Oprichnik

Oprichnik
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Cavalry Heavy cavalry Siege infantry Melee cavalry
Civilization	Russians
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Trained at	Stable Fort Galleon
Population	2
Food	90
Coin	60
Statistics
Hit points	250
Resists	20% vs. Ranged
Speed	6.75
Line of Sight	15
XP train bounty	15
XP bounty	15
Melee damage
Attack	20 13 (Trample mode)
Multipliers	x3.0 vs. Template:Icon Villager x2.0 vs. Template:Icon Artillery and Template:Icon Siege infantry (except in Trample mode)
Area of Effect	3 (Trample mode)
Rate of Fire	1.5 2.0 (Trample mode)
Siege damage
Attack	75
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Fast cavalry good at raiding villagers or buildings.	”
—In-game description

The Oprichnik (correct Russian plural: Oprichniki) 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

Oprichniki are strange heavy cavalry units; they do not possess the hit points or damage that others like the Hussar have. They also have the highest siege damage out of every non-elephant cavalry unit in-game. Oprichniki enjoy a damage multiplier against Villager and artillery units, so this is what they should go for; attacking enemy Villagers, artillery and taking out strategic instillations placed by the opponent. A fully upgraded Imperial Oprichnik can take out settlers in 2-3 hits.

Due to their unconventional damage, Oprichniki should avoid fighting in hand-to-hand combat, as they will surely be killed. Ranged cavalry can also be an issue because of their multipliers against heavy cavalry.

When besieging enemy settlements, Oprichniki should target the buildings that the opponent needs desperately. Such buildings include Forts (if they are in the settlement), Town Centers (this will cripple some AIs, and for players, make a great setback in the middle of the game) and resource buildings. Players should ensure that the enemy is not around, as the attack will be nullified if they are near their settlement when they player attacks them. Place scouts of some sort (preferably Streltsy) around the area; this way, the player will know when to retreat before the enemy army returns and slaughters them. Have half of them attack enemy settlers while the remaining take down enemy buildings; if the player attacks at the right time, they can easily cripple or even destroy the opponent before their army is able to get back to defend it.

Upgrades

The Oprichnik is automatically upgraded to Veteran (but gets no extra hit points or attack from this) at the Fortress Age.

Age	Improvement	Cost	Effect
	Guard Oprichniks	600 wood 600 coin	Upgrades Oprichniki to Guard (+30% hit points and attack)
	Imperial Oprichniks	1,500 wood 1,500 coin	Upgrades Oprichniki to Imperial (+50% hit points and attack); requires Guard Oprichniks

Further statistics

As the Oprichnik can only be trained by the Russians, only improvements available to them (including native improvements) are listed here.

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Villagers, artillery, buildings
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, light infantry, cavalry
Improvements
Hit points	Cavalry Cuirass (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Pillage (+25% siege attack) Yoga (+5%)
Sight	Town Watch (+2)
Speed	Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	Mass Cavalry (-50%) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%) File:Inca Chaquis Messengers.png Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Other	Westernization (grants Veteran upgrade) Petrine Reforms (grants Guard upgrade) Meritocracy (-20% upgrade cost)

Home City Cards

As the Oprichnik is exclusive to the Russians, only other civilizations' TEAM cards that affects them are listed here.

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Oprichnik

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team French Card Description Age Home City level TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners gets +15% attack 10 Germans Card Description Age Home City level TEAM Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry gets +15% attack 10 Indians Card Description Age Home City level TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Japanese Card Description Age Home City level TEAM Cheaper Unit Upgrades Unit upgrades cost -20% 1 Russians Card Description Age Home City level Boyars Streltsy, Cossacks, and Oprichniki get +15% hit points and attack 25 Cavalry Combat Cavalry gets +15% hit points and attack 10 TEAM Cavalry Scouts Cavalry and light infantry gets +10% hit points and +4 LOS 1 5 Oprichniks Ships 5 Oprichniki 1 6 Oprichniks Ships 6 Oprichniki 10 9 Oprichniks Ships 9 Oprichniki 10 12 Oprichniks Ships 12 Oprichniki 40 Riding School Cavalry train time -40% 10 Spanish Card Description Age Home City level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

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 enemeies.	”
—In-game history section

Gallery

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An unupgraded Oprichnik

The Oprichnik's history portrait