Cataphract

Overview

A heavy cavalry unit built to break infantry formations and withstand attacks aimed at cavalry.

Availability and investment

Cataphract becomes available in Castle Age. Its listed production context is Byzantines. The listed cost is 70 Food, 75 Gold and the training time is 20 seconds. This tells you when it can first join an army and which resources must be reserved alongside Villager production, upgrades, and other military lines.

Combat profile

The available combat values are included here so the numbers can be read as a profile rather than an isolated list. Hit points and armor describe how long the unit can remain exposed; attack and any bonus damage describe what it threatens; range, reload, accuracy, and movement describe how reliably it can engage or disengage. A value shown for a whole upgrade line applies to the listed stages as recorded, so compare the stage names instead of treating the line as one base unit.

• Hit points: 110
• Melee armor: 2
• Pierce armor: 1
• Line of sight: 4
• Reload time: 1.8 seconds
• Movement speed: 1.35

Field use

Use its mobility to choose the engagement: pressure exposed economy, reinforce quickly, or withdraw from a prepared counter. Avoid trading its movement advantage for a stationary fight unless the target justifies it.

Armor classes and counters

Armor-class bonuses are separate from base attack and the target’s melee or pierce armor. The class list below shows the unit’s documented combat categories and bonus-damage relationships; use it to judge matchups instead of relying on the unit label alone.

• Armor class: Unique unit
• Armor class: Cavalry
• Cataphract deals +13 bonus damage to units in the Infantry class

Related unit plan: Cataphract anti-infantry deployment

Cataphract: Cataphracts specialize in fighting infantry and fill a different role from ordinary Knight-line cavalry. Their value rises when the opponent relies on durable infantry, while their full potential depends on the upgrades available later in the game Scout the opponent’s production before committing to a Castle and Cataphract investment. Use the cavalry to engage infantry formations and support a separate mobile line that can handle targets the Cataphracts do not counter efficiently. In the Imperial Age, complete the relevant Cataphract upgrades before making them the center of a large push Their high investment and limited early economy make an unsupported Castle Age switch risky. Low pierce armor and weaker general-purpose pressure mean they should not replace the Knight line automatically; change plans if the opponent is building strong cavalry or ranged counters