The Chinaco replaces the Hussar for the Mexicans. It is available starting in the Commerce Age, and like the Hussar, is effective against Light Infantry, but weak against heavy infantry and light ranged cavalry. Chinacos have lower hit points than Hussars, but unlike Hussars, have multipliers on their damage output - making them more of a hard counter than a soft counter to the units against whom Heavy Cavalry excel. They also have a slightly longer range than other melee cavalry units, making it easier for them to attack their targets.
While Chinacos are trained at the Stable, Fort, and the Steamer, they can also be spawned from the Hacienda after sending the "Charreada" Home City Card. Their spawn time can be reduced by assigning Settlers or herdable animals to work at the Hacienda.
Special abilities[]
Zapata Maneuver (requires the "Zapata Maneuvers" Home City Card): For the next 15 seconds, all Chinacos will be in stealth mode with no speed penalty unless when attacking, in which case the Chinaco will re-enter stealth mode after 2 seconds. 90 seconds cooldown; shared across all Chinacos.
Lance Charge (automatically activated when attacking with a cooldown of 15 seconds; requires the "Presidial Lancers" Home City Card): The Chinaco charges at the enemy with his lance, which has a range of 3.75 and an Area of Effect of 2.
Upgrades Charros to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Charros
Civilization differences[]
For the Spanish upon revolting to Mexico, Chinacos can be spawned from Haciendas through the "Charreada" Home City Card. Also, Mexico has the "Charros" card, which upgrade them to Veteran and Charros.
Further statistics[]
As Chinacos are unique to the Mexicans and the Mexico revolution, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:
As Chinacos are unique to the Mexicans and Mexico, only their cards, base Spanish cards, and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:
Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Chinaco
Some cards are highlighted with:
Green
TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
"Cavalry Combat", "Caballeros" and "Liberation March" are available to the Mexicans and Spanish.
"Charreada" is available to the Mexicans, and also the Spanish upon revolting to Mexico.
"Army of the Three Guarantees" is available to the Mexicans upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State, and also the Spanish upon revolting to Mexico.
With update 13.27885, Chinacos' multiplier vs. hand cavalry was reduced to ×1.25.
With update 14.43676, Chinacos' multiplier vs. hand shock infantry and hand cavalry were removed. Chinacos have a ×1.25 multiplier against heavy cavalry.
With update 15.30007, Chinacos' multiplier vs. heavy cavalry was reduced to ×1.2.
With patch 15.30007, Chinacos' multiplier vs. heavy cavalry was changed to ×1.25.
Trivia[]
Chinaco is a term used during the 19th century to refer to the common people, usually the ones who join the insurgency during the Mexican War of Independence. Its origin is unknown, although it is said that originated from xinaca ("without clothes", in Nahuatl), which also comes from the translation of the term Sansculotte ("withouth breeches", in French)
Although not entirely inaccurate, the term Chinaco referring specifically to irregular mounted troopers was not used until the Second French Intervention in Mexico. Before that, they were called Cuerudos (due to their use of leather clothing) and contrary to the in-game unit role as an outlaw, they were muleteers and landowners.
While the Chinaco is meant to represent an irregular mounted trooper, historically the cavalry of the Mexican Army consisted of lancers between 1839 and 1878. It was formed by, among many other regiments, the Lancers of Jalisco, Durango, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Michoacán, and the Presidial Lancers. These cavalry regiments were one of the main forces of the Mexican Army throughout their history, mostly in the Mexican-American War.
These regiments made use of lances in combat due to their lack of firearms, and fought by charging against the enemy's infantry and cavalry formations.
Possibly, the choice to include Chinacos as lancers was made to avoid confusion, as these regiments did not have a unique name, and could possibly overlap with European ones.
The Chinaco National Guard name refers to the Charros.
Prior to update 13.58326, Cuerudos could be upgraded to "Charros" with the namesake Home City Card available to Mexico, which also gave their hand attack a ×3.0 multiplayer against infantry and a melee range of 2.
Historically, real-life Chinacos also used machetes, pistols, carbines, and lariats.
History[]
“
During the 19th century, many Mexican military forces were irregular detachments that fought effectively despite a general lack of discipline and earned a formidable reputation. Doubling as cattle ranchers in times of peace, Chinacos were famous for their equestrian skills, martial spirit, and flamboyant attire. Respected by their peers and feared on the battlefield, these bold riders were a credit to any army they saw fit to join.
Zapata Maneuver (requires the "Zapata Maneuvers" Home City Card): For the next 15 seconds, all Chinacos will be in stealth mode with no speed penalty unless when attacking, in which case the Chinaco will re-enter stealth mode after 2 seconds. 90 seconds cooldown; shared across all Chinacos.
Veteran Chinacos
Charros
Imperial Charros
Cavalry Cuirass (+10%)
Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Tar Kilns (+5%)
Yoga (+5%)
Pillage (+25% siege attack multiplier vs. buildings)
Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire)
Pancerni (+10% ranged resistance)
Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% hand resistance)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Comanche Mustangs (+5%)
Town Watch (+3)
Cheyenne Horse Trading (-40%)
Mass Cavalry (-35%)
Immigrants (-10%)
Quechuan Diet (-10%)
Shaman Drums (-10%)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Jagiellonian Legacy (delivers 4 Chinacos if the Chihuahua or Zacatecas Federal State was chosen for the Mexicans)
Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
Cavalry Combat
Caballeros
Liberation March
Charreada
Army of the Three Guarantees
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack
TEAM Cavalry Attack
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
TEAM Sengoku
TEAM Mustangs
TEAM Knights of the Round Table
3 Chinacos
4 Chinacos
5 Chinacos
8 Chinacos
San Blas Battallion
Leather Soldiers
Presidial Lancers
Plan of Casa Mata
TEAM Mariachi
Seven Laws
Colegio de San Nicolás
San Luis Patriots
National Servant
Lancers of California
Central American Cavalry
Zapata Maneuvers
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions
Hand Cavalry Attack
Hand Cavalry Hitpoints
TEAM Spanish Inquisition
Charros
