Marathan Catamaran
Marathan Catamaran is naval unit in Age of Empires III, available from the Commerce Age; obtained through European Dock (Asians, Europeans, Federal Americans, and Native Americans), Port (Africans). Its listed ability is Transports land units; Gathers from fishes and whales; Trains Old Doug the Orangutans, Marathan Dacoits, and Marathan Thuggees (only if close to shore).
Recorded values
- Cost
- 100 Wood
- Available
- Commerce Age · European Dock (Asians, Europeans, Federal Americans, and Native Americans) ; Port (Africans)
- Training
- 10 sec · 10 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 220 hit points · 50% ranged resistance · 8.5 speed · 24 line of sight
- Ranged attack
- 16 damage · 20 range · 2.0 attack interval
- Siege attack
- 40 damage · 20 range · 2.0 attack interval
- Ability
- Transports land units; Gathers from fishes and whales; Trains Old Doug the Orangutans, Marathan Dacoits, and Marathan Thuggees (only if close to shore)
Role, availability & values
Production is available through European Dock (Asians, Europeans, Federal Americans, and Native Americans) or Port (Africans). It has 220 hit points and 50% ranged resistance. It moves at 8.5 speed. Training costs 100 Wood; it takes 10 seconds to train. Attack profile: Ranged attack deals 16 damage. Siege attack deals 40 damage. Special ability or role: Transports land units; Gathers from fishes and whales; Trains Old Doug the Orangutans, Marathan Dacoits, and Marathan Thuggees (only if close to shore).
Matchup & timing
A Marathan Catamaran can transport troops, fish, and train Old Doug or Marathan outlaws while close to shore. Use it as a support vessel near a safe landing or fishing area rather than treating it as a dedicated battleship. Its 40-damage siege attack is useful against a coastal target, but at 220 hit points it should retreat from a stronger fleet.
Current naval statistics and production
The Marathan Catamaran is a small Commerce Age ship with a limit of twenty. It costs 100 wood, trains in ten seconds, has 220 hit points, 50% ranged resistance, speed 8.5, and line of sight 24. It can carry up to twenty garrisoned units. Its ranged attack deals 16 damage at range 20 every two seconds; its siege attack deals 40 damage at the same range and rate. It uses no population, which lets it support a fleet without displacing land troops. The Catamaran is weaker in direct ship combat than a dedicated warship, but its long range lets it contribute around the coast and threaten buildings or units near shore. It can also gather food from fish at 0.22 per second, or 13.2 per minute, and coin from whales at 0.17 per second, or 10.2 per minute.
Trading Post access and maps
An Indian player can gain access by building a Trading Post or Tambo on an Asian Holy Site on Borneo, Ceylon, Deccan, Fertile Crescent, Indochina, Indonesia, or Malaysia maps. It is trained from a European Dock for Asian, European, Federal American, and Native American civilizations, or from an African Port. On water maps, Indian shipments can also provide Catamarans with Dacoits or Thuggees garrisoned. Since the Holy Site requirement is map-specific, the ship is not a universal Indian dock option on every map. Check for the Asian site before planning an early Catamaran economy or transport route.
Transport, treasure, and support tasks
The Catamaran can ferry land units, including artillery, and help collect treasures across water. Its capacity of twenty makes it useful for moving a mixed force to another shore or evacuating units from a threatened island. It can train Old Doug the Orangutan, Marathan Dacoits, and Marathan Thuggees while close to shore. The ship must remain stationary during that training and cannot attack, so choose a protected stretch of coast before queuing units. The Orangutan costs 200 food and has a limit of five; the Dacoit costs 90 coin and uses five population; the Thuggee costs 150 coin and uses six. This gives the Catamaran a role as a mobile recruitment point, but its low hit points make it risky to leave beside an enemy Dock.
Combat and coastal harassment
Catamarans have enough range to fire from near the shoreline at units that ordinary infantry cannot reach. A group can harass Villagers and distract the enemy into sending ships or coastal defenses to respond. Its 40 siege damage makes it useful against buildings, especially Docks, but its health is low compared with warships and it is easily destroyed by naval focus fire. Use it behind a fleet or as a temporary distraction rather than challenging enemy warships alone. Water Ceremony and War Ceremony can improve ranged warships, while other naval upgrades raise the Catamaran's attack, siege, or health. Decide whether the card slot for Water Ceremony is worth the higher potential or whether the free War Ceremony bonus is sufficient.
Distinct from the Bandit Catamaran
The Marathan Catamaran belongs to The Asian Dynasties and is associated with the Indian civilization and Asian Holy Site maps. Definitive Edition also contains a separate Bandit Catamaran with different hit points, speed, limit, and training access. Do not apply the Bandit unit's statistics or animal roster to the Marathan boat. The Marathan baseline is 220 hit points, speed 8.5, a twenty-ship limit, and twenty-unit transport capacity.
Training near shore and ceremony bonuses
The ship can queue its land units only while close to shore, and it must stop moving and firing for the training process. Choose a coastline behind the fleet before starting the queue; moving into contested water interrupts the Catamaran's other jobs and risks its 220 hit points. Indian ceremonies improve ranged warships: War Ceremony is available without a card, while Water Ceremony requires a Home City card and can reach higher values when combined with other upgrades. The reference profile notes that a fully improved Catamaran can reach 36 ranged attack, 91 siege damage, and 588 hit points with Water Ceremony, compared with 32 ranged attack, 58 siege damage, and 275 hit points using War Ceremony and upgrades. This makes the ship's power depend heavily on the selected ceremony and deck rather than its baseline alone.
Fleet population and economic choice
The Catamaran uses no population, so it can add a ranged support hull even when the land army already fills the cap. Its fishing output is modest at 13.2 food per minute and 10.2 coin per minute, which makes it more useful for combining several jobs than as the sole economy. Decide whether it should fish, transport, train units, or fight before sending it into danger; trying to perform all four tasks in contested water can leave the ship idle and exposed.
Production limit
The standard Marathan Catamaran has a limit of twenty ships. The limit and its zero-population use make it possible to supplement a conventional fleet, though wood and the required map access still constrain production.
Maintaining range
The Catamaran's range of 20 exceeds most land units' reach from the coast, but enemy warships can still destroy it quickly. Keep it behind a stronger ship and use its free population slot for safe support fire.
Water-map shipment with multiple naval uses
The Marathan Catamaran can arrive through Indian Home City shipments on water maps when Dacoits or Thuggees are garrisoned under the applicable conditions. Players often use it to collect Treasures at sea, but it can also attack, fish and transport units, including artillery. It can train Old Doug the Orangutan and Dacoits through its available options, giving it more utility than a simple transport ship.
Use the ship where its flexibility matters
A Catamaran can support a landing or claim a sea Treasure while carrying troops, but its fishing is no more efficient than a Canoe in the documented comparison. Do not pay for the shipment solely to create a fishing economy; use the transport, combat or Treasure functions as well. Protect it from enemy warships and avoid trying to train units while under fire. The garrison condition and water-map access make it a situational Indian tool, not a standard unit on every map.