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.
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, Bostanci 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).
The Hussar of Death is a variant of the Hussar unique to Chile, which have twice the attack of regular Hussars.
As soon as the player revolts to Chile, 10 Hussars of Death appears in the Home City shipment point and all existing Hussars are upgraded to Hussars of Death (as well as granting both the Veteran and Guard upgrades, if the player haven't yet).
Magyar Hussar[]
The Magyar Hussar is a variant of the Hussar unique to Hungary, which have twice the hit points of regular Hussars.
Magyar Hussars' availability is determined by the base European civilization:
For the Ottomans, as soon as the player revolts to Hungary, all existing Hussars are upgraded to Magyar Hussars (as well as granting both the Veteran and (Royal) Guard upgrades, if the player haven't yet).
For the Germans and Russians (who cannot train Hussars normally), they must send the "Magyar Hussars" Home City Card after revolting to Hungary to spawn a Magyar Hussar on every Outpost or Blockhouse that had been built by the player and upgrades all existing Hussars into Magyar Hussars.
The United States can also acquire Magyar Hussars through the "Kovat's Legion" Home City Card, which ships 9 Magyar Hussars and allows them to be trained at Forts.
"7 Hussars" is not available to the Portuguese and Swedes.
"5 Hussars" is not available to Dutch, French and Portuguese.
"8 Hussars" is available to British, Ottomans and Swedes.
"Cavalry Combat" that affects all cavalry is available to Dutch, Ottomans and Russians; British "Cavalry Combat" that only affects Hussars and Dragoons are listed separately.
[Legion] Ships 9 Magyar Hussars; Magyar Hussars can be trained at Forts; costs 1,000 food, 1,000 wood
Trivia[]
Although the unit description says that the Hussar a light cavalry unit, it is classified as a heavy cavalry.
British Royal Guard/Consulate Hussars are named after the Life Guards.
Ottoman Royal Guard/Consulate Hussars are named after the Bostancı.
Before the Definitive Edition, they are named after the literal translation of Bostancı, Gardener.
German Hussars are named after the Polish Hussars, who are notable for their huge wing ornament (though their in-game model are not changed to reflect this).
Chilean Hussars of Death are inspired by Death Head Hussars, which was a Prussian unique unit featured in the Napoleonic Era mod.
One of the developers of the mod worked on the Definitive Edition.
The United States' ability to access Magyar Hussars through the "Kovat's Legion" Home City Card is a reference to Michael Kovats de Fabriczy, a Hungarian nobleman who fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and are known as the one of the founding fathers of U.S. cavalry units.
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[]
An in-game Hussar
An in-game Veteran Hussar model
An in-game Guard Hussar model
The in-game stats of an Imperial Life Guard (British Hussar)
Veteran Hussars
Guard Hussars
Imperial Hussars
Cavalry Cuirass (+10%)
Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%)
Cree Tanning (+5%)
Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Pillage (+25% siege attack)
Yoga (+5%)
Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% melee resistance)
Town Watch (+2)
Comanche Mustangs (+10%)
Apache Endurance (+5%)
Mass Cavalry (-35%)
Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%)
Quechuan Diet (-25%)
Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Bashkir Ponies (ships 13 Guard Hussars; Russians only)
Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)
Coffee Trade (-10% speed; Dutch only)
