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The Rate of Fire or 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 used with the meaning of 'Firetime'.

This means that bonuses affecting coded firetime (e. g., Japanese infantry in Age of Empires II "attack 25% faster") in reality have a greater impact, as rate of fire is actually increased by:

$(\frac{1}{1–x} – 1) \times 100%$ (or by 33% in the Japanese example).

Age of Empires Edit

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 Juggernaught, 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 (firetime):

Age of Empires II Edit

In Age of Empires II, the most common ROF is 2.0. 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 and mounted archers also attack at a lower speed. Lastly, naval vessels (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 2.0 (civilization bonuses not included).

Unit/Building Base Rate of Fire
Fire Galley line 0.25
Elite Cataphract 1.7
Knight, Cavalier, Cataphract, (Elite) Magyar Huszar 1.8
Hussar, Paladin, (Elite) Samurai, (Elite) Plumed Archer, Condottiero, (Elite) Boyar, (Elite) Keshik, (Elite) Leitis 1.9
(Elite) Mangudai, (Elite) Tarkan 2.1
(Elite) Kipchak 2.2
(Elite) Steppe Lancer 2.3
(Elite) Konnik 2.4
(Elite) War Wagon, (Elite) Elephant Archer, (Elite) Ballista Elephant 2.5
(Elite) Longboat, Spearman line, Skirmisher line, (Elite) Genitour, Galley line, (Elite) Caravel, Harbor, (Elite) Chu Ko Nu 3.0
(Elite) Organ Gun, Hand Cannoneer, (Elite) Janissary 3.45
(Heavy) Scorpion 3.6
Ram line 5.0
Mangonel line, (Elite) Turtle Ship, Bombard Tower 6.0
Bombard Cannon 6.5
Trebuchet, (Elite) Cannon Galleon 10.0

These civilizations have bonuses or unique technologies related to ROF (corrected from firetime):

Age of Mythology Edit

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 anim.txt file, all units 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 AnimationRate (which is normally defined in the unit's model files), and can theoretically be affected by technologies (although such technologies do not exist in the base game or its expansions).

Age of Empires IIIEdit

Almost all civilizations' ranged 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. Cannons' 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.

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