Rate of Fire

Cavalier infobox showing Rate of Fire as 1.80

The Rate of Fire (RoF) determines the speed at which a unit or building attacks. It is a measure of the time between two attacks, e.g. a unit with an RoF of 3 will attack every 3 seconds. The lower the Rate of Fire, the faster it attacks, resulting in a higher damage output.

The rate of fire is not to be confused with firetime: 'Rate of Fire' is a value per a set time interval (e. g., rounds/attacks per minute), while 'firetime' indicates the very interval itself. However, due to 'rate of fire' being a more common term and the usage of firetimes in game code (referred to as '(Attack) Reload time'), in most sources and articles regarding Age of Empires, 'Rate of Fire' is henceforth used with the meaning of 'Firetime' in this article.

Because of this, in the past, technology trees in Age of Empires II incorrectly stated the percentage values of several civilization bonuses and unique technologies. For example, the Japanese technology tree stated that "infantry attack 25% faster", which actually meant that the Japanese infantry's firetime was reduced by 25%. In reality, the attack speed is increased by the following: $\frac{x}{1-x} \times 100 \%$ for $0 \leq x<1$.

... or by 33% in the Japanese example. With update 42848 for the Definitive Edition, the percentage numbers were updated to represent their actual effect.

Technology trees in Age of Empires used to have the same error. With Return of Rome, the percentage numbers were updated to represent their actual effect.

In the Definitive Editions and Age of Mythology: Retold, the icon used for Rate of Fire is two golden chevrons.

Age of Empires

Most infantry and cavalry units in the game have a fast RoF, as well as the Scout Ship line and the Helepolis. The Stone Thrower line, on the other hand has slow RoF, and so does the Catapult Trireme and the Juggernaut, whereas the Ballista has medium RoF.

The unit with the fastest RoF is the Fire Galley, which coupled with its large attack, means that it can easily fell ships in groups.

These civilizations have bonuses related to RoF:

• Assyrians: Archers fire 11%/22%/33% faster in the Tool/Bronze/Iron Age.
• Persians: Scout Ship line fire 18%/25%/33% faster in the Tool/Bronze/Iron Age.
• Phoenicians: Catapult Trireme and Juggernaut fire 33% faster.
• Romans: Swordsmen attack 50% faster.
• Shang: Cavalry line attacks 10% faster.
• Sumerians: Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire 45% faster.

Age of Empires II

Clockwise: an Archer, Throwing Axeman, Cavalry Archer, Camel Archer, Scorpion and Organ Gun in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

In Age of Empires II, the most common RoF is 2. There are some units with a faster attack: most notably the Fire Ship with a RoF of 0.25, which has by far the fastest attack. Quite a few units have a slower attack, though. Units with heavy attack, such as siege weapons and gunpowder units have a much higher RoF, and most trash units also attack at a lower speed. Lastly, ships (bar the Fire Ship) range below the standard value. Listed below are all units and buildings in Age of Empires II that have a RoF different from 2 (civilization bonuses not included).

In the table below, default RoF of the generic and unique units is presented.

Unit/Building	Base Rate of Fire
Fire Galley line	0.25
Elite Cataphract	1.7
Knight, Cavalier, Cataphract, (Elite) Magyar Huszar	1.8
Hussar, Winged Hussar, Paladin, (Elite) Samurai, (Elite) Plumed Archer, Condottiero, (Elite) Boyar, (Elite) Keshik, (Elite) Leitis, (Elite) Coustillier, Elite Shrivamsha Rider, (Elite) Centurion	1.9
(Elite) Mangudai, (Elite) Tarkan	2.1
(Elite) Kipchak	2.2
(Elite) Konnik	2.4
(Elite) War Wagon, (Elite) Ballista Elephant	2.5
(Elite) Conquistador	2.9
(Elite) Longboat, Spearman line, Skirmisher line, (Elite) Genitour, Galley line, (Elite) Caravel, Harbor, (Elite) Chu Ko Nu, Armored Elephant, Siege Elephant	3
(Elite) Organ Gun, Hand Cannoneer, (Elite) Janissary, (Elite) Hussite Wagon, Thirisadai	3.45
(Heavy) Scorpion	3.6
Ram line	5
Mangonel line, (Elite) Turtle Ship, Bombard Tower	6
Bombard Cannon, Houfnice	6.5
Dromon	8
Trebuchet, (Elite) Cannon Galleon	10

These civilizations have bonuses or unique technologies related to RoF:

Civilizations bonus affecting RoF
Civilization	Bonus	Affected units	Base RoF	New RoF
Byzantines	Fire Galley line and Dromon attack 25% faster	Fire Galley Fire Ship Fast Fire Ship	0.25	0.2
		Dromon	8	6.4
Dravidians	Skirmisher and Elephant Archer lines attack 25% faster	Skirmisher Elite Skirmisher Imperial Skirmisher*	3	2.4
		Genitour* Elite Genitour*
		Elephant Archer Elite Elephant Archer	2	1.6
Celts	Siege weapons attack 25% faster	Battering Ram Capped Ram Siege Ram	5	4
		Mangonel Onager Siege Onager	6	4.8
		Scorpion Heavy Scorpion	3.6	2.88
		Trebuchet	10	8
Ethiopians	Archer line attack 18% faster (-15% reload time)	Archer Crossbowman Arbalester	2	1.7
Hindustanis	Camel Rider line attack 20% faster	Camel Rider Heavy Camel Rider Imperial Camel Rider	2	1.6667
Japanese	Infantry attack 33% faster starting in Feudal Age (-25% reload time)	Militia Man-at-Arms Long Swordsman Two-Handed Swordsman Champion	2	1.5
		Spearman Pikeman Halberdier	3	2.25
		Samurai Elite Samurai	1.9	1.425
		Condottiero*
Mongols	Mounted archers attack 25% faster	Cavalry Archer Heavy Cavalry Archer	2	1.6
		Mangudai Elite Mangudai	2.1	1.68
		Mercenary Kipchak*	2.2	1.76
		Genitour* Elite Genitour*	3	2.4
Saracens	Galley line attack 25% faster	Galley War Galley Galleon	3	2.4
Spanish	Gunpowder units attack 18% faster (-15% reload time) (except the Conquistador)	Hand Cannoneer	3.45	2.9325
		Cannon Galleon Elite Cannon Galleon	10	8.5
		Bombard Cannon	6.5	5.525
Unique technologies affecting RoF
Civilization	Unique Technology	Affected units	Base RoF	New RoF
Bengalis	Paiks: Rathas and elephant units attack 20% faster	/ Ratha / Elite Ratha	2	1.6667
		Battle Elephant Elite Battle Elephant
		Elephant Archer Elite Elephant Archer
		Armored Elephant Siege Elephant	3	2.5
Bulgarians	Stirrups: Cavalry attack 33% faster (-25% reload time)	Konnik Elite Konnik	2.4	1.8
		Knight Cavalier	1.8	1.35
		Scout Cavalry Light Cavalry	2	1.5
		Hussar	1.9	1.425
Celts	Stronghold: Castles and towers attack 33% faster (-25% reload time)	Watch Tower Guard Tower Keep Castle	2	1.5
Japanese	Kataparuto: Trebuchets attack 33% faster (-25% reload time)	Trebuchet	10	7.5
Romans	Ballistas: Scorpions attack 33% faster (-25% reload time)	Scorpion Heavy Scorpion	3.6	2.7
Units affecting RoF
Civilization	Unique Unit	Affected units	Base RoF	New RoF
Romans	(Elite) Centurion: Nearby Militia-line attack 20% faster	Militia Man-at-Arms Long Swordsman Legionary	2	1.6

Age of Mythology

The Rate of Fire also plays a role in Age of Mythology but is instead divided into two factors: Rate and AnimationRate. In a unit's proto definition, most unit attacks have a rate of 5, however it is unknown whether or not this truly affects a units Rate of Fire.

Otherwise the Rate of Fire is dependent on the frames, and total length of a unit's animation, combined with tag definitions within a unit's anim file. Animation rates can also be affected by technologies (although Weightless Mace is the only example of this).

In-game, the Rate of Fire is not displayed anywhere, with the attack values shown being the attack per second, rather than per hit.

Age of Mythology: Retold

In Retold, the Rate of Fire of each unit and building is displayed in-game, with the attack values per hit separately. Just like the other games, the Rate of Fire term here is used to actually refer to the reload time, or attack interval, as the value is the time interval in seconds between consecutive attacks. The actual Rate of Fire, i.e. number of hits done per second, is thus the inverse of the displayed value.

Age of Empires III

Almost all ranged land units (such as Musketeers, Crossbowmen, and Dragoons) have a standard RoF of 3 for their ranged attacks, regardless of their weapon. Siege attacks are also generally fired at a RoF of 3. All melee attacks have an RoF of 1.5. Artillery RoF are normally in the ballpark of 4-6.

The main exceptions are ranged cavalry with a bow, such as the Bow Rider and Cavalry Archer, which have an RoF of 1.5, and mercenaries/outlaws, which vary from 1.5 to 4.0. For artillery, the Chinese Flamethrower is a very special case, having an RoF of 0.5 (essentially firing continuously), while the Great Bombard has a RoF of 8.

With the The African Royals expansion, units with variable attack of rate based on distance have been added:

• Dahomey Amazon
• Desert Archer
• Fulani Archer
• Gascenya
• Oromo Warrior (before Knights of the Mediterranean)
• Seminole Sharktooth Bowman
• Somali Issa Warrior
• Sudanese Dervish
• Xebec
• Yoruba Oyo Legionary

Yoruba Eso Rider attack targets faster as their hit points decrease.

Age of Empires IV

In Age of Empires IV, the attack speed (that is, the minimum time elapsed between consecutive attacks) of a unit or building is listed in the detailed statistics on the user interface. As many units have multiple different attacks (for example, melee, charge, and torch), they will have different attack speeds depending on the type of attack used. Buildings with Emplacements will have different attack speeds for each Emplacement. Attack speeds can be improved with technologies and upgrades, and can also be modified by various abilities and influences.

In general, melee attacks tend to have faster attack speeds than ranged attacks, although this is not the case for most units with both types of attacks. Melee units generally have attack speeds ranging between 1.375 seconds and 1.875 seconds, with the fastest attack being that of the Ghulam, at 1.125 seconds, while the slowest belongs to the War Elephant, at 2.875 seconds (melee tusk attack shared with the Tower Elephant), although the latter also has an additional independent attack, effectively increasing its attack speed. Meanwhile, most ranged units have attack speeds ranging between 1.625 seconds and 2.125 seconds. The Mongols' unique unit, the Mangudai, has an exceptionally fast attack speed of 0.875 seconds, giving it the fastest attack in the game outside of any special abilities or units with multiple attacks.

Siege engines, which generally do siege damage (with the exception of the Springald, Ribauldequin, and Culverin, which have ranged attacks instead), have the slowest attack speeds, ranging from 3.125 seconds for the Springald to 13.625 for the Huihui Pao, although the Grenadier, which also does siege damage, has a similar attack speed to most ranged infantry. Warships, which have either ranged or siege attacks, have similar attack speeds to siege engines.

The base attack speed of torch attacks for most units is 2.12 seconds. In the original campaigns released with the game, which have not since been rebalanced, the attack speed of all torch attacks is 4.12 seconds. The attack speed of charge attacks is irrelevant, as once the first hit is landed, a charging unit will switch to their standard melee attack. Likewise, the Donso's special ranged attack, which replaces the charge attack of other melee units, has an attack speed of 0.75 seconds listed in the detailed statistics, but can in practice requires the same reload time of other charge attacks (about 10 seconds) before it can be used again.

Technologies

• Adjustable Crossbars (+25% attack speed for Mangonels, +35% with the Improved version (Mongols only))
• Roller Shutter Triggers (+25% attack speed for Springalds, +35% with the Improved version (Mongols only))
• Lightweight Beams (+20% attack speed for Battering Rams and Cheirosiphons, +30% with the Improved version (Mongols only))
• Springald Crews (+20% attack speed for Springald Ships)
• Arrow Volley (Longbowmen can activate the Arrow Volley ability to reduce base attack time by 1 second, English only)
• Composite Bows (+30% attack speed for Archers, Abbasids only)
• Crossbow Stirrups (+25% attack speed for Arbalétriers, French only)
• Reload Drills (+33% attack speed for Bombards, Chinese only)
• Siege Crews (+25% attack speed for siege engines when garrisoned by infantry, Ottomans only)
• Steppe Lancers (+25% attack speed for Keshiks, Mongols only)
• Teardrop Shields (+15% attack speed for Varangian Guards, Byzantines only)
• Zeal (Units healed by Scholars gain 50% attack speed for 3 seconds, Delhi Sultanate only)

Abilities

• Arrow Volley (Active) - Longbowmen can activate the ability to reduce base attack time by 1 second.
• Attack Drums (Passive, toggled) - Mehters can use their ability to increase the attack speed of nearby units by +15%.
• Attack Speed Arrow (Active) - The Khan can use the Attack Speed Arrow to increase the attack speed of nearby ranged units by 50%. for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows. Does not affect siege engines.
• Fortitude (Active) - Sipahi can activate the ability to gain 50% attack speed and receive +50% damage from melee sources for 10 seconds.
• Network of Castles (Passive) - English Town Centers, Outposts, Stone Wall Towers, and Keeps increase the attack speed of units in a 12.5 tile radius is increased by +20% when enemy units are nearby. This can be upgraded to +40% after researching Network of Citadels.
• Quick Strike (Passive) - Ghulams deal a second hit after finishing an attack (effectively increases its attack speed to 0.813 seconds, 1.625 seconds for both attacks)
• Shield Wall (Active) - Limitanei can enter the Shield Wall formation to reduce their attack (and movement speed) by -25%, in exchange for taking -30% less damage.
• Static Deployment (Passive) - Streltsy increase their ranged attack speed by 30% if stationary for 10 seconds. This also affects their melee attack, although it only increases the melee attack speed by ~13%.

Influences

• Tower of Victory Influence - All infantry produced from Barracks and Archery Ranges within any Scholar influence area gain 20% increased attack speed.