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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. For the unit in Age of Empires IV, see Incendiary Ship. |
| “ | Filled with explosives. Self-destructs when used. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Demolition Ship is a ship in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Dock once the Castle Age is reached. Demolition Rafts are automatically upgraded to Demolition Ships when the War Galley upgrade is researched.
Demolition Ships are packed with explosives that blow up against enemy ships, Docks, land units caught in shallows, and anything too close to the shore.
Demolition Ships are available to all civilizations except for the Koreans and Romans.
Tactics[]
Compared to the Demolition Raft, the Demolition Ship has +15 hit points, +20 attack, +40 anti-building damage, +1 pierce armor, +2 ship armor, +0.1 movement speed, +0.5 blast radius, and -14 seconds of training time. Their blast radius also changes to a 100% effect for all units in its radius, as opposed to the Demolition Raft's radial decrease. Given the similar impact on the other Feudal Age naval units, the upgrade is almost always worth obtaining very quickly.
An animation showing the explosion damage left on the two enemy ships.
It's used to strike against key targets (such as fully loaded Transport Ships), dying in the process. It can cause great damage when it hits and will destroy most ships or groups of ships in one shot due to its Area of Effect damage, which thankfully does not harm friendly units. Even if a Demolition Ship explodes before being able to complete its attack (including if the owner presses Delete), the explosion will still deal full damage. The Demolition Ship and its upgrade are the fastest military vessels in the game (especially with Dry Dock researched), much faster than most naval units, making it capable of chasing down enemies. It is very useful against tight groups of Galleys - especially using groups of Demolition Ships, most human opponents will immediately prioritize Demolition Ships when spotted, allowing other ships like Fire Ships to close the distance. Demolition Ships are useful against the Galley line if they manage to approach them, excellent against Fire Ships, and devastating against Transport Ships. However, when used as the basis of a navy, they will usually falter, as they are very inefficient against low-hit-point units.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Transport Ships, Fishing Ships, Fire Ships, buildings in the shoreline, melee units in the shallows, Cannon Galleons |
| Weak vs. | Turtle Ships, towers, Castles, ranged units on the shoreline |
| Upgrades | |
| Armor |  Careening (+0/+1) Carrack (+1/+1, Portuguese only)
|
| 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%)
|
| Blast radius | Cilician Fleet (+20%, Armenians only)
|
| Upgrades |  Heavy Demolition Ship
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Aztecs: Demolition Ships are created 18% faster.- Berbers: Demolition Ships move 10% faster.
- Burmese: Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Demolition Ships can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Demolition Ships are 10%/15% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age. Demolition Ships have +50% HP.
- Georgians: Demolition Ships receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright is 33% cheaper.
- Persians: Demolition Ships are created 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Careening is researched 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Dry Dock and the upgrade to the Heavy Demolition Ship are researched 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Demolition Ships have +10% hit points and cost 20% less gold.
- Spanish: Researching technologies that benefit Demolition Ships provides 20 gold each.
- Vikings: Demolition Ships are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Team bonuses[]
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Demolition Ships are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Demolition Ships are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Demolition Ships have 50 hit points.
- Shipwright reduces the wood cost by 20%.
- Vikings: Demolition Ships are 20% cheaper.
The Conquerors[]
- With patch 1.0b, Shipwright also decreases train time by 35% now.
- Heresy introduced.
- Aztecs: Cannot build Demolition Ships.
The Forgotten[]
- Demolition Ships now have 60 HP.
- Vikings: Demolition Ships are now 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Demolition Raft introduced.
- Aztecs: With patch 4.8, the Demolition Ship is added to the technology tree.
Definitive Edition[]
- Portuguese: With update 39284, Demolition Ships cost 20% less gold. With update 42848, technologies are researched 30% faster.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 61321, siege units and ships are now resistant to armor-ignoring attacks similarly to buildings.
History[]
| “ | Kings and civilizations without a naval tradition turned to a simple expedient when facing a naval engagement. They loaded an expendable ship with combustibles and a skeleton crew. The doomed ship was then sailed into contact with enemy ships and set alight. When done properly, demolition ships burned fiercely and exploded, setting adjacent enemy ships on fire also. Wooden ships sealed with pitch and outfitted with flammable rigging and equipment were at great risk to fire and explosion (once gunpowder was aboard). A demolition ship could damage or destroy ships many more times more powerful and valuable and could be used against seaside buildings. | ” |
Gallery[]
