Hackapell

This article is about the mercenary in the original Age of Empires III. For the Swedish unit in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, see Hakkapelit.

Hackapell
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Cavalry Heavy cavalry Melee cavalry Mercenary
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Trained at	Saloon (Europeans) Monastery (Asians)
Coin	300
Training time	50 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	295
Resists	30% vs. Ranged
Speed	6.75
Line of Sight	15
Population	3
XP train bounty	30
XP bounty	30
Melee attack
Damage	121
Rate of Fire	1.5
Siege attack
Damage	30
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Heavy cavalry mercenary from Finland.	”
—In-game description

The Hackapell is a mercenary cavalry in Age of Empires III. Hackapells are a very delicate heavy cavalry that function as improved Uhlans.

Overview

Although Hackapells can strike with great force (they can kill Zamburaks with one hit), they should not be used on their own during battle, since their low hit points make them vulnerable to enemy attacks. They excel at raiding enemy Villagers - In two strikes, a Villager or Coureur is dead. Hackapells should be used like Hussars, but mixed with regular hand cavalry or other Heavy Cavalry mercenaries. Hackapells have significantly more attack but significantly fewer hit points than the Mameluke. With 12 Missionaries (Japanese ally), Unction, all attack improvement upgrades (Bhakti Temple) and cards (French and Indian allies), the Spanish Finnish Hackapell is the melee cavalry with the highest attack, 281.93.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Ranged infantry, light infantry, artillery
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, light cavalry
Improvements
Hit points	Cavalry Cuirass (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Pillage (+25% siege attack) Customized Merc Weapons (+30%, John Black's Mercenaries only) Yoga (+5%)
Sight	Town Watch (+2)
Speed	Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	Mass Cavalry (-50%) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%) Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Other	Wild Geese (ships 5 Hackapells, Spanish only)
Penalties	Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Hackapell

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All Card Description Age HC level Riding School Cavalry train time -40% 10 The Riding School card is not available to Chinese and Japanese. Chinese Card Description Age HC level Western Reforms All units get +8% hit points and attack 40 Acupuncture Unit train time -20% 10 Europeans Card Description Age HC level Cavalry Combat Cavalry get +15% hit points and attack 10 Hire Finnish Hackapells Ships 6 Hackapells; costs 1,000 coin 10 Hire Highland Mercenary Army Ships 6 Highlanders, 4 Hackapells, and 8 Swiss Pikemen; costs 2,000 coin 25 The Cavalry Combat card is available to Dutch, Ottomans, and Russians. The Hire Finnish Hackapell card is available to Dutch, Germans (which ships 2 extra Hackapells), Portuguese, and Russians. The Hire Highland Mercenary Army card is not available to Ottomans and Portuguese, and ships 1 extra Highlander, Hackapell, and Swiss Pikeman for the Germans. French Card Description Age HC level TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack 10 Germans Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry get +15% attack 10 Spanish Riding School Cavalry get +10% speed +4 Uhlans 25 Improved Mercenaries Mercenaries get +20% hit points and attack +3 Uhlans 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level Dravidian Martial Arts All units get +15% melee attack +1 Villager 40 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Scouts Cavalry and light infantry get +10% hit points and +4 LOS 1 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

In-game dialogue

The Hackapell speaks Finnish.

• Select 1 Mitä? - What?
• Select 2 Valmiina - Ready
• Select 3 Käsky? - Order(s)?
• Move 1 Kyllä - Yes
• Move 2 Aion - I will (the translation is a little bit awkward since "aion" as a word is almost never used alone. Usually in Finnish language after "aion" you need to explain an intended action or deed)
• Move 3 Selvä - Roger
• Attack 1 Hyökkäykseen! - To attack!
• Attack 2 Hyökätkää! - Attack!
• Attack 3 Selvä - Roger

Trivia

• Although the Hackapell's icon and the art in the history portrait depicts a flintlock pistol and a saber, the unit only wields the saber in combat.
• Due to the introduction of Hakkapelits for the Swedes in the Definitive Edition, Hackapells are replaced with Harquebusiers. However, one is still available for the player during Saratoga, the fifth scenario of Act I: Fire.
• The in-game history section states that Gustavus Adolphus was a Finnish king; he was actually Swedish, though Finland was part of Sweden at that time. It also describes the warcry as "Hakka paalle", though the correct form would be "Hakkaa päälle".

History

“	The Hackapells, or Hakkapeliitta, were an elite cavalry of Finnish King Gustav II Adolph during the Thirty Years War. They get their name from their battle cry of, "Hakka paalle!" It roughly translates to "Cut them down!" but in spirit means, "Charge on!" Crying this, they were apparently so fearsome that their enemies thought they were protected by witchcraft. Hackapells were very lightly armored, using their speed in the charge to get them into the thick of a fight quickly where they fought with swords and, later, small firearms.	”
—In-game history

Gallery

An in-game Hackapell

The Hackapell's history potrait

Hackapell model