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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in other games, see Trade Cart. |
| “ | Trade unit used for generating gold at another player's Market. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Trade Cart is an economic unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Market.
Since update 56005, the icon and sprite of the unit is dependent on the civilization. Originally, only the American civilizations had a unique sprite (but not icon). The acronyms in the infobox represent the following civilizations:
- EU (European) - European civilizations and Cumans; also used by all non-American civilizations prior to update 56005
- NA (Native American) - Aztecs, Inca, and Maya
- African - Ethiopians and Malians
- EA (East Asian) - Bengalis, Burmese, Chinese, Dravidians, Japanese, Jurchens, Khitans, Khmer, Koreans, Malay, Mongols, Shu, Vietnamese, Wei, and Wu
- ME (Middle Eastern) - Berbers, Gurjaras, Hindustanis, Persians, Saracens, Tatars, and Turks
Overview[]
Trade Carts are used to trade and generate gold by traveling between two Markets. Trade Carts do not actually engage in the exchanging of resources between two civilizations. Empty Trade Carts travel to another player's Market empty-handed and return with gold. They receive their gold from the Markets of other players/allies, and deposit them at the Markets of their owners. The amount of gold gained depends on the distance from one Market to another. The farther away the Market is, the more gold the Trade Carts generate, the amount is almost quadratically proportional to the distance.
Trade Carts may engage in trade with allied, neutral, and enemy civilizations. However, trading with enemy civilizations is ill-advised unless the enemy has resigned, since the Trade Carts are likely to be slaughtered upon reaching the enemy Market.
In order to generate at least one gold, the two Markets used for trade need to be at least 5 tiles away. However, trade does work in fractional gold too, so even if the UI does not show gold, given some time, gold can be seen accumulating. The maximum amount gained per trip is 517 gold, if both Markets are placed in the very edges of a ludicrous (formerly called LudiKRIS) sized map.
Trade is an extremely important element in late games due to the limited amount of gold available from mines and Relics on most maps. Therefore, trade routes are a primary target for attacks and should be guarded accordingly.
Comparison to the Trade Cog[]
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Trade is also possible on the water between Docks with Trade Cogs. The Trade Cog is faster (1.65 to 1.25) and benefits from Careening, Shipwright, and Dry Dock (which, prior to the Definitive Edition, did not improve the gold gathering rate, as Trade Cogs got less gold per trip to compensate for the speed increase. This is no longer true in the Definitive Edition, and there is an increase in overall gold gathering rate with Dry Dock). However, Docks at the same distance generate about -25% gold than Markets, so that the gold gathering rate for a single Trade Cart is comparable to that of a single Trade Cog. However, as Trade Cogs are more prone to bumping into each other and usually move along the shoreline, they quickly become less efficient than Trade Carts when more of them share a trade route. Because of this, Trade Carts are almost always preferable if a landmass of sufficient length exists.
In The African Kingdoms, the amount of gold earned per trip has been increased to offset this, making Trade Cogs more viable. It depends on the map and available water and land trade lines whether they should be preferred to Trade Carts. They are more efficient if single units are considered, but are also more affected by a congested trade route. The fact that they will always return to a particular Dock (closest to 100 tiles distance) means that additional Docks placed for warship production can disrupt a trade route, while there is no such reason to place extra Markets. Also, the Trade Cart is usually safer, as its routes can be accordingly protected by defensive structures or even the player's bases, while the water is more open, making the routes vulnerable to enemy warships.
Further statistics[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Conversion resistance |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Caravan (+20%)
|
| Resource cost | Silk Road (-50%, Italians only)
|
| Ability | Grand Trunk Road (generate +10% gold, Hindustanis only)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
 Regeneration
|
 Caravanserai (1 HP/s; Hindustanis, Persians, and allies only)
|
| Movement speed
|
Caravanserai (+20%; Hindustanis, Persians, and allies only)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Damage resistance |  Georgians (-20% damage {-40% instead of -25%} when on higher elevation)
|
| Resource cost |  Portuguese (-20% gold)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Conversion resistance |  Teutons (+3 min, +1 max)
|
| Creation speed |  Bohemians (+80%)
|
| Ability |  Bengalis (generate +10% food in addition to gold) Spanish (generate +25% gold)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Burgundians: Caravan is available in the Feudal Age and costs -33% food.- Burmese: Devotion and Faith are 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Trade Carts can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Trade Carts are 10%/15% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
- Spanish: Technologies that benefit Trade Carts provide 20 gold each when researched.
- Vietnamese: Caravan researches 100% faster.
- Wei: Caravan provides one free Villager when researched.
Team bonuses[]
- Bohemians: Caravan researches 80% faster.
- Lithuanians: Devotion, Faith, and Heresy research 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Technologies that benefit Trade Carts research 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Trade Carts have a base movement speed of 1.
- Trade Carts have a collision size multiplier of 0.5.
The Conquerors[]
- Trade Carts seek out the shortest route between the target Market and the player's Markets.
- Caravan introduced. It increases the movement speed of Trade Carts by 50%.
- Spanish (team bonus): Trade Carts generate +33% gold.
The African Kingdoms[]
The Last Khans[]
- Trade Carts return to the player's home Market which is closest to a displacement of 100 tiles from the destination Market.
- With update 34699, Trade Carts seek out the longest route between the target Market and the player's Markets.
Victors and Vanquished[]
- With update 125283, Trade Carts have a collision size multiplier of 0.25.
Chronicles: Battle for Greece[]
- With update 141935, Trade Carts have a base movement speed of 1.25, and Caravan increases the movement speed of Trade Carts by 20%. Thus, a Trade Cart with Caravan researched has the same movement speed as before the update.
Heroes[]
There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a European Trade Cart:
The non-hero unit Cart also reuses the Trade Cart assets.
History[]
| “ | The trade cart represents the wagon, pack horses, and other means of land transport used for the overland trade of goods during the Middle Ages. One important land trade route was the movement of wool from England across the Channel into France. The wool was manufactured into cloth and this cloth was carried into Italy to exchange for spices and silk from the East. The most famous land trade route of the age was the Silk Road, from China to Constantinople and the Levant. Camel and horse trains carried silks across forbidding desert terrain in exchange for Western gold and silver. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual | ||
Trivia[]
- The The Age of Kings booklet uses the alpha Trade Cart icon.
- The Trade Cart is one of only four trainable land units to have more than one design, the others being the Monk, the Villager, and the Flemish Militia. Prior to update 56005, only the Native American civilizations had a unique design; since they have no access to horses of any kind, their variant is not drawn by a horse. Prior to the Definitive Edition, unlike the Native American Monk, the Native American Trade Cart did not have a unique icon. Since update 56005, new appearances of Trade Carts have been added for different architecture sets, as described in the Gallery below.
- However, Native American civilizations did not use the wheel for anything larger than small toys, so their version of the Trade Cart (a wheeled cart pulled by a human) is still historically inaccurate. Furthermore, the cart design is the same used by the European unit, unlike the new unique cart designs given to other non-European civilizations.
- The Trade Carts of the East Asian civilizations are drawn by African Water Buffaloes, which have never been domesticated.
- The Cumans and Tatars, although sharing the same architecture set, have a different Trade Cart sprite. The Cumans have the European horse-drawn sprite, while the Tatars have the Middle Eastern camel-drawn one.
- The South Asian civilizations have a similar quirk: Gurjaras and Hindustanis have the camel cart, while Bengalis and Dravidians have the water buffalo cart.
- The various models of the Trade Carts have appropriate selection sounds, i.e. the sound of the horse, camel, buffalo, or donkey. The Native American Trade Cart has the male Villager voice, and if converted, it changes to the new civilization's voice.
- Since update 81058, idle Trade Carts receive a floating exclamation mark on top when Idle Pointers is enabled in the Game tab in the settings.
- The gold generated by a Trade Cart is inversely proportional to its speed attribute, such that if a Trade Cart's speed is increased via triggers in the Scenario Editor, it yields proportionally lesser gold so that the rate remains the same as a regular Trade Cart. The effects of Caravan include a work rate increase to counteract the decreased yield effects of the increased speed.
Gallery[]
