This article is about the wild animal. For military units riding elephants, see Elephant unit. |
The Elephant is a huntable animal and source of food in Age of Empires, Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms, Age of Mythology, and Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. It is also featured as a treasure guardian and pet in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals.
Age of Empires[]
ā | Can be hunted for food. | ā |
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition |
Roughly equivalent to the Wild Boar in later games, Elephants provide far more food than any animal, but they also fight back (unlike Gazelles) and are difficult to take down by hunters due to their high number of hit points. Elephants do not attack unless first provoked, unlike the more aggressive Lion and Crocodile, so the player can safely move Villagers or other units through herds of Elephants so long as they don't injure them.
Having access to a herd is useful when the player needs a quick food boost, although fishing will yield it faster, and with no (or less) danger. At least four Villagers should be used when attacking Elephants, which is enough to bring them down in three volleys. It is important to keep Elephants away from melee range, as they flatten Villagers in three hits; however, as Elephants move slowly, Villagers can use hit-and-run tactics to wear them down.
The Elephant's tendency to charge at attackers can also be used to the player's advantage, luring it closer to a Town Center or Storage Pit so that Villagers have shorter trips between depositing meat. The "lure" strategy is detailed below. This technique also minimizes spoilage, but Elephant carcasses decay slower than any other animal: 1 food is lost every 5 seconds on the in-game clock.
In Return of Rome, Elephants are sometimes replaced with Wild Boar, which in this game are statistically identical.
Lure[]
- Approach the Elephant at a distance that can be speared.
- Strike twice, wait for the Elephant to move, then turn around.
- Continuously adjust the distance. If the Villager moves too fast, leaving the Elephant far behind, use the S key to stop a bit or turn around once for the Elephant to continue chasing the Villager.
- When the Elephants comes near the Town Center or Storage Pit, use another 3-4 Villagers to kill it.
It is possible to lure two Elephants at the same time. Throw two spears to make the first Elephant move, then go back and continue throwing spears at the second Elephant. The two Elephants will chase the Villager together. This is especially useful for Sumerians, whose Villagers have 40 hit points.
Trivia[]
- All elephants in the original version of Age of Empires, wild and tamed, have the proportions of African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana). However, it was the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) that would be more familiar to most civilizations in the game, as Asian elephants were found once from Mesopotomia to China, and continued to be imported from south Asia after they became extinct in these regions. Only the Carthaginians and Egyptians would be locally familiar with African elephants, specifically the North African elephant (thought to be a now-extinct subspecies Loxodonta africana pharaohensis).
- In Return of Rome, the wild species is the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), from Age of Empires II. However, it uses the same icon as the Definitive Edition's African elephant.
Gallery[]
Age of Empires II[]
The Elephant was introduced in The African Kingdoms as a huntable animal. Found mainly in maps set in Africa and India, it behaves similarly to the Wild Boar, attacking any unit which provokes it. It is quite fast and deals a large amount of hand damage, so it is recommended to hunt it with a substantial group of Villagers. It gives even more food than the Wild Boar, at 400 instead of 300, which makes it, along with the Rhinoceros, the most valuable wildlife food source in Age of Empires II.
Trivia[]
- In contrast to the previous game, in-game elephants are based on the Asian elephant, but are present in both African and Asian maps.
- In the Definitive Edition, the icon shows an African elephant, but the unit is an Asian elephant.
- Although Elephants have the same statistics as Wild Boars, the duration of their attack animation is much less (0.95 vs 1.615) and are thus more likely to kill hunters before dying.
- The African Kingdoms also introduces a decorative elephant skeleton available in the Scenario Editor.
Gallery[]
Age of Mythology[]
Like in the other games, the Elephant is a huntable source of Food, appearing on various desert and savannah themed maps, including Megalopolis, Nomad, River Nile, Savannah and Watering Hole. Since Elephants will fight back if hunted and are capable of easily killing Villagers, it is advisable for players to hunt Elephants with a group of civilian units.
The Elephant in Age of Mythology has the most Hit Points out of all the huntable animals in the game by far; having twice as many as the animal with the second largest amount, the Rhinoceros. Elephants are also worth 50% more Food that can be gathered, so they are usually worth the risk.
In Tale of the Dragon, Indian Elephants make an appearance on the Basin and Deep Jungle maps. These Elephants are slightly smaller, have proportionally smaller ears and are colored a slightly different hue. These differences are purely cosmetic; their stats are identical to their African counterparts and they are also named "Elephant" in-game.
History[]
ā | Scientific name -- Loxodonta africana Size -- Up to 14,300 lbs. Diet -- grasses, leaves, fruit Until recently it was thought there were only two living elephant species, the African elephant and the smaller Asian elephant. However, recent DNA studies suggest that there are actually two species of African elephant; Loxodonta cyclotis, lives in forests. The savannah African elephant is the largest modern land animal, weighing around seven tons. They form herds of ten to fifteen individuals always led by a matriarch. Because of their size, elephants have few predators. Elephants have an important effect on savannahs because they keep trees and shrubs under control, allowing grasses to dominate the environment. Elephants live for about sixty years and die as their molars wear down, preventing them from eating plants. Elephant gestation lasts for 22 months and calves can be born at 200 lbs. | ā |
ā | Scientific Name -- Elephas maximus (Indian) Size -- Up to 10,800 lbs. Diet -- grasses, leaves, fruit Famous for its muscular snout and regal curved tusks, the elephant is the world's largest land animal. Because of its immense appetite, an elephant will often stay close to areas with abundant supplies of water and vegetation, although herds migrate seasonally to find fresh resources. Even with a long natural lifespan of sixty years or more, the elephant has faced a number of challenges to its survival. During the last 40 million years, the number of elephant species on earth has dropped from more than 600 to only three: the savannah and forest elephants of Africa, and the Asian elephant. This is due to climate fluctuations and the resulting vegetation changes, as well as the negative impact of humanity. | ā |
Gallery[]
Age of Empires III[]
Huntable[]
ā | Gigantic herbivore. | ā |
—In-game description |
Like the Elephants in previous games, Wild Elephants[sic] are huntable animals, but they do not fight back and are completely harmless.
They can be found on some Asian Maps (including Indochina, Deccan, Borneo, and Ceylon). The length of the elephant tusks varies with some being very long while others are unnoticeable.
History[]
ā | Scientific Name: Elephas maximus (Indian); Loxodonta Africana (African) Approx. Size: 3.5 tons (Indian); 7 tons (African) Diet: Grasses, leaves, twigs, bark, shoots, fruit, flowers, roots, tubers, bulbs Famous for its muscular snout and regal curved tusks, the elephant is the world's largest land animal. Because of its immense appetite, an elephant will often stay close to areas with abundant supplies of water and vegetation, although herds migrate seasonally to find fresh resources. Even with a long natural lifespan of sixty years or more, the elephant has faced a number of challenges to its survival. During the last 40 million years, the number of elephant species on earth has dropped from more than 600 to only three: the savannah and forest elephants of Africa, and the Asian elephant. This is due to climate fluctuations and the resulting vegetation changes, as well as the negative impact of humanity. Mature elephants have no natural enemies except the human being. During the twentieth century, the elephant population fell from an estimated 5-10 million to nearly 400,000. | ā |
Trivia[]
- Though the Wild Elephant is correctly depicted as an Asian Elephant, its portrait in the History section shows an African elephant instead. The same happens with the Brahmin's elephant mount and the Siege Elephant.
Gallery[]
Treasure guardian[]
In Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals, Elephant Guardians are the largest land animal Treasure guardian with similar stats to the Rhinoceros. They can be found in various African maps.
Pet[]
ā | An exceptionally intelligent elephant who enjoys surprises. Good against Treasure guardians. | ā |
—In-game description |
Aiz the Tame Elephant is the strongest of all pet animals, having the most hit points and attack. They can also be trained from Bandit Catamarans on the Horn and Swahili Coast maps.
Upgrades[]
Aiz the Tame Elephant, like all other pets, is automatically upgraded in every Age up.
- +20% hit points and attack
- +30% hit points and attack
- +40% hit points and attack
- +60% hit points and attack
Trivia[]
- The Aiz the Tame Elephant reuses the Riderless Elephant portrait for the Definitive Edition.
- Aiz the Tame Elephant is a reference to Aizamk (also known as Aiz), a popular player in the Age of Empires III community who is known for his unorthodox and astonishing strategies. Hence the description of this unit, "An exceptionally intelligent elephant who enjoys surprises".
Animals in Age of Empires | |
---|---|
Until Definitive Edition | |
Huntables | Gazelle Ā· Elephant |
Predators | Alligator Ā· Lion Ā· Crocodile |
Marine creatures | Shore Fish Ā· Tuna Ā· Salmon Ā· Whale |
Animal Kings | Lion (Alpha) Ā· Crocodile (Alpha) Ā· Gazelle (Alpha) Ā· Elephant (Alpha) |
Other | Lion (tame) |
Decorative | Bird Ā· Dragon |
Cut | Horse Ā· Goat |
Including Return of Rome | |
Huntable | Deer Ā· Ibex Ā· Iron Boar Ā· Javelina Ā· Ostrich Ā· Rhinoceros Ā· Wild Boar Ā· Zebra |
Herdable | Cow Ā· Goat Ā· Goose Ā· Llama Ā· Pig Ā· Sheep Ā· Turkey Ā· Water Buffalo |
Predator | Bear Ā· Dire Wolf Ā· Jaguar Ā· Komodo Dragon Ā· Rabid Wolf Ā· Snow Leopard Ā· Tiger Ā· Wolf |
Civilian | Bactrian Camel Ā· Camel Ā· Donkey Ā· Horse |
Military animals | Alfred the Alpaca Ā· Furious the Monkey Boy Ā· Penguin |
Decorative | Wild Bactrian Camel Ā· Wild Camel Ā· Wild Horse |
Marine animals | Box Turtles Ā· Dolphin Ā· Dorado Ā· Marlin Ā· Perch Ā· Snapper |
Animals in Age of Empires II | |
---|---|
Herdable animals | Cow Ā· Goat Ā· Goose Ā· Llama Ā· Pig Ā· Sheep Ā· Turkey Ā· Water Buffalo |
Timid huntables | Deer Ā· Gazelle Ā· Ibex Ā· Ostrich Ā· Zebra |
Aggressive huntables | Elephant Ā· Iron Boar Ā· Javelina Ā· Rhinoceros Ā· Wild Boar |
Wild animals | Bear Ā· Crocodile Ā· Dire Wolf Ā· Jaguar Ā· Komodo Dragon Ā· Lion Ā· Rabid Wolf Ā· Snow Leopard Ā· Tiger Ā· Wolf |
Marine animals | Box Turtles Ā· Dolphin Ā· Dorado Ā· Marlin Ā· Perch Ā· Salmon Ā· Shore Fish Ā· Snapper Ā· Tuna |
Civilian animals | Bactrian Camel Ā· Camel Ā· Donkey Ā· Horse |
Military animals | Alfred the Alpaca Ā· Furious the Monkey Boy Ā· Penguin |
Hero animals | Hunting Wolf Ā· Ornlu the Wolf |
Decorative animals | Bird Ā· Stormy Dog Ā· Wild Bactrian Camel Ā· Wild Camel Ā· Wild Horse |
Animals (non-myth units) in Age of Mythology | |
---|---|
Herdable animals | Cow Ā· Goat Ā· Pig Ā· Yak |
Timid huntables | Baboon Ā· Caribou Ā· Chicken Ā· Crowned Crane Ā· Deer Ā· Duck Ā· Elk Ā· Gazelle Ā· Giraffe Ā· Monkey Ā· Zebra |
Aggressive huntables | Aurochs Ā· Boar Ā· Elephant Ā· Hippopotamus Ā· Ram Ā· Rhinoceros Ā· Walrus Ā· Water Buffalo |
Wild animals | Arctic Wolf Ā· Crocodile Ā· Bear Ā· Hyena Ā· Lion Ā· Lizard Ā· Panda Bear Ā· Polar Bear Ā· Tiger Ā· Wolf |
Military animals | Golden Lion Ā· Relic Monkey |
Fish | Herring Ā· Mahi-mahi Ā· Perch Ā· Salmon |
Decorative animals | Bird ( Eagle Ā· Harpy Ā· Hawk Ā· Parrot Ā· Vulture) Ā· Hawksbill Turtle Ā· Orca Ā· Shark Ā· Whale |
Scenario Editor-exclusive animals | Alfred Ā· Dog Ā· Giant Duck-Billed Platypus Ā· Golden Fleece (also herdable) Ā· Reindeer |
Cheat animals | Methane Chicken |
Cut animals | Camel Ā· Horse |