Condottiero

"Italian mercenary unit. Quick infantry."

- Age of Empires II description

The Condottiero (plural Condottieri) is the second unique unit of the Italians in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. It can be trained at the Barracks once the Imperial Age is reached. It is a quick anti-gunpowder infantry unit. In The Forgotten, a Castle was also required in order to train Condottieri. That was changed in The African Kingdoms.

The Condottiero is a shared unique unit, i.e. it is available to any player allied with an Italian, so in essence, it is their team bonus. It has no Elite version, unlike the Berbers' secondary unique unit, the Genitour.

Tactics
The Condottiero has a large attack bonus against gunpowder units, and because of this, they are capable of taking down armies of Janissaries, Conquistadors, or Hand Cannoneers, who are usually paired with Halberdiers or Camels to take down cavalry.

Another advantage of the Condottiero is its bonus defense of +10 against anti-infantry attacks. This hidden defense bonus allows them to nullify the bonus attacks of Plumed Archers, Slingers, and Hand Cannoneers. It also protects them to some extent from Jaguar Warriors and Cataphracts. Due to their parallels, the Condottiero elicits comparisons to the Cataphract.

Condottieri move fast, have decent armor and high hit points. They are also created extremely quickly and don't need to be upgraded. Their comparatively high gold cost, however, makes them an expensive unit to field. Skirmishers are much more efficient at dealing with gunpowder units on a cost basis, while siege units excel in general combat, limiting the Condottiero's use to an emergency counter to gunpowder.

Condottieri can be used as an expensive substitute for Champions. This can occur in situations where the player doesn't have the Champion upgrade at the ready or if the player's civilization doesn't have access to them (Ethiopians, Huns, Khmer, Malay, Mayans, and Persians). In the Malay case however, Two-Handed Swordsmen should not be substituted, but rather supplemented with Condottierri, them forming the backbone of late Malay armies, and Condottieri (backed with Halberdiers and Karambit Warriors) chasing down archers and gunpowder units, using their superior speed.

Civilizations that have access to Champions (even ones with remarkable ones) should also consider sometimes to substitute them, especially if enemies use many anti-infantry units. For example, Malian Condottieri can be coupled with Gbetos, both possessing decent speed to raid enemy positions and supplement each other's weaknesses; Gbetos add firepower, whereas Malian Condottieri are tasked with shielding Gbetos against enemy ranged units.

Civilization Bonuses

 * Aztecs: Condottieri are created 15% faster.
 * Burmese: Condotteri have +3 attack.
 * Celts: Condottieri move 15% faster. Condottieri can convert herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Condottieri are 20% cheaper.
 * Goths: Condottieri are 35% cheaper and have +1 attack against buildings. With Perfusion researched, researching Tracking, Squires, and Arson is 100% faster.
 * Japanese: Condottieri attack 25% faster.
 * Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting and Blast Furnace are free.
 * Malians: Condottieri have.
 * Portuguese: Condottieri cost 15% less gold.
 * Slavs: Tracking is free.
 * Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Condottieri don't cost gold.
 * Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
 * Vikings: Condottieri have 20% more hit points.

Team Bonuses

 * A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, Conscription is researched 25% faster.
 * A team containing Goths: Condottieri are created 20% faster. Researching Tracking, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Condottieri are more resistant to conversion.

The Forgotten

 * Condottieri require a Castle in order to be trained.
 * Condottieri have 9 attack and 1 speed.
 * Condottieri train in 11 seconds.

The African Kingdoms

 * Condottieri no longer require a Castle.
 * Condottieri now have 10 attack and 1.2 speed.
 * With patch 4.8, Condottieri now train in 13 seconds.
 * Malians: Initially, Condottieri do not benefit from the civilization bonus and don't get any bonus pierce armor. With patch 4.8, Condottieri benefit from the civilization bonus and have +3 pierce armor.

Trivia

 * Condottieri are one of only four infantry units that don't get an attack bonus against Eagle Warriors, the other being the Kamayuk, the Militia, and other Eagles.
 * The Japanese Condottiero is tied with the Samurai as the melee unit with the fastest attacking rate, attacking once every 1.425 seconds.
 * The Gothic Condottiero is the third fastest training unit in Age of Empires II, after the Shotel Warrior and the Karambit Warrior.
 * The Condottiero is the only unique unit that is initially trained at the Barracks. It is joined by the Huskarl when Anarchy is researched.
 * The Condottiero is one of only three unique units available only in the Imperial Age, the others being the Imperial Camel and the Imperial Skirmisher. Unlike these two however, the Condottiero isn't part of a generic unit line and thus, is vulnerable to Samurai.
 * The Condottiero is one of only five unique units without an Elite version, the other being the Slinger, the Missionary, the Imperial Skirmisher, and the Imperial Camel. However, the Elite Condottiero appears in the Sforza campaign, in the scenario O Fortuna. There, Francesco Sforza leads an army of them to meet Duke Visconti in Milan before meeting Brigata Malatesta, who gives Sforza an army of Paladins.
 * The Condottiero is one of just three unique units that are a team bonus (the others being the Genitour and the Imperial Skirmisher). All three civilizations that provide these units are great support civilizations.

History
The term Condottiero meant "contractor" in Renaissance Italian, and was synonymous with the modern English title of Mercenary Captain.

Historically, the Italian Condottieri were the leaders (or warlords) of the professional, military free companies (or mercenaries) contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance.