“ | Heavy cavalry armed with a naginata for killing archers, skirmishers, and artillery. | ” |
—In-game description |
The Naginata Rider is a melee heavy cavalry unit in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties that is unique to the Japanese and can be trained at Stables and Atakebunes, and by Daimyos. It wields a naginata in combat.
Overview[]
A non-traditional cavalry unit, the Naginata Rider functions as an in-between of the Hussar and the Lancer of the European civilizations. It is very effective against archers and Skirmishers, but unlike the Lancer, not particularly effective against its traditional counter heavy infantry (the multipliers cancel each other out). That is compensated by being slightly better against artillery, which it counters well, and significantly better against other cavalry, thanks to its higher base attack (like a Hussar).
Naginata Riders have the same weaknesses as most hand cavalry units, being vulnerable against ranged cavalry (such as Dragoons and Howdahs). Howdahs can take them down in a single shot, so Naginatas should stay away from them.
When Naginata Riders are employed against Longbowmen, Arrow Knights, Cetan Bows, and the like, the results are one sided for two reasons:
- The archers will do almost no damage to the Naginatas.
- It will take a maximum of three hits for a Naginata to take down a Longbowman, for instance.
If the player researches Honored Naginata Rider and sends the Bloody Harvest card from the Home City, a Naginata Rider kills an unupgraded Longbowman in a single blow.
If this advantage is used well, enemy archers are rendered ineffectual. Use Ashigaru Musketeers or Samurai to attack the enemy melee units head on, while the Naginatas sneak around the back to kill any archers who are firing at the Ashigarus/Samurai. When used this way, the Naginata Rider can be especially cost effective.
Upgrades[]
Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
Disciplined Naginata Rider | 200 wood 100 coin |
Upgrades Naginata Riders to Disciplined (+20% hit points and attack) | |
Honored Naginata Rider | 600 wood 600 coin |
Upgrades Naginata Riders to Honored (+30% hit points and attack); requires Disciplined Naginata Rider | |
Exalted Naginata Rider | 1,500 wood 1,500 coin |
Upgrades Naginata Riders to Exalted (+50% hit points and attack); requires Honored Naginata Rider |
Further statistics[]
As Naginata Riders are unique to the Japanese, only technologies that they have access to are shown in the following table:
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Light infantry, artillery |
Weak vs. | Heavy infantry, light ranged cavalry, ranged shock infantry |
Improvements | |
Hit points | Cavalry Cuirass (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%) |
Attack | Yoga (+5%) Pillage (+25% siege attack multiplier vs. buildings) Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire) |
Resistance | Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% hand resistance) Pancerni (+10% ranged resistance) |
Line of Sight | Town Watch (+3) |
Speed | Comanche Mustangs (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5) |
Train time | Cheyenne Horse Trading (-40%) Mass Cavalry (-35%) Quechuan Diet (-15%) Immigrants (-10%) Shaman Drums (-10%) |
Cost | Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost) |
Other | Jagiellonian Legacy (delivers 1/3/5/9 Naginata Riders if Great Buddha was built for the Japanese to reach the Commerce/Fortress/Industrial/Imperial Age respectively) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost) |
Home City Cards[]
As Naginata Riders are unique to the Japanese, only their cards and other civilizations' TEAM cards are shown in the following tables:
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Naginata Rider
Some cards are highlighted with: | |
Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
Purple | Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times |
Red | Shipment that can be sent twice |
Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
French[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack | Hand cavalry and hand shock infantry get +15% attack |
Germans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +10% attack; Germans-only heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack instead |
- "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the Italian "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack |
Italians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +10% attack; Italians-only heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack instead |
- "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the German "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
6 Naginata Riders | Ships 5 Naginata Riders | |
5 Naginata Riders | Ships 5 Naginata Riders | |
Naginata Rider Hitpoints | Naginata Riders get +20% hit points | |
Bloody Harvest | Naginata Riders get +1.0 hand attack multiplier against infantry and -0.27 against heavy infantry | |
8 Naginata Riders | Ships 8 Naginata Riders | |
4 Naginata Riders | Ships 4 Naginata Riders | |
TEAM Sengoku | Unit upgrades cost -20% | |
Bakufu | Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa get +5% speed, +10 Line of Sight and train units 15% faster; land military unit train time -20%, artillery and banner army train time -10% instead |
Lakota[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mustangs | Cavalry and shock infantry cost -10% |
Maltese[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Knights of the Round Table | Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points |
Mexicans[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Mariachi | For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions | Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age |
---|---|---|
TEAM Spanish Inquisition | Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight |
French[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack | 10 |
Germans[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Cavalry Attack | Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack | 10 |
Indians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics | All units get +5% hit points and attack | 25 |
Japanese[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
6 Naginata Riders | Ships 5 Naginata Riders | 1 | |
5 Naginata Riders | Ships 5 Naginata Riders | 25 | |
Naginata Rider Hitpoints | Naginata Riders get +30% hit points | 10 | |
Bloody Harvest | Naginata Riders get +1.0 hand attack multiplier against infantry and -0.27 against heavy infantry | 1 | |
8 Naginata Riders | Ships 8 Naginata Riders | 10 | |
4 Naginata Riders | Ships 4 Naginata Riders | 25 | |
TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades | Unit upgrades cost -20% | 1 | |
Bakufu | Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa get +10% speed, +20 Line of Sight and train units 100% faster | 10 |
Russians[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions | Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight | 1 |
Spanish[]
Card | Description | Age | HC level |
---|---|---|---|
TEAM Inquisition | All units get +10 Line of Sight | 10 |
Trivia[]
- The model of the Disciplined and Honored/Exalted Naginata Rider carries an uma-jirushi (horse insignia, in Japanese).
History[]
“ | The naginata is an ancient Japanese weapon that was used widely during Japan's feudal period. It is often compared to the European halberd, or pike, and is little more than a 1-2 foot curved sword blade fastened to the end of a long oak handle. The dimensions of the weapon are often dependent on personal preference and battlefield conditions. Despite its simplicity, the naginata is difficult to brandish and even more difficult to master. Naginata-jutsu is the art of wielding the naginata, a practice that is still studied today. When it first appeared, the naginata was usually used by attendants to samurai and by sohei warrior monks. It was effective at disabling enemy cavalry units from a short distance. However, with the dawn of gunpowder weapons, the naginata rapidly lost its importance and was often left behind when men ventured off to battle. This is how the naginata became a symbolic object for Japanese women, since it was the primary weapon with which they had to defend their homes and families. It was also the weapon of choice for female samurai, including the legendary Hangaku, a beautiful and deadly warrior who was said to wield a naginata in combat. Today, naginata-jutsu is widely considered a feminine art, the weapon seen as a symbol of a woman's devotion to her family. More Japanese women than men practice it. |
” |