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This article is about the unit in Age of Mythology. For the Priest in other games in the series, see Priest. |
| “ | Hero. Has a ranged attack that is strong against myth units, heals allied units, and constructs Obelisks. Priests' combat ability increases in later ages. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
| “ | Hero that heals allied units, is strong against myth units, and summons Obelisks. Their combat ability increases in later ages. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Priest is the one of the two standard Egyptian heroes in Age of Mythology. He is in essence a lesser version of the Pharaoh, though a player can have any number of Priests. Like other heroes, the Priest has a large attack bonus against myth units. He is also their scout unit, and can construct Obelisks and be set to Auto Scout. Though he does not start with the ability to pick up Relics, he can do so after Hands of the Pharaoh, a technology in The Titans, has been researched.
Special ability[]
Auto Scout (Toggled): Enables the unit to automatically explore the map. (Autocast disabled by default)- Heal (Active, automatic): Heal an injured allied unit.
- Heka (Passive): Inflicts divine damage when fighting myth units.
- Sacred Hands (Passive, requires Hands of the Pharaoh): Can pick up Relics and drop them off at a Temple.
- Empower (Ra only, active): Can empower buildings to boost resource income, construction speed, productivity, and number of projectiles fired. (Empowers at 70% of a Pharaoh's efficiency)
- Convert Animal (Set only, active): Convert a wild animal into an Animal of Set. (Works on all wild land animals except Chickens, from a range of 10)
- Deathly Donative (Passive, requires Funeral Rites): Yields 8 gold on death.
All Priests can heal allied units at 7.5 hit points per second (halved when the target is not idle), somewhat more slowly than the Pharaoh, though this rate is doubled by researching Spirit of Maat (see below). Priests can also build Obelisks, an Egyptian unique building that has a wide Line of Sight to help with scouting. Each major god grants the Priest a further power as follows.
Set[]
Priests of Set can convert any huntable wild animal (with the notable exception of Ducks and Chickens) to the player's cause. The conversion time depends on the type of animal; it ranges from 18 seconds for a Gazelle up to 1 minute for a Rhinoceros. Converted animals cost no resources and take up very few population slots. This enables the Set player to create a cheap army of animals early in the game when resources are low. Alternatively, converted animals can be used to scout or as food.
Isis[]
Isis' Priests build Obelisks more quickly and at a reduced price, making them better at scouting. This enables Isis players to better maintain line of sight across the map.
Ra[]
Ra's Priests can empower buildings like the Pharaoh, albeit at a lower efficiency. The effects of a Ra Priest's empowerment are as follows:
- Buildings are built 30% faster.
- Units are trained 20% faster.
- Technologies are researched 20% faster.
- Buildings fire arrows twice as fast.
- Drop sites create 15% 'extra' resources.
- Monuments accumulate favor 15% faster.
Ra's Priests can substantially boost the player's economy, especially if several of them are used.
Further statistics[]
General technologies[]
- Hands of the Pharaoh*: Enables Priests to pick up relics and grants +2 range and Line of Sight.
- Copper Weapons, Bronze Weapons, Iron Weapons: +10% attack.
- Copper Armor, Bronze Armor, Iron Armor: -15% hack vulnerability.
- Copper Shields, Bronze Shields, Iron Shields: -15% pierce vulnerability.
Myth technologies[]
- Funeral Rites (Nephthys): Refunds 8 gold when killed.
- Nebty (Nephthys): +1 damage multiplier against myth units.
- Spirit of Maat (Nephthys): -30% cost, and +50% healing speed.
Relics[]
- Arrows of Heracles: +5% attack.
- Fur of Boyi: Regenerate 0.25 hit points per second.
- Hermes' Winged Sandals: +5% movement speed.
- Kui Drum: +0.25% attack per 1% hit point missing.
- Pelt of Argus: +6 Line of Sight.
- The Khopesh of Horus: +1.0 attack bonus multiplier vs. myth units.
- Thundercloud Shawl: -5% pierce vulnerability.
- Tyrfing, Angantyr's Sword: Regenerate 10% of damage dealt to units.
- Harter's Folly: +2 Line of Sight. (Before Retold)
Strategy[]
In battle, Priests function mainly as ranged support units as they are fragile and weak against human soldiers. However, they still form a crucial part of any Egyptian army: they are the Egyptians' main answer to myth units and their ability to heal prolongs an army's life. From the Classical Age, Priests have a long ranged attack; this improves further in later Ages. Nephthys (accessible to Isis and Set) provides improvements that make Priests stronger in combat and better healers overall.
Priests are also the Egyptians' designated scout. They can be used as such, at least in the Archaic Age when there is no real alternative. Although they are slow and have poor line of sight in the early game, they can build Obelisks: cheap but fragile structures that provide broad Line of Sight until they are destroyed. Though Priests are still useful at building Obelisks in later ages, other units such as Spearmen are better at scouting as they are cheaper and much faster. Set players can also use the Baboon of Set as an additional scout to supplement the Priest or even protect him, although the Baboon is fragile and will die from a few attacks.
Changelog[]
Age of Mythology[]
- Priests are produced in 10 seconds, 5× attack vs. myth units, and 2.5× attack vs. Animals of Set.
- Priests have 90, 99, 108, and 117 hit points in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Priests deal 2, 3, and 4 attack per second in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic Ages respectively.
- Priests have 3, 12, 19, and 22 range in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Priests have 8, 16, 22, and 28 Line of Sight in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Ra's Priests empower at [What?] the efficiency of a Pharaoh.
- Originally, Ra's Priests could empower gathering to the same degree as Pharaohs. With patch 1.05, Ra's Priests give less of a bonus than Pharaohs when empowering drop-off points.
- In an patch[When?], their multiplier against myth units was increased from 5× to 7×.
- With patch 1.05, the multiplier against myth units was changed to 9×.
- Priests use the standard human male hurt and death sounds, albeit slightly louder for the former.
The Titans[]
- Hands of the Pharaoh introduced, which enables Priests to collect Relics.
Retold[]
- Priests have 2.5 base attack vs. myth units (before multipliers and Age-up bonuses), and deal divine damage to them instead of pierce due to gaining Heka ability.
- Priests are produced in 9 seconds, 4× attack vs. myth units, and no multiplier vs. Animals of Set.
- Priests have 80, 88, 100, and 116 hit points in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Priests deal 0.5, 2.2, 2.6, and 3.2 attack with a Rate of Fire of 0.8 in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Priests have 5, 10, 15, and 20 range in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Priests have 12, 17, 22, and 27 Line of Sight in the Archaic/Classical/Heroic/Mythic Ages respectively.
- Ra's Priests empower at 60% the efficiency of a Pharaoh.
- With update 17.27932, Priests have 2 base attack vs. myth units (before multipliers and Age-up bonuses) and an attack multiplier of 5×.
- With update 17.27932, Ra's Priests empower at 70% the efficiency of a Pharaoh.
- Priests have new grunt and death sounds.
- With update 18.7603, their attack in the Heroic and Mythic Ages are 2.5 and 2.9 respectively.
In-game dialogue[]
- Select 1 Grikk [grg] - To set up, to furnish
- Select 2 Initu [in.i tw] - I bring that
- Select 3 Amwheech [in wḏ] - By commanding
- Task 1 Aa-you-refer
- Task 2 You-ai-air [iw.i ir] - I make / I do
- Task 3 taiyoh/ taeyu [tjw] - Good / Yes / Well
In-game help section[]
| “ | Priests are Egyptian heroes with the rare ability to heal. They have a short ranged attack that improves in later ages and is devastating against enemy myth units. Make sure that Priests are accompanied by units that can protect them from human soldiers. Priests' ranged attack allows them to strike at slow-moving myth units, but they may fall in battle against myth units that manage to reach them. Each major god's Priests have different abilities. Ra's Priests can empower buildings. Set's Priests can convert wild animals. Isis' Priests can quickly construct inexpensive Obelisks. |
” |
| —In-game help section | ||
Trivia[]
- If a Heka attack (made when targeting a myth unit) misses and hits another unit, including a non-myth unit, it still deals the stated divine damage.
- Originally the Priest had the ability to convert human soldiers and buildings. This feature was removed as it was considered unbalanced - it potentially granted the Egyptians access to all human units.
- The Priest is one of the most accurate units. He can hit moving targets, such as the Camel Rider and Raiding Cavalry, with a maximum speed of 6.00.
- When attacking myth units, the Priest's projectile is a white glowing magic missile. When attacking other units, the Priest fires a projectile in the form of a rock similar to the projectiles thrown by Slingers.
- The Priest was originally intended to be both melee and ranged, much like the Immortal. His ranged attack animation was the melee attack animation. The Priest still has his original ranged attack animation. The animation is shared with Setna.
- If Thoth's Valley of the Kings technology is given to a Ra player via triggers, the technology does not consider his Priests as valid empowerers for the effect.
Scenario Editor unit[]
| “ | Hero. Has a ranged attack that is strong against myth units, heals allied units, and constructs Obelisks. Priests' combat ability increases in later ages. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
A special Scenario Editor-exclusive version of the Priest was added with update 18.7603. Compared with the trainable Priest, it has slightly different stats and functions. It can heal allied units, just like the regular Priest, but cannot build Obelisks, convert animals (when assigned to a Set player), or empower buildings (when assigned to a Ra player). It can also pick up Relics without needing to first research Hands of the Pharaoh. Although, like the regular Priest, it uses a pierce attack when attacking non-myth units, its divine attack is displayed by default.
Like Setna, it has the ability to "restore" (i.e. build up from minimal hit points) the special campaign-exclusive Monuments that appear in the Shattered Underworlds scenario of the Pillars of the Gods campaign, suggesting that it was initially intended to play that role in the scenario, before being replaced by Setna.
Special ability[]
- Auto Scout: Enables the unit to automatically explore the map.
- Heal (Active, automatic): Heal an injured allied unit.
- Heka (Passive): Inflicts divine damage when fighting myth units. (not shown in the UI)
- Sacred Hands (Passive): Can pick up Relics and drop them off at a Temple.
Gallery[]
| Heroes obtainable in random maps in Age of Mythology | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God |  Archaic Age
|
 Classical Age
|
 Heroic Age
|
 Mythic Age
|
 Greeks (1 each)
| ||||
| All |  Hippocrates*
|
|||
 Zeus
|
 Jason
|
 Heracles
|
 Odysseus
|
 Bellerophon
|
 Poseidon
|
 Theseus
|
 Atalanta
|
 Hippolyta
|
 Polyphemus
|
 Hades
|
 Ajax
|
 Achilles
|
 Chiron
|
 Perseus
|
 Aphrodite
|
 The Argo
| |||
 Egyptians
| ||||
| All |  Pharaoh (1)
|
|||
 Priest
| ||||
 Osiris
|
 Son of Osiris
| |||
| Pharaoh (more)
| ||||
 Norse
| ||||
| All |  Hersir
|
 Godi
|
||
 Freyr
|
 Gullinbursti (1)
|
|||
 Baldr
|
  Hero of Ragnarok
| |||
 Atlanteans
| ||||
| All |  Citizen (Hero) (50)
|
 Murmillo (Hero)
|
 Arcus (Hero)
|
 Fanatic (Hero)
|
 Katapeltes (Hero)
|
 Contarius (Hero)
| |||
 Oracle (Hero) (10)
|
 Turma (Hero)
| |||
 Cheiroballista (Hero)
|
 Destroyer (Hero)
| |||
 Chinese (Immortal Pillars)
| ||||
| All |  Pioneer
|
 Sage (5)
|
||
 Jiang Ziya (1)
| ||||
 Fuxi
|
 Nezha (1)
|
 Yang Jian (1)
| ||
 Nüwa
|
 Kuafu (Hero) (1)
|
 Li Jing (1)
| ||
 Shennong
|
 Wen Zhong (1)
| |||
 Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)
| ||||
| All |  Monk
|
|||
 Fu Xi
|
 Immortal (8)
|
|||
| Others | Immortal (2)
|
Immortal (2)
|
Immortal (2)
|
Immortal (2)
|
| Regicide game mode | ||||
| All |  Regent (1)
| |||
