Changdao Swordsman

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the similarly named unit in Age of Mythology, see Dao Swordsman.

Changdao Swordsman
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Infantry Heavy infantry Hand infantry
Civilization(s)	Chinese
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Banner army	Territorial Army Black Flag Army*
Cost	95 Food 1 Population
Train time	27 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	120
Resistance	20% Hand
Speed	5.0
Line of Sight	12
Train XP	10
Kill XP	10
Siege attack
Damage	21 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Hand attack
Damage	15 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	2.25× vs. Cavalry 1.5× vs. Shock infantry

“	Soldier armed with a very large sword. Good against cavalry.	”
—In-game description

The Changdao Swordsman is a melee heavy infantry in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Chinese and are trained as part of the Territorial Army or (since the Definitive Edition) as part of the Black Flag Army.

Overview

The Changdao Swordsman is a moderately powerful hand infantry, falling somewhere between a Pikeman and a Halberdier. It has very low hit points, but a fairly strong attack. Additionally, it has a high speed.

In battle, this unit tends to be killed very quickly, even by cavalry. However, due to it being so cheap, it trades cost effectively, and provides a meatshield for ranged units. With its strong base damage and decent siege damage, it can be used for raiding, taking down enemy Pikemen, or sieging down important buildings such as Trading Posts.

They can quickly fall behind strong cavalry units, so upgrading them should be a priority against cavalry-driven civilizations.

Upgrades

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Disciplined Changdao	Automatically	Upgrades Changdao Swordsmen to Disciplined (+20% hit points and damage)
	Honored Changdao	300 wood 300 coin	Upgrades Changdao Swordsmen to Honored (+30% hit points and damage)
Imperial Age	Exalted Changdao	750 wood 750 coin	Upgrades Changdao Swordsmen to Exalted (+50% hit points and damage); requires Honored Changdao

Further statistics

As Changdao Swordsmen are unique to the Chinese, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry, shock infantry, buildings
Weak vs.	Light infantry, counter-skirmishers, artillery
Improvements
Hit points	Maya Cotton Armor (+20%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Zapotec Cult of the Dead (+20%) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Master Lessons (+10%) Yoga (+5%) Mapuche Tactics (+50% siege attack)
Resistance	Somali Oryx Hide Shields (+5% ranged resistance)
Speed	Quechuan Mountaineering (+10%) Akan Fontomfrom (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Cost	Somali Oryx Hide Shields (-10% food cost; Black Flag Army and Territorial Army)
Train time	Cheyenne Horse Trading (-20% Black Flag Army) Akan Fontomfrom (-20% Territorial Army, -10% Black Flag Army) Immigrants (-10%, Territorial Army and Black Flag Army)
Other	Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As Changdao Swordsmen are unique to the Chinese, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Changdao Swordsman

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Yongle Infrastructure	Delivers 1 Mongol Scout; infantry, land villager, healing unit, Envoy, and Disciple speed +5%
New Army	Transforms all Chu Ko Nus into Arquebusiers, and Qiang Pikemen into Changdao Swordsmen; costs 400 food
17 Changdao Swordsmen	Delivers 17 Changdao Swordsmen
10 Changdao Swordsmen	Delivers 10 Changdao Swordsmen
Iron Cap Princes' Army	Delivers 12 Changdao Swordsmen and 2 Flamethrowers; costs 800 food
Territorial Army Combat	Changdao Swordsman and Arquebusier hit points and damage +15%
Manchu Combat	Qiang Pikeman, Changdao Swordsman, Keshik, and Meteor Hammer hit points and damage +15%
Western Reforms	Unit hit points and damage +8%
Acupuncture	Unit (except monk) train time -20%; Summer Palace banner army, Flying Crow, and Heavy Cannon spawn time -5%
Banner School	Banner army train time -30%; Summer Palace banner army spawn time -7%

• "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" does not stack with the Inca "TEAM Inca Bridges" card.

Dutch

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry hit points +10%; Dutch-only infantry hit points +15% instead

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Scout Infantry	Delivers 1 Native Scout; infantry Line of Sight +8

Inca

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Inca Bridges	Delivers 1 Chasqui; infantry, land villager, healing unit, and Envoy speed +5%

• "TEAM Inca Bridges" does not stack with the Chinese "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" card.

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Sengoku	Unit upgrades cost -20%

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack	Hand infantry damage +15%
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
TEAM House of Bernadotte	Heavy infantry hit points +15%

Chinese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
New Army	Turns all Chu Ko Nus into Arquebusiers, and Qiang Pikemen into Changdao Swordsmen; costs 200 food		40
18 Changdao Swordsmen	Ships 18 Changdao Swordsmen		1
11 Changdao Swordsmen	Ships 11 Changdao Swordsmen		10
Iron Cap Princes' Army	Ships 12 Changdao Swordsmen and 2 Flamethrowers; costs 1,000 food		10
Territorial Army Combat	Arquebusiers and Changdao Swordsmen get +15% hit points and damage		25
Manchu Combat	Qiang Pikemen, Changdao Swordsmen, Keshiks, and Meteor Hammers get +15% hit points and damage		25
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and damage		40
Acupuncture	All units' (except Shaolin Masters, Heavy Cannons, Flying Crows, and Summer Palace banner armies) train time -20%		10
Banner School	Banner army train time -30%, Summer Palace banner army spawn time -7%		10

Dutch

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry get +15% hit points		10

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and damage		25

Iroquois

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Scout Infantry	Infantry get +8 Line of Sight		10

Japanese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades	Unit upgrades cost -20%		1

Russians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Dueling School	Infantry (except Skull Knights), Old Han Army, and Territorial Army train time -25%; Black Flag Army, Standard Army, Ming Army, and Imperial Army train time -12%		25

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Hand Infantry Attack	Hand infantry get +15% attack		10
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• The Changdao Swordsman is now trained as part of the Black Flag Army.

Trivia

• Chang Dao (長刀) literally translates to "long sword" in Chinese.
• Chinese Zhanmadao inspired Japanese Zanbatō.

History

“

The Chinese long sword known as changdao was actually a modification of a Japanese design carried by wokou pirates of the sixteenth century. The famed Chinese pirate fighter, General Qi Jiguang, is said to have taken the existing Japanese odachi sword, lengthened it, and straightened its curve. The resulting blade was extremely long, over three feet, and ideal for repelling cavalry. Therefore, it replaced the traditional Chinese horse fighting blade, the zhanmadao. During his campaign to secure the Mongol border in 1560, Qi Jiguang's Chinese forces used the new weapon to great effect. A proven success, the changdao was utilized throughout the remaining years of the Ming Dynasty.

”

Gallery

An in-game Changdao Swordsman

In-game (Disciplined) Changdao Swordsman in the Definitive Edition

In-game Honored/Exalted Changdao Swordsman in the Definitive Edition

Changdao Swordsman image from the Compendium section