| “ | Warship that spews fire at close range. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Fast Fire Ship is a ship in Age of Empires II that can be upgraded from the Fire Ship and then trained at the Dock once the Imperial Age is reached. Like its predecessor, it is a ship with a "flamethrower" mounted on the bow. The Fast Fire Ship has an attack bonus against other ships, but it must come in very close to enemy ships in order to attack.
Availability chart[]
 Available |  Unavailable
|
|---|---|
- x means that the civilization can fully upgrade its Fast Fire Ships. The technologies being considered here are Dry Dock and Shipwright.
- + means that the civilization some civilization or team bonus or a unique technology that benefits the combat strength of the Fast Fire Ship.
Tactics[]
In comparison to its predecessor, the Fast Fire Ship has +20 hit points, +1 pierce damage, +1 damage against ships and fishing ships, +2 pierce armor, +3 ship armor, and +0.08 movement speed.
Ships in mid-battle.
Although the Fast Fire Ship is better on a close confrontation against a Galleon, Galleons are usually preferred for their lower cost and superior range which can increase benefits from scouting. In large-scale confrontations, a fleet of Galleons can defeat a fleet of Fast Fire Ships comfortably due to their superior range, but if properly supported by other ships, a fleet of Fast Fire Ships can sink down a fleet of Galleons easily. Fast Fire Ships are also vulnerable against Demolition Ships and Turtle Ships, two other ship types that require a close range to attack.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Transport Ships, Fishing Ships, buildings in the shoreline, melee units in the shallows, Galleons, Cannon Galleons |
| Weak vs. | Demolition Ships, Turtle Ships, Longboats, towers, Castles, ranged siege units on the shoreline |
| Upgrades | |
| Range |  Greek Fire (+1, Byzantines only)
|
| Armor |  Careening (+0/+1)
|
| Speed |  Dry Dock (+15%)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
| Creation speed |  Shipwright (+54%)
|
| Train cost | Shipwright (-20% wood)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Aztecs: Fast Fire Ships are created 15% faster.- Berbers: Fast Fire Ships move 10% faster.
- Byzantines: Fast Fire Ships fire 20% faster.
- Georgians: Fast Fire Ships receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright is 33% cheaper.
- Koreans: Fast Fire Ship cost -20% wood.
- Persians: Fast Fire Ships are created 20% faster. Careening is researched 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Dry Dock is researched 20% faster.
- Spanish: Researching technologies that benefit Fast Fire Ships provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: Fast Fire Ship deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from elevations.
Team bonuses[]
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Fast Fire Ships are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Fast Fire Ships are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Fast Fire Ships have 120 hit points.
- Fast Fire Ships have 8 pierce armor and 6 ship armor.
- Shipwright reduces the wood cost by 20%.
The Conquerors[]
- With patch 1.0b, Fast Fire Ships have 7 ship armor.
- With patch 1.0b, Shipwright also decreases train time by 35%.
- Heresy introduced.
The Forgotten[]
- Fast Fire Ships have 140 HP.
- Byzantines: Greek Fire introduced.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Fast Fire Ships have 9 pierce armor and 9 ship armor.
- With patch 4.8, Fast Fire Ships have Ballistics-like behaviour.
- Malians: Cannot upgrade to Fast Fire Ship.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- Fast Fire Ship have 8 pierce armor again.
Definitive Edition[]
- Koreans: Initially, Fast Fire Ships cost -15% wood. With update 39284, they cost -20% wood.
- Malians: Fast Fire Ship added to their technology tree.
History[]
| “ | The fire ship was improved over the years to increase its speed, maneuverability, and armor. Constantinople was successfully defended by its navy of fast fire ships for many centuries. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual | ||
Trivia[]
- The Fire Ship is based on the Byzantine Dromon galleys and their Greek fire weapon. However, it is incorrectly depicted without oars.
- The Fire Ships are the only units in the game without an integer range.
- The Fast Fire Ship and the Fire Ship are the only units in the game to deal both melee and pierce damage.
- Fast Fire Ships deal bonus damage against the cheat unit Saboteur (since The Conquerors) because it is in the same unit class as ships.
Gallery[]
Video[]
