| This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the unit in Age of Empires II, see Hussar (Age of Empires II). |
"Light cavalry armed with cold steel."—In-game description
The Hussar is a melee heavy cavalry in Age of Empires III that can be trained at Stable, Fort, and Galleon/Fluyt.
Hussars are available to European civilizations except Germans, John Black's Mercenaries (both of which have Uhlans instead), and Russians (who have Cossacks instead).
Overview 
Edit
Hussars are the basic cavalry for most of the European civilizations. They have the most hit points of all basic cavalry, but otherwise lack distinguishing characteristics.
They are effective at raiding Settlers due to their speed and high damage, able to kill one in 5 hits. A raiding party of 10 is usually sufficient.[1] Attack upgrades are not as useful as they do not reduce the integer number of hits required to secure a kill, but HP upgrades (such as for the British and French) are very useful. As with all units, be sure to queue one up as soon as the Stable finishes to start the training, adding more units as resources become available towards the completion of the group's training.
Hussars, like all melee cavalry, are also effective against ranged infantry, which are too fragile to stand up to melee combat. Their speed helps in getting in close with early artillery. However, Hussars are weak against heavy infantry and light cavalry. Because Hussars are quite fast, it is often better to run away from groups of those units and work with nearby infantry so that each can cover for the other's weakness.
However, while Hussars may be useful to fend off Skirmishers in the mid-game, Hussars tend not to be used in the late game as melee units are vastly easier to kill using superior numbers of ranged units, such as Dragoons or even massed Musketeers. They lack the HP of the Cuirassier without costing much less, nor gaining sufficient speed to make the Hussar comparatively useful. It is simply too easy to focus down Hussars with ranged units with a bonused-attack.
The Spanish can use unction to boost their Hussars in combat, providing a sizable damage increase.
Upgrades Edit
| Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect | Civ. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  Veteran Hussars
| 200 wood, 200 coin | Upgrades Hussars to Veteran (+20% hit points and attack) | British Dutch French Ottomans Portuguese Spanish |
 |  Guard Hussars
| 600 wood, 600 coin | Upgrades Hussars to Guard (+30% hit points and attack); requires Veteran Hussars | Dutch French Portuguese Spanish |
| Life Guard Hussars
| 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin | Upgrades Hussars to King's Life Guard Hussars (Guard Hussars with +10% hit points and attack); requires Veteran Hussar | British | |
| Gardeners
| Upgrades Hussars to Gardener Hussars (Guard Hussars with +10% hit points and attack); requires Veteran Hussar | Ottomans | ||
 |  Imperial Hussars
| 1,500 wood, 1,500 coin | Upgrades Hussars to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Guard Hussars | Dutch French Portuguese Spanish |
| Imperial Life Guards
| Upgrades King's Life Guard Hussars to Imperial Life Guards (+50% hit points and attack); requires Life Guard Hussars | British | ||
| Imperial Gardeners
| Upgrades Gardener Hussars to Imperial Gardeners (+50% hit points and attack); requires Gardeners | Ottomans |
Civilization differences Edit
- As seen above, British and Ottomans can upgrade Hussars to Royal Guard and Imperial Guard levels.
- While the Germans cannot train Hussars, they can ship 10 Guard Hussars named Winged Hussar through the Polish Winged Hussars Home City Card.
- While the Russians cannot train Hussars, they can ship 17 Guard Hussars through Bashkir Ponies.
- Knights of St. John can only upgrade Hussars to the Veteran level.
- United States can upgrade Hussars to the Imperial level.
- Chinese and Indians can get Hussars by allying with British, Ottomans, and Russians at the Consulate, which provides armies and technologies that includes Hussars (named Life Guard for the British, Gardener for the Ottomans, Bashkir for the Russians) listed below. These Hussars start with +10% hit points and attack than their regular counterpart, and are automatically upgraded in every Age starting from the Fortress Age (see here for the exact values).
- British (Chinese and Indians): British Expeditionary Army (6 Hussars)
- Ottomans (Indians, requires a level 40 Home City): Ottoman Expeditionary Company and Ottoman Expeditionary Force (3 Hussars)
- Russians (Chinese): Russian Brigade (15 Hussars)
Further statistics Edit
| 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) Yoga (+5%)
|
| Sight |  Town Watch (+2)
|
| Speed |  Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
|
| Creation speed |  Mass Cavalry (-50%) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%) Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
|
| Train cost |  Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
|
| Other |  Bashkir Ponies (ships 13 Guard Hussars, Russians only) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
|
| Penalties |  Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)
|
Home City Cards Edit
| Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Hussar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team Europeans
|
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 3 Hussars
| Ships 3 Hussars |  | 1 |
 4 Hussars
| Ships 4 Hussars | | 1 |
 7 Hussars
| Ships 7 Hussars | | 10 |
 5 Hussars
| Ships 5 Hussars | | 10 |
 8 Hussars
| Ships 8 Hussars | | 25 |
 Cavalry Combat
| Cavalry gets +15% hit points and attack | | 10 |
 Riding School
| Cavalry train time -40% | | 10 |
- The 3 Hussars card is available to Dutch, French, and Ottomans.
- The 4 Hussars and 7 Hussars cards are not available to the Portuguese.
- The 5 Hussars card is not available to Dutch, French and Portuguese.
- The 8 Hussars card is available to British and Ottomans.
- The Cavalry Combat card that affects all cavalry is available to Dutch, Ottomans and Russians; the British Cavalry Combat that only affects Hussars and Dragoons are listed separately.
British Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cavalry Damage
| Hussars and Dragoons get +15% attack | | 10 |
 Cavalry Hitpoints
| Hussars and Dragoons get +15% hit points | | 10 |
| Cavalry Combat
| Hussars and Dragoons get +15% hit points and attack | | 25 |
French Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack
| Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack | | 10 |
Germans Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cavalry Attack
| Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry gets +15% attack | | 10 |
 Polish Winged Hussars
| Ships 10 Winged Hussars (Guard Hussars) | | 25 |
 Spanish Riding School
| Cavalry gets +10% speed +4 Uhlans | | 25 |
Indians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
| All units get +5% hit points and attack | | 25 |
Japanese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades
| Unit upgrades cost -20% | | 1 |
Portuguese Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Dragoon Combat
| Dragoons get +20% hit points and attack; Hussars get +15% hit points and attack | | 10 |
Russians Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEAM Cavalry Scouts
| Cavalry and light infantry gets +10% hit points and +4 LOS |  | 1 |
Spanish Edit
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hand Cavalry Hitpoints
| Hussars and Lancers get +15% hit points | | 10 |
 Hand Cavalry Attack
| Hussars and Lancers get +15% attack | | 10 |
 Hand Cavalry Combat
| Hussars and Lancers get +15% hit points and attack | | 25 |
 TEAM Inquisition
| All units get +10 LOS | | 10 |
Trivia Edit
- British Royal Guard and Consulate Hussars are named after the Life Guards.
- Ottoman Royal Guard and Consulate Hussars are named after the Bostancı, which literally means "gardener".
- German Hussars are named after the Polish Hussars, who are notable for their huge wing ornament.
History Edit
"Lasalle, Napoleon's most dashing and competent light cavalry commander, boldly stated that any Hussar who lived to see the age of 30 was "a blackguard." Hussars were known for their daring and flamboyant displays in and out of combat. They could be an unruly and rowdy lot, though some, like the Prussian Death's Head Hussars, looked quite severe. Hussars were used to scout, gather intelligence, run down their enemy counterparts, and in flanking and screening maneuvers. They were excellent horsemen and daring to a fault.
The Prussian hussars, who served under Wellington at Waterloo, wore uniforms of almost entirely unrelieved black, with a large white skull and crossbones on the front of their short-brimmed, tall cylindrical hats. Hussars were typically armed with curved cavalry sabers and sometimes muskets or pistols."
Gallery Edit
References Edit
- ↑ The British Hussar Musket Combo Valckrie1. HeavenGames AoE3. 15 Febuary 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2020
