Elmetto
Elmetto is Heavy cavalry in Age of Empires III, available from the Industrial Age; obtained through Tavern (Europeans), Monastery (Asians), Saloon (Americans), Palace (Africans), Lombard (Italians).
Recorded values
- Cost
- 400 Coin
- Available
- Industrial Age · Tavern (Europeans) ; Monastery (Asians) ; Saloon (Americans) ; Palace (Africans) ; Lombard (Italians)
- Training
- 60 sec · 4 population · 40 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 1,000 hit points · 30% ranged resistance · 6.0 speed · 12 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 40 damage · 1.5 attack interval · bonuses: 3.0x vs. Infantry
- Siege attack
- 40 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
- Trample attack
- 27 damage · 2.0 attack interval · bonuses: Same as hand attack
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Tavern (Europeans), Monastery (Asians), Saloon (Americans), Palace (Africans), or Lombard (Italians). It has 1,000 hit points and 30% ranged resistance. It moves at 6.0 speed and uses 4 population. Training costs 400 Coin; it takes 60 seconds to train. Attack profile: Hand attack deals 40 damage. Siege attack deals 40 damage. Trample attack deals 27 damage. Hand attack bonuses: 3.0× against Infantry.
Matchup & timing
Hand attack is especially effective against Infantry (3×). Hold the melee attack for Infantry when they enter contact. Keep a frontline between this unit and threats that can reach it safely.
Base mercenary profile
The Elmetto is an Industrial Age heavy cavalry mercenary. It costs 400 Coin, takes 60 seconds to train and uses four population. The standard unit has 1,000 hit points, 30% ranged resistance, speed 6.0 and line of sight 12. Its hand attack deals 40 damage every 1.5 seconds with a 3.0 multiplier against infantry. Its trample attack deals 27 damage in an area of three every two seconds, and its siege attack deals 40 at range six every three seconds. This profile makes Elmetti powerful against infantry and structures but comparatively poor in cavalry fights. They are slow and expensive for heavy cavalry, so their value depends on reaching infantry or artillery without being intercepted.
Infantry specialist, not a cavalry duelist
Elmetti are similar in role to Lancers and are designed to damage infantry. The 3.0 multiplier means the 40-damage hand attack becomes 120 against infantry before other modifiers, while trample can hit clustered groups. Their 1,000 hit points help them survive, but their speed 6.0 and 30% ranged resistance do not make them safe against dedicated anti-cavalry units. Heavy infantry can exploit cavalry multipliers, and light ranged cavalry can wear them down. Use Elmetti to flank or charge infantry and artillery, not to fight Hussars or Dragoons head-on. If the enemy has a dense infantry line, their damage can justify the cost; if the army is mostly cavalry, the four-population investment is inefficient.
Mercenary building and age access
The usual route is hiring from a Tavern for Europeans, Monastery for Asians, Saloon for Americans, Palace for Africans or Lombard for Italians. The unit normally appears in the Industrial Age, when opponents are more likely to have dedicated anti-cavalry measures. Dutch players can unlock Tavern training through The Mercenary Contractor when aging to the Fortress Age. Germans may use Adler von Lübeck if Elmetti are available in the Tavern, and United States players may encounter them through Poker’s random mercenary pool. These are specific access rules rather than universal earlier training. Confirm the building and card before planning a Fortress Age attack around a unit that normally arrives later.
Acobertados and national variants
Portuguese players can receive four Elmetti called Acobertados through the corresponding Fortress Age card. This variant has 20% more hit points, can train from Forts starting in the Industrial Age and loses Tavern training access; it also uses Portuguese voice lines. Argentina has a Hire Italian Elmetti card that ships six, while a German revolution to Argentina has a distinct seven-unit quantity. The German Adler von Lübeck card can also provide Elmetti instead of Uhlans under its specific conditions. Treat these as separate variants and shipments: an Acobertado’s health bonus and Fort access should not be assigned to the ordinary mercenary profile.
Upgrades and card investments
Cavalry technologies can improve Elmetto hit points, speed and attack, while mercenary cards can alter the cost of a shipment. Wallenstein's Contracts is a German-specific cost and shipment benefit; other civilization cards provide cavalry bonuses that may apply to the mercenary. Since each unit uses four population and costs 400 Coin, broad upgrades are most efficient when the player plans to field multiple units and has a reliable hiring route. A shipment can create an immediate force, but a random mercenary pool may not guarantee the Elmetto. Compare the value of cavalry improvements with artillery or conventional cavalry that may better answer the current battlefield.
Combat sequence and retreat cues
Scout for heavy infantry before committing Elmetti. If the opponent is focused on skirmishers or artillery, use speed and a flank to reach those targets, then withdraw once anti-cavalry units turn toward the charge. Trample is most effective against a compact infantry formation, but it places the cavalry among enemy units and can expose it to focused melee damage. Do not let Elmetti chase light ranged cavalry; their slower movement and four-population cost make a long pursuit especially punishing. Keep them grouped with a screen or use them as a decisive strike rather than the army’s only cavalry.
Siege and target priority
The 40-point siege attack is useful against buildings once the nearby defenders have been cleared, but the Elmetto’s primary value remains its anti-infantry attack. Use it to force an opponent to defend production or a forward structure, then retreat if towers or anti-cavalry appear. Its high health can absorb some fire during a short push, yet every lost unit costs four population and a large Coin investment. Let dedicated artillery handle a fortified base while Elmetti threaten infantry and exposed support units.
Comparison with Jat Lancers and Lancers
Elmetti and Jat Lancers both specialize in killing infantry, but Elmetti have significantly more hit points and somewhat less damage, speed, line of sight and ranged resistance than Jat Lancers. They are also role-equivalent to Lancers while arriving through a mercenary route. Their high health makes them durable during a short charge, but the 400-Coin cost and four-population use make a poor cavalry matchup expensive. Choose them when infantry is the main target and the Industrial Age timing is acceptable; use another cavalry unit when speed, repeated production or a direct cavalry fight matters more.
Understanding the lance bonus
Elmetti are classified as lance cavalry, and the 3.0 infantry multiplier applies to their hand attack. That classification matters for upgrades and cards that specifically affect lance cavalry. Their trample attack uses the same target multiplier as the hand attack, so a clustered infantry group can take substantial area damage. Heavy infantry is still a dangerous target because it often has cavalry bonuses and is more expendable than a mercenary. Focus ordinary infantry, avoid anti-cavalry formations and use scouting to choose the charge angle before the Elmetti enter melee.
Portuguese Acobertados in practice
The Acobertados version has 20% more hit points than the standard profile. With the listed base of 1,000, that produces 1,200 hit points before other upgrades. The Portuguese card supplies four in the Fortress Age and later enables Fort training in the Industrial Age, but removes Tavern training. This creates an earlier shipment exception without changing the ordinary unit’s Industrial Age hiring profile. Because the variant arrives from a card and later depends on a Fort, it should be planned around the location and survival of that structure.
Economic timing and army space
A 400-Coin price and four population make each Elmetto a major army investment. Coin may be needed for age progression, mercenary shipments or upgrades, while population space may be needed for the support units that protect heavy cavalry. Their 60-second training time also means replacement is slow if the hired force is defeated. Do not buy several units simply because a Tavern offers them; compare their infantry damage with what a conventional Lancer force or artillery shipment would contribute. They are most valuable when the opponent’s infantry is the strategic bottleneck.
Choose the charge target
Look for ordinary infantry or exposed artillery, then retreat once heavy infantry or light ranged cavalry responds. The Elmetto’s high health does not make a prolonged cavalry engagement efficient.
Industrial Age mercenary against Infantry
The Elmetto is an Industrial Age mercenary that costs 400 Coin, takes 60 seconds to train and uses four population. It has 1,000 hit points, 30% ranged resistance and speed 6.0. Its 40-damage hand attack fires every 1.5 seconds and has a 3× multiplier against Infantry; its 40-damage Siege attack and area-three Trample attack add pressure after the screen is broken. The unit is hired through region-specific buildings—Tavern, Monastery, Saloon, Palace or Lombard—rather than one universal Stable. Four population and a long queue make it a late-game commitment, so compare the Coin cost with the artillery or other Mercenaries the army also needs. Use Elmetti to hit Infantry and structures while supported; do not send them to duel anti-cavalry or to chase mobile ranged units. Portuguese Acobertados and other national variants have separate bonuses and should be read from their own version notes.
Industrial Age mercenary cavalry
Elmetto is a heavy lance cavalry mercenary introduced in The WarChiefs. It is available through special mercenary production buildings, with the exact building depending on the civilization: examples include the Tavern, Monastery, Saloon or Palace, and Italians can use a Lombard. Each Elmetto costs 400 Coin, uses four population and takes 60 seconds to train. It has 1,000 hit points, 30% ranged resistance and speed 6, making it a durable but expensive late-game commitment.
Lance damage and target choice
An Elmetto’s 40-damage hand attack receives a 3× multiplier against Infantry, which makes it a powerful charge unit against exposed foot troops. Its lance attack has 40 damage at range six, while its trample attack deals 27 damage with an area radius of three. Those attacks make it dangerous when it can close, but the high population and Coin cost mean a lost charge can be difficult to replace. Use other cavalry or infantry to screen it from anti-cavalry units, and commit it to a flank or breakthrough where its lance bonus can affect several valuable targets.