| “ | Fast anti-gunpowder infantry. Trainable by Italians and their allies. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Condottiero (plural Condottieri) is the second unique unit of the Italians in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. A quick anti-gunpowder infantry unit, it can be trained at the Barracks upon reaching the Imperial Age. In The Forgotten, a Castle was also required in order to train Condottieri. This requirement was removed in The African Kingdoms.
As a team bonus, the Condottiero is a shared unique unit, available to any players allied with an Italian player. It has no Elite version, unlike the other shared unique unit, the Berbers' Genitour.
Tactics[]
The Condottiero has a large attack bonus against gunpowder units, and bonus armor which negates 10 anti-infantry attack from Hand Cannoneers and Organ Guns. Thus, Condottieri are an effective counter for armies of Janissaries, Conquistadors, or Hand Cannoneers when matched up close. In addition, Condottieri trade effectively against Halberdiers and Camel Riders, which are common auxiliary forces to protect gunpowder units and take down cavalry.
Condottieri move fast and have good hit points for an infantry unit. They are also created quite quickly and do not need to be upgraded, which makes them very easy to mass when needed. Their comparatively high gold cost, however, makes them an expensive unit to field and sustain in the long run. Skirmishers are much more efficient at dealing with foot or mounted gunpowder units on a cost basis, though they will struggle against gunpowder siege units. Siege units excel in general combat against ranged units, which again limits the Condottiero's use to an emergency counter to gunpowder.
Condottieri can be used as an expensive substitute for Champions. This can occur in situations where the player does not have the Champion upgrade at the ready or if the player's civilization does not have access to them (Tatars, Bulgarians, Ethiopians, Huns, Khmer, Malay, and Mayans) and especially Persians who do not even have the Two-Handed Swordsman upgrade. On the other hand, Condottieri can be a huge power spike during early Imperial Age, though as already mentioned, they are less and less cost efficient as time goes on. In some cases, the Condottieri can be used as an expensive substitute for the Hussar owing to its fast speed and decent hit points for civilizations with poor cavalry, like Koreans, Malay, and Vikings, where it can be used to counter siege units and Skirmishers, and occasionally for raiding.
Condottieri can be used against Elite Eagle Warriors simply because of their ability to force engagements and win cost-effectively despite the lack of attack bonuses. The fact that they come fully upgraded helps their cause further, unlike the Swordsman or Scout Cavalry lines.
Even for civilizations that have access to great Champions or Two-Handed Swordsmen (Malay and Bulgarians), substituting or supplementing them when enemies use many gunpowder units should be considered. For example, an interesting play would be to couple Malian Condottieri with Gbetos, both possessing great mobility to raid enemy positions and supplement each other's weaknesses; Gbetos add firepower, whereas Malian Condottieri are tasked with shielding Gbetos against enemy ranged units. Although in more general situations, Skirmishers would be more cost-effective, since they effectively counter all gunpowder units (except siege) as well as the Arbalester, to which the Condottiero has little defense with no base pierce armor.
A practical, general example would be a scenario where the player has previously built several Barracks to train Pikemen against a cavalry civilization, and in this case, the opponent has chosen Hand Cannoneer as counter versus Pikemen. In this instance, if the player can afford the gold cost but is unable to train Skirmishers right away, training some Condottieri in order to diversify and gain a slight edge in battle is recommended, taking advantage of the Condottiero's beefier stats. But as the player's gold starts draining out, Condottieri might be a dangerous choice for the player's economy, especially when the opponent can easily switch to other ranged units.
Condottieri are extremely good for landings on water maps. They require no unit upgrades, unlike Champions, which is especially relevant, as players are less likely to have them for land units when the navy is the main focus. They have a reasonably fast movement speed, and are created at the Barracks, with its relatively cheap cost and fast construction time. They have no real counters the defending player has access to, and they have a fast training time. They can easily kill Villagers with Loom, needing only 5 hits even without upgrades, and 4 with Forging, which only costs 150 food, and can chase Villagers down with their relatively fast movement speed. They can even easily kill off defending troops, as they will almost certainly have no unit upgrades, making the Condottiero trade efficiently with them, even with defender's advantage. Their fast training time also means they can easily outnumber the defending troops for even more efficient trades.
Notably for the strategy of landing, the Italians have access to all of the Blacksmith upgrades and are only lacking Gambesons as an upgrade for the Condottiero in the Barracks. This is important, as the Feudal and Castle Age upgrades are often extremely cheap for the Imperial Age, especially Forging and Scale Mail Armor. These can be used to create an arms race against the player defending from the landing, while not significantly slowing down the Italians getting important technologies like Chemistry (which unlocks Cannon Galleons), Elite Cannon Galleon, Galleon, and Shipwright to make a late game navy. A landing with Condottieri threatens to win the game by itself and even if it fails in that, it is likely to make the defending player invest much more in defense than the cost of the landing, and it takes away attention away from micro on the water.
Finally, their ability to be trained without upgrades upon reaching the Imperial Age makes them a suitable counter to the Fast Imperial Age into gunpowder units strategy, especially in closed maps like Arena, where it is common that battles initially happen in groups of small but powerful units. Here, training just a few Condottieri to take down enemy Bombard Cannons can inflict tremendous damage on the opponent. In other cases, the mere presence of an Italian player can be a strong deterrent against the creation of gunpowder units, in order to prevent a disastrous scenario.
Condottieri are basically a lighter version of the Swordsman line, and as such are more susceptible in direct combat. Heavy cavalry (like Boyars) and heavy infantry (like Serjeants) can devastate them. Since they are also a unique unit, Samurai are extra threatening as well.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Skirmishers, gunpowder units, siege weapons, Camel Riders, Halberdiers |
| Weak vs. | Archers and Scorpions at long distance, heavy cavalry, heavy infantry |
| Upgrades | |
| Hit Points |  Fereters (+30, Armenians only)
|
| Attack |  Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings) Garland Wars (+4, Aztecs only) Wootz Steel (attack ignore armor, Dravidians only) Druzhina (gives trample damage, Slavs only) Chieftains (+5 attack against cavalry and +4 against camels, Vikings only)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1, +2/+2 for the Romans) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1, +2/+2 for the Romans) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2) Pavise (+1/+1, Italians only)
|
| Speed |  Squires (+10%)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) (allies only) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
| Cost | Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Perfusion (+100%, Goths only)
|
| Regeneration | Stronghold (30 HP/min when within 18 tiles square of a team Celts Castle)
|
| Other | Chieftains (generates gold when killing Villagers, trade units, and Monks, Vikings only)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Aztecs: Condottieri are created 11% faster.- Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Condottieri cost -50% food.
- Burmese: Condottieri have +3 attack. Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Condottieri move 15% faster. Condottieri can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Condottieri are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Dravidians: Researching Squires and Arson is 50% cheaper.
- Georgians: Condottieri receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Goths: Condottieri are 35% cheaper and have +3 attack against standard buildings.
- Incas: Condottieri cost -25% food.
- Japanese: Condottieri attack 33% faster.
- Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
- Malians: Condottieri have +3 pierce armor.
- Portuguese: Condottieri cost -20% gold.
- Romans: Condottieri receive double the effect from armor upgrades.
- Sicilians: Condottieri take -33% bonus damage.
- Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Condottieri cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Condottieri provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: Condottieri deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from cliffs and elevations.
- Teutons: Condottieri have +2 melee armor.
- Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
- Vikings: Condottieri have +20% hit points.
Team bonuses[]
- Only available for a team containing Italians.
- Armenians: Condottieri have +2 Line of Sight.
- Bulgarians: Researching Infantry armor and attack upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Goths: Condottieri are created 20% faster. Researching Squires and Arson is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Condottieri are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Condottieri are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Forgotten[]
- Condottieri require a Castle in order to be trained.
- Condottieri have 9 attack and 1 speed.
- Condottieri have 1 pierce armor.
- Condottieri train in 11 seconds.
- Aztecs: Condottieri are created 18% faster.
- Goths: Condottieri have +1 attack bonus against standard buildings.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Condottieri no longer require a Castle.
- Condottieri reskinned.
- Condottieri have 10 attack and 1.2 speed.
- With patch 4.8, Condottieri train in 13 seconds.
- Arson introduced.
- Malians: On release, Condottieri incorrectly do not benefit from the civilization bonus and do not get any bonus pierce armor due to a bug. With patch 4.8, this was corrected, with Condottieri benefiting from the civilization bonus and obtaining +3 pierce armor.
- Portuguese: Condottieri cost -15% gold.
- Vikings: With patch 4.8, Chieftains affects Condottieri. It gives Condottieri a +5 attack bonus against cavalry.
- Vikings: With patch 4.8, Chieftains gives Condottieri an additional +2 attack bonus against camel units.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- With patch 5.7, Condottieri have 9 attack and 0 pierce armor.
- With patch 5.7, Condottieri are given their own armor class that essentially causes the Condottiero to resist bonus damage only from gunpowder units (+10 armor), but not from other anti-infantry attacks.
- With patch 5.7, Condottieri train in 18 seconds.
- Vikings: With patch 5.7, Chieftains makes Condottieri do +4 damage to camels instead of +2.
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 39284, Condottieri have 10 attack.
- Tracking removed; all infantry instantly receive +2 Line of Sight upon reaching the Feudal Age.
- Aztecs: With update 37650, Condottieri are created 11% faster.
- Goths: With update 36202, Condottieri have +3 attack bonus against standard buildings. Goths lose access to Arson.
- Italians: With update 39284, Pavise also affects Condottieri.
- Portuguese: With update 39284, Condottieri cost -20% gold.
- Portuguese: With update 42848, as a civilization bonus, technologies that benefit Condottieri are researched 30% faster.
- Teutons: With update 35584, Condottieri have +1 melee armor. With update 36906, they have +2 melee armor.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 73855, an issue where Standard Cataphracts with Logistica were dealing less than intended damage to Condottieri was fixed.
- Portuguese: with update 73855, as a team bonus, technologies that benefit Condottieri are researched 25% faster.
- Incas: With update 81058, Condottieri cost -30% food.
The Mountain Royals[]
- Incas: With update 99311, they cost -25% food.
Heroes[]
There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a Condottiero:
- Francesco Sforza (HD)
Trivia[]
- Condottieri are one of only four infantry units that do not get an attack bonus against Eagle Warriors, the other being the Kamayuk, the Militia, the Dismounted Konnik, and other Eagles.
- The Japanese Condottiero is tied with the Samurai and the Bulgarian Hussar with Stirrups as the melee unit with the second fastest attacking rate, attacking once every 1.43 seconds, being only beaten by the Bulgarian Cavalier with Stirrups, that attacks once every 1.35 seconds.
- The Celtic Condottiero is tied with the Woad Raider as the second fastest infantry unit the game, only behind an Elite Eagle Warrior with Squires.
- With 110 hit points, the Armenian Condottiero is the foot soldier with the second highest hit points, only behind the Warrior Priest.
- Before patch 5.7, the Gothic Condottiero was the third fastest training unit in Age of Empires II, after the Elite Shotel Warrior and the Karambit Warrior.
- The Condottiero is the only unique unit that is initially trained at the Barracks. It is joined by the Huskarl and Flemish Militia when Anarchy and Flemish Revolution are researched respectively.
- The Condottiero is one of just three unique units that are a team bonus (the others being the Genitour and the Imperial Skirmisher). All three civilizations that provide these units are supposed to be great support civilizations.
- Before patch 5.7, the Condottiero was an unbalanced unit, since it moved faster, was more durable, and most importantly, it not only resisted the additional gunpowder attack, but also from other infantry counters. In the early Imperial Age, only few units could deal with them, especially when allied with Malians (which have high pierce armor) and Vikings (whose are beefier). However, since that update, Condottieri were underused by most civilizations, because they are more vulnerable to ranged attack and have 1 less attack, also training longer. Also, it was seldom used by Italians, causing attack to be reverted to 10 and Pavise affecting it as well, to give Italians another viable military choice.
- The Malian Condottiero is often nicknamed "Condoskarl" due to the extra pierce armor, being able to counter foot archers while also excelling against gunpowder units and raiding.
- Before update 56005, Viking Condottieri have 97 hit points. This is because the original Viking infantry hit point bonus was stacked by every 5%, so their hit points were 80*1.1*1.05*1.05=97.02. This is corrected in update 56005.
History[]
The term Condottiero meant "contractor" in Renaissance Italian and was synonymous with the modern English title of Mercenary Captain.
Historically, the Italian Condottieri were the leaders (or warlords) of the professional, military free companies (or mercenaries) contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance. Although in-game Condottieri fight on foot, historical Condottieri fought mainly on horseback, as the troops they commanded consisted mainly of heavily-armored, mounted men-at-arms.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
