Knight
CavalryBase 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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The coach's briefing
The Knight is your Castle Age power unit. With 100 HP, 10 Attack, and 2/2 armor, Knights overwhelm most units in direct combat. Use their speed to raid enemy resources, chase down archers, and crush infantry. Beware of Pikemen and Monks - they are your hard counters. Classes: Cavalry.
STRONG AGAINST
You win these trades cost-effectively.
WEAK AGAINST
Avoid these fights or bring support.
Just lost against this unit?
Your coach names the counters during the match — not once the game is over.
Strategic Analysis
Tactical Identity
The Knight is the **dominant Castle Age unit**. Its combination of mobility, durability, and damage output makes it the go-to choice for aggressive play. Most civilizations revolve their mid-game around either making Knights or countering them.
Tactical Playbook
Economy Raiding
Use Knight speed (1.35) to raid enemy woodlines, gold mines, and farms. Even losing Knights while killing Villagers is often a winning trade.
Archer Hunting
Knights destroy archers in melee. Close the distance quickly and don't let them kite you. Force fights near their production buildings.
Map Control
Knights control open ground. Use them to deny enemy expansion and protect your own resources while pressuring multiple points.
Critical Point
**Pikemen** with +22 bonus and **Monks** with conversion are your nightmares. Never fight into Pike masses, and always have Light Cavalry nearby to snipe Monks.
Understanding The Stats
The Knight is the gold standard for Castle Age combat. High HP, strong attack, and solid armor make it excel in nearly every engagement against non-counter units.
Tanky Powerhouse
Enough HP to tank multiple hits from most units. With Bloodlines, you reach 120 HP - allowing you to survive even longer in extended fights.
Strong Attack
Base 10 attack tears through archers and infantry. Against 0-armor Villagers, that's 10 damage per hit - 4 hits to kill.
Balanced Armor
2 Melee and 2 Pierce armor means you take reduced damage from both archers and infantry. Great for extended engagements.
Gold Investment
Expensive but powerful. At 60F/75G, Knights require significant investment. Protect them and make every Knight count.
Coach's Tip
Your 100 HP and 2/2 armor make you a tank. Use this to trade efficiently. Even if you lose some Knights, as long as you're killing Villagers or key units, you're winning the resource war.
Mechanics & Bonuses
Attack Bonuses
| Target | Bonus Dmg |
|---|---|
| No damage bonus: this unit deals the same damage to every target. | |
Armor Classes
Cavalry
Takes heavy bonus damage from Pikemen/Halberdiers and Camels.
Key Upgrades
Feudal Age
Castle Age
Civilizations
* 38 civilizations have access to this unit.
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
The Knight is the Castle Age unit every opening is measured against: 100 HP, 10 attack and 2/2 armor for 60 food and 75 gold, trained in 30 seconds. It threatens villagers, chases archers and beats most Castle Age compositions before the opponent can mass an answer. Those answers are named on its own card — Spearman-line, Camel Riders and Monks — and all three cost less than it does, which is the balance the design leans on. The line continues to Cavalier (120 HP, 12 attack) and Paladin (160 HP, 14 attack, 2/3 armor) at exactly the same price, so a Knight army improves by ageing up rather than by growing.
History & balance
The Knight line is the game's reference for what a gold-costing melee body should be. The same 60 food and 75 gold buys 100 HP and 10 attack in Castle Age, 120 HP and 12 attack as a Cavalier, and 160 HP with 14 attack and 2/3 armor as a Paladin: the price never moves, only the body does, so the line rewards reaching the next age rather than producing more of the current one. Its 1.35 speed and 2/2 armor make it a raiding unit rather than a battle-line unit, and the counters the official help names — Spearman-line, Camel Riders, Monks — are deliberately cheap, which is what stops the unit from deciding games on its own.
In pro play
Open the Castle Age with Stables that never stop: at 60 food and 75 gold for 30 seconds, a Knight only pays off when the economy sustains a stream of them. Its 1.35 speed exists to choose fights and to raid — send it at villagers and siege, not into a spear block. Bloodlines (+20 HP) and Husbandry (+10% speed) come before numbers, because both improve every Knight already on the field. Keep a screen against the categories the official help names as its weakness — Spearman-line, Camel Riders and Monks — and take the Cavalier upgrade (120 HP, 12 attack) as soon as the food allows, since it upgrades the whole army at once.
How to counter it
Camel Riders are the cleanest hard counter — the Camel Rider carries +9 against Cavalry and the Heavy Camel Rider +18 and cost only food and gold (no wood, unlike Pikemen). Civilizations like Saracens, Berbers, Hindustanis, and Malians can pivot to Camels mid-Castle Age and instantly stop a Knight push. Pikemen are the budget option (cheap food units with anti-cav bonus) but they're slow and lose if the Knight player retreats and re-engages. Monks are devastating at 4-5 mass — converting two Knights swings the engagement. Skirmishers are useless. The advanced counter is map control: deny stone for the opponent's Castle, force them into Hill Forts where Knights can't flank, and threaten their lumber camps to split their attention.