Unit type (Age of Empires IV)

Unit types in Age of Empires IV are the primary method that define how in-game attributes such as units, buildings, and technologies interact with each other. They also separate units and buildings into distinct groups with which the player can interact through specific hotkeys. One of the primary functions of unit types is to define attack bonuses. In this way, they function similarly to armor classes from Age of Empires II.

Overview

Although referred to as 'unit' types in the Essence Engine, they also apply to buildings, resources, and any other in-game entities. Most unit types are not visible to the user; for example, unit types define which units are selected by specific hotkeys, how units interact in formation, and even which ones need to be destroyed for the annihilation victory condition. However, because these are all 'behind-the-scenes' and don't have any tangible effect on gameplay interactions, they are not covered by this page.

The most important unit types, especially those used to determine attack bonuses, can often be inferred from the unit type given in the in the unit UI, even if it does not refer to an actual coded unit type. For example, the Khan is described as a "Light Ranged Cavalry", and from this it can be correctly inferred that it takes both anti-ranged and anti-cavalry bonus damage because it has both the 'ranged' and 'cavalry' unit types. However, it does not have a separate 'light cavalry' unit type like the Horseman or a 'light ranged cavalry' type. Other UI descriptions are less informative; for example, the Shaolin Monk is listed as a 'Battle Monk' which gives no indication that it has the "melee infantry" type. Unit types are not additive - they must be explicit. For example, a unit that has the 'melee' type and the 'infantry' type will not be affected by an attack bonus or technology targeting the 'melee infantry' type unless it also has that explicit type in addition to the individual types. In addition to attack bonuses, unit types also determine which units or buildings are affected by technologies or abilities. These are the types that are covered here.

Combat type

These distinguish the main recognizable combat type of the unit.

Infantry

The infantry unit type includes all units that fight on foot, including ranged and melee infantry. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Sofa (+2/+3/+4)
• Great Bombard (+120/+125)
• Bombard (+50)
• Culverin (+50)
• Cannon (+55)
• Samurai (+4, requires Odachi)
• Jeanne d'Arc - Markswoman (+10)

Cavalry

The cavalry type covers all mounted units, both melee and ranged, including Camels and Elephants. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Spearman, Limitanei (+17/+20/+23/+28)
• Donso (+17/+20/+23/+28 for melee attack, +5/+7/+8/+10 for ranged attack)
• Gilded Spearman (+34/+40/+46/+56)
• Wynguard Footman (+5)
• Militia (+6/+12/+18 per Age)
• Janissary (+12/+15)
• Camel Rider (+14/+16)
• Desert Raider (+13/+15/+19, melee attack only)
• War Elephant (+40, spear attack only)

Siege

The siege type includes all siege engines. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Horseman (+8/+9/+11/+13)
• Sipahi, Ghazi Raider (+9/+11/+13)
• Warrior Scout, Yuan Raider, Camel Rider (+10)
• Jeanne's Rider (+13/+16)
• Gilded Horseman (+15/+18/+20)
• Fire Lancer (+20)

Ships

The generic ship unit type includes all military ship types below, which each take bonus damage from a different ship type. This unit type does not include Fishing Boats, Trade Ships, or Transport Ships.

• Archer ship: Takes +45 damage from the Springald Ship type and +8 damage (x6) from the Dromon.
• Springald ship, Warship, Galleass, Grand Galley, Dromon, Atakebune: Together have the Massive unit type which takes +300 damage from the Incendiary Ship type.
• Incendiary ship: Takes +18 damage from each Archer Ship arrow.

The following units deal bonus damage to the generic Ship type:

• Mangonel (+24 x3)
• Nest of Bees (+4 x8)
• Springald (+65)
• Counterweight Trebuchet (+200)
• Traction Trebuchet (+200)
• Huihui Pao (+200)
• Culverin (+230)
• Bombard (+410)
• Cannon (+500, +650 for Royal Cannon)
• Great Bombard (+580)

Attack range

Almost all human units and naval units have a unit type indicating whether they attack from close range (melee) or from a distance (ranged).

Melee

The melee unit type includes melee infantry and melee cavalry. These units must get up close to the enemy to engage it in combat. The exception is the Desert Raider, which can fight in both melee and ranged combat, but does not have the melee unit type. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Bedouin Swordsman (+3/+4/+5 per Age)
• Shinobi (+5)

The following units specifically have a bonus against melee infantry:

• Springald (+10)
• Handcannoneer, Streltsy, Musofadi Gunner, Gilded Handcannoneer (+8, requires Serpentine Powder)

Ranged

The ranged unit type includes ranged infantry and ranged cavalry. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Javelin Thrower (+4/+8/+14)
• Horseman (+8/+9/+11/+13)
• Sipahi, Ghazi Raider (+12/+15/+18)
• Gilded Horseman (+15/+18/+20)
• Warrior Scout (0/0/+9/+11)
• Freeborn Warrior (+4/+7)
• Mangonel (+8 x3)
• Nest of Bees (+2 x8)
• Javelin Emplacement (+4)

All military ships also have the ranged unit type, but out of the above units, only the Javelin Thrower, Javelin Emplacement, and Mangonel deal their attack bonus against the ships, since melee units attack ships with torches, which do not deal bonus damage. The Desert Raider and Tower Elephant have both the melee and ranged unit types. Out of all human units, only the Janissary currently has neither.

Armor types

These types indicate the level of base armor on a unit

Heavy

The heavy unit type typically indicates units with both high melee and ranged armor. A single high armor value by itself is not always indicative of a heavy unit. For example, Tower Elephants and Desert Riders have exceptionally high ranged and melee armor values, respectively, but are not considered heavy units. The units that do have this type include:

• Man-at-Arms
• Palace Guard
• Ghulam
• Varangian Guard
• Samurai
• Katana Bannerman
• Gilded Man-at-Arms
• Jeanne's Champion
• Lancer
• Royal Knight
• Sofa
• Keshik
• War Elephant
• Cataphract
• Mounted Samurai
• Uma Bannerman
• Camel Lancer
• Gilded Knight
• Imperial Guard
• Ozutsu

The following units have an attack bonus against heavy units:

• Crossbowman, Arbalétrier (+9/+11)
• Onna-Musha (+9/+12)
• Ghazi Raider (+2/+3/+4)
• Musofadi Warrior (+10/+15/+18)
• Man-at-Arms (+6, Holy Roman Empire only, requires Heavy Maces)
• Tower Elephant (+11, Crossbow attack only, requires Howdahs)
• Outpost, Keep, Town Center (+2, Garrison Arrows only, requires Extensive Fortifications)

Light

Usually, the term 'light' is casually used to describe any unit which does not have the 'heavy' unit type. However in terms of unit types, there is no general 'light' unit type, and types are more explicitly defined than with heavy units. For example, ranged cavalry is most often considered 'light' but does not have an associated 'light' unit type. Additionally, several units which do not have the heavy unit type and may intuitively be thought of as light due to their low armor do not actually have a light unit type for balance purposes. These include:

• Handcannoneer
• Streltsy
• Musofadi Gunner
• Grenadier
• Shaolin Monk
• Freeborn Warrior

Light infantry

The light infantry unit type includes all melee and ranged infantry other than the exceptions mentioned above. The following units have an attack bonus against this unit type:

• Bedouin Skirmisher (+8/+10/+12 per Age)
• Zhuge Nu (+1 x3, requires Bolt Magazines)

Light melee infantry

The light melee infantry unit type includes all melee infantry that do not have the heavy type, except for Shaolin Monks and Freeborn Warriors, which do not have either. Otherwise, this includes:

• Spearman
• Landsknecht
• Donso
• Musofadi Warrior
• Limitanei
• Shinobi
• Onna-Bugeisha
• Militia
• Bedouin Swordsman
• Gilded Spearman

The following units have an attack bonus against this unit type:

• Archer (+5/+7/+8)
• Longbowman (+6/+8/+9)
• Yumi Ashigaru (+4/+6/+7)
• Gilded Archer (+6/+8/+10)
• Wynguard Ranger (+12)
• Camel Archer (+11/+13/+14)
• Jeanne d'Arc - Hunter, Mounted Archer (+8)

Light gunpowder infantry

The light gunpowder infantry unit type at the moment only applies to the Janissary (despite other units having similar descriptions in their UI). All units which have an attack bonus against light melee infantry have the same attack bonus against light gunpowder infantry. This is because the Janissary, although ranged, has a similar role to the Spearman as an anti-cavalry role, and is intended to have the same counters.

Specific unit types

Some unit types are named after specific units for the purposes of attack bonuses. The Spearman unit type is only held by the Spearman and Gilded Spearman and, counterintuitively, not by the Limitanei or Donso. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Jeanne's Champion (+8/+9 per upgrade level)

The Crossbowman unit type is held by the Crossbowman, Gilded Crossbowman, and Arbaletrier. The following units deal bonus damage against this unit type:

• Jeanne's Rider (+7/+9 per upgrade level)

The Scout unit type is only held by the following units, which also deal +10 bonus damage against this type.

• Scout
• Warrior Scout

In the original four campaigns, which have not been rebalanced since the release of the game, the 'light_infantry' unit type does not exist. As such, Archer-type units have a small attack bonus against the Spearman unit type, and Horsemen have an attack bonus against the 'Archer' unit type.

Other unit types

Workers

The Worker type includes the following units:

• Villager
• Gilded Villager
• Trader
• Imperial Official
• Fishing Boat
• Lodya Fishing Boat
• Trade Ship
• Atabeg
• Jeanne d'Arc - Peasant

Japanese Workers are specifically targeted by the Gion Festival ability. The following units deal bonus damage to the Worker unit type:

• Yuan Raider (+5)

Camels

Camels are a subcategory in the cavalry category. They are exclusive to the Abbasid Dynasty and Ayyubids, though the Byzantines can recruit some of them as mercenary units. Both civilizations have different camel units. Most camels are light cavalry, except for the Camel Lancer. There are six camel units in total:

• Camel Rider
• Camel Archer
• Desert Raider
• Camel Lancer
• Dervish
• Atabeg

The camel unit type benefits from the following abilities and bonuses:

• All camels have the Camel Unease ability, which reduces the damage of nearby horse-mounted cavalry. All cavalry that do not have the elephant or camel types have the 'horse' unit type implicitly.
• Abbasid camels grant extra armor to nearby infantry through the Camel Support technology, and Ayyubid camels gain extra armor from nearby infantry through the Infantry Support technology.
• Ayyubid camels deal extra damage upon reaching Golden Age tier 5.

Elephants

Elephants are a subcategory in the cavalry category. They are exclusive to the Delhi Sultanate, though the Byzantines can recruit them as mercenary units. Elephants are notable in being the only unit type which has multiple, independent attacks as well as being the only non-siege units that can attack Stone Walls. Prior to the release of the Order of the Dragon, they were also the only non-siege or naval units that occupied multiple population slots (three). There are currently three units in the game which have this type:

• War Elephant
• Tower Elephant
• Sultan's Elite Tower Elephant

The following units deal bonus damage against Elephants

• Bombard (+50)
• Culverin (+35)
• Cannon (+55)

Human

Units with the human unit type include all non-siege and non-naval units. Only units with this type can be targeted by healing abilities and Jeanne d'Arc's Divine Arrow ability. Non-human units must be repaired by Villagers or Fishing Boats (in the case of naval units) to regain health.

Huntable animal

The huntable animal unit type is held by the following units:

• Deer
• Wild Boar
• Wolf

The following units have an attack bonus against huntable animals:

• Khan (+1)
• Jeanne d'Arc - Peasant, Woman-at-Arms, Knight (+10)
• Jeanne d'Arc - Hunter, Mounted Archer (+14)

Buildings

All buildings have the building unit type. The following units deal bonus damage against buildings:

• War Elephant (+45, tusk attack only)
• Tower Elephant (+40, tusk attack only)
• Grenadier (+15/+20)
• Ozutsu (+130)
• Jeanne d'Arc - Blast Cannon, Markswoman (+200)
• Mangonel (+30 x3)
• Counterweight Trebuchet (+350)
• Traction Trebuchet (+190)
• Huihui Pao (+600)
• Bombard (+375)
• Culverin (+215)
• Cannon (+450, +585 for Royal Cannon)
• Great Bombard (+400/+525)
• Springald ship (+55)
• Incendiary ship (+300)
• Warship (+70 x3)

The following buildings are classified with the wall unit type:

• Palisade Wall, Palisade Gate
• Fortified Palisade Wall, Fortified Palisade Gate
• Stone Wall, Stone Wall Gate, Stone Wall Tower

The following units have attack bonus against Walls:

• Battering Ram (+300)
• Cheirosiphon (+5 x28)
• Tower of the Sultan (+200, ram attack only)