This article is about the unit in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome. For other uses, see Camel Rider. |
“ | Rider with increased damage against all horse and elephant units. | ” |
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition |
The Camel Rider is cavalry unit in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome. Camel Riders are fast and a good counter to cavalry. They are the very first camel units to appear in the Age of Empires series and are the predecessor of the unit of the same name in Age of Empires II.
Camel Riders are primarily used in the Bronze Age as a counter to cavalry, but become less effective in the Iron Age.
Availability chart[]
Available | Unavailable |
---|---|
- x indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Camel Riders, i.e. gets Nobility, Metallurgy, and Chain Mail Cavalry.
- + indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of their Camel Riders.
Gameplay[]
Camel Riders receive a +8 attack bonus against horse units, and +4 against chariot and elephant units. Because of their otherwise weak attack and lack of armor, they are basically only useful against cavalry in the Bronze Age. Beyond the Bronze Age, Camel Riders are no longer the best option as an anti-cavalry unit since a fully upgraded Cataphract can take down a Camel Rider. Thus, the best units to counter cavalry in the Iron Age are by far War Elephants and Centurions.
However, Camel Riders are faster than and remain more than a match for a fully upgraded Heavy Cavalry in the Iron Age, and can easily dispense with Horse Archers and Heavy Horse Archers (Horse Archers can use hit-and-run tactics against them, however).
Palmyran Camel Riders are the fastest in the game, having a 25% increase in speed, which makes them excellent for raids and rushes early in the Bronze Age and allows them to catch up to even the agile Heavy Horse Archers in the late game.
Comparison among civilizations[]
Civilization | Fully upgraded | Assyrians | Carthaginians | Palmyrans | Persians | Phoenicians | Sumerians | Shang |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hit Points | 144 | 125 | 162 | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 |
Attack | 6+7 | 6+7 | 6+4 | 6+4 | 6+7 | 6+4 | 6+4 | 6+7 |
Armor | 0+6/0 | 0+6/0 | 0+4/0 | 0+6/0 | 0+6/0 | 0+4/0 | 0+6/0+1 | 0+6/0 |
Extras | move 25% faster | Created 20% faster | Missing Conscription |
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Cavalry, Archers |
Weak vs. | Infantry, Priests |
Upgrades | |
Hit points | Nobility (+15%) |
Attack | Toolworking (+2) Metalworking (+2) Metallurgy (+3) |
Armor | Leather Armor Cavalry (+2/+0) Scale Armor Cavalry (+2/+0) Chain Mail Cavalry (+2/+0) |
Creation speed | Conscription (+25%) |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Carthaginians: Camel Riders have +15% hit points.
- Palmyrans: Camel Riders move +25% faster.
- Sumerians: Camel Riders have +1 pierce armor.*
Team bonuses[]
- Palmyrans: Technologies that benefit Camel Riders are researched 30% faster.
- Persians: Camel Riders are created 20% faster.
Changelog[]
The Rise of Rome[]
- Camel Riders take 30 seconds to train.
- Camel Riders have no attack bonus against the War Elephant and Elephant Archer.
Definitive Edition[]
- Camel Riders take 32 seconds to train. With update 38862, they take 30 seconds to train again.
- Camel Riders have an attack bonus of +4 against the War Elephant and Elephant Archer.
Return of Rome[]
- Sumerians: Camel Riders have +1 pierce armor.
- Team bonuses added, Palmyrans: Technologies benefiting Camel Riders researched 30% faster. Persians: Camel Riders are trained 20% faster.
History[]
“ | The camel was adopted for military use at a very early date, perhaps before the horse in the Middle East. Camels were particularly useful for moving quickly across the desert wastes and favored by small raiding parties. They were also used in battle by desert civilizations such as the Assyrians. Riders fought with spears and swords. Like light cavalry, they could take part in the pursuit of a beaten army. They were also useful against cavalry because horses were unaccustomed to the camels' odor and often refused to come near them. | ” |
—The Rise of Rome manual |
Trivia[]
- The Minoans' access to Camel Riders is odd, as camels are not native to Crete and the Aegean.
- Though the Romans have no access to Camel Riders in the game, they had a camel force in reality called the Dromedarii. This is likely because the game's Romans are based on the Roman Republic and early Empire, while the Dromedarii existed in later times and consisted of Arab and Syrian auxiliaries, not Romans.
- In Age of Empires II, the Byzantines (representing the Eastern Roman civilization) have access to cheaper Camel Riders than other civilizations.
Gallery[]
Tech tree[]
Barracks |
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→ | → | → | ||||||
Wheel |
→ | |||||||
→ | → | |||||||
→ |
Units in Age of Empires | |
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Civilian | Villager · Trade Cart |
Other | Priest · Slinger · Artifact |
Civilian ship | Fishing Boat · Fishing Ship Trade Boat · Merchant Ship Light Transport · Heavy Transport |
Infantry | Clubman · Axeman Short Swordsman · Broad Swordsman · Long Swordsmen · Legionary Hoplite · Phalangite · Centurion |
Archer | Bowman Improved Bowman · Composite Bowman Chariot Archer Horse Archer · Heavy Horse Archer Elephant Archer |
Cavalry | Scout Chariot · Scythe Chariot Cavalry · Heavy Cavalry · Cataphract War Elephant · Armored Elephant Camel Rider |
Siege | Stone Thrower · Catapult · Heavy Catapult Ballista · Helepolis |
War Ship | Scout Ship · War Galley · Trireme Catapult Trireme · Juggernaut Fire Galley |
Scenario Editor-only units | |
Chieftain · Donkey · Explorer · General · High Priest · Horse · Mercenary (removed) · Penguin · Pharaoh · Raft · War Chest |