Battleship. A mighty Ship of the Line that rules the waves and everything on it.
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—In-game description
The Battleship is a warship in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition that is available to any civilization in the Dock/Port after placing a Trading Post on a royal house. It is the strongest warship in the game, but has no unique abilities by default, unlike other European warships. Additionally, all European civilizations have access to the Battleship through their Home City.
The Battleship is by far the most resistant warship in the game, with a hefty 4,500 hit points and 75% ranged resistance. It pays for this with one of the lowest speeds; only 4.75 (compared to the 6.5 of an already slow Monitor). A player can only have one Battleship at a time, and acquiring a new Battleship after destruction will cost the player 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin, which makes it an expensive unit. Though the build limit of the Battleship is 1, Spanish players are able to have 2 Battleships on the field with the "Nuestras Señoras" card, which ships 2 Battleships. This does not increase their build limit though.
Though slow, the Battleship can garrison up to 100 units, double that of any other European warship. This, along with its hit points and resistance, makes it an excellent ship for transporting large armies to the enemy base. However, its exceedingly fast Rate of Fire of 0.5 and range of 35 (outranging most warships) mean it also possesses great battling capabilities. The Spanish also have access to the "Armada" card, which allows the Battleship to train infantry, cavalry, and artillery units. This makes it a mobile Barracks, Stable, and Artillery Foundry.
Warships get +20% hit points and 2 LOS; Caravels can now train infantry units; Frigates can now train cavalry and artillery units; Monitors can now train Mortars; Battleships can now train infantry, cavalry and artillery units
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Trivia[]
The Battleship represent Man-of-War ships, and could have been inspired by the SwedishVasa warship.
It appears in the game's trailer, and was included in the release of the United States DLC as a Scenario Editor unit.
History[]
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During the 17th-19th centuries, naval tactics evolved towards a heavy reliance on broadside bombardments. This led warship construction to favor larger vessels with more cannons and greater integrity. The pinnacle of this development was the ship of the line, so named for the "line", a broadside tactic. These early battleships ruled the seas in their heyday, but were gradually superseded by ironclad frigates during the later part of the 19th century.