Khitans

In Age of Empires II, Khitans are best understood as a infantry and cavalry civilization, a profile that shapes everything from their economy to the units they lean on in a fight. What sets Khitans apart starts with their bonuses — Pastures replace Farms, Melee attack upgrade effects are doubled, Skirmishers, Spearman-, and Scout Cavalry-line train and upgrade +15% faster and Heavy Cavalry Archer upgrade available in Castle Age and costs -50%. In team games their value grows: the team bonus Infantry +2 attack vs. Ranged Soldiers benefits everyone they play alongside.

Two more tricks are theirs alone — the unique technologies Ordo Cavalry (Cavalry regenerates HP in combat) and Lamellar Armor (Infantry and Skirmishers reflect 25% melee damage back to the attacker). On the clock, Khitans players usually hit Feudal around 9:52 and Castle around 21:30. They are strongest against Georgians (about 63.3%) and weakest against Muisca (around 42.0%) — a spread worth remembering when the picks come in.

Popular and effective in equal measure, they show up in around 1.2% of games and convert a 54.0% win rate over 75136 RM 1v1 matches — enough for rank #1 of 54. Built around the unique Liao Dao, Khitans armies lean heavily on cavalry (~44% of everything produced), and the Scout Cavalry is the unit players pump out most, at roughly 15%.