Ship of the Line

==In game==
===Vital stats===
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Ship of the Line/Ultima Ratio|Ultima Ratio
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=== Overall strategy===
This late 18th century innovation is an even more powerful and devastating upgrade of the Heavy Frigate, boasting more guns and greater durability. It is still somewhat slow like all preceding heavy ships, but makes up for that by having more hitpoints and line of sight, thanks to its greater size. They are still slow units, however, and vulnerable to Hellebranders, Torpedo Boats and Submarines - so you should endeavour to defend them with Frigates or light ships. A Ship of the Line, ergo, is best used defensively, with support from faster ships to intercept those aforesaid classes of ships, whilst attacking the enemy's own light shipping.
If your Ships of the Line survive long enough into the Industrial Era, you are then given the chance to upgrade them with a new form of propulsion — steam power. This is a long and tedious process, but once done, you will realise you will reap many dividends as you will have a unit with substantially better mobility and a slight attack bonus. An armada of Ships of the Line, in addition to being a force to reckon with in the Imperial Age, can then become deadlier in the Industrial Age once they are upgraded to Steam Frigates.
===Unit summary===
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain surface marine superiority.
*Has +1 armour and a few more hitpointsand higher rate of fire compared to Man of War.
*Victory-class Battleship — This British unique unit sacrifices a part of the Ship of the Line's offensive and defensive strength for a faster rate of fire, making her deal more DPS.
==History==
The 18th century was a busy time in Europe for arms manufacturers and engineers, and out of the sustained colonial conflicts between European powers emerged a new and powerful ship meant primarily to dominate marine combat, in the form of warships that could host multiple gun decks and guns alike, 12-pounders being the smallest, with the largest being the hefty 68-pounder guns that could cause major damage to enemy ships. Such a ship was called a ship of the line because of the expectation that it would be used primarily for hostile encounters (ie in the "front line" of duty), with frigates providing the logistical and intelligence services needed. Ships-of-the-line could host as many as three decks.
Ships of this type included the legendary HMS Victory, flagship of Lord Horatio Nelson at the decisive Battle of Trafalgar; and the Ottoman and French battleships Mahmudiye (c 1829CE, slightly larger than HMS Victory) and Valmy (1847CE), and they continued to be used well until the late 19th century when the onset of mechanisation and the creation of rifled guns meant that time was running out for these timber titans of the ocean. Today, while Victory is still preserved as a war memorial, both Mahmudiye and Valmy have since been scrapped.
Category:Heavy ships