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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. For the native warrior introduced in Age of Empires III, see Aztec Jaguar Warrior. For the Aztec civilization unit introduced in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, see Jaguar Prowl Knight. |
| “ | Aztec unique infantry unit. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Jaguar Warrior is the unique unit of the Aztecs in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It is an infantry unit with an attack bonus against infantry.
Jaguar Warriors can be upgraded to Elite Jaguar Warriors in the Imperial Age.
Tactics[]
Jaguar Warriors have a high anti-infantry attack bonus. That enables them to defeat any other infantry unit in one-on-one combat apart from Teutonic Knights and Samurai, which they are even against with Garland Wars. Note that their speed of 1.0 (base) is higher than the Champion's (0.9), making them further effective at countering them. However, they are not as cost-effective against other units. As with most infantry, they also struggle against heavy cavalry.
Unfortunately for the Jaguar Warrior, it faces strong competition from the Aztec Champion and Siege Onager, both of which are also strong against infantry while also being more well-rounded. Because of this, they are usually only worth using against civilizations that heavily rely on infantry, as the aforementioned options are better against other units while not being worse enough to make a significant difference.
Jaguar Warriors have an ideal mate with the Eagle Warrior as the Eagle Warrior can cover the Jaguar Warriors' weaknesses against Monks, siege and foot archers, since they have an attack bonus against Monks and siege weapons, and are very effective against foot archers. Also, the Jaguar Warrior covers the Eagle's main weakness which is infantry, so they make an excellent team and are very common amongst Aztec armies. Monk support for both units should not be disregarded. The biggest threat to the Aztec infantry combo is Hand Cannoneers and mounted archers, so Aztec players should consider using Onagers to counter them if they show up. Cataphracts can also decimate Aztec infantry, but Monks can convert them if needed.
When facing Elite Samurai, the Elite Jaguar Warrior with Garland Wars researched can defeat them in one-to-one combat, but the Samurai is actually cheaper than the Jaguar Warrior (80 resources against 90 resources), so the Samurai is in fact a cost-effective answer against the Jaguar Warrior. Against Obuchs, higher numbers are needed due to the armor reduction that Obuchs' attacks do. Against Urumi Swordsmen, the fights favor Jaguar Warriors, but when Wootz Steel is researched, Urumi Swordsmen ignore melee armor and start to win most of the time, even on equal resources.
Across patches[]
Upon release, Jaguar Warriors had 0 pierce armor. It was believed that heavy infantry (Swordsmen and equivalent) were good enough counters to cavalry. So the Jaguar Warrior could be an excellent counter to both cavalry and infantry. However, this assumption was not true. Their extra weakness to archers made them unusable. Even with the pierce armor buff in The Forgotten, Jaguar Warriors were considered a niche unit. With their HP increase, they started to see some play here and there. With update 81058, they received another buff to their pierce armor. This makes archers more of a soft counter at long range, and considering that they move faster than foot archers, they might not be countered by them. This change makes them very versatile since they have something going on for them against all three major military unit types. Currently, the hard counters to the Jaguar Warriors are Cataphracts, Scorpions, Hand Cannoneers, and Slingers.
Comparison in the Castle Age with similar units[]
 Two-Handed Swordsman
|
 Jaguar Warrior
|
 Long Swordsman
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 45 food, 20 gold | 60 food, 30 gold | 45 food, 20 gold |
| Hit points | 60 | 65 | 60 |
| Speed | 0.9 | 1 | 0.9 |
| Armor | 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Train Time | 18.9 seconds | 10.8 seconds | 18.9 seconds |
| Line of Sight | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Melee attack | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Attack bonus | +8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
+10 vs Infantry +2 vs Eagle Warriors +2 vs Standard building |
+6 vs Eagle Warrior +3 vs Standard building |
| Attack speed | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Upgrade Cost and Time | 750 food, 350 gold 100 seconds |
1,000 food, 500 gold 45 seconds |
300 food, 100 gold 75 seconds |
Comparison in the Imperial Age with similar units[]
 Champion
|
Elite Jaguar Warrior
|
Two-Handed Swordsman
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 45 food, 20 gold | 60 food, 30 gold | 45 food, 20 gold |
| Hit points | 70 | 75 | 60 |
| Speed | 0.9 | 1 | 0.9 |
| Armor | 1/2 | 2/2 | 1/2 |
| Train Time | 18.9 seconds | 10.8 seconds | 18.9 seconds |
| Line of Sight | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Melee attack | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Attack bonus | +8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
+11 vs Infantry +2 vs Eagle Warriors +2 vs Standard building |
+8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
| Attack speed | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Further statistics[]
As Jaguar Warriors are unique to the Aztecs, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Skirmishers, infantry, buildings, Camel Riders |
| Weak vs. | Scorpions, Mangonels, heavy cavalry |
| Upgrades | |
| Attack |  Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings) Garland Wars (+4)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2)
|
| Speed |  Squires (+10%)
|
| 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)
|
| Regeneration | Stronghold (30 HP/min when within 18 tiles square of a team Celts Castle)
|
| Upgrades |  Elite Jaguar Warrior
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Aztecs: Jaguar Warriors are created 11% faster.
Team bonuses[]
- Armenians: Jaguar Warriors have +2 Line of Sight.
- Bulgarians: Researching upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Goths: Researching Squires and Arson is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Devotion, Faith, and Heresy is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Jaguar Warriors are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Jaguar Warriors are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Conquerors[]
- Jaguar Warriors have 0 pierce armor.
- Jaguar Warriors train in 20 seconds.
- Jaguar Warriors have 50 hit points.
- Aztec military units are created 18% faster.
- Elite Jaguar Warriors have a +10 attack bonus against infantry.
The Forgotten[]
- Jaguar Warriors have 1 pierce armor.
- Elite Jaguar Warriors have a +11 attack bonus against infantry.
Definitive Edition[]
- Tracking removed; all infantry receive +2 Line of Sight from the Feudal Age instead.
- Jaguar Warriors train in 12 seconds.
- With update 37650, Aztec military units are created 11% faster.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 56005, Jaguar Warriors have 65 hit points.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 81058, Jaguar Warrior have 2 pierce armor.
Heroes[]
There are two heroes in the game with the appearance of a Jaguar Warrior:
- Itzcoatl (only in the HD Edition)
- Topa Yupanqui
History[]
| “ | Another rank of Aztec fighter was the Jaguar Warrior, who was more heavily armed and armored than the Eagle Warrior. Their role was probably to be the heavy infantry of the army and to engage the enemy main body. They likely had the advantage in combat against lighter troops that were caught off-guard or foolish enough to engage the heavier Jaguar Warrior. These warriors wore jaguar headpieces and clothing that represented jaguar fur. The jaguar was chosen as the totem for warriors because it was the fiercest predator in the Central American jungles. In combat, they used an obsidian-bladed sword known as a macana. Although it lacked the penetration power of steel weapons, the macana was able to keep a razor-sharp edge. The best of the Jaguar Warriors were promoted to Elite status. These were veterans of demonstrated skill who carried the best weapons and were the best fighting soldiers available. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II: The Conquerors manual | ||
Trivia[]
- In the HD Edition, despite being introduced in The Conquerors, Jaguar Warriors are shown with a The Age of Kings icon in the Scenario Editor.
- In the Aztec army, a Jaguar Warrior ōcēlōtl and an Eagle Warrior cuāutli ranked equally and was also known as cuāuhocēlōtl (from stem cuāuh- "eagle" and ocēlō "jaguar"). To become a cuāuhocēlōtl, a warrior must capture at least four captives. The distinction between the two meritocratic orders is that Jaguar Warriors were born either commoners (macehualtin) or nobles, while Eagle Warriors were only highborn (pipiltlin). In Medieval Europe, the closest analogy to an Aztec Jaguar Warrior is a knight who had been born a commoner, and the closest Medieval European anology to an Eagle warrior is a knight who belonged to a knightly or a noble family. However, even though medieval European knighthood might not be inherited, a noble-born or knightly-born youth would be eligible for knighthood after finishing at least 14 years of military training in other noble households; meanwhile, a common-born youth must procure whatever means necessary to train himself and might at most become a man-at-arms, unless his performances were so outstanding that a noble decided to dub him knight.
- In Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, the Jaguar Warrior is renamed Jaguar Prowl Knight and Eagle Warrior Eagle Runner Knight, and both are trained at the Nobles' Hut, a castle-like building that reflects the Calmecac, the Aztec highborn school where the youths aspiring to become Jaguars and Eagles were trained and conditioned.
- Not counting charged attacks, Elite Jaguar Warriors with Garland Wars have the third highest attack of all infantry units, tied with Burmese Champions with 20 attack, as well the fourth highest of all land units outside of siege and gunpowder section.
- Before update 42848, the Jaguar Warrior was one of the least used unique units. The Aztecs have concrete answers when facing with infantry rushes, such as fully upgraded Champions and siege weapons. Also, despite their civilization bonus, the production for them is still too slow. The non-Elite one is much weaker than the Elite, making the adjustment for the training time, and the improvement for the non-Elite one.
- Before the Definitive Edition, the Jaguar Warrior's shield had a different design which closely resembles the current Aztec civilization icon added in Definitive Edition, which also changed the pattern on the shield to another design which is also present in the shields of the (Elite) Eagle Warrior, and both can be found in the Codex Mendoza. The Aztec icon can be seen in the shields of the Xolotl Warrior and Itzcoatl.
Gallery[]
Video[]
