Legion

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the unit in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, see Legionary.

Legion
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Light infantry
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Training
Trained at	Barracks
Food	35
Gold	15
Training time	26 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	140
Attack	13 melee
Rate of Fire	1.5
Melee armor	2
Pierce armor	0
Speed	1.2
Line of Sight	4
Unit evolution
Upgraded from	Long Swordsman
Required research	Fanaticism

The Legion is an infantry unit in Age of Empires that can be trained at the Barracks once the Iron Age is reached and Fanaticism is researched. It is an upgrade of the Long Swordsman and is much more powerful.

Unit availability

Available	Unavailable
Assyrians Babylonians Choson^ Persians* Phoenicians Romans*^	Carthaginians Egyptians Greeks Hittites Macedonians Minoans Palmyrans Shang Sumerians Yamato

The * indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Legions, i.e. gets Metallurgy, Chain Mail Infantry, and Tower Shield.
The ^ indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of the Legion.

Tactics

For the cheap cost and good hit point count, the Legion is an excellent choice to send into battle over the Long Swordsman. They can survive longer and deal more damage, though they still remain inferior to Academy units. These units are great for massed attacks due to their cheap cost and expendability. They are the weakest type of super unit and cannot be upgraded further. If played as the Choson, their hit points increase by 80 and if played as the Romans, their reload time decreases by 33%.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Scythe Chariots, Camel Riders, buildings
Weak vs.	Archers, Cataphracts, Armored Elephants, Centurions
Upgrades
Attack	Toolworking (+2)  Metalworking (+2)  Metallurgy (+3)
Melee armor	Leather Armor Infantry (+2)  Scale Armor Infantry (+2)  Chain Mail Infantry (+2)
Pierce armor	Bronze Shield (+1)  Iron Shield (+1)  Tower Shield (+1)
Other	Logistics (halves population use)

Civilization bonuses

• Choson: Legions have +80 hit points.
• Romans: Legions have -33% reload time.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Legions have 160 hit points.

Definitive Edition

• With update 46777, Legions have 140 hit points.

Trivia

• With 220 hit points, the Choson Legion has the highest hit points of all foot units in the game.
• With a Rate of Fire of 1.0, the Roman Legion has the fastest attack of all units in the game, and the highest damage output by attack.

History

Legions in Age of Empires were primarily based on troops that once patrolled the frontiers of the Roman Empire. These troops were very well trained and were considered as one of the best soldiers in Europe during antiquity. For one thing, the Roman Empire had a centralized bureaucracy which improved the skill and tactics generals use during combat since only well trained soldiers are allowed to become the legions and praetorians of Rome. These soldiers are controlled by infantry divisions which made warfare easier by splitting infantry into different groups. Roman Centurions commanded a group of 100 legionaries, with other officers controlling smaller groups under the Centurion. Roman Legions were equipped with a pilum, or javelin, which was used for throwing, a gladius (short iron sword), their primary weapon, and a large shield. The use of iron in the legions' equipment gave them an advantage over many other civilizations, which used bronze in their tools and weapons, which was heavier and tended to shatter.

“	The Roman legion was the ultimate military formation of antiquity. The legion was a 4200-man unit at full strength, broken down into 120-man units called maniples. Most of the maniples went into battle as separate blocks of men in a square formation that looked something like a checkerboard from above. Ten maniples fought as skirmishers in loose order to the front of the first line of blocks. They attacked the enemy infantry line with sling stones, arrows, and javelins as the two armies closed and then fell back between gaps in the blocks. They may have moved to the edges of the battle to protect the Roman line and harass the enemy line. The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. Gaps in the blocks may have been filled in by a second row of blocks containing more experienced soldiers. The third and final row of blocks was the smallest but contained the most experienced veterans who served as the legion's reserve. The basic legion might have attached cavalry, archers, engineers, and artillery, depending on the task before it. At its peak, the Roman Empire had legions deployed all along its frontiers, defending against barbarians, putting down revolts, expanding the empire, and maintaining order.	”
—The Age of Empires manual

Gallery

A group of Legions. They share same appearance with the Long Swordsman.

A Legion in the Definitive Edition

Video

LEGION vs EVERY UNIT - Age of Empires- Definitive Edition