Naginata Rider (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the unit in Age of Mythology, see Naginata Rider (Age of Mythology).

Naginata Rider
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Type	Cavalry Heavy cavalry Hand cavalry Lance cavalry
Civilization(s)	Japanese
Age	Commerce Age
Training
Trained at	Stable Fort Daimyo Atakebune
Cost	100 Food 100 Coin 2 Population
Train time	40 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	300
Resistance	30% Ranged
Speed	6.75
Line of Sight	15
Train XP	20
Kill XP	20
Siege attack
Damage	22 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Hand attack
Damage	28 Hand
Rate of Fire	1.5
Bonus damage	1.5x vs. Infantry 0.67x vs. Heavy infantry
Trample attack
Damage	20 Hand
Area of Effect	3
Rate of Fire	2.0
Bonus damage	Same as hand attack

“	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:

1. The archers will do almost no damage to the Naginatas.
2. 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 damage)
	Honored Naginata Rider	600 wood 600 coin	Upgrades Naginata Riders to Honored (+30% hit points and damage); requires Disciplined Naginata Rider
Imperial Age	Exalted Naginata Rider	1,500 wood 1,500 coin	Upgrades Naginata Riders to Exalted (+50% hit points and damage); 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.	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)
Speed	Comanche Mustangs (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost)
Train time	Cheyenne Horse Trading (-40%) Mass Cavalry (-35%) Quechuan Diet (-15%) Immigrants (-10%) Shaman Drums (-10%)
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)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

French

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack	Hand cavalry and hand shock infantry damage +15%

Germans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +10%; Germans-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +15% instead

• "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the Italian "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Italians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +10%; Italians-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +15% instead

• "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the German "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
6 Naginata Riders	Delivers 6 Naginata Riders
5 Naginata Riders	Delivers 5 Naginata Riders
Naginata Rider Hitpoints	Naginata Rider hit points +20%
Bloody Harvest	Naginata Rider hand and trample attack bonus damage against infantry +1.0, against heavy infantry -0.27
8 Naginata Riders	Delivers 8 Naginata Riders
4 Naginata Riders	Delivers 4 Naginata Riders
TEAM Sengoku	Unit upgrade cost -20%
Bakufu	Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa speed +5%, Line of Sight +10, training and research work rate +15%; land military 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	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%

Russians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions	Cavalry and shock infantry hit points +10%, Line of Sight +4

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

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 damage		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

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.

”

Trivia

• The model of the Disciplined and Honored/Exalted Naginata Rider carries an uma-jirushi (horse insignia, in Japanese).

Gallery

An in-game Naginata Rider

An in-game Disciplined Naginata Rider

An in-game Honored/Exalted Naginata Rider

An in-game Naginata Rider in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Disciplined Naginata Rider in the Definitive Edition

An in-game Honored/Exalted Naginata Rider in the Definitive Edition

The Naginata Rider's history portrait

Naginata Rider image from the Compendium section