Talk:Cataphract (Age of Empires II)/@comment-27202541-20160912040519/@comment-37.4.251.66-20170602102715

I'd challenge that.

They only have their base damage to deal, and cost more gold; they may have bonus range, which allows ganging up, but they also have a frame delay (AND a lower rof) + the cataphract can have trample-damage; + better armor and more hitpoints.

Mameluks may cost less food, but that is neglactable; as you'll only field large groups of either unit, when your economy is going well; under those circumstances, food is much cheaper, thus much less meaningful an investment.

SO what's the actual damage a mameluke does? - and what with the cataphract? - how quickly do the numbers pile up?

M (elite) = 14 damage - 5armor = 9

C (Elite) = 14 damage - 4armor = 10

and health?

M(E) = 100 (10*damage of cataphract) = 10 hits

C (E) = 150 (16+ * damage of Mameluke) = 17 hits

how does that scale up? (rof; ignoring frame-delay here, as I don't know, how many frames there are per second in the game-code)

M (E) = dies in 10 hits = gives out (9*1.73) / 2.03 +1 hits in that time = 8.669 hits (flat 8 in one on one; but with massive numbers, the ".669" might sum up to actual hits being dealt) = 7*9 damage = 63damage (97HP left in 1v1)

C (E) = dies in 17 hits = gives out (16*2.03)/1.73 + 1 hits during that span; not factoring in projectile speed, nor frame delay) = 18.775 hits (see above) = 18*10 damage = one dead mameluk and one with 20 health left

... o/c that means not factoring in the "ganging up"-effect of the range bonus; but the same goes for the trample-damage; and the cost (gold)...

even if you micromanage the s*** out of that encounter, thanks to the low range and the frame delay, your window of opportunity is extremely small, and you will regularly fail, unless you have literally nothing else to do (no other enemies? - in one on one there is no trading = gold becomes even more costly), than hunting down cataphract-armies with comparably sized hordes of Mameluks.

Your idea that this was a "cost effective tradeoff" doesn't line up with reality.