Cavalry Archers are a cheaper version of Dragoons, costing far less coin, and only slightly more food. They deal only slightly more than half the damage of a Dragoon per shot, but fire twice as fast, making their damage per second higher, despite their lower cost. They also move slower than a Dragoon and have a 0.61 second animation delay compared to the 0.43 of a Dragoon, meaning they are significantly less effective at hit-and-run tactics. They resist 30% melee damage as well as having more hit points, so they are more capable of fighting against some hand infantry and can take some of them down with them, though it is still not recommended to attack any hand infantry with them. The higher DPS and hit points, and high melee resist, also mean that they are much better at tanking hand cavalry attacks. They have multipliers against artillery, as well as heavy cavalry, and paired with their high hit points, they can easily take down artillery. Normally ranged cavalry do half damage to villagers, but the Ottomans' IrregularsHome City Card allow them to gain an attack bonus against villagers instead, making them an effective unit for slowing down the enemy's economy. They can also be used to lure enemies into a trap using guerilla tactics.
Upgrades[]
The Cavalry Archer starts at the Veteran level, giving them +20% hit points and attack.
If they are made available in the Commerce Age with the "TEAM Early Dragoons" Home City Card, Cavalry Archers will be automatically upgraded to Veteran once the player reaches the Fortress Age.
Upgrade Cavalry Archers to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Guard Cavalry Archers
Imperial Tatar Loyalists
Upgrade Tatar Cavalry Archers to Imperial Tatars (+50% hit points and attack); requires Tatar Loyalists
Civilization differences[]
As seen above, the Russians can upgrade Cavalry Archers to Royal Guard and Imperial Guard.
Wallachian Horse Archer[]
The Wallachian Horse Archer is a variant of the Cavalry Archer unique to Romania, which fires 33% faster and have 10% more speed, but has 33% less hit points.
Wallachian Horse Archers can be obtained by sending the namesake Home City Card after revolting to Romania, where a Wallachian Horse spawns on every Outpost or Blockhouse that had been built by the player and all existing Cavalry Archers will be upgraded to Wallachian Horse Archers.
Cavalry Archers have a ×1.75 ranged multiplier against Coyote Runners.
Definitive Edition[]
Cavalry Archers have a ×2.25 ranged multiplier against Coyote Runners.
The African Royals[]
With update 43871, the Cavalry Archer portrait has been updated to align with his in-game appearance.
Trivia[]
Cavalry Archers originally cost less population than Dragoons. This can be seen in this unit's History menu section.
Russian Royal Guard Cavalry Archers are named after the Tatars who are renowned for their fierce horse archers.
Before the Definitive Edition, they are named after the European exonym Tartar.
The Loyalist part of their upgrade's name refers to the so-called serving Tatars, a class of ethnically Tatar state servants in Muscovy and Russia in the 14th-18th centuries.
History[]
“
Nomadic cavalry archers roamed with their herds in eastern and southern Russia. They raided, traveled, and conquered into what would become Russia and eastern Europe. The Europeans called these fierce cavalrymen the Tartars, though the Tartars were only one of a conglomeration of many distinct nomadic tribes and people. Their colorful tents earned them a more poetic name, the "Golden Horde." The Golden Horde, united under Tokhtamysh, sacked Moscow, but was soon wracked by a civil war that splintered the Horde into several Khanates. The new Russian nation of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, allied with some of the splinter groups, while the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II allied with others.
Cavalry Archers wore light clothes - baggy pants, vests, long coats, and furred hats. Blue and red were popular colors, and embroidery a popular decoration to garments. Soldiers carried a variety of arms, primarily bows, but also swords, spears, and later, firearms. Though the Tartars are most commonly thought of as cavalry, they were competent infantry as well.
”
Gallery[]
An in-game Cavalry Archer
An in-game Cavalry Archer
An in-game Royal Guard/Imperial Cavalry Archer
The Cavalry Archer's history portrait
Muscovite Cavalry Archers by Baron Sigmund von Herbertstein
Guard Cavalry Archers
Imperial Cavalry Archers
Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Ranged Cavalry Caracole (+10%)
Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%)
Carib Garifuna Drums (+1.0x multiplier vs. villagers)
Seminole Bowyer (+15%)
Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs (+10%)
Yoga (+5%)
Somali Jile Daggers (-35% melee attack ROF)
Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% melee resistance)
Town Watch (+2)
Comanche Mustangs (+10%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Mass Cavalry (-35%)
Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%)
Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Westernization (grants Veteran upgrade; Russians only)
Petrine Reforms (grants Royal Guard upgrade; Russians only)
Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
5 Cavalry Archers
8 Cavalry Archers
9 Cavalry Archers
Cavalry Combat
Riding School
TEAM Cavalry Attack
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades
Irregulars
TEAM Early Dragoons
Wallachian Horse Archers
7 Cavalry Archers
TEAM Cavalry Scouts
TEAM Inquisition
TEAM Ranged Cavalry Combat
