This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the similar unit in Age of Empires II, see Caravel (Age of Empires II). |
“ | Caravel. Good at exploring, fishing or transport. | ” |
—In-game description |
The Caravel is a military ship in Age of Empires III that can be trained at the Dock once the Commerce Age is reached. It can transport land units and gather from fishes and whales.
Caravels are available to European civilizations (except the Ottomans, who have Galleys instead and Maltese which have Order Galleys), Indians, and Ethiopians (through the Portuguese Alliance Age-up).
Overview[]
The Caravel is one of the first military ships available in the game other than the Galleon or Fluyt. Although it is one of the weakest warships in the game in terms of survivability, it is fast, versatile, relatively cheap and yet has surprisingly heavy firepower and high DPS for its cost and small size. It costs only 300 wood, 100 coin and can be built in a short amount of time. The Caravel is very useful at exploring uncharted waters because it is not big as other large ships, therefore being more agile and maneuverable. Moreover, it can transport and ferry troops from within across bodies of water, able to carry up to 50 units. It can also be used to clear out weak coastal enemy positions at beaches as well as harassing enemy Fishing Boats. However, it is most effective combined with the heavier Galleons and Frigates to take the heat while the Caravels exploit their high DPS. Moreover, care should be taken when near Outposts and Town Centers that can easily destroy one in just a few shots. The Caravel is also one of the only warships that can harvest from fish and Whales just like Fishing Boats, with a gather rate of 0.67 and 0.5.
Caravels are one of the easier ships to repair at a Dock due to their low hit points, this means a player can withdraw a damaged vessel and have it back in the fight in a relatively short period of time.
The Spanish may want to use Galleons and Privateers instead, due to the "Spanish Galleons" and "TEAM Inquisition" cards.
Most civilizations can ship Privateers during the Commerce Age. Though they lack a Caravel's speed and ability to gather resources, they are tougher and possess greater Line of Sight than most ships in that Age.
The Admiral of the Ocean Sea is a politician that gives a Caravel to the player when picking him for aging up to the Fortress Age (except for the Ottomans and Maltese, which receive Galleys or Order Galleys, respectively).
Special abilities[]
- Broadside Attack: Fires a volley of cannon shots at an enemy within attack range, with each shot doing 50×2 siege damage in an Area of Effect of 1 with a ×2.0 multiplier against ships. 60 seconds cooldown.
- Long-range Bombardment Attack (available to Finland after sending the "Gunboats" Home City Card): Fire a mortar shell from a range of 40, doing 100 siege damage in an Area of Effect of 4, with a ×6.0 multiplier against buildings, ×0.5 multiplier against artillery, and ×0.2 multiplier against villagers. Can only target buildings. 90 seconds cooldown.
Civilization differences[]
- Asian civilizations which can ally with the Portuguese at the Consulate will be able to research the Exploration Fleet technology, which ships one Caravel with three Petards.
- The Ethiopians can train up to two Caravels for 400 influence when allying with the Portuguese, which automatically receive the Percussion Lock technology in the Industrial Age, and get +30% hit points and attack in the Imperial Age.
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Ships, infantry close to shore |
Weak vs. | Artillery especially Culverins, defensive structures |
Improvements | |
Gather rate | Long Lines (+30%) Gill Nets (+15%) Huron Fish Wedding (+15%) Fasting (+10%) Aztec Chinampa (+5%) Klamath Work Ethos (+5%) Collective Economy (+50% from whales; Asians only) Excessive Taxation (+50% from whales; Europeans only) Large Scale Farming (+35% from whales; Ethiopians only) Navajo Craftsmanship (+20% from whales) Somali Coinage (+10% from whales) |
Hit points | Armor Plating (+50%) Byzantine Legacy (+15%) Tar Kilns (+10%) |
Attack | Carronade (+25%) Percussion Lock (+50% Broadside Attack damage) Somali Ajuran Engineers (+20% multiplier vs. Frontier fortification) |
Line of Sight | Town Watch (+3) |
Train time | Immigrants (-10%) Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Ethiopians only) |
Cost | Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost) |
Other | Exploration Fleet (ships 1 Caravel with 3 Petards in it; Indians and Japanese only) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) Öresund Customs (generates 0.2 coin/sec.) |
Penalties | Coffee Trade (-10% speed; Dutch only) High Crusade (-5% hit points; Knights of St. John only) |
Home City Cards[]
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Caravel
Some cards are highlighted with: | |
Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
Purple | Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times |
Red | Shipment that can be sent twice |
Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
All[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Advanced Dock | Docks get +100% attack and heal ships 85% faster; warships' train time -33% (also +1 Villager for the Indians) | 10 | |
Fish Market | Fishing boats gather food from fishes 25% faster and coin from whales 20% faster | 1 | |
Rendering Plant | Fishing boats gather food from fishes 30% faster and coin from whales 25% faster (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 10 | |
Whale Oil | Fishing boats gather coin from whales 30% faster | 40 | |
1 Caravel | Ships 1 Caravel (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans) | 1 | |
2 Caravels | Ships 2 Caravels (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 1* | |
3 Caravels | Ships 3 Caravels (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 25 | |
Improved Warships | Warships get +25% hit points and attack (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 10 | |
TEAM Improved Warships | Warships get +10% hit points and attack | 10 | |
European Cannons | Warships get +15% attack, +2 Line of Sight and range (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 25 | |
Admiralty | Dock warship technologies cost and research time -60% (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians) | 1 |
- "Advanced Docks" is available to Europeans and the Indians.
- "Fish Market" is not available to the Japanese and Portuguese.
- "Whale Oil" is available to the Japanese, Portuguese, and Swedes.
- "1 Caravels" and "2 Caravels" are available to Europeans (except the Maltese and Ottomans) and Indians.
- "3 Caravels" is available to the Indians and Portuguese.
- "Improved Warships" is available to Europeans (except the Maltese), Ethiopians, Indians, and Japanese.
- "TEAM Improved Warships" is available to the Chinese and Maltese.
- "European Cannons" is available to Asians and Ethiopians.
- "Admiralty" is available to Europeans, Federal Americans, and Indians.
British[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Whale Oil | Fishing boats gather coin from whales 15% faster |
Ethiopians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Ignatian Spirituality | All units get +5% hit points and regeneration capability even while in combat | |
Feudal Armies | All units' train time -15%; hero respawn time -15% | |
Advanced Port | Ports get +100% hit points and heal ships 100% faster; warships' train time -33% | |
Roof of Africa | Villagers and fishing boats gather food 25% faster | |
Fazogli Gold | Villagers and fishing boats gather coin 20% faster | |
Land of the Sea | Warships get +35% attack for each garrisoned Ras |
Europeans[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Economic Theory | Villagers and fishing boats gather 10% faster | 40 | |
Naval Gunners | Warships get +20% attack | 25 | |
Gunboats | Grants Imperial Monitor upgrade; Caravels can use the Long-range bombardment ability | N/A | |
Lantakas | Artillery, buildings, and ships get +15% attack | N/A | |
Rhode Island Militia | Ships 10 Veteran State Militia and 5 Militiamen; Caravels, Galleons/Fluyts, Frigates, and Ironclads get +10% ranged attack per garrisoned State Militia and/or Militiaman (up to +60%); turns all Crossbowmen/Longbowmen and Pikemen into State Militia; State Militia replace Crossbowmen, Longbowmen, Pikemen, and Halberdiers at Barracks and Forts, and can be upgraded to Guard | N/A |
- "Economic Theory" is not available to the British, Dutch, Spanish, and Swedes.
- "Naval Gunners" is available for the British, French, Italians, Russians, and Swedes.
- "Gunboats" is available to the Russians and Swedes upon revolting to Finland.
- "Lantakas" is available to the Dutch and Portuguese upon revolting to Indonesia.
- "Rhode Island Militia" is available to the British, Dutch, French, Italians, and Swedes upon revolting to the United States.
Germans[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Offshore Support | Warships get +15% attack, +2 Line of Sight and range; +2 Uhlans | 40 |
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack | 25 | |
Foreign Trading Companies | Gives a trickle of 0.75 export; Consulate Armies cost -15% export but Indian units cost +2.5% (except Villagers, Fishing Boats, and Sacred Cows which cost +5%); +1 Hindu Villager | N/A | |
Bombay Marine | Ships' train time -30% and train bounty +30%; +1 Hindu Villager | 1 |
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Sengoku | Unit upgrades cost -20% | 1 | |
TEAM Chonindo | Villagers and fishing boats gather 8% faster from all sources except hunts; Haciendas auto gather 8% faster | 10 | |
Fish Market | Fishing boats gather food from fishes 25% faster and coin from whales 20% faster | 1 | |
Peacetime Fishing | Warships gather food from fishes and coin from whales 125% faster | 25 |
Maltese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Knights of the Round Table | Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points |
Mexicans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mariachi | For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed | |
TEAM Rendering Plant | Fishing boats gather 10% faster |
Portuguese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Navigation School | Warships cost and train time -20% | 25 | |
TEAM Fish Market | Fishing boats gather 10% faster | 1 | |
Carracks | Caravel get +15% hit points | N/A | |
Naval Infantry | Enables Portuguese Warships to train infantry: Caravels can train Crossbowmen, Pikemen and Halberdiers; Monitors and Ironclads can train Musketeers, Cassadores, and Grenadiers (if available); Frigates can train all Barracks units; Battleship can train all Barracks units and Grenadiers | N/A |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Cold Water Port | Warships cost -15% | 10 |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Spanish Inquisition | Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight | 10 | |
Armada | Warships get +20% hit points and 2 Line of Sight; Caravels can now train infantry units; Frigates can now train cavalry and artillery units; Monitors can now train Mortars; Battleship can now train infantry, cavalry, and artillery units | 10 |
Trivia[]
- The Caravel uses a low-pitch version of the voice clips of the Musketeer (depending on their language).
- The model for the Caravel is actually based on a carrack. The real caravel doesn't have a forecastle, and the caravel's sails are triangular lateen sails.
- The Spanish Caravel may have the random names of Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, making reference to the Christopher Columbus's ships of his first voyage to the Americas.
History[]
“ | Caravels were developed by Portuguese shipwrights in the fourteenth century, and were initially used to explore the coast of Africa. They had two masts with square sails and one forward triangular, or lateen, sail. They were relatively small ships and wide for their length, giving them a shallow draft and the ability to sail safely in shallow waters. These two factors made them extremely popular with explorers until the Spanish Galleon took over about 200 years later. Approximate weight: 80 tons. Length: 50 feet. | ” |
Gallery[]
See also[]
- Galley – Ottoman counterpart
- War Junk – Chinese counterpart
- Fune – Japanese counterpart
- Sloop – Federal American counterpart
- Order Galley – Maltese counterpart