Royal Horseman

Royal Horseman
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean
Type	Cavalry Heavy cavalry Hand cavalry Mercenary
Age	Industrial Age
Training
Trained at	Tavern (Europeans) Monastery (Asians) Saloon (Americans) Palace (Africans) Lombard (Italians) Trading Post or Tambo (built on a House of Bourbon palace with the Maison du Roi)
Cost	400 Coin 4 Population
Train time	60 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	900
Resistance	30% Ranged
Speed	6.25
Line of Sight	15
XP train bounty	50
XP kill bounty	50
Siege attack
Damage	30 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Hand attack
Damage	30 Hand
Area of Effect	3
Rate of Fire	1.5
Trample attack
Damage	20 Hand
Area of Effect	5
Rate of Fire	2.0
Stampede attack
Damage	10 Hand
Area of Effect	2
Rate of Fire	1.0
Bonus damage	0.75x Heavy infantry 0.75x Light ranged cavalry 0.25x Building 0.0x Hunted animals 0.0x Tree

“	Guard cavalry mercenary riding a heavy war horse with a powerful stampede mode that damages units while moving.	”
—In-game description

The Royal Horseman is a mercenary heavy cavalry unit in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - Knights of the Mediterranean.

Overview

The Royal Horseman is a heavy cavalry unit that functions as a mercenary version of the Cuirassier, costing 1/3 more resources and population total, while offering significantly more hit points, slightly higher attack, and a larger area of effect. It is available as one of the randomly available mercenary units of a given map. However, it will be also available at any Trading Post built on a House of Bourbon palace after researching the Maison du Roi technology in the Industrial Age, which also ships one Royal Horseman with every new Home City Card. This proves to be helpful for civilizations that cannot train cavalry units (like the Aztecs or Inca), making Royal Horsemen a better choice over cavalry native warriors due to their increased statistics and not having a build limit.

Unlike other melee cavalry units, the Royal Horseman gets the "Stampede mode", a similar stance to "Trample mode" which makes it move slower, take more damage from enemies, and decreasing its attack, but in addition to the larger Area of Effect in melee combat, it also makes the Royal Horseman capable of damage units while being in movement at a low rate. However, as they will be more vulnerable in this mode, it is advisable to protect them from Pikemen or Dragoons with long-ranged infantry units, such as Skirmishers.

While its cost can be quite prohibitive, it will, just like the Cuirassier, serve as both an excellent damage sponge and a terrifying counter against even highly upgraded infantry with low hit points. It should especially be considered when playing Germans, as their primary cavalry unit is more fragile than usual, and they can upgrade mercenaries' hit points/attack and reduce their cost using Home City shipments. When accessed by using the Maison du Roi technology, it greatly synergizes with the Spanish getting Home City shipments quicker. Considering that the technology costs less than twice the amount of a single Royal Horseman, it will pay off very quickly. It will also greatly increase the value of infinite mercenary shipments in the Industrial Age for either civilization.

Civilization differences

• The Dutch can train Royal Horsemen at Stables through the "Dutch States Army" Home City Card, which also reduces their train time by 15% and increases speed by 7%.
• If the player picks The Mercenary Contractor for aging up to the Fortress Age with the French or the Italians, it will allow them to train Royal Horsemen at the Tavern (Lombard for the Italians).
• The Germans' Battleships can train Royal Horsemen through the "Adler von Lübeck" Home City Card (if they are available in the Tavern).
• The United States can get Black Riders through the "Poker" Home City Card, in the pool of random mercenaries shipped, which also randomly enables them in Saloons.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Light infantry, artillery
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, light ranged cavalry, ranged shock infantry, MercType2
Improvements
Hit points	Cavalry Cuirass (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Yoga (+5%) Pillage (+25% siege attack multiplier vs. buildings) Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire)
Resistance	Kapikulu Corps (+10% hand resistance; Ottomans only) Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% hand resistance) Pancerni (+10% ranged resistance)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Speed	Apache Endurance (+5%) Comanche Mustangs (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5)
Train time	Cheyenne Horse Trading (-40%) Mass Cavalry (-35%) Terror Charge (-20%; Indians only) Blue Nile Ties (-15%; Ethiopians only) Quechuan Diet (-15%) Immigrants (-10%) New Mexico Immigration (-10%; United States only) Philhellenism (-10%) Shaman Drums (-10%) Strangers' Quarters (-10%; Africans only) Wallenstein's Contracts (-10%; Germans only)
Cost	Blue Nile Ties (-15%; Ethiopians only) Wallenstein's Contracts (-15%; Germans only) Philhellenism (-10%) Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost) Golden Liberty (-5% coin cost) Yemeni Relations (exchanges cost for 50% coin, 50% influence; Ethiopians only)
Other	Multinationalism (ships 8 random European mercenaries) Maison du Roi (ships an additional Royal Horseman with every new shipment; allows to train Royal Horsemen)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of cards related to the Royal Horseman

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Purple	Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

All

Card	Description	Age
Cavalry Damage	Cavalry get +15% damage
Cavalry Hitpoints	Cavalry get +15% hit points
Cavalry Combat	Cavalry get +15% hit points and damage
Liberation March	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry get +5% speed and -35% train time
Riding School	Cavalry train time -40%; Cuirassier and Oprichnik train time -35% instead; Gatling Camel train time -20% instead (also +2 Uhlans for the Germans; +1 Hindu Villager for the Indians)
Outlaw Combat	Outlaws and mercenaries get +15% hit points and damage (costs 500 coin for Baja California)

• "Cavalry Damage" is available to the British and Lakota.
• "Cavalry Hitpoints" is available to the British and Haudenosaunee.
• "Cavalry Combat" is available to the British, Dutch, French, Italians, Lakota, Mexicans, Ottomans, Russians, and Spanish.
• "Liberation March" is available to the Mexicans and Spanish.
• "Riding School" is available to Europeans (except the Maltese and Spanish) and Indians.
• "Outlaw Combat" is available to the Mexicans upon revolting to Baja California and Europeans upon revolting to the Barbary States, Hungary, and Mexico.

Africans

Card	Description	Age
Feudal Armies	All units' train time -15%; hero respawn time -15%
Loyal Warriors	Native warriors, mercenaries, and outlaws cost -15% (also affects shipments)

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and damage
Acupuncture	All units' (except monks) train time -20%; Heavy Cannon, Flying Crow, and Summer Palace banner army spawn time -5%

Dutch

Card	Description	Age
Dutch States Army	Mercenary train time -15% and shipments arrive time -20%; mercenaries (except Napoleon Guns and Li'l Bombards) get +7% speed; Highlanders can be trained at Barracks, Royal Horsemen at Stables, and both at the Tavern; Pikemen, Halberdiers, Skirmishers, Hussars, and Ruyters cost +10%

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
Ignatian Spirituality	All units get +5% hit points and regeneration capability even while in combat

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Hire Royal Horsemen	Delivers 7 Royal Horsemen; costs 1,500 coin
Blandengues	Hand cavalry cost -20%
Loyal Warriors	Native warriors, mercenaries, and outlaws cost -15%; "TEAM 4 Zenata Rider", "Recruit Xebec", "Recruit Xebecs", and "15 Berber Allies" cost no coin
Junín Hussars	Hand cavalry and hand shock infantry get +5% speed and -30% train time (only get -20% train time if stacked with "Liberation March")
Wanderlust	Land military units and land villagers get +5% hit points; land villagers and construction wagons get +5% speed

• "Hire Royal Horsemen" is available to the French, Maltese, and Swedes.
• "Mercenary Loyalty" reduces cost of "Hire Royal Horsemen" by 25%.
• "Blandengues" is available to the Germans, Italians, and Spanish upon revolting to Argentina.
• "Loyal Warriors" is available to the Italians, Maltese, Ottomans, and Portuguese upon revolting to the Barbary States.
• "Junín Hussars" is available to the Portuguese and Spanish upon revolting to Peru.
• "Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa, and can be sent 3 times.

French

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack	Hand cavalry and hand shock infantry get +15% damage
Cult of the Supreme Being	The player gains +10% XP from training units and other players receive -10% XP from defeating them; Sansculottes gather resources from Crates 50% faster; food from Berry Bushes and Cherry Orchards 25% faster; wood from trees and Mango Groves and coin from mines 20% faster; food from huntable and herdable animals, Mills, Farms and coin from Estates 15% faster

• "Cult of the Supreme Being" is available upon revolting to Revolutionary France.

Germans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +10% damage; Germans-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% damage instead
Spanish Riding School	Cavalry get +10% speed; +4 Uhlans
Improved Mercenaries	Mercenaries get +15% hit points and damage
Adler von Lübeck	Delivers 1 Battleship and 1 Privateer; Battleships can train mercenaries; costs 900 food, 900 wood, 900 coin

• "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the Italian "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
Wampum	Training units and constructing buildings grants +35% XP; unit train time -20%, siege unit and artillery train time -5% instead

Hausa

Card	Description	Age
Sahelian Kingdoms	Native warriors get +15% hit points and damage; mercenaries and outlaws get +10% hit points and damage

Inca

Card	Description	Age
Road Building	Land military units get +10% speed
Couriers	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry train time -45%

Indians

Card	Description	Age
Dravidian Martial Arts	All units get +15% all melee attack damage; Rajputs get +20% all melee attack damage instead; +1 Hindu Villager
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and damage

Italians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +10% damage; Italian-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% damage instead
Schiavoni Swords	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% all melee attack damage
Savoyard Company	Delivers 6 Royal Horsemen and 9 Armored Pistoleers; costs 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 coin

• "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the German "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.
• "Mercenary Loyalty" reduces cost of "Savoyard Company" by 25%.

Japanese

Card	Description	Age
Bakufu	Daimyo and Shogun Tokugawa get +5% speed, +10 Line of Sight and train units 15% faster; land military unit train time -20%, artillery and banner army train time -10% instead

Lakota

Card	Description	Age
Morning Star	Temporarily reveals all enemies and treasures; Axe Riders can loot treasures for double the resources or XP; hand cavalry get +2.0 attack bonus damage against treasure guardians
TEAM Mustangs	Cavalry and shock infantry cost -10%
Winter Counts	Training units grants +40% XP and constructing buildings grants +20% XP

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post build; all units get +2% hit points
Squires	Military buildings train and research work 80% faster, except Forts which train and research work 260% faster

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
Plan of Casa Mata	Turns all Dragoons into Chinacos; hand cavalry get +5% speed; costs 250 food, 250 wood
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed
Colegio de San Nicolás	Delivers Books of 500 XP; units get +4 and buildings (except Walls) get +8 Line of Sight; sees what enemies can see for 20 seconds
National Servant	All units get +10% hit points; Padre healing 200% faster

• "Colegio de San Nicolás" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.

Russians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions	Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
Hand Cavalry Attack	Hand cavalry get +15% damage
Hand Cavalry Hitpoints	Hand cavalry get +15% hit points
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
Hand Infantry/Hand Cavalry Attack	Hand infantry and hand cavalry get +15% damage
Hand Infantry/Hand Cavalry Hitpoints	Hand infantry and hand cavalry get +15% hit points
German Mercenary Contracts	Mercenaries get +20% hit points and damage; Jaegers and Landsknechts can be trained at Barracks, Blockhouses, Taverns, and Galleons; Black Riders can be trained at Stables and Galleons

United States

Card	Description	Age
Poker	Delivers 13 random mercenaries; adds up to 3 random mercenaries to training at the Saloon; costs 3,500 coin
Indiana Mobilization	Delivers 1 Carbine Cavalry for each shipment sent so far this game including this one; unit train time (except Heavy Cannons), technology research time, and age-up time -10%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
Hamilton's Own	Delivers 4 Napoleon Guns and 2 Li'l Bombards; mercenary get +25% hit points and damage; costs 2,500 coin
Seminole Ponies	Delivers 9 Hussars; hand cavalry get +15% hit points and damage, and +5% speed; cavalry train time -10%

• "Indiana Mobilization" is available upon selecting the Indiana Federal State.
• "Hamilton's Own" is available upon selecting the New York Federal State.
• "Seminole Ponies" is available upon selecting the Florida Federal State.

Changelog

Knights of the Mediterranean

• Originally, Royal Horsemen cost 500 coin, take 5 population, had 20% ranged resistance, and dealt 5 stampede damage. With update 13.12327, they cost 400 coin, take 4 population, have 30% ranged resistance, and deal 7 stampede damage.
• With update 13.27885, the Royal Horseman deals 10 stampede damage.
• Originally, Royal Horsemen had 750 hit points. With update 13.58326, they have 900 hit points.

In-game dialogue

The Royal Horseman speaks French using the French Spy's dialogue files.

History

“

As the opulence and military prowess of early-modern European states increased, several monarchs and other magnates equipped 'gardes du corps' – personal bodyguards, usually consisting of elite cavalry. While these gradually became increasingly widespread, those in France and the German states developed an especially fearsome reputation. Heavy cavalry remained effective in battle, whether as a shock force, when executing cleverly timed tactical maneuvers, or merely when protecting their ruler, but there was a darker side to them as well – they were often sent to literally trample unruly subjects in instances of civil unrest.

”

Trivia

• In its portrait and Compendium image, the Royal Horseman wields a sabre, but the in-game model wields a rapier instead.
• The Royal Horseman could be inspired by the French Life Guards (French: Garde du Corps), the senior formation of the King of France's Household Cavalry within the Maison du Roi.

Gallery

Royal Horseman image from the Compendium section

An in-game Royal Horseman