Light Cavalry (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit class, see Light cavalry.

Light Cavalry
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires II
Type	Cavalry Scout unit
Civilization	All except the Aztecs, Inca, Maya, and Teutons
Age	Castle Age
Training
Trained at	Stable
Food	80
Training time	30 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	60
Melee attack	7
Attack bonus	+10 vs Monk
Reload time	2
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	2
Armor class	Cavalry
Speed	1.5
Line of Sight	8 10
Ability	Cannot be converted before 8 seconds
Upgraded from
Upgraded from	Scout Cavalry
Upgrades to
Upgrades to	Hussar
Upgrade cost	500 food, 600 gold
Upgrade time	50 seconds
Upgrades uniquely to
Upgrades to	Winged Hussar
Civilization	Lithuanians Poles
Upgrade cost	600 food, 800 gold
Upgrade time	60 seconds

“	Fast cavalry for scouting and raiding. Resistant to conversion.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Light Cavalry is a light cavalry unit in Age of Empires II that can be upgraded from the Scout Cavalry at the Stable once the Castle Age is reached. It is a fast unit with resistance to conversion that excels at taking down Monks and siege weapons, and is good vs archers. However, its combat abilities against other melee units such as heavy cavalry units, camels, or infantry is severely limited.

Light Cavalry cost only food to create, making them a viable alternative if the player is low on other resources. The entire Scout Cavalry line has the same Line of Sight. They all receive a +2 bonus to their Line of Sight upon every Age advance, for a total of 10 Line of Sight in the Imperial Age.

All Light Cavalry have a special toggle-able Auto Scout ability. Light Cavalry also cannot attack timid huntables like Deer, which before an update^[When?] was a restriction only on the starting Scout Cavalry.

Tactics

The Light Cavalry has an exceptionally high Line of Sight and movement speed, solid pierce durability but poor combat skills. Against groups of siege weapons, Elite Skirmishers, or Monks, they have the speed and attack needed to run down and kill groups, though combat with melee units should be avoided.

As an upgrade, the Light Cavalry has +15 hit points, +2 attack, and +4 anti-Monk attack, which for its low cost makes it very valuable.

In the Castle Age, the Light Cavalry is generally outclassed by the Knight, thanks to the latter's much better stats. As gold becomes more valuable, however, the Light Cavalry becomes useful as a raiding unit due to its low cost.

Further statistics

Strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Elite Skirmishers, Villagers, siege weapons, archers, Monks
Weak vs.	Most melee units, Genoese Crossbowmen

Technologies
Hit points	Bloodlines (+20)
Regeneration	Ordo Cavalry (150% hit points/min in combat, Khitans only)
Attack	Forging (+1, +2 for the Khitans) Iron Casting (+1, +2 for the Khitans) Blast Furnace (+2) Farimba (+5, Malians only) Manipur Cavalry (+4 against archers, Burmese only)
Armor	Scale Barding Armor (​+1 melee / ​+1 pierce) Chain Barding Armor (​+1 melee / ​+1 pierce) Plate Barding Armor (​+1 melee / ​+2 pierce) Silk Armor (​+1 melee / ​+1 pierce, Tatars only)
Conversion resistance	Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
Attack speed	Stirrups (+33% attack speed, Bulgarians only)
Movement speed	Husbandry (+10%)
Resource cost	Kshatriyas (-25%, Gurjaras only)
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%) Chivalry (+40%, Franks only) Steppe Husbandry (+100%, Cumans only)
Ability	Lechitic Legacy (33% blast damage in 0.5 tile radius, Poles only) Wootz Steel (attack ignores armor, Dravidians only)
Upgrading	Conscription (+33% faster) Chivalry (+40% faster, Franks only)
Other	Aznauri Cavalry (-15% population space, Georgians only)

Civilization bonuses

• Bengalis: Light Cavalry have +2 attack against Skirmishers.
• Berbers: Light Cavalry are 15%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Light Cavalry cost -50% food.
• Burmese: Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
• Burgundians: Researching Husbandry and upgrading to Hussar is 50% cheaper.
• Celts: Light Cavalry can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
• Chinese: Technologies that benefit Light Cavalry are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Cumans: Light Cavalry move 10%/15% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Franks: Light Cavalry have +20% hit points.
• Georgians: Light Cavalry regenerate 8/14 hit points per minute in the Castle/Imperial Age. Light Cavalry receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
• Gurjaras: Light Cavalry deal +30%/+40% bonus damage in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Jurchens: Light Cavalry attack 20% faster. Light Cavalry receive -50% friendly fire damage.
• Khitans: Light Cavalry are trained 25% faster. Upgrading to Hussar is 25% faster. Light Cavalry receive double the effect from melee attack upgrades.
• Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free. Light Cavalry are 15% cheaper.
• Mongols: Light Cavalry have +20%/+30% hit points in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Poles: Bloodlines and the Winged Hussar upgrade cost -50% food.
• Sicilians: Light Cavalry take -33% bonus damage.
• Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Light Cavalry cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Light Cavalry provides 20 gold each.
• Tatars: Light Cavalry deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from elevations.
• Turks: The Hussar upgrade is free. Light Cavalry have +1 pierce armor.
• Vietnamese: Conscription is free.

Team bonuses

• Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades are researched 80% faster.
• Hindustanis: Light Cavalry have +2 attack against standard buildings.
• Huns: Light Cavalry are created and upgraded 20% faster. Researching Bloodlines and Husbandry is 20% faster.
• Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
• Mongols: Light Cavalry have +2 Line of Sight.
• Poles: Light Cavalry +1 attack vs. archers.
• Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Light Cavalry are researched 25% faster.
• Teutons: Light Cavalry are more resistant to conversion.

Changelog

The Age of Kings

• Light Cavalry are affected twice by Husbandry ($1.1*1.1=1.21$ movement speed multiplier) – directly as a unit and indirectly as a part of the Cavalry unit class. Scout Cavalry are a part of the Scout unit class and thus are only affected once by Husbandry (directly as a unit).
• Light Cavalry have a conversion resistance level of 3.

The Conquerors

• Light Cavalry have a conversion resistance level of 8.
• Light Cavalry receive an attack bonus of +10 against Monks.
• Husbandry affects Light Cavalry only once (1.1 movement speed multiplier).
• Hussar upgrade introduced.
• Bloodlines introduced.
• Heresy introduced.
• Franks: Light Cavalry are generic.

The Forgotten

• Franks: Chivalry introduced.
• Magyars: Light Cavalry are 10% cheaper.
• Indians: Light Cavalry are generic.

The African Kingdoms

• Berbers: Initially, Light Cavalry were 20% cheaper from the Castle Age on. With patch 4.8, the bonus was staggered to 15%/20% in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Franks: Light Cavalry benefit from the civilization bonus and have +20% HP.

Rise of the Rajas

• Burmese: Initially, Manipur Cavalry gives Light Cavalry +6 attack against buildings. With patch 5.3, the bonus is spread over the two building classes (building and standard building) equally.
• Magyars: With patch 5.5, Light Cavalry are 15% cheaper.

Definitive Edition

• Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Light Cavalry cost -50% food.
• Bulgarians (team bonus): Initially, Blacksmiths work 50% faster. With update 42848, Blacksmiths work 80% faster.
• Burmese: With update 37650, Manipur Cavalry gives Light Cavalry +6 attack against standard buildings and no damage against buildings.
• Cumans: Initially, Light Cavalry move 10% faster. With update 34055, the bonus was staggered to 10%/15% in the Castle/Imperial Age and Cumans lost access to Husbandry.
• Indians: With update 42848, Light Cavalry have +1/+2 pierce armor in the Castle/Imperial Age. Indians lose access to Plate Barding Armor.
• Lithuanians: Initially, Light Cavalry gained +1 attack for each garrisoned Relic, up to +5. With update 34055, this bonus no longer affects Light Cavalry. The Hussar upgrade is available.
• Portuguese: With update 42848, technologies are researched 30% faster.
• Tatars: Initially, researching Silk Armor gives Light Cavalry +0/+1 armor. With update 42848, researching Silk Armor gives Light Cavalry +1/+1 armor.
• Turks: With update 42848, Light Cavalry have +1 pierce armor.

Lords of the West

• Sicilians: Light Cavalry resist 50% bonus damage.

Dawn of the Dukes

• The Winged Hussar upgrade is introduced.
• Lithuanians: The Hussar upgrade is swapped for the more powerful Winged Hussar upgrade.
• Burmese: With update 56005, Manipur Cavalry gives Light Cavalry +5 attack against archers, while losing their attack bonus vs buildings.

Dynasties of India

• Gurjaras: Initially, mounted units had +50% bonus damage, so their Light Cavalry had additional +5 attack vs Monks. With update 66692, the bonus was reduced to +40%, so their Light Cavalry have additional +4 attack vs Monks. With update 73855, the bonus was reduced to +30% in the Castle Age, so the additional bonus was reduced to +3 in that Age.
• Sicilians: With update 66692, Light Cavalry resist 33% bonus damage.
• Bengalis: With update 81058, Light Cavalry get +2 attack against Skirmishers.

The Mountain Royals

• Persians: With update 95810, Light Cavalry get 5 gold for each military unit killed. With update 99311, this bonus is removed.

Victors and Vanquished

• With update 111772, all Light Cavalry have the Auto Scout ability, rather than only the one upgraded from the starting Scout Cavalry.
• Poles: With update 125283, the upgrade to Winged Hussar costs -50% food.

Heroes

There are four heroes in the game with the appearance of a Light Cavalry:

• Envoy (only in the HD Edition)
• Richard de Clare
• Scythian Scout
• Sundjata (only in the HD Edition)

History

“	As Middle Age armies grew larger and campaigned farther afield, the importance of scouting grew. Many civilizations developed light cavalry, an improvement on scout cavalry, for this role. Light cavalry were better trained and better equipped for fighting. In battle they could be used to harass or charge enemy infantry or support their own knights in a charge. Light cavalry wore only partial armor and a shield and fought most commonly with a spear. Civilizations that could not afford extensive armor for warriors, such as barbarian groups from the East, put large contingents of light cavalry into the field.	”
—Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual

Trivia

• With 14 attack, the Malian Light Cavalry with Farimba is tied with the Elite Magyar Huszar with Corvinian Army for the second highest attack among all trash units, only behind the Malay Two-Handed Swordsman with Forced Levy (with 16 attack).
• His icon shows him holding his sword in his left hand, while he holds it in his right hand in-game.
• The Light Cavalry is the first of only three units to upgrade into two different units, via the Hussar or the Winged Hussar. The only other units that can upgrade into two different units are the Long Swordsman and the Cavalier.
• The Light Cavalry is the only unit that moves slower than its predecessor (1.5 vs the Scout Cavalry's 1.55).

Gallery

A group of Light Cavalry

A group of Light Cavalry attacking Onagers and Monks

The Scout Cavalry line in the HD Edition, with the Light Cavalry being the second from the left

The Scout Cavalry line, with the Light Cavalry being the second from the left

Attacking sprite in the Definitive Edition

Original render

Seljuk Light Cavalry as seen in campaign artwork

Light Cavalry with the "Hrimfaxi the frost-maned horse" event mod

LIGHT CAVALRY (Dravidians) vs EVERY UNIQUE UNIT (Total Resources) - AoE II- DE