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Fish are animals and a food source in every game of the Age of Empires series. They are a common sight on any map with open expanses of water.

General information[]

Villager fishanim aoe2de

A fishing villager in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

Fish are quite common and provide plenty of food. Either a Villager or Fishing Boat/Ship can be used for fishing, although a Villager can only reach fish alongside a shoreline or shallows. Fish have no hit points, and don't flee or fight back, making them a relatively easy source of naturally occurring food.

In Age of Empires, fishing vessels have a gathering rate of 0.4 food per second, which is the slowest rate in the game. Foraging and farming are a slightly faster 0.45 food per second, hunting is 0.4725, and Villager fishing is an incredibly speedy 0.6. Therefore, it is advisable to save shoreline-accessible fish for Villagers, who can deposit the food in a Town Center, Storage Pit, and (in Return of Rome) Dock. However, Shore Fish occupy just a single tile (whereas other types are 2x2 tiles), so multiple Villagers can easily run out of space to gather from a single source.

In Age of Empires II, Shore Fish are gathered faster by Villagers (0.43 versus 0.28 food per second), but Fishing Ships are speedier with other species (0.49 food per second). Shore Fish are the only type that is typically accessible from the shore, and as in the first game, only occupies one tile. On some maps they are replaced by Box Turtles, which function identically. All the other fish are found in deeper water, and take 2×2 tiles. In the Scenario Editor, it is possible to stack fish, thus creating practically inexhaustible sources of food, and to place ocean fish along the coastline.

Age of Mythology was the first game not to include shore-fishing (due to how rare fish spawn close enough to the shore line due to algorithms and their obstruction radii).

List of fish[]

The following list shows all types of fish that appear in every game of the Age of Empires series and the amount of food they yield.

ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires[]

Since Return of Rome, fish from Age of Empires II were also added.

  • Dolphins and Marlins have 350 food, Box Turtles have 200 food, and all the others have 250 food.

AoE2-DLCicon-0 Age of Empires II[]

Aom original icon Age of Mythology[]

3Icon48px Age of Empires III[]

GameIcon-AoE4 Age of Empires IV[]

  • AoE4 Fish Shoreline Fish - 500 food
  • AoE4 Fish Deep Water Fish - Infinite food (1 cooldown period for every 1,000 food gathered)
Use Fishing Boats to gather Food from the Deep Water Fish.

Once depleted, Deep Water Fish will return after a while and can be gathered again.

Icons[]

Trivia[]

  • Shore Fish were originally intended to appear in Age of Mythology, according to the presence of unused models in the Multiplayer Alpha. They were however cut when Villager fishing was removed.
  • Whales in Age of Empires III are functionally similar to Fish, except they provide an infinite amount of gold instead of a finite amount of food, and can only be gathered by four boats at a time. Like Fish, they can also be gathered by the light warships Caravel, Galley, War Junk, and Fune.
Resources in Age of Empires series
CommonFood · Wood · Gold/Coin · Stone*
Age of MythologyFavorAOM Favor
Age of Empires IIIResource xp XP · Aoe3 export Export · Aoe3de influence Influence
Age of Empires IVAoE4 Bounty icon Bounty · AoE4 Vizier Point icon Vizier Point · Resource olive oil Olive Oil
Extractable resource sources in the Age of Empires series
CommonTree · Gold Mine · Stone Mine· Berry Bush · Farm (I · II · M · III · IV) · Animals (Fish · Herdable animal)
Age of Empires IIFish trap aoe2DE Fish Trap
Age of MythologyAoM Gold Mine icon Jade Mine
Age of Empires IIICherry orchard portrait aoe3de Cherry Orchard · Coal mine portrait Coal Mine · Copper mine portrait Copper Mine · Food crate icon AoE3DE Crate · Gold mine portrait Diamond Mine · Plantation aoe3de Estate · Field portrait aoe3de Field · Hacienda portrait Hacienda · MangoGroveDE Mango Grove · Mill aoe3de Mill · China rice paddy icon aoe3de Rice Paddy · Rock supply icon AoE3DE Rock · Gold mine portrait Salt Mine · Silver Mine icon AoE3DE Silver Mine · Gold mine portrait Tin Mine
Age of Empires IVAoE4 OliveGrove Olive Grove
* not used in Age of Mythology and Age of Empires III
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