Ships (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the ships in Age of Empires II. For ships in other games of the series, see Ship.

Ships are the only units in Age of Empires II that can move across water. They can also pass shallow water, but can never move on land. As water is a natural and impenetrable barrier for all units but ships, they are of crucial importance on maps with a lot of water, e.g. Islands, Coastal, or Baltic.

General information

Ships in mid-battle.

All ships move quite fast, possess high pierce armor, and high HP. Hence, almost all military ships are quite capable of battling land units on the shoreline for they can hit-and-run melee units and kill ranged units with their ranged attack and good resistance against arrow fire. They fare worse against siege weapons and Monks. All ships have an attack bonus against buildings, which makes them good raiding units to clear shorelines, but defensive structures deal bonus damage against ships as well, so they should only be attacked if they can be outranged.

All ships are trained at the Dock and cost wood and gold. The two Dark Age ships, the Fishing Ship and the Transport Ship, only cost wood.

List of ships

Marked with yellow background are unique units.

Ship	A	HP	At	Ar	PA	Ra	ROF	LOS	Sp	W	G	TT	Ci
Fishing Ship		60	0	0	4	0	N/A	5	1.26	75	0	40	39
Transport Ship		100	0	4	8	0	N/A	5	1.45	125	0	46	39
Trade Cog		80	0	0	6	0	N/A	6	1.32	100	50	36	39
Galley		120	6	0	6	5	3	7	1.43	90	30	60	39
War Galley		135	7	0	6	6	3	8	1.43	90	30	36	39
Galleon		165	8	0	8	7	3	9	1.43	90	30	36	37
Fire Galley		100	1	0	4	2.49	0.25	5	1.3	75	45	60	38
Fire Ship		120	2	0	6	2.49	0.25	5	1.35	75	45	60	38
Fast Fire Ship		140	3	0	8	2.49	0.25	5	1.43	75	45	60	26
Demolition Raft		45	90	0	2	0	N/A	6	1.5	70	50	45	38
Demolition Ship		60	110	0	3	0	N/A	6	1.6	70	50	45	38
Heavy Demolition Ship		70	140	0	5	0	N/A	6	1.6	70	50	45	21
Cannon Galleon		120	35	0	6	13	10	15	1.1	200	150	46	34
Elite Cannon Galleon		150	45	0	8	15	10	17	1.1	200	150	46	20
Canoe	N/A	70	7	0	6	5	3	8	1.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	0
Dragon Ship	N/A	150	4	2	8	3	0.25	6	1.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	0
Junk	N/A	75	0	0	0	0	0	7	1.21	N/A	N/A	N/A	0
Longboat		130	7	0	6	6	3	8	1.54	100	50	25	1
Elite Longboat		160	8	0	8	7	3	9	1.54	100	50	25	1
Turtle Ship		200	50	6	5	6	6	8	0.9	180	180	50	1
Elite Turtle Ship		300	50	8	6	6	6	8	1.035	180	180	50	1
Caravel		130	6	0	8	6	3	9	1.43	90	40	45	1
Elite Caravel		150	8	0	8	7	3	9	1.43	90	40	45	1
Average	N/A	126.5	28.8	0.9	6.1	4.6	3.87	7.8	1.35	107.3	63.3	45.1	27.6

Technologies

Listed below are all technologies that benefit ships. Marked with yellow background are unique technologies. This list does not contain unit upgrades.

Technology	Researched at	Age	Civilization	Effect
Caravan	Market	III	All	Trade Cogs move 50% faster
Careening	Dock	III	All	Increases pierce armor by +1 and Transport Ship capacity by +5
Gillnets	Dock	III	All	Fishing Ships gather food +25% faster
Dry Dock	Dock	IV	31	Increases speed by +15% and Transport Ship capacity by +10
Shipwright	Dock	IV	18	Lowers wood cost by -20% and increases creation speed by +54%
Fletching	Blacksmith	II	All	Increases range and attack of Galleys, Longboats, and Caravels by +1
Bodkin Arrow	Blacksmith	III	All	Increases range and attack of Galleys, Longboats, and Caravels by +1
Bracer	Blacksmith	IV	32	Increases range and attack of Galleys, Longboats, and Caravels by +1
Ballistics	University	III	All	Improves accuracy of Galleys, Longboats, and Caravels at moving targets
Chemistry	University	IV	All	Increases attack of Galleys, Longboats, and Caravels by +1; enables the creation of Cannon Galleon
Heresy	Monastery	III	23	Converted units die instead of changing color
Faith	Monastery	IV	36	Increases conversion resistance
Wagenburg Tactics	Castle	III	Bohemians	Cannon Galleons move 15% faster
Greek Fire	Castle	III	Byzantines	Increases range of Fire Ships by +1
Sultans	Castle	III	Indians	Makes Trade Cogs +10% more efficient
Silk Road	Castle	IV	Italians	Halves train cost of Trade Cogs
Panokseon (before update 42848)	Castle	III	Koreans	Increases speed of Turtle Ships by +15%
Carrack	Castle	III	Portuguese	Increases armor by +1/+1
Arquebus	Castle	IV	Portuguese	Improves accuracy of Cannon Galleons at moving targets
First Crusade	Castle	III	Sicilians	Increases conversion resistance
Artillery	Castle	IV	Turks	Increases range of Cannon Galleons by +2

Civilizations

The best naval civilizations are probably the Berbers, Byzantines, Italians,  Koreans, Malay, Portuguese, Saracens, Spanish, and Vikings. The Chinese, Japanese and Persians have also strong naval bonuses, but less stronger than the before-mentioned civilizations.

The Byzantines and Spanish are the only civilizations to have access to all naval units and technologies.

The Cumans have the worst navy in the game, as they lack all late-game important technologies that affect ships, and they do not have Bracer or even Cannon Gallons. The Malians, Slavs, Bulgarians, Teutons, Franks, and Huns also have lackluster navies. The Aztecs and Malians are the only two civilizations that do not have access to Galleons.

Civilization bonuses

The following civilizations have bonuses that benefit naval units:

• Aztecs: Warships created 11% faster.
• Berbers: Ships move 10% faster.
• Bulgarians: Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer cost -50% food.
• Burgundians: Cannon Galleons have +25% attack. Caravan and Gillnets can be researched in the Feudal Age, and cost 50% less Food.
• Burmese: Faith is 50% cheaper.
• Byzantines: Fire Ships attack 25% faster.
• Chinese: Demolition Ships have +50% HP, and technologies that benefit ships are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Italians: Dock and University technologies are 33% cheaper. Fishing Ships are 15% cheaper. Cannon Galleons are 20% cheaper.
• Japanese: Fishing Ships have double HP, +2 pierce armor, and work 5%/10%/15%/20% faster in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Koreans: Warships (excluding Transport Ships) cost -20% wood.
• Persians: Docks have double HP and work 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Portuguese: Ships have +10% HP and cost -20% gold. Technologies that benefit ships are researched 30% faster.
• Saracens: Transport Ships have double HP and +5 transport capacity. Galleys attack 25% faster.
• Spanish: Cannon Galleons fire 18% faster, and have Ballistics-like accuracy and faster missiles. Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer cost no gold.
• Tatars: Ships deal +25% damage from elevations.
• Turks: Chemistry is free. Cannon Galleons have +25% HP. Elite Cannon Galleon upgrade is 50% cheaper.
• Vietnamese: Gillnets costs no wood.
• Vikings: Warships (including Transport Ships) are 15%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

Team bonuses

The following civilizations have team bonuses that benefit naval units:

• Bulgarians: Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer are researched 80% faster.
• Japanese: Galleys have +50% Line of Sight.
• Lithuanians: Faith and Heresy are researched 20% faster.
• Malians: Ballistics and Chemistry are researched 80% faster.
• Sicilians: Transport Ships have +5 Line of Sight and cost -50%.
• Spanish: Trade Cogs generate +25% more gold.
• Teutons: Ships are more resistant to conversion.
• Turks: Cannon Galleons and Turtle Ships are created 25% faster.

Trivia

• Before the Definitive Edition, the Cannon Galleon and the Elite Cannon Galleon were the only two non-unique ships that shared sprites.
• Ships (except Fishing Ships) are one of the few units with varying models that show their origin. Every architecture style has a corresponding sail for their ships (see gallery):
  • African ships: Reed lug rig with solar disk and crescent
  • American: Crab claw sail with double-headed serpent
  • Central Asian: Lateen rig with Wind Horse
  • Central European: Square rig with Arrow Cross
    • Longboats use banded square sails
  • East Asian: Junk rig with Vermilion Bird
    • Turtle Ships do not have sails, but they have flags with the same symbol
  • Eastern European: Square rig with Patriarchal Cross
  • Mediterranean: Square rig with Maltese Cross
    • Transport Ships use Lateen rig
    • Fire Ships, Fast Fire Ships, and Heavy Demolition Ships combine Lateen and Square rigs
    • Caravels use Lateen rig with the Order of Christ cross
  • Middle Eastern and South Asian: Lateen rig with crossed scimitars
  • Southeast Asian: Junk rig with elephant head
  • Western European: Square rig with lion rampant

Gallery

The different sails in The Age of Kings and The Conquerors, represented by Galleons

The different sails introduced in the HD expansions, represented by Galleons

All Dock warships in the Definitive Edition, with Central Asian sails

All civilian and untrainable ships (DE)

All unique ships (HD)