Knight — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

Powerful all-purpose Heavy Cavalry.

Go to Unit Counter Hub →

The Knight is countered by Pikeman, Halberdier and Camel Rider. It is a cavalry unit of the Knight Line, and it wins against Archer, Battering Ram and Bombard Cannon.

Knight
Class
Cavalry
Line
Knight Line
Available to
All civilizations
Cost
Food 60 Gold 75

Knight stats

Hit points 100
Melee attack 10 / 1.8s
Pierce attack 0
Range 0
Melee armour 2
Pierce armour 2
Speed 1.35
Line of sight 4
Training time 30s

What counters the Knight?

The Knight is weak against Spearman-line, Camel Riders, and Monks.

Hard counters deal bonus damage against this unit — they beat the Knight even at a cost disadvantage. Soft counters win the fight through cost-efficiency or mobility, without a dedicated bonus.

CounterTypeWhy it works
Pikeman hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry
Halberdier hard Strong attack bonus vs. cavalry
Camel Rider hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry
Heavy Camel Rider hard Strong attack bonus vs. cavalry
Monk hard Conversion – Knights are expensive and worth it
Mameluke hard UU (Saracens) – Ranged anti-cavalry with massive bonus
Camel Archer soft UU (Berbers) – Ranged, but no bonus vs. cavalry
Shrivamsha Rider soft UU (Gurjaras) – dodges projectiles, but no bonus damage

What does the Knight counter?

The Knight is strong against Infantry and Foot Archers.

One representative per unit line — the whole line behaves the same way in this matchup.

Unique units the Knight beats

Other units the Knight beats

Civilizations that improve the Knight

20 civilizations have a bonus or unique technology that affects this unit.

Bengalis

  • Cavalry +2 attack vs. Skirmishers

Berbers

  • Stable Units cost -15/20% in Castle/Imperial Age

Bulgarians

  • Stirrups (unique tech): Cavalry attacks +33% faster

Burgundians

  • Cavalier upgrade available in Castle Age

Burmese

  • Manipur Cavalry (unique tech): Cavalry +4 attack vs. Ranged Soldiers

Cumans

  • Mounted Units move +5/10/15% faster in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age

Dravidians

  • Wootz Steel (unique tech): Infantry and Cavalry attacks ignore armor

Franks

  • Mounted Units +20% HP starting in Feudal Age

Georgians

  • Mounted Units regenerate 2/8/14 HP per minute in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age
  • Aznauri Cavalry (unique tech): Mounted Units take -20% population space

Gurjaras

  • Mounted Units deal +20/30/40% bonus damage in Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age

Jurchens

  • Mounted Units and Fire Lancers attack +25% faster starting in Feudal Age

Khitans

  • Ordo Cavalry (unique tech): Cavalry regenerates HP in combat

Lithuanians

  • Each garrisoned Relic provides +1 attack to Knight-line and Leitis (maximum +4)

Malians

  • Farimba (unique tech): Cavalry +5 attack

Mapuche

  • Mounted Units generate +3 gold when defeating military units

Poles

  • Szlachta Privileges (unique tech): Knight-line costs -60% gold

Romans

  • Comitatenses (unique tech): Militia-line, Knight-line, and Centurions train +50% faster and receive a charge attack

Sicilians

  • Hauberk (unique tech): Knight-line +1 melee/+2 pierce armor

Teutons

  • Barracks and Stable Units +1/+2 melee armor in Castle/Imperial Age

Wei

  • Ming Guang Armor (unique tech): Mounted Units +4 melee armor

The Knight Line

For the strategy behind these matchups — when to build counters, how to mix them and which civs do it best — see the Cavalry Counters guide.

Facing something other than Knights?

Search any of the 228 units by name and get its counters ranked instantly.

Search any unit →