Talk:Mameluke (Age of Empires II)/@comment-24.239.107.16-20160113073751/@comment-72.130.209.167-20170128195812

You make 2 valid points here, 1.) Mamelukes are harder to mass and 2.) they need mass in order to be good.

Mamelukes aren't as hard to mass as you think. There are 2 things you aren't accounting for. First they have a creation speed of 23 seconds, which is 1 second faster than most trash units like halbs, camels, and skirmishers. The need for a castle is a big difference, for sure, but by imp you should have at least 1 or 2 up already. Secondly, you need 2 EW's to achieve the same bang for your buck as a mameluke. EEW's take 20 seconds to create. So by my calculation they take one and half to nearly TWICE as long to create as mameluke when you account for value. Thirdly, and maybe more importantly, I would NOT get the Zealotry upgrade with the Saracens unless it was pretty late into a team game. It's extremely expensive. On the other hand, the elite mameluke upgrade is one of the cheapest in the game for a UU, and has extreme value. When it comes to Zealotry, remember that it only adds HP, yet is worth 9 whole Mamelukes (not counting creation time) which add both a considerable amount of attack, even MORE HP to the group, and that much needed mass in order for mamelukes to be good due to being a ranged unit.