Priest (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the unit in other games of the series, see Priest.

Priest
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Healer
Civilization	All except Macedonians
Age	File:BronzeAgeIcon.jpg Bronze Age
Training
Trained at	File:TempleIconAoE.png Temple
Gold	125
Statistics
Hit points	25
Attack	0
Range	10
Melee armor	0
Ranged armor	0
Speed	0.8
Line of Sight	12

The Priest is a special unit in Age of Empires that can be trained at the Temple. Slow-moving, fragile, and unable to attack, Priests can instead heal wounded friendly units (except for ships) nearby and attempt to convert enemy units. After a successful conversion, the enemy unit will switch colors to the team of the Priest and be under control of that player. After a conversion, a Priest may not again attempt to convert until his rejuvenation meter has regained back to its fullest, at 100%.

Priests are available to all civilizations except for the Macedonians.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Slow non-ranged units
Weak vs.	Fast units, ranged units
Upgrades
Hit points	Mysticism (+100%)
Range	Afterlife (+3)
Speed	Polytheism (+40%)
Conversion	Astrology (convert faster) Fanaticism (rejuvenate 50% faster after conversion) Monotheism (convert Priests and buildings) Sacrifice (enables an instant unit conversion by sacrificing the Priest's life)
Other	Medicine (increases healing rate)

Civilization bonuses

• Babylonian: Priests have 30% faster rejuvenation rate.
• Choson: Priests are 30% cheaper.
• Egyptian: Priests have +3 range.

Trivia

• The Priest is actually available in the Stone Age. However the building where it is trained, namely the Temple, is not until the Bronze Age.
  • This can officially be seen in the campaign scenario The Caravan, where the player has been granted a Temple in the Stone Age
• If a unit attacks an enemy unit near an Elephant within range of an enemy Priest, there is a glitch that may occasionally occur in which a Priest will attempt to convert the Elephant instead of the attacking unit. The conversion will always be unsuccessful and the Priest may die to the attacking player's advantage. This glitch only applies if the enemy is controlled by the computer.
• There is a cheat code that grants Priests 600 HP and absurdly fast movement by typing HOYOHOYO into the chat box. Note that these statistics can be further improved to 1,200 HP and even greater speed by activating the cheat code prior to researching Mysticism and Polytheism.
• The sound of the Priest's chant ("wololo") has since become an Internet meme, and is often mistakenly associated with Age of Empires II's Monks (à la Beam me up, Scotty).
• The Priest in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms is identical to the Priest from Age of Empires.
• When an allied unit has been converted off-screen, a shortened Priest chant is played.
• Converting a unit does not arrest it.
• There is no way to prevent a conversion, unlike in Age of Empires II, where the player can research Heresy to make it so that the unit dies rather than getting converted.

History

The acceptance of gods and goddesses associated with complex religions required the provision of priests (and priestesses) who acted as representatives of the gods among the people. Priests developed and conducted rituals, interpreted the demands of gods, taught and enforced the religious laws, and sought new believers. Particularly effective priests, or those representing a potent religion, were thought capable of healing.

Gallery

A render of the Priest model

The Priest is already available in the Stone Age. However, the Temple will not be available until the Bronze Age.