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This article is about the Chinese unit in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. For other units of the same name, see Cataphract. |
The Cataphract is heavy cavalry unit available to the Chinese Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. It is unique among other cavalry units as it is effective against infantry units.
Strengths and weaknesses[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. |  Infantry,  archer,  siege weapon
|
| Weak vs. | Anti-cavalry infantry (less of a threat than normally), anti-cavalry cavalry |
Further statistics[]
God bonuses[]
Nü Wa: -10% cost
General technologies[]
- Medium Stable Soldiers, Heavy Stable Soldiers, and Champion Stable Soldiers: +1 Line of Sight, +10% attack, and +10%/15%/20% hit points respectively
- Levy Stable Soldiers and Conscript Stable Soldiers: -20% training time
- Copper Weapons, Bronze Weapons, Iron Weapons: +10% attack
- Copper Armor, Bronze Armor, Iron Armor: -10% hack vulnerability
- Copper Shields, Bronze Shields, Iron Shields: -10% pierce vulnerability
Myth technologies[]
- Jade Rabbit (Chang'e): +10% speed
- Dragon Scales (Ao Kuang): -10% hack vulnerability
- Stirrup (Chongli): +25% hit points
Relics[]
- Pelt of Argus: +6 Line of Sight.
- The Mithril Horseshoes: +10% movement speed.
- Thundercloud Shawl: -5% pierce vulnerability.
- Tusk of the Iron Boar: +10% hit points.
Tactics[]
At first sight it's easy to dismiss this unit's utility, as its speed is mediocre for a cavalryman, while also having the lowest attack of Heroic Age cavalry, lower even than the Raiding Cavalry's. It also costs much gold.
However, certain quirks compensate for its seemingly unremarkable stats, making this unit one of the most cost-efficient cavalry. To begin, they have the most hack armor out of cavalry, which combined with their neat HP, can make them hard to tackle with some anti-cavalry, such as Hoplites, especially in late stages, as with Dragon Scales, their hack armor exceeds 50%, making them take approximately half damage from all melee attacks. One can also choose Chongli's Stirrup instead, granting a substantial +25% HP rise, that still manages to make Cataphracts a hard-to-beat unit.
Also, they are the only cavalry units to counter infantry Units, as they have a bonus against them; this combined with their high hack armor, low population cost and still neat speed means they are an excellent counter against enemy Infantry, including units such as Hoplites and Berserks, while also being a threat to enemy archers. Of course, anti-cavalry cavalry, such as Camel Rider are a formidable counter, as well as massed archers, so it is highly recommended to accompany Cataphracts with Mounted Archers and War Chariots, to assist against cavalry and archers respectively.
Changelog[]
Tale of the Dragon[]
- Initially, Cataphracts have 120 hit points and 20% pierce armor, deal 300% damage to all infantry, and have no bonus against siege weapons. After patch 2.7, they have 110 hit points and 15% pierce armor, damage against Norse infantry (including heroes) is reduced to 250%, and they do double damage to siege weapons.
History[]
| “ | The Shi Jing first mentions armored horses in the 10th century BC, but heavy cavalry hit their peak in China during the Han Dynasty. These heavy shock cavalry used long lances to shred through more poorly equipped mass-infantry formations made up of peasants wielding cheap axes and spears. They are among the first truly professional soldiers in Chinese history. | ” |
| —In-game history section | ||
Trivia[]
- Armored horses (鎧馬 kǎimǎ) became the major shock-troops of Chinese armies, not during the Hàn (漢) dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), but during the 4th century CE, when the Chinese emulated tactics employed by northern steppe nomads, such as the Xianbei (鮮卑), ancestors, through the Shiwei, of Mongols and Tatars.
- A Greek version of the Cataphract existed in the Scenario Editor since the original release, planned to be the unique soldier unit for Hades, replaced by the Gastraphetes very late in development. In comparison, the Chinese Cataphract is cheaper and costs less population, but also has less hit points and a weaker attack (though with a higher bonus against infantry), while armor is shifted more towards hack, a sensible change for an anti-infantry unit.
Gallery[]
