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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For other uses, see Galley. |
| “ | All-purpose warship with ranged attack. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Galley is a ship in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Dock once the Feudal Age is reached. Galleys are small, fast ships primarily used for scouting and attacking other units vulnerable to attack.
Tactics[]
Whilst being a relatively weak naval unit compared to its successors, the Galley is effective in numbers, able to take out enemy ships with ease, providing their numbers are great enough. They are also effective at wiping out enemy Fishing Ships and other economic units within close proximity to the coast.
Unfortunately, they lose against enemy Fire Galleys, which do not need to be massed. This makes the Fire Galley a better default option than the Galley, while the Galley will usually not start to be a better choice until the Castle Age, when it can be upgraded to the War Galley. The Galley does have a valuable niche in shore bombardment, as neither the Demolition Raft nor Fire Galley can fulfill this.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Transport Ships, Fishing Ships, buildings in the shoreline, melee units in the shoreline |
| Weak vs. | Fire Galleys, towers, Castles, ranged units on the shoreline |
| Upgrades | |
| Attack |  Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Chemistry (+1) Ballistas (+2, Romans only)
|
| Range | Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Cilician Fleet (+1, Armenians only)
|
| Accuracy |  Ballistics (hit moving targets)
|
| 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% wood)
|
| Upgrades |  War Galley (requires  War Galley)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Armenians: Galleys fire a second projectile which deals 1 damage.- Aztecs: Galleys are created 11% faster.
- Bulgarians: Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer cost -50% food.
- Berbers: Galleys move 10% faster.
- Burmese: Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Galleys can convert Herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Galleys are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Georgians: Galleys receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, Shipwright, Ballistics, and Chemistry is 33% cheaper. Upgrading to War Galley is 33% cheaper.
- Koreans: Galleys cost -20% wood.
- Persians: Galleys are created 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Careening and the upgrade to the War Galley are researched 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Dry Dock is researched 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Galleys have +10% HP and cost -20% gold.
- Romans: Galleys have +1/+1 armor.
- Saracens: Galleys attack 25% faster.
- Spanish: Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Galleys provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: Galleys deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from cliffs and elevations.
- Turks: Chemistry is free.
- Vikings: Galleys are 15%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Team bonuses[]
- Bulgarians: Researching Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer is 80% faster.
- Japanese: Galleys have +50% Line of Sight.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Galleys are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Galleys are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Galleys train in 36 seconds.
- Shipwright reduces the wood cost by 20%.
- Vikings: Galleys are 20% cheaper.
The Conquerors[]
- Galleys train in 60 seconds.
- With patch 1.0b, Shipwright also decreases train time by 35%.
- Heresy introduced.
The Forgotten[]
- Italians: Upgrading to War Galley is 50% cheaper.
- Vikings: Galleys are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Portuguese: Galleys cost -15% gold.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- Vikings: Galleys are 15%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Definitive Edition[]
- Bulgarians: Initially, the Team Bonus gave the Blacksmith a 50% work rate boost. With update 42848, this was changed to a 80% work rate boost.
- Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith upgrades cost -50% food.
- Koreans: Galleys cost -15% wood. With update 39284, they cost -20% wood.
- Portuguese: With update 39284, Galleys cost -20% gold. With update 42848, technologies are researched 30% faster.
Lords of the West[]
- Italians: With update 44725, upgrading to War Galley is 33% cheaper.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 61321, siege units and ships are now resistant to armor-ignoring attacks similarly to buildings.
Return of Rome[]
- Romans: Upon release, Ballistas made War Galleys fire 33% faster. With update 87863, Ballistas gives them +2 attack.
- Romans: With update 87863, Galleys have +1/+1 armor.
The Mountain Royals[]
- Upon release, the Armenian civilization bonus made Galleys shoot an extra projectile. With update 99311, the extra projectile was changed to an arrow for better readability.
History[]
| “ | Warships largely disappeared in Europe during the Dark Ages because no civilization other than the Byzantines possessed the wealth and organization necessary for maintaining any sort of navy. As the centuries passes, a few small warships again appeared in the Western Mediterranean. These were oar-powered galleys used primarily for scouting and chasing down pirates that plagued sea trade. The best warship in the West were built and maintained by the Byzantines, who alone had carried on their shipbuilding traditions since ancient times. | ” |
| —Unit description | ||
Trivia[]
- Galleys, Fire Galleys, and Demolition Rafts are the only units in the game who share an upgrade: War Galley.
- Before The Forgotten, the Galley was the only military vessel available in the Feudal Age.
- Galleys deal bonus damage against the cheat unit Saboteur (since The Conquerors) because it is in the same unit class as ships.
- Historically, galleys were propelled by oars. Given that in-game Galleys are propelled by a single sail and not oars, this makes them a type of sloop or possibly catboat, and not galleys. Fire Galleys, on the other hand, are properly named, since they are propelled by oars.
Gallery[]
The Galley line, with the Galley on the left
Original unit sprite
A group of Galleys
All Galleys in The Age of Kings and The Conquerors
Armenian Galley line (left) firing an extra projectile (arrow)
All Galleys introduced in the HD Edition's expansions
Galley sprite without sail in the Definitive Edition
