Chariot Archer

Chariot Archer
	6
	4
	56
Ranged Strength	10
Attack Range	2
Resource Cost	Horses
Unlocked at	The Wheel
Upgrades To	Knight
Notes	Movement ends when entering rough terrain.

The Chariot Archer is a Mounted unit available in the Ancient Era.

Overview

Before the invention of the stirrup, it was virtually impossible to fight from horseback. There was no way to brace oneself, and the slightest push could unhorse the warrior, with disastrous results. Horses first appeared on the battlefield pulling chariots. A chariot team usually consisted of one or two horses, a driver, and an archer. The chariots' mobility made them especially dangerous to infantry: they could rush within range, fire off a volley, then escape before the foot-bound soldiers could close with them. The greatest weakness of a chariot archer team was its inability to deal with difficult terrain. On open plains they were the kings of the ancient battlefield; in hills or woods they were at a significant disadvantage.

Strategy

Chariot Archers are fast ranged units, deadly on open terrain, and the first unit to require a strategic resource - Horses. They are more powerful than the Archer and can move twice the distance on open terrain (4 MPs), allowing them to reach elements of the enemy army other units can't. However, Chariot Archers suffer a horrible movement penalty when entering forest, jungle, or hill tiles (unless roads have been constructed in them). Moreover, they're too bulky to use natural terrain defense, and unlike other mounted units, cannot move after attacking.

Use the Chariot Archers to explore the world and deal with Barbarians. Against other civilizations, they're excellent at getting into privileged positions and raining fire on the enemy from afar, but defend them with melee units against the enemy's melee fighters - they are weak in close combat! Be especially careful for enemy Spearmen - as a mounted unit, the Chariot Archer is very vulnerable to them.

There is one more important detail to remember: Chariot Archers and all of their unique alternatives are ranged units, and receive upgrades as such. However, come the Medieval Era, they will all upgrade to Knights, which are mounted units with melee attacks. This means that all attack-oriented upgrades the unit gained will suddenly become useless, since it now attacks in melee, not from a distance! To circumvent this annoying fault, try to choose non-attacking upgrades, such as Cover, which will remain useful after the unit changes its attack mode.

Unique Unit Replacements

Icon	Unit	Civilization	Abilities
	Habiru	Canaan (Adonizedek)	Gains Faith from kills. If purchased with gold, gains Combat Strength if it starts its turn adjacent or on a Bonus Resource.
	Heavy Chariot	The Hittites (Suppiluliumas I)	Is a Melee unit +30% Combat Bonus vs. Melee Units Enemy units beginning a turn adjacent to this unit have -1 Movement Does not require Horses -1 Movement +11% Production Cost
	Heqa-Khasut	The Hyksos (Apophis)	Does not require Horses +10% Ranged Strength (11 vs 10) May build Forts while near a conquered city; doing so repairs and improves nearby tiles
	Hippomache	The Amazons (Penthesilea)	In addition, it gets stronger in the Classical Era and enjoy defensive terrain bonuses. The Hippomache also possesses the once-per-lifetime ability to capture  Horses on neutral lands and bring them to an owned tile.
	Horse Archer	The Huns (Attila)	Doesn't require Horses +16% Strength (7 vs 6) Starts with the Accuracy I promotion
	Javelin Cavalry	Numidia (Massinissa)	Can move after attacking No Rough Terrain Penalty
	Khitan Hunter	Great Liao (Shengzong)	Can range attack over obstacles. Requires no Horses. Unlocked at Trapping.
	Moran	The Maasai (Mbatian)	-2 Movement (total 2) -1 Range (total 1) Does not require Horses May construct Pastures instantly May enter rival territory
	Onager Wagon	Akkad (Sargon)	Movement does not halt in rough terrain Ignores enemy zones of control No movement cost for pillaging Does not require Horses
	Reindeer Archer	The Evenks (Bombogor)	Does not require Horses Does not lose all Movement points upon entering Rough Terrain Begins with the Woodsman promotion Grants the Woodsman promotion to stacked civilians -33% Defensive Strength in Open Terrain
	Royal Skula	Scythia (Ateas)	Unlocked at Animal Husbandry -28.5% Production Cost If all moves are used without attacking, attacks a valid target automatically
	Sakrumash	The Kassites (Burnaburiash I)	Available at Animal Husbandry Starts with Volley
	Scythed Chariot	Pontus (Mithridates VI)	Requires Iron to train Has a melee attack instead of a ranged attack Passively damages adjacent enemy units with lower levels +6 Combat Strength than the Chariot Archer (12 vs 6) and -1 Movement (3 vs 4)
	Shivatir	Parthia (Mithridates I)	+50%  Combat Strength (9 vs 6) +10%  Ranged Strength (11 vs 10) Ignores enemy zones of control May move after attacking and retreat before combat if outnumbered Unlocked at Horseback Riding -1 Range (total 1)
	South-Pointing Chariot	Qin (Zheng)	Begins with the Scouting I promotion, boosting its Visibility. Can be upgraded further with the Scouting II and III promotions as it earns XP in combat, allowing it to double as a Scout.
	Three-man Chariot	The Hittites (Mursili II)	+4 Combat Strength Ignores enemy zones of control Can attack enemies while moving
	Tumikorkur	Emishi (Aterui)	Starts with the Indirect Fire promotion. Counts as mounted for the purposes of the Emishi Unique Ability.
	Tuo Ma	Xia (Yu)	Nearby units earn Experience 25% faster +33%  Defense (8 vs 6) Does not require Horses -1 Movement (total 3)
	Uegontum	Yamnaya (Weikpotis)	+1 Movement, -3 Hitpoints. No terrain penalties on river tiles. Clearing Ancient Ruins or promoting on a Holy Site spawns another Uegontum. Settlers stacked with an Uegontum share its Movement points.
	War Chariot	Egypt (Ramesses II)	+1 Movement Does not require Horses
	War Elephant	India (Gandhi) (without the India Pack installed)	+33% Combat Strength (8 vs 6) No terrain movement penalties  Does not require Horses -1 Movement (total 3)
	War Elephant	Maurya (Ashoka)	Does not require Horses +50% Defense (9 vs 6) +10% Ranged Strength (11 vs 10) No terrain movement penalties -1 Movement (total 3) +20% Production Cost (67 vs 56)
	War Mahout	The Indo-Greeks (Menander I)	Requires no Horses. Unlocked at Mathematics. Begins with +2 bonus XP per Population when it is trained in a conquered city. +25% bonus to resisting City Attacks.