Boyar (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. For for unit in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean, see Boyar (Age of Empires III).

Boyar
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten
Type	Cavalry
Civilization	Slavs
Age	Castle Age
Training
Trained at	Castle
Food	60
Gold	70
Training time	15 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	100, 130 (Elite)
Melee attack	12, 14 (Elite)
Reload time	1.9
Melee armor	4, 8 (Elite)
Pierce armor	2, 3 (Elite)
Armor class	Cavalry Unique unit
Speed	1.3
Line of Sight	5
Unit evolution
Upgrades to	Elite Boyar
Upgrade cost	1,000 food, 600 gold
Upgrade time	60 seconds

“	Slavic unique cavalry unit. Resistant to melee attack.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Boyar is the unique unit of the Slavs in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. It is a heavily armored cavalry unit with high attack.

Boyars can be upgraded to Elite Boyars in the Imperial Age.

Tactics

The Boyar is a heavily armored cavalry unit, enabling them to absorb a lot of damage. Along with their high melee armor, they have the same pierce armor as the Knight line, though their slower speed will hurt them. However, they have a lower amount of hit points than the Paladin. Their attack is on par with the Paladin line, and their melee armor is unparalleled in the cavalry branch. These properties make them extremely hard to take down with melee attacks.

General strategy

The Slavs are primarily a siege and infantry civilization, with a strong Knight rush during the Castle Age, thanks to their excellent economy. Boyars serve as the main shock troops of the late-game Slavic army, serving to decimate the opponent's army once their opposing counters have been dealt with. Scorpions are probably the best partner for Boyars available to the Slavs, since they can cover the Boyar's weaknesses, which are massed archers, Camel Riders, and Halberdiers. The Boyars can effectively protect the Scorpion from melee units and siege. Monks always fit in any Slavic army as well, as they can heal and convert.

Siege Onagers are also an option to use, but using them is far more difficult than using Scorpions since they damage friend and foe alike. On the flipside, Boyars do not pair well with an army focusing on Siege Onagers, who much prefer Halberdiers.

Getting a good number of Boyars requires having multiple Castles to sustain a good production, and researching the Castle Age unique technology Detinets turns the Castle cost from 650 stone to 260 wood, 390 stone, thus making Castles more accessible and massing Boyars easier. Being created from Castles also means they are more accessable when creating Castles across the map to secure control over important areas.

Castle Age

The Boyar in many ways outclasses some of the toughest Castle Age units such as Knights. It is on-par with Lithuanian Knights with 4 Relics in melee combat (considering that Boyars attack 5.26% slower). However, their high armor is much more valuable against units with low attacks. With their sheer bulk, they can even stand up to Camel Riders and Imperial Age Cavaliers and Champions, although they are not cost effective in these match-ups. Since they are expensive and are Castle units, they are hard to mass. Their power and cost combined make Monks a good option to counter them.

Imperial Age

In the Imperial Age, the Elite Boyar has 3 base pierce armor, the same as a Paladin. The Paladin, however, has 30 HP more than the Elite Boyar, which makes it even more suitable against archer fire. Fortunately, countering an archer army in the Imperial Age is not a problem for the Slavs, since they have Siege Rams and Siege Onagers with Siege Engineers. Slavs do not have Paladins, and Boyars compare much more favorably to Cavaliers. Unlike Paladins, Elite Boyars can win against Malay and Vietnamese Elite Battle Elephants, but even there, being unique units limit their production, while Stable units like Battle Elephants are more practical to use.

Counters

Archers and Cavalry Archers

Currently, they are not vulnerable to archers, having same survival as the Knight line in the Castle Age and almost the same as Burgundian Paladins in the Elite form. However, they perform worse than generic Paladins, and are not a counter to archers either. However, before update 36906, Boyars only had 1 base pierce armor (2 for Elite). Boyars were vulnerable to massed archers such as Crossbowmen and Plumed Archers. Due to the patch, Boyars are now as hardy against archers as the Knight line, though their Elite version does have 30 less HP than a fully upgraded Paladin. The Genoese Crossbowman, naturally, is a strong counter even after the buff.

However, Boyars still struggle against mounted archers because they move slower than Knights, who already move slower than Cavalry Archers. Slavs don't have good Skirmishers to deal with them, and Siege Weapons are slow and expensive to deploy in such situations. Boyars even fare worse against Camel Archers, Mangudai (which also counter the cheap Slavic siege weapons) and War Wagons, due to all three having high damage output.

Pikemen

As with most cavalry units, Boyars do not fare well against Pikemen. While faring better against them than most other cavalry due to their armor and attack, Boyars are still not cost effective.

Monks

Since the Slavs are unfortunate enough to lack Heresy, Boyars are somewhat prone to conversion. This was worse before the Definitive Edition, since they also lacked access to Faith as well. As high-value units, Boyars are one of the prime targets for conversion, just after Elephant units. Especially in the Castle Age, when Boyars may need 4 hits to strike down a Monk with Sanctity, a Boyar cannot hope to kill an enemy Monk if they meet alone. Hence, they are likely to be picked as a target for a conversion. In the Imperial Age, Faith can help the Elite Boyar win fights against Monks, as they will only need 3 strikes to kill a Monk, but it is a risk that should be avoided, especially if the Monks are decently protected.

Camel units

Civilizations with Heavy Camel Riders can freely use them against Boyars and rest assured to field a cost effective unit. Regular Camel Riders are not a hard counter to cavalry like the Heavy ones, and as such are overpowered by the Boyar. Mamelukes are probably the best unit against the slower Boyars, since they can hit and run, while also possessing a good attack bonus. Against the Slavs, however, Camel Riders are not of much use anywhere else, since they fall to any other unit of the Slavic army.

Leitis

While Boyars excel in melee fights against other heavy cavalry, the exception is found with the Lithuanian unique unit, the Leitis. The Leitis' attack ignores melee armor, which nullifies the speciality of the Boyar and makes the Leitis a huge threat (with 2 Relics, Elite Leiciai kill Elite Boyars in 8 hits). Boyars have higher hit points than Teutonic Knights, so they can survive a bit longer, but remain a primary Leitis target. Leiciai also cost 20 less gold than Boyars, making Leiciai incredibly cost-effective, especially in the Post-Imperial Age.

Obuch

Boyars are very effective facing most infantry units, but the Obuch, the Polish unique unit, can pose a major threat to them, as every of the Obuch attack's remove armor by 1/1. While in an individual battle, Boyars still win due to their high hit points and attack, in large and prolonged battles the Boyar's armor will start to decline severely, thus their main advantage is gone. They are then vulnerable to not only Obuchs' attacks, but also attacks from other units like archers.

Dravidians' Infantry

With Wootz Steel, researched, Dravidian Champions, Elite Urumi Swordsmen and Battle Elephants practically gain +11 attack and the Halberdiers and Light Cavalry gain +10 attack against the Elite Boyar on account of ignoring armor. The Boyar's stats mean that this is not a completely one-sided matchup, but it does remove the Boyar's main niche.

The Dravidian unique unit, the Urumi Swordsman, is another threat at the same level as Leiciai and Obuchs, as is trained fast, is cheaper, and has a charge area attack (which guarantees a 50% damage to nearby units), puts the Boyar in a terrible position.

Changes in the Definitive Edition

In the Definitive Edition, Boyars' training time is reduced to 15 seconds (both standard and elite).

With update 36906, Boyars get +1 pierce armor (both standard and elite), making them much better at soaking arrow damage and a strong counter against archers. However, their speed is reduced to 1.3, so they can still be countered by well micromanaged archers (especially mounted archers) and Monks.

With update 50292, Elite Boyars get +2 melee armor, making them even stronger against melee units.

With all upgrades, the Elite Boyar gets 11/7 armor (the same pierce armor as a fully upgraded Paladin and only 2 less melee armor than a fully upgraded Elite Teutonic Knight), making them one of the best armored units in the game.

Comparison in the Castle Age

	Boyar	Cavalier
Cost	60 food, 70 gold	60 food, 75 gold
Hit Points	100	120
Attack	12	12
Attack speed	1.9	1.8
Armor	4/2	2/2
Movement speed	1.3	1.35
Training time	15 seconds	30 seconds
Line of Sight	5	4
Upgrade Cost	1,000 food, 600 gold	650 food, 375 gold
Upgrade Time	60 seconds	170 seconds

Comparison in the Imperial Age

	Elite Boyar	Paladin
Cost	60 food, 70 gold	60 food, 75 gold
Hit Points	130	160
Attack	14	14
Attack speed	1.9	1.9
Armor	8/3	2/3
Movement speed	1.3	1.35
Training time	15 seconds	30 seconds
Line of Sight	5	5

Further statistics

As Boyars are unique to the Slavs, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Skirmishers, melee units, siege weapons
Weak vs.	Pikemen, Camel Riders, Monks, Kamayuks, Teutonic Knights, Mamelukes, War Elephants, Genoese Crossbowmen, Samurai, Leiciai, Obuchs, Composite Bowmen
Upgrades
Hit points	Bloodlines (+20)
Attack	Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2)
Armor	Scale Barding Armor (+1/+1) Chain Barding Armor (+1/+1) Plate Barding Armor (+1/+2)
Speed	Husbandry (+10%)
Conversion Defense	Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max)
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, with a Berber ally only)
Upgrades	Elite Boyar

Team bonuses

• Bulgarians: Researching upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
• Huns: Researching Bloodlines and Husbandry is 20% faster.
• Lithuanians: Researching Devotion and Faith is 20% faster.
• Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Boyars are researched 25% faster.
• Teutons: Boyars are more resistant to conversion.

Changelog

The Forgotten

• Boyars move at a speed of 1.35 and are created in 23 (20 for Elite) seconds.
• Elite Boyars have 6 melee armor.
• Boyars have 1 (2 for Elite) pierce armor.
• Boyars cost 50 food, 80 gold.

The African Kingdoms

• With patch 4.8, Boyars move at a speed of 1.4.

Definitive Edition

• (Elite) Boyar training time reduced to 15 seconds.
• With update 36906, Boyars have 2 (3 for Elite) pierce armor, and move at a speed of 1.3.

Lords of the West

• With update 50292, Elite Boyars have 8 melee armor.

Dynasties of India

• With update 81058, Boyars cost 60 food, 70 gold.

Heroes

There are two heroes in the game with the appearance of a Boyar:

• Vlad Dracula (HD)
• Mikhail of Tver

Design

In the mod version, Age of Empires II: The Forgotten Empires, the Boyar has a distinctly European looking design. The unit itself was an unused 'beta' model for the Cataphract. Joan of Arc's mounted unit also uses the said model for its horse and sword. In the retail version, Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, however, the Boyar is replaced by a completely new model. This model's texture is appropriately region specific in appearance. The horse is encased in felt and leather with gold accents (covering the armor), the rider himself is armed with an axe instead of a sword and carries a circular shield as well. In patch 3.6, the Boyar received minor redesigns.

Trivia

• In the Forgotten Empires mod for Age of Empires II, the Boyar's model was a modified version of Joan of Arc, which is also based on Cataphract's beta model.
• Before the Definitive Edition, the Boyar was one of four units without any innate attack bonus, the others being the Knight line, the Militia, and the Turtle Ship.
• The Boyar appears to be wielding a bardiche, a hafted-axe-based weapon whose use started in 15th century Russia and later became standard equipment for Strelets. It was also used in Poland, where similarly to Russia, it was used to rest handguns when firing. It was also used for execution duty.
• With 11 melee armor, a fully upgraded Elite Boyar has the highest melee armor of all cavalry units and the second highest of all land units, only behind of the Elite Teutonic Knight with 13 melee armor.
• In the beta, Elite Boyars had 16 attack.
• In the beta, due to a bug, the Boyar did not have death sounds.
• The Elite Boyar might have the best armor for any unit in the game, as they can resist a lot of melee damage and also being quite resistant against pierce attacks (they can take up to 50 Arbalester shots).
• The Boyars are often nicknamed mounted Teutonic Knights for having very high melee armor and decent pierce armor, but are the slowest among the non–elephant cavalry units.
• The Slavic unique unit, Boyar, which was an aristocratic social class, was historically not found among the West Slavs (Poles and Bohemians).

History

A boyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Bulgarian, Serbian, East Slavic, Wallachian, and Moldavian and later, Romanian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes (in Bulgaria, tsars), from the 10th century to the 17th century. The rank has lived on as a surname in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, and in Finland, where it is spelled Pajari.

Also known as bolyar, this word appears in various languages include Bulgarian: боляр or болярин; Ukrainian: буй or боярин; Russian: боя́рин, tr.boyarin, IPA: [bɐˈjærʲɪn]; Romanian: boier, IPA: [boˈjer]; and Greek: βογιάρος.

The word is likely derived from the plural form of the Bulgarian title boyila, boyle ("noble") attested in Bulgar inscriptions, in Old Church Slavonic as болꙗринъ boljarinŭ (sg.), болꙗрина boljarina (du.), болꙗре boljare (pl.), as βωυλε bоyle, βοιλας, βοηλας, βοιλᾶς boilas, βουληα boylea, βολιᾶς bolias, βοιλάδες boilades and βολιάδες boliades in the Byzantine Greek documents. Multiple different derivation theories of the word have been suggested by scholars and linguists: Watkins derived the title from Turkic *boyla er with er meaning "man" and boyla "Turkic nobleman of a rank below a khan"; even so, Clauson (1972:385) proposed that the boyla had a pre-Turkic, possibly Xiongnu, origin. The title entered Old East Slavic as была byla (nom. sing.) & былями bylyami (instr. pl.) (attested solely in The Tale of Igor's Campaign) (possibly from unattested *bŭila *бъіла or *бъила).

Gallery

Boyars in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, patch 3.6

Boyars until patch 3.5

Boyars in Age of Empires II: The Forgotten Empires with Joan of Arc for comparison (center)

The Cataphract unit from a beta version of The Age of Kings

Kievan Rus' under Sviatoslav I chasing Bulgarians, from Manasses Chronicle

Boyar in the HD Edition and Definitive Edition

Videos

ELITE BOYAR vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT (Lords of the West) - AoE II- Definitive Edition

ELITE BOYAR vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT AoE II Definitive Edition

ELITE BOYAR vs EVERY GENERIC UNIT AoE II Definitive Edition