Roc

This article is about the unit in the PC game. For the unit in the handheld video game, see Roc (Age of Empires: Mythologies).

Roc
Unit information
Unit type	Myth unit
Introduced in	Age of Mythology
Civilization	Egyptian
Age/God	Heroic Age
God	Hathor
Trained at	Temple
Training time	14 seconds
Cost
Food	150
Favor	15
Population	3
Statistics
Hit points	350
Speed	4.8 feet/second
Line of Sight	20 feet
Garrison	15
Armor
Hack	30%
Pierce	25%
Crush	80%

The Roc is an Egyptian flying transport in Age of Mythology, available to those that choose Hathor as their Heroic Age god.

Strategy

They can transport fifteen units. Although it has low defense and hit points, its winged nature makes it harder to kill than many transports, as flying prevents melee units from attacking it. Players may consider keeping a Roc near a group of Laborers gathering resources away from their town so that they can evade an attack from raiding melee units.

It can be used to circumvent walls and terrain, saving time. This makes them effective for ambushing enemy towns, especially when transport slow moving siege units like Catapults. However, in addition to ranged units, defensive structures can attack them. Their weak armor means they will die quickly if under a concentrated attack. When they die any units within will be killed as well, although it does some damage to anything it falls on.

Mythology

Scientific name -- Aepyornis maximus
Size -- 100' wingspan
Diet -- carnivore, rumored to eat elephants

Reports of the Roc, a giant bird, come to us from the Arabian Nights and the reports of Marco Polo. Sinbad describes the Roc as being enormous with 16 yard long wings and a bulky body. In one tale, a Roc carries Sinbad to safety after a shipwreck and in another, Rocs destroy ships by dropping huge boulders on them. Marco Polo tells of Rocs from Madagascar and how an envoy from there presented a huge Roc feather to the Chinese court. A very large flightless bird may actually have survived on the island until the 16th century before going extinct.

Trivia

• The Roc was originally planned to use a ranged attack and didn't have the ability to transport units. While the method of ranged attack isn't known, it's possible that it was planned to drop rocks or pickup enemies and throw them (similar like the Cyclops' special attack)
  • The Original Roc texture also resembled the Alpha Hawk texture
• The use of the Roc by the Egyptians is anachronistic, as it was an Arabian mythological creature.
  • However the use of giant birds of prey, has been around from before the Tales of the Arabian Nights, such as the Native American Thunderbird.
• The Genus of the Roc, Aepyornis, means that it is related to the Elephant Bird, despite its Eagle-like appearance and sounds.

Gallery

Roc over grass

Roc over desert

Kemsyt being carried away by a Roc

Roc as seen in the sky while carrying Kemsyt

The older design of the current Roc incarnation

The original design of the Roc, bearing some similarity to the Hawk from the Beta, and Age of Empires II