| “ | Celtic unique infantry unit. Fast-moving. | ” |
| —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[]
The Woad Raider is the second-fastest infantry unit in the entire game, only outsped by Elite Eagle Warriors with Squires. Because of this, they are very effective as a raiding unit. Given that the main weakness of infantry is their inability to force fights, this is a very useful trait, especially as the Celts otherwise have few good fast options. The standard variant has fairly similar stats to the Long Swordsman; the elite variant is most comparable to the Champion. Apart from speed, Woad Raiders cost more food and slightly more gold, but have more hit points and attack in both cases, though at the cost of 1 melee armor.
Due to their high attack and hit points 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. Unlike most heavy infantry, they have no base melee armor. They are somewhat fragile to other unique infantry, mainly Teutonic Knights, Samurai, Jaguar Warriors, Obuchs, Urumi Swordsmen and Legionaries. As infantry units, they also struggle against heavy cavalry and massed archers.
Comparison in the Castle Age with similar units[]
 Two-Handed Swordsman
|
 Woad Raider
|
 Long Swordsman
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 50 food, 20 gold | 70 food, 25 gold | 50 food, 20 gold |
| Hit points | 65 | 70 | 60 |
| Speed | 1.15 | 1.35 | 1.10 |
| Armor | 1/1 | 0/1 | 1/1 |
| Train Time | 21 seconds | 10 seconds | 21 seconds |
| Line of Sight | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Melee attack | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Attack bonus | +8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
+2 vs Eagle Warriors +2 vs Standard building |
+6 vs Eagle Warrior +3 vs Standard building |
| Attack speed | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Upgrade Cost and Time | 650 food, 350 gold 70 seconds |
1,000 food, 800 gold 45 seconds |
200 food, 100 gold 45 seconds |
Comparison in the Imperial Age with similar units[]
 Champion
|
 Elite Woad Raider
|
Two-Handed Swordsman
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 50 food, 20 gold | 70 food, 25 gold | 50 food, 20 gold |
| Hit points | 70 | 85 | 65 |
| Speed | 1.15 | 1.4 | 1.15 |
| Armor | 1/1 | 0/1 | 1/1 |
| Train Time | 21 seconds | 10 seconds | 21 seconds |
| Line of Sight | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Melee attack | 14 | 15 | 12 |
| Attack bonus | +8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
+3 vs Eagle Warriors +3 vs Standard building |
+8 vs Eagle Warrior +4 vs Standard building |
| Attack speed | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Further statistics[]
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. | Elite Skirmishers, Halberdiers, Eagle Warriors, buildings, Light Cavalry |
| Weak vs. | Archers, Knights, Battle Elephants, Jaguar Warriors, Cataphracts, Boyars, War Elephants, Samurai, Berserks, Teutonic Knights, Obuchs |
| 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)
|
| Conversion defense |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Kasbah (+25%, with a Berber ally only)
|
| Regeneration | Stronghold (30 HP/min when within 18 tiles square of a team Celts Castle)
|
| Upgrades |  Elite Woad Raider
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Celts: Woad Raiders move 15%/20% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age . Woad Raiders can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
Team bonuses[]
- Armenians: Woad Raiders have +2 Line of Sight.
- Bulgarians: Blacksmith technologies are researched 80% faster.
- Goths: Researching Arson is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Devotion, Faith, and Heresy are researched 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Woad Raiders are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Woad Raiders are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Woad Raiders train in 16 seconds, move at a base speed of 1.03, and have 0 pierce armor.
- Non-Elite Woad Raiders have 8 attack.
- Woad Raiders cost 65 food, 25 gold.
- Woad Raiders move 15% faster.
The Conquerors[]
- Woad Raiders train in 10 seconds and have 1 pierce armor.
- With patch 1.0b, Woad Raiders move at a base speed of 1.2.
- Heresy introduced.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Arson introduced.
Definitive Edition[]
- Tracking removed; all infantry now receive +2 Line of Sight from the Feudal Age instead.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 56005, Non-Elite Woad Raiders have 10 attack.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 81058, (Elite) Woad Raiders have hit points 70 (85) and 11 (14) base attack.
Chronicles: Battle for Greece[]
- With update 141935:
Heroes[]
There is one hero in the game with the appearance of a Woad Raider:
History[]
| “ | 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. | ” |
Trivia[]
- 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. The manual's history section calling William Wallace a renowned woad raider is also historically false, and is instead based on the character's depiction in the movie Braveheart, which released and became popular before the release of Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.
- Historically appropriate units could be either the kerns, light Medieval Irish infantry; the gallowglasses, mercenary Norse-Gael heavy infantry from High Medieval Scotland and Ireland; or the light hobelar cavalry from Late Medieval Ireland (used as mercenaries by both sides of the Wars of Scottish Independence).
- The (Elite) Woad Raider is tied with the Celtic Condottiero as the second fastest infantry unit in the game, only behind an Elite Eagle Warrior with Squires.
Gallery[]
