Legion

A Legion is an infantry unit that is featured in Age of Empires. It is an upgrade of the Long Swordsman and is nearly twice as powerful.

Gameplay
For the cheap cost and good hit point count, the Legion is an excellent choice to send into battle over the Long Swordsman. They can survive longer and give more damage, although they still remain inferior to Academy units. These units are great for massed attacks due to their cheap cost and expandability. They are the weakest type of super unit, and cannot be upgraded further. If played as the Chosons, the hit points increases by 50%. If played as the Romans, the attack rate increases by 33%.

Legion is not available for Carthaginians, Egyptians, Greeks, Hittites, Macedonians, Minoans , Palmyrans , Shang , Sumerians and Yamato.

Tool Age

 * Toolworking: Increases attack by 2 points.
 * Leather Armor: Increases armor by 2 points.

Bronze Age

 * Metalworking: Increases attack by 2 points.
 * Scale Armor: Increases armor by 2 points.
 * Bronze Shield: Increases pierce armor by 1 point.
 * Logistics: Decreases population limit by 1/2.

Iron Age

 * Metallurgy: Increases attack by 3 points.
 * Chain Mail: Increases armor by 2 points.
 * Iron Shield: Increases pierce armor by 1 point.
 * Tower Shield: Increases pierce armor by 1 point.

Civilization Bonuses

 * Roman Legions attack +33% faster

History
Legions in Age of Empires were primarily based on troops that once patrolled the frontiers of the Roman Empire. These troops are very well trained and were considered as one of the best soldiers in Europe during antiquity. For one thing, the Roman Empire had a centralized bureaucracy which improved the skill and tactics generals use during combat since only well trained soldiers are allowed to become the legions and praetorians of Rome. These soldiers are controlled by infantry divisions which made warfare easier by splitting infantry into different groups. Roman Centurions control 100 infantry units at a time with other advisors controlling a smaller group of infantry units under the Centurion. Roman Legions were equipped with iron swords (Gladius) and shields, which are lighter and easier to use than bronze weapons manufactured by other civilizations.