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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in Age of Empires, see War Galley (Age of Empires). |
| “ | All-purpose warship with ranged attack. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The War Galley is a ship in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Dock once the Castle Age is reached. Instead of firing arrows like its predecessor, it fires large bolts like a Scorpion, but unlike the Scorpion (or the Caravel), their bolt only damages the single target it hits.
Tactics[]
The War Galley has +15 hit points, +1 attack, +1 anti-ship attack, +1 range, and a massive -24 seconds of training time over the Galley. In naval battles, quickly advancing to Castle Age and researching War Galley is considered imperative for all of these reasons, as well as upgrading every other Feudal warship.
The Galley line units are the backbone of any naval army, War Galleys and Galleons are a very cost effective way to deal with Cannon Galleons and Demolition Ships if they are micromanaged properly. They are also useful in shoreline combats against enemy units and shoreline buildings with the exception of towers, Castles, and siege units. War Galleys work a lot better in large numbers, and they must be paired with Fire Ships in most cases, and are excellent escorts for Transport Ships.
The War Galley's main counter unit is the Fire Ship, but when in large enough numbers, they can hold their own, especially when combined with Demolition Ships. While Demolition Ships perish under War Galley fire quickly, they deal enough damage to be threatening.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Buildings in the shoreline, melee units in the shoreline, Demolition Ships |
| Weak vs. | Fire Ships, Turtle Ships, Longboats, towers, Castles, ranged siege units on the shoreline |
| Upgrades | |
| Attack |  Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Chemistry (+1) Ballistas (+2, Romans only)
|
| Range | Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Cilician Fleet (+1, Armenians only)
|
| Accuracy |  Ballistics (hit moving targets)
|
| Armor |  Careening (+0/+1) Carrack (+1/+1, Portuguese only)
|
| Speed |  Dry Dock (+15%)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
| Creation speed |  Shipwright (+54%)
|
| Train cost | Shipwright (-20% wood)
|
| Upgrades |  Galleon
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Armenians: War Galleys fire a second projectile which deals 1 damage.- Aztecs: War Galleys are created 11% faster.
- Berbers: War Galleys move 10% faster.
- Bulgarians: Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer cost -50% food.
- Burmese: Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: War Galleys can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit War Galleys are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Georgians: War Galleys receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Italians: Researching Careening, Dry Dock, Shipwright, Ballistics, and Chemistry is 33% cheaper. Upgrading to Galleon is 33% cheaper.
- Koreans: War Galleys cost -20% wood.
- Persians: War Galleys are created 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Careening is researched 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age. Dry Dock and the upgrade to the Galleon are researched 20% faster.
- Portuguese: War Galleys have +10% hit points and cost -20% gold.
- Romans: War Galleys have +1/+1 armor.
- Saracens: War Galleys attack 25% faster.
- Spanish: Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit War Galleys provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: War Galleys deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from cliffs and elevations.
- Turks: Chemistry is free.
- Vikings: War Galleys are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Team bonuses[]
- Bulgarians: Researching Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Bracer is 80% faster.
- Japanese: War Galleys have +50% Line of Sight.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit War Galleys are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: War Galleys are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Shipwright reduces the wood cost by 20%.
- Vikings: War Galleys are 20% cheaper.
The Conquerors[]
- With patch 1.0b, Shipwright also decreases train time by 35%.
- Heresy introduced.
The Forgotten[]
- Italians: Upgrading to Galleon is 50% cheaper.
- Vikings: War Galleys are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Portuguese: War Galleys cost -15% gold.
Definitive Edition[]
- Bulgarians: Initially, the Team Bonus gave the Blacksmith a 50% work rate boost. With update 42848, this was changed to a 80% work rate boost.
- Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith upgrades cost -50% food.
- Koreans: Initially, War Galleys cost -15% wood. With update 39284, they cost -20% wood.
- Portuguese: With update 39284, War Galleys cost -20% gold. With update 42848, technologies are researched 30% faster.
Lords of the West[]
- Italians: With update 44725, upgrading to Galleon is 33% cheaper.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 61321, siege units and ships are now resistant to armor-ignoring attacks similarly to buildings.
- With update 66692, the Dock now refers to "Upgrade to War Galley, Fire Ship and Demolition Ship". The tech tree still refers to the upgrade only as War Galley.
Return of Rome[]
- Romans: Upon release, Ballistas made War Galleys fire 33% faster. With update 87863, Ballistas gives them +2 attack.
The Mountain Royals[]
- Upon release, the Armenian civilization bonus made War Galleys shoot an extra projectile. With update 99311, the extra projectile was changed to an arrow for better readability.
History[]
| “ | The war galley was a larger and improved fighting ship. It carried a larger contingent of marines and archers. When necessary, the equivalent of a war galley was created by putting fighting towers at the stern and bow of trading ship. These provided better protection and a height advantage for archers when closed with an enemy ship. | ” |
Trivia[]
- The War Galley is one of only four upgraded forms of military units (the other three being the Man-at-Arms, the Long Swordsman, and the Capped Ram) to be available to all civilizations.
- War Galleys deal bonus damage against the cheat unit Saboteur (since The Conquerors) because it is in the same unit class as ships.
Gallery[]
