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Overview[]

Rise of Nations uses an extensive amount of damage modifiers in order to encourage more realistic and mixed armies via a "rock-paper-scissors" model of combat.

The attack damage of an attacker is often multiplied by one or more damage modifiers, depending on the attacker and defender. The defender's armor is then subtracted from this product. In general, units will do a minimum of 1 damage even in the event that the defender's armor is greater than the attack damage.

The game stores a table of the damage modifiers for each of the units or buildings attacking each of the units or buildings. There are a total of 493 units or buildings in Rise of Nations, so this table is very large (493 x 493 = 243049 elements). This page will serve to break down that table into more understandable blocks.

For ease of reading, on this page "unit" may refer to both units and buildings.

Game Basics[]

Each unit has a base damage amount, shown as "strength" in the unit's infobox. This value is stored as "ATTACK" in unitrules.xml and buildingrules.xml. When a unit attacks another unit, this damage may be modified before it is applied to the defender's hit points. In almost all cases, different damage modifiers multiply with each other; an exception is The Monarch's +2 damage bonus to mounted units in its radius, which increases each unit's base damage. For units which have multiple sub-units, such as Slingers, each sub-unit does 1/3 of the overall damage (after damage modifiers and armor is considered). Thus, in general, the damage that an attacker does to a defender is:

(attacker's base damage) * (damage modifier 1) * (damage modifier 2) * ... - (defender's armor)

For units with 3 sub-units, each sub-unit does:

[ (attacker's base damage) * (damage modifier 1) * (damage modifier 2) * ... - (defender's armor) ] / 3

The game has a variety of damage modifiers, with some being terrain-based (such as infantry in rocks or units in rivers) and others being geometric-based (such as flanking bonus for attacking from the side of a unit). However, three in particular are static:

  • Age-related, based on values found in rules.xml
  • An innate table; this is responsible for Slingers doing extra damage against Bowmen, and Bowmen doing extra damage against Hoplites, etc.
  • Modifiers found in balance.xml.

There are a variety of other damage modifiers. However, this page will focus on these three in particular.

On this page, the damage modifiers will be given as multipliers expressed in percentages. For example, a damage multiplier of 135 means to multiply the damage by 1.35. "Damage bonus" or "damage penalty" will be synonymous with "damage multiplier"; an 80 damage penalty means to multiply the damage by 0.80.

Age-related Damage Bonus[]

The age-related damage bonus is for if the attacker is from a higher age than the defender. This bonus only applies if both attacker and defender are units, and does not apply if either is a building. In this case, the age is when the unit is first available, not the current age researched by the nation. Thus, a Citizen counts as an Ancient Age unit and higher-age units can easily dispatch it. Note that converting a Citizen into a Militia can protect it since the Militia is considered a Classical Age unit, and thus decreases the damage bonus that higher-age units receive against it.

The age-related damage bonus can be found in rules.xml. As of version 03.02.12.0800, the values are:

Ages above Bonus
1 115
2 120
3 150
4 160
5 or more 170

There is no separate damage bonus or penalty for if the attacker is a lower-age unit than the defender.

Damage to Buildings[]

Other than the age-related damage bonus, many damage modifiers that apply to units also apply to buildings. Two however are specific to buildings: damage to buildings under construction, and damage to buildings that are in enemy territory (which will be evident since they will be taking attrition damage).

Damage to Buildings Under Construction[]

If a building under construction is damaged, it will take not only the damage, but an additional decrease to the construction progress, resulting in an additional loss of hit points. This decrease in progress must be made up before the building is completed, and thus delays the building's completion. The hit points of this secondary damage is given by:

damage * (building_HP / 2) / current_job_time

damage = damage dealt to the building

building_HP = max building hit points

current_job_time = the time (in frames) it currently takes for a single citizen to build the building, including any bonuses such as from Lumber Mill upgrades

This secondary damage to construction progress can be thought of as increasing the building's completion time (in frames) by half of the damage dealt. For example, say a building has a total of 1000 hit points and (with current upgrades) takes 250 frames to build. Say a unit does 100 damage to this building while it's under construction. The building would take half of this, or 50 damage, to its progress as well (in frames). Since it takes 250 frames to build, this means its progress would decrease by 20%, and since it has 1000 total hit points, this would mean that the building takes an additional 200 hit points' worth of damage due to the decrease in completion progress. Thus, the unit would do a total of 300 damage.

Notes regarding damage to buildings under construction:

  • When a building is attacked, the build rate of citizens constructing it is temporarily reduced to 1/4 of the original rate for several seconds. This makes it more difficult to try to complete a building that is under attack. The citizens also take damage, potentially killing them, except for the Koreans whose citizens can repair buildings without this penalty as a nation power.
  • If the attacker is also a building, it will do 4X damage. For example, a Small City (with 8 attack) will do 32 damage to a building under construction, and then an additional amount (equivalent to 16 frames) to the building's progress, decreasing its hit points further. It is thus difficult to construct new buildings within an enemy building's attack range.
  • The building's armor is significantly reduced while it is under construction.
  • For wonders, the secondary damage to progress still occurs, but the hit point decrease is halved because wonders start with half of their max hit points at the beginning of construction.
  • Although the secondary damage to progress needs to be made up prior to the building's completion, the primary damage done to the building cannot be repaired until the building is completed. Thus, if a building under construction is alternately being attacked and then rebuilt, there is a practical limit to how much total damage it can withstand before it is either destroyed or completed.

Damage to Buildings in Enemy Territory[]

When a building is in enemy territory, it will automatically take attrition, at the rate of 8 damage every 2.13 seconds (32 frames). This is not affected by the supply of a Supply Wagon, attrition upgrades, nor any other effect. The enemy nation does not need to have any attrition researched for this.

Except for attrition, most buildings will take 4X damage when they are in enemy territory. An exception applies for any buildings with an attack value of any kind, including cities, lookouts, towers, forts, and their upgraded versions. The Forbidden City and Red Fort wonders also take regular damage instead of 4X damage in enemy territory.

Additionally, units cannot garrison in buildings that are in enemy territory, although units already inside can stay inside (though they are unable to re-garrison in the building if they leave). Furthermore, enemy spies are able to bribe a building if it is in enemy territory. Finally, the armor of a building does not apply when it is in enemy territory; it effectively has 0 armor.

Damage to Buildings Under Construction in Enemy Territory[]

Building that are both under construction and in enemy territory suffer both the sets of penalties above. They effectively have 0 armor, and suffer 4X damage except for the buildings listed above. They also suffer 4X damage from other buildings (cumulative multiplicatively), as well as take additional damage to their progress. For example, a Small City (8 attack) will do 8 X 4 X 4 = 128 damage against a Barracks under construction in enemy territory, with an additional 183 damage's worth to its progress, for a total of 311 damage per arrow. Similarly, a Citizen (4 attack) will do around 38.8 damage per attack to a Barracks under construction in enemy territory. The build rate will also drop to 1/4 of normal for several seconds when attacked.

The exception is attrition, which remains at its normal 8 damage every 32 frames rate. Attrition also does not affect the building's normal build rate, nor the building's completion progress, but does pure damage to the building.

Damage Modifier Table[]

This section describes the 493x493 damage modifier table found in Rise of Nations. This is a static table giving the percentage of damage that should be done by each unit (including buildings) against each other unit.

Unit Masks[]

Many of the damage bonuses are based on the mask that each unit has. A "mask" can be thought of like a "flag" in many other contexts; they denote some property of the unit. The masks for each unit are given as OBJ_MASK in unitrules.xml and OBJ_MASKS in buildingrules.xml. They are upper case letters and numbers and should not be confused with unit flags, which are in a separate field and are lower case letters.

NOTE: masks appear to be partially bugged in the Extended Edition, consequently having no additional effect in balance.xml. The base modifiers for each mask (the hidden or "hardcoded" modifiers) appear to function as expected though.

In this page, sometimes two masks will be referred to together, such as mask GO. This indicates a damage bonus that only occurs when both masks are present, but not when only one or the other is present.

In the tables below, "Dam mod against" refers to if the given mask is dealing damage to the mask/subcategory given in the table, while "Dam mod from" refers to if the given mask is taking damage from the mask/subcategory given in the table.

The masks are:

A = Armored: Units with this mask are considered armored. Although this seems like a bonus, in reality it can be somewhat of a disadvantage damage-wise, because units with this mask do less damage against buildings and take extra damage from units with mask U (Armor Piercing). However, Machine Guns only deal half damage to armored units.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Buildings 66 ---
Machine Guns --- 50
Mask U (Armor Piercing) --- 180
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 98
Mask GO (Gun Horse Archer) --- 92

B = Bombard: Bombard units have a 250 damage bonus against buildings.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Buildings 250 ---

C = Civilian: Civilians don't receive any damage bonuses, but take extra damage from Machine Guns, units with mask I (Modern Infantry), and units with mask O (Horse Archers). Also, Citizens, Scholars, Militia, Minutemen, and Partisans (although the latter 3 are not civilians) receive a 200 damage bonus against mask O (Horse Archers) and mask Q (Light Infantry).

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Machine Guns --- 500
Mask I (Modern Infantry) --- 120
Mask O (Horse Archers) --- 150
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) --- 90
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 90

D = Musket Infantry (Gunpowder Infantry): Mid-game Light Infantry units have this mask. In addition to the damage modifiers below, Gunpowder Infantry units have a 95 damage penalty against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry). Musketeers have an additional 132 damage bonus against mask H (Heavy Infantry).

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Machine Guns --- 330
Flamethrowers --- 88
Tanks --- 155
Artillery Weapons 75 ---
Buildings 87* ---
Units 133* ---
Mask H (Heavy Infantry) 180 75**
Mask K (Foot Archers) 125 90
Mask O (Horse Archers) 114 66
Mask OV (Vehicle Horse Archers) --- 200***
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) --- 155
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 149

* Note that the slow firing rate of Gunpowder Infantry units effectively neutralizes the damage bonus against units (they have a recharge of 44 frames compared with 33 frames for Early Light Infantry and 32 for Modern Infantry), and thus it is not really a damage bonus per se. Taking the firing rate into account, this can also be considered as not having a damage bonus against units and having a 65 damage penalty (instead of 87) against buildings.

** This damage penalty is canceled if Heavy Infantry has both mask G and mask H, i.e. for mask GH.

*** Mechanized Cavalry also have a 175 damage bonus against mask D. Altogether, Mechanized Cavalry have a net 231 damage bonus against Gunpowder Infantry.

E = Elephant: The only unit with this mask is the War Elephant. Its only effect damage-wise is that it only does half damage to Citizens, though War Elephants as a unit have other damage bonuses.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Citizen 50 ---

F = Foot unit: All units (but not buildings) have exactly one of mask F (Foot), mask M (Mounted), mask N (Naval), mask V (Vehicle), or mask 3 (Air). Foot units tend to be slower, but can increase the attack rating of some buildings when garrisoned inside them. The mask does not have any damage bonuses, although a number of units (particularly unique units) have damage bonuses specifically against units with this mask.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Flamethrowers --- 90

G = Gun: This mask does not have any damage bonuses on its own. However, it affects the damage bonuses for units with mask H and units with mask O.

H = Heavy Infantry: Heavy Infantry units have this mask. Later Heavy Infantry also have mask G; having both masks changes the damage bonuses against many types of units, and thus the damage modifier if mask G is present is listed as a separate column. Also, Heavy Infantry from Industrial Age onward have mask U (Armor-Piercing), while Mechanized Cavalry and Tanks both have mask A (Armored), meaning they receive an additional 180 damage bonus against these units which is not shown here.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod against with mask G Dam mod from
Buildings 130* 100 ---
Machine Guns --- --- 330
Mechanized Cavalry --- 225 50
Tanks --- 132 ---
Elephants/Mahouts --- --- 200
Mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) 75 100 180**
Mask I (Modern Infantry) 75 80 260
Mask K (Foot Archers) 86 100 215***
Mask M (Mounted) 166 257 ---
Mask O (Horse Archers) --- 66 160
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) 120 120 90
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 114 ---

* Ancient Age Heavy Infantry (Hoplites) have an 88 damage penalty against buildings, so their net damage bonus against buildings is 114. This makes Ancient Age Heavy Infantry rushing slightly more difficult. However, unique Ancient Age Heavy Infantry such as the German Solduri do not have this penalty, so they have the full 130 damage bonus against buildings.

** Musketeers (Enlightenment Age Gunpowder Infantry) have an additional 132 damage bonus against Heavy Infantry.

*** Ancient Age Foot Archers (Bowmen and Hwarang) do not have a 85 damage penalty that other Foot Archers have, so they have a 253 damage bonus against mask H instead of 215.

I = Modern Infantry: Late-game Light Infantry have this mask. Many Modern Infantry units have a 95 damage penalty against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry) which are not shown here.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Machine Guns 66 330
Flamethrowers --- 80
Mechanized Cavalry 170 175
Tanks 75 185
Artillery Weapons 75 ---
Buildings 66 ---
Mask C (Civilian) 120 ---
Mask H (Heavy Infantry) 260 75*
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) --- 170
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 159

* Becomes 80 if Heavy Infantry also has mask G (Gun).

J = Carries Air: This mask is supposed to indicate that the unit can carry air units, although Attack Submarines and Nuclear Missile Subs have this mask as well (possibly with the intent that they would launch missiles, which are classified as air units). It does not have any damage bonuses.

K = Foot Archers: Units with this mask are particularly effective against Heavy Infantry, though weak against Early Light Infantry and Heavy Cavalry. They have a large 253 damage bonus against Heavy Infantry, although all Foot Archers except the Ancient Age Bowmen and Hwarang have an 85 damage penalty as well, making it a net 215 damage bonus.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Elephants/Mahouts 170 ---
Artillery Weapons 75 ---
Buildings 33 ---
Mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) 90 125
Mask H (Heavy Infantry) 215* 86**
Mask O (Horse Archers) 138 57***
Mask P (Sparse) 80 ---
Mask Q (Light Infantry) 65 162
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) 90 170
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) 90 114

* Ancient Age Bowmen and Hwarang have a 253 damage bonus instead of 215.

** This damage penalty is removed once Heavy Infantry also have mask G (Gun).

*** If mask V (Vehicle) is present with mask O (Horse Archers), i.e. for Mechanized Cavalry, then the damage penalty is 76 instead of 57.

L = Large: Indicates the unit is a large unit. Artillery Weapons and Ships have this mask. No damage modifiers are associated with this mask.

M = Mounted unit: All units (but not buildings) have exactly one of mask F (Foot), mask M (Mounted), mask N (Naval), mask V (Vehicle), or mask 3 (Air). Mounted units tend to be faster than Foot units. The mask itself does not confer damage bonuses, though some units (particularly Heavy Infantry) gain damage bonuses against units with mask M.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Flamethrowers --- 125
Mask H (Heavy Infantry) --- 166*

* Damage bonus increases to 257 if Heavy Infantry also has mask G (Gun).

N = Naval unit: All units (but not buildings) have exactly one of mask F (Foot), mask M (Mounted), mask N (Naval), mask V (Vehicle), or mask 3 (Air). Naval units move on the seas. Many non-naval units have a 33 damage penalty against naval units, and naval units have a 33 damage penalty against many non-naval units. However, there are many exceptions to the various damage rules; actual damage bonuses for naval units may vary from what's given in the below table.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Buildings 33* 200
Artillery Weapons 66 350
Mask F (Foot) 33 33
Mask M (Mounted) 33 33
Mask N (Naval) 130 130
Mask V (Vehicle) except Artillery Weapons 33 33
Mask 3 (Air) except mask 36 (Air Anti-air)** and mask S3 (Air Siege)*** --- 33
Mask 36 (Air Anti-air) --- 115

* Mask NS (Naval siege) units do not have this penalty

** Mask 36 (Air Anti-Air) encompasses fighters and fighter-bombers, but not other aircraft such as helicopters.

*** Mask S3 (Air Siege) encompasses bombers, fighter-bombers, and missiles.

O = Horse Archers: Ranged Cavalry as well as Mechanized Cavalry have this mask. These units can fire while moving and are adept at killing citizens and scouting. In the mid-game, when these units also have mask G (Gun), some of the damage bonuses change; the same for when these units also have mask V (Vehicle) starting in the Industrial Age, as Mechanized Cavalry. However, the table below lists damage modifiers for mask OV; a lot of the damage bonuses that Mechanized Cavalry receive are actually set individually (i.e. based on those individual units), rather than due to their masks, and thus are not shown below.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod against with mask V Dam mod from
Citizen/Scholar/Militia/Minuteman/Partisan --- --- 200
Caravan/Merchant/Supply Wagon 66 66 ---
Machine Guns 155 (w/mask G) 155 (w/mask G) ---
Tanks --- --- 120
Artillery Weapons 75 75 ---
Buildings 33 33 ---
Mask A (Armored) 92 (w/mask G) 92 (w/mask G) ---
Mask C (Civilian) 150 150 ---
Mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) 66 132 114
Mask H (Heavy Infantry) 160 80 ---*
Mask K (Foot Archers) 57 76 138
Mask O (Horse Archers) 115 115 115
Mask P (Sparse) 95 95 ---
Mask Q (Light Infantry) 66 132 152
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) --- 97 ---
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) 57 91 140

* Damage bonus becomes 66 once Heavy Infantry has mask G (Gun).

P = Sparse: The units that have this mask are Citizens, Scholars, Militia and its upgrades, Caravans, Merchants, Generals, Patriots, Spies, the Scout line, and Flamethrowers. It does not confer any damage bonuses, but a number of units have damage penalties against units with this mask.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Elephants/Mahouts --- 66
Mask K (Foot Archers) --- 80
Mask O (Horse Archers) --- 95
Mask 3 (Air) --- 80
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 80

Q = Light Infantry: Units with this mask are called "Early Light Infantry" on this page, to distinguish between the two meanings of the term. However, the game simply calls them "Light Infantry".

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Citizen/Scholar/Militia/Minuteman/Partisan --- 200
Machine Guns --- 330
Mask K (Foot Archers) 162 65
Mask O (Horse Archers) 152 66*
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) 90 179
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 158

* Damage bonus becomes 132 once Horse Archers have mask V (Vehicle) from Industrial Age onwards.

R = Archery (Ranged): This means a general ranged weapon, such as that used by Slingers and buildings, as opposed to mask G (Guns) or mask W (Melee) or other types of ranged weapons. It does not have any damage bonuses. Although Militia have an attack range of 0, they nonetheless are considered ranged units, having mask R instead of mask W.

S = Siege: Siege units (including not only Artillery Weapons but also battleships, bombers and missiles) are particularly adept at attacking buildings. However, they are also more vulnerable to several other fast units.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Mechanized Cavalry --- 166
Elephants/Mahouts --- 120
Buildings 430 ---
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 122

T = War Machine: Late-game units such as Mechanized Cavalry, Machine Guns, and Bombers tend to have this mask. It does not confer any damage bonuses.

U = Armor-Piercing: Units with this mask are good at attacking units with mask A (Armored). Late-game units such as AP Gun Heavy Infantry and Tanks tend to have this mask.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Mask A (Armored) 180 ---

V = Vehicle unit: All units (but not buildings) have exactly one of mask F (Foot), mask M (Mounted), mask N (Naval), mask V (Vehicle), or mask 3 (Air). Units made at the Siege Factory (Artillery Weapons, Anti-Air units, and Supply Wagons), Mechanized Cavalry, and Tanks have this mask. A few unique units have damage bonuses against this mask, but otherwise it does not affect damage bonuses.

W = Melee: This mask indicates that the unit attacks at close range. It grants a damage bonus against Supply Wagons, but otherwise it does not affect damage bonuses.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Supply Wagon 180 ---

X = Explosive: The mask indicates that the damage is explosive in nature. It does not affect damage bonuses.

Y = Heavy Cavalry: This mask is for a type of pre-Industrial Age Stables unit. Note that almost all Early Light Infantry, Gunpowder Infantry, and Modern Infantry units have a unit-based 95 damage penalty against units with mask Y, not shown in the table.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Machine Guns 155 ---
Flamethrowers 140 ---
Tanks --- 115
Elephants/Mahouts 115 95
Buildings 33 ---
Mask C (Civilian) 90 ---
Mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) 155 ---
Mask H (Heavy Infantry) 90 120
Mask I (Modern Infantry) 170 ---
Mask K (Foot Archers) 170 90
Mask Q (Light Infantry) 179 90
Mask OV (Vehicle Horse Archers) --- 97
Mask 4 (Light Cavalry) --- 75

Z = Detector: Units with this mask reveal hidden units within their vicinity. The mask itself does not confer any damage bonuses; however, detectors will naturally continually damage decoy units (similar to attrition) within their vicinity.

1 = Patriot: Although this mask is denoted as "Unused" in the game, the only units which have this mask are Patriots from the Thrones & Patriots expansion. It does not confer any damage bonuses.

2 = Missile: Units from Missile Silos have this mask.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Lookout line (Detector buildings) 400 ---

3 = Air: All units (but not buildings) have exactly one of mask F (Foot), mask M (Mounted), mask N (Naval), mask V (Vehicle), or mask 3 (Air). Because of the variety of units with this mask, similar to mask N (Naval), there are some damage bonuses relating to air units that aren't listed below. Fighters and Fighter Bombers have mask 36 (Air Anti-Air), while Bombers, Fighter Bombers, and Rockets have mask S3 (Air Siege); these combinations of masks give different damage bonuses. Fighter Bombers have both these sets so they receive bonuses of both types.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod against with mask 6 Dam mod from
Bombers (but not Fighter Bombers) --- 200 ---
Helicopters 130 130 ---
Light Ships (except Bark) 90 90 ---
Destroyer/Missile Cruiser --- --- 300
Cruiser --- --- 285
Aircraft Carrier 50 50 ---
Artillery Weapons --- 125 ---
Lookout line (Detector buildings) ---* 85 ---
Buildings (except Lookout line) --- 15 ---
Units (not buildings) 110 110 ---
Mask N (Naval) --- 115 ---
Mask P (Sparse) 80 80 ---

* Mask S3 has a damage penalty of 25 against Lookout line. Note however that the 430 damage bonus from mask S (Siege) also applies, and these units also have mask B (Bombard) whose 250 damage bonus applies as well to the Lookout line, for a net of 267 damage bonus against the Lookout line compared with a 1075 damage bonus for buildings in general.

4 = Light Cavalry: Units with this mask are from the Stables and are very fast. Most Early Light Infantry, Gunpowder Infantry, and Modern Infantry units have a unit-based 95 damage penalty against units with mask 4, which is not shown in the table below.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Citizen/Scholar/Militia/Minuteman/Partisan 50 ---
Caravan/Merchant 33 ---
Machine Guns 130 ---
Flamethrowers 125 ---
Tanks --- 120
Buildings 33 ---
Mask A (Armored) 98 ---
Mask C (Civilian) 90 ---
Mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) 149 ---
Mask GH (Gun Heavy Infantry) --- 114
Mask I (Modern Infantry) 159 ---
Mask K (Foot Archers) 114 90
Mask O (Horse Archers) 140 57*
Mask P (Sparse) 80 ---
Mask Q (Light Infantry) 158 ---
Mask S (Siege) 122 ---
Mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) 75 ---

* Damage modifier increases to 91 if mask V is also present on Horse Archers (i.e. for Mechanized Cavalry).

5 = Pike: Heavy Infantry units have this mask. However, it does not confer any damage bonuses.

6 = Anti-Air: Units with this mask receive a large damage bonus against helicopters. Air units with this mask also have other damage bonuses as given in the chart for mask 3. Note that the Lookout line have mask 6.

Mask/Subcategory Dam mod against Dam mod from
Helicopters 400 ---

Damage Modifier Table Values[]

This section shows the actual damage modifier table values used by the game. The values are taken from version 03.02.12.0800 of Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots.

For all tables, the attacker is on the left, while the defender is on the top. When damage is applied, the attacker's attack is multiplied by the damage modifier in the tables below, and is then multiplied by any other damage modifiers (such as flanking). The defender's armor is then subtracted from this product, before it is applied to the defender's hit points.

Note that the tables below do not include the age-related damage bonus above. Consider this when comparing units from different ages. A table entry of "---" indicates that there are no damage modifiers (i.e. the damage modifier is 100, meaning 100% or normal damage).

Ground Units[]

These are the different types of ground units in Rise of Nations. The values for the standard version of the units are shown; unique units may have different damage multipliers.

Type Mask ELI GI MI FA MG FT MHI GHI AHI AC GC MC LC HC Ta Art Air Nav Bu
ELI QFR --- --- --- 162 --- --- --- --- --- 152 152 152 95 85 --- --- --- 33 ---
GI1 DFG 133 133 133 166 133 133 2392 2392 2392 151 151 151 126 126 133 99 133 43 87
MI IFG --- --- --- --- 66 --- 260 260 260 --- --- 170 953 953 75 75 --- 33 66
FA KFR 65 90 --- --- --- 80 2155 2155 2155 138 138 138 90 90 --- 75 --- 33 33
MG FTG 330 330 330 --- --- --- 330 330 330 --- --- 50 --- --- 50 75 --- 33 50
FT BXFP 90 79 72 90 90 90 90 90 90 125 125 --- 125 125 66 --- --- 33 250
MHI HFW5 --- 75 75 86 --- --- --- --- --- 166 166 --- 166 199 --- --- --- 33 1304
GHI HF5G --- --- 80 --- --- --- --- --- --- 169 169 148 292 308 132 --- --- 33 ---
AHI HF5UG/HXF5UG --- --- 80 --- --- --- --- --- --- 169 169 266 292 308 237 --- --- 33 ---
AC OMR 66 66 --- 57 --- 95 160 160 160 115 115 115 57 --- --- 75 --- 33 33
GC OMG 66 66 --- 57 155 95 160 160 160 115 115 105 57 --- 92 75 --- 33 33
MC OVATG 132 231 175 76 155 118 80 80 80 115 115 105 91 97 110 124 --- 33 21
LC 4MW 158 149 159 114 130 --- --- --- --- 140 140 137 --- 75 98 122 --- 33 33
HC YMW 179 155 170 170 155 140 90 90 90 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 33 33
Ta VTAU --- 155 185 --- 175 --- --- --- --- 120 120 216 120 115 180 115 --- 33 66
Art SVTL/SXVTL --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 3506 4307
Air Various 110 110 110 110 110 88 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 ---
Nav Various 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 66 --- 130 33
Bu Various --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 200 ---

Legend: ELI = Early Light Infantry, GI = Gunpowder Infantry, MI = Modern Infantry, FA = Foot Archers, MG = Machine Guns, FT = Flamethrowers, MHI = Melee Heavy Infantry, GHI = Gun Heavy Infantry, AHI = AP Heavy Infantry, AC = Archer Cavalry, GC = Gun Cavalry, MC = Mechanized Cavalry, LC = Light Cavalry, HC = Heavy Cavalry, Ta = Tanks, Art = Artillery Weapons, Air = Air units, Nav = Naval units, Bu = Buildings

1 Gunpowder Infantry have a 133 damage bonus against all units, but they also have a slower firing rate (firing every 44 frames instead of every 33 frames for Early Light Infantry and every 32 frames for Modern Infantry), so it's recommended to divide this row's values by 1.33 to get a more accurate comparison of their damage relative to other Light Infantry. This applies to all damage table entries for Gunpowder Infantry on this page.

2 Enlightenment Age Musketeers have an additional 132 damage bonus against mask H (Heavy Infantry), so they have an overall 314 damage modifier instead of 239.

3 Modern Age Infantry have a 100 damage modifier instead of 95 against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry).

4 Ancient Age Hoplites have a 88 damage penalty against buildings, so they have an overall 114 damage modifier instead of 130 against buildings. Note that Ancient Age unique Heavy Infantry do not have this penalty, making them stronger than regular Hoplites.

5 Ancient Age Foot Archers (Bowmen and Hwarang) have a 100 damage modifier instead of the 85 damage modifier against mask H (Heavy Infantry) that all other Foot Archers have, so they have an overall 253 damage modifier instead of 215 against Heavy Infantry. This makes them as strong against Heavy Infantry as their Classical Age version, Archers.

6 There are a variety of exceptions for Artillery Weapons against Naval units. Catapults and Trebuchets have a 200 damage modifier against Triremes, so they have an overall 700 damage modifier instead of 350. Catapults and Trebuchets also have a 150 damage modifier against Galleys, so they have an overall 525 damage modifier instead of 350. Trebuchets have a 150 damage modifier against Carracks, so they have an overall 525 damage modifier instead of 350. Cannons, Artillery, and Rocket Artillery have a 90 damage penalty against mask N (Naval), so they have an overall 315 damage modifier instead of 350.

7 Howitzer and Rocket Artillery have a 125 damage bonus against cities (Small City, Large City, Major City, and Forbidden City), so they have an overall 537 damage modifier instead of 430.

Barracks Units (Infantry Units)[]

For the purposes of this page, Barracks units can be organized damage-wise in the following categories and subcategories:

Age Light Infantry Light Infantry Heavy Infantry Machine Guns Scouts
Ancient age small Ancient Age Slingers
Early Light Infantry
Bowmen

Foot Archers

Hoplites
Melee Heavy Infantry
Scout
Early Scouts
Classical age small Classical Age Javelineers
Early Light Infantry
Archers

Foot Archers

Phalanx
Melee Heavy Infantry
---
Medieval age small Medieval Age Elite Javelineers
Early Light Infantry
Crossbowmen

Foot Archers

Pikemen
Melee Heavy Infantry
Explorer
Early Scouts
Gunpowder age small Gunpowder Age Arquebusiers
Gunpowder Infantry
--- Elite Pikemen
Melee Heavy Infantry
---
Enlightenment age small Enlightenment Age Musketeers
Gunpowder Infantry
(Upgrades to

Musketeers)

Fusiliers
Gun Heavy Infantry
---
Industrial age small Industrial Age Riflemen
Modern Infantry
Anti-tank Rifle
AP Gun Heavy Infantry
Machine Gun
Commando
Modern Scouts
Modern age small Modern Age Infantry
Modern Infantry
Bazooka
AP Gun Heavy Infantry
Heavy Machine Gun
Special Forces
Modern Scouts
Information age small Information Age Assault Infantry
Modern Infantry
Anti-Tank Missile
AP Gun Heavy Infantry
Advanced Machine Gun
Elite Special Forces
Modern Scouts

Additionally, there are Flamethrowers, which have their own set of modifiers.

Barracks units can increase the rate of attack of the building when garrisoned in a city, tower, or fort, based on their own attack. This includes machine guns and flamethrowers. However, the bonus provided by melee units is halved.

Light Infantry[]

The term "Light Infantry" can sometimes refer to the entire set of subcategories including Light Infantry, Gunpowder Infantry, Modern Infantry, and Foot Archers, or sometimes refer to just the Light Infantry units of the Ancient to Medieval Ages in particular. It is important to note that the latter subcategory of "Light Infantry" fare relatively poorly against Heavy Infantry, while the other subcategories do very well against Heavy Infantry. It may sometimes be difficult to tell by context which meaning of Light Infantry is being used. However, statements such as "Heavy Infantry are countered by Light Infantry" are almost always referring to the entire set of subcategories as a whole, even though one of them do relatively poorly against Heavy Infantry. For clarity, the latter subcategory will be referred to as "Early Light Infantry" on this page, although this is non-standard terminology and many sources, including the game itself, refers to those units as "Light Infantry".

At the beginning of the game, there are two Light Infantry unit types that can be built. The first is Early Light Infantry which consist of Slingers, Javelineers, and Elite Javelineers, and have masks F (Foot), Q (Early Light Infantry), and R (Ranged). The second is Foot Archers which consist of Bowmen, Archers, and Crossbowmen, and have masks F (Foot), K (Foot Archers), and R (Ranged). Foot Archers fare well against Heavy Infantry but poorly against Early Light Infantry, Early Light Infantry fare well against Foot Archers but mediocre against Heavy Infantry, and Heavy Infantry fare well against Early Light Infantry but poorly against Foot Archers. Thus, early on, the damage model for infantry is:

Foot Archers >> Heavy Infantry

Heavy Infantry >> Early Light Infantry

Early Light Infantry >> Foot Archers

In addition, Heavy Infantry do relatively well against buildings (such as Small Cities), because of their relatively high armor (to the Small City's weak attack) and damage bonuses against buildings. Also, Citizens and Scholars do double damage to Early Light Infantry. Thus, an early attacking force typically consists of mostly Heavy Infantry to capture a city with some Early Light Infantry to counter any Foot Archers that would kill the Heavy Infantry quickly, while on defense a Tower (which has a much more powerful attack than a Small City), Foot Archers (to kill Heavy Infantry), and Citizens (to kill Early Light Infantry) are typically used.

Some unique Early Light Infantry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Chinese Fire Lances are considered Gunpowder Infantry (masks DFG) instead of Early Light Infantry (masks QFR), meaning they have Gunpowder Infantry bonuses an age early.
  • Incan Early Light Infantry (Inti Clubmen, Inti Macemen) are melee units (masks QFW instead of masks QFR) and thus have a 180 damage bonus against Supply Wagons. They also have a 115 damage bonus against Archer Cavalry, Gun Cavalry, and Mechanized Cavalry including against the unique Mahouts (for an overall 174 damage modifier instead of 152), and against Light Cavalry without the 95 damage penalty that most Light Infantry receive (for an overall 115 damage modifier instead of 95). This 115 damage bonus extends to Heavy Cavalry as well (for an overall 103 damage modifier instead of 85).
  • Mayan Early Light Infantry (Balamob Slingers, Royal Balamob Slingers, and Eagle Balamob Slingers) have a 150 damage bonus against Early Light Infantry.

Some unique Foot Archers also have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • British Foot Archers (Longbowmen, King's Longbowmen, King's Yeomanry) have a 95 damage penalty against all units, which somewhat negates their increased attack damage. They have a 130 damage bonus against mask H (Heavy Infantry), however.
  • Nubian Foot Archers (Kushite Archers, Royal Kushite Archers, Apedemak Archers) have a 125 damage bonus against mask K (Foot Archers) and mask O (Horse Archers), with Kushite Archers receiving a further 135 damage bonus against mask K (Foot Archers) for a net 168 damage modifier. However, version 03.02.12.0800 introduced a 85 damage penalty for these units against mask K (Foot Archers) and mask O (Horse Archers), so now they have an overall 106 damage modifier, with an overall 142 damage modifier for the Kushite Archers against mask K (Foot Archers).

Once Gunpowder Age is reached, the Early Light Infantry units can be upgraded to Gunpowder Infantry. Gunpowder Infantry have masks D (Gunpowder Infantry), F (Foot), and R (Ranged). This is an expensive but very important upgrade, because Gunpowder Infantry receive a large boost to attack strength combined with a +33% damage bonus against all units (although the benefit of these is offset somewhat by a slower firing rate), as well as a large bonus against Heavy Infantry specifically. Their damage against buildings and Artillery Weapons is somewhat less, however. Foot Archers do not have an upgraded unit during the Gunpowder Age, though some nations have unique Foot Archer units during this age. Once Enlightenment Age is reached, Foot Archers become Gunpowder Infantry (Musketeers) once the unit is researched.

Some unique Gunpowder Infantry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • American Continental Marines do not receive a 120 damage bonus against mask H (Heavy Infantry) that other Enlightenment Age Gunpowder Infantry receive as part of their 132 damage bonus, so the Continental Marines only have a 110 damage bonus instead, so they have an overall 262 damage bonus against Heavy Infantry instead of the overall 314 damage bonus that Enlightenment Age Gunpowder Infantry have. However, they also do not have the 95 damage penalty against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry) that other Gunpowder Infantry have, thus increasing their damage slightly against those units compared with other Gunpowder Infantry.
  • British Highlanders have a 130 damage bonus against mask F (Foot).

Gunpowder Infantry can be upgraded to Modern Infantry as Riflemen in the Industrial Age (despite the tooltip, which erroneously claims them to still be Gunpowder Infantry). Modern Infantry have masks F (Foot), I (Modern Infantry), and R (Ranged). This upgrade further increases the damage bonus against Heavy Infantry, as well as increasing the unit's rate of fire and movement speed (among other benefits). Modern Infantry receive a damage bonus against support units such as Generals and Supply Wagons, but do less damage to tanks and buildings.

Some unique Modern Infantry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • American Modern Infantry (Marine Riflemen, Marine Infantry, Assault Marines) do not have the 95 damage penalty against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry) that most Modern Infantry (except for the Modern Age Infantry unit) have, thus increasing their damage slightly against those units compared with most other Modern Infantry.
  • British Black Watch have a 130 damage bonus against mask F (Foot).
  • The Modern Age Infantry unit does not have the 95 damage penalty against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry) that most Modern Infantry have, thus the unique Aztec Jaguar Infantry, Chinese Manchu Infantry, German Volksgrenadiers, and Russian Red Guards Infantry do slightly less damage against those units compared to Infantry.

The role of Modern Infantry continues to be anti-Heavy Infantry, but is more complicated due to the appearance of Machine Guns. Machine Guns have large damage bonuses against most Infantry, but fare poorly against cavalry, move slowly, and must be deployed to fire. Thus, they are useful for holding key locations (such as recently captured cities) against infantry attacks, but not as useful for moving in to capture enemy cities, or conducting ambush attacks against Heavy Infantry. Thus, Modern Infantry still have their uses.

Heavy Infantry[]

Although Heavy Infantry are typically considered to be a single category, damage-wise there are three distinct categories: Melee Heavy Infantry, which are from the Ancient to the Gunpowder Age, Gun Heavy Infantry, which consists of just the Fusiliers in the Enlightenment Age, and AP (Armor-Piercing) Gun Heavy Infantry, which is from the Industrial Age onward.

In the early game, Heavy Infantry are melee units. The Melee Heavy Infantry have masks F (Foot), H (Heavy Infantry), W (Melee), and 5 (Pike). Their primary use is to counter cavalry and to attack buildings. The Ancient Age Hoplites have an 88 damage penalty against buildings compared with other Heavy Infantry, thus somewhat reducing the effectiveness of Ancient Age rushes (although the overall Melee Heavy Infantry bonus still more than makes up for this). Because of their high armor, they fare relatively well against the relatively weak attacks of buildings.

Although Melee Heavy Infantry have a damage bonus against cavalry, Ranged Cavalry have a damage bonus against them in turn, and with some micromanagement can stay out of their melee range, firing while moving all the time. Thus Melee Heavy Infantry are not an effective counter against Ranged Cavalry, while Ranged Cavalry (along with Foot Archers) are an effective counter against Melee Heavy Infantry despite the anti-cavalry nature of the Heavy Infantry. Although not likely to be purposely used in this way because of their slow speed, all melee units have a good 180 damage bonus against Supply Wagons, and Melee Heavy Infantry can function in this regard.

Some unique Melee Heavy Infantry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Ancient Age Hoplites have an 88 damage penalty against buildings, but unique Ancient Age Melee Heavy Infantry (German Solduri, Iroquois Spearmen, Japanese Ashigaru Spearmen, Persian Immortals) do not have this penalty. Thus, they do more damage to buildings by comparison, making their Ancient Age rushes more effective compared to that of other nations.
  • Japanese Gunpowder Age Samurai has a 50 damage penalty against all units and buildings. However, their attack cooldown is slightly less than half of other units (15 instead of 32) more or less canceling out this damage penalty. Note that attacking twice with half damage each time means that the defender's armor is applied twice instead of once, thus the Samurai has a somewhat lower rate of damage against high-armor targets compared with other Gunpowder Age Melee Heavy Infantry. They have a slightly higher rate of damage against targets with no armor, however, and in all cases can move from target to target more quickly due to the lower cooldown and less overkill; against targets that only have a few hit points left, the Samurai can kill them and quickly move on, while other units have to wait for their full cooldown before attacking another target.
  • Persian unique Melee Heavy Infantry (Immortals, Anusiya, Athanatoi, Arquebus Immortal) are ranged rather than melee (masks HFR5 instead of HFW5 for the first three, and HFG5 instead of HFW5 for Arquebus Immortal). Being ranged instead of melee means they do not receive the 180 damage bonus against Supply Wagons, but their damage bonuses are otherwise similar to the melee units they replace.
  • Roman unique Melee Heavy Infantry (Legions, Caesar's Legions, Praetorian Guards) have a 200 damage bonus against mask H (Heavy Infantry).
  • Spanish unique Melee Heavy Infantry (Scutari, Royal Scutari) have a 110 damage bonus against mask O (Horse Archers) and a 180 damage bonus against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry). The Gunpowder Age Tercios not only have these bonuses but are also ranged rather than melee (masks HF5G instead of HFW5), meaning the Spanish have Gun Heavy Infantry instead of Melee Heavy Infantry an age early. Tercios also have a 130 damage bonus against all units and buildings.

In the mid-game, the Heavy Infantry for the Gunpowder Age continue to be Melee Heavy Infantry, even when Light Infantry have moved on to Gunpowder Infantry. At this point Heavy Infantry are perhaps at their weakest, because Artillery Weapons start coming to the fore at destroying buildings, so Heavy Infantry tend to function as protecting Light Infantry and Artillery Weapons from cavalry. In the Enlightenment Age, Melee Heavy Infantry are upgraded to Gun Heavy Infantry (Fusiliers). This upgrade gives a substantial damage boost against cavalry, not only because of the increased attack range, but also because of inherent damage bonuses. However, they lose their damage bonus against buildings. They have masks F (Foot), G (Gun), H (Heavy Infantry), and 5 (Pike). Having both mask G and mask H gives them a different set of damage bonuses compared with just having mask H.

Some unique Gun Heavy Infantry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Spanish Royal Tercios have a 130 damage bonus against all units and buildings. They also have a 110 damage bonus against mask O (Horse Archers) and a 180 damage bonus against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) and mask 4 (Light Cavalry).

Once in the Industrial Age, Gun Heavy Infantry is upgraded with an anti-armor damage bonus to become AP (Armor Piercing) Gun Heavy Infantry. In addition to the masks that Gun Heavy Infantry have, AP Gun Heavy Infantry also has mask U (Armor Piercing), and the Modern Age and Information Age units (have mask X (Explosive) as well. Mask U gives the Heavy Infantry a significant damage bonus against Tanks and Mechanized Cavalry (which are both armored units), further cementing their role as anti-cavalry infantry.

Some unique AP Gun Heavy Infantry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Mayan Recoilless Gun and Dragon AT Missile have a 135 damage bonus against mask V (Vehicle).

Machine Guns[]

Machine Guns receive a very large 500 damage bonus against non-military units (Citizens, Generals, Caravans, Supply Wagons, Spies, Scouts, etc.), and also against many types of Infantry. However, they fare poorly against Mechanized Cavalry and Tanks. Because they are slow-moving and need to deploy to fire, they are better used defensively, such as protecting a recently-captured city still under assimilation. They should be used with Heavy Infantry, because of their weakness against Mechanized Cavalry and Tanks. Machine Guns have masks F (Foot), G (Gun), and T (War Machine).

Some unique Machine Guns have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • German MG42 have a 130 damage bonus against mask F (Foot).

For Citizens, a defense against Machine Guns is to convert the Citizen into a Militia; Machine Guns have no damage bonuses against Militia, compared to their 500 damage bonus against Citizens. Note that an Age-related damage bonus is applied on top of this as well, as Citizens are considered Ancient Age units.

Scouts[]

Although scouts do not fight directly, they can be split into two subcategories damage-wise. There are the Early Scouts consisting of the Scout and the Explorer, and the Modern Scouts consisting of the Commando, Special Forces, and Elite Special Forces. Early Scouts have masks C (Civilian), F (Foot), P (Sparse), R (Ranged), and Z (Detector), while Modern Scouts also have mask I (Modern Infantry).

They differ in that Modern Scouts take less damage from Heavy Infantry due to having mask I. However, Machine Guns do an extra 3x damage against Modern Scouts compared with Early Scouts (for an overall 1650 damage bonus), and many types of cavalry (including Mechanized Cavalry and Tanks) have damage bonuses against Modern Scouts as well, compared with Early Scouts, because of mask I. This makes Modern Scouts surprisingly more vulnerable on the modern battlefield compared with Early Scouts.

Some unique Scouts have extra damage applied against them:

  • Iroquois Okwari is available one Age earlier compared to the standard Commando. This means that it is considered a lower-Age unit than the Commando, and may suffer an additional Age-related damage bonus from other units as a result.

Stables Units[]

Stables units tend to be faster but more expensive than Infantry units. Damage-wise, they can be organized into the following categories:

Age Light Cavalry Ranged Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Elephants
Classical age small Classical Age Light Horse Horse Archer

Archer Cavalry

Cataphract

Heavy Cavalry

War Elephant

Elephants

Medieval age small Medieval Age Light Cavalry Heavy Horse Archer

Archer Cavalry

Knight

Heavy Cavalry

Mahout

Mahouts

Gunpowder age small Gunpowder Age Elite Light Cavalry Dragoon

Gun Cavalry

Heavy Knight

Heavy Cavalry

Gun Mahout

Gun Mahouts

Enlightenment age small Enlightenment Age Hussar Carabineer

Gun Cavalry

Cuirassier

Heavy Cavalry

Culverin Mahout

Gun Mahouts

Industrial age small Industrial Age (Upgrades to

Armored Car)

Armored Car

Mechanized Cavalry

Light Tank

Tanks

(Upgrades to

Light Tank)

Modern age small Modern Age Armored Scout Car

Mechanized Cavalry

Tank

Tanks

Information age small Information Age Armored Cavalry

Mechanized Cavalry

Main Battle Tank

Tanks

Elephants are unique units for the Indians and Persians.

Light Cavalry[]

Light Cavalry are extremely fast melee units. However, they are relatively weak, and thus should be used somewhat carefully. Light Cavalry can be used to counter Ranged Cavalry and also to counter Light Infantry to a certain extent. They can also be used for quick strikes and flanking attacks to disrupt enemy formations. Their speed allows them to pick off valuable support units that tend to be at the rear of enemy formations, such as Generals, Supply Wagons, and Artillery Weapons, especially with the damage bonus against Supply Wagons that all melee units receive. Light Cavalry have masks M (Mounted), W (Melee), and 4 (Light Cavalry).

Some unique Light Cavalry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Egyptian unique Light Cavalry (Light Camel, Camel Warrior, Elite Camel Warrior) have a 120 damage bonus against Light Horse, Light Cavalry, and Elite Light Cavalry units (but not against their unique variants nor against the Hussar unit).
  • Russian unique Light Cavalry (Rusiny Lancer, Cossack, Don Cossack) have a 105 damage bonus against all units and buildings.

In the Industrial Age, Light Cavalry are upgraded to Mechanized Cavalry.

Ranged Cavalry[]

This category consists of three subcategories: Archer Cavalry, Gun Cavalry, and Mechanized Cavalry. They have the ability to fire while moving, which is valuable for attacking other units in hit-and-run attacks. Ranged Cavalry excel at killing Citizens and other economic units, as well as support units such as Generals and even Melee Heavy Infantry (as long as they stay out of melee range). However, they fare poorly against Light Cavalry and in the later game, against Tanks.

Archer Cavalry are the early game version of the unit. They can kill a Citizen in two shots, so they can be useful on raiding missions, to disrupt the enemy's economy. They receive significant damage bonuses against economic and support units as well as against Heavy Infantry. They have masks M (Mounted), O (Horse Archery), and R (Ranged).

In the mid-game, Archer Cavalry gain the use of guns and become Gun Cavalry. They now have masks G (Gun), M (Mounted), and O (Horse Archery). Although relatively minor during the mid-game, mask GO gives a 155 damage bonus against Machine Guns but a 92 damage penalty against units with mask A (Armored). The relevance of these damage modifiers only become evident in the late-game, since Mechanized Cavalry also have mask GO.

Some unique Archer Cavalry and Gun Cavalry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Egyptian unique Archer Cavalry (Chariot, Heavy Chariot) and Gun Cavalry (Mameluke, Royal Mameluke) have a 150 damage bonus against mask O (Horse Archers), which encompass all Archer Cavalry, Gun Cavalry, and Mechanized Cavalry.
  • Mongol unique Archer Cavalry (Nomad, Steppe Nomad) and Gun Cavalry (Horde, Golden Horde) have a 145 damage bonus against mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) and a 160 damage bonus against mask Q (Early Light Infantry).
  • Nubian unique Archer Cavalry (Camel Archer, Heavy Camel Archer) and Gun Cavalry (Camel Raider, Camel Corps) have a 120 damage bonus against mask D (Gunpowder Infantry) and a 135 damage bonus against mask Q (Early Light Infantry).

In the late-game, both Light Cavalry and Gun Cavalry are upgraded to Mechanized Cavalry. Mechanized Cavalry have masks A (Armored), G (Gun), O (Horse Archery), T (War Machine), and V (Vehicle). Compared to Gun Cavalry, Mechanized Cavalry gain substantial damage bonuses against some support units such as the Supply Wagon and Scouts, all types of Light Infantry, Light Cavalry, and Artillery Weapons. However, they only do half damage to Heavy Infantry compared to Gun Cavalry. On the flip side, Modern Infantry, AP Gun Heavy Infantry, Tanks, and Helicopters gain a large damage bonus against Mechanized Cavalry compared with Gun Cavalry, but Machine Guns will only do half damage.

Heavy Cavalry[]

The Heavy Cavalry are the knights of yore. They have masks M (Mounted), W (Melee), and Y (Heavy Cavalry). Heavy Cavalry excel at killing all forms of Infantry except for Heavy Infantry. Though not quite as fast as Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry still have enough speed to perform as "shock troops", flanking an enemy army for the extra damage, and they will generally last about twice as long as Light Cavalry in a fight against a given opponent, except against Heavy Infantry (against whom both will die quickly) and Ranged Cavalry (against whom Light Cavalry is superior). Their main counter is Heavy Infantry, and Ranged Cavalry to a lesser extent.

Some unique Heavy Cavalry have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Most Greek unique Heavy Cavalry except for the Companion (Royal Companion, Stratiotai, Royal Stratiotai) have a 105 damage bonus against units and buildings.

Late-game Heavy Cavalry consists of Tanks. Tanks have masks A (Armored), T (War Machine), U (Armor Piercing), and V (Vehicle). They have significant damage bonuses against Light Infantry, Ranged Cavalry, and even other Tanks, but fare poorly against Heavy Infantry, especially late-game Heavy Infantry which have mask U (Armor Piercing). Once Tanks appear on the battlefield, it would be wise to prepare Heavy Infantry and Air units (especially Helicopters) to counter them.

Some unique Tanks have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • German unique Tanks (Tiger Tank, Leopard Tank) have an additional 120 damage bonus against Machine Guns, and an additional 115 damage bonus against mask Q (Early Light Infantry), mask D (Gunpowder Infantry), and mask I (Modern Infantry).
  • Russian T80 Tank does not have the 115 damage bonus against Artillery Weapons that other Tanks have, meaning it effectively has a 87 damage penalty compared to other Tanks.

Elephants and Mahouts[]

Although Elephants and Mahouts are unique units for the Indians and Persians, they have their own damage characteristics so merit their own subsection.

Both Elephants and Mahouts have a 200 damage bonus against mask H (Heavy Infantry), a 66 damage penalty against mask P (Sparse), a 120 damage bonus against mask S (Siege), and a 95 damage penalty against mask Y (Heavy Cavalry). They also uniquely have a 90 damage penalty against Enlightenment Age units and buildings, an 80 damage penalty against Industrial Age units and buildings, a 70 damage penalty against Modern Age units and buildings, and a 60 damage penalty against Information Age units and buildings.

Elephants have masks E (Elephant), M (Mounted), and W (Melee). They are the only unit with mask E. Due to this mask, Elephants have a 50 damage penalty against Citizens.

Mahouts can be separated into two smaller subcategories damage-wise, the Archer Mahouts with masks M (Mounted), O (Horse Archers), and R (Ranged) consisting of the Mahout unit, and the Gun Mahouts with masks G (Gun), M (Mounted), and O (Horse Archers), consisting of the Gun Mahout and the Culverin Mahout. The Culverin Mahout additionally has mask X (Explosive). Because of their masks, Mahouts are closer to Ranged Cavalry in terms of damage bonuses.

Type Mask ELI GI MI FA MG FT MHI GHI AHI AC GC MC LC HC Ta Art Air Nav Bu
Elephants EMW --- --- --- --- --- 66 200 200 200 --- --- --- --- 95 --- 120 --- 33 ---
Archer Mahouts OMR 66 66 --- 57 --- 62 320 320 320 115 115 115 57 95 --- 90 --- 33 33
Gun Mahouts OMG/OMGX 66 66 --- 57 155 62 320 320 320 115 115 105 57 95 92 90 --- 33 33

Note that the above does not include the Age-related damage penalty that Elephants and Mahouts have against later-Age units.

In terms of receiving damage, the Mahouts have the same masks as Archer Cavalry and Gun Cavalry, so they are similar to those subcategories when taking damage. For example, Citizens, which have a 200 damage bonus against mask O (Horse Archers), will also have the same bonus against Mahouts (though not Elephants). However, units with mask K (Foot Archers) have an additional 170 damage bonus against Elephants and Mahouts, units with mask Q (Early Light Infantry) have a 150 damage bonus against Elephants, and units with mask Y (Heavy Cavalry) have a 115 damage bonus against Elephants and Mahouts.

Type Mask Elephants Mahouts
ELI QFR 150 152
GI1 DFG 133 151
MI IFG --- ---
FA KFR 170 234
MG FTG --- ---
FT BXFP 125 125
MHI HFW5 166 166
GHI HF5G 257 169
AHI HF5UG/HXF5UG 257 169
AC OMR --- 115
GC OMG --- 115
MC OVATG --- 115
LC 4MW --- 140
HC YMW 115 115
Ta VTAU --- 120
Art SVTL/SXVTL --- ---
Air Various 110 110
Nav Various 33 33
Bu Various --- ---

Factory Units[]

Factory units cover a variety of specialist roles. Although they form an important part of every army, they are not very useful without other units.

Artillery Weapons[]

Artillery Weapons are primarily used to attack buildings. They have a long range, longer than that of buildings, but fire slowly and with slow projectiles. They also need to deploy to be used. This means that they are relatively ineffective and vulnerable against units. Artillery Weapons have masks L (Large), S (Siege), T (War Machine), and V (Vehicle), with later units also having mask X (Explosive). The late-game Howitzer and Rocket Artillery have an additional 125 damage bonus against cities.

Some unique Artillery Weapons have damage bonuses specific to the unit:

  • Inca unique Artillery Weapons (Mortar, Siege Mortar) have a 110 damage bonus against buildings.
  • Korean unique Artillery Weapons (Flaming Arrow and Heavy Flaming Arrow) do not receive the damage bonuses against Triremes, Galleys, and Carracks that Catapults and Trebuchets receive. They have a 135 damage bonus against buildings.
  • Russian Katyusha Rocket has a 115 damage bonus against mask F (Foot). It also has a 90 damage penalty against mask N (Naval); a number of Artillery Weapons also have this damage penalty, but not the standard version of the Katyusha Rocket, the Howitzer.
  • Turkish unique Artillery Weapons (Basilica Bombard, Basilica Cannon) have a 110 damage bonus against buildings.

Anti-Aircraft[]

Anti-Aircraft units are specifically geared for destroying aircraft. They are not able to attack ground units, naval units, nor buildings. However, they are still vulnerable to those units. Because of this, Anti-Aircraft units should be well-protected within an army to counter an opposing force's air units. Anti-Aircraft in general don't have damage modifiers except against aircraft, and most units in turn don't have damage modifiers against Anti-Aircraft. Anti-Aircraft have masks T (War Machine), V (Vehicle), and 6 (Anti-Air). Although the latter may imply a 400 damage bonus against Helicopters, all units also receive a 25 damage penalty against Helicopters, thus canceling this damage bonus.

In the damage table below, Fighters are listed individually due to different damage bonuses, but the other columns refer to subcategories of air units. Note that the age-related damage bonus is not included.

Unit Biplane Fighter Jet Fighter Advanced Fighter Bombers1 Fighter Bombers Helicopters
Anti-Aircraft Gun 110 105 --- --- 75 90 ---
Anti-Aircraft Battery 115 110 105 --- 75 90 ---
Anti-Aircraft Missile --- --- --- --- 75 90 ---

1 Anti-Aircraft units cannot target the Stealth Bomber.

Supply Wagons[]

Supply Wagons prevent attrition from affecting nearby units and also remove the attack speed penalty of Artillery Weapons when outside their own territory. Because of this, they are an important component of any army, and a high-value target. Additionally, the scaling cost of Supply Wagons is high, ensuring that not many are built. Supply Wagons have masks C (Civilian) and V (Vehicle).

Damage-wise, a number of units receive significant bonuses against Supply Wagons. All melee units such as Light Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry have a 180 damage modifier against Supply Wagons on top of whatever other damage bonuses may apply. Buildings have a 280 damage modifier against Supply Wagons, so they should be kept out of range of building fire. They are also extremely vulnerable to Machine Guns and Mechanized Cavalry.

The Dutch have the unique Armed Supply Wagons. Unlike the regular Supply Wagons, Armed Supply Wagons do not have mask C (Civilian). They thus do not suffer from the additional damage bonuses that some units have against mask C, such as the Machine Gun's 500 damage bonus. Some other units subcategories have specific damage modifiers that differ between the regular Supply Wagons and the Dutch Armed Supply Wagons.

Type Supply Wagons Armed Supply Wagons
Early Light Infantry (ELI) --- ---
Gunpowder Infantry (GI) 133 133
Modern Infantry (MI) 120 ---
Foot Archers (FA) --- ---
Machine Guns (MG) 500 ---
Flamethrowers (FT) --- ---
Melee Heavy Infantry (MHI) 180 180
Gun Heavy Infantry (GHI) --- ---
AP Gun Heavy Infantry (AHI) --- ---
Archer Cavalry (AC) 150 66
Gun Cavalry (GC) 150 66
Mechanized Cavalry (MC) 225 99
Light Cavalry (LC) 162 180
Heavy Cavalry (HC) 162 180
Tanks (Ta) --- ---
Artillery Weapons (Art) --- ---
Air Units (Air) 110 110
Naval Units (Nav) 33 33
Building (Bu) 280 280
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