Scout Cavalry unit icon - Age of Empires 2

Scout Cavalry

Cavalry
Food80
Hit Points45
Attack3
Melee Armor0
Pierce Armor2
Train Time30s
Speed1.2

Base 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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Evolution

Food 150 Gold 50

Hussar

Imperial
Food 500 Gold 600

The coach's briefing

The Scout Cavalry is your eyes on the map and your first raiding option. With high speed and no gold cost, Scouts are perfect for early aggression - killing Villagers, picking off Monks, and keeping pressure on your opponent. They're fragile against Spearmen and lose to Knights, but their mobility makes them invaluable for map control.

STRONG AGAINST

You win these trades cost-effectively.

Monk
Monk
Archer
Archer
Villager
Villager
?
Siege

WEAK AGAINST

Avoid these fights or bring support.

Spearman
Spearman
Camel Rider
Camel Rider
Knight
Knight
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Strategic Analysis

Tactical Identity

The Scout Cavalry is your **Feudal Age harassment specialist**. While they can't win sustained fights, their speed and trash status make them the perfect raiding unit for applying early economic pressure.

Tactical Playbook

Villager Hunting

Target isolated Villagers on woodlines or gold. Even killing 2-3 Villagers early can snowball into a massive economic lead.

Monk Assassination

With +6 bonus damage vs Monks, Scouts are excellent Monk hunters. A single Scout can chase down and kill a Monk before reinforcements arrive.

Map Control

Use your speed to deny enemy scouting, steal deer, and keep vision on key areas. Information wins games.

Critical Point

Never fight **Spearmen** directly. Even 2 Spearmen will destroy your Scout force. Run away and find undefended targets.

Understanding The Stats

The Scout Cavalry trades raw combat power for exceptional mobility and cost efficiency. Understanding when to engage and when to flee is key.

Speed Advantage

1.2 Speed

Faster than all infantry and most ranged units. This speed lets you pick fights, escape danger, and raid where enemies aren't.

Trash Unit

0 Gold

80 Food only means you can mass Scouts while saving gold for Castle Age upgrades. Trade efficiently against gold units.

Pierce Armor

2 PA

Unlike most Feudal units, Scouts have 2 Pierce Armor. Archers deal reduced damage, making you surprisingly tanky vs ranged.

Monk Killer

+6 vs Monk

Monks are slow and defenseless. Your speed and bonus damage make you the perfect Monk counter.

Coach's Tip

Your 1.2 speed is your best stat. Don't look at your 3 Attack and feel useless - you're not here to fight, you're here to RAID. Pick off Villagers, kill Monks, and run when defenders arrive.

Mechanics & Bonuses

Attack Bonuses

TargetBonus Dmg
Monk+6

Armor Classes

Cavalry

Takes heavy bonus damage from Pikemen/Halberdiers and Camels.

Civilizations

Armenians
Bengalis
Berbères
Bohémiens
Britanniques
Bulgares
Bourguignons
Birmans
Byzantins
Celtes
Chinois
Coumans
Dravidiens
Éthiopiens
Francs
Géorgiens
Goths
Gurjaras
Hindustanis
Huns
Italiens
Japonais
Jürchen
Khitans
Khmers
Coréens
Lituaniens
Magyars
Malais
Maliens
Mongols
Perses
Polonais
Portuguese
Romains
Sarrasins
Shu
Siciliens
Slaves
Espagnols
Tatars
Teutons
Turcs
Vietnamiens
Vikings
Wei
Wu

* 47 civilizations have access to this unit.

AoE Coach analysis

Context & meta

Scout Cavalry is the Feudal Age mounted option for scouting, raiding and hunting Monastery units. It costs 80 food and no gold, has 45 HP, 3 attack, 0 melee/2 pierce armor, 1.2 speed and 4 line of sight, with a 30-second train time. The official help calls it fast-moving, resistant to conversion and exceptionally strong against Monastery Units; it is weak against the Spearman-line and Camel Riders. Its +6 bonus against Monks makes the role explicit: mobility and target choice matter more than a straight fight with a prepared army.

History & balance

Scout Cavalry extends the scouting role into a Feudal Age military tool. The official progression sends the line through Blacksmith attack and armor, Stable speed and HP, and the conversion to Light Cavalry. That sequence preserves the unit's original logic while adding a real raid threat: the stable supplies repeatable, gold-free pressure, then the Castle Age upgrade increases the payoff. The conversion resistance and Monk resistance upgrades reinforce the same identity rather than turning Scouts into a replacement for heavy cavalry.

In pro play

Scout Cavalry should spend its speed on information and exposed targets, not on a fair fight. Use the 1.2 movement speed to check the map, force a reaction at a resource, or reach a Monk before it can retreat; the +6 Monk bonus gives every successful connection a purpose. Since the cost is 80 food and zero gold, continued production can preserve pressure while your gold serves another plan. Keep the group moving, avoid spear walls, and use the 2 pierce armor to pass through incidental arrows without confusing ranged resistance with permission to dive everything.

How to counter it

The classic mistake is to meet Scout Cavalry with villagers or scattered units instead of placing a real spear or camel screen. The official Weak vs. lists the Spearman-line and Camel Riders. Spearmen have +15 against the Cavalry class and Camel Riders +9, so their bonus damage turns the Scout's mobility into a liability when the path is blocked. Do not chase them with slow units; deny the route, protect the target and make them collide with the counter. If you keep losing to Scout Cavalry 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.