Chariot Archer (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the similar unit in Age of Mythology, see Chariot Archer (Age of Mythology).

Chariot Archer
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Archer
Civilization	See table
Age	Bronze Age
Training
Trained at	Archery Range
Food	40
Wood	70
Training time	40 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	70
Attack	4
Attack bonuses	+0 vs Priests
Rate of Fire	1.5
Range	7
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Speed	2
Line of Sight	9
Unit evolution
Required research	Wheel

The Chariot Archer is a powerful military unit in Age of Empires that combines the speed and mobility of the Chariot and the attack strength of the Improved Bowman. The Wheel technology is a prerequisite to upgrade before any Chariot units can be trained.

The Chariot Archer is a popular Bronze Age unit because of its combined speed, strength, range of attack, and the fact that it costs no gold, which makes it a so-called trash unit. Its speed allows it to fly right past towers and catch Villagers quickly. It possesses 7 range, allowing it to find exposed units or for reconnaissance. As it is fast and has good range, it is strong in numbers.

The Chariot Archer also dealt triple damage against Priests and was highly resistant to conversion before update 38862.

Unit availability

Available	Unavailable
Assyrians Babylonians Egyptians Hittites Palmyran Phoenicians Shang Sumerians	Carthaginians Choson Greeks Macedonians Minoans Persians Romans Yamato

Note: Despite having access to all the other Chariot units, the Romans do not have access to the Chariot Archer.

Upgrades

Tool Age

•  Leather Armor Archers increases armor by 2.
•  Woodworking increases range by 1.

Bronze Age

•  Scale Armor Archers increases armor by 2.
•  Artisanship increases range by 1.
•  Nobility increases hit points by 15%.

Iron Age

•  Alchemy increases attack by 1.
•  Ballistics increases accuracy.
•  Chain Mail Archers increases armor by 2.
•  Craftsmanship increases range by 1.

Archery Range Tree
Tool Age Archery Range Bowman Bronze Age Improved Bowman Chariot Archer Composite Bowman Iron Age Horse Archer Elephant Archer Heavy Horse Archer

Civilization bonuses

• Egyptians: Chariot Archers have 33% more hit points.
• Assyrians: Chariot Archers have +25% fire rate.
• Hittites: Chariot Archers deal +1 damage.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Chariot Archers have +8 damage vs Priests and ×8 conversion resistance.

Definitive Edition

• After CU9, Chariot Archers no longer do bonus Damage vs Priests.
• With update 38862, Chariot Archers have ×2 conversion resistance.

History

"Around 1700 BC, two existing technologies of military consequence, the chariot and the bow, were merged to create a fearsome new military weapon the chariot archer. Armored archers carried in fast chariots dominated the battlefields of the civilized world for the next 500 years and remained useful for some time after that. In the open ground of the settled plains and river valleys, the chariot archer was devastating due to its speed, mass, and firepower. Chariot archers were typified by the Egyptian nobility and pharaohs of the New Kingdom, 1552-1069 BC, who prided themselves on their archery. The first recorded battle of history, Megiddo in 1460 BC, was fought with chariots carrying archers.

The chariot archer was the dominating battlefield weapon from China to Greece from about 1600 to 1200 BC, according to the historical and archaeological record. The long reign of chariot armies was due to several factors, including most importantly the placement of a composite bow archer in the basket with the driver and using the chariot as a mobile firing platform. The fast-firing chariot archer was devastating against slow, poorly armored infantry in the open areas of the civilized cultures. The glorious vision of elite archers from the nobility fighting from their expensive chariots and wheeling around the battlefields at will pervaded all civilized cultures of the time."

Gallery

A group of Chariot Archers.

A duo of Chariot Archers.

A Chariot Archer in the Definitive Edition

Add a photo to this gallery