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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend. For other uses, see Landsknecht. |
| “ | Brave unarmored infantry with an enormous two-handed sword, effective in mixed armies. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
The Gilded Landsknecht is a light melee infantry unit in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend, available to the Order of the Dragon. It can be trained at the Barracks starting in the Castle Age. It is the gilded version of the Landsknecht. Its weapon is the massive Zweihander sword, which can be upgraded to a halberd after researching Zornhau. Both versions have a high-damage melee attack that deals Area of Effect damage in a small radius.
Just like all gilded units, Gilded Landsknechts cost 100% more resources and population, are trained 20% slower, and have +8 torch attack. The Gilded Landsknecht has about +111% hit points and 23.5 to 25% more melee attack.
The Gilded Landsknecht can also be produced from the Burgrave Palace, which produces them 35% cheaper and faster. In other words, Gilded Landsknechts from the Burgrave Palace cost 78 food, 130 gold, and take 20 seconds.
Tactics[]
The Landsknecht is best described as a 'glass cannon' unit, having low armor and hit points, but a high attack. Although they are decent in small-scale melee battles, they work best when engaging large armies. Their Area of Effect damage will shred almost any units they can engage in melee combat when fighting in tightly packed formations; even Knights are vulnerable. For this reason, when engaging Landsknechts, it is wise to keep armies in staggered formation. They can also easily be picked off by ranged units, especially archers and Mangonels, as they try to close the distance.
For this reason, Landsknechts are best used with mixed armies. When combined with Men-at-Arms, for example, they are difficult to target individually, and an opponent can end up wasting Archer arrows on the Men-at-Arms, or Crossbow bolts on the Landsknechts. The Horseman-Landsknecht combo is also one of the most effective late-game compositions. Horseman cover Landsknechts' weaknesses to siege and archers, while Landsknechts will cut down spears in a matter of seconds. They are also effective as ambush troops, hiding in stealth forests, then charging the enemy to cause havoc.
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Tightly packed melee units |
| Weak vs. | Archers, Mangonels |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Elite Army Tactics (+15%)
|
| Attack |  Bloomery (+1) Decarbonization (+1) Damascus Steel (+1) Elite Army Tactics (+15%)
|
| 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)
|
| Creation speed |  Military Academy (+33%)
|
| Ability |  Siege Engineering (Can build siege weapons)
|
| Other |  Zornhau (attacked unit loses 2 hit point per second for 10 seconds)
|
| Auras and enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Inspiration Bonus (+15%)
|
| Armor | Inspiration Bonus (+1 melee/ranged)
|
| Damage resistance |  Wall Defense (-25% ranged, -50% siege)
|
Dialogue lines[]
- Main article: Landsknecht (Age of Empires IV)/Dialogue lines
Changelog[]
- With patch 9.2.628, Gilded Landsknecht hit points increased from 170/200 to 180/210. With update 12.0.1974, Elite Gilded Landsknecht health was further increased to 220.
- With update 12.0.1974, Gilded Landsknecht torch damage was increased from 24/28 to 25/29
Trivia[]
- With patch 9.2.628, the Gilded Landsknecht alone shares the title among gilded units for the highest percentage increase in hit points over their regular counterpart at +111.77% for the regular and +110% for the elite version. Previously, it shared the title with the Gilded Horseman and Gilded Spearman lines at +100%.
Campaign version[]
| “ | Brave unarmored infantry with an enormous two-handed sword, effective in mixed armies. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
A unit with the same name as the Gilded Landsknecht appears in the Conquest chapter of the The Mongol Empire campaign as an enemy unit in the The Battle of Liegnitz and The Battle of Mohi scenarios, despite that campaign appearing before the release of The Sultans Ascend. It shares its icon with the regular Holy Roman Empire Landsknecht and its base hit points and attack with the Elite Landsknecht. The only difference with the Elite Landsknecht in standard games is its slightly higher movement speed.
Campaign appearances[]
- The Battle of Liegnitz: Several Gilded Landsknechts appear as part of the forces of the Polish Army in Silesia, among the troops in the valley which must be defeated before the Bohemians arrive.
- The Battle of Mohi: Gilded Landsknechts appear as part of the forces of the Hungarian Army, initially guarding the eastern path leading to the Hungarian camp.
Gallery[]
