Galley (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in Age of Empires III, see Galley (Age of Empires III).

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“	Small, fast ship with weak attack.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Galley is a naval vessel 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.

Galleys are also fantastic Transport Ship escorts in the Feudal Age, being able to offer defense and divide fire. They excel mostly in guarding and destroying enemy fishing fleets. Building Galleys en masse is very helpful for when the time arises that they can be upgraded to the more competent War Galley.

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, Bodkin Arrow, Bracer, Chemistry
Range	Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, Bracer
Accuracy	Ballistics
Armor	Careening, Carrack (Portuguese only)
Speed	Dry Dock
Conversion Defense	Faith, Heresy
Creation Speed	Shipwright
Train Cost	Shipwright
Upgrades	Galleys can be upgraded to War Galleys

Civilization Bonuses

• Aztecs: Galleys are created 15% faster.
• Berbers: Galleys move 10% faster.
• Burmese: Researching Faith is 50% cheaper.
• Celts: Galleys can convert herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
• Chinese: Technologies that benefit Galleys are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, and Shipwright is 50% cheaper. Upgrading to War Galley is 50% cheaper.
• 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 15% less gold.
• Saracens: Galleys attack 20% faster.
• Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Galleys don't cost gold.
• Turks: Chemistry is free.
• Vikings: Galleys are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

Team Bonuses

• A team containing Japanese: Galleys have +50% LOS.
• A team containing Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
• A team containing 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 now train in 60 seconds.
• With patch 1.0c, Shipwright also decreases train time by 35% now.
• Heresy introduced.

The Forgotten

• Vikings: Galleys are now 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

Trivia

• Galleys, Fire Galleys, and Demolition Rafts are the only units in the game sharing an upgrade.
• 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.

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.

Gallery

The Galley line, with the Galley on the left

A group of Galleys

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