Catapult Trireme

Catapult Trireme
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Warship Siege unit
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Training
Trained at	Dock
Wood	135
Gold	50
Training time	90 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	135
Attack	35 building
Attack bonuses	+140 vs. Buildings +50 vs. Towers +10 vs. Fire Galley
Blast radius	1.0
Rate of Fire	5.3
Frame delay	1
Range	9
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Speed	1.45
Line of Sight	12
Unit evolution
Upgrades to	Juggernaught
Upgrade cost	1,300 food, 700 wood
Upgrade time	200 seconds

The Catapult Trireme is a large naval unit with a catapult mounted on top of the deck in Age of Empires.

Civilizations

The * indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Catapult Triremes, i.e. gets Alchemy, Engineering, and Ballistics.
The ^ indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of their Catapult Triremes.

Gameplay

It fires every 5.3 seconds and throws large rocks and boulders toward enemy targets at a long distance. Once the Trireme has been upgraded, the technology which enables Catapult Trireme becomes available at the Dock. Like all stone throwing siege weapons, Catapult Triremes deal 28 bonus damage against buildings (to a total of 35 damage, since buildings in Age of Empires have 80% resistance to all attacks) but only 10 bonus damage against towers (to a total of 17 damage).

They are the very first siege naval unit to appear in Age of Empires series and are the predecessor of the Cannon Galleon of Age of Empires II and the Monitor of Age of Empires III.

It has fewer hit points and fires slower than its original counterpart, but more than makes up for it with damage per projectile, more range and doing damage to a certain location rather than a single unit. Because of its relative low amount of hit points compared to other units, a successful naval victory through a full-scale assault can be obtained by escorting them with a large group of Triremes.

Being a Trireme, it is not an upgrade to Trireme itself, but a separate unit. It can be upgraded into a Juggernaught once Engineering is researched. It benefits from such researches as Alchemy for its attack strength, Ballistics for its accuracy and Engineering for its range.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Buildings
Weak vs.	Ships, Ballistae
Upgrades
Attack	Alchemy (+1)
Range	Engineering (+2)
Accuracy	Ballistics (hit moving targets)
Upgrades	Juggernaught

Civilization bonuses

• Greeks: Catapult Triremes have +20% speed.
• Macedonians: Catapult Triremes are four times more resistant to conversion.
• Minoans: Catapult Triremes cost -30%.
• Phoenicians: Catapult Triremes have -24% reload time.
• Yamato: Catapult Triremes have +20% hit points.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Catapult Triremes have 120 hit points and cost 135 wood, 75 gold.
• The Juggernaught upgrade costs 2,000 food, 900 wood.

Definitive Edition

• Catapult Triremes have 135 hit points and cost 135 wood, 50 gold.
• The Juggernaught upgrade costs 1,300 food, 700 wood.

History

“	The ultimate warships of antiquity were advances on the trireme that occurred after the death of Alexander the Great. These ships were first broadened so that multiple rowers could apply power to each oar. Based on limited descriptions and detailed figures from crew and rowers, it is believed that the largest ships of this period may have had catamaran hulls. The broadening of ships and decks added weight and further reduced speed and maneuverability, but increased stability. Decks supported catapult artillery and large marine contingents. Ships engaged each other primarily with missile fire and boarding.	”
—Age of Empires manual

Gallery

A group of Catapult Triremes, facing all possible directions.

Dock Tree
Stone Age Dock Fishing Boat Trade Boat Tool Age Light Transport Scout Ship Bronze Age Fishing Ship War Galley Merchant Ship Iron Age Heavy Transport Fire Galley Trireme Catapult Trireme Juggernaught