The Indians can also receive Marathan Catamaran from shipments on coastal maps alongside Dacoits or Thuggees. Players usually use it to collect Treasures at sea. It can carry a fair amount of units, including artillery. It can attack, fish (though it is as inefficient as canoes), transport units and train pet Orangutans, Dacoits, and Thuggees if they are available at Saloon/Monastery. On close up of the Catamaran a unit looking similar to the Dacoit can be seen steering the vessel.
Marathan Catamarans have weak firepower against ground units and other ships, but they fire from a good distance when compared to Musketeers for instance. Their range is the same as that of a Skirmisher, allowing them to outrange most military ground units when they are near the sea. A group of them can be used to support other war ships, as they cost no population slot, and they can also be used as a distraction for enemy ships or coast defenses. It should be noted, though, that they have low hit points and get easily destroyed by other ships. Their siege damage, though, is nearly half that of an upgraded Caravel and they perform well for their cost against buildings, especially Docks.
Because they are somewhat cheap compared to regular ships and fire from long range, they can be used to harass enemy units that are too close to the coast, especially Villagers, forcing them to flee or send ships to down the Catamarans, distracting the enemy either way.
Marathan Catamarans are a good support unit for military ships and bear great siege damage for their cost. Their high range allows them to fire at units with lower range on ground without putting themselves in danger.
The Home City shipments include mercenaries already garrisoned inside the Catamarans. They include Dacoits or Thuggee depending on which card is sent.
Strategy
Water Dance and War Dance both boost ranged warships. The former requires a card, the latter does not. Ranged attack can be boosted as high as 36, siege damage 91 and HP 588 with the former dance and all upgrades. 32 ranged attack, 58 siege and 275 hp with only the latter dance and upgrades; depending on whether the player wishes to send a card or not.
Units
The Marathan Catamaran must be close to the shore to train the units, and will also be unable to move and attack while doing so.
The Bandit Catamaran is the Treasure Guardian variant of the Marathan Catamaran. It is usually featured in large area of seas surrounding a rather abundant Treasure.
Trivia
As the Catamaran sinks, the Dacoit-like unit steering the vessel tries to jump out of the sinking vessel, only to fall into the sea alongside the vessel.
History
“
The Maratha were the influential power behind an empire that covered a large region of India in the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries CE. The Maratha aided in bringing about the fall of the powerful Mughal Empire, and later became fierce rivals of the British occupation of India. By the middle of the eighteenth century, their empire, under the ruler Sivaji, extended the kingdom’s reach south through the vast Deccan plateau and onto the Indian peninsula. The British Empire was able to greatly reduce the great empire’s influence, subduing it completely by 1818.
Today, Maratha refers to a member of the Western Indian Marathi-speaking people known for their devotion to Hinduism and their skill as warriors. They are named for their homeland of Maharashtra.
The word “catamaran” comes from the Anglicized Tamil words “kattu,” or to tie, and “maram,” meaning wood, or tree. Comprised of two connected hulls or a single hull with two parallel keels, the catamaran is a watercraft that was developed by natives of Polynesia and first used in the fifth century CE. Its maneuverability proved advantageous for crews braving the waves of the Pacific Ocean, as it could reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour while maintaining its stability.
Westerners adopted the catamaran design in the 1870s, when famous American naval engineer Nathanael Herreshoff began building a modified version of the craft. Today, catamarans can range from 12 to 315 feet, depending on their purpose, and are widely used for sport and business.
”
Gallery
An in-game Marathan Catamaran
An Indian home city shipment of six thuggees and two Marathan Catamaran
The "Dacoit" trying to escape the sinking Catamaran
Old Doug the Orangutan
Marathan Dacoit
Marathan Thuggee
Armor Plating (+50%)
Rawhide Covers (+20%, Iroquois only)
Carronade (+25%)
Flaming Arrows (+25%, Sioux only)
Gill Nets (+15%)
Long Lines (+30%)
Excessive Taxation (+50% from whales, Europeans only)
Excessive Tribute (+50% from whales, Native Americans only)
Collective Economy (+50% from whales, Asians only)
Huron Fish Wedding (+20%)
Navajo Craftsmanship (+20% from whales)
Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)
