Treasure Galleon

The Treasure Galleon is the heaviest ship in the Merchant Galleon Class.

General Description
Used by the Spanish to carry things of value - and serving most notably the vessels in the Treasure Fleet, these heavy ships carry some of the most sought-after prizes in the Caribbean.

Make no mistake, however: these ships are no Barques or Trade Galleons - these are ships that are designed to keep their cargo safe from whatever ill-starred upstart might go after them, boasting the heaviest armor of any ship - period - and a massive complement of personnel and weaponry. Their maneuverability, however, is considered to be the very worst of a very bad lot - they have the worst turning radius of any ship in their class, and are painfully slow to accelerate, though they boast, like all Galleons, a remarkably high top-end speed once they get going.

Unsurprisingly, they can also be found, if rarely, serving as military transports for an Invasion Force.

Moreover, Treasure Galleons rarely operate alone: when a ship carries this much value, it's going to be protected. In addition to the Treasure Galleon's ample armament and defenses, it typically operates with armed escorts - usually Fast Galleons or War Galleons - on extended trips.

In the Player's Hands
Treasure Galleons are uncommon, and widely considered to be mediocre as combat vessels, even with their raw power, owing to their poor maneuverability, slow acceleration, and massive size. However, even with these drawbacks, the Treasure Galleon makes an incredibly effective ship when used right, and a number of players have found it to be a highly-serviceable combat ship to be respected, owing to its massive defense and heavy armament.

Though it is frequently ignored in favor of other vessels, like the Fast Galleon or Frigate, the Treasure Galleon has a number of advantages all its own. It boasts a massive cargo capacity - the largest, in fact, alongside the East Indiaman, at 140 tons - which is, to put it simply, unheard-of for a ship with Forty Cannons on each side and Crew capacity to rival a dedicated Warship.

This enables a player to hold more plunder from raids for later trade at allied ports, lowering or even eliminating the need for subsidiary vessels in the player's fleet, which can be a serious advantage for a captain who's trying to save gold. The Treasure Galleon is also the single most-durable ship in the game when fully-upgraded, an advantage it has to make up for its less-than-desirable mobility in combat. The Treasure Galleon itself does have a decent top-end speed, like all Galleon-class vessels, though it's slower than the Trade and Royal Galleons.

Unlike the other top-level ships - the Flag Galleon and the Ship Of The Line most notably - the Treasure Galleon appears in every era and is common enough that virtually every player will encounter one once - and it's likely to be the single-heaviest-armed ship the player has seen to that point. This can make it a bit easier to acquire than other high-level ships, and gives it a bit of an edge that can make it more-viable as the game progresses.