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A chariot of the future with massive firepower and horsepower. Special design ordered by S. Winsett with a rocket launcher mounted by the Zaibatsu. Does this turn you on?.
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

Winsett's Z is a cheat unit in Age of Empires. It consists of a fast sports car mounted by a person armed with a rocket launcher. The unit spawns only at the most recently built Town Center. It is also available in the Scenario Editor (Definitive Edition onwards).

The unit doesn't deal siege damage to buildings, but has a larger Area of Effect than the best siege weaponry, and its high damage is enough to one-hit-kill almost every target. It is also the fastest unit in the game. Since Winsett's Z does not belong to any particular category, its stats cannot be upgraded.

Despite its superior stats making it incredibly hard to destroy, use it with caution, as it is vulnerable to conversion if it is left unsupervised.

Changelog[]

AoE2Icon-ReturnRome Return of Rome[]

  • Pierce Armor reduced from 10 to 0.
  • Attack reduced from 600 (despite being stated 300) to 300.
  • Gained a 300 bonus attack vs buildings.
  • Frame delay increased from 1 to 10.

Overview[]

  • The in-game stats reveal that it deals 300 damage per hit, but it actually does 600 damage. With these stats, it can even demolish a House or a Watch Tower (the latter before Return of Rome) in one strike (600/5 = 120 damage to buildings).
  • Winsett's Z can one-hit-kill all moving targets with the exception of certain units and heroes with specific civilization bonuses. These include Carthaginian elephant units, Carthaginian Hannibal, and Yamato Cleopatra's Barge.
  • Winsett's Z deals Area of Effect damage twice as large as a Heavy Catapult.
  • If placed at a higher elevation or cliff, the damage dealt per hit can be as high as 900, the most attack done by any unit in the game (tied with the Nuke Troopers).

Trivia[]

  • The car model resembles a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Scott Winsett, one of the artists of Age of Empires and owner of a then new Z28, thought that it would be cool to see his car in the game, hence the unit's name "Winsett's Z(28)".[1]
  • In the original Age of Empires, Winsett's Z is unable to kill animals, whether directly hit or caught in its blast. From The Rise of Rome onwards, its rockets also deal damage to animals.
  • In Return of Rome, the unit previously had the same icon as the Cobra Car from Age of Empires II. With update 95810, they received a unique icon.
  • The new model in Return of Rome also has a faint logo of Forgotten Empires on the car's hood.

Gallery[]

See also[]

  • Winsett's other Z : a similar cheat unit, with a lower attack but higher attack speed.

References[]

  1. News Archive 1997 (November 12th) of Age of Empires Heaven
Cheat units in the Age of Empires series
Age of Empires
BabyPrez (removed)  · Returnofrome heavy catapult icon Big Bertha  · Horse Archer Black Rider  · Dragon Icon updated nuRoR Dragon  · Returnofrome juggernaut icon Flying Dutchman  · Photonman aoe2DE Laser Trooper  · Cavalry111 Medusa  · Nuke Trooper Icon updated nuRoR Nuke Trooper  · AoE2 DE priest icon Saint Francis
Composite Bowman Stealth Archer  · Winsett other Z Icon updated nuRoR Winsett's other Z  · Winsett Z Icon updated nuRoR Winsett's Z  · Zug 209 Icon updated nuRoR Zug 209
Age of Empires II
AoE2 DE alfred icon Alfred the Alpaca  · CobracarDE Cobra Car  · Monkey aoe2DE Furious the Monkey Boy  · AoE2 DE stormy dog Stormy Dog  · Penguin aoe2DE Penguin  · Saboteur aoe2DE Saboteur  · VMDL DE icon VMDL  · Sharkatzoricon Sharkatzor  · Photonman aoe2DE Photonman
Age of Mythology
Bella icon Bella  · Hippo icon Flying Purple Hippo  · Aomaxemanicon Forkboy  · BrownBear icon Lazer Bear
Age of Empires III
Monster truck blue aoe3de BigAndy  · Fluffy aoe3de Fluffy · Flying purple tapir aoe3de Flying Purple Tapir  · Crushington aoe3de George Crushington  · Hot dog cart aoe3de Flaming Hot Dog Cart  · Ice cream truck aoe3de Monster Ice Cream Truck  · Lazer bear aoe3de Lazerbear
Learicorn aoe3de Learicorn  · Great bombard de Mediocre Bombard  · Monster truck red aoe3de The Tommynator  · Honey Badger portrait Honey Badger  · Penguin portrait Penguin
Age of Empires IV
AoE4 PhotonMan Photon Man
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