Cavalry Archer
ArcherBase values, before Blacksmith upgrades. The Blacksmith raises attack and armour for infantry, cavalry and archers — Blast Furnace, for instance, gives "+2 Attack for infantry & cavalry". Late in a game, the real numbers are higher.
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Cavalry Archer
Castle
Heavy Cavalry Archer
ImperialThe coach's briefing
The Cavalry Archer is your mobile ranged threat. With 1.4 speed and 4 range, you kite infantry and siege while staying safe from retaliation. Your +2 vs Spearman lets you punish anti-cavalry units. However, you're expensive at 40 Wood and 60 Gold with poor armor - Skirmishers eat you alive. You need mass and micro to work. Don't fight early - Cavalry Archers scale with upgrades. Get Thumb Ring, Parthian Tactics, and Bloodlines. Focus on raiding and harassment, not direct fights.
STRONG AGAINST
You win these trades cost-effectively.
WEAK AGAINST
Avoid these fights or bring support.
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Strategic Analysis
Tactical Identity
The Cavalry Archer is the **mobile harassment platform**. Unlike foot archers, you can chase down siege, escape from bad fights, and raid multiple locations. Mobility is your weapon.
Tactical Playbook
Hit-and-Run
Shoot and move. Your 1.4 speed lets you kite slower units indefinitely. Knights can't catch you if you micro properly.
Siege Hunter
Cavalry Archers excel at sniping siege. Mangonels, Scorpions, and Trebuchets can't escape you. Rush their siege line and delete it.
Raiding Economy
Speed lets you appear at multiple gold or wood lines. Force enemy to garrison while your eco runs freely. Raid, don't fight.
Critical Point
**Elite Skirmishers** and **Camels** hard counter you. Skirms have bonus damage and pierce armor. Camels catch you and have anti-cavalry bonus. Never engage these.
Understanding The Stats
The Cavalry Archer trades durability for mobility. Poor base stats demand heavy investment in upgrades, but a fully upgraded CA ball becomes one of the most dominant forces in the game.
Speed Advantage
Faster than Knights (1.35) and infantry. You dictate engagements - fight when you want, run when you don't.
Glass Cannon
No armor means every arrow and melee hit hurts. Skirmishers deal full bonus damage. You NEED upgrades to survive.
High Cost
40 Wood + 60 Gold is expensive. Losing CA hurts your economy. Protect your investment with good micro.
Spearman Bonus
Counters the units designed to counter cavalry. Spearmen can't catch or hurt you. Free damage.
Coach's Tip
Your 0/0 armor is your Achilles heel. Skirmishers deal 3 base + bonus damage to you. Get Bloodlines (+20 HP) and Parthian Tactics (+4 armor) as priorities. Without upgrades, you're paper.
Mechanics & Bonuses
Attack Bonuses
| Target | Bonus Dmg |
|---|---|
| Spearman | +2 |
Armor Classes
Archer
Vulnerable to Skirmishers and Huskarls.
Cavalry
Takes heavy bonus damage from Pikemen/Halberdiers and Camels.
Cavalry Archer
Vulnerable to units with bonus damage vs this class.
Key Upgrades
Feudal Age
Civilizations
* 42 civilizations have access to this unit.
Other Units
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
Cavalry Archer is the mobile ranged unit for hit-and-run pressure. It costs 40 wood and 60 gold, has 50 HP, 6 attack, 0/0 armor, 4 range, 1.4 speed and 5 line of sight, with a 37-second train time. The official help says it is strong against slow units at long range and weak against Skirmishers, Scorpions and units at close range. Its Cavalry Archer class carries a +2 bonus against Spearmen, so the unit wants space, movement and target selection rather than a static exchange. It is fast enough to leave, but not armored enough to be caught.
History & balance
The Cavalry Archer line is built by combining Stable mobility with Archery Range and Blacksmith scaling. The official help lists Stable speed and HP, Blacksmith attack, range and armor, University attack and accuracy, then the Archery Range conversion to Heavy Cavalry Archer. That path explains the cost: wood and gold buy a ranged body whose value rises with upgrades and time on the map. It also explains the counters. The design gives the unit freedom to kite slow targets, while Skirmishers, Scorpions and contact units punish a formation that loses its space.
In pro play
Use Cavalry Archers from the edge of the fight, where 1.4 speed lets them fire, move and refuse a bad contact. Keep the group together enough to focus one slow target, but never park it in front of Elite Skirmishers or a Scorpion. The 40 wood/60 gold cost rewards a planned Stable-and-Range economy; the zero armor means every arrow and melee connection matters. Scout the route, pull back before the screen arrives, and use the +2 Spearman bonus when the opponent exposes the spear-line. The best position is one the enemy must chase to reach.
How to counter it
The classic mistake is to chase Cavalry Archers with slow units or to answer them with ordinary Archers at the same distance. In practice, the counters are Elite Skirmishers, Camel Riders and Halberdiers. Elite Skirmishers carry +4 against the Archer class and +2 against the Cavalry Archer class; Camel Riders add +9 against Cavalry, and Halberdiers add +32. Those bonuses punish both armorless ranged bodies and their mounted tag. Close the space with a screen, then focus fire. If you keep losing to Cavalry Archers without knowing what to build or when, that is exactly what AoE Coach does: it reads your match-up and gives you the counter composition and timing.