South Sea Barque

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[Each larger] ship carries a complement of a thousand men, six hundred of whom are sailors and four hundred men-at-arms, including archers, men with shields and crossbows, who throw naphtha. Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel [which] has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory, and can be locked by its occupants.

— Ibn Battuta, Rihla

In game

Nanhai ico.png
South Sea Barque — Vital statistics
South Sea Barque

Very powerful heavy warship, costing more Timber but requiring less Metal.

Prereq: Build time HP LOS Attack Attack speed Movement
speed
Upgrade of
  • Absolutism Politics
  • Imperial Mandate Attrition
  • BombardmentFortification
18.3s
(275t)
386 17 25 2.6s
(40t)
42

Warjunk rkc.png

Cost Created from Armour Weapon range Specialty
Base Ramp Pop
Timber: 80;
Ore.png: 80;
Book.png: 40
Timber: 9
2 Naval Cantonment 7 1–17
  • Moderate attack bonus versus buildings.
  • Poor turn speed.

China.jpg Japan.jpg

The South Sea Barque is the most powerful warship in the Asian warfleet. In comparison to Western warships, the South Sea Barque can be best explained as costing more wood but requiring less metal, and is also the most devastating, given its size and potential armament (being mostly on par with that of the Portuguese Gabriel-class carracks) but it is by no means top dog. Although it is resistent given its hitpoint score, it is still a heavy ship and not easily moved around, but it has more admirable performance than a Carrack in a one-on-one duel.

Furthermore, its heavy wood cost means that this ship can often temporarily drain your ability to construct further ships, even though it has a sharply discounted metal cost. Also, it is not directly accessible in the Imperial Era: South Sea Barques, given their size, cannot be built at a Dockyard — a Naval Cantonment must be created to accommodate them.

Nevertheless, the South Sea Barque is useful for an Asian player trying to raise the stakes in a naval confrontation, but building it is best only if you have a very strong economy. In battle, it shares the attack of the Lanternas with the shot frequency, line of sight and range of the carrack, meaning that although it can be a very powerful unit, it is by no means that useful against fortresses as it can be outranged by them, although with sufficient numbers the South Sea Barque fleet can easily destroy castles with little afterthought. As such, some forethought is required when playing as China or Japan on water maps — you want to consider if obtaining the resources necessary to raise at least 4 of these warships is a part of your game plan, or if you will stick instead to the cheaper but markedly inferior War Junk to maintain maritime control.

Unit summary

  • High Seas Heavy Hitter — With a powerful, fast-hitting but medium-ranged attack, the South Sea Barque can be a very powerful unit in ship-to-ship combat, although assaulting enemy fortifications may pose problems.
  • No Cost Spared — Although the South Sea Barque costs less metal to construct, its ramp costs in timber are sufficiently high to prevent the construction of smaller ships in your fleet.

See also

History

Unlike the North Sea, Baltic or the Mediterranean, the extensive coastline and the hazards of the Pacific Ocean required vessels that were large and solid enough to survive the highly turbulent waters of Asia. As such, large ships were often more of the norm than the exception especially in north Asian navies. Chinese vessels of the mediaeval era contained many innovations, such as stern-mounted rudders and bulkheads which provided greater mobility and durability, which increased chances of survival in combat against storms and enemy fleets alike.

References