Battleship
Battleship is Europeans, All (after building the Trading Post or Tambo on an European Royal House palace) naval unit in Age of Empires III, available from the Fortress Age; obtained through European Dock (Asians, Europeans, Federal Americans, and Native Americans), Port (Africans). Its listed ability is Transports land units; Trains military units (with the "Naval Infantry" and "Armada" card) ; Defence Promotion (with the "Valmy" card).
Recorded values
- Available
- Fortress Age · European Dock (Asians, Europeans, Federal Americans, and Native Americans) ; Port (Africans)
- Training
- 70 sec · 200 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 4,500 hit points · 75% ranged resistance · 4.75 speed · 40 line of sight
- Ship repair
- range 18 · requires Nossa Senhora da Conceição card
- Ranged attack
- 35 base damage · range 32 · attack interval 0.5 · area of effect 1 · bonus damage: 0.34x vs. Artillery
- Explosion
- 300 base damage · range 20 · area of effect 20 · bonus damage: 5.0x vs. Building; 5.0x vs. Ship; 0.2x vs. Villager; 0.0x vs. Hunted animals · requires Willem card
- Ability
- Transports land units; Trains military units (with the "Naval Infantry" and "Armada" card) ; Defence Promotion (with the "Valmy" card)
Role, availability & values
Production is available through European Dock (Asians, Europeans, Federal Americans, and Native Americans) or Port (Africans). It has 4,500 hit points and 75% ranged resistance. It moves at 4.75 speed. Training costs 1, 000 Wood, 1, and 000 Coin; it takes 70 seconds to train. Attack profile: Ship repair: range 18. Ranged attack: 35 damage at range 32; every 0.5 seconds; area of effect 1. Explosion: 300 damage at range 20; area of effect 20. Special ability or role: Transports land units; Trains military units (with the "Naval Infantry" and "Armada" card) ; Defence Promotion (with the "Valmy" card).
Matchup & timing
Use this transport for a planned crossing or landing rather than sending it alone into contested water. Its listed speed is 4.75, so load the army before the route becomes unsafe and allow time for the return trip. The page also records a ranged attack at 32 range; use that profile as support, not as a substitute for a protected landing. Unload where the force has room to form up, keep an escort near the ship, and protect the shore while the last units disembark.
Role, cost and availability
The Battleship is a one-per-player mercenary warship in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. The listed profile costs 1,000 Wood and 1,000 Coin, takes 70 seconds to train and is available from the Fortress Age. It has 4,500 hit points, 75% ranged resistance, speed 4.75, line of sight 40 and a transport capacity of 100 land units. Asian, European, Federal American and Native American civilizations build it at a Dock; African civilizations use a Port. European civilizations can also receive access through Home City shipments. Other players can recruit it by building a Trading Post or Tambo on a European Royal House palace. Its one-ship limit and high cost make it a strategic investment rather than a routine replacement warship.
Durability, range and firepower
The Battleship is exceptionally durable but slow. Its 75% ranged resistance and 4,500 hit points let it absorb fire while carrying troops or contesting a water approach. Its main attack deals 35 siege damage at a 0.5-second interval and reaches 32 in the current profile, with a small area effect. It is less effective against artillery, for which the attack has a 0.34 multiplier. The ship therefore threatens most naval targets through sustained fire but should not be treated as a perfect answer to coastal artillery or every unit class. Its slow 4.75 speed makes positioning important: scout the route before sending it into a concentrated enemy fleet.
Transporting a land army
The 100-unit garrison capacity is double that of other European warships in the cited comparison. This lets the Battleship ferry a substantial land force across water and makes it useful for island maps, coastal invasions and bypassing a defended land route. Load the army before moving into contested waters and choose a landing point where the ship can remain covered. The Battleship’s health can absorb pressure during a crossing, but its slow movement can still expose the force to enemy warships. Unload near a safe beach and use the land army to protect the landing rather than leaving every unit aboard under fire.
Special abilities and cards
The Battleship has no unique ability in its standard profile, but Home City cards can add functions. Nossa Senhora da Conceição grants a ship-repair ability that heals ships only, while the Willem card gives an automatic explosion on destruction that deals heavy damage to nearby buildings and ships and can also harm allied units. The Valmy card enables Defence Promotion, which increases hit points as the Battleship defeats enemy military units, up to the listed promotion limit. Naval upgrades such as Armor Plating or Byzantine Legacy can improve durability. Check the specific civilization’s card deck and edition before planning around one of these abilities.
Unique access and population of ships
European civilizations have individual Home City access and may give the Battleship different properties or supporting benefits. Most players are limited to one, but Greek Shipyards can bypass the limit, and the Spanish Nuestras Señoras card can raise the number under the specified conditions. These exceptions are not universal Dock upgrades. The ship’s cost, cap and shipyard technology should be evaluated together: paying for a second Battleship only makes sense when the economy can still field land units and protect the water. A powerful naval unit can lose value if the opponent controls the shoreline with artillery or if there is no safe route for its transport capacity.
Combat matchups and fleet support
Use the Battleship to anchor a fleet and threaten enemy ships at long range, but add faster warships that can scout and protect its flanks. Its ranged resistance reduces incoming ranged damage, while Culverins or other siege threats can punish a slow vessel near shore. The damage profile against artillery is reduced, so avoid lingering within coastal gun range. Against a fleet, focus fire rather than spreading shots across several targets, and keep the Battleship close enough to receive repair or support. If it is destroyed, the replacement costs the full 1,000 Wood and 1,000 Coin again, so retreating from an unfavorable engagement can preserve a substantial investment.
When to build one
Build a Battleship when the map has water worth controlling, a large army needs transport or the opponent’s navy can be challenged with a durable long-range ship. It is a poor investment on a mostly land map with no useful crossing, or when the economy cannot afford both the ship and an army to escort it. Prepare the Dock or Port, gather the full cost and plan the route before the ship completes its long training time. Once launched, use its health and range to secure an objective, not to chase every faster vessel across the map.
Repair, destruction and replacement
The Nossa Senhora da Conceição card adds ship repair at range 18, healing 25 per use under the listed profile; it repairs ships only. The Willem explosion triggers when the Battleship is destroyed and can damage allies, so avoid clustering friendly ships around it when the card is active. Replacement requires another 1,000 Wood and 1,000 Coin.
Transport checklist
Load the intended army before sailing into contested water, scout a landing beach, and keep escort ships near the route. The large capacity is valuable only if the ship reaches shore; its slow speed makes it easy to track. Unload where the land force can protect the vessel and establish a safe foothold.
Specialized access versus ordinary Dock production
The European Royal House condition opens an unusual mercenary route for civilizations that do not normally train the Battleship. It requires a Trading Post or Tambo on the palace and the correct age, while standard civilization access comes through the Dock or Port and may use a Home City shipment. These routes are not interchangeable: a player should confirm whether a ship is trained, shipped or unlocked by the settlement before building the economy around it. The unit limit still applies unless a named technology or card explicitly changes it.
Protect coastal targets
Although its attack reaches far, the Battleship is still a ship and cannot replace land siege everywhere. Use it to pressure a shoreline or cover a landing, then let the transported army destroy inland production. Keep distance from Culverins and shore batteries; the ship’s reduced damage against artillery makes a direct duel inefficient. A Monitor or land artillery may be a better choice for a defended coastal building.
One-ship limit
The normal limit is one Battleship per player. Greek Shipyards or specified Spanish cards can change that limit; verify the upgrade before queuing another.
A costly strategic asset
Its second purchase repeats the full resource commitment, so preserve the first Battleship when a retreat is possible.
Ranged engagement pattern
Use the 32 range and rapid attack cycle to pressure ships before they reach the transport. Focus one target at a time, keep faster escorts ahead to reveal threats and turn away from shore guns that exploit the ship’s slow speed. Its resistance allows it to absorb fire, but should not be treated as permission to remain in an unfavorable position.
Land and water coordination
The Battleship contributes most when naval control supports a specific landing, shoreline defense or fleet fight. Pair its large transport capacity with an army that can clear the beach and hold the area after unloading.
Landing support
Escort the slow ship and unload where the army can secure the coast.
Fleet note
Retreating preserves the Wood and Coin needed for its costly replacement.
Shoreline role
Use land artillery for inland targets and the Battleship to secure approach water.
Preserve the asset
Its durability helps it escort troops, but sustained shore fire can still destroy it.
Plan before the launch
Arrange an escort and landing force before the long training queue completes.
Survive
Retreat early.
Access, capacity and combat profile
A Battleship is an expensive, limited warship rather than a normal repeatable Dock unit. Its listed profile costs 1,000 Wood and 1,000 Coin, takes 70 seconds to train, and has a limit of one. It carries 4,500 hit points, 75% ranged resistance, speed 4.75 and line of sight 40; its transport capacity is 100 land units. This gives it an unusually large landing role, but its slow speed makes the route and escort important. A Trading Post or Tambo on an eligible European Royal House palace provides the relevant access; production then depends on faction and mode, including Docks for several broad civilization groups and Ports for African civilizations. In ordinary Definitive Edition access is tied to Industrial Age or a card/other special unlock as specified by the civilization. Check the current entry before assuming it can be trained at the start of a naval match.
Choose the crossing before loading troops
The standard ranged attack has 35 siege damage at range 32, fires every half-second and has a small area of effect; its damage is modified against ship classes. A separate 300-damage explosion occurs when the Battleship is destroyed and affects a wide area, including friendly units, so do not pack your own fleet or landing force tightly around a ship that is about to sink. With the Nossa Senhora da Conceição card, the ship can repair other ships at range 18; that support role is distinct from its default combat. The Battleship is powerful enough to anchor a naval group, but it is a poor pursuit unit and its replacement is costly. Scout the landing shore, load the intended force, escort the slow crossing and unload where units can establish a safe beachhead. Avoid risking it for a short trip that ordinary transports can make more cheaply.