Fire Galley (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the similar unit in Age of Empires II, see Fire Galley (Age of Empires II).

Template:AoEUnitsThe Fire Galley is a short-range warship in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome that is used by civilizations lacking the Catapult Trireme (except Choson). It can be built at the Dock once the Iron Age is reached and can be constructed without an upgrade of any kind. The Fire Galley is not recognized as a unit in the tech tree; therefore, it is not available when players opt to play with the Full Tech Tree, also being because every civilization gets Catapult Triremes.

Strategy

Since Fire Galleys have 24 attack power they can easily defeat Trireme and other warships in one-on-one combat. However, they take additional damage from siege weapons and catapult-mounted ships so it is advised to keep them away from the coast near an enemy settlement as far as possible. Since Fire Galleys can only attack within 2 range points, they are best suited in open water where they avoid challenges from Siege Weapons and Towers located inland. Fire Galleys are also best used in small groups since only one of them is needed to take out a Trireme. Other than that, Fire Galleys dominate the sea. Carthaginian Fire Galleys possess the highest attack on sea since they can deal as high as 36 damage, making them stronger even to a Phoenician Juggernaut due to its faster fire rate.

Upgrades

Iron Age

• Alchemy - Fire Galleys +6 attack.

Civilization Bonuses

• Greek: Fire Galleys are 30% faster.
• Yamato: Fire Galleys have +30% hit points (+59 hit points).
• Carthaginian: Fire Galleys have +6 damage.
• Macedonians: Fire Galleys are four times more resistant against conversion (Scenario Editor only).

History

“	Because ships were built primarily of combustible materials (wood, cloth, hemp, and pitch), fire was a devastating weapon against them. Ancient mariners devised several ways to set enemy ships on fire. The simplest was to fire flaming arrows or ballista bolts on an enemy ship. Next most useful were flaming grenades, something like modern Molotov cocktails, filled with a combustible liquid like oil. Most intricate were flaming firepots suspended from the bow of a ship by a pole. When the pole was positioned over the deck of an enemy ship, the pot was dropped, shattering it and spreading burning liquid over the deck.	”
—The Rise of Rome manual