= Heavy Horse Archer =

Learn about the Heavy Horse Archer in Age of Empires IV: its stats, upgrade costs, and historical context. Master this powerful unit for your late-game strategy.

Alright, let's talk about the Heavy Horse Archer in Age of Empires IV. This unit is a pretty cool upgrade from the regular Horse Archer, bringing more punch and survivability to your army. Think of it as a more heavily armored version that can take a few more hits while still dishing out damage from a distance.

To get your hands on these guys, you'll need to have a few things set up first. Make sure you've built your Town Center, Barracks, and Archery Range. You'll also need to have researched the Chain Mail upgrade for your regular Archers, and crucially, you'll need to have already upgraded your Horsemen to Heavy Horse. Once all that's done, you can start training the Heavy Horse Archer from your Archery Range.

Upgrade Cost: It's going to set you back 1750 Food and 800 Gold to research the Heavy Horse Archer upgrade itself.

Unit Cost: Once upgraded, each Heavy Horse Archer you train costs 50 Food and 70 Gold.

Stats:

• Hit Points: 90
• Attack: 8
• Armor: 0
• Piercing Armor: 2
• Range: 7
• Speed: Fast
• Special: They get +2 piercing armor specifically against Ballista, Helepolis, and other missile weapons. That's a nice little bonus when dealing with certain siege units or enemy archers.

The Heavy Horse Archer is basically an improved Horse Archer. It has more hit points and hits a bit harder. Before you can even think about training them, you absolutely must research Chain Mail for your regular Archers. It's a prerequisite for the Heavy Horse Archer upgrade.

There are also some other key technologies that can really boost your Heavy Horse Archers:

• Nobility: This research increases their hit points, making them even tougher.
• Alchemy: Researching this boosts their attack strength, so they hit harder.
• Ballistics: This one increases their accuracy, meaning fewer arrows will miss their mark.
• Armor Upgrades: Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail all increase their overall armor rating.
• Range Upgrades: Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship extend their attack range, letting them shoot from further away.

Historically, in some late ancient armies, Horse Archers started getting some basic armor like helmets and limited body protection. This made them less vulnerable to enemy arrows, allowing them to get closer to the fight and deal more damage without being as exposed. However, these heavily armored archers weren't super common because they were tough to train, and most armies just couldn't afford the luxury of outfitting their archers with body armor. They were more of a specialized unit for cultures that already had a strong tradition of horse archery.