Stradiot

Stradiot
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Cavalry Heavy cavalry Melee cavalry Mercenary
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Trained at	Saloon (Europeans) Monastery (Asians)
Coin	300
Training time	50 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	585
Resists	30% vs. Ranged
Speed	7.25
Line of Sight	15
Population	3
XP train bounty	30
XP bounty	30
Melee attack
Damage	56
Rate of Fire	1.5
Siege attack
Damage	30
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0

“	Light cavalry[sic] mercenary from the Balkans.	”
—In-game description

The Stradiot is mercenary heavy cavalry in Age of Empires III. It performs similarly to an improved Hussar, putting it in between the Mameluke and the Hackapell.

Overview

The Stradiot is the middle ground between the Mameluke and the Hackapell, in terms of both hit points and attack. Therefore, although having no attack bonuses, it is quite a powerful unit. They are effective in combat against artillery and light infantry. Being one of the fastest cavalry units in Age of Empires III, they can also be useful for raiding. However they are weak against heavy infantry, light cavalry, and, being mercenaries, Spies and Ninjas.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Ranged infantry, light infantry, artillery
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, light cavalry
Improvements
Hit points	Cavalry Cuirass (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%)
Attack	Pillage (+25% siege attack) Customized Merc Weapons (+30%, John Black's Mercenaries only) Yoga (+5%)
Sight	Town Watch (+2)
Speed	Comanche Mustangs (+10%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Creation speed	Mass Cavalry (-50%) Cheyenne Horse Trading (-25%) Incan Chasquis Messengers (-25%)
Train cost	Mapuche Ad-mapu (-10% coin cost)
Other	Waardgelders (ships 5 Stradiots, Dutch only)
Penalties	Coffee Trade (-10% speed, Dutch only)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Stradiot

Green: TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team All Card Description Age HC level Riding School Cavalry train time -40% 10 The Riding School card is not available to Chinese and Japanese. Chinese Card Description Age HC level Western Reforms All units get +8% hit points and attack 40 Acupuncture Unit train time -20% 10 Europeans Card Description Age HC level Cavalry Combat Cavalry get +15% hit points and attack 10 Hire Balkan Stradiots Ships 6 Stradiots; costs 1,000 coin 10 Hire Mediterranean Mercenary Army Ships 4 Stradiots, 6 Barbary Corsairs, and 3 Mamelukes; costs 2,000 coin 25 The Cavalry Combat card is available to Dutch, Ottomans, and Russians. The Hire Balkan Stradiots card is available to Ottomans and Spanish. The Hire Mediterranean Mercenary Army card is not available to Dutch and Russians, and ships 1 extra Barbary Corsair and Mameluke for the Germans. French Card Description Age HC level TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack 10 Germans Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Attack Heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and light infantry get +15% attack 10 Spanish Riding School Cavalry get +10% speed +4 Uhlans 25 Improved Mercenaries Mercenaries get +20% hit points and attack +3 Uhlans 10 Indians Card Description Age HC level Dravidian Martial Arts All units get +15% melee attack +1 Villager 40 TEAM Shivaji's Tactics All units get +5% hit points and attack 25 Russians Card Description Age HC level TEAM Cavalry Scouts Cavalry and light infantry get +10% hit points and +4 LOS 1 Spanish Card Description Age HC level TEAM Inquisition All units get +10 LOS 10

In-game dialogue

The Stradiot speaks Albanian.

• Select 1 Po? - Yes?
• Select 2 Gati - Ready
• Select 3 Komandë? - Command?
• Move 1 Po - Yes
• Move 2 Do e bëj - I'll do it
• Move 3 Do ta bëj - I will do it
• Attack 1 Sulm! - Attack!
• Attack 2 Në beteje! - To battle!
• Attack 3 Po! - Yes!

History

“

The Stradiotto were originally the cavalry of Giorgio Castriota, an Albanian who was raised a hostage of the Ottoman court, which named him Iskander Bey. He escaped his captivity and led a rebellion against the Ottomans that expelled them from Albania. His forces, the remnants of which were the Stradiots, used guerilla tactics and the rugged Albanian terrain to repel the Ottoman Turks. The Stradiots were later employed as mercenaries by the Venetians in the sixteenth century. These cavalrymen were unruly and could be counted on to break off from a fight to raid camps or supply trains. They wore turkish clothes, including baggy pants and shirts and turkish mail, but eschewed turbans for European helmets. They typically carried short spears called assegai that had points on both ends, but also used swords, maces, and crossbows.

”

Gallery

An in-game Stradiot

The Stradiot's history portrait

The Stradiot's Concept Art.