Paladin — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

Paladin — Counters, Stats & Civ Bonuses

The Paladin is countered by Halberdier, Imperial Camel Rider and Monk. It is a cavalry unit of the Knight Line, and it wins against Arbalest, Heavy Scorpion and Onager.

Class

Cavalry

Line

Knight Line

Available to

All civilizations

Cost

60 75

The Knight Line

• Knight
• Cavalier
• Paladin
• Savar

Paladin stats

Hit points

160

Melee attack

14 / 1.9s

Pierce attack

0

Range

0

Melee armour

2

Pierce armour

3

Speed

1.35

Line of sight

5

Training time

30s

What counters the Paladin?

Hard counters beat the Paladin decisively and win even at a cost disadvantage — usually through bonus damage, area damage, conversion or a speed advantage it cannot escape. Soft counters win the fight too, but only with good numbers and positioning.

• Halberdier hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry – strongest infantry option
• Imperial Camel Rider UU hard Maximum camel counter
• Monk hard Conversion – Paladins are very expensive
• Elite Mameluke UU hard UU (Saracens) – Best ranged anti-cavalry counter
• Elite Genoese Crossbowman UU hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry (+7)
• Elite Kamayuk UU hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry (+12)
• Flaming Camel UU hard Attack bonus vs. cavalry (+50)
• Onager soft Area damage en masse
• Siege Onager soft Area damage en masse
• Elite Obuch UU soft UU (Poles) – Reduces Paladin armor
• Elite Conquistador UU soft UU (Spanish) – Mounted Hand Cannoneer, kites Paladins

What does the Paladin counter?

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

• Arbalest hard Fast in melee – archers have low HP and almost no armor
• Heavy Scorpion hard Fast – siege weapons have almost no melee armor
• Onager hard Melee – 0 melee armor, barely hits moving single targets
• Siege Onager hard Melee – 0 melee armor, barely hits moving single targets
• Siege Ram hard Rams have negative melee armor
• Elite Eagle Warrior soft Overwhelms with melee strength

Unique units the Paladin beats

• Elite Huskarl hard Overwhelms with damage
• Elite Rattan Archer hard Melee superiority
• Elite Hussite Wagon soft Melee charge

Civilizations that improve the Paladin

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

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.