Hospitaller
The Hospitaller is Maltese heavy hand infantry that protects nearby allies while delivering a powerful melee attack. It is a costly two-population frontline unit whose role improves around friendly buildings.
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age · Hospital; Fort; Galleon; Outpost (with the "De Redin Towers" card) ; American Citadel
- Training
- 40 sec · 2 population · 20 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 250 hit points · 20% hand resistance · 4.5 speed · 12 line of sight
- Siege attack
- 45 base damage · range 6 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 20 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · area of effect 1 · bonus damage: 2.5x vs. Cavalry; 1.9x vs. Shock troops
- Pistol attack (charged)
- 40 base damage · range 2-14 · attack interval 3.0 · bonus damage: Same as hand attack · recharge 60 · requires Dignitaries card
Role & counters
It becomes available in the Commerce Age and costs 120 Food and 80 Coin. Its area melee attack deals bonus damage to Cavalry and Shock infantry; it has 20% hand resistance and a charged ranged pistol attack when the Dignitaries card is active. Nearby allied units benefit from its damage-absorption ability, and it moves faster near buildings.
When to field it
Use Hospitallers to screen fragile infantry or artillery and punish cavalry that closes in. Keep them near friendly structures to benefit from their speed, and support them against Light infantry and ranged counters.
Protection aura, building speed and counters
The Maltese Hospitaller is a Commerce Age heavy hand infantry unit trained at the Hospital and supported by other listed access routes such as a Fort, Galleon, or an Outpost with De Redin Towers. It costs 120 Food and 80 Coin, uses two population, takes 40 seconds and has 250 hit points, 20% hand resistance, speed 4.5 and line of sight 12. Its sword deals 20 damage every 1.5 seconds in an area of one, with 2.5× damage against Cavalry and 1.9× against Shock troops. The 45-damage siege attack helps against buildings; the charged pistol attack deals 40 at range 2–14 every three seconds when the Dignitaries card is active. Its defining support feature is Deflection, which absorbs part of the damage aimed at nearby allied units. Keep Hospitallers close to valuable infantry or artillery so their protection has a meaningful target, but account for their two-population cost and the danger of area attacks. They gain 11.2% speed for each nearby building other than walls and groves, so moving along a built-up Maltese position improves their ability to catch units that try to kite them. Crusader Knights can extend this speed interaction to enemy buildings. Light Infantry and ranged units can exploit their approach, so support the melee line and avoid chasing far from structures. The Hospitaller replaces the Maltese Halberdier and is often compared with the German Doppelsoldner: its raw damage area and multipliers are smaller, but its Food-heavy cost, shorter training time and ally-protection role create a different tactical value. Use it as a bodyguard and cavalry deterrent rather than as an isolated damage unit.
Maltese army composition
Hospitallers work best when their protection ability has nearby allies to defend. Place them between vulnerable units and the enemy approach, so Deflection can absorb some attacks aimed at adjacent troops while the Hospitaller itself threatens cavalry and shock troops. This role is different from simply maximizing melee damage: if the formation is spread out, the protection reaches fewer useful targets. Their sword’s area one can catch clustered enemies, but a compact formation also exposes them to enemy area attacks. The Dignitaries card unlocks a charged pistol attack with 40 damage at range 2–14 and a 60-second recharge, giving a limited ranged option before the unit returns to its melee role. The bonus values remain tied to the hand-attack profile. Hospitallers gain speed near friendly buildings, so the Maltese can use a built-up area to defend structures or chase units that enter the network; Crusader Knights can extend the effect around enemy buildings. Do not pull them so far forward that the building bonus disappears and ranged counters can kite them. Their Food-heavy 120/80 cost can be easier to sustain than a Coin-heavy alternative, but the unit still takes two population and 40 seconds to train. Combine them with ranged Maltese units that can answer Light Infantry, and use the Hospital or other available production route to reinforce without exposing the main army.
Maltese frontline protection and area melee
The Hospitaller is Maltese heavy hand infantry that can absorb damage for nearby allies and deliver a strong melee attack. With 250 hit points, 20% hand resistance and two population, it can screen fragile infantry or artillery once the fight reaches close range. Its area attack and anti-cavalry bonus make it dangerous when mounted units enter the formation. The unit also moves faster near friendly buildings, so use that terrain relationship when defending or moving between production sites. Keep it supported against ranged infantry that can damage it before it reaches contact.
Dignitaries card and production routes
Hospitallers become available in the Commerce Age through a Hospital, Fort, Galleon or American Citadel, with Outpost access requiring the De Redin Towers card. The Dignitaries card enables the charged pistol attack, which should not be assumed in a deck that lacks the card. Each unit costs 120 Food and 80 Coin and takes 40 seconds to train. Protect the production site and maintain both resources if the army depends on Hospitallers as a screen. Use their damage-absorption ability near the units they protect and avoid separating them from the formation.