Compared to Horse Archers, Chariots are statistically identical, but they do +50% damage against Ranged Cavalry, so their innate ability as raiders combined with this advantage makes the Chariot a great defensive unit, peerless in counter-raiding and the bane of all other Ranged Cavalry users. This damage bonus also applies to all Ranged Cavalry, including Armored Cars and beyond, and even Mahouts!
Another unique benefit of the Chariot is that it can fire in all directions, even entirely behind itself - something that most Ranged Cavalry only achieve once upgraded to Armored Cars. This gives it the ability to fire at a unit chasing it, making it much stronger against units such as Light Cavalry which would typically be dispatched to attack it.
Trivia[]
Despite replacing Horse Archers, the Chariot is actually the direct predecessor technology. Horse-drawn chariots first appeared around the 2nd millennium BCE, and were adopted by the Egyptians in the 16th century BCE; at least six centuries before the first accounts of cavalry on horseback.
In the Extended Edition, this unit/building is affected by a damage bug.
Classical Age that replaces the standard Horse Archer.
