Frigate

Frigate
	25
	5
	185
Ranged Strength	28
Attack Range	2
Resource Cost	Iron
Unlocked at	Navigation
Upgrades From	Galleass
Upgrades To	Battleship

The Frigate is a Naval Ranged unit available in the Renaissance Era.

Overview

During the "Age of Sail," a frigate was a warship that was smaller than the three-decked "ships of the line" which formed the core of a navy's fighting vessels, but was still large enough to pack a considerable amount of firepower. Frigates were three-masted ships with their guns mounted on a single deck (a ship of the line might have two or even three decks of guns). Depending upon its size, a frigate might carry 25-50 guns. Frigates generally served as escort and patrol vessels, as well as pirate-hunters. During the War of 1812 the United States deployed so-called "super frigates" which carried up to 90 guns. One such vessel, the USS Constitution still survives; she is the oldest commissioned frigate still afloat.

Strategy

The Frigate is the dominant vessel of the Renaissance Era, the pinnacle of sail-based military technology. Its long-range cannon batteries can lay waste to both sea and land forces (if the latter are in range, of course), and are also very effective against coastal cities. Its iron-shod corpus is strong and at the same time allows even faster movement than the Caravel. With its ability to cross the ocean, the Frigate starts in earnest the naval contest in the game.

The Frigate is also the first vessel to require a resource. Fortunately, it appears right when your front-line units are being upgraded to gunpowder units and stop requiring Iron, so usually this is no problem.

Finally, in vanilla Civilization V, Frigates can upgrade to Destroyers if they are not upgraded to Ironclads or if Combustion is discovered before Telegraph.

Unique Unit Replacements

Icon	Unit	Civilization	Abilities
	Atakebune	Japan (Tokugawa Ieyasu)	+20% Ranged Strength near Rivers Extra Defensive Strength from reserve Iron Does not require Iron
	East Indiaman	Dutch East India Company (Jan Pieterszoon Coen)	Stronger than the unit it replaces. Gains a Combat Bonus while situated on a Trade Route.
	Flagship	United Kingdom (Pitt the Younger)	Receives an increasing Attack Bonus against Units and Cities as it moves further away from the Capital, and a stronger Defence bonus the closer it is to the Capital. Has a chance to capture neutral Units that it begins its turn adjacent to. +2 Movement to Admirals starting turn with it.
	Kapal Cetbang	Indonesia (Gajah Mada) (When DuskJockey's Majapahit or Sultan Agung's Mataram is installed)	Does not require fresh water. Provides +5 XP to newly-trained Units for each  Religion present in the City.
	Man of War	The Anglo-Dutch (William III)	Is stronger in coast. Puts enemy cities into Resistance when blockading them. Increases the effect of the Glorious Revolution on nearby units.
	Océan-class	France (Louis XVI)	+50% resistance to City Attacks Moves immediately if purchased. Begins with doubled Movement if purchased. Requires 1 Iron instead of Coal (Pouakai's Enlightenment Era Only).
	Regal Ship	Sweden (Gustavus Adolphus) (When Karl XII's Sweden is installed)	Heals nearby Land units by 10 HP per turn +20% Combat bonus in coastal waters
	Ship-Of-The-Line	England (Elizabeth) Great Britain (Victoria)	+20% Combat Strength (30 vs 25) +25% Ranged Strength (35 vs 28) +1 Sight -8% Production cost (Victoria)
	Steam Frigate	Two Sicilies (Ferdinand I)	Double Movement in Coast +1 Movement (carries on upgrade)
	Two-Decker	Russia (Peter I)	Starts with +5 Experience per Declaration of Friendship (max 20) +25% Combat bonus vs Land units