Eagle Warrior

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. For the armor class, see Armor class: Eagle Warrior. For the related unit in Age of Empires III, see Eagle Runner Knight.

Eagle Warrior
Unit information
Introduced in	The Conquerors
Type	Infantry
Civilization	Aztecs Incas Mayans
Age	Castle Age
Training
Trained at	Barracks
Food	20
Gold	50
Statistics
Hit points	55
Attack	7 melee
Attack bonus	+8 vs Monk +3 vs Cavalry +3 vs Siege weapon +2 vs Camel +1 vs Ship +1 vs Fishing Ship
Rate of Fire	2.0
Melee armor	0
Ranged armor	3
Armor class	Infantry Eagle Warrior
Speed	1.15
Line of Sight	6
Unit evolution
Upgraded from	Eagle Scout
Upgrades to	File:EliteEagleWarriorIcon.jpg Elite Eagle Warrior
Upgrade cost	800 food, 500 gold
Upgrade time	50 seconds

“	Stronger than Eagle Scout. Fast infantry with extensive sight.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Eagle Warrior is a Native American infantry unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors that can be trained at the Barracks once the Castle Age is reached.

Eagle Warriors replace the cavalry for the Native American civilizations. Consequently, the Aztecs and Mayans start the game in The Conquerors with an Eagle Warrior as a scout. Since The Forgotten, they have to be upgraded from their newly introduced predecessor, the Eagle Scout. As a logical consequence, the Eagle Scout replaces the Eagle Warrior as the starting scouting unit for the Native Americans.

Tactics

Eagle Warriors move quickly, have a long Line of Sight, conversion resistance, and an attack bonus against Monks. They also have an attack bonus against siege weapons and a small anti-cavalry bonus, however, almost every other infantry unit deals bonus damage against Eagle Warriors. Essentially, they help compensate for the Aztecs', Mayans', and Incas' lack of cavalry.

All of the three Native American civilizations have a distinctive buff for Eagle Warriors that comes from one of their unique technologies. Because of this, each of the three civilizations can use Eagle Warriors in a different way once they reach the Imperial Age.

The Aztec unique technology Garland Wars provides +4 attack, making them better raiders, striking down an enemy Villagers with just three hits. They are a good counter to archers, cavalry, and Monks. Due to their weakness against other infantry, they are usually paired with the Aztec' infantry destroyer, the Jaguar Warrior.

In The Forgotten, the Incan unique technology Couriers gives +10% movement speed to the Eagle Warrior and their unique units (Kamayuk and Slinger). Incan Eagle Warriors were arguably the worst of the three since the only buff they received was a little speed, but this speed bonus can become very helpful when an Incan player tries to raid a town or tries to perform hit-and-run tactics. This was changed in The African Kingdoms, where Couriers gives extra armor to the Eagle Warrior and their two unique units now. With Couriers in The African Kingdoms, Eagle Warriors are as resistant against arrow fire as Huskarls, making them even better against archers. Incan Eagle Warriors are usually paired with both Kamayuks and Slingers to counter cavalry and infantry, respectively.

The Mayan unique technology El Dorado provides +40 hit points, making them more durable a highly valuable in pitched battles. Pairing them with Plumed Archers works well since the Plumed Archer is a counter for infantry units that can put the Eagle Warrior in danger. Also, the Plumed Archer sits in a similar speed tier, meaning the two units work very well together.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Archers, siege weapons, Monks
Weak vs.	Cataphracts, Boyars, Hand Cannoneers, Janissaries, infantry, Slingers
Upgrades
Hit points	El Dorado (+40, Mayans only)
Attack	Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings) Garland Wars (+4, Aztecs only)
Armor	Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2) Couriers (+1/+2, Incas only since The African Kingdoms)
Speed	Squires (+10%) Couriers (+10%, Incas only in The Forgotten)
Sight	Tracking (+2)
Conversion defense	Faith Heresy
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%)
Upgrades	Elite Eagle Warrior

Civilization bonuses

• Aztecs: Eagle Warriors are created 18% faster.

Team bonuses

• A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, researching Conscription is 25% faster.
• A team containing Goths: Eagle Warriors are created and upgraded 20% faster. Researching Tracking, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
• A team containing Teutons: Eagle Warriors are more resistant to conversion.
• A team containing Lithuanians: Researching Heresy and Faith is 20% faster.
• A team containing Bulgarians: Researching infantry armor and attack upgrades at the Blacksmith is 50% faster.

Changelog

The Conquerors

• The Eagle Warrior is the starting scouting unit for the Native American civilizations.
• Aztecs: Garland Wars introduced.
• Mayans: El Dorado introduced.
• Eagle Warriors have 4 attack before the Castle Age is reached, then 7.
• Eagle Warriors have 50 HP.
• Eagle Warriors have 2 pierce armor.
• Eagle Warriors take 35 seconds to train.
• Eagle Warriors move at a speed of 1.1.
• Eagle Warriors have an attack bonus of +2 upon reaching the Castle Age.

The Forgotten

• The Eagle Warrior receives a predecessor, the Eagle Scout, and hence loses its status as starting scouting unit.
• Eagle Warriors now have 7 base attack.
• Eagle Warriors now have 55 HP.
• Eagle Warriors now have 3 pierce armor.
• Eagle Warriors now train in 32 seconds.
• The upgrade to the Eagle Warrior costs 300F/200G.
• Eagle Warriors now have an attack bonus of +3 against cavalry and now also +1 against camel units and ships.
• Eagle Warriors reskinned.
• Incas: Couriers gives Eagle Warriors +10% movement speed.

The African Kingdoms

• The upgrade to the Eagle Warrior now costs 200F/200G.
• Eagle Warrior speed changed from 1.1 to 1.2.
• Incas: Couriers now gives +1/+2 armor instead of +10% movement speed.

Rise of the Rajas

• With patch 5.7, Eagle Warriors now move at a speed of 1.15.
• With patch 5.7, Eagle Warriors now train in 35 seconds again.
• With patch 5.7, Eagle Warriors now have +2 attack against camel units.

Definitive Edition

• Tracking removed; all infantry now receives +2 LOS from the Feudal Age instead.

Trivia

• The three Eagle units are the only infantry units to cost more gold than food and, in terms of gold, are the most expensive infantry units in the game. In terms of food, however, they are by far the cheapest infantry in the game.
• Eagle Scouts deal bonus damage against the cheat unit Saboteur because it is in the same unit class as ships.
• In a current bug, the Eagle Warrior is unavailable in the original game data set in 'Age of Empires II (2013)' (previously Age of Empires II HD). It is replaced with the Eagle Scout from the expansions, despite the unit not existing in the original game. It can be upgraded straight to the Elite Eagle Warrior in the Imperial Age.
• The historical Eagle Warriors were unique to Aztec civilization and ranked equal to the Jaguar Warriors, both known collectively as cuāuhocēlōtl, from cuāuh- "eagle" and ocēlō- "jaguar". Their ingame counterparts were "demoted" to scouts and grunts trainable from all Native-American Barracks, in order to possibly give those civilizations access to generic substitutions for Cavalry.
• In the "Gate of the Sun" of the Tiwanaku civilization of which the Incas are their heirs, the god Wiracocha is shown with two figures of bird men (see in gallery): One of the figures is the "Chasqui" or messengers while that the other figure represents the "Condor Warrior" or conquering warriors.

History

“

The Aztecs prized fighting skills, and soldiers earned increased status in society through distinction in combat and promotion in rank. One of the higher ranks was that of Eagle Warrior. These fighters wore great colorful headdresses made of eagle feathers and costumes that enhanced their military bearing. Because they were lightly armored and unencumbered, they were able to move quickly. They were the fast, light troops of the Aztec armies, quickly pouncing on enemies. However, they proved to be at a great disadvantage in combat against Europeans wearing steel armor and using steel weapons. The best of the Eagle warriors were promoted to Elite status. These were the champions of the Eagle Warrior formations and led the attempts to disable and capture enemies.

”

Gallery

The Eagle line, with the Eagle Warrior in the middle

A group of Eagle Warriors in The Conquerors

A group of Eagle Warriors in The Forgotten

Eagle Warriors overwhelming a group of archers and Skirmishers

An Eagle Warrior

An Eagle Warrior (left) as depicted in Bernardino de Sahagún's Florentine Codex

Figures of “Gate of the Sun”: Chasqui (Left) and Condor Warrior (Right)