the Petard. Since Demolition Ships are available for nearly all civilizations, civilizations with poor naval technology may improvise by using Demolition Ships to even the odds. Demolition Ships are useful against the Galley line if they manage to approach to them, excellent against Fire Ships, and devastating against Transport Ships. But they fare poorly against the heavily armed and armored Turtle Ship. In sufficient numbers, however, they can be very cost effective against them. Longboats are a severe threat to Demolition Ships.

Demolition Ships can also be an excellent tool for dealing with the enemy shoreline infrastructure as they can rapidly take down enemy Docks without having to compromise other naval vessels intended to survive that can support Demolition Ships by distance.

Further Statistics
Civilization Bonuses=
 * Berbers: Demolition Ships move 10% faster.
 * Celts: Herdables cannot be stolen within a Demolition Ship's Line of Sight.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Demolition Ships are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age. Demolition Ships have +50% HP.
 * Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright is 50% cheaper.
 * Persians: Demolition Ships are created 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Careening and the upgrade to the Demolition Ship are researched 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Dry Dock and the upgrade to the Heavy Demolition Ship are researched 20% faster.
 * Portuguese: Demolition Ships have +10% HP and cost 15% less gold.
 * Vikings: Demolition Ships are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
 * -|Team Bonuses=
 * A team containing Teutons: Demolition Ships are more resistant to conversion.
 * -|The Forgotten Changes=
 * Demolition Ships have +10 HP.
 * Vikings: Demolition Ships are only 15% cheaper in the Castle Age. In The Conquerors, it was 20%.
 * -|The African Kingdoms Changes=
 * Now there are three stages in the Demo Ship line: Demolition Raft -> Demolition Ship -> Heavy Demolition Ship.

Trivia

 * The Demolition Ship is one of only three non-universal unit upgrades being available to every civilization that has access to the unit it is an upgrade of, the other two being the Heavy Camel and the Fire Ship.

History
''Kings and civilizations without a naval tradition turned to a simple expedient when facing a naval engagement. They loaded an expendable ship with combustibles and a skeleton crew. The doomed ship was then sailed into contact with enemy ships and set alight. When done properly, demolition ships burned fiercely and exploded, setting adjacent enemy ships on fire also. Wooden ships sealed with pitch and outfitted with flammable rigging and equipment were at great risk to fire and explosion (once gunpowder was aboard). A demolition ship could damage or destroy ships many more times more powerful and valuable and could be used against seaside buildings.''