Caravel (Age of Empires III)

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
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Ship Warship
Civilization	See description
Age	Colonial Age
Training
Trained at	Dock
Wood	300
Coin	100
Training limit	5
Statistics
Hit points	800
Resists	50% vs. Ranged
Speed	8.5
Garrison	50
Line of Sight	26
Ability	Transport land units Gather from fishes and whales
Special ability	Broadside Attack
XP train bounty	40
XP bounty	40
Siege damage
Attack	75
Multipliers	x0.5 vs. Artillery
Range	20
Area of Effect	1
Rate of Fire	2.0

“	Caravel. Good at exploring, fishing or transport.	”
—In-game description

The Caravel is a military naval vessel in Age of Empires III that can be trained at the Dock once the Colonial 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 the Indians.

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, it is relatively inexpensive, costing only 300 wood and 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 so it can move faster and can store troops inside it and transport them faster. 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 Colonial 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.

Special abilities

Ability	Effect
Broadside Attack	Fires a volley of cannon shots at an enemy ship within attack range, with each shot doing 100 siege damage. 60 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.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Ships, infantry close to shore
Weak vs.	Artillery especially Culverins, defensive structures
Improvements
Hit points	Armor Plating (+50%)
Attack	Carronade (+25%) Percussion Lock (+50% Broadside Attack damage)
Sight	Town Watch (+2)
Speed	Apache Endurance (+5%)
Gather rate	Gill Nets (+15%) Long Lines (+30%) Excessive Taxation (+50% from whales) Huron Fish Wedding (+20%) Navajo Craftsmanship (+20% from whales)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
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

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All Card Description Age HC level Advanced Dock Docks get +100% attack and heal ships 100% faster, and ship train time -33% (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 10 Fish Market Fishing Boats and Caravels gather 25% faster 1 Rendering Plant Fishing Boats and Caravels gather 30% faster (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 10 1 Caravel Ships 1 Caravel (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 1 2 Caravels Ships 2 Caravels 1 Improved Warships Warships get +25% hit points and attack (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 10 Admiralty Caravel train limit +4; Galleon train limit +2; Frigate and Monitor train limit +1 (also +1 Villager for the Indians) 1 Since the Caravel is only available for European civilizations (except the Ottomans) and the Indians, the Advanced Docks and Admiralty cards are only relevant to them. The Portuguese has the TEAM Fish Market card instead of Fish Market. The 2 Caravels card is available at a level 10 Home City for the Indians. British Card Description Age HC level Offshore Support Warships get +20% attack, +5 LOS, and +5 range 40 Naval Gunners Warships get +25% attack 25 Chinese Card Description Age HC level TEAM Improved Warships Warships get +15% hit points and attack 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Bombay Marine Ship train time -40% and XP train bounty +25% +1 Villager 1 3 Caravels Ships 3 Caravels +1 Villager 25 European Cannons Warships get +20% attack, +5 LOS, and +5 range +1 Villager 40 Portuguese Card Description Age HC level Navigation School Warships cost -20% and train time -25% 25 TEAM Fish Market Fishing Boats, Caravels/Galleys/War Junks/Fune, Canoes, War Canoes, Tlaloc Canoes, and Marathan Catamarans gather 10% faster 1 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cold Water Port Warships cost -15% 10 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10 Armada Warships get +30% hit points 10

Trivia

• The Caravel uses a low-pitch version of the voice clips of the Musketeer (depending on their language).

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

A stationary Caravel

A Caravel in a heated debate over the salvage rights on a nearby wreck

A Caravel in motion