| This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the related unit in Age of Empires II, see Galleon (Age of Empires II). |
“Galleon. Slow, powerful ship resistant to building fire that can train units.”—In-game description
The Galleon is a military naval vessel in Age of Empires III that can be trained at the Dock once the Colonial Age is reached. It can transport land units and train infantry, cavalry, and siege infantry.
Galleons are available to European civilizations (except the Dutch, who have Fluyts instead), and the Indians.
Overview 
Edit
The Galleon is a fast and powerful military ship that is capable of training and transporting soldiers directly onto foreign soil. It is also a type of treasure ship (gold mine) during Act I: Blood and Act III: Steel. Spanish galleons (with cards) make excellent attack vessels and damage sponges in any age, however other civilizations will find it is only good for this purpose in the lower ages when directly compared to a Caravel.
The Galleon will only produce units normally available at a Barracks or Stable for that civilization; however, the Spanish Galleons can also produce Mercenaries in the form of Pirates if a Home City Card is sent.
Spanish Galleons and countering them Edit
The Spanish have the strongest Galleons in the game if they take advantage of their home city improvements. If they choose to do so the Spanish galleon has more hit points than any other ship sailing the seas in Age of Empires III and The WarChiefs, except the Spanish Frigate which has only 525 more.
With the release of The Asian Dynasties expansion, the Spanish Fuchuan becomes the highest hit point vessel in the game (25 more hit points than the Spanish Frigate) when received via the TEAM 1 Fuchuan card sent by a Chinese ally. Spanish Galleons can easily hold their own against the more expensive Frigates, Tekkousen, and Fuchuan or outrun them if necessary. If Unction is used to augment the card bonuses and Dock upgrades they will inflict 162 damage per shot (not including allied bonuses), but be limited to the waters near shore due to the range limitations of the aura.
While extremely durable, the Spanish Galleon is slower than a Tlaloc Canoe and can't retreat effectively from combat with them. It also lacks the range of many other ships, this can be exploited by an opponent as a means of overcoming the durability and shoreline attack power. Particularly dangerous are the Fuchuan (with European Cannons), Tlaloc Canoes (with Water Dance and Offshore Support), Canoe (with Water Dance, Offshore Support or Fire Dance) and Monitors or Ironclads due to their long-range shots. If used near the shoreline for purposes of drawing upon unction, then it's recommended to back-up the galleon with Culverins, as they have greater range than all ships except Monitors, Ironclads (though it beats the Ironclad on normal attack range, but not it's long-range attack) or some ships with Offshore Support. When attacking enemy shores with the ship, the same artillery can be dangerous to the Galleon. Augmented Fire Ships (with Home City Cards, etc.) can also be dangerous in large groups.
Blocking Galleon training Edit
Walling up the shore so that there is no free space will prevent Galleons from training units onto the shore, as well as preventing any ships from being able to land troops. Even if a 1-2 area gap is left somewhere along the walled up coast (between the shore and wall), only 1-2 units will be landed or trained; units will not appear behind the enemy wall.
Units Edit
The Galleon must be close to the shore to train the units, and will also be unable to move and attack while doing so.
| Age | Unit | Cost | Pop. | Civ. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  Pikeman
| 40 food, 40 wood | 1 | British French Germans Portuguese Spanish |
 Rodelero
| 65 food, 35 coin | Spanish | ||
 Doppelsoldner
| 75 food, 125 coin | 2 | Germans | |
 Rajput
| 100 food, 35 wood | 1 | Indians | |
 Musketeer
| 75 food, 25 coin | British French Portuguese Russians Spanish | ||
 Janissary
| 100 food, 25 coin | Ottomans | ||
 Sepoy
| 90 food, 30 coin | Indians | ||
 Crossbowman
| 40 food, 40 wood | French Germans Portuguese Spanish | ||
 Longbowman
| 60 food, 40 wood | British | ||
 Strelet
| 37.5 food, 10 wood | Russians | ||
 Gurkha
| 70 food, 55 coin | Indians | ||
 Hussar
| 120 food, 80 coin | 2 | British French Ottomans Portuguese Spanish | |
 Uhlan
| 50 food, 100 coin | Germans | ||
 Cossack
| 75 food, 75 coin | 1 | Russians | |
 Sowar
| 80 food, 80 coin | 2 | Indians | |
 Zamburak
| 60 food, 60 coin | 1 | ||
 Grenadier
| 120 food, 60 coin | 2 | British Ottomans Russians | |
 Abus Gun
| 50 food, 100 coin | Ottomans | ||
 |  Skirmisher
| 50 food, 65 coin | 1 | French Germans Spanish |
 Cassador
| 80 food, 35 coin | Portuguese | ||
 Halberdier
| 50 food, 70 coin | French Portuguese Russians | ||
 Cuirassier
| 150 food, 150 coin | 3 | French | |
 Oprichnik
| 90 food, 60 coin | 2 | Russians | |
 Lancer
| 110 food, 90 coin | Spanish | ||
 Mahout Lancer
| 400 food, 250 wood | 7 | Indians | |
 Dragoon
| 90 food, 90 coin | 2 | British French Portuguese Spanish | |
 War Wagon
| 150 food, 150 coin | 3 | Germans | |
 Cavalry Archer
| 100 food, 60 coin | 2 | Ottomans Russians | |
 Howdah
| 250 food, 350 coin | 6 | Indians |
Further statistics Edit
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Ships, infantry close to shore |
| Weak vs. | Artillery especially Culverins, defensive structures |
| Improvements | |
| Hit points |  Armor Plating (+50%)
|
| Attack |  Carronade (+25%)
|
| Sight |  Town Watch (+2)
|
| Speed |  Apache Endurance (+5%)
|
| Train cost |  Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
|
| Penalties |  High Crusade (-5% hit points, Knights of St. John only)
|
Home City Cards Edit
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Galleon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All
|
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Advanced Dock
| Docks get +100% attack and heal ships 100% faster, and ship train time -33% (also +1 Villager for the Indians) |  | 10 |
 Improved Warships
| Warships get +25% hit points and attack (also +1 Villager for the Indians) | | 10 |
 Offshore Support
| Warships get +20% attack, +5 LOS, and +5 range | | 40 |
 Admiralty
| Caravel train limit +4; Galleon train limit +2; Frigate and Monitor train limit +1 (also +1 Villager for the Indians) | | 1 |
- Since the Galleon is only available for European civilizations (except the Dutch) and the Indians, the Advanced Docks and Admiralty cards are only relevant to them.
- The Offshore Support card is available to British and Ottomans.
British Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Naval Gunners
| Warships get +25% attack | | 25 |
Chinese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Improved Warships
| Warships get +15% hit points and attack | | 10 |
Europeans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 1 Galleon
| Ships 1 Galleon | | 1 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
| All units get +5% hit points and attack |  | 25 |
 Bombay Marine
| Ship train time -40% and XP train bounty +25% +1 Villager | | 1 |
 European Cannons
| Warships get +20% attack, +5 LOS, and +5 range +1 Villager | | 40 |
Portuguese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Navigation School
| Warships cost -20% and train time -25% | | 25 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cold Water Port
| Warships cost -15% | | 10 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Inquisition
| All units get +10 LOS | | 10 |
 Spanish Galleons
| Galleons get +50% hit points and attack | | 10 |
 Armada
| Warships get +30% hit points | | 10 |
 Spanish Treasure Fleet
| Ships 3 Galleons | | 25 |
 Spanish Gold
| Galleons and the Saloon can train Pirates; Galleons and Pirates get +50% hit points; the Saloon gets +100% hit points | | 40 |
History Edit
“These square-rigged, three-masted warships were used primarily by European powers in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. Well-suited for carrying cargo and for war, galleons made up the bulk of the famous Spanish Treasure Fleet that carried plunder from the Americas back to Spain's waiting coffers. They carried around 30 cannon, fired from two decks in broadsides. Adaptations to the basic galleon design yielded heavy Spanish Galleons and the lighter, more maneuverable galleons of the British and other European nations. They were eventually replaced as multipurpose ships by the clipper, a fast cargo ship, and the massive Man-of-War.
Approximate weight: 500 tons. Length: 120 feet.”
Gallery Edit
