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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For other uses, see Hoplite. |
| “ | Slow and powerful elite infantry unit. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
| “ | A slow and heavy infantry unit with a powerful attack. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
| “ | The weakest of the elite infantry units. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Hoplite is a heavy infantry unit in Age of Empires that can be trained at the Academy from the Bronze Age. It is the earliest and weakest of the Academy's trio of units; however, it is still one of the most powerful melee troops in Age of Empires.
Civilizations[]
Hoplites are available to all civilizations except for the Persians.
Gameplay[]
Hoplites are the earliest heavy infantry unit, and are one of the game's strongest close-range combatants; they deal even more damage than the Legionary and Cataphract, and are highly durable against melee attacks. The downsides are their lack of speed (slightly slower or faster than other infantry depending on whether the player has researched Aristocracy) and being somewhat expensive.
Heavy infantry are most effective against other melee units, particularly as a counter to expensive Cavalry. They can also break quickly through fortifications, although they need shield upgrades to withstand arrow/Ballista fire.
Like other infantry units, Hoplites struggle against archers in open terrain, as it takes them a long time to reach melee range. Horse Archers and Chariot Archers in particular can run circles around them, and Ballistae can bring them down from long distances. They fare better against land Catapults than other infantry, however, as these projectiles count as melee attacks, against which Hoplite-line units are exceptionally resistant.
The biggest concern for Hoplite-line units are Priests, which can target them from long distances. After conversion, they become a potent thorn in their former owner's side. The exception is if playing as or against Macedonians, as they have high resistance to conversion and cannot field any Priests themselves. Macedonian Hoplite-line units also get a pierce armor bonus, and the Greeks' have a movement bonus, so these civilizations mitigate heavy infantry's usual weaknesses.
While Hoplite-line units are more expensive and take longer to train than other infantry, and don't benefit from Logistics, they are still easier to mass than gold-intensive Cavalry and food-intensive War Elephants. Players with a limited economy, population cap, or reinforcement urgency may be better-served by Swordsman-line units, but otherwise a set of Academies churning out heavy infantry is likely to be the best solution for melee supremacy.
Hoplites can be upgraded in the Iron Age to Phalangites by many civilizations, for a bonus to melee armor and damage. Some civilizations can further upgrade them to the Centurion, which is more durable to all damage and far more powerful, the most damaging melee unit in the game after the Fire Galley.
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Cavalry, infantry, buildings |
| Weak vs. | Archers, Priests, siege weapons |
| Upgrades | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Toolworking (+2) Metalworking (+2) Metallurgy (+3)
|
| Armor |  Leather Armor Infantry (+2/0) Scale Armor Infantry (+2/0) Chain Mail Infantry (+2/0) Bronze Shield (0/+1) Iron Shield (0/+1) Tower Shield (0/+1)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Aristocracy (+25%)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+25%)
|
| Other |  Phalangite (+3 attack, +2/0 armor)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Carthaginians (+25%)
|
| Armor |  Macedonians (0/+2)
|
| Conversion resistance | Macedonians (4x)
|
| Line of Sight | Macedonians (+2)
|
| Movement speed
|
 Greeks (+30%)
|
| Resource cost | Greeks (-20%)
|
| Creation speed |  Lac Viet (+25%)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Creation speed | Carthaginians (+20%)
|
Team bonuses[]
Carthaginians: Researching Aristocracy and upgrading to Phalangite is 20% faster.- Palmyrans: Researching technologies that benefit Hoplites is 30% faster.
Changelog[]
Age of Empires[]
- Hoplites have 1.5 reload time.
- Greeks: Hoplites have +33% speed.
Definitive Edition[]
- Greeks: Hoplites have +30% speed and cost -20%.
Return of Rome[]
- Upon release, Hoplites had 2.0 reload time. With update 87863, they have 1.5 reload time again.
- Palmyrans (team bonus): Technologies benefiting Hoplites are researched 30% faster.
Heroes[]
There are two heroes in the game with the appearance of a Hoplite:
History[]
| “ | Greek infantry soldiers of the Classical Age were called hoplites, from the name of their large shields, called hoplons. For battle they wore a cuirass (breastplate), helmet, and greaves. They were armed with a long spear or pike and sword. Hoplite armies fought each other hand-to-hand in the dense phalanx formation that faced the enemy with a bristling wall of spear points staggered at chest level. Fighting at close range in such a formation required acommitment to training and discipline that became a way of life. Hoplites were the best infantry units in the world for many centuries until being supplanted by the more flexible and functional Roman legionnaires. | ” |
| —Age of Empires manual | ||
Gallery[]
Video[]
Technology tree[]
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