"Celtic unique unit. Exceptionally quick infantry."—Age of Empires II description
The Woad Raider is the unique unit of the Celts in Age of Empires II. It is a quick infantry unit with an attack bonus against standard buildings that is produced very quickly.
Woad Raiders can be upgraded to Elite Woad Raiders in the Imperial Age.
Tactics 
Edit
The Woad Raider is one of the fastest infantry units in the entire game. Because of this they are very effective as a raiding unit. The standard variant has fairly similar stats to the Long Swordsman; the elite variant is most comparable to the Champion. Apart from speed, the Woad Raiders generally cost slightly more gold, but have more HP in both cases.
Due to their high attack and HP they can hold their own against most infantry, though they pale in comparison to cavalry and stronger variants of infantry. They are also effective against siege weapons and are useful for destroying meddling Trebuchets. However, as with most infantry, their durability in battle is a drawback as they have weak armor. They are somewhat fragile to other unique infantry, mainly Teutonic Knights, Samurai, and Jaguar Warriors. As infantry units, they also struggle against heavy cavalry and massed archers.
Further statistics Edit
As Woad Raiders are unique to the Celts, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Skirmishers, Halberdiers, Eagle Warriors, siege weapons, buildings, Light Cavalry, Huskarls |
| Weak vs. | Massed archers, Jaguar Warriors, Hand Cannoneers, Conquistadors, Slingers, heavy cavalry, Samurai, Berserks, Teutonic Knights |
| Upgrades | |
| Attack |  Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2)
|
| Sight |  Tracking (+2)
|
| Conversion defense |  Faith Heresy
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%)
|
| Upgrades |  Elite Woad Raider
|
Civilization bonuses Edit
- Celts: Woad Raiders move 15% faster. Woad Raiders can convert herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
Team bonuses Edit
- A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, Woad Raiders are created and upgraded 25% faster, and Conscription is researched 25% faster.
- A team containing Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades are researched 50% faster.
- A team containing Goths: Researching Tracking and Arson is 20% faster.
- A team containing Lithuanians: Faith and Heresy are researched 20% faster.
- A team containing Teutons: Woad Raiders are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog Edit
The Age of Kings Edit
- Woad Raiders train in 16 seconds.
- Woad Raiders move at a speed of 1.03.
- Woad Raiders have 0 pierce armor.
The Conquerors Edit
- Woad Raiders now train in 10 seconds.
- Woad Raiders now move at a speed of 1.2.
- Woad Raiders now have 1 pierce armor.
- Heresy introduced.
The African Kingdoms Edit
- Arson introduced.
Definitive Edition Edit
- Tracking removed; all infantry now receives +2 LOS from the Feudal Age instead.
Trivia Edit
- This unit is an anachronism, as the practice of using woad as face paint was done by the Picts roughly 1,000 years before the medieval period.
- Historically approriate units would be either the kerns, light Medieval Irish infantry; the gallowglasses, mercenary Norse-Gael heavy infantry from High Medieval Scotland; or the light hobelar cavalry from Late Medieval Ireland.
- The (Elite) Woad Raider is the second fastest infantry in the game, only behind an Elite Eagle Warrior with Squires.
History Edit
"Woad is a plant found in the British Isles from which a blue pigment can be extracted. Celtic warriors painted themselves with this pigment prior to battle to look more fearsome and unnerve their enemies. Celtic warriors had been raiding more developed areas of Britain and Europe since ancient times. The Scots, for example, were originally Irish raiders who took lands from the Picts in north Britain that became Scotland. When the English sought to conquer the Celts inhabiting Ireland, Wales, and Scotland during the Middle Ages, the Celts were at a great disadvantage against the English mounted knights. The Celts often turned to guerrilla tactics, raiding English settlements and withdrawing before English armies arrived. Raiders painted with woad devastated the borderlands. A renowned woad raider was William Wallace of Scotland who rampaged through Northern England for a decade."
Gallery Edit
