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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. For the unit in Age of Empires III, see Hussar (Age of Empires III).

Fast cavalry for scouting and raiding. Resistant to conversion.
Age of Empires II description

The Hussar is a light cavalry unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors that can be trained at the Stable once the Imperial Age is reached. They are fast, have decent pierce armor and high Line of Sight, as well as an innate resistance to conversion and an attack bonus against Monks.

Availability chart[]

Hussaravailable Available Hussarunavailable Unavailable
- means that the civilization cannot fully upgrade its Hussars. The technologies being considered here are Blast Furnace, Plate Barding Armor, and Bloodlines.
+ means that the civilization has civilization/team bonuses or a unique technology that benefits the combat strength of the Hussar.
means that the civilization has access to the alternate Winged Hussar upgrade.

Tactics[]

The Hussar upgrade's main advantage is the extra 15 hit points after upgrading, but there are other important combat differences not displayed in-game. Firstly, Hussars have a higher attack bonus of 12 against Monks, 2 more than Light Cavalry's bonus of 10. Secondly, Hussars have a slightly higher attacking speed, attacking once every 1.9 seconds instead of every 2 seconds for Light Cavalry. Due to their faster attack, a Hussar without Bloodlines can defeat a Light Cavalry with Bloodlines, despite having a 5 hit point disadvantage. However, the steep cost of the upgrade means that it should only be researched after all the Blacksmith upgrades, and even then, should only be obtained if the Hussar will be frequently utilized.

It is easy to overlook the Scout Cavalry line's usefulness due to its poor combat. However, the Hussar has a high movement speed and cheap cost, both of which make it very useful. Hussars can be used to raid an enemy's economy and they can defend against attacks from siege weapons or Monks. Hussars are the mainstays of some cavalry civilizations when gold is scarce or depleted. Because of their food-only cost, they are considered "trash units", and as such, they become especially important in the late game when the players must rely on their wood and food economies. They form a classic tactical rock-paper-scissors with other trash units by countering Skirmishers and being countered by Pikemen. Of the three, the Hussar is the most versatile as it can also counter siege and perform raids.

A preferred army composition involving Hussars is to pair them with mounted archers. Since Hussars only cost food, precious gold can be invested in archers and siege weapons to create a mobile and devastating force. The Hussar's role in this composition mainly consists of neutralizing Skirmishers, siege equipment, and Monks. They can also act as cheap cannon fodder to engage and block infantry, heavy cavalry, and Camel Riders, while the archers pick them off safely, using the cover.

Best civilizations[]

  • CivIcon-Berbers Berbers: With a 20% discount on Stable units, the Berbers have the second cheapest Hussars in the game, costing only 64 food. They are usually paired with the Camel Archer to cover each other's weaknesses, making for a dangerous army.
  • CivIcon-Bulgarians Bulgarians: With a 50% food discount for Blacksmith technologies, and also all being researched 80% faster, plus having the Stirrups technology to boost the attack speed by 33%, the Bulgarians get, by far, the strongest Hussars (but not Light Cavalry unit in general) in melee combat, resulting in a powerful cavalry unit to fend off other units much better than other Hussars.
  • CivIcon-Burmese Burmese: Their Hussars are some of the most effective against archers, thanks to the Manipur Cavalry technology, which grants all cavalry units +4 attack against archers. As a result, they can kill most archers in one less hit.
  • CivIcon-Cumans Cumans: Despite lacking Husbandry, the Cumans have the fastest Hussars in the game, thanks to their civilization bonus which makes all cavalry move 15% faster. They have also the most easily massed Hussar once Steppe Husbandry is researched, which makes them train 100% faster. They are key units for the Cumans, especially when paired with the already fast-moving and fast-trained Cuman Cavalry Archers, but more particularly with the Kipchak, resulting in a very deadly mobile army.
  • CivIcon-Magyars Magyars: They have the third cheapest Hussars in the game, costing only 68 food, thanks to the 15% discount for the Scout Cavalry line. They also have the attack upgrades for free, saving a sizable number of resources. They are common to use with their exceptional Cavalry Archers, especially in the late Imperial Age. Despite having great Hussars, the Magyars may prefer their unique unit, which performs almost the role, but better. However, as the unit requires a Castle to be created, the standard Hussar might have to be used regardless.
  • CivIcon-Tatars Tatars: They have the most armored Hussars, thanks to the Silk Armor technology which increases melee and pierce armor by 1 each. They also deal 20% more damage from higher ground than regular Hussars at higher ground. Combined with the armored Tatar Cavalry Archers, the Tatar Hussars are a tough force to fight off, and they excel at raiding and taking down archers. Combined with the Lithuanian Winged Hussar, the Tatar Hussar and the Tatar Steppe Lancer have the most melee armor for any light cavalry unit.
  • CivIcon-Turks Turks: They have the most practical and usable Hussars in the game, thanks to the free Light Cavalry and Hussar upgrades. They also get +1 pierce armor, making them even better at raiding. Turks are heavily dependent on Hussars, as they cannot upgrade their Skirmishers, so end up very prone to archer civilizations, which Hussars can make up for. Like the Tatars, the Turks have also very resistant Cavalry Archers, resulting in an appealing combination. The Turks and the Tatars have the best light cavalry unit to use against archers, even surpassing their Burmese counterparts.

Further statistics[]

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs. Archers, siege weapons, and Monks
Weak vs. Infantry, Cavalry, Genoese Crossbowmen
Upgrades
Hit points BloodlinesDE Bloodlines (+20)
Attack Forging aoe2de Forging (+1)
IronCastingDE Iron Casting (+1)
BlastFurnaceDE Blast Furnace (+2)
UniqueTechCastle-DE Manipur Cavalry (+4 against archers, Burmese only)
Armor ScaleBardingArmorDE Scale Barding Armor (+1/+1)
ChainBardingDE Chain Barding Armor (+1/+1)
PlateBardingArmorDE Plate Barding Armor (+1/+2)
UniqueTechCastle-DE Silk Armor (+1/+1, Tatars only)
Conversion resistance Devotion icon AoE2DE Devotion (+1 min, +1 max)
FaithDE Faith (+4 min, +4 max)
HeresyDE Heresy (die upon getting converted)
Attack speed UniqueTechCastle-DE Stirrups (+33% attack speed, Bulgarians only)
Movement speed HusbandryDE Husbandry (+10%)
Resource cost UniqueTechCastle-DE Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only)
Creation speed ConscriptionDE Conscription (+33%)
UniqueTechCastle-DE Steppe Husbandry (+100%, Cumans only)
Other UniqueTechImperialDE Aznauri Cavalry (-15% population space, Georgians only)

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonuses[]

Changelog[]

AoE2-DLCicon-2 The Forgotten[]

AoE2-DLCicon-3 The African Kingdoms[]

  • CivIcon-Italians Italians: Hussars added to the technology tree.

AoE2-DLCicon-4 Rise of the Rajas[]

AoEIIDE icon Definitive Edition[]

Dawn of the Dukes icon Dawn of the Dukes[]

AoE2Icon-DynastiesIndia Dynasties of India[]

  • CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras: Initially, mounted units had +50% bonus damage, so their Hussars had additional +6 attack vs Monks. With update 66692, the bonus was reduced to +40%, so their Hussars have additional +5 attack vs Monks.

AoE2Icon-MountainRoyals The Mountain Royals[]

Heroes[]

There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a Hussar:

History[]

In the 15th century the Hungarians deployed a corps of light cavalry soldiers that came to be known as Hussars. They were excellent horsemen, trained to ride from their youth on the grasslands of the Hungarian plain. They wore brightly colored uniforms that gave them added dash and distinction. On the march they scouted and raided as needed. In an emergency they could charge in battle, but were usually too lightly armed and armored to engage heavy cavalry or infantry. They were especially useful after an enemy routed and had become disorganized because the fast Hussar could easily run over and cut down the undisciplined troops. The bright uniforms and dashing demeanor were very attractive to other nations and Hussars were prominent in later armies, especially during the Napoleonic era. A British Hussar unit was deployed in the Korean War, although it was fighting in tanks by that time.

Trivia[]

  • The appearance of the Hussars, while not entirely anachronistic, is incorrect, as they resemble Polish Winged Hussars, a soldier unique to the Renaissance Polish Army. The term 'Hussar' is also entirely unique to Eastern-Central European ethnicities (Serbs, Magyars, Poles, etc.), and is not suitable for Western European (among whom Celtic Irish Hobelars emerged), Byzantine, Middle Eastern, or Asian civilizations. A more correct & encompassing term would be simply Elite Light Cavalry.
    • The Polish Winged Hussar was seen as a heavy cavalry unit instead of a light cavalry unit; however, the Eastern European Hussars (also called Huszars) were meant for raiding.
  • His icon shows him holding his sword in his left hand, while he holds it in his right hand in-game.
  • Hussars were generally available to civilizations with gold bonuses in The Conquerors, such as the Spanish or Turks. They were not generally available to civilizations with food or farm bonuses.
  • With 118 HP, the Mongol Hussar has the highest hit points among all trash units.
  • With Stirrups, the Bulgarian Hussar is the second fastest-attacking cavalry unit in the game, with a reload time of 1.43, only behind of the Bulgarian Cavalier with 1.35.
  • At the release of the Definitive Edition, all newly introduced civilizations could fully upgrade their Hussars and got either a bonus or unique technology to benefit their combat strength. However, the Cumans lost Husbandry (though they still have the fastest Hussars in the game due to their civilization bonus giving them +15% speed) and Lithuanian Hussars no longer benefit from the Relic attack bonus. In Dawn of the Dukes, Lithuanians lost access to the Hussar, which was replaced by the Winged Hussar.
    • With all 5 Relics collected, Lithuanian Hussars had the highest attack of all trash units, with 16 attack.
    • As of Dynasties of India, with a speed of 1.74, the Cuman Hussar is the second fastest fully upgraded land unit in the game, only behind the Shrivamsha Rider.
  • Before update 37650, researching Hussar came with a slight disadvantage as the unit itself received almost a 1 second (0.95 sec) attack delay – in comparison with 0.7 seconds of a Scout / Light Cavalry unit and 0.5 seconds of a Spearman-line unit. This meant that a melee unit that a Hussar engaged would always deal the initial blow, given it had targeted the engaging Hussar. It also slightly limited the raiding and micro capabilities of the Hussar.
  • Most civilizations with Hussar will lose against Malian Light Cavalry when all technologies are researched.
  • Neither of the two civilizations introduced in Dawn of the Dukes have access to the Hussar, though the Poles have their unique Winged Hussar.
  • Of the civilizations that have access to the Hussar, but lack Bloodlines, most of them also lack access to at least one Imperial Age Blacksmith upgrade to them. The Byzantines lack Blast Furnace, while the Celts and Ethiopians lack Plate Barding Armor. The Koreans have the worst Hussars, as they lack all three common upgrades.[note 2] The Burgundians introduced in Lords of the West are the only civilization that have access to all upgrades for their Hussars except Bloodlines.
  • The Mongols and the Gurjaras are the only civilizations with bonuses for Hussars, but not having fully upgraded Hussars. The Cumans are excluded because their civilization bonus covers the missing technology Husbandry.

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. Meaning they get +5 attack against Monks.
  2. The three upgrades are Bloodlines, Plate Barding Armor, and Blast Furnace. Except Cumans, all civilizations with Hussars have Husbandry. The Cumans can be excluded since their civilization bonus is meant to cover lack of Husbandry.
Units in Age of Empires II
CivilianMaleVillDE Villager · Tradecart aoe2DE Trade Cart · FishingShipDE Fishing Ship · Trade cog aoe2DE Trade Cog · King eu aoe2DE King
ReligiousMonk aoe2DE Monk
InfantryMilitiaDE Militia · Manatarms aoe2DE Man-at-Arms · Longswordsman aoe2DE Long Swordsman · Twohanded aoe2DE Two-Handed Swordsman · Champion aoe2DE Champion
Spearman aoe2DE Spearman · Aoe2-infantry-2-pikeman Pikeman · Halberdier aoe2DE Halberdier
Eaglescout aoe2DE Eagle Scout · Eaglewarrior aoe2DE Eagle Warrior · EliteEaglewarrior aoe2DE Elite Eagle Warrior
ArcherArcher aoe2DE Archer · Crossbowman aoe2DE Crossbowman · Arbalester aoe2DE Arbalester
Skirmisher aoe2DE Skirmisher · Elite skirmisher aoe2DE Elite Skirmisher
Hand cannoneer aoe2DE Hand Cannoneer
Cavalryarcher aoe2DE Cavalry Archer · Heavycavalryarcher aoe2de Heavy Cavalry Archer
Aoe2de DOI elephant archer icon Elephant Archer · ElephantArcherIcon-DE Elite Elephant Archer
CavalryScoutcavalry aoe2DE Scout Cavalry · Lightcavalry aoe2DE Light Cavalry · Hussar aoe2DE Hussar
Knight aoe2DE Knight · Cavalier aoe2DE Cavalier · Paladin aoe2DE Paladin
Camelrider aoe2DE Camel Rider · Aoe2 heavycamelriderDE Heavy Camel Rider
Battle elephant aoe2DE Battle Elephant · Elite battle elephant aoe2DE Elite Battle Elephant
Steppelancericon Steppe Lancer · Elitesteppelancericon Elite Steppe Lancer
Xolotlicon Xolotl Warrior
AoE2DE Armored Elephant icon Armored Elephant · AoE2DE Siege Elephant icon Siege Elephant
SiegeBattering ram aoe2DE Battering Ram · Capped ram aoe2DE Capped Ram · Siege ram aoe2DE Siege Ram
Mangonel aoe2DE Mangonel · Onager aoe2DE Onager · Siege onager aoe2DE Siege Onager
Scorpion aoe2DE Scorpion · Heavyscorpion aoe2DE Heavy Scorpion
Bombard cannon aoe2DE Bombard Cannon
Trebuchet aoe2DE Trebuchet
Petard aoe2DE Petard
Siegetower aoe2DE Siege Tower
War shipTransportship aoe2DE Transport Ship · Galley aoe2DE Galley · War galley aoe2DE War Galley · Galleon aoe2DE Galleon
Fire galley aoe2DE Fire Galley · Fireship aoe2DE Fire Ship · Fastfireship aoe2DE Fast Fire Ship
Demoraft aoe2DE Demolition Raft · Demoship aoe2DE Demolition Ship · Heavydemoship aoe2de Heavy Demolition Ship
Cannon galleon aoe2DE Cannon Galleon · Elite cannon galleon aoe2de Elite Cannon Galleon
AoE2 Dromon Dromon
Unique
ReligiousMissionaryIcon-DE Missionary · AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest
InfantryBerserkIcon-DE Berserk · Aoe2de Chakram Chakram Thrower · CondottieroIcon-DE Condottiero · Aoe2-icon-flemish-militia Flemish Militia · GbetoIcon-DE Gbeto · Aoe2de Ghulam Ghulam · HuskarlIcon-DE Huskarl · JaguarWarriorIcon-DE Jaguar Warrior · KamayukIcon-DE Kamayuk · Karambitwarrioricon-DE Karambit Warrior · AoE2 DE Legionary new icon Legionary · Aoe2-icon--obuch Obuch · SamuraiIcon-DE Samurai · Aoe2-icon-serjeant Serjeant · Shotelwarrioricon-DE Shotel Warrior · TeutonicKnightIcon-DE Teutonic Knight · ThrowingAxemanIcon-DE Throwing Axeman · Aoe2de Urumi Urumi Swordsman · AoE2 WarriorPriest Warrior Priest · WoadRaiderIcon-DE Woad Raider
ArcherArambaiicon-DE Arambai · CamelArcherIcon-DE Camel Archer · ChukoNuIcon-DE Chu Ko Nu · AoE2 CompositeBowman Composite Bowman · ConquistadorIcon-DE Conquistador · GenitourIcon-DE Genitour · GenoeseCrossbowmanIcon-DE Genoese Crossbowman · Imperialskirmishericon-DE Imperial Skirmisher · JanissaryIcon-DE Janissary · Kipchakicon Kipchak · LongbowmanIcon-DE Longbowman · MangudaiIcon-DE Mangudai · PlumedArcherIcon-DE Plumed Archer · Aoe2de ratha ranged Ranged Ratha · Rattanarchericon-DE Rattan Archer · SlingerIcon-DE Slinger · WarWagonIcon-DE War Wagon
CavalryBallistaelephanticon-DE Ballista Elephant · BoyarIcon-DE Boyar · Aoe2de camel scout Camel Scout · CataphractIcon-DE Cataphract · Aoe2de roman unique centurion icon Centurion · Aoe2-icon-coustillier Coustillier · Flaming camel icon Flaming Camel · ImperialCamelRiderIcon-DE Imperial Camel Rider · Keshikicon Keshik · Konnikicon Konnik · Leitisicon Leitis · MagyarHuszarIcon-DE Magyar Huszar · MamelukeIcon-DE Mameluke · AoE2 Monaspa Monaspa · Aoe2de ratha melee Melee Ratha · AoE2 Savar Savar · Aoe2de shrivamsha rider Shrivamsha Rider · TarkanIcon-DE Tarkan · WarElephantIcon-DE War Elephant · Aoe2-icon-winged-hussar Winged Hussar
SiegeAoe2-icon--houfnice Houfnice · Aoe2-icon-hussite-wagon Hussite Wagon · OrganGunIcon-DE Organ Gun
War shipCaravelIcon-DE Caravel · LongboatIcon-DE Longboat · Aoe2de Thirisadai Thirisadai · TurtleShipIcon-DE Turtle Ship
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