Light Cavalry

In game

Light Cavalry — Vital statistics
Light Cavalry	Light melee cavalry, cheap to create and capable of good speed and flexibility Strong versus missile infantry, missile cavalry Weak versus cavalry, melee infantry
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrades to
	11.9s (175t)	223	7	13	1.5s (22t)	41
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 60; : 30	: 1; : 1	1		2	Melee	Bonus damage versus light infantry.

Overall strategy

The very first true cavalry unit you will receive, Horsemen are in effect warriors that ride on horseback. Unfortunately in the early stages of Warbirth, horses reflect their early Bronze Age counterparts - they are fairly weak, and suffer from poor attack speed, thus they work only against very light units with almost no armour. Chariots are far more useful as they have the same speed, yet have better offensive strength, but if you are planning to upgrade later in the game to Javelin Cavalry, it isn't a bad idea to raise a vast number of Horsemen early on and to keep them alive as a defensive force against light melee and ranged units.

Some factions, however, do have some proficiency with mounted cavalry, but do not train Horsemen. For instance, the Arabs are capable of raising Camel Warriors instead of Horsemen, while the Phrygians can raise Phrygian Horsemen, which are trained more quickly and run faster.

Unit summary

• Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee — Scout Cavalry are meant to make quick and fast strikes on unarmoured foes.
• Keep Away From Sharp Sticks — The bane of Scout Cavalry units are spear-armed units such as Spearmen and Lancers — if you see any, run away!
• Alforrats — Catalan scout cavalry can be raised as mercenaries by the Sicilians, costing Wealth instead of Timber and Food and with a higher recruitment speed.

Notes

• Greek - "briefs" with simple leather helmet.
• Middle Eastern - wrap tunic, with fillet.
• Chinese - just a robe. Shared with Europe.
• Egyptian - well, Egyptian.