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

“	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)
Cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Train time	Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Hausa only)
Other	Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) Öresund Customs (auto gather 0.6 coin/s)

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)

Shared

Card	Description	Age
Improved Warships	War ship hit points and damage +25%
TEAM Improved Warships	War ship hit points and damage +10%

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

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Admiralty	Dock war ship technology cost and research time -60%
Naval Gunners	War ship damage +20%
Offshore Support	War ship damage +15%, Line of Sight and ranged attack range +2
Salé Rovers	Delivers 1 Xebec and 10 Corsair Marksmen
Recruit Xebec	Delivers 1 Xebec
Recruit Xebecs	Delivers 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	Port damage and heal work rate for ships +100%; war ship train time -33%
Feudal Armies	Unit train time -15%; hero respawn time -15%
Loyal Warriors	Native warrior, mercenary, and outlaw cost -15% (also affects shipments)
Recruit Xebec	Delivers 1 Xebec; costs 250 influence
Recruit Xebecs	Delivers 2 Xebecs; costs 500 influence
European Cannons	War ship damage +15%, Line of Sight and ranged attack range +2
Salé Rovers	Delivers 1 Xebec and 10 Corsair Marksmen, costs 1,500 influence

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Sengoku	Unit upgrades cost -20%

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%
Speronaras	Ship speed +10%; Fishing Boat and Order Galley speed +30% instead
Xebecs of the Order	Delivers 1 Xebec; transforms all Frigates into Xebecs; costs 250 coin

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age
Recruit Xebecs	Delivers 2 Xebecs; costs 1,000 coin

Russians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cold Water Port	War ship cost -15%

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

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