Longswordsman

Longswordsman
	21
	2
	120
Resource Cost	Iron
Unlocked at	Steel
Upgrades From	Swordsman
Upgrades To	Musketman

The Longswordsman is a Melee unit available in the Medieval Era.

Overview

The longsword was the most versatile weapon of the Medieval/Renaissance battlefield. It was lighter and easier to carry than a pike, and it could be used one or two-handed, making it possible for the swordsman to also carry a shield. In face-to-face combat against pikemen the longswordsmen were at a significant disadvantage, taking many casualties from the longer weapons before they could even get within striking distance. However, longswordsmen units were faster and more maneuverable than pikemen - and if they could hit their opponents in a flank attack, the pikemen were dead meat.

Strategy

The next level front-line unit, the Longswordsman is equipped from head to toes with the strongest full-plate armor, and wields a massive two-handed sword capable of cleaving men in two. Longswordsmen are indisputable masters of melee combat against earlier fighters, who often can't even scratch their armor, and thus offer great protection to other units. Their prowess is such that they remain useful well into the Renaissance Era, even against the new gunpowder units.

Still, Longswordsmen are not without drawbacks. Besides requiring Iron, they remain vulnerable to sustained ranged attacks from modern Crossbowmenand Trebuchets, and they can be outmaneuvered by mounted units. Furthermore, since the Musketmen that become available immediately afterward are stronger and do not require strategic resources, it is often advantageous to go straight for Gunpowder rather than raising a large army of Longswordsmen.

Unique Unit Replacements

Icon	Unit	Civilization	Abilities
	Balata	Sri Lanka (Parakramabahu I)	Unlocked at Metal Casting Heals three times the normal speed when on a river tile
	Bati	Fiji (Cakobau)	-24% Combat Strength (16 vs 21). Does not require Iron. Unlocks at Chivalry. Bati purchased with Gold may enter Rival Territory without an Open Borders agreement. Bati trained in a City with a House of Chiefs receive +20% Combat Strength in friendly territory. Bati trained in a City without a House of Chiefs receive +20% Combat Strength outside friendly territory.
	Berserker	Denmark (Harald Bluetooth)	Unlocked at Metal Casting No combat penalty when embarked or over rivers +1 Movement
	Chaska Chuqui	The Inca (Tupac Yupanqui)	+1 Movement Does not require iron. Receives additional combat strength the further it is from the Capital. Coastal cities conquered by a Chaska Chuqui are automatically Connected to the Capital.
	Crusader	Jerusalem (Baldwin IV)	+33% Combat Strength near Holy Cities -20% Production Cost
	Doppelsoldner	Holy Roman Empire (Elected Emperor) (LastSword)	A possible medieaval UU of HRE through election stronger against wounded units gain gold from kills
	Druzhina	Kievan Rus' (Yaroslav)	+20% defense +1 Sight
	Etmonas	Lithuania (Mindaugas)	Cheaper to purchase with Faith. Begins with the Woodsman promotion. May capture defeated Units when starting on a Forest tile.
	Falcon Dancer	The Mississippi (Tuskaloosa)	If trained in a Regional Center: Starts with bonus XP equal to the City's Population Trains +50% quicker Obsoletes at Metallurgy instead of Gunpowder Does not require Iron
	Fyrd	Mercia (Offa)	+15% combat strength when adjacent to cities Earns Golden Age points from capturing cities
	Gallowglass	Scotland (Robert I Bruce)	Ignores terrain costs Combat bonus vs fortified units
	Gano Axeman	Zimbabwe (Nyatsimba Mutota)	More expensive Gains experience whenever a City grows or claims a new tile.
	Ghulam	The Ghaznavids (Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin)	Does not require Iron Gains HP and XP when beginning its turn on an enemy's Pillaged improvement
	Great Bear Guard	Balhae (Dae-Heummu)	Requires a source of Stone in the empire. +1 Strength from Embassies and recent Declarations of Friendship. When stationed in a founded city, Gold taken from pillaging enemy units in the vicinty is immediately returned.
	Güecha	The Muisca (Nemequene)	Starts with 15 Experience Earns experience 15% faster Does not require Iron Increased maintenance cost
	Gunstock Warrior	The Cree (Poundmaker)	Can steal Horses from a tile, making the unit mounted Unlocked at Physics +15% combat strength when below 50% health +25% combat strength vs Gunpowder units
	Gunzes	Ndongo (Nzinga)	+2 Movement and +25% Combat Strength if it begins a turn unseen by another major Civ. May attack after using Rivercraft (UA). Does not require Iron.
	Highlander	Scotland (James VI) (LastSword)	Double Movement in Hills +33% Combat Strength in Hills
	Huscarl	The Anglo-Saxons (Alfred)	Unlocked at Metal Casting +33% Defense adjacent to Coast or River
	Ichiryo Gusoku	Chosokabe (Chosokabe Motochika)	When garrisoned, excess Food provides Great General Points +2 Movement if starting a turn garrisoned
	Ironwood Clubman	The Mapuche (Janequeo)	Starts with Woodsman Ignores Zone of Control +3XP when breaking Zone of Control Upgrades to Rifleman
	Kern	Ireland (Malachy II)	Faster and cheaper Takes less damage from Archery units Combat bonus vs mounted units Slightly weaker
	Kern	Ireland (Brian Boru)	Unlocks at Civil Service. Does not require Iron. -5 Combat Strength. May use enemy roads. +15% XP when surrounded by two or more enemies.
	Knights of Santiago	Galicia (Garcia II)	Unlocked at Theology. Defeating a unit on a road towards a Holy City triggers a brief Golden Age. Being killed by a unit on a road towards a Holy City rewards a large amount of Faith, and increases the yields of the last Religious building constructed by +1.
	Koa	Hawaii (Kamehameha)	Starts with additional Experience and the Amphibious promotion Does not require Iron Costs more production
	Kwanami	The Mohave (Irataba)	Does not require Iron. Begins with the Amphibious promotion. During Peace, garrisoned Kwanami may extend the length of We Love The King Days. During War, promoting a Kwanami starts a short We Love The King Day in all cities.
	Ledung	Sweden (Birger Jarl)	+50% Production cost (170 vs 120). -20% Production cost and +5XP per number of worked Farms in its training city. During a Golden Age, capturing cities with a Ledung will reward Gold, based on the number of worked Farms.
	Lefegii	Wallachia (Vlad III)	+20% Defense against Ranged Attacks. When beginning on a pillaged Farm, Trading Post, Town, or Village, heals +10 damage.
	Málamann	The Jomsvikings (Pálnatóki)	May move on the same turn it is purchased No Movement cost to pillage Does not obsolete Gains increased Combat Strength from various technologies May be purchased by other Civilizations with Gold while at peace with the Jomsvikings
	Mularri	The Yidinji (Ye-i-nie)	-15% Combat Strength (18 vs 21). Does not require Iron. Begins with the Survivalism I and Cover I Promotions. Heals +50 HP upon selecting a Promotion.
	Mutatawwi'a	Almohads (Abd al-Mu'min)	While in the borders of a city not following your main religion, earns +100% Great General points from combat, and yields Golden Age points from kills.
	Prince’s Retinue	Vladimir (Vsevolod)	Requires no Iron Unlocked at Civil Service. Slightly weaker than the Longswordsman. Begins with bonus XP for each Great Work of Writing in the city.
	Samurai	Japan (Oda Nobunaga)	Starts with the Shock I and Great Generals II promotions Can build Fishing Boats DuskJockey's Revision Starts with Shock I. Gains additional Combat Strength based on the Culture output of the city that trained it. Gains the Leadership promotion upon reaching level 5. Upgrades to Rifleman.
	Toa	The Māori (Potatau Te Wherowhero)	-24% Combat Strength (16 vs 21) Does not require Iron Unlocks at Chivalry +20% Combat Experience Ignores terrain Movement penalties and enemy ZoC for this turn whilst a foreign Settle is within two tiles. This ability can be carried forward with upgrades.
	Tvshka	The Chickasaw (Chiksa')	Begins with Amphibious and Coastal Raider I.
	Yaya	The Ottomans (Orhan)	Pillaging does not cost Movement. May move after attacking.

Fictional

Icon	Unit	Civilization	Abilities
	Schlachtschwertierer	Germany (Frederich Wilhelm I)	+100% Combat Strength attacking cities Generates 1 Culture per turn Does not upgrade and is not obsoleted by the Anti-Tank Gun
	Survey Corps	Paradis (Historia Reiss)	Unlocked at Physics and Doesn't obsolete. +1 Movement and +25% Strength when starting on an improvement, forest/jungle, or city. Can purchase unique "Omni-Directional Mobility" promotions with Gold that increase Combat Strength and effectiveness against certain units as you unlock new resources.
	Vessel	Hallownest (The Pale King)	Doesn't obsolete. Is very cheap to produce, but is very weak. Suffers no HP penalty from clearing Fallout. Clearing 5 Fallout tiles upgrades the Vessel into a Pure Vessel, which is noticeably stronger than the melee unit of the era.