“ | Hindustani unique anti-cavalry unit. Fast-moving. | ” |
—Age of Empires II description |
The Imperial Camel Rider (called Imperial Camel before the Definitive Edition) is the second unique unit of the Hindustanis in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. It can be trained at the Stable once the Imperial Age is reached. It is an anti-cavalry cavalry unit.
Unlike most unique units, Imperial Camel Riders do not have an Elite version, as they are already a final unique upgrade.
Tactics[]
Imperial Camel Riders are one of the most versatile and powerful cavalry units in the game due to their variety of uses on the battlefield. Besides having an attack bonus against other mounted units, they have high hit points, fast speed, and are cheaper than Knights. They have no base armor and subpar attack stat, however, which are huge drawbacks. Overall, the Imperial Camel Rider functions similarly to its predecessors, being very strong against enemy cavalry but fairing less well against foot units.
Compared to the Heavy Camel Rider, the Imperial Camel Rider has +20 hit points, +1 attack, and -2 seconds of training time. While the upgrade has a substantial cost, it is generally worth it given how well it works with the Hindustani army composition.
As the Hindustanis lack the entire Knight line, Camel Riders are a vital part of their armies for a fast, yet resilient unit. They can be used as a shield for weaker units, while still being able to slaughter mounted units. They can easily kill most cavalry in one-on-one combat.
Further statistics[]
As Imperial Camel Riders are unique to the Hindustanis, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Skirmishers, siege weapons, mounted archers, cavalry |
Weak vs. | Foot archers, Halberdiers, Kamayuks, Teutonic Knights, Genoese Crossbowmen, Berserks, Elite Cataphracts |
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) |
Speed | Husbandry (+10%) |
Conversion defense | Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) |
Creation speed | Conscription (+33%) |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Hindustanis: Imperial Camel Riders attack 20% faster.
Team bonuses[]
- Bulgarians: Researching cavalry armor and attack upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Gurjaras: Imperial Camel Riders are created 25% faster.
- Hindustanis: Imperial Camel Riders have +2 attack against standard buildings.
- Huns: Imperial Camel Riders are created 20% faster. Researching Bloodlines and Husbandry is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Devotion and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Imperial Camel Riders are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Imperial Camel Riders are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Forgotten[]
- The unit is named Imperial Camel, and has 9 attack and 4 Line of Sight.
- Imperial Camels are in an armor class along with ships, and take bonus damage from anti-ship/anti-camel attacks.
- The Indian civilization bonus gives Imperial Camels +1/+1 armor.
- The Indian team bonus gives Imperial Camels have +6 attack against buildings.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Imperial Camels reskinned.
- The ship armor class is removed from the Imperial Camels, and they receive an own armor class.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- With patch 5.8, the Indian civilization bonus removes +1 melee armor bonus and only gives +1 pierce armor.
Definitive Edition[]
- The unit is renamed to Imperial Camel Rider.
- With update 37650, the Indian team bonus gives Imperial Camel Riders have +6 attack against standard buildings instead, so that it is no longer negated by Masonry or Architecture. With update 42848, the bonus is reduced to +4.
- With update 42848, the Indian civilization bonus gives Imperial Camel Riders +2 pierce armor. Indians lose access to Plate Barding Armor.
Dynasties of India[]
- Hindustanis receive the Imperial Camel Rider with 8 attack, 5 Line of Sight.
- Originally, Imperial Camel Riders attacked 25% faster. With update 73855, they attack 20% faster.
Heroes[]
There is one hero in the game with the appearance of an Imperial Camel Rider:
Trivia[]
- The Camel Rider line is one of three military units that do not make the usual military sound when created, the other being Trebuchets and Flaming Camels.
- The Imperial Camel Rider makes the same sound effects as the Camel Rider from Age of Empires.
- They used the same icon as the Heavy Camel Rider until patch 3.5.
- The original unit design for the Imperial Camel Rider (up until patch 3.5) was based on the beta The Age of Kings design for the Heavy Camel Rider.
- In Age of Empires II: The Forgotten Empires and Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, up to patch 3.5, the Imperial Camel Rider was a redesigned regular Heavy Camel Rider with a longer fabric covering and an attack animation somewhat similar to a Mameluke. The design was brought up to speed with the other expansion units in patch 3.6.
- The Imperial Camel Rider is one of only three unique unit that is initially trained at the Stable, the other ones being the Camel Scout and the Shrivamsha Rider. They are joined by the Tarkan when Marauders is researched.
- Gurjara Imperial Camel Riders placed at start of the game have the option of auto-scout.
- The Heavy Camel Rider loses its cloak upon being upgraded to the Imperial Camel Rider.
- The button icon for the Imperial Camel Rider upgrade shows a camel with caparison and armor, even though the unit wears neither.