| “ | Infantry best used against mounted units. Periodically throws a javelin when attacking from ranged. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
The Donso is a unique light melee infantry unit of the Malians in Age of Empires IV which replaces the Spearman.
Ability[]
- Spearwall: Like Spearmen, Donso can brace for impact against incoming cavalry when they are idling or attack moving. This ability stuns and damages the cavalry units who reach the Spearman, while cancelling all charge attacks, including the Trample ability of Cataphracts. The attack deals the same base damage as the regular attack (except for regular Donso, where it deals 1 less), but deals slightly more bonus damage (for a total of 4x damage, instead of 3.5x). The attack also has a longer range of 1.04 tiles compared to the standard melee range of 0.29 tiles.
Javelin Throw (passive): If the target enemy unit is further than 2.5 tiles away, the Donso will throw a javelin at it and then immediately move in to engage in melee mode. The ability has a 15 second cooldown. To throw another javelin, the Donso must then move out of its minimum range again.
Tactics[]
Otherwise similar to the Spearman, the Donso has a special ranged attack used automatically when engaging in combat from a distance, which has a separate damage and bonus vs cavalry. The ranged attack benefits from range attack upgrades and can be used to kite other slow infantry. With this ranged attack, the Donso can also counter ranged cavalry considerably easier than Spearmen, as it outranges all of them. However, if caught, the 15 second cooldown time still gives ranged cavalry time to rush in and deal damage before escaping again.
Unit comparison[]
 Donso
|
 Spearman
| |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 60 food, 30 wood | 60 food, 20 wood |
| Melee Armor | 1 | 0 |
| HP | Regular: 80 Hardened: 100 Veteran: 120 Elite: 140 |
Regular: 80 Hardened: 90 Veteran: 110 Elite: 130 |
| Other | Periodically throws a javelin |
Although not directly related to the unit statistics, the Donso veteran upgrade costs half as much and researches twice as fast, just like for all other Malian units. All other statistics not mentioned in the table are the same between the two units.
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Cavalry units |
| Weak vs. | Heavy units, Archers |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Bloomery (+1 melee) Decarbonization (+1 melee) Damascus Steel (+1 melee) Steeled Arrow (+1 ranged) Balanced Projectiles (+1 ranged) Platecutter Point (+1 ranged) Elite Army Tactics (+20% melee) Precision Training (+6 ranged)
|
| Armor |  Fitted Leatherwork (+1 melee) Insulated Helm (+1 melee) Master Smiths (+1 melee) Iron Undermesh (+1 ranged) Wedge Rivets (+1 ranged) Angled Surfaces (+1 ranged) Elite Army Tactics (+4 melee)
|
| Creation speed |  Military Academy (+33%)
|
| Ability |  Siege Engineering (Can build Battering Rams and Siege Towers)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Siege Festival (+50% fire for 90 seconds)
|
 Range
|
 Wall Defense (+1, javelin throw only)
|
| Damage resistance | Wall Defense (-25% ranged, -50% siege)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Farima Leadership (+15%)
|
| Creation speed |  Military Festival (+100% for 90 seconds)
|
| Ability |  Huntress Stealth (Gain stealth)
|
Dialogue lines[]
- Main article: /Dialogue lines
Trivia[]
- The Donso, Desert Raider and the Scout (inluding Warrior Scout) are the only military units to have three different attack types. The Donso achieves this by having a main melee attack, a periodic ranged attack, and torch attack.
Gallery[]
