The Water Buffalo is a huntable animal in Age of Mythology, and a herdable animal in Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas and Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.
Age of Empires II[]
The Water Buffalo appears in the Rise of the Rajas expansion pack as the main herdable animal available in Southeast Asia. It is a big, bulky animal that offers 150 food, which is 50 more than the Sheep and the Goat. This makes it on par with the Cow in terms of food. It also has the same 14 hit points as the Cow, whereas the other herdable animals have 7 hit points. Consequently, Scout Cavalry and Militia in the Dark Age will find it harder to deprive a player of Water Buffaloes (and Cows).
This animal is also available in the Age of Empires game mode in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome with the same attributes.
Trivia[]
- In the Definitive Edition, the post-Dark Age African Mill is pushed by a Water Buffalo instead of the HD Edition's Donkey.
- The African Kingdoms includes a decorative buffalo skeleton available in the Scenario Editor.
- The Water Buffalo is based on an African Buffalo with its characteristic horns which curl sideways, which were never domesticated. This is distinct from the actual tameable Water Buffalo, also known as the Asiatic Buffalo whose horns grow backwards. Since African buffaloes were never domesticated, their presence in the African architecture mills is unsuitable. This animal is also used for the East Asian regional variant of the Trade Cart, which is geographically incorrect.
- Prior to update 34699, the Water Buffalo had 7 hit points.
Gallery[]
Age of Mythology[]
In Age of Mythology, the Water Buffalo is a powerful huntable animal found on Egyptian and African maps, as well as in some others, such as Marsh. They are powerful, and a Villager will not be able to kill a Buffalo single-handedly. It takes at least three to prevent fatalities, though more are recommended to avoid injuries. They hold 400 food. Unlike in other games, the Water Buffalo in Age of Mythology are wild African buffaloes rather than domesticated, actual Asian water buffaloes.
History[]
“ | Scientific name -- Syncerus caffer Size -- about 2000 lbs. Diet -- grasses Buffalo are large, wild bovines. African water buffalo, also called cape buffalo, live in large herds sometimes numbering in the hundreds. When threatened, the animals form a protective ring with horns facing outward, making it difficult for predators to take calves. Lions tend to kill only older, solitary males. Big-game hunters came to refer to the buffalo as more dangerous than lions, because the large animals are unpredictable and dangerous if cornered. Buffalo are usually dark in color, with horns that curve downward and then back up again. Most African buffalo live on the savannah near a source of water, though there is a smaller forest subspecies as well. The animals may have difficulty regulating body temperature, as they stay in the shade or water during the day and forage at night. Although often called buffalo, the North American animal is properly named bison. |
” |
—In-game help section |
Gallery[]
Age of Empires III[]
“ | Herd animal. Fattens over time. Fattens faster if tasked on a Livestock Pen, Farm, or Village. | ” |
—In-game description |
In Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, the Water Buffalo is a herdable animal, appearing wild in the Deccan map, where they can be captured. The only alternate way to obtain them, is through the Water Buffalo Ranching and Year of the Ox Home City Cards for the Chinese; the former allows Villages to train Water Buffaloes while the latter grants one for each Village and Town Center. When fully fattened, they hold 500 food, and are generally similar to the Cow. Although meant to represent a domestic Asian buffalo, the Water Buffalo model has the horns of a wild African buffalo, and the icon shows an African buffalo as well.
Gathering rates[]
Resource | Source | Gathering rate | |
---|---|---|---|
per second | per minute | ||
All resources | Shrine | 0.1425 | 8.55 |
Food | Hacienda | 0.166667 | 10.00002 |
Wood | 0.25 | 15 | |
Coin | 0.113334 | 6.80004 | |
XP | Sacred Field | 0.21 | 12.6 |
Influence | Livestock Market | 0.08 0.3 (fattened) |
4.8 18 (fattened) |
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Nothing |
Weak vs. | Nothing |
Improvements | |
Fatten rate | Navajo Shepherds (+100% auto gather; +30% from Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets, and Haciendas) Large Scale Gathering (+50% from Farms; Native Americans only) Selective Breeding (+25% from Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets, and Haciendas) Punjabi New Year (+10% from Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, Livestock Markets, and Haciendas) |
XP generation rate | Navajo Shepherds (+30%) Punjabi New Year (+10%) Ritual Bovine (+10% from Sacred Fields) |
Shrine resource generation rate | Navajo Shepherds (+35%) Punjabi New Year (+10%) |
Influence generation rate | Transhumance (+0.15) |
Hit points | Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Tar Kilns (+5%) |
Line of Sight | Town Watch (+2; before the Definitive Edition) |
Train time | Immigrants (-10%) |
Other | Cow Loans (fattened herded animal sold at Livestock Markets spawns an unfattened one; Africans only) Royal Banquet (sells for 50% of its food as influence; Africans only) Día de Muertos (+5 XP for every lost; Mexicans only) |
Home City Cards[]
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Water Buffalo
Some cards are highlighted with: | |
Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
- All
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Stockyards | Herded animals fatten 30% faster when tasked to Livestock Pens, Farms, Villages, and Haciendas |
- "Stockyards" is available to Europeans (except the Dutch and Portuguese), Federal Americans, the Chinese and Haudenosaunee.
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Wool Staple Ports | Herded animals fatten 20% faster and 20% faster when tasked to Villages, Livestock Pens, Haciendas, Farms, and Livestock Markets; Indian herded animals generate +20% XP; Japanese herded animals generate +25% resources/XP when tasked to Shrines |
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Year of the Ox | Each Village, Town Center, and Command Post spawns 2 Water Buffaloes | |
Western Reforms | All units get +8% hit points and damage | |
Water Buffalo Ranching | Enables Water Buffaloes to be trained at Villages | |
Acupuncture | All units' (except monks) train time -20%; Heavy Cannon, Flying Crow, and Summer Palace banner army spawn time -5% |
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
Habbanaya | Exchanges all cattle for 70% the influence received from selling them otherwise, and spawns unfattened ones in their place | |
Moroccan Leather | Cattle gives 50 influence when harvested; sheep or goat gives 30 influence when harvested | |
Kilishi Jerky | Cattle get +100 food capacity; sheep or goat get +60 food capacity |
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and damage | |
Goraksha | Herded animals generate +80% XP; Sacred Cows cost -25 food; +1 Hindu Villager |
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mariachi | For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed | |
Colegio de San Nicolás | Delivers Large Collection of Books (500 XP); units get +4 and buildings (except Walls) get +8 Line of Sight; sees what enemies can see for 20 seconds |
- "Colegio de San Nicolás" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
- All
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Stockyards | Herded animals fatten 30% faster when tasked to Livestock Pens, Farms, and Villages | 1 |
- "Stockyards" is available to Europeans (except the Dutch and Portuguese), the Chinese and Iroquois.
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Wool Staple Ports | Herded animals fatten 20% faster and 20% faster when tasked to Villages, Livestock Pens, and Farms; Indian herded animals generate +20% XP; Japanese herded animals generate +25% resources/XP when tasked to Shrines | 10 |
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
Year of the Ox | Each Village and Town Center spawns 2 Water Buffaloes | 1 | |
Western Reforms | All units get +8% hit points and damage | 40 | |
Water Buffalo Ranching | Enables Water Buffaloes to be trained at Villages | 1 | |
Acupuncture | All units' (except monks, Heavy Cannon, Flying Crow, and Summer Palace banner army) train time -20% | 10 |
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and damage | 25 | |
Goraksha | Herded animals generate +80% XP; Sacred Cows cost -25 food; +1 Villager | 1 |
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Inquisition | All units get +10 Line of Sight | 10 |
History[]
“ | Scientific Name: Bubalus bubalis Approx. Size: 6 ft., 2,000 lb. Diet: Grass, other sparse vegetation This huge, gray, mud-wallowing beast is an ungulate, or "hoofed animal," and a member of the bovine subfamily. Asia is home to 95% of the world's population of water buffalo, and while it has been domesticated as a draught animal for centuries, some still wander wild in the swamps and grass jungles of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand. While domestic forms are known to be somewhat docile, wild water buffalo are extremely fierce, and can use their widely spread horns (sometimes reaching spans of 6 feet in length) to kill an adult tiger, their only natural predator. |
” |
Gallery[]
See also[]
Animals in Age of Empires | |
---|---|
Until Definitive Edition | |
Huntables | Gazelle · Elephant |
Predators | Alligator · Lion · Crocodile |
Marine creatures | Shore Fish · Tuna · Salmon · Whale |
Animal Kings | Lion (Alpha) · Crocodile (Alpha) · Gazelle (Alpha) · Elephant (Alpha) |
Other | Lion (tame) |
Decorative | Bird · Dragon |
Cut | Horse · Goat |
Including Return of Rome | |
Huntable | Deer · Ibex · Iron Boar · Javelina · Ostrich · Rhinoceros · Wild Boar · Zebra |
Herdable | Cow · Goat · Goose · Llama · Pig · Sheep · Turkey · Water Buffalo |
Predator | Bear · Dire Wolf · Jaguar · Komodo Dragon · Rabid Wolf · Snow Leopard · Tiger · Wolf |
Civilian | Bactrian Camel · Camel · Donkey · Horse |
Military animals | Alfred the Alpaca · Furious the Monkey Boy · Penguin |
Decorative | Wild Bactrian Camel · Wild Camel · Wild Horse |
Marine animals | Box Turtles · Dolphin · Dorado · Marlin · Perch · Snapper |
Animals in Age of Empires II | |
---|---|
Herdable animals | Cow · Goat · Goose · Llama · Pig · Sheep · Turkey · Water Buffalo |
Timid huntables | Deer · Gazelle · Ibex · Ostrich · Zebra |
Aggressive huntables | Elephant · Iron Boar · Javelina · Rhinoceros · Wild Boar |
Wild animals | Bear · Crocodile · Dire Wolf · Jaguar · Komodo Dragon · Lion · Rabid Wolf · Snow Leopard · Tiger · Wolf |
Marine animals | Box Turtles · Dolphin · Dorado · Marlin · Perch · Salmon · Shore Fish · Snapper · Tuna |
Civilian animals | Bactrian Camel · Camel · Donkey · Horse |
Military animals | Alfred the Alpaca · Furious the Monkey Boy · Penguin |
Hero animals | Hunting Wolf · Ornlu the Wolf |
Decorative animals | Bird · Stormy Dog · Wild Bactrian Camel · Wild Camel · Wild Horse |
Animals (non-myth units) in Age of Mythology | |
---|---|
Herdable animals | Cow · Goat · Pig · Yak |
Timid huntables | Baboon · Caribou · Chicken · Crowned Crane · Deer · Duck · Elk · Gazelle · Giraffe · Monkey · Zebra |
Aggressive huntables | Aurochs · Boar · Elephant · Hippopotamus · Ram · Rhinoceros · Walrus · Water Buffalo |
Wild animals | Arctic Wolf · Crocodile · Bear · Hyena · Lion · Lizard · Panda Bear · Polar Bear · Serpent (Predator) · Tiger · Wolf |
Military animals | Golden Lion · Relic Monkey |
Fish | Herring · Mahi-mahi · Perch · Salmon |
Decorative animals | Bird ( Eagle · Hawk · Parrot · Vulture) · Hawksbill Turtle · Orca · Shark · Whale |
Scenario Editor-exclusive animals | Alfred · Dog · Giant Duck-Billed Platypus · Golden Fleece (also herdable) · Reindeer |
Cheat animals | Methane Chicken |
Cut animals | Anchovies · Camel · Horse · Musk Ox · Nubian Goat · Shore Fish · Unicorn |