Yak

The Yak is a herdable animal in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties and in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. In both games, it features in maps associated with the Chinese.

Age of Mythology

Yak
Herdable animal
Introduced in	Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon
Hit points	20
Initial food	75
Maximum food	400
Fatten rate	18.5 food/minute
Decay rate	18 food/minute
Recommended no. of shepherds	1

In Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon, the Yak can be found in the wild on several Chinese maps. Similar to the Cow, the Yak yields 100 food at the beginning of the game; when fully fattened, this increases to 400, which is 100 more than pigs and goats.

The Yak Caravan is the Chinese trade unit. In Immortal Pillars, the yak was replaced with the Mechanical Ox as the trade unit for the Chinese.

Curiously, Yaks under the control of a Set player have the same aura emanating from them as other Animals of Set despite being a herdable.

Further statistics

Technologies

• Husbandry: +30% fattening rate

Age of Empires III

Yak
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Herded animal Cattle
Statistics
Hit points	20
Speed	4.0
Line of Sight	9
Resource amount	50-400 food ()
Fatten rate	0.25/s 0.625/s at Livestock Market 1.25/s at Livestock Pen, Farm, Village, Hacienda
Gatherers	8
Resource generation
Auto gather	0.1/s XP ()
Requires	Indians only

“	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, Yaks cannot be trained at a Livestock Pen, Farm, Village, or Sacred Field, and can only be found roaming wild in the Himalayas, Silk Road, and Mongolia maps. Since the Definitive Edition, Yaks can be shipped through the Kumis technology.

They hold 100 food when found, and 400 when fully fattened, making them useful livestock, if not as good as the Cow and Water Buffalo, then as useful as the Llama, and better than the Goat and Sheep.

Gathering rates

Resource	Source	Gathering rate
		per second	per minute
All resources	Shrine	0.1235	7.41
Food	Hacienda	0.133333	7.99998
Wood		0.25	15
Coin		0.113334	6.80004
XP	Sacred Field	0.175	10.5
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)
Other	Kumis (delivers 1 Yak carrying additional 150 food for every 3 minutes of game time, up to 30 minutes) 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 Yak

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

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.

British

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

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and damage

Hausa

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

Indians

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

Mexicans

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.

British

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

Chinese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and damage		40

Indians

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

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

History

“

Scientific Name: Bos grunniens Approx. Size: 2,200 lb. (male) Diet: Sparse vegetation The wild yak once roamed the regions between Kashmir and West China, but extensive hunting has reduced the population to a small number that now graze on elevated plateaus above 14,000 feet. It was hunted primarily for its rich meat and wooly hide. The wild yak, now endangered, has a dark brown coat and may grow to a shoulder height of more than 6 feet. Its body features a humped back, a bushy tail, and a set of long horns that spread outward and upward at the tips. For centuries, natives of Tibet have domesticated and crossbred the yak for use as a beast of burden, as well as for its continuous milk supply, used for quality butter and curd. They eventually introduced the domesticated yak to other parts of Asia. It can be recognized by its smaller size and its shorter horns. The domesticated yak's coat also varies in color, and can be brown, red, black, and even albino.

”

Gallery

Mongol nomads with Yak herds in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

Yak image from the Compendium section in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

In-game Yaks in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition