This article is about the unit in Age of Mythology. For other uses, see Scout Cavalry. |
The Scout Cavalry is a Chinese cavalry unit that serves as their designated scout unit, featured in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. All Chinese players start the game with two Scout Cavalry.
Attack bonus[]
- Archaic Age ×0.1
- Archers: ×1.3
- Caravans: ×1.3
- Villagers ×1.3
Strategy[]
Like other scouts, the Scout Cavalry is primarily meant for exploring the map. Unlike the Greek Kataskopos, another cavalry scout which is also granted at the start of the game, the Scout Cavalry is trainable and affected by the Medium, Heavy and Champion Cavalry technologies, making them slightly more capable in combat. This makes them very directly comparable to the unit of the same name in Age of Empires II, also sharing an automatic upgrade when advancing to the second age to be more effective in combat.
However, despite this design intent, Scout Cavalry actually have very limited Line of Sight, less than any other Chinese unit and on par with Classical Age cavalry of other civilizations. Their only advantage over other scout units is their speed and number (except compared to the Atlantean Oracle). More can also be trained fairly easily due to only costing one population, though having to build a Stable just for them is a bit more inconvenient than a Temple or Longhouse (Priests and Ulfsarks can be trained at Town Centers too, but that is best avoided).
After advancing to the Classical Age, Scout Cavalry can be used to effectively disrupt the enemy's economy, as they move fast, cost little and take up only 1 population. Villagers cannot outrun Scout Cavalry and suffer bonus damage from them. However, Scout Cavalry do not stand a chance against anything else, and must hastily retreat if enemy soldiers counterattack. In larger battles, they are best used to ambush unprotected archers and siege units. They also work well against enemy Monks, as losing a few to conversions is less painful than losing higher-value units at the same rate.
God bonuses and upgrades[]
General[]
Nü Wa reduces Food and Gold cost by 10%
- Medium Stable Soldiers, Heavy Stable Soldiers, and Champion Stable Soldiers all increase LOS by 1 and attack by 10%, and increase hit points by 10%, 15% and 20% respectively.
- Levy Stable Soldiers and Conscript Stable Soldiers decrease 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): Improves speed of all heroes and human units
- Dragon Scales (Ao Kuang): Human Soldiers +10% hack armor.
- Stirrup (Chongli): Cavalry +25% HP.
Changelog[]
Tale of the Dragon[]
- Originally, Scout Cavalry have 9 Line of Sight and did 70% less damage in the Archaic Age. With patch 2.0, they have 8 Line of Sight and do 80% less damage in the Archaic Age.
- With patch 2.4, their attack in the Archaic Age was reduced by 50%.
- Initially, Scout Cavalry have 6.00 movement speed and 7 hack damage, and only deal bonus damage to Villagers. With patch 2.7, they have 5.75 movement speed and 6 hack damage, and deal +30% damage to Caravans and archers.
Mythology[]
"What enables the wise ruler and good general to strike, conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge." - Sun Tzu, "The Art of War."
The judicious use of scouts and spies constituted its own chapter in Sun Tzu's manual. It was an indispensable part of ancient warfare in any location and time frame. Knowledge of terrain, of the persons leading the enemy army, and the conditions of the armies themselves were key elements which could spell success or ruin for a campaign, and the great general stressed that no amount of care, money, or sagacity was too much to spend in such endeavors.