โ | Infantry best used against cavalry. Can enter Shield Wall to take reduced ranged damage. | โ |
—Age of Empires IV description |
The Limitanei is a light melee infantry unit in Age of Empires IV: The Sultans Ascend. The Limitanei is the unique variant of the Spearman for the Byzantines, with more hit points, and the ability to form a shield wall, which reduces incoming ranged damage, at the cost of movement and attack speed.
They can also be spawned from the Palatine School.
Ability[]
- / Enter/Leave Shield Wall (Toggled): Enter or exit a defensive stance. While Shield Wall is enabled, move speed is reduced by -25%, attack speed is reduced by -25%, and ranged damage taken is reduced by -30%. This ability has a 10 second cooldown.
- Spearwall: Limitanei can brace for impact against incoming cavalry when they are idling or attack moving. This ability stuns and damages the cavalry units who reach them while cancelling all charge attacks, including the Trample ability of Cataphracts. The attack deals the same base damage as the regular attack (except for regular Limitanei, where it deals 1 less), but deals slightly more bonus damage (for a total of 4x damage, instead of 3.5x). The attack also has a longer range of 1.04 tiles compared to the standard melee range of 0.29 tiles.
Tactics[]
Limitanei are mostly comparable to Spearmen, having slightly higher hit points, but with most other statistics being the same. The primary difference in the unit comes from their Shield Wall ability, which allows them to significantly reduce damage from ranged attacks, granting more survivability against attacking Archers when moving into attack position. Fighting in Shield Wall is generally not advised, however, considering the reduction in attack speed.
Unit comparison[]
Spearman | Limitanei | |
---|---|---|
Cost | 60 food, 20 wood | 80 food, 10 wood |
Training time | 15 | 17 |
Hit points | Regular: 80 Hardened: 90 Veteran: 110 Elite: 130 |
Regular: 90 Hardened: 100 Veteran: 120 Elite: 140 |
Other | Shield Wall |
Further statistics[]
Strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Melee cavalry |
Weak vs. | Infantry |
Technologies | |
---|---|
Attack | Bloomery (+1) Decarbonization (+1) Damascus Steel (+1) Elite Army Tactics (+20%) |
Armor | Fitted Leatherwork (+1 melee) Insulated Helm (+1 melee) Master Smiths (+1 melee) Elite Army Tactics (+4 melee) Iron Undermesh (+1 ranged) Wedge Rivets (+1 ranged) Angled Surfaces (+1 ranged) |
Movement speed | Teardrop Shields (+15%) |
Creation speed | Military Academy (+33%) |
Ability | Siege Engineering (Can build Cheirosiphons and Siege Towers) |
Aura and ability enhancements | |
---|---|
Regeneration | Pilgrim Flask (25 hp/s for 6 seconds, requires Cistern of the First Hill) |
Attack | Improved Torch (+25% torch attack, requires Trapezites) |
Armor | Camel Support (+2 melee/ranged, requires Foreign Engineering Company) |
Damage resistance | Wall Defense (-25% ranged, -50% siege) |
Movement speed | Naval Deployment (+50% speed for 12 seconds after unloading from a Transport Ship) |
Creation speed | Conscriptio Influence (+20% per Cistern water level) |
Dialogue lines[]
- Main article: /Dialogue lines
Changelog[]
- Originally, the Shield Wall ability reduced incoming damage by 50%. With patch 9.2.628, it reduces it by 40%. With update 10.0.576, it reduces it by 30%.
Trivia[]
- The Limitanei were a type of late Roman soldier that protected the borders. They were later continued as the Akritoi.
- Before researching Teardrop Shields, some Limitanei will have the same design on their shield as the original shield design of the Imperial Legionary from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.