Thirisadai

Costing twice as much as the Galleon, the Thirisadai more than makes up for said cost with its stats, especially its additional armor against anti-ship attacks. With equal resources, Thirisadai beat Galleons fairly easily. They also do well against Caravels, as the latter's pass-through damage does little against heavily armored ships. However, Longboats beat them with equal resources, Turtle Ships beat them one-on-one and with equal resources, and Fast Fire Ships will handle Thirisadai fairly easily in large numbers. Demolition Ships can also be very cost-effective against Thirisadai if they can hit multiple ships at once; two direct hits will leave a Thirisadai barely afloat. As Thirisadai require no unit upgrades and are generally better than Galleons, a player could use them to avoid paying for the Galleon upgrade () and waiting on its 65 second research time. This means they can provide an early Imperial Age power spike, as they are strong when virtually every other ship-line unit is waiting on upgrades. It also makes it easier for the Dravidian player to get important ship technologies like Chemistry (it unlocks Cannon Galleons), Elite Cannon Galleon, Heavy Demolition Ship, and Shipwright. Thirisadai also have a major advantage over Galleons in being much more population-efficient, especially relevant in the late Imperial Age; Thirisadai cost half the population space for equal resources as Galleons. Thirisadai being good at soaking up damage leading to longer fights makes it easier for the Dravidian player to execute the tactic of suddenly ungarrisoning mass Demolition Ships into a massed up group of nearby enemy ships. However, it also makes opponents of the Dravidians have an easier time using that tactic against them. Thanks to the Dravidians having a full navy tech tree, the Thirisadai serves as an excellent late-game addition to their navy when their other bonuses have been used up. Its lack of an Elite upgrade also helps the Dravidian player save resources that another civilization would have had to spend upgrading their unique naval units, though this is offset by the Thirisadai's non-availability in the Castle Age. Thirisadai are as fast as Fire Ships, which is 9% slower than the Galley line and Fast Fire Ships, making them vulnerable to being outmaneuvered.