Elite Steppe Lancer

Elite Steppe Lancer
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Last Khans
Type	Cavalry
Civilization	Cumans Mongols Tatars
Age	Imperial Age
Training
Trained at	Stable
Food	70
Gold	40
Training time	20 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	80
Melee attack	11
Reload time	2
Range	1
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	2
Armor class	Cavalry
Speed	1.45
Line of Sight	5
Unit evolution
Upgraded from	Steppe Lancer

“	Light cavalry unit with increased attack range.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Elite Steppe Lancer is a cavalry unit in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition that can be trained at the Stable once the Imperial Age is reached. It is a light cavalry unit that carries a lance and can attack at range, albeit it is very short. It is only available to the Cumans, Mongols, and Tatars.

Tactics

The upgrade to Elite Steppe Lancers gives the units +20 hit points, +2 attack, +1 pierce armor, and -4 seconds of training time. This makes the upgrade generally worthwhile if a lot of Steppe Lancers are being used, though the upgrade has a steep cost, and the Steppe Lancer is much better in the Castle Age than Imperial Age.

Elite Steppe Lancers are most effective in either large or small groups, as their range enables larger masses to attack from behind another similar to the Incan Kamayuk, while their speed and range allow smaller groups to hit and run like Cavalry Archers. Masses of Elite Steppe Lancers work especially well in choke points and can work well in combination with other, more durable units, as they can attack over their backs while remaining safe.

Despite being Light Cavalry, their attack and cost sit on the middle ground between the Knight and Light Cavalry lines. On an individual level, an Elite Steppe Lancer will lose against heavily armored units like the Cavalier or Paladin, but functions well against less armored units, or when used in tandem with cheaper units which function as a health buffer. They can work especially well together with the various trash units (Halberdier, Skirmisher, and Hussar), as their inherent range will allow the trash to automatically form a buffer between the Steppe Lancers and any dangerous opponents. Micromanagement is important when the player decides to go for masses of Elite Steppe Lancers.

Elite Steppe Lancers are also effective for quick raids and hit-and-runs. Their range allows multiple Lancers to attack a single villager or siege unit more easily, quickly eliminating the target while other cavalry would still be attempting to get close enough to attack. Elite Steppe Lancers are also useful in defensive strategies, as they have a short creation time. Elite Steppe Lancers should therefore be utilized as raiders both offensively and defensively due to their penchant for hit-and-run attacks.

The best ways to counter an army of Elite Steppe Lancers are with camel units (especially Mamelukes and Imperial Camel Riders), Genoese Crossbowmen, and Kamayuks. Being a cavalry also means that masses of Halberdiers and Viking infantry (with Chieftains) can be a threat to Elite Steppe Lancers.

Stable units comparison

Units	Hussar	Elite Steppe Lancer	Cavalier
Cost	80 food	70 food, 40 gold	60 food, 75 gold
HP	75	80	120
Attack	7	11	12
Rate of Fire	1.9	2	1.8
Armor	0/2	0/2	2/2
Speed	1.5	1.45	1.35
Line of Sight	10	5	4
Training Time	30s	20s	30s

Comparison among civilizations

Civilization	Cumans	Mongols	Tatars
HP	100	124	100
Attack	11+4	11+4	11+4
Armor	0+3/2+4	0+2/2+2	0+4/2+5
Speed	1.668	1.595	1.595
Training Time	10s	20s	20s
Extras	-	-	+20% damage when attacking from higher ground

All civilizations that have access to the Elite Steppe Lancer have a bonus that may make their use slightly different:

• Cuman Elite Steppe Lancers move 15% faster, but since they have no access to Husbandry, this effectively only results in a speed +5% bonus. Regardless, this enhances their raiding capabilities. Since update 36202, they also benefit from Steppe Husbandry, which increases their creation speed by 100%, making them much more easy to mass.
• Mongol Elite Steppe Lancers have +30% hit points. This makes them better at soaking melee damage than their Cuman and Tatar counterparts, and slightly compensates for their low pierce armor.
• Tatar Elite Steppe Lancers do +20% damage when attacking from higher ground, which may make them more useful than the Knight line on maps that feature a lot of elevation, as their range may give them an edge in pitched battles in these circumstances. However, since their range is very short, this is rather situational. Since update 36202, they also benefit now from Silk Armor, making them more resilient against arrow-fire, and since update 42848, they receive extra melee armor, making them stronger in melee combat.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Light Cavalry, Skirmishers, Villagers, siege weapons
Weak vs.	Stronger cavalry, Halberdiers, Monks, camel units
Upgrades
Hit points	Bloodlines (+20)
Attack	Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2)
Armor	Scale Barding Armor (+1/+1) Chain Barding Armor (+1/+1) Plate Barding Armor (+1/+2) Silk Armor (+1/+1, Tatars only)
Conversion resistance	Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
Movement speed	Husbandry (+10%)
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%) Steppe Husbandry (+100%, Cumans only)

Civilization bonuses

• Cumans: Elite Steppe Lancers move 15% faster.
• Mongols: Elite Steppe Lancers have +30% hit points.
• Tatars: Elite Steppe Lancers deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) when attacking from higher elevation.

Team bonuses

• Bulgarians: Blacksmith technologies that benefit Elite Steppe Lancers are researched 80% faster.
• Hindustanis: Elite Steppe Lancers have +2 attack against standard buildings.
• Huns: Elite Steppe Lancers are created 20% faster. Researching Bloodlines and Husbandry is 20% faster.
• Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
• Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Elite Steppe Lancers are researched 25% faster.
• Teutons: Elite Steppe Lancers are more resistant to conversion.

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• Elite Steppe Lancers have 1 pierce armor.
• Initially, Elite Steppe Lancers cost 70 food, 30 gold, have 12 attack, 1.9 Rate of Fire, and move at a speed of 1.5. With update 34055, they costs 70 food, 45 gold, have 10 attack, 2.3 ROF, and move at a speed of 1.45.
• Initially, Elite Steppe Lancers had a small collision size, allowing multiple of them to be stacked tightly. With update 34055, their collision size is doubled.
• With update 36202, Elite Steppe Lancer have 11 attack.
• Cumans: With update 36202, Elite Steppe Lancers benefit from Steppe Husbandry.
• Mongols: Initially cannot train Elite Steppe Lancers. With update 35584, they are added to their technology tree.
• Tatars: With update 36202, Elite Steppe Lancers benefit from Silk Armor.

Lords of the West

• With update 47820, Elite Steppe Lancers cost 70 food, 40 gold.

Dawn of the Dukes

• Elite Steppe Lancers have a Rate of Fire of 2.

Dynasties of India

• With update 81058, Elite Steppe Lancers have 2 pierce armor.

Trivia

• Before update 34055, Steppe Lancers had a higher attack, a small collision size, and moved at the same speed as the Light Cavalry, allowing Cuman and Tatar players to stack masses of Steppe Lancers in very small spaces (which in consequence allowed the stacked Steppe Lancers to deal high amounts of damage to an opponent but receiving low damage themselves), leading to the community viewing the Steppe Lancer as overpowered. This issue led to many players dropping out from ranked games when they encountered an opponent Cuman player (since in the release version, they were 10% faster and had Husbandry, making regular cavalry counters ineffective), as well as led to hosts kicking players who picked Cumans or even Tatars in non-ranked games.
  • Stacking Steppe Lancers in a small space can still be done, but it now requires heavy micromanagement and specific commands like patrolling a compact area in a compact formation.
• The Steppe Lancer line was originally exclusive to the new Central Asian civilizations introduced in the Definitive Edition (Cumans and Tatars). However, in update 35584, Mongols received Steppe Lancers and the extra HP of Light Cavalry affected them.
• All three civilizations that have access to the Elite Steppe Lancer (Mongols, Cumans, and Tatars) are noted to lack several key technologies in their Monastery (more particularly, all three of them lack Redemption and Theocracy), and lack Supplies, Arrowslits, Bombard Cannon, and Keep in their tech trees.
• Despite the Huns being a civilization that originated from the steppes of Central Asia and despite using spears extensively, the Huns do not have access to the Steppe Lancer. Similarly, despite the Bulgarians, Magyars and Turks once historically being nomads and also originated from the steppe, they also do not get the Steppe Lancer.
• Visually, the Elite Steppe Lancer's lance is shorter than that of the Steppe Lancer.

Gallery

Steppe Lancer on the left and Elite Steppe Lancer on the right

A group of Elite Steppe Lancers

16th-century Crimean-Tatar horsemen, by Marek Szyszko

A mounted lancer, of undetermined ethnicity, with captive and a dead foe's severed head, on an ewer from Nagyszentmiklós Treasure

Masked Polovtsian Lancer, by Igor Dzys'

Masked Polovtsian Lancer, by V. Vuksic and Z. Grbasic

Attacking sprite of the unit

Videos

Mongol Steppe Lancer

ELITE STEPPE LANCER (Mongols) vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT (Total Resources) - AoE II- Definitive Edition

ELITE STEPPE LANCER (Cumans) vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT (Total Resources) - AoE II- Definitive Edition

ELITE STEPPE LANCER (Tatars) vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT (Total Resources) - AoE II- DE