Cataphract (Age of Empires II)

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

Cataphract
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Type	Cavalry
Civilization	Byzantines
Age	Castle Age
Training
Trained at	Castle
Food	70
Gold	75
Training time	20 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	110, 150 (Elite)
Melee attack	9, 12 (Elite)
Attack bonus	+9, +12 (Elite) vs Infantry +9, +10 (Elite) vs Condottiero
Blast radius	0 [pure 5 damage]
Reload time	1.8, 1.7 (Elite)
Melee armor	2
Pierce armor	1
Armor class	Cavalry (+12, +16 (Elite)) Unique unit
Speed	1.35
Line of Sight	4, 5 (Elite)
Unit evolution
Upgrades to	Elite Cataphract
Upgrade cost	1,200 food, 800 gold
Upgrade time	50 seconds

“	Byzantine unique cavalry unit.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Cataphract is the unique unit of the Byzantines in Age of Empires II. It is a heavy cavalry unit that excels at combat against infantry, and very resistant against counter-cavalry units.

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

Tactics

The pre-update Cataphract

The pre-Definitive Edition Cataphract

Cataphracts are anti-infantry cavalry units with low pierce armor and attack, but resist anti-cavalry attacks. All these qualities make them very distinct from the Knight line. As such, despite both being heavy cavalry, they play different and often complementary roles. Cataphracts in the Castle Age are mostly seen only against Native American civilizations, Goths, and Hindustanis, which rely on archer-resistant infantry. Byzantines do not have any bonuses to get a Castle up earlier than most civilizations, and the high cost also limits their usage in the Castle Age. Cataphracts really need their Imperial Age upgrades to shine.

Due to its trample damage, overall good statistics, and attack bonus against infantry, the Post-Imperial Elite Cataphract is a very well-rounded unit. Particularly Elite Cataphracts are effective against almost all units which have an attack bonus against mounted units, such as Camel Riders or Mamelukes, since they have an innate resistance (+12/+16 (Elite) armor) to anti-cavalry attack bonuses. The attack bonus of Mamelukes (9, 12 for Elite) is nullified, as well as the one of Camel Riders (9), only Heavy and Imperial Camel Riders (18) are left with a small bonus. Halberdiers, however, are still a threat to them and much more cost effective, even though their immense attack bonus of 32 against cavalry is halved. Care must be taken against Mamelukes, because even if the latter's attack bonus is negated, it possesses enough speed and range to hit-and-run Cataphracts.

Even a fully upgraded Elite Cataphract only has moderate attack (14), but their +18 attack bonus against infantry (with Logistica researched) and resistance against bonus damage make it a very potent combatant. Since they also do trample damage and attack very fast, they can even compete with heavy cavalry in mass battles, although that should be avoided. Players should do their utmost to avoid unnecessary casualties with Cataphracts, as they are expensive to produce and their upgrades are extremely costly as well.

Counters

Before elaborating on the counters, it is worth noting that all counters of Cataphracts can be countered by either Halberdiers or Skirmishers, both of which the Byzantines have for a steep discount.

Halberdiers

Though Halberdiers do not deal as much bonus damage to Cataphracts as they do to other cavalry, they are still a moderately good choice in early Imperial Age to counter Cataphracts due to the ease of massing them as they do not require Castles to produce, and they are far cheaper to upgrade than Cataphracts due to the high costs of the Elite Cataphract and Logistica technologies. In the late game, Halberdiers are a gold-efficient counter due to costing no gold. They are, however, not cost efficient with equal total resources invested, and before a Byzantines opponent has run out of gold, Elite Cataphracts win handily vs Halberdiers despite the difference in cost. It is always advisable to send large groups of Halberdiers, since Cataphracts have a very high damage bonus against all kinds of infantry and will easily win in one on one combat. The groups of Halberdiers should be managed carefully since sending them into battle sporadically and sparsely will lead to little or no effect. While dueling, each hit of a Cataphract deals a damage of as much as 29 Hit points to a Halberdier if both units are fully upgraded, which is very fortunate for the Halberdiers, since it allows them to survive the second hit with 2 hit points and strike a second time themselves. Bohemian Halberdiers do better than regular Halberdiers due to their extra bonus damage.

Halberdiers of civilizations that lack Plate Mail Armor (like the Goths), however, struggle even more against Cataphracts, since they have one less armor and die with the second hit already. That means, in one-on-one combat, a fully upgraded Cataphract survives with 129/150 hit points left.

Kamayuks fare poorly against Cataphracts, dealing only 7 damage per hit and losing even more distinctly. In one-on-one combat, the Cataphract wins with 136 hit points left. Even in mass battles, despite being able to use their range, Kamayuks do not stand a chance. The Kamayuk's stacking potential works against them, since Cataphracts with Logistica have trample damage, and devastate them.

Viking Pikemen do much better than regular Pikemen, but in no way substitute the Halberdier.

Heavy cavalry

This is probably one of the best tactics to engage Cataphracts, if enough food and gold is available. Since the Byzantines do not have Blast Furnace and Bloodlines for their Cataphracts, Paladins can tackle a Cataphract army and even go on the offensive without too much trouble. Even though Cataphracts deal trample damage, the Paladins are superior even in mass battles. Fully upgraded Paladins have 18 attack and 180 hit points against 14 attack, 150 hit points, and 5 pure damage as trample damage on the Elite Cataphract's side. Fully upgraded Persian Savars only have 165 hit points and 18 attack, but have an additional point of melee armor. Even fully upgraded Cavaliers (such as those of the Berbers, Chinese, or Turks) defeat Cataphracts in one-on-one battle, but lose in mass battles due to the trample damage.

Naturally, the other unique heavy cavalry units, War Elephants, Leitis, Coustilliers, Keshiks and Boyars, as well as Battle Elephants, do not have too much trouble facing Cataphracts, though Cataphracts can easily run away from any Elephant units.

Gurjara Camel Riders are an exception to the camel unit rule. They are able to quite easily defeat Elite Cataphracts with a moderate amount of hit points left, thanks to their extra bonus damage and their unique technologies reducing their food cost by 25% and granting +4 melee armour. This combination allows them to fare even better with equal resources, while also countering the discounted Byzantine Camel Riders.

Ranged units

The Cataphract is among the weakest non-ranged cavalry unit when it comes to pierce armor. As a logical consequence, they take high damage from archer units and defensive structures.

Groups of Arbalesters and Heavy Cavalry Archers, or other unique archer units usually kill Cataphracts without too many casualties when they are properly managed. 30 Arbalesters are needed to kill a fully upgraded Elite Cataphract in one arrow volley - half of the resistance of an ordinary Paladin, which is 60 shots. Even Elite Skirmishers deal 2 damage and can be used when gold is scarce.

Genoese Crossbowman perform well against them purely because of their pierce attack, since their bonus attack against cavalry is absorbed by the Cataphract. They still do a good job against them, thanks to their sufficient pierce attack. Their drawbacks (compared to Italian Arbalesters) are slow production -since they require a Castle- and a disadvantage of 1 range.

However, Cataphracts still possess the speed, health, and attack to threaten these units, so the ranged units should be massed (ideally in groups of at least 30) and/or protected with aforementioned heavy cavalry or Halberdiers before being sent to face the Cataphracts.

Monks

Due to the high cost and value on the battlefield of Cataphracts, they are likely to become a prime target for enemy Monks. It is also unlikely that a Byzantine player is able to afford Heresy or Faith easily due to the extremely high gold costs of Logistica, the Elite Cataphract upgrade, and the Cataphracts themselves. Cataphracts also require at least four strikes to kill a Monk with Sanctity, making it unlikely a lone Cataphract can take out a lone Monk before being converted.

Samurai

Despite the Cataphract's bonus damage against infantry, Samurai are still a cost effective counter to Cataphracts due to their own bonus damage (+10/+12 (Elite) vs unique units), even in Post-Imperial Age with Logistica researched. This was not the case before update 81058, as Samurai cost 60 food, 30 gold initially, and Elite Cataphracts would win against Elite Samurai every time, even accounting for equal resources invested. With update 81058, however, their cost was reduced to 50 food, 30 gold, allowing Elite Samurai to trade slightly more cost-efficiently against fully upgraded Elite Cataphracts, winning by a small margin. In the late game, Samurai cost far less gold (30) than Cataphracts (75) and therefore trade extremely well.

Further statistics

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

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Skirmishers, infantry, siege weapons, Light Cavalry, Camel Riders
Weak vs.	Battle Elephants, Knights, massed archers, massed Halberdiers, Monks, War Elephants, Boyars
Upgrades
Attack	Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Logistica (+0.5 tiles blast radius, and +6 attack against infantry)
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) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, with a Berber ally only)
Upgrades	Elite Cataphract

Team bonuses

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

Changelog

The Age of Kings

• Cataphracts train in 23 seconds.
• Cataphracts have a Rate of Fire of 2.
• The Elite Cataphract upgrade costs 1,600 food, 800 gold.

The Conquerors

• Cataphracts train in 20 seconds.
• Cataphracts have a Rate of Fire of 1.8 (1.7 for Elite).
• Cataphracts receive +12 (+16 for Elite) bonus defense against anti-cavalry attacks.
• Heresy introduced.
• Logistica introduced. It costs 1,000 food, 600 gold.

Rise of the Rajas

• When Condottieri were given their own armor class, Logistica gave the previous +5 attack against Condottieri as a whole, as opposed to the advertised +6. Since the +9 vs infantry and Condottieri, +6 vs infantry by the technology, and +10 Condottiero armor meant the 1 attack vs infantry was being cancelled, but not recovered through attack bonus vs Condottieri.

Definitive Edition

• With update 39284, the Elite Cataphract upgrade costs 1,200 food, 800 gold, and Logistica costs 800 food, 600 gold.

Dynasties of India

• With update 73855, the attack bonus given by Logistica against Condottieri was fixed.

Heroes

There are six heroes in the game with the appearance of a Cataphract:

• Attila the Hun (only until the HD Edition)
• Belisarius (only until the HD Edition)
• Ivane
• Savar (removed) (only in the HD Edition)
• Sumanguru (only in the HD Edition)
• Wang Tong (only in the HD Edition)

History

“	The Byzantine army carried on many of the military traditions of the old Roman Empire into the Middle Ages. This was a professional force that was well trained and well led. Officers studied tactics and command. The army was organized into formal units that maintained their own traditions for centuries. The best units in the Byzantine army were partially armored cavalrymen called cataphracts. They fought with several weapons, including the bow and sword. With plains to the east and north of their empire, the cataphract was ideally suited for combat against the unarmored cavalry of their enemies. The Byzantine army went into decline partially because it lost the plains of Asia Minor from which it had drawn both horses and cavalrymen for service as cataphracts.	”
—Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual

Trivia

• Having few weaknesses compared to other unique units, the Cataphract serves as a good introduction to the unique unit concept of the game to new players, similar to the civilization owning them.
• The Cataphract's beta model was modified and used for the Boyar in the Forgotten Empires mod.
• With 1.7 seconds reload time, Elite Cataphracts are the third fastest attacking cavalry in game, being only beaten by Bulgarian Hussars and Cavaliers with Stirrups with a reload time of 1.43 and 1.35 respectively.
• The original Cataphract model, with mostly plate-armored rider and horse, was actually based on the late-Medieval Western European heavy cavalrymen (e.g. French gendarmes).
  • In the Definitive Edition, the Cataphract's model is more historically accurate, with lamellar-armored horse and rider wearing fewer plates over the mail.
• In real life, heavy cavalry like Cataphracts were not ideally suited in combat against light cavalry, for lightly armored, more mobile riders possessed superior mobility and could easily run from while shooting at better armored yet slower riders. This could explain why the Cataphract in-game have low base pierce armor.
  • Nevertheless, victories by heavy cavalry over light cavalry were possible with shrewd tactics. For example, at Lechfeld, German king Otto I decisively defeated the more mobile Magyar cavalry by only engaging them in melee combat, wherein the heavier-armored German cavalrymen excelled over the lighter-armored Magyars, not breaking ranks to chase Magyars (whether retreat-feinting or truly fleeing), and cutting off the Magyars' escape routes.
• Cataphracts, along with Burgundian Coustilliers, are the only two unique cavalry units without Bloodlines.
• The model and unit icon of the Cataphract in the Definitive Edition were changed in an update to have a helmet more resembling the pre-Definitive Edition model.

Gallery

A group of Cataphracts in the Definitive Edition

A group of Cataphracts in the original game

Cataphract in the HD Edition and Definitive Edition

Cataphracts engaging enemy infantry

Attacking sprite of the Cataphract

Cataphract model in The Conquerors

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

Another image of the Cataphract beta model

Cataphracts in the release version of the Definitive Edition

Cataphract unit icon change in the Definitive Edition

The Cataphract sprite changed in an update of the Definitive Edition. The one on the right is the current model

Cataphract art in the campaign cutscenes

An artist's rendition of Byzantine/Roman Clibanarii, a type of heavy cavalry akin to Cataphracts. Historians are uncertain if the term was a synonym for "cataphracti" in Latin or if it was fact a distinctive type of cavalry itself.

Cataphract (Persian) in real life

Byzantine Cataphracts representing Late Classical Companion Cavalry of Alexander the Great

Videos

How good are Cataphracts? (AoE2)

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

ELITE CATAPHRACT vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT AoE II Definitive Edition