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This article is about the unit in Age of Mythology. For the similar unit in other games of the series, see Halberdier. |
Template:Infobox unitsThe Halberdier is a polearm-wielding infantry unit used by the Chinese in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. Like most infantry, it is good against cavalry, but weak against archers.
Attack Bonus
- Cavalry +30%
- Turma +50%
God Bonuses and Upgrades
Specific
Paper Talisman (Sun Wukong): increases hack and pierce armor by 10%.
General
Nü Wa reduces food and gold cost by 10%.
- Medium War Academy Soldiers, Heavy War Academy Soldiers and Champion War Academy Soldiers all increase LOS by 1 and attack by 10%, and increase hit points by 10%, 15% and 20% respectively.
- Levy Barracks Soldiers and Conscript Barracks Soldiers reduce training time by 20%.
- Copper Weapons, Bronze Weapons and Iron Weapons increase attack by 10%.
- Copper Mail, Bronze Mail and Iron Mail decrease hack vulnerability by 10%.
- Copper Shields, Bronze Shields and Iron Shields decrease pierce vulnerability by 10%.
- Jade Rabbit (Chang'e) increases movement speed by 10%.
- Oracle Bone Script (Huang Di): reduces food and gold cost by 15% and decreases training time by 15%.
- Unbridled Anger (Zhong Kui): increases HP by 20%.
- Dragon Scales (Ao Kuang): increases hack armor by 10%.
Strategy
The Halberdier is the only infantry unit available to the Chinese, yet a welcome addition, that adds much variety to Chinese cavalry-oriented armies.
Like other Classical Age infantry, the Halberdier counters cavalry, having great hack armor, combined with decent HP. This unit is quite similar to the Hoplite, as both units are the slowest in their category and have neat pierce armor.
Otherwise, it is average among similar units, but: the Halberdier is also the most versatile infantry in the game, with five Myth Technologies benfitting them, and are an excellent choice for rushes, costing only 40 food and 30 gold, and only 30 food and 23 gold, if the player worships Nü Wa and Huang Di, making them excellent for rushes.
While Mounted Archers surpass them in the anti-cavalry domain, boasting greater speed combined with a ranged attack, Halberdiers are also cheaper, easier to mass, tougher, more versatile and most important of all, are trained separately from the Stable, freeing space for Cataphracts, so they can still be viable in later stages of the game.
Mythology
Chinese halberds called "ji" evolved from the dagger-axe, a weaponized version of a harvesting scythe. They were a cheap means to outfit a massive army very quickly, usually drawn from peasant conscripts. However, this does not mean those troops were unskilled; Chinese pole-arm warfare became some of the most effective on earth, as the long blades typical of these weapons allowed for effective slashing attacks which could not be achieved with other spears or pikes.
Gallery
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