A fast warship with a short-ranged fire attack to defeat other ships. Superior to Triremes in one-on-one combat. Suffers additional damage from siege weapons and Catapult Triremes.
- indicates that the civilization cannot fully upgrade their Fire Galleys.
+ indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of their Fire Galleys.
Gameplay[]
Since Fire Galleys have 24 attack (30 with Alchemy researched) and a very fast rate of fire, they can easily defeat a Trireme and any other warship in one-on-one combat. However, they take additional damage from siege weapons and catapult-mounted ships so it is advised to keep them away from the coast of an enemy settlement. Since Fire Galleys can only attack within range of 2, they are best suited in open water where they avoid challenges from siege weapons and towers located inland. Fire Galleys are also best used in small groups since only one of them is needed to take out a Trireme. Other than that, Fire Galleys dominate the sea. Carthaginian Fire Galleys possess the highest attack on the sea since they have 30 base attack (36 with Alchemy researched), making them stronger than even a PhoenicianJuggernaut due to its faster firing rate.
Palmyrans: Technologies benefiting Fire Galleys researched 30% faster.
With update 99311, the Carthaginian team bonus is replaced.
History[]
“
Because ships were built primarily of combustible materials (wood, cloth, hemp, and pitch), fire was a devastating weapon against them. Ancient mariners devised several ways to set enemy ships on fire. The simplest was to fire flaming arrows or ballista bolts on an enemy ship. Next most useful were flaming grenades, something like modern Molotov cocktails, filled with a combustible liquid like oil. Most intricate were flaming firepots suspended from the bow of a ship by a pole. When the pole was positioned over the deck of an enemy ship, the pot was dropped, shattering it and spreading burning liquid over the deck.
”
—The Rise of Rome manual
Trivia[]
The Fire Galley is based on the Byzantine Dromon galleys and their Greek fire weapon. However, this is anachronistic as Dromons were developed after the 5th century AD and the Greek fire after the 7th century AD.
The Fire Galley was originally available only to civilizations that lack access to the Catapult Trireme (excluding the Choson), and hence was unavailable even in the Full Tech Tree. In the Definitive Edition, that's no longer the case because the user interface has more slots than in the original version. In update 38862, the Greeks now have access to the Fire Galley, making them the only civilization with access to all warships in the game.
A Carthaginian Fire Galley with Alchemy researched gets 36 attack, the highest among warships.
Available
Unavailable
Alchemy (+6)
Carthaginians: Fire Galleys have +6 attack.
Catapult Trireme
War Galley
