The House of Wittelsbach is a European royal dynasty in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean. Like all minor civilizations, they can be allied with by building a Trading Post at their Trading Post site.
Units[]
Mountain Trooper: Bavarian Skirmisher that can spot enemies he recently damaged. Gains higher range and attack speed with Promotions.- Chevauleger: Ranged Light Cavalry with a deadly hand attack. Good against Heavy Cavalry.
Technologies[]
| Age | Technology | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 Oktoberfest
|
100 food 100 wood 100 coin |
Refunds 1% of the cost of all units trained by the player |
 |
 Ducal Berg Lancers
|
500 food 500 coin |
Ships 5 Chevaulegers and Chevaulegers get +0.25× multiplier against infantry |
|
 Schützenfest
|
250 wood 250 coin |
Light infantry get +1 Line of Sight and range; Mountain Troopers get +3 Line of Sight and range instead |
 |
 Philhellenism
|
250 food 250 wood |
Native warriors', outlaws' and mercenaries' cost and train time -10% |
Royal House ability[]
- Alpine Horns: Spawns more Mountain Troopers the longer the player waits and also reveals the location of all enemy buildings.
Strategy[]
The House of Wittelsbach helps mainly militarily.
Oktoberfest is not very useful unless many military units are produced.
The Mountain Trooper is a Commerce Age light infantry with the same statistics as the Skirmisher, with the differences that its coin cost is replaced with wood, it receives Promotions that increase its Rate of Fire and range, has slightly less Line of Sight, and has slightly better unit upgrades. The Schützenfest technology gives light infantry +1 range and Line of Sight, but the Mountain Trooper gets +3 for both instead. It has a very high train limit for its cost of 15, allowing it to be easily massed.
The Mountain Trooper is useful for countering heavy infantry and light cavalry in the Commerce Age and for when playing defensively, as it is much more likely to gets its promotions with defender's advantage. Its promotions incentivize healing effects, as the player can bring the promoted units back to full health.
The Chevauleger is a powerful ranged light cavalry with many hit points and great resistance. It has a much higher dps in hand attack mode (over x2), but has reduced positive multipliers versus heavy cavalry and artillery in that mode (it still has a higher dps versus them). This makes the unit pretty good at raiding and trading less badly versus light infantry if they have to.
Ducal Berg Lancers allows this unit to increase its damage against all infantry in general, making it less bad versus its counters. Ducal Berg Lancers ships 5 Chevaulegers and costs the same total resources as 5 Chevaulegers, so it is a very high-priority technology.
Philhellenism gives -10% cost and creation time for all outlaws, mercenaries, and native units. Its Royal House ability reveals all enemy buildings and provides additional Mountain Troopers.
Overall, the House of Wittelsbach is the strongest when countering heavy infantry or light cavalry in the Commerce Age, after the game stalls out a transition to their native warriors becomes relatively easy, or their native warriors happen to be really needed. Both of its native warriors are pretty strong in stats and abilities, its technologies make them even better, and Oktoberfest and Alpine Horns help pay for the cost of the transition i.e. building the Trading Post.
History[]
| “ | The Wittelsbachs emerged the dominant ruling family of Bavaria in the late 1100s and played a heavy hand in the region for several centuries. As their prestige grew, they extended their influence far across Europe: south into Greece, west into Britain, and north into Scandinavia. In Sweden, Kings Charles XI and XII were renowned for the development of the Carolean army, which employed innovative tactics to score several military victories against opponents that far outnumbered them. Following the dissolution of the house's Bavarian branch in 1777, its Palatine branch assumed control in its absence. In the 1800s, the House of Wittelsbach ruled the Kingdom of Bavaria, one of the most preeminent polities of the German-speaking world. They would remain in power until the end of World War I in 1918. The Wittelsbachs were well-known for their regal splendor. The Bavarian King Ludwig II commissioned the construction of the world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle, a monument so fabulous that it contributed to his reputation as the "Swan King". |
” |
| —[1] | ||
The House of Wittelsbach ruled the throne of the Holy Roman Empire (1328-1347 and 1742-1745), Bavaria (1806-1918), Holland (1345), Sweden (with Denmark and Norway) (1440-1448 and later Sweden alone, 1654-1720), Hungary (with Romania) (1305-1308), Bohemia (1619-1620 and 1742-1743), Greece (1832-1862) and the United Kingdom (1714-1901 along with the House of Hanover). A Wittelsbach was also named heir of the childless Charles II of Spain in 1698 and would have succeeded if he had not died suddenly the following year.
Trivia[]
- The units speak German and are based on the Napoleonic Bavarian military.
- The Alpine Horns ability's activation sound is an excerpt from the instrumental version of Das Lied der Deutschen which is today the National Anthem of Germany.
- Jacqueline of Hainaut was from the House of Wittelsbach.
Gallery[]
