| “ | Fast cavalry effective at raiding, flanking, and countering Crossbowmen. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV description | ||
Jeanne's Rider is a unique light melee cavalry unit in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend. They are similar to Horsemen in that they have high speed and low armor, but have high ranged armor and excel in countering Crossbowmen, making them good at protecting Jeanne on the front lines. After bringing Jean to level 3, they can be trained in the Castle Age through her rally call ability or through Stables, if chosen as her champions.
Players have to choose either them or Jeanne's Champions.
Tactics[]
Jeanne's Riders are a stronger alternative to the Horseman, boasting higher hit points and damage. They are considerably more expensive, costing +80 food, -20 wood, +20 gold. While their increased hit points and damage only roughly match their cost increase with Companion Equipment and Galvanize the Righteous, their extremely high ranged armor together with being classified as light units allow them to absorb ranged damage exceptionally well. As such, just running around the enemy's ranged units may already turn a fight into the player's favor, unless the opponent manually makes the melee units target different units.
Once Handcannoneers enter the battle, their high ranged armor becomes slightly less relevant. However, due to profiting from both Companion Equipment and Royal Bloodlines, they can still function well as tanks.
While Jeanne has the ability to call them to the battlefield for free periodically, they can also be produced from Stables, in which they are trained 50% faster compared to Horsemen. This makes a Keep a good target for Consecrate if kept alive.
Unlike Jeanne's Champions, Jeanne's Riders are fast enough to not slow down Jeanne when moving in formation with her, making it easier to utilize Galvanize the Righteous.
Their primary purpose is to protect Jeanne from Crossbowmen. They deal bonus damage to Crossbowmen specifically instead of ranged infantry, uniquely dealing with one of her two counters. While they do deal bonus damage vs Arbalétriers as well, they do not deal any bonus damage to units with a similar role to Crossbowmen, such as Onna-Musha or Musofadi Warriors. When using Riders, the player should field units to deal with Spearmen, as both Jeanne and the Riders are vulnerable to them.
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Crossbowmen, Archers |
| Weak vs. | Spearmen, Janissaries, Lancers |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Royal Bloodlines (+35%) Companion Equipment (+20%)
|
| Attack |  Bloomery (+1) Decarbonization (+1) Damascus Steel (+1) 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%)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Galvanize the Righteous (+10%)
|
| Armor | Galvanize the Righteous (+1 melee/ranged)
|
 Attack speed
|
 Valorous Inspiration (+35% for 20 seconds)
|
| Resource cost |  Consecrate (-25% food, or -25% total with Ordinance Company)
|
Dialogue lines[]
Jeanne's Riders share their dialogue lines with the Horseman.
- Main article: Horseman/French dialogue lines
Trivia[]
- They are the only unit with bonus damage against Crossbowmen specifically and not ranged units like Horsemen. This is because they are designed to protect Jeanne.
Changelog[]
- Originally, Jeanne's Riders/Elite Riders had 185/220 hit points, did 14/17 damage, and had a bonus of +9/+11 bonus against siege. With update 12.0.1974, they have 170/205 hit points, do 13/16 damage, and have a bonus of +13/+16 against siege.
- Originally, Jeanne's Riders were only available to train in the Keep (or Red Palace) in 15 seconds. With update 12.0.1974, they were moved to the Stable (and School of Cavalry) and can be trained in 30 seconds starting in the Castle Age.
Gallery[]
