| “ | Counter cavalry. Infantry only good against cavalry. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Hirdman is a Norse Classical Age infantry unit in Age of Mythology: Retold that can be trained at the Longhouse. It serves as a counter-cavalry unit. Like other Norse foot soldiers, Hirdmen can build and repair buildings.
The release version of the Hirdman is conceptually similar to the Bondi, which was cut twice, once for the base game, and once for Tale of the Dragon
Special ability[]
Nature's Eyes (Passive, requires Eyes in the Forest): Animals and natural objects within the unit's Line of Sight reveal their surroundings (30-tile radius) for 6 seconds.
Further statistics[]
Strengths and weaknesses[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. |  Cavalry
|
| Weak vs. |  Archer,  Axeman,  Hypaspist,  Throwing Axeman,  Cheiroballista
|
Upgrades[]
| Age | Upgrade | Upgrades to | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 Medium Infantry
|
Medium Hirdman | 150 food, 150 gold 20 seconds |
+10% hit points, +10% damage, +1 Line of Sight |
|
 Heavy Infantry
|
Heavy Hirdman | 300 food, 300 gold 30 seconds |
+15% hit points, +15% damage, +1 Line of Sight |
|
 Champion Infantry
|
Champion Hirdman | 500 food, 400 gold 40 seconds |
+20% hit points, +20% damage, +1 Line of Sight |
God bonuses[]
- Odin: Regenerate 0.4 hit points per second.
- Freyr: Repairs buildings for free.
- Loki: +10% damage multipliers. Damaging enemies can spawn myth units. Constructs buildings +10% faster.
General technologies[]
- Levy Longhouse Soldiers and Conscript Longhouse Soldiers: -20% training time.
- Copper Weapons, Bronze Weapons, Iron Weapons: +10% attack.
- Dwarven Weapons (Thor): +10% attack.
- Copper Armor, Bronze Armor, Iron Armor: -10% hack vulnerability.
- Meteoric Iron Armor (Thor): -10% hack vulnerability.
- Copper Shields, Bronze Shields, Iron Shields: -10% pierce vulnerability.
- Dragonscale Shields (Thor): -10% pierce vulnerability.
Myth technologies[]
- Freyr's Gift (Freyr): +10% hit points.
- Eyes in the Forest (Loki): Animals and natural objects within its Line of Sight reveal a radius of 30 around them for 6.
- Rigsthula (Heimdall): -20% training time.
- Hall of Thanes (Forseti): +5% movement speed.
- Dwarven Breastplate (Forseti): -20% hack vulnerability.
- Servants of Glory (Ullr): +5% movement speed and passive short burst of speed after standing idle.
- Swine Array (Bragi): +10% attack, as well as +2.0 attack multiplier vs. Cavalry.
- Twilight of the Gods (Vidar): +10% hit points and +0.2 damage multiplier vs. Heroes.
Relics[]
- Canopic Jar of Imsety: -25% training time.
- Feather of Bifang: +0.2 attack multiplier vs. buildings.
- Gaia's Book of Knowledge: +3.0 attack multiplier vs. Titans.
- Gungnir, Odin's Spear: +5% attack.
- Pelt of Argus: +6 Line of Sight.
- Armor of Achilles: -5% hack vulnerability.
- Thundercloud Shawl: -5% pierce vulnerability.
Tactics[]
Hirdmen serve as hard counters to cavalry units, and so they can be used to repel early cavalry raids or even kill any unsuspecting Kataskopoi who dare to venture within the vicinity of the player's base. In groups, Hirdmen can take down even War Elephants. They are also decent against most siege weapons, but are weak against everything else, most notably ranged soldiers. Likewise, counter-infantry units like Hypaspists, Axemen, and Throwing Axemen will also destroy them easily. However, having a lot of different available myth technologies granted to them, Hirdmen can be useful when massed. Loki's Hirdmen do extra damage against cavalry and can spawn myth units in battle, while Odin's Hirdmen regenerate hit points over time, and Freyr's Hirdmen can repair buildings for free.
Forseti makes Hirdmen faster and more resistant to hack damage, while Heimdall allows them to be trained more quickly, and Ullr gives them a movement speed along with a passive short burst of speed after standing still. Bragi makes Hirdmen even stronger against their main targets, cavalry, while Vidar provides a hit point bonus and a small damage bonus versus heroes.
In comparison to the Berserk, Hirdmen cost less food, but more gold. Hirdmen also are stronger against cavalry and have a slightly longer attack range, but Berserks are better against a lot of unit types while also having better pierce armor, higher attack speed, and shorter training time. Hence, Hirdmen are best used against players massing a lot of cavalry or War Elephants.
Changelog[]
Retold[]
- Hirdmen have 4 hack attack, cost 35 food, and train 13.5 seconds.
- With update 17.64528, Hirdmen have 5 hack attack.
Immortal Pillars[]
- With update 18.21333, Hirdmen cost 40 food, and train 14 seconds.
History[]
| “ | The Norse Hirdman wields a spear and is effective against cavalry. A Viking Age Scandinavian chieftain's power was centered on his personal warband, or hird. This body of retainers served as a household guard in the direct employ of the chieftain, who was responsible with providing them with the wealth, status, and leadership that earned their loyalty. In later centuries, the hirdmen constituted a court of magnates to whom a king delegated power, property, and administrative responsibilities. |
” |
| —In-game help section | ||
Beta unit[]
The Hirdman was a Norse infantry unit in some alpha and beta versions of Age of Mythology.
The Hirdman was the original Norse heavy infantry before being replaced by the Huskarl. It functioned much like the other swordsman/mainline infantry as a good-all round infantry unit, similar to the Militia line from Age of Empires II.
The Hirdman was also intended to be upgraded into a hero version of itself called the Hersir before the units were divided and the Hirdman became a Huskarl.
A detailed look at the unit's history is available here.
Trivia[]
- Hirdmen were the nucleus of informal personal companion bodyguards of a lord or ruler. They were essentially Elite Huskarls, and are mentioned many times in Norse Sagas. As per law codices by the time of the reign of Haakon IV, they had become more of a Men-at-Arms, thus becoming formalised as the court household.
- The texture map for the Hirdman, is located in the Multiplayer Alpha textures.bar file, under "Infantry N Hirdman Map".
- "Hirdman" means the same as "Huskarl".
Gallery[]
