| “ | Support unit with no combat capability. Can pick up Relics, convert enemy units, and capture Sacred Sites. | ” |
| —Age of Empires IV generic description | ||
As a general rule, religious units are non-combat support units in Age of Empires IV available to all civilizations. They are typically available at a civilization's religious building starting in the Castle Age. They can all pick up and carry Relics, capture Sacred Sites, and convert units using Relic Conversion. Additionally, all religious units, with the exception of the Shaolin Monk, can heal allied units.
List of religious units[]
The following units are considered religious units, and are available to civilizations mostly on the basis of their historical religion:
Buddhist Monk ( Japanese)- Dervish ( Ayyubids)
- Imam ( Abbasid Dynasty, Malians, Ottomans)
- Monk ( Byzantines, Chinese, English, French, Jeanne d'Arc, Zhu Xi's Legacy)
- Prelate ( Holy Roman Empire, Order of the Dragon)
- Scholar ( Delhi Sultanate)
- Shaman ( Mongols)
- Shaolin Monk ( Zhu Xi's Legacy)
- Shinto Priest ( Japanese)
- Warrior Monk ( Rus)
The Monk, Imam and Shaman are identical in all aspects, while the unique religious units (namely the Prelate, Warrior Monk, Buddhist Monk, Shinto Priest, Dervish, and Shaolin Monk) all have particularities that set them apart. In addition to the statistics below, all religious units have 0 melee and ranged armor by default except for the Shaolin Monk, which has 2 melee armor.
Comparison of statistics[]
| Unit | Age | Cost | TT | HP | SP | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monk / Imam / Shaman | 
|
150 gold | 30 | 90 | 1.12 | N/A |
| Prelate |  (HRE) (OotD)
|
100 gold | 30 or 20 |
90 | 1.12 | ·Holy Inspiration |
| Scholar |
|
130 or 80 gold | 30 or 42 |
90 | 1.12 | ·Speed up research ·Speed up production |
| Warrior Monk |
|
40 food, 200 gold | 35 | 190 | 1.62 | ·Saint's Blessing ·Combat ·Cavalry unit type |
| Dervish |
|
60 food, 140 gold | 40 | 120 | 1.62 | ·Mass Heal ·Camel Unease ·Cavalry unit type |
| Buddhist Monk |
|
100 gold | 30 | 90 | 1.25 | ·Buddhist Conversion ·Sohei's Sutra |
| Shinto Priest |
|
150 gold | 30 | 90 | 1.12 | ·Place Yorishiro |
| Shaolin Monk |
|
200 food | 20 | 170 | 1.19 | ·Body of Iron ·Regeneration ·Combat |
Notes[]
- The Japanese can choose between access to either Buddhist Monks or Shinto Priests based on their choice of Castle Age landmark.
- Zhu Xi's legacy is the only civilization which has access to multiple religious units simultaneously. They can unlock access to Shaolin Monks by constructing the Shaolin Temple landmark in the Castle Age.
Ability[]
The following abilities are common to almost all religious units:
- Healing: Religious units automatically heal allied units at 7 HP/s. When the units being healed are engaged in combat, they are healed 50% slower.
- Capturing Relics: Religious units can capture Relics (which are small items randomly scattered on a map) starting in the Castle Age. They can either garrison the Relic in a Religious Building to generate 80 gold/min or use it for conversion. Religious units with Relics move 25% slower.
- Conversion: Conversion requires the unit to hold a Relic. A religious unit with Relic can convert all enemy units in a 4.5 tiles radius.
- Capturing Sacred Sites: Religious units can capture Sacred Sites starting in the Castle Age by default. Captured Sacred Sites generate gold, and capturing all of them for 10 minutes grants victory.
Unique[]
The following abilities are unique to specific religious units:
- Proselytize: The Abbasid Dynasty technology Proselytization allows Imams to convert singular units without needing a Relic.
- Holy Inspiration (Prelate only): Holy Roman Empire Prelates can inspire Villagers, temporarily and significantly improving their gather rate. Both Holy Roman Empire and Order of the Dragon Prelates can inspire military units after Inspired Warriors is researched, improving their armor and attack damage.
- Speed up research (Scholar only): Scholars garrisoned in a Mosque or Madrasa will increase the research speed of buildings within their influence based on the amount of Scholars garrisoned globally.
- Saint's Blessing (Warrior Monk only): Warrior Monks temporarily grant extra attack and armor to all nearby allied units (except other Warrior Monks) every time they attack an enemy unit.
- Ascetic Recovery (Shaolin Monk only): The Shaolin Monk regenerates 1 hit point per second when out of combat.
- Body of Iron (Shaolin Monk only): Temporarily reduces incoming ranged damage.
- Buddhist Conversion (Buddhist Monk only): Whenever attempting a conversion, allied units within the conversion radius gain increased base damage. This ability can be upgraded to Nehan Conversion by researching Nehan, which additionally grants allies within the conversion radius increased movement speed.
- Sohei's Sutra (Buddhist Monk only): Automatically targets enemy units to temporarily reduce their damage.
- Place Yorishiro (Shinto Priest only): As long as there are fewer than four Yorishiro in play, Shinto Priests are produced automatically from the Floating Gate landmark every 2 minutes for free holding a Yorishiro. They can place these Yorishiro inside various buildings to grant them certain bonuses.
- Mass Heal (Dervish only): Heals all nearby units slowly by default, or +50% faster while carrying a Relic.
- Camel Unease (Dervish only): Like all other units mounted on a camel, the Dervish has the ability to reduce the attack strength of nearby horse-mounted cavalry.
Notes[]
- The Scholar can begin capturing Sacred Sites as early as the Feudal Age after researching Sanctity.
- The Warrior Monk is mounted on a horse and can engage in melee combat in addition to other abilities of the generic religious unit.
- The Shaolin Monk can engage in melee combat, pick up Relics, convert enemies, and capture Sacred Sites. However, unlike most religious units, it does not have the ability to heal.
Further statistics[]
The following boosts affect all religious units within a civilization:
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Piety (+40) Piety Improved: (+60,  Mongols) Biology (+25%,  Rus) Boyar's Fortitude (+25, Rus) Saint's Veneration (+100, Rus)
|
| Attack | Rus -  Bloomery (+1)-  Decarbonization (+1)-  Damascus Steel (+1)
|
| Armor |  Fitted Leatherwork (+1 melee) Insulated Helm (+1 melee) Master Smiths (+1 melee) Iron Undermesh (+1 ranged) Wedge Rivets (+1 ranged) Angled Surfaces (+1 ranged)
|
| Line of Sight |  All-Seeing Eye (+100%,  Delhi Sultanate)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Swiftness (+50%, Delhi Sultanate)  Inspired Warriors (+10%,  Holy Roman Empire and  Order of the Dragon)
|
| Healing |  Herbal Medicine (+60% faster, except  Japanese) Herbal Medicine Improved: (+90%, Mongols)
|
| Ability |  Proselytization (Grants single-target conversion ability,  Abbasid Dynasty) Logistics Turns on permanent mass heal; heal rate +0.5 HP/s in the Castle Age, +1 HP/s in the Imperial Age,  Ayyubids) Efficient Production (Garrison inside production buildings and boost work rate, Delhi Sultanate) Sanctity (Capture Sacred Sites in the Feudal Age, Delhi Sultanate) Zeal (Healed military units gain +50% ROF for 3 seconds, Delhi Sultanate) Inspired Warriors (Can inspire military units, Holy Roman Empire and Order of the Dragon) Devoutness (+25% inspired villager build speed, additional +10% gather rate bonus, Holy Roman Empire) Field Work (Grants area heal ability,  Ottomans) Divine Light (+10 seconds Saint's Blessing duration, Rus) Fervor (+5 tiles Saint's Blessing range, +1 damage bonus, Rus)
|
| Other | Field Work (spawn two Imams at the Capital Town Center, Ottomans)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
 Regeneration
|
 Divine Vitality (2 hp/s out of combat,  Zhu Xi's Legacy)
|
| Armor |  Infantry Support (+3 melee and ranged, Ayyubids) Defense Arrow (+2 melee and ranged for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows, Mongols) Mehter Melee Armor Drums (+2 melee, Ottomans) Mehter Ranged Armor Drums (+1 ranged, Ottomans)
|
| Damage resistance |  Wall Defense (-25% ranged, -50% siege)
|
| Line of Sight |  Set up Camp (+30%,  English)
|
| Movement speed
|
 Naval Deployment (+50% speed for 12 seconds after unloading from a Transport Ship,  Byzantines) Mehter Speed Bonus (+15% when in formation with Mehter, requires Mehter Drums, Ottomans) Maneuver Arrow (+33% for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows, Mongols) Yam Aura (+15%, requires Yam Network, Mongols)
|
| Resource cost |  Consecrate (-25%, requires Ordinance Company,  Jeanne d'Arc)
|
| Creation speed |  Golden Age Tier 3 (+20%, Abbasid Dynasty, Ayyubids)  Conscriptio Influence (+20% per Cistern water level, Byzantines) Supervision (+150% for  Chinese; +150% for Zhu Xi's Legacy or +300% with Regional Inspection)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Resource cost | Delhi Sultanate (-50% with Dome of the Faith) Rus (-50% with Abbey of the Trinity) Zhu Xi's Legacy (-10% in  Yuan Dynasty)
|
| Other | Delhi Sultanate (Available in Dark Age) Holy Roman Empire (Available in Dark Age and from Town Center also)
|
Specific Upgrades[]
For civilizations with multiple religious units, the following boosts apply only to specific religious units
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
| Hit points
|
Biology Improved: (+30%, Khaganate Palace  Warrior Monk) Elite Army Tactics (+20%,  Shaolin Monk)
|
| Attack | Shaolin Monk - Bloomery (+1)- Decarbonization (+1)- Damascus Steel (+1)- Elite Army Tactics (+20%)
|
| Movement speed
|
 Shinto Rituals (+15%,  Shinto Priest)
|
| Healing | Shinto Rituals (+60%, Shinto Priest)
|
| Ability |  Nehan (Conversion additionally enhances allied unit speed by 25% and cooldown reduced to 90 seconds,  Buddhist Monk) Zen (Generate 25 gold every 60 seconds, Buddhist Monk)
|
| Aura and ability enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Kurultai Aura (+20%, Khaganate Palace Warrior Monk)  Ming Dynasty (+15%, Shaolin Monk)
|
| Armor | Defense Arrow (+2 melee and ranged for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows, Khaganate Palace Warrior Monk)
|
| Movement speed
|
 Nehan Conversion (+25% for 20 seconds, Buddhist Monk) Maneuver Arrow (+33% for 5/10/12 seconds, depending on Whistling Arrows, Khaganate Palace Warrior Monk) Yam Aura (+15%, Khaganate Palace Warrior Monk)
|
Trivia[]
- The Shinto Priest and Buddhist Monk both have unused icon files showing tier 3 and 4 pips, suggesting that they were initially envisioned to receive direct upgrades. If so, they would have been the only religious units with access to this type of upgrade.
Gallery[]
Ring around a religious unit while healing other units
Cursor of a religious unit over a damaged unit
Ring around a Sacred Site while it is being Captured by a religious unit
Cursor of a religious unit over a Sacred Site
Conversion ring around a religious unit with Relic when he is trying to convert
