| “ | Tough infantry that excels at countering Spearmen. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
Jeanne's Champion is a unique heavy melee infantry unit in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend. They are similar to Men-at Arms in that they have high hit points and armor, but they excel in countering Spearmen, making them good a protecting Jeanne on the front lines. After bringing Jeanne to level 3, they can be trained in the Castle Age through her rally call ability or through the Barracks*, if chosen as her champions.
Players have to choose between Jeanne's Champions and Jeanne's Riders when advancing to Tier 3.
Tactics[]
Jeanne's Champions are a stronger alternative to the Man-at-Arms, boasting higher hit points and damage. They are considerably more expensive, costing +60 food and +20 gold. Even with Companion Equipment and Galvanize the Righteous, their increased hit points and damage do not fully make up for their cost increase.
Their primary purpose is to protect Jeanne and Royal Knights from Spearmen. They deal bonus damage to Spearmen (but not their variants Donso and Limitanei), uniquely dealing with one of their two counters. This makes Champions an excellent choice to pair Knights with if the enemy is relying on Spearmen to counter the Knights. Instead, Jeanne, Royal Knights and Champions all are vulnerable to Crossbowmen. As such, care has to be taken to not shift to an army composition that is countered by a single unit, or instead to suppress the enemy's capabilities to build up their Crossbowmen count.
While Jeanne has the ability to call them to the battlefield for free periodically, they can also be produced from Barracks. As such, it is favorable to start consecrating Barracks early on to avoid having to replace the front-line units with units built from buildings without the Consecrate buff. Start with a front line of Men-at-Arms, and when nearing the unit limit, switch to Jeanne's Champion.
Unlike Jeanne's Riders, Jeanne's Champions aren't fast enough to not slow down Jeanne when moving in formation with her, making it harder to utilize Galvanize the Righteous. Instead, Jeanne often has to be positioned specifically to grant them the aura, since the Champions otherwise have lower melee and ranged armor than regular Men-at-Arms.
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Spearmen, Archers, Horsemen |
| Weak vs. | Crossbowmen, Musofadi Warrior, Onna-Musha |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Elite Army Tactics (+15%) Companion Equipment (+20%)
|
| Attack |  Bloomery (+1) Decarbonization (+1) Damascus Steel (+1) Elite Army Tactics (+15%) Companion Equipment (+20%)
|
| Armor |  Fitted Leatherwork (+1 melee) Insulated Helm (+1 melee) Master Smiths (+1 melee) Iron Undermesh (+1 ranged) Wedge Rivets (+1 ranged) Angled Surfaces (+1 ranged)
|
| Creation speed |  Military Academy (+33%)
|
| Ability |  Siege Engineering (Can build Battering Rams and Siege Towers)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Galvanize the Righteous (+10%)
|
| Armor | Galvanize the Righteous (+1 melee/ranged)
|
| Damage resistance |  Wall Defense (-25% ranged, -50% siege)
|
 Attack speed
|
 Valorous Inspiration (+35% for 20 seconds)
|
| Resource cost |  Consecrate (-25% food, or -25% total with Ordinance Company)
|
Dialogue lines[]
Jeanne's Champions share their dialogue lines with the Man-at-Arms.
- Main article: Man-at-Arms (Age of Empires IV)/French dialogue lines
Changelog[]
- Originally, Jeanne's Champions had 4/5 (the latter Elite) melee and ranged armor. With patch 9.1.370, they have 3/4 (the latter Elite) melee and ranged armor.
- Previously, Jeanne's Champions were created at the Keep (or Red Palace) in 15 seconds. With update 12.0.1974, they are created at the Barracks and can be trained in 30 seconds starting in the Castle Age.
Trivia[]
- They are the only unit in standard single- and multiplayer with bonus damage against Spearmen specifically and not light melee infantry (like Archers). This is because they are designed for protecting Jeanne. In the campaign, Archers also have bonus damage vs just Spearmen.
Gallery[]
