Cow

The Cow is a herdable animal in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, Age of Mythology, and Age of Empires III. It appears as Cattle in Age of Empires IV.

Age of Empires II

Cow
Herdable animal
Introduced in	Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten
Hit points	14
Speed	0.65
Line of Sight	3
Collision size	0.35
Maximum food	150
Decay rate	0.25 food/second
Recommended no. of shepherds	4-6

Introduced in The Forgotten, Cows yield 150 food, similarly to Water Buffalo (which in turn appear in Rise of the Rajas). They appear primarily on European maps.

The Cow has 14 hit points, the same as the Water Buffalo, whereas the other herdable animals have 7 hit points. Consequently, Scout Cavalry and Militia in the Dark Age will find it harder to deprive a player of Cows (and Water Buffalo). The Cow is the only herdable that has a slower speed - their speed is 0.65 whereas all other herdable animals have 0.7 speed.

In the Honfoglalás scenario, players can train Cows for 35 food at the Town Center. Players can also train Sheep there, but Cows are a bit more cost-efficient.

In the Definitive Edition, Cows appear now in four different variants known as Cow A, Cow B, Cow C, and Cow D. These variants are listed as different units in the Scenario Editor and are not different sprites of the same unit, like the variants in Age of Empires III. All four cows are identical except in coat: A is black and white (like the old Cow), B is all black, C is brown and white, and D is all brown. All variants have the same icon.

This animal is also available in the Age of Empires game mode in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome with the same attributes.

Gallery

HD sprite of the Cow

Original Cow render

Villagers herding Cows to a Town Center

All Cow variants in the Definitive Edition

Age of Mythology

Cow
Herdable animal
Introduced in	Age of Mythology
Hit points	6
Hack armor	0%
Pierce armor	10%
Speed	2.50
Initial food	75
Maximum food	400
Fatten rate	18.5 food/minute
Decay rate	18 food/minute
Recommended no. of shepherds	4-7

• Retold
• Original

“	Villagers can gather Food from livestock animals.	”
—In-game description

“	This animal can be herded back to your town. It will fatten over time.	”
—In-game description

In Age of Mythology, the Cow can be found in the wild on several Norse-themed maps such as Midgard and Jotunheim, though on fewer maps than Pigs and Goats. Cows fatten over time, at a base rate of 18.6 food per minute; their maximum yield is 400 food, that is, 100 more food than Pigs and Goats.

Further statistics

Technologies

• Husbandry: +30% fattening rate

Changelog

Age of Mythology

• Cows have 25 hit points.

Retold

• Cows have 6 hit points.

History

“	Scientific name -- Bos taurus Size -- varies, but about 5' at the shoulder and 1000 lbs. (1600 lbs. for bulls) Diet -- grasses Domestic cattle were descended from the aurochs in Europe and the guar in Asia. Cattle were first domesticated between 5000-6000 years ago as beasts of burden, or to provide meat, milk and leather. Raising cattle for meat was likely uncommon; the animal was eaten only if it died or was no longer useful for draft or milk. Unlike goats, they can also serve as beasts of burden, but they require more forage than goats. Cattle were thought to be superior to horses until relatively recently, as they were calmer, less expensive, and less prone to disease, as well as better to eat.	”
—In-game History section

Gallery

Cows in Retold

A Pig, Cow, and Goat fattening over time in Retold.

Cows in the original game.

Age of Empires III

Cow
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Herded animal Cattle
Civilization(s)	See description
Required Home City Card	"Ranching"
Training
Trained at	Livestock Pen (Europeans except Portuguese and Spanish) Farm (Native Americans) Hacienda Comanchero and its counterparts (see Revolutions)
Cost	80 Food
Train time	25 seconds
Train limit	20
Statistics
Hit points	20
Speed	4.0
Line of Sight	9
Resource amount	50-500 food ()
Fatten rate	0.25/s 0.5/s at Livestock Market 1.0/s at Livestock Pen, Farm, Village, Hacienda
Gatherers	8
Resource generation
Auto gather	0.12/s XP ()
Requires	Indians only

“	Herd animal. Fattens over time. Fattens faster if tasked on a Livestock Pen, Farm, or Village.	”
—In-game description

Cows tasked to a Sacred Field

In Age of Empires III, the Cow is a much more effective livestock animal than the Sheep. Stray Cows can be found on the Texas and Painted Desert maps and can be obtained from treasures. Every European civilization but the Dutch, can send a shipment of 7 Cows. Alternatively, all European civilizations save the Spanish and Portuguese can send the Ranching Home City card, which grants the ability to produce Cows from the Livestock Pen. They are excellent herdables, costing 80 food, and, when fully fattened, granting 500.

The Naturalist is a politician available to all European civilizations except the Italians that gives the player two semi-fattened Cows, when picking her for advancing into the Commerce Age.

In The Asian Dynasties, the Indians cannot kill Cows (or any other herdables) for food. Instead, they get experience points slowly as the time passes. They get XP faster when Cows are tasked on a Sacred Field. They are known as Sacred Cows when captured/trained by Indians. The Japanese cannot gather food from herdables either. Instead, they can task them to Shrines to increase that Shrine's gather rate.

In the Definitive Edition, the Mexicans start with one Cow, can train them at no cost at Haciendas, and they can work at Haciendas for generating resources, more Cows, Settlers, Chinacos, or Cuatreros (these last two requires specific shipments). The Spanish can get Haciendas with the Viceroyalty of New Spain shipment and train Cows there like the Mexicans. Some revolutionary units (such as Morochucos, Llaneros, Cowboys Cuerudos, Californios, Gauchos, and Jagunços) are able to train Cows and gather food from them. The Argentina Revolution ships 10 Cows.

In The African Royals, the Hausa and Ethiopians can sell cows for obtaining wood, coin or influence at the Livestock Market. They have their own cow variant, Sanga Cattle and Zebu Cattle.

Gathering rates

Resource	Source	Gathering rate
		per second	per minute
All resources	Shrine	0.1425	8.55
Food	Hacienda	0.166667	10.00002
Wood		0.25	15
Coin		0.113334	6.80004
XP	Sacred Field	0.21	12.6
Influence	Livestock Market	0.08 0.3 (fattened)	4.8 18 (fattened)

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Nothing
Weak vs.	Nothing
Improvements
Fatten rate	Navajo Shepherds (+100% auto gather; +30% from Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets, and Haciendas) Large Scale Gathering (+50% from Farms; Native Americans only) Selective Breeding (+25% from Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets, and Haciendas) Punjabi New Year (+10% from Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets, and Haciendas)
XP generation rate	Navajo Shepherds (+30%) Punjabi New Year (+10%) Ritual Bovine (+10% from Sacred Fields)
Shrine resource generation rate	Navajo Shepherds (+35%) Punjabi New Year (+10%)
Influence generation rate	Transhumance (+0.15)
Hit points	Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+2; before the Definitive Edition)
Train time	Immigrants (-10%) New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only)
Other	Cow Loans (fattened herded animal sold at Livestock Markets spawns an unfattened one; Africans only) Royal Banquet (sells for 50% of its food as influence; Africans only) Día de Muertos (+5 XP for every lost; Mexicans only) Jagiellonian Legacy (delivers 2 Cows if The Naturalist was chosen)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Cow

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
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

Shared

Card	Description	Age
7 Semi-fattened Cows	Delivers 7 Cows carrying additional 150 food
Ranching	Enables Cows to be trained at Livestock Pens and Farms
Stockyards	Herded animals gather work rate for Livestock Pen, Farm, Village, and Hacienda +30%
Barbacoa	Haciendas automatically gathers up to 2 fattened herded animals in a radius of 16 at the gathering speed of 8.0/s; cattle and sheep or goat gather work rate for Hacienda +25%
Guadalajara Ranching	Delivers 1 Cow carrying additional 150 food for each shipment sent so far this game, including this one	Imperial Age
Fertile Lowlands	Delivers 6 Cows carrying additional 150 food and 2 Homestead Wagons

• "7 Semi-fattened Cows" is available to Europeans (except the Dutch and Portuguese) and the United States.
• "Ranching" is available to European (except the Portuguese and Spanish), Native Americans (except the Inca), and the United States.
• "Stockyards" is available to Europeans (except the Dutch and Portuguese), Federal Americans, the Chinese and Haudenosaunee.
• "Barbacoa" is available to the Mexicans, and also Spanish upon revolting to Mexico.
• "Guadalaraja Ranching" is available to the Mexicans upon selecting the Jalisco Federal State, and also Spanish upon revolting to Mexico.
• "Fertile Lowlands" is available to the United States upon selecting the Delaware Federal State, and also British, Dutch, French, Italians, and Swedes upon revolting to the United States.

British

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Wool Staple Ports	Herded animal auto gather work rate and gather work rate for Village, Livestock Pen, Hacienda, Farm, and Livestock Market +20%; Indian herded animal auto gather XP work rate for XP +20%; Japanese herded animal gather work rate for Shrine +25%

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
Western Reforms	Unit hit points and damage +8%

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Cattle Drivers	Delivers 8 Cows carrying additional 150 food, 1 Comanchero, and 1 Homestead Wagon; Cow train limit +8
Granaderos	Delivers 10 Cows and 10 Mounted Granaderos; Cow train limit +10; enables Mounted Granaderos to be trained at Stables, Taverns, Lombards, Forts, and Galleons; enables Incendiary Grenades in the Arsenal
Jagunços	Delivers 10 Cows and 10 Jagunços; Cow train limit +10; enables Cows to be trained at Livestock Pens and Jagunços; enables Jagunços to be trained at Stables, Taverns, Lombards, Forts, and Galleons
Llaneros	Delivers 10 Cows and 10 Llaneros; Cow train limit +10; enables Cows to be trained at Livestock Pens and Llaneros; enables Llaneros to be trained at Stables, Taverns, Forts, and Galleons
Morochucos	Delivers 10 Cows and 10 Morochucos (Comancheros); Cow train limit +10; enables Cows to be trained at Livestock Pens and Morochucos; upgrades Comancheros to Morochucos and enables them to be trained at Stables, Taverns, Forts, and Galleons
Xhosa Foods	Delivers 1 Large Pile of Squash and 4 Piles of Squash (900 food), 3 Cows, 3 Goats, 3 Sheep, and 1 Homestead Wagon

• "Cattle Drivers" is available upon revolting to Argentina, Brazil, Gran Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
• "Granaderos" is available to the Germans, Italians, and Spanish upon revolting to Argentina.
• "Jagunços" is available to the Dutch, Italians, and Portuguese upon revolting to Brazil.
• "Llaneros" is available to the Germans, Portuguese, and Spanish upon revolting to Gran Colombia.
• "Morochucos" is available to the Portuguese and Spanish upon revolting to Peru.
• "Xhosa Foods" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa.

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
Wampum	Unit train bounty +35%, train time -20%, siege unit and artillery train time -5% instead; building build bounty +35%

Hausa

Card	Description	Age
Habbanaya	Exchanges all cattle for 70% the influence received from selling them otherwise, and spawns unfattened ones in their place
Moroccan Leather	Cattle grants 50 influence when harvested; sheep or goat grants 30 influence when harvested
Kilishi Jerky	Cattle food carry capacity +100; sheep or goat food carry capacity +60

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%
Goraksha	Herded animal auto gather XP work rate for XP +80%; Sacred Cow food cost -25; +1 Hindu Villager

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
San Marcos Fair	Delivers 3 Cows carrying additional 150 food; delivers 3 Cows carrying additional 150 food for every 5 minutes of game time, up to 30 minutes; Market sell factor +50% (food)
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%
TEAM Alta California Territory	Delivers 7 Cows carrying additional 150 food and 1 Hacienda Wagon; Hacienda build limit +1; costs 500 food, 500 wood
Colegio de San Nicolas	Delivers 1 Large Collection of Books (500 XP); unit Line of Sight +4; building (except Wall) Line of Sight +8; reveals enemy units' positions for 20 seconds
California Ranching	Delivers 2 Cows carrying additional 150 food for each shipment sent so far this game including this one

• "Colegio de San Nicolas" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "California Ranching" is available upon revolting to California.

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
10 Cuerudos, 10 Cows, 1 Homestead Wagon	Delivers 10 Cows carrying additional 150 food, 10 Cuerudos, and 1 Homestead Wagon; Cow train limit +10

• "10 Cuerudos, 10 Cows, 1 Homestead Wagon" is available upon revolting to Mexico.

United States

Card	Description	Age
Indiana Mobilization	Delivers 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game, including this one; unit train time, technology research time, Age up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
Florida Cowhunters	Delivers 2 Cows carrying additional 150 food and 2 Cowboys (Comancheros) for each shipment sent so far this game, including this one	Imperial Age

• "Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
• "Florida Cowhunters" is available upon selecting the Florida Federal State.

All

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Ranching	Livestock Pens and Farms can train Cows		1
Stockyards	Herded animals fatten 30% faster when tasked to Livestock Pens, Farms, and Villages		1

• "Ranching" is available to European (except the Portuguese and Spanish) and Native Americans.
• "Stockyards" is available to Europeans (except the Dutch and Portuguese), the Chinese and Iroquois.

British

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Wool Staple Ports	Herded animals fatten 20% faster and 20% faster when tasked to Villages, Livestock Pens, and Farms; Indian herded animals generate +20% XP; Japanese herded animals generate +25% resources/XP when tasked to Shrines		10

Chinese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and damage		40

Europeans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
7 Cows	Delivers 7 Cows (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans)		1

• "7 Cows" is not available to the Dutch and Portuguese.

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and damage		25
Goraksha	Herded animals generate +80% XP; Sacred Cows cost -25 food; +1 Villager		1

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

History

“

Scientific Name: Bos taurus Approx. Size: 5 ft. at the shoulder, 1,200 lb. Diet: Grasses Cattle accompanied Europeans to the Americas. Spanish expeditions often traveled with herds of oxen, cattle, sheep, and pigs in tow. The famous Texas Longhorn was bred from Spanish cattle brought from Santo Domingo, though who brought them is unclear. The original herd is said to have accompanied a viceroy, Gregorio de Villalobos, but other Spanish longhorn cattle drives are attributed to Coronado and even Christopher Columbus. Most of the cattle that lived in the central plains of North America, the herds that sparked range wars and gave birth to cowboys, came from the breeding of these Spanish longhorns and the northern European cattle brought east by other settlers.

”

Gallery

Cow portrait in the Age of Empires III beta

Cow image from the Compendium section in Age of Empires III

In-game Cows in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

In-game fattened Cows in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

Age of Empires IV

Main article: Cattle