| “ | Bohemian unique siege unit. Units behind it receive 50% less damage from incoming projectiles. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Hussite Wagon is the first unique unit of the Bohemians in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes. It is a gunpowder siege unit with high hit points and pierce armor, and the ability to protect units behind them by halving the damage dealt by enemy projectiles passing through the Hussite Wagon.
Hussite Wagons can be upgraded to Elite Hussite Wagons in the Imperial Age.
Overview[]
Like all other unique gunpowder units, Hussite Wagons do not require Chemistry in order to be trained. As a siege unit, Hussite Wagon must be repaired by Villagers in order to get healed and can only be converted after Redemption is researched.
The Hussite Wagon releases a mildly powerful primary projectile (10/13 pierce attack), followed by five additional weaker projectiles (4/6 pierce attack). These additional projectiles work similar to those of the Kipchak (since update 93001), as in all projectiles are launched simultaneously, making the unit relatively easier to micromanage.
On top of having the siege armor class, Hussite Wagons also have the Heavy siege armor class which causes them to receive additional damage from the Mangonel and Bombard Cannon lines (thus receiving melee, anti-siege and anti-Heavy siege damage combined from those units). Villagers also deal +6 damage against Hussite Wagons, but using them to attack should generally be a last resort. Other units with anti-siege bonus damage (such as Rams, Eagle Warriors, Magyar Huszars, and Mangudai) do not have additional bonus damage against this armor class on top of their anti-siege bonus.
Ability[]
Enemy projectiles (whether pierce or melee) which pass through the wide and tall Hussite Wagon collision box and hit other units behind it will only result in half the usual damage after armor calculations, and the Hussite Wagon itself receives the other half of the damage. Both damages take in the receiving unit's armor into consideration. Non-projectile melee units like Kamayuks and Steppe Lancers are unaffected by definition. Attack ground projectiles ignore this ability. Projectiles which are set to miss the targeted unit are absorbed entirely by the Hussite Wagon.
If there are several Hussite Wagons on the projectiles' path, only the first one to be passed by the projectile will receive 1 damage. Projectiles set to miss their intended target will instead deal halved damaged to the Hussite Wagon (halved after the latter's armor is taken into account, full for (Elite) Arambai) if passing through its hitbox. The ability works if the target is a building; however, it is impractical against Bombard Cannons (as they still deal full damage) and Trebuchets due to the high arc of their projectiles and their shots landing at the top of buildings (higher than the Hussite Wagon's collision box).
Tactics[]
The Hussite Wagon can be seen as a 'mobile tower', with its high pierce armor and ability to protect units from harm. To facilitate this, when selecting a mixed group of units that includes them and placing them in a formation, the Hussite Wagons will always be placed in front of other ranged units, but behind melee units. Because of this ability alone, this unit is designed to be an effective pairing for Bohemian ranged units, as it serves as protection from ranged attacks. The "Box" Unit formation is useful at sheltering units behind Hussite Wagons (one of if not the only legitimately useful case for the less used formation).
While they have a similar-sounding name to the Korean War Wagon, they are not classified as archers or cavalry. Therefore, they do not take bonus damage from Halberdiers, Heavy Camel Riders, or Elite Skirmishers.
Especially for more experienced players, the Hussite Wagon's ability can be difficult to utilize in a real game due to the intentional lack of micro it requires, as well as its sacrificial nature, given its relatively high cost. In addition, the Hussite Wagon will usually draw fire from the enemy units due to its position, so its ability can be unnecessary. In practice, it serves as an analogue for a Skirmisher or a ram, soaking up enemy fire, rather than as a dedicated damage-dealer in its own right. Overall, while it can be useful against ranged units, the Hussite Wagon is by no means a necessary part of the Bohemian late-game army.
The Hussite Wagon can be sent into an enemy's base and harass their economy. With its high durability, it requires investment on behalf of the enemy to be taken care of, and the unit's attack issues are less noticeable against Villagers. Several wagons can completely shut down an enemy's economy for a short time. However, Villagers were given a +6 bonus against Hussite Wagons in the The Mountain Royals patch, making them go from 2 to 8 damage per attack against them. With the combined weakening of the Hussite Wagon's hit points and attack values, it is advisable to not stand against a defensive Villager rush. The economic disruption could be worthwhile if it can drag out for some time, but for an opponent making Villagers out of 4+ Town Centers, the damage could be mitigated quickly, meaning it is likely to be a net loss due to the high cost both to upgrade and field the Hussite Wagons. Pay attention to the wagons to get the most out of them.
Further statistics[]
As Hussite Wagons are unique to the Bohemians, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Pikemen, archer units |
| Weak vs. | Mangonel-line and Bombard Cannon-line, cavalry, Throwing Axemen, Huskarls, Samurai, Condottieri |
| Upgrades | |
| Range |  Siege Engineers (+1)
|
| Speed |  Wagenburg Tactics (+15%)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, with a Berber ally only)
|
| Upgrades |  Elite Hussite Wagon
|
Team bonuses[]
Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.- Malians: Researching Siege Engineers is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Hussite Wagons are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Hussite Wagons are more resistant to conversion.
- Turks: Hussite Wagons are created 25% faster.
Changelog[]
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 56005:
- Hussite Wagons correctly reduce damage of area-of-effect attacks (blast damage) and Scorpion attacks.
- Movement speed is reduced (0.85 → 0.8).
- The Burgundian Bombard Cannon's attack bonus correctly increases the damage dealt against Hussite Wagons.
- Hussite Wagons have a new projectile graphic to differentiate them better from Mangonel projectiles.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 61321, Hussite Wagons are now resistant to armor-ignoring attacks similarly to buildings.
Return of Rome[]
- With update 87863, Hussite Wagon frame delay decreased from 30 to 20.
- With update 93001, (Elite) Hussite Wagon:
- Hit points reduced from 200 (250) to 180 (230).
- Attack reduced from 17 (20) to 11 (13).
- Number of secondary projectiles increased from 3 to 5.
- Secondary projectile attack increased from always 2 (armor-ignoring) to 4 (6) pierce (affected by armor), with a bonus of +3 vs buildings and +3 vs rams.
- All projectiles are fired at the same time.
The Mountain Royals[]
- With update 99311, Hussite Wagon hit points reduced from 180 to 160, attack reduced from 11 to 10, and training time increased from 21 seconds to 26 seconds.
Victors and Vanquished[]
- With update 125283, Hussite Wagon train time increased from 26 seconds to 30 seconds.
History[]
A medieval European war wagon was developed in the Hussite Wars around 1420 by Hussite forces rebelling in Bohemia. It was a heavy wagon given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners, archers and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using spears, pikes and flails. Groups of them could form defensive works, but they also were used as hardpoints for formations or as firepower in pincer movements. This early use of gunpowder and innovative tactics helped a largely peasant infantry stave off attacks by the Holy Roman Empire's larger forces of mounted knights.
After the Hussite Wars, they stayed in usage as the special tactical weapon of Bohemian mercenaries which prevailed against knights or foot soldiers.
Trivia[]
- They appear as the War Wagon in Age of Empires III, replacing the Dragoon for the Germans.
- Along with the Ballista Elephant, the Hussite Wagon is the only ranged siege unit which has no minimum range.
- Along with the Organ Gun, the Hussite Wagon is the only Castle unique unit who cannot be healed by a Monk.
- The Hussite Wagon is the only ranged unit whose projectiles have different sizes. Their main projectile is about as large as an Onager's individual projectile, while their additional projectiles are about as large as a Hand Cannoneer's.
- Unlike the Mangonel-line or Organ Guns, which have a "Siege" unit class, the Hussite Wagon has a unit class "Ballista" (akin to Scorpion-line). AI units are programmed to dodge projectiles of "Siege" units like Mangonels and Bombard Cannons, but they will not dodge attacks of "Ballista" units like Scorpions and Hussite Wagons.
- While superficially similar, the Korean War Wagon is a mounted archer.
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