Paladin
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 Paladin is the pinnacle of the Knight line. With 160 HP, 14 Attack, and 2/3 armor, Paladins are nearly unstoppable in direct combat. Only 10 civilizations have access to this elite unit. Use them to crush enemy armies, raid with impunity, and dominate late-game battles. Beware of Halberdiers, Heavy Camels, and Camel Archers. 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 Paladin is the **ultimate power unit**. When fully upgraded, Paladins can engage almost any unit in the game and win. They are the definition of 'quality over quantity' in AoE2.
Tactical Playbook
Overwhelming Force
Paladins win most fights simply by having superior stats. Engage confidently against archers, infantry, and siege. Only disengage against dedicated counters.
Raid Immunity
With 160 HP and high armor, individual Paladins can raid without fear. Enemy Town Centers and Towers barely scratch you.
Army Anchor
Build your composition around Paladins. Add siege for buildings, Skirmishers for Halberdiers, and light cavalry for Monks. The Paladin is your centerpiece.
Critical Point
The upgrade costs 1300F/750G - make sure you can afford it. **Halberdiers** still counter you hard, and **Heavy Camels** are very dangerous. Mass production is expensive.
Understanding The Stats
The Paladin has the best stats of any standard cavalry unit. Every aspect is designed to dominate in combat.
Massive HP
With Bloodlines, you reach 180 HP. This is more than most unique units and allows you to tank enormous damage.
Elite Attack
14 base attack is devastating. Archers die in 2-3 hits, Villagers in 2 hits. Even tanky units fall quickly.
Improved Pierce Armor
+1 Pierce armor over Cavalier. With full upgrades, you reach 6/7 - archers deal minimal damage.
Line of Sight
+1 LOS over Cavalier. See enemies coming earlier and react to threats before they reach you.
Coach's Tip
You are the king of stats. 160 HP, 14 Attack, 2/3 armor with Blacksmith upgrades reaching 6/7. Use this to bully fights. Engage first, retreat last, and know that few units can match you.
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
* 10 civilizations have access to this unit.
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
The Paladin is the ultimate Knight-line upgrade and the most powerful standard cavalry unit in the game. With 160 HP, 14 attack and 2/3 armor, a fully-upgraded Paladin beats almost any unit in a straight fight. The catch is access and cost: only 10 civilizations can research the Paladin upgrade, and the upgrade itself costs a steep 1300 food / 750 gold on top of 60F/75G per unit. Paladins define the late-Imperial cavalry meta — civilizations like Franks, Persians, Teutons, Lithuanians and Cumans build their entire endgame around massing them. They are the textbook "quality over quantity" unit.
History & balance
Paladin stats have stayed close to their classic values across two decades, but balance designers control Paladin power mostly through who gets access and through anti-cavalry counters. The Definitive Edition kept the 1300F/750G upgrade cost high deliberately, so that reaching critical Paladin mass is a genuine economic commitment. Several civilizations have had Paladin access added or removed across DLCs to tune the late-game cavalry landscape. Husbandry (movement speed) and the full Blacksmith armor line remain mandatory companions — a Paladin without Plate Barding Armor loses much of its raid immunity.
In pro play
Paladins are the win condition for cavalry civilizations in long Imperial Age games, especially on closed maps like Arena, Hideout and Black Forest where matches reach full upgrades. Pros pair Paladins with siege (to break buildings), Skirmishers or Hand Cannoneers (to clear Halberdiers) and light cavalry (to snipe Monks). The "Paladin + Siege Onager + Skirmisher" Imperial composition is a textbook closed-map endgame. On open maps, reaching Paladin is rarer because games often end earlier in the Knight/Cavalier stage — but Frank and Persian players consistently push toward it as their lategame trump card.
How to counter it
Never fight Paladins with gold units they crush — counter them with cost-effective trash and anti-cavalry. Halberdiers are the #1 answer: cheap, food-based, with a massive anti-cavalry bonus, they trade brutally efficiently into Paladins. Heavy Camel Riders and Camel Archers hard-counter them while costing no wood. Monks convert them — at 160 HP a converted Paladin is a huge resource swing, so 4-6 Monks devastate a Paladin army. The economic counter matters most: the 1300F/750G upgrade plus per-unit gold means raiding the enemy gold and farms delays or prevents Paladins entirely. Force the fight before they reach critical mass.