Fishing Boat (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For other uses, see Fishing Boat.

Fishing Boat
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Ship Villager Fishing boat Economic
Civilization(s)	Asians Europeans Federal Americans Native Americans
Age	Exploration Age
Training
Trained at	Dock
Cost	70 Wood 1 Population
Train time	25 seconds seconds
Train limit	99
Statistics
Hit points	200
Resistance	50% Ranged
Speed	4.0
Line of Sight	18
Garrison	10
Ability	Gathers from fishes and whales Transports land units
XP train bounty	7
XP kill bounty	7
Ranged attack
Damage	8 Ranged
Range	20
Rate of Fire	2.0
Bonus damage	×0.5 vs. Villager
Requires	"Armed Fishermen" HCC
Siege attack
Damage	15 Siege
Range	20
Rate of Fire	2.0
Requires	"Armed Fishermen" HCC

“	Gathers Food from Fish or Coin from Whales.	”
—In-game description

Fishing Boats are economic ships in Age of Empires III that can be trained at the Dock. It is similar in function to their iterations in the previous games, but can gather coin from whales and transport units. African civilizations have Fishing Canoes instead.

Overview

The Fishing Boat's base gathering rate are 0.67/s food from fishes and 0.5/s coin from whales.

Although lacking offensive or defensive capabilities (unless if player sends the Armed Fishermen Home City Card), Fishing Boats can be garrisoned inside the Dock and deal damage to enemy units within range (similar to Villagers in a Town Center).

Fishing Boats can also garrison units inside them, like most other ships. However, this cannot be done by selecting the unit and right-clicking the Fishing Boat; instead, the player must click the "Garrison inside a building or ship" button and then left-click the Fishing Boat. There is also no "Un-garrison all" button, so the player must un-garrison each unit separately.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Nothing (ships and buildings close to shore when massed with Armed Fishermen Home City Card)
Weak vs.	Everything, especially Culverins and warships
Improvements
Gathering speed	Long Lines (+30%) Gill Nets (+15%) Huron Fish Wedding (+15%) Fasting (+10%) Aztec Chinampa (+5%) Klamath Work Ethos (+5%) Collective Economy (+50% from whales; Asians only) Excessive Taxation (+50% from whales; Europeans only) Excessive Tribute (+50% from whales; Native Americans only) Mountain State Gold Rush (+40% from whales; United States only) Navajo Craftsmanship (+20% from whales) Somali Coinage (+10% from whales)
Hit points	Nootka Bark Clothing (+50%) Eastern Medicine (+35%; Asians only) Frontiersmen (+35%; Federal Americans only) Great Coat (+35%; Europeans only) Spirit Medicine (+35%; Native Americans only) Apache Cactus Use (+15%) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Eastern Medicine (+3; Asians only) Spirit Medicine (+3; Native Americans only)
Line of Sight	Frontiersmen (+6; Federal Americans only) Blunderbuss (+4; Europeans only) Eastern Medicine (+4; Asians only) Spirit Medicine (+4; Native Americans only) Town Watch (+3)
Speed	Apache Cactus Use (+15%)
Train time	Christian Schools (-15%) Immigrants (-10%) New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only)
Penalties	Tax Burden (-40% hit points, Knights of St. John only) Fasting (-40% hit points) Pennsylvania Pound (-10% coin gather rate; United States only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Fishing Boat

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Purple	Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

All

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Pioneers	Villagers get +65% hit points (also +1 Villager for the Indians)		1
Fish Market	Fishing boats gather food from fishes 25% faster and coin from whales 20% faster (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)		1
Rendering Plant	Fishing boats gather food from fishes 30% faster and coin from whales 25% faster (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)		10
Whale Oil	Fishing boats gather coin from whales 30% faster		40
Schooners	Fishing Boats cost -20 wood and train time -30%		10
Armed Fishermen	Fishing Boats get a ranged and siege attack, +10% hit points, and +33% Line of Sight (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)		25

• "Pioneers" is available to Asians (except the Japanese), Europeans (except the Italians), Federal Americans, and Native Americans (except the Inca).
• "Fish Market" is not available to the Japanese and Portuguese.
• "Rendering Plant" is not available to the Mexicans and Native Americans.
• "Whale Oil" is available to the Japanese, Portuguese, Swedes, and United States.
• "Schooners" is available to the Aztecs, Europeans (except the French and Germans), and Mexicans.
• "Armed Fishermen" is available to the Inca, Indians, and Japanese.

Asians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
East Indiamen	Ships 1 Dock Rickshaw; Fishing Boats cost -20 wood (also +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)		10

Aztecs

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Texcoco Fishing Boats	Fishing Boats and Fishing Canoes cost -20 wood		1

British

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Whale Oil	Fishing boats gather coin from whales 15% faster

Chinese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and attack		40
Acupuncture	All units' train time -20%		10

Europeans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Economic Theory	Villagers and fishing boats gather 10% faster		40
Citizenship	Ships 6 Citizens; Citizens can be trained at Town Centers for 70 coin; Fishing Boats can be trained at Docks		N/A

• "Economic Theory" is not available to the British, Dutch, Spanish, and Swedes.
• "Citizenship" is available upon Revolutions.

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
Wampum	Training units and constructing buildings grants +35% XP; unit train time -20%, siege unit and artillery train time -5% instead

Inca

Card	Description	Age
Alpaca Wool	Villagers get +50% hit points and +30% resistance; units affected by villager upgrades get +15% hit points and +10% resistance
Salt Ponds	Villagers gather food from herded and hunted animals 20% faster; fishing boats gather food from fisheses and coin from whales 20% faster
Floating Islands	Chincha Rafts can train Fishing Boats and Chincha Rafts
Chinchillas	Chincha Rafts and Fishing Boats get +20% speed and -35% train time

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and attack		25
Foreign Trading Companies	Gives a trickle of 0.75 export; Consulate Armies cost -15% export but Indian units cost +2.5% (except Villagers, Fishing Boats, and Sacred Cows which cost +5%); +1 Hindu Villager		N/A
Bombay Marine	Ships' train time -30% and train bounty +30%; +1 Hindu Villager		1

Italians

Card	Description	Age
Florentine Football	Villagers get +40% hit points, +40 hand attack, and +25% speed
TEAM Frutta di Mare	Ships 1 Minke Whale, 1 Fishing Ground containing 10,000 food and 4 Fishing Boats/Fishing Canoes
Gondolas	Technologies now also grant a free Fishing Boat

Japanese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Jujutsu	Villagers get +35% hit points; Surgeons, Priests, Architects, Native Scouts, and Envoys get +20% attack; Disciples and Shaolin Masters get +10% attack; units affected by villager upgrades get +10% hit points		1
TEAM Chonindo	Villagers and fishing boats gather 8% faster from all sources except hunts; Haciendas auto gather 8% faster		40
Fish Market	Fishing boats gather food from fishes 25% faster and coin from whales 20% faster		1
5 Fishing boats	Ships 5 Fishing Boats		1
3 Fishing boats	Ships 3 Fishing Boats		1
TEAM Sushi	Ships 3 Fishing Boats/Fishing Canoes		10
8 Fishing boats	Ships 8 Fishing Boats		10

Lakota

Card	Description	Age
Winter Counts	Training units grants +40% XP and constructing buildings grants +20% XP

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points
Speronaras	Ships get +10% speed; Order Galleys and Fishing Boats get +30% speed instead

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed
TEAM Rendering Plant	Fishing boats gather 10% faster
14 Fishing Boats	Ships 14 Fishing Boats
Colegio de San Nicolás	Ships 500 XP; units get +4 and buildings (except Walls) get +8 Line of Sight; sees what enemies can see for 20 seconds
Michoacán Fishermen	Ships 1 Dock Wagon; ships 1 Fishing Boat for each shipment sent so far this game including this one
National Servant	All units get +10% hit points; Padre healing 200% faster
Nojpetén	Ships 6 Fishing Boats; Fishing Boats can be trained at Docks, cost -70%, but get -70% hit points

• "Colegio de San Nicolás" and "Michoacán Fishermen" are available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.
• "Nojpetén" is available upon revolting to the Maya.

Native Americans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
3 Fishing Boats	Ships 3 Fishing Boats		1

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Fish Market	Fishing boats gather 10% faster		1
Portuguese White Fleet	Each Dock spawns 4 Fishing Boats after 80 seconds		25

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight		10
Salitrera	Trading Posts generate 0.5 coin/sec.; Citizens can be trained at Town Centers for 70 coin; Fishing Boats can be trained at Docks		N/A
Fishing Fleet	Ships 2 Dock Wagons; ships 1 Fishing Boat for each shipment sent so far in game		N/A

• "Salitrera" and "Fishing Fleet" are available upon revolting to Chile.

United States

Card	Description	Age
French Immigrants	[Immigrant] Ships 3 Coureur des Bois; villagers get +35% hit points, +100% ranged attack, +0.5 speed, and now resist ranged attacks; units affected by villager upgrades get +10% hit points and speed; costs 225 wood
Virginia Oak	Docks, Fishing Boats, Sloops, and Frigates get +15% hit points
Slater Textile Mill	Gives 30 food for every villager and 20 wood for every Fishing Boat; villagers cost -30 food; Fishing Boats cost -20 wood
Indiana Mobilization	Ships 1 Carbine Cavalry for every shipment that had been sent by the player, including this one; all units' train time, technology research time, and age-up time -10%; costs 500 wood
Vermont Coppers	Estate technologies are free and researched instantly; villagers and fishing boats gather coin 5% faster; all coin autogather and trickle 5% faster
Connecticut Shipwrights	Artillery train time -25%, buildings' build time -35%, and ships' train time -50%

• "Slater Textile Mill" is available upon selecting the Rhode Island Federal State.
• "Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
• "Vermont Coppers" is available upon selecting the Vermont Federal State.
• "Connecticut Shipwrights" is available upon selecting the Connecticut Federal State.

Changelog

Age of Empires III

• Fishing Boats cost 100 wood and give 10 XP when trained or killed.

Definitive Edition

• Fishing Boats cost 70 wood and give 7 XP when trained or killed.

History

“	Fishing was a huge industry in northeastern North America, where poor soil did not readily support extensive agriculture. Fish and shellfish were abundant in the waters of the Atlantic and in time a thriving industry of fishing, whaling and shipbuilding developed. The Gloucester Schooner was a long, sleek, two-masted fishing vessel first constructed in 1713 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. These ships plied the waters of the Atlantic for cod, halibut, and mackerel, sometimes salting their catches at sea or, when close to the coast, bringing them in fresh.	”
—In-game compendium section

Trivia

• The fisherman on the Japanese Fishing Boat uses the same model and attacking animation as the Disciplined Yumi Archer's once the Armed Fishermen Home City Card is sent.
• The fighter on the Indian Fishing Boat uses the same model and attacking animation as the Dacoit-like unit steering the Marathan Catamaran once the Armed Fishermen Home City Card is sent.
• Cormorants are used to fish by the Chinese/Japanese Fishing Boats. This is a reference to how, in China and Japan, as well as some European countries, trained cormorants have been used in commercial fishing since ancient times - the sea birds dive underwater to catch fish before returning to the boat, with special rings worn around their necks to prevent them from swallowing their catches.

Gallery

An in-game European Fishing Boat

An in-game Native American Fishing Boat

An in-game Chinese/Japanese Fishing Boat

An in-game Indian Fishing Boat

Fishing Boats whaling for coin in groups of four

Chinese/Japanese Fishing Boats

Japanese Fishing Boats after sending the "Armed Fishermen" Home City Card

Japanese Fishing Boats (with the "Armed Fishermen" Home City Card) attack animation

Japanese Fishing Boat stats after sending the "Armed Fishermen" Home City Card

Indian Fishing Boats

Indian Fishing Boats after sending the "Armed Fishermen" Home City Card

Indian Fishing Boat stats after sending the "Armed Fishermen" Home City Card

Two Chinese/Japanese Fishing Boats fishing Squid

In-game Dutch Fishing Boats in the Definitive Edition since update 13.58326

In-game Ottoman Fishing Boats in the Definitive Edition since update 13.58326

In-game Native American Fishing Boat in the Definitive Edition since update 13.9057

In-game Chinese/Japanese Fishing Boat in the Definitive Edition since update 13.9057

A decorative "Fishing Boat" with three Janissaries used in scenarios

Several of the same in a cutscene of Breakout in the Definitive Edition