Long Swordsman (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the similar unit in Age of Empires II, see Long Swordsman (Age of Empires II).

Long Swordsman
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Infantry
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Training
Trained at	Barracks
Food	35
Gold	15
Training time	26 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	100
Melee attack	11
Reload time	1.5
Melee armor	2
Pierce armor	0
Armor class	Light infantry
Speed	1
Line of Sight	4
Upgraded from
Upgraded from	Broad Swordsman
Upgrades to
Upgrades to	Legionary
Upgrade cost	1,400 food, 600 gold
Upgrade time	150 seconds
Upgrade requires	N/A

“	Upgrade of Broad Swordsman. The Long Swordsman has more hit points, attack strength, and armor.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Long Swordsman is a melee infantry unit featured in Age of Empires. It becomes available at the Barracks in the Iron Age once Long Sword is researched. In order to research this technology, 240 food, 100 gold is required.

The mask from their upgrade to the Broad Swordsman is the game's icon.

Civilizations

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

Gameplay

The Long Swordsman is simply a better version of the Broad Swordsman. It has more hit points, attack, and armor, though by the time they can be trained there are better infantry unit choices at the Academy. They are good for massed attacks due to their cheap cost. The Long Swordsman can be upgraded to the Legionary (before Return of Rome, only when Fanaticism is researched).

Further statistics

Strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Buildings, Chariots, Camel Riders
Weak vs.	Heavy Cavalry, Phalangites, archers

Upgrades
Attack	Toolworking (+2) Metalworking (+2) Metallurgy (+3)
Armor	Leather Armor Infantry (+2/0) Scale Armor Infantry (+2/0) Chain Mail Infantry (+2/0) Bronze Shield (0/+1) Iron Shield (0/+1) Tower Shield (0/+1)
Creation speed	Conscription (+25%)
Other	Logistics (-0.5 population usage) Legionary (+40 hit points, +2 attack)

Civilization bonuses
Hit points	Choson (+60)
Attack speed	Romans (+50%)
Creation speed	Lac Viet (+25%)

Team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Upgrading Long Swordsmen to Legionaries and researching technologies that benefit Long Swordsmen is 30% faster.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Long Swordsmen have 80 hit points.
• Choson: Long Swordsmen get +80 hit points.
• Long Swordsmen can be upgraded to Legionaries only if Fanaticism is researched.

Definitive Edition

• Long Swordsmen have 100 hit points.
• Choson: Long Swordsmen get +60 hit points.

Return of Rome

• Upon release, Long Swordsmen have 80 hit points, and their idle pose is modified to look more distinct from Legionaries. With hotfix 85208, they have 100 hit points again.
• Team bonuses added, Palmyrans: Technologies benefiting Long Swordsmen researched 30% faster.
• Researching Fanaticism is no longer required to upgrade Long Swordsmen to Legionaries.

History

“	The long sword represents the culmination of infantry weapon development in antiquity. It was designed for both piercing and slashing, combining the best of both the short and broad swords. The long sword was made possible first by advances in bronzeworking and improved by the discovery of iron. Some historians believe that the development of long swords by barbarian cultures was a key factor in the catastrophe of 1200 BC, when most of the civilized cultures of the Mediterranean and Middle East were overrun. The long sword in various forms remained an important military weapon until the advent of gunpowder.	”
—The Age of Empires manual

Gallery

Long Swordsmen in Return of Rome

The Short Swordsman unit line in Return of Rome, with the Long Swordsman being the second from the right end

A Long Swordsman in the Definitive Edition

A group of Long Swordsmen in the original game.

A long Swordsman attacking

Old 3D model of a Long Swordman

Technology tree

	➞		➞			➞
	➞
					➞		➞		➞