Cataphract (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For other uses of the name in the series, see Cataphract.

Cataphract
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Cavalry
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Requires	N/A
Training
Trained at	Stable
Food	70
Gold	80
Training time	40 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	240
Melee attack	12
Attack bonus	+7 vs. Light infantry
Reload time	1.5
Melee armor	5
Pierce armor	3
Armor class	Mounted units
Speed	1.66
Line of Sight	4
Upgraded from
Upgraded from	Heavy Cavalry

“	Upgrade of Heavy Cavalry. The Cataphract is the ultimate cavalry unit. It has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than Heavy Cavalry.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Cataphract is a heavy cavalry unit in Age of Empires available at the Stable in the Iron Age. It is the upgrade of the Heavy Cavalry requiring 1,600 food, 600 gold (before Return of Rome, it also needed Metallurgy to be researched). Only a certain number of civilizations have the ability to train this unit.

Availability chart

Available	Unavailable
Assyrians Choson- Macedonians-+ Persiansx+ Shangx-+ Yamatox-+	Babylonians Carthaginians Egyptians Greeks Hittites Lac Viet Minoans Palmyrans Phoenicians Romans Sumerians

^x indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Cataphracts' combat statistics, i.e. gets Nobility and Chain Mail Cavalry.

^- indicates that the civilization does not get Conscription.

⁺ indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of the Cataphract.

Gameplay

Cataphracts are the strongest hand cavalry in the game besides hero units. They deal +7 damage bonus against Light infantry. Their fast speed, good pierce armor, and high hit points let them chase Villagers, foot archers, and Slingers. Thus, it can eliminate ranged units very quickly, but are rather ineffective against Centurions and War Elephants. Despite their bonus against Legionaries, they are not cost effective against them due to being three times more expensive. However, they are quite effective in terms of population space, in particular if the enemy has not researched Logistics yet.

While a somewhat handy unit just by itself, the cost of the upgrade is so ridiculously high that many players find it pointless to research, as it generally does not pay off. In deathmatches, Cataphracts are considered to be a good way for non-chariot civilizations to take on Catapults.

Comparison among civilizations

Civilization	Persians	Assyrians	Macedonians	Choson	Shang	Yamato
Research Cost and Time	1600 food, 600 gold 125 seconds	1600 food, 600 gold 150 seconds				1,120 food 420 gold 150 seconds
Cost	70 food 80 gold					60 food 68 gold
Hit Points	276	240		276
Armor	5+6/3			5+4/3	5+6/3
Rate of Fire	1.5				1.36	1.5
Training Time	26.67	32	40
Extras			+2 Line of Sight 4x conversion resistance

Further statistics

Strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Archers, siege weapons, Scythe Chariots
Weak vs.	War Elephants, Centurions, 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
Conversion resistance	Macedonians (4x)
Attack speed	Shang (+10%)
Line of Sight	Macedonians (+2)
Resource cost	Yamato (-15%)
Other	Yamato (-30% research cost)

Team bonuses
Creation speed	Persians (+20%)

Indirect civilization bonuses

• Choson: Storage Pit technologies that benefit Cataphracts are 40% cheaper.

Indirect team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Technologies that benefit Cataphracts are researched 30% faster.
• Persians: Upgrading to Cataphracts is 20% faster.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Heavy Cavalry can be upgraded to Cataphracts only if Metallurgy is researched.
• Cataphracts have 180 hit points, 3 armor, 1 pierce armor, +5 attack vs infantry, and cost 2,000 food, 850 gold to upgrade.
• Cataphracts have 1.5 reload time.
• Yamato: Cataphracts are 30% cheaper.

The Rise of Rome

• Yamato: Cataphracts are 25% cheaper.

Definitive Edition

• Cataphracts have 200 hit points, 4 armor, and cost 1,600 food, 750 gold to upgrade.
• With update 9, Cataphracts have 220 hit points and 2 pierce armor.
• With update 38862, Cataphracts have 240 hit points, 5 armor, 3 pierce armor, +7 attack vs infantry, and cost 1,600 food, 600 gold to upgrade.
• Yamato: Cataphracts are 20% cheaper.

Return of Rome

• Researching Metallurgy is no longer required to upgrade Heavy Cavalry to Cataphracts.
• Upon release, Cataphracts had 220 hit points. With hotfix 85208, they have 240 hit points again.
• Upon release, Cataphracts had 1.3 reload time. With update 87863, they have 1.5 reload time again.
• Shang: Cataphracts attack 10% faster.
• Yamato: Cataphracts are 15% cheaper.
• Team bonuses added:
  • Palmyrans: Technologies benefiting Cataphracts are researched 30% faster.
  • Persians: Cataphracts are trained 20% faster.

Heroes

There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a Cataphract:

• Domitian

History

“	The cataphract was an improvement on ancient heavy cavalry represented by Alexander the Great's Companions. The Companions wore only helmets, greaves, and cuirass (breastplate). Cataphracts wore chain mail that covered more of the body and often armored their horses partially also. This gave greater protection against arrows and hand-to-hand weapons. Cataphracts were very expensive to equip, however, and appeared in the armies of only the most warlike and wealthy cultures.	”
—Age of Empires manual

Trivia

• None of the Mediterranean civilizations has access to Cataphracts.
• Being unavailable to both Greeks and Romans, Cataphracts are the unique unit of the Byzantines in Age of Empires II, which are the geographical and cultural successor of the two civilizations in the Middle Ages, respectively.

Gallery

Cataphracts in Return of Rome, Heavy Cavalry receive a new appearance

The Cavalry unit line in Return of Rome, with the Cataphract on the right

A group of Cataphracts in the original game. They have the same appearance as the Heavy Cavalry.

A Cataphract in the Definitive Edition.

A Cataphract, as it appears in the Definitive Edition.

Video

CATAPHRACT vs EVERY UNIT - Age of Empires- Definitive Edition

Technology tree

		Requires Barracks
	➞		➞		➞
				Requires Wheel	➞
					➞		➞
							➞