Jat Lancer
Jat Lancer is Heavy cavalry in Age of Empires III, available from the Industrial Age; obtained through Tavern (Europeans), Saloon (Americans), Monastery (Asians), Palace (Africans), Lombard (Italians).
Recorded values
- Cost
- 400 Coin
- Available
- Industrial Age · Tavern (Europeans) ; Saloon (Americans) ; Monastery (Asians) ; Palace (Africans) ; Lombard (Italians)
- Training
- 60 sec · 4 population · 40 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 600 hit points · 40% ranged resistance · 7.0 speed · 15 line of sight
- Hand attack
- 35 damage · 1.5 attack interval · bonuses: 4.0x Infantry
- Siege attack
- 45 damage · 6 range · 3.0 attack interval
- Trample attack
- 30 damage · 2.0 attack interval · bonuses: Same as hand attack
Role, availability & values
Production is available through Tavern (Europeans), Saloon (Americans), Monastery (Asians), Palace (Africans), or Lombard (Italians). It has 600 hit points and 40% ranged resistance. It moves at 7.0 speed and uses 4 population. Training costs 400 Coin; it takes 60 seconds to train. Attack profile: Hand attack deals 35 damage. Siege attack deals 45 damage. Trample attack deals 30 damage. Hand attack bonuses: 4.0× Infantry.
Matchup & timing
Jat Lancers arrive in the Industrial Age as an expensive four-population heavy-cavalry unit: each costs 400 Coin and takes 60 seconds to train. Their 35-damage hand attack has a 4× modifier against Infantry, and the trample attack shares that target bonus, making them effective when they can charge exposed foot formations. They have 600 hit points, 40% ranged resistance and 7.0 speed, but those values do not remove the risk of anti-cavalry focus fire. Use a protected approach, strike the infantry line or vulnerable flank, then pull out before the opponent can surround the Lancers.
Mercenary access and cost
The Jat Lancer is a mercenary Heavy cavalry unit introduced in The Asian Dynasties. Its standard profile is an Industrial Age unit costing 400 Coin, with a 60 second training time, 600 hit points, 40 percent ranged resistance, speed 7, and a four population cost. It uses a powerful lance attack and has stronger base damage, health, siege, and ranged resistance than a typical Lancer, while retaining an effective role against infantry. Because the Jat Lancer is expensive in both Coin and population, it is usually recruited as a decisive specialist rather than as a cheap cavalry screen. Its access varies: some civilizations can hire it through a Home City shipment, the Indians can train it at a Monastery with Atonement, and the German Battleship can train it through Adler von Lübeck when the unit is in the Tavern pool. Definitive Edition update 23511 added it to the random mercenary pool, making it available to any civilization through the appropriate random mercenary route.
Combat and trample mode
The Jat Lancer's high health and 40 percent ranged resistance help it survive the approach, while its heavy lance attack can punish infantry once it connects. It is particularly effective against infantry and has strong siege damage, so it can contribute when a force attacks a fortified position. Trample Mode is unusually efficient for this unit: switching to area damage reduces only five points of damage compared with its ordinary attack, rather than the larger loss typical of other cavalry. This makes it useful when several enemy units are packed together. Trample still exposes the Jat Lancer to anti-cavalry units and should be activated only when the group can safely stay in contact. Use the unit to break through a line or pressure high value targets, and preserve an escape route before committing its four population slots.
Army composition and counterplay
A Jat Lancer's Coin cost and long training time make it a poor choice for repeated small skirmishes. Support it with ranged units that can weaken anti-cavalry infantry before the charge, and avoid sending it alone against a prepared mass of Pikemen or similar counters. Its speed 7 gives it useful mobility, but it remains slower than some light cavalry and cannot safely chase every target. Against ordinary infantry, use the lance damage and ranged resistance to force a response; against artillery, ensure the route is clear and the unit has support to survive the approach. Because mercenary access may arrive as a shipment or random pool entry, account for the delivery timing and replacement cost when planning an attack. A hired Jat Lancer can create a powerful timing, but losing it before it reaches the front wastes a large Coin investment.
Civilization-specific routes
The British and Indians have a Hire Indian Jat Lancers card. The Indians can also use Atonement to train Jat Lancers at the Monastery. Germans can obtain them through the Adler von Lübeck Battleship card when available in the Tavern pool, while the United States Poker card adds Jat Lancers to a random mercenary shipment and may enable them in Saloons. These methods do not all provide identical production: some are direct training, while others depend on a card, a ship, or random delivery. Before building a deck around the unit, confirm that the access route is active in the chosen civilization and match type. The recent random pool inclusion broadens access but does not make Jat Lancers a standard Stable unit or remove their Coin and population cost.
When to invest
Choose Jat Lancers when the opponent's army contains enough infantry to justify their expensive charge and when the economy can still fund the rest of the force. The unit's strong base damage makes each one meaningful, but the four population cost reduces how many can fit into a full army. Use them to create a breach, pressure siege units after a screen is cleared, or exploit a shipment timing. Do not spend on them solely because the mercenary route is available; ordinary cavalry or infantry may be more efficient if the enemy has prepared counters. If a Jat Lancer survives a fight, pull it back for healing or let it recover before the next engagement, since replacing a lost mercenary takes time and Coin.
Target selection and retreat
The Jat Lancer's high damage is most useful against infantry that cannot immediately retreat or against a force already engaged by allied units. Its 40 percent ranged resistance reduces incoming ranged fire, but it does not protect the unit from melee anti-cavalry damage. Approach from the flank when possible and avoid crossing an entire Pike line to reach artillery. Trample Mode can hit several nearby targets, and the small damage loss compared with its normal attack makes it attractive when units are packed together. End the trample engagement before enemy anti-cavalry units surround the Lancers. If the force loses its screen, use speed 7 to retreat toward friendly production or a healing source. A four population unit that survives can continue pressuring the opponent; a lost mercenary may take a long time and large Coin reserve to replace.
Shipment timing
A shipment of Jat Lancers can create a timing before the opponent finishes anti-cavalry production. Prepare the rest of the force and identify a target before the shipment arrives. If the mercenaries appear after the opponent has massed counters, hold them behind the army and use their high ranged resistance to support a later attack instead of forcing an immediate charge.
High-impact Indian heavy cavalry
The Jat Lancer is a costly Heavy Cavalry unit with higher base damage, hit points, siege damage and ranged resistance than a typical Lancer. It also has the same Infantry multiplier as a Spanish Lancer using the Caballeros card in the documented comparison. This makes it a powerful unit for attacking infantry and threatening structures, but its resource and population demands limit the size of the group.
Support the expensive charge
Jat Lancers still need protection from anti-Cavalry Infantry and concentrated ranged fire. Use them to attack after the opponent’s screen is occupied, and keep ranged support nearby to remove their counters. Their siege strength can help finish exposed buildings, but avoid spending them on a fortified base while the enemy army is intact. Check the Indian production and upgrade options for exact access and costs in the current version.