Talk:Longboat (Age of Empires II)/@comment-206.146.71.188-20180101172427

Although the stats are not much superior to regular galleons, one thing that I think is overlooked about the Longboats is their formation on the water. Longboats take up less space than galleons, so they move and turn in tighter groups, meaning that they fire more uniformly.

In close naval battles, this uniform fighting can be key. Who hasn't had an naval battle experience where your ships in the back can't contribute right away because they have to sail around to get into range? Precious time can be lost in these situations when the two navies are closely contested. The nice thing about the longboats is that they pack so densely together that most of them can start shooting right away, and the rest have very little distance to move before they are in range. Pair this with greater movement speed (hit and run/pick off ability), greater damage to both buildings and siege equipment, and faster spawning speed... Suddenly, the not-so-seemably advantageous longboat is an impressive addition to an already terrifying Viking navy. (Note: Having a denser formation does make longships more prone to mangonels, cannons, etc.)