| “ | Fast cavalry good at raiding villagers or buildings. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Oprichnik is a melee heavy cavalry in Age of Empires III that is unique to the Russians and can be trained at Stable, Fort, and Galleon once the Fortress Age is reached.
Overview[]
Oprichniks are heavy cavalry units unsuited for general combat, but excel at raiding. They do not possess the hit points or damage that other cavalry like the Hussar have. However, they have the highest siege damage out of every non-elephant cavalry unit in-game and enjoy a large damage multiplier against Villagers and a minor one against artillery units. However, using Oprichniks to fight artillery might be ineffective if it's defended by heavy infantry, leaving Oprichniks mainly used for raiding undefended Villagers and buildings. A fully upgraded Imperial Oprichnik can take out settlers in 2-3 hits.
Due to their unconventional damage, Oprichniks should avoid fighting in hand-to-hand combat, as they will surely be killed. Ranged cavalry is also an issue because of its multiplier against heavy cavalry.
Upgrades[]
The Oprichnik starts at the Veteran level, but without the increased hit points and damage.
| Age | Upgrade | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 Guard Oprichniks
|
600 wood 600 coin |
Upgrades Oprichniks to Guard (+30% hit points and damage) |
 |
 Imperial Oprichniks
|
1,500 wood 1,500 coin |
Upgrades Oprichniks to Imperial (+50% hit points and damage); requires Guard Oprichniks |
Consulate Oprichnik[]
| “ | Fast cavalry good at raiding villagers or buildings. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Consulate Oprichnik is a counterpart of the Oprichnik, which starts with +10% hit points and damage.
Upgrades[]
The Consulate Oprichnik is automatically upgraded in the Industrial Age and Imperial Age:
+30% hit points and damage- +50% hit points and damage
Civilization differences[]
- The Maltese can get Consulate Oprichniks named Order Oprichniks through the "Russian Tongue" Home City Card, which ships 13 Order Oprichniks and allows them to be trained at Commanderies and Forts. These Order Oprichniks have 16 XP train and kill bounty, 100 food, 65 coin cost and 49.5 seconds train time.
Further statistics[]
Home City Cards[]
- Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Oprichnik
| Some cards are highlighted with: | |
| Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
| Blue | Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds) |
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack
| Hand cavalry and hand shock infantry damage +15% |  |
| 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.
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
| Unit hit points and damage +5% | |
| 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.
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Sengoku
| Unit upgrades cost -20% | |
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Mustangs
| Cavalry and shock infantry cost -10% |  |
| 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% |  |
 Auberges
| Commandery population support +10; Order unit cost -10% (rounded to 5, 10, or 15 less resources) | |
 Russian Tongue
| Delivers 13 Order Oprichniks and 1 Commandery Wagon; Commandery build limit +1, and ebnables to train Order Oprichniks; costs 1,500 wood | |
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Mariachi
| For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10% | |
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 Boyars
| Cossack, Oprichnik, and Cavalry Archer hit points and damage +10% | |
 Cavalry Combat
| Cavalry hit points and damage +15% | |
 TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions
| Cavalry and shock infantry hit points +10%, Line of Sight +4 | |
 5 Oprichniks
| Delivers 5 Oprichniks | |
 6 Oprichniks
| Delivers 6 Oprichniks | |
 9 Oprichniks
| Delivers 9 Oprichniks | |
 12 Oprichniks
| Delivers 12 Oprichniks | |
 Riding School
| Cavalry train time -40%; Cuirassier, Oprichnik, and Hakkapelit train time -35% instead; Gatling Camel train time -20% instead | |
 Finnhorses
| Hussar, Hakkapelit, Cossack, Oprichnik, Cavalry Archer, and Counter Dragoon hit points +20% |  |
- "Finnhorses" is available upon revolting to Finland.
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 TEAM Spanish Inquisition
| Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10 | |
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack
|
Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack | |
10 |
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM Cavalry Attack
|
Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack | |
10 |
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM Shivaji's Tactics
|
All units get +5% hit points and damage | |
25 |
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades
|
Unit upgrades cost -20% | |
1 |
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
 Boyars
|
Streltsy, Cossacks, and Oprichniks get +15% hit points and damage | |
25 |
| Cavalry Combat
|
Cavalry get +15% hit points and damage | |
10 |
| TEAM Cavalry Scouts
|
Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight | |
1 |
| 5 Oprichniks
|
Ships 5 Oprichniks | |
1 |
| 6 Oprichniks
|
Ships 6 Oprichniks | |
10 |
| 9 Oprichniks
|
Ships 9 Oprichniks | |
10 |
| 12 Oprichniks
|
Ships 12 Oprichniks | |
40 |
| Riding School
|
Cavalry train time -40% | |
10 |
| Card | Description | Age | HC level |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM Inquisition
|
All units get +10 Line of Sight | |
10 |
Changelog[]
Age of Empires III[]
- Oprichniks have 75 siege damage.
- Trample Mode does not have damage multipliers.
Definitive Edition[]
- Fixed a bug which makes the Oprichnik's multipliers against artillery and siege units not applied when they are set to Trample Mode.
- With update 20322, Oprichniks have 64 siege damage.
History[]
| “ | Oprichniks were the police and soldiers of Oprichnina, a royal domain created by Ivan the Terrible. Tsar Ivan used his Oprichniks to crush any hereditary opposition to his rule. These soldiers carried out their Tsar's will with unflinching loyalty and were brutal and ferocious thugs. The Tsar's goals were not especially original, but Ivan the Terrible and his Oprichniks operated on an unprecedented scale. One attack on the city of Novgorod took the lives of at least 3,000 people. They were slaughtered over the course of a week. Some accounts put the death toll as high as 60,000 people. The Oprichniks promoted a fierce appearance, wearing all black uniforms and riding black horses. The Oprichnik seal bore a dog, symbolizing their loyalty to the Tsar and their tenacity in fighting for the Tsar, and a broom, to represent sweeping away the Tsar's enemies. |
” |
| —In-game history section | ||
Gallery[]
The Oprichnik's history portrait
Oprichnik concept art
An in-game (Veteran) Oprichnik
An in-game Guard/Imperial Oprichnik
An in-game (Veteran) Oprichnik in the Definitive Edition
An in-game Guard/Imperial Oprichnik in the Definitive Edition
Oprichnik image from the Compendium section
