Eagle Runner Knight

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the related unit in Age of Empires II, see Eagle Warrior.

Eagle Runner Knight
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
Type	Shock infantry Ranged shock infantry Ranged infantry Archer
Civilization(s)	Aztecs
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Trained at	Nobles' Hut Fort American Citadel
Cost	75 Food 75 Coin 1 Population
Train time	34 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	180
Resistance	20% Ranged
Speed	6.0
Line of Sight	18
Train XP	15
Kill XP	15
Ranged attack
Damage	15 Ranged
Range	2-12
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	3.0x vs. Heavy cavalry 2.0x vs. Hand shock infantry 0.75x vs. Infantry 0.5x vs. Villager
Siege attack
Damage	8 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Hand attack
Damage	9 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	3.0x vs. Heavy cavalry 2.0x vs. Hand shock infantry

“	Nobleman that flings javelins from an atlatl. Good against cavalry and Hand Shock Infantry.	”
—In-game description

The Eagle Runner Knight is a ranged shock infantry unit in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs that is unique to the Aztecs and can be trained at the Nobles' Hut.

Overview

Eagle Runner Knights are a fast ranged shock infantry unit that serves as a substitute for other civilizations' light ranged cavalry. They are cheap and have a good attack and a decent range, but a poor siege attack. They are effective against heavy cavalry and hand shock infantry. They are vulnerable to long-range infantry, like Skirmishers, and heavy infantry.

Note that like the mounted archers, these units attack twice as fast as most other light cavalry units with a Rate of Fire of 1.5 instead of 3.0.

Unlike other light cavalry, Eagle Runner Knights do not have a multiplier against artillery, but they do not get countered by artillery, since they are shock infantry, which is different from infantry.

Strategy

Eagle Runner Knights are fast units useful for assaults and rushes. It is useful when facing cavalry and helps a lot to repel aggressive cavalry civilizations, like the Germans or the Lakota. The Eagle Runner cannot be used effectively for wholesale pillaging, due its very poor siege attack. This drawback makes the Eagle Runner only a support unit, while other siege units like Puma Spearmen or Arrow Knights take down enemy buildings. Also, the Eagle Runners are fairly cheap in comparison with ranged cavalry units, like the Dragoon. The best counter to Eagle Runners are Skirmishers, and other ranged infantry can be used against them, too. Rodeleros make an excellent counter unit as well, due to their speed being equal and having a large bonus vs. Eagle Runners.

Eagle Runner Knights are very population efficient units once all the Home City combat cards have been sent. They are very similar to the Dutch Ruyter, but with more hit points, damage, range, and ranged resistance. These factors all combine to make the Eagle Knight one of the best anti-cavalry units in the game.

Unit comparison
Statistics	Eagle Runner Knight	Dragoon
Cost	75 food, 75 coin (150 total)	90 food, 90 coin (180 total)
Training time	34 sec	38 sec
Population	1	2
Attack	15 per 1.5 sec	22 per 3 sec
Attack bonus vs. heavy cavalry / hand shock infantry	3x / 2x	3x / 2.25x
Effective DPS vs. heavy cavalry / hand shock infantry	30 / 20	22 / 16.5
Hit points	180	200
Ranged resistance	20%	20%
Movement speed	6	7.25
Line of Sight	18	15

Upgrades

Age	Upgrade	Cost	Effect
	Champion Eagle Runner Knights	400 wood 200 coin	Upgrades Eagle Runner Knights to Champion (+25% hit points and damage)
Imperial Age	Legendary Eagle Runner Knights	1,500 wood 1,500 coin	Upgrades Eagle Runner Knights to Legendary (+50% hit points and damage); requires Champion Eagle Runner Knights

Further statistics

As Eagle Runner Knights are unique to the Aztecs, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Heavy cavalry, hand shock infantry
Weak vs.	Infantry
Improvements
Hit points	Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Seminole Bowyer (+15%) Carib Kasiri Beer (+10%) Tupi Poison Arrow Frogs (+10%) Armatoloi (+5%) Yoga (+5%) Clenched Fist (+25% hand attack) Carib Garifuna Drums (+1.0 multiplier vs. villagers)
Resistance	Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% hand resistance)
Speed	Apache Endurance (+5%) Comanche Mustangs (+5%)
Line of Sight	Sarmatism (+1)
Range	Sarmatism (+1)
Cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Train time	Cheyenne Horse Trading (-40%) Quechuan Diet (-15%) Immigrants (-10%) Shaman Drums (-10%)
Other	Cinteotl Worship (delivers 1 Eagle Runner Knight for every 2 minutes of the game time, up to 30 minutes) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As Eagle Runner Knights are unique to the Aztecs, 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 Eagle Runner Knight

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

Shared

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Senegalese Riflemen	Ranged infantry damage +10%; French and Hausa-only ranged infantry damage +15% instead

• "TEAM Senegalese Riflemen" is available to the French and Hausa.

Aztecs

Card	Description	Age
5 Eagle Runner Knights	Delivers 5 Eagle Runner Knights
9 Eagle Runner Knights	Delivers 9 Eagle Runner Knights
6 Eagle Runner Knights	Delivers 6 Eagle Runner Knights
Scorched Earth	Arrow Knight, Eagle Runner Knight, and Jaguar Prowl Knight siege attack damage +50%
Knight Hitpoints	Arrow Knight, Eagle Runner Knight, Jaguar Prowl Knight, and Skull Knight hit points +15%
Knight Attack	Arrow Knight, Eagle Runner Knight, Jaguar Prowl Knight, and Skull Knight damage +15%
Knight Combat	Arrow Knight, Eagle Runner Knight, Jaguar Prowl Knight, and Skull Knight hit points and damage +15%
Chichimeca Rebellion	Transforms all Puma Spearmen into Jaguar Prowl Knights, Coyote Runners into Eagle Runner Knights, and Otontin Slingers into Arrow Knights; villagers become Warriors upon death; costs 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin
Fencing School	Infantry (except Warrior Priest and Skull Knight) and shock infantry train time -40%
Temple of Tlaloc Support	Delivers 5 Eagle Runner Knights; Eagle Runner Knight Line of Sight and ranged attack range +4; costs 500 coin
Religious Unity	Temple Support, Native Ally, Renegade, and Buccaneer shipment cost -50%, infinite Native Ally shipment cost -25% instead

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Coffee Consumption	Ranged infantry speed +5%

Germans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +10%; Germans-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +15% instead

Indians

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

Italians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +10%; Italians-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +15% instead

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Sengoku	Unit upgrade cost -20%

Lakota

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mustangs	Cavalry and shock infantry cost -10%

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%

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM House of Aviz	Enables Dragoon, Ruyter, Cavalry Archer, Rifle Rider, Musket Rider, Yabusame, and Carbine Cavalry to be trained from the Commerce Age; Zamburak, Eagle Runner Knight, Bolas Warrior, Black Rider, and Ming Army train time -15%; Mongolian Army train time -7%

Russians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions	Cavalry and shock infantry hit points +10%, Line of Sight +4

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

Aztecs

Card	Description	Age	HC level
5 Eagle Runner Knights	Ships 5 Eagle Runner Knights		1
9 Eagle Runner Knights	Ships 9 Eagle Runner Knights		10
6 Eagle Runner Knights	Ships 6 Eagle Runner Knights		10
Scorched Earth	Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, and Jaguar Prowl Knights get +50% siege attack		10
Knight Hitpoints	Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% hit points		10
Knight Attack	Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% attack		10
Knight Combat	Arrow Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Jaguar Prowl Knights, and Skull Knights get +15% hit points and damage		25
Temple of Tlaloc Support	Ships 8 Eagle Runner Knights; Eagle Runner Knights get +4 Line of Sight and range; costs 1,000 coin		10
Religious Unity	Zapotec and Maya Allies, Renegade Spanish, Recruit Buccaneers, and (Great) Temple Support shipments cost -25% to -50%		40

• "Religious Unity" reduces "Temple of Tlaloc Support" cost by 50%.

French

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack	Gunpowder trooper and archers get +15% attack		10

Germans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack		10

Indians

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

Japanese

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

Russians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Cavalry Scouts	Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight		1

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

Changelog

The WarChiefs

• Eagle Runner Knights have 30% ranged resistance and train in 37 seconds.

Definitive Edition

• Eagle Runner Knights' ranged attack inaccuracy removed.

The African Royals

• Although it is not listed in the patch notes, with update 50830, the Eagle Runner Knight portrait has been updated.
• With update 54545, Eagle Runner Knights are tagged as ranged shock infantry.

Knights of the Mediterranean

• With update 13.27885, Eagle Runner Knights have 25% ranged resistance and train in 34 seconds.
• With update 13.58326, Eagle Runner Knights have 20% ranged resistance and a ×0.75 ranged multiplier against infantry.
• With update 14.43676, the Eagle Runner Knight in-game model was updated, and the Legendary Eagle Runner Knight upgrade received a new model.

History

“

Aztec warriors who had captured at least four enemy soldiers became eligible for the ranks of the eagle runner knight or the jaguar prowl knights. Presumably, this emphasis on capturing enemies was to collect a pool of captives for sacrifice, but the Aztec were also known for dealing death in battle, killing with single strokes of their obsidian swords, or hurling barbed spears with atlatls. Their own warriors who caused confusion or disorder in ranks were beaten on the spot and sometimes killed. The dress of eagle runner knights incorporated feathers and a helmet resembling an eagle's head. The eagle was a symbol of the sun, the focus of Aztec worship and sacrifice. Eagle runner knights are usually depicted carrying shields and spears.

”

Gallery

In-game Eagle Runner Knight

In-game Champion/Legendary Eagle Runner Knight

The Eagle Runner Knight from the in-game history section

Eagle Runner Knight image from the Compendium section

In-game Eagle Runner Knight in the Definitive Edition

In-game Champion Eagle Runner Knight in the Definitive Edition

In-game Legendary Eagle Runner Knight in the Definitive Edition since update 14.43676

See also

• Aztec Eagle Warrior – Native equivalent
• Knife Thrower – Outlaw equivalent