Xebec

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals. For the unit in Age of Empires IV, see Warship.

Xebec
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals
Type	Ship Warship Mercenary Warship
Civilization(s)	Hausa
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Trained at	Port
Coin	700
Influence	500
Train time	40 seconds
Train limit	2
Statistics
Hit points	2,200
Resistance	75% Ranged
Speed	8.0
Garrison	50
Line of Sight	38
Ability	Transports land units The closer the target, the lower the Rate of Fire
Special ability	Broadside Attack
XP train bounty	120
XP kill bounty	120
Ranged attack
Damage	Long: 180 Short: 60 Siege
Bonus damage	×0.5 vs. Artillery
Area	1
Range	Long: 16-32 Short: 0-16
Rate of Fire	Long: 3.0 Short: 1.0

“	A powerful, agile mercenary warship that fires faster at close range. Inflicts high damage.	”
—In-game description

The Xebec is a powerful mercenary war ship in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals that is unique to the Hausa and can be trained at the Port once the Fortress Age is reached.

Overview

The Xebec is a heavy warship of the Hausa, but other civilizations can use it with mercenary shipments. Special feature of the Xebec is that it changes its attack style depending on the distance from the enemy. At longer distances, it fires slowly with high damage. At close range, it fires faster with low damage. Its overall DPS is the same in both modes.

Compared to Frigates, Xebecs are tougher, faster, and deadlier, but have a lower build limit. Compared to the Imperial Men-o'-War, Imperial Age Xebecs are less tough.

Upgrades

The Xebec is automatically upgraded in the Industrial Age and Imperial Age.

• +50% Broadside Attack.
• +30% hit points and attack, +30% Broadside Attack.

Special ability

• Broadside Attack: Fires a volley of cannon shots at an enemy from a range of 32, with each shot doing 15×7 siege damage in an Area of Effect of 1 with a ×2.0 multiplier against ships. 60 seconds cooldown.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Ships, infantry close to shore
Weak vs.	Artillery especially Culverins, defensive structures
Improvements
Hit points	Armor Plating (+50%) Heavy Riverboats (+25%; Hausa only) Byzantine Legacy (+15%) Tar Kilns (+10%)
Attack	Carronade (+25%) River Skirmishes (+25%; Hausa only) Percussion Lock (+50% Broadside Attack damage) Somali Ajuran Engineers (+20% multiplier vs. Frontier fortification)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Train time	Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Hausa only)
Cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Other	Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) Öresund Customs (generates 0.6 coin/sec.)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Xebec

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Purple	Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

All

Card	Description	Age
Improved Warships	Warships get +25% hit points and attack
TEAM Improved Warships	Warships get +10% hit points and attack

• "TEAM Improved Warships" is available to the Chinese and Maltese.

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Admiralty	Dock warship technologies cost and research time -60%
Naval Gunners	Warships get +20% attack
Offshore Support	Warships get +15% attack, +2 Line of Sight and range
Salé Rovers	Ships 1 Xebec and 10 Corsair Marksmen
Recruit Xebec	Ships 1 Xebec
Recruit Xebecs	Ships 2 Xebecs; costs 500 coin

• "Naval Gunners" is available to the Italians and Maltese.
• "Offshore Support" is available to the Maltese and Ottomans.
• "Salé Rovers", "Recruit Xebec", and "Recruit Xebecs" are available to the Italians, Maltese, Ottomans, and Portuguese upon revolting to the Barbary States.

Hausa

Card	Description	Age
Advanced Port	Ports get +100% hit points and repair ships 100% faster; Warship train time -33%
Feudal Armies	All unit's train time -15%; Hero respawn time -15%
Loyal Warriors	Native warriors, mercenaries, and outlaws cost -15% (also affects shipments)
Recruit Xebec	Ships 1 Xebec; costs 250 influence
Recruit Xebecs	Ships 2 Xebec; costs 500 influence
European Cannons	Warships get +15% attack, +2 Line of Sight and range
Salé Rovers	Ships 1 Xebec and 10 Corsair Marksmen; costs 1,500 influence

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and attack

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Sengoku	Unit upgrades cost -20%

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points
Speronaras	Ships get +10% speed; Order Galleys and Fishing Boats get +30% speed instead
Xebecs of the Order	Ships 1 Xebec; turns all Frigates into Xebecs; costs 250 coin

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age
2 Xebecs	Ships 2 Xebecs; costs 1,000 coin

Russians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cold Water Port	Warships cost -15%

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight

In-game dialogue

The Xebec speaks Kabyle language using dialogue files of the Privateer.

If the player somehow gets Xebecs as Haiti (for example, through the Scenario Editor), they will instead speak English using the dialogue files of the Haitian Privateer.

Trivia

• It is possible the Xebec would be available to the Haiti revolution, based on the different voice lines. It is unknown why that was scrapped.

History

“

Light, agile, and swift, the Xebec was the favored warship of the Barbary pirates of the North African coast. While their design made them better suited for quick raids than for pitched naval battles, Xebecs were feared throughout the Mediterranean – and highly sought after by those seeking to enlist their crews in illicit activities.

”

Gallery

Xebec image from the Compendium section

In-game Xebec

See also

• War Dhow – Ethiopian counterpart