The Scythe Chariot is an Iron Age cavalry unit in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome. It is an upgrade of the Chariot and is only available to a few civilizations once Nobility is researched.
The biggest advantage of the Scythe Chariot over the regular Chariot is that it can inflict trample damage, inflicting damage on units and buildings adjacent to the unit or building it is attacking. Thus they can be a nice alternative to a War Elephant, preventing enemy Villagers from fleeing to a far location and restarting their town. As with its regular counterpart, the Scythe Chariot is twice as resistant towards enemy conversion.
| Available | Unavailable | |
|---|---|---|
The * indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Scythe Chariots, i.e. gets Metallurgy and Chain Mail Cavalry.
The ^ indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of their Scythe Chariots.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Priests, archers, siege units |
| Weak vs. | Most melee units |
| Upgrades | |
| Hit points |  Nobility (+15%)
|
| Attack |  Toolworking (+2) Metalworking (+2) Metallurgy (+3)
|
| Melee armor |  Leather Armor Cavalry (+2) Scale Armor Cavalry (+2) Chain Mail Cavalry (+2)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
- Egyptians: Scythe Chariots have 33% more HP.
Changelog[]
The Rise of Rome[]
- Scythe Chariots have 2 armor, +9 damage vs Priests, ×8 conversion resistance, and cost 1,200 wood and 800 gold to upgrade, which takes 150 seconds.
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 38862, Scythe Chariots have 1 armor, no bonus damage vs Priests, ×2 conversion resistance, and cost 1,400 wood and 1,000 gold to upgrade, which takes 200 seconds.
History[]
| “ | Chariots went out of favor by the beginning of the last millennium BC in favor of cavalry. But they did not disappear completely. Some armies continued to use them and they remained a symbol of prestige. To make chariots more effective and fearsome, scythe blades were attached to the axles. As the chariot moved, the blades rotated through the air. A foot soldier facing an oncoming Scythe Chariot faced the prospect of being ridden down by the horse, shot by an arrow, stabbed by the soldier on board, or hacked by the blades. This could be a terrifying weapon against broken troops trying to flee. Against steady veteran troops, however, the Scythe Chariot was still a chariot with inherent weaknesses. If the horses could be wounded, the chariot faltered. The Persians attempted to use Scythe Chariots against Alexander the Great, but the weapon made little impression on the disciplined phalanxes. | ” |
| —The Rise of Rome manual | ||
Gallery[]
Video[]
SCYTHE CHARIOT vs EVERY UNIT - Age of Empires- Definitive Edition
| Units in Age of Empires | |
 Age of Empires | |
|---|---|
| Priest · Villager · Trade Boat · Merchant Ship · Fishing Boat · Fishing Ship · Light Transport · Heavy Transport | |
| Infantry | Clubman · Axeman · Short Swordsman · Broad Swordsman · Long Swordsmen · Legion · Hoplite · Phalanx · Centurion |
| Archer | Bowman · Improved Bowman · Composite Bowman · Chariot Archer · Elephant Archer · Horse Archer · Heavy Horse Archer |
| Cavalry | Scout · Cavalry · Heavy Cavalry · Cataphract · Chariot · War Elephant |
| Siege | Stone Thrower · Catapult · Heavy Catapult · Ballista · Helepolis |
| Ship | Scout Ship · War Galley · Trireme · Catapult Trireme · Juggernaught |
 The Rise of Rome | |
| Armored Elephant · Camel Rider · Fire Galley · Scythe Chariot · Slinger | |
