The Ruiter is a heavy cavalry unit available to Guelders and Friesland. It has an attack bonus vs. infantry and also has armor against anticavalry units. Though the ruiter is the Guelder unique unit,it is also available to Friesland as a mercenary. Guelders can upgrade the Ruiter to the Wapentuer.
Both, Ruiter and Wapentuer, are not to be confused with the German look-alike, the Rhenish Knight (available to Bavaria and Saxony).
Unit Statistics
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VitalEdit
Type: Knightly Cavalry Available to: Guelders, Friesland (with Fetkeapers)
Trained at: Castle
Century: 14th
Cost: 70 Food, 75 Florins
CombatEdit
HP: 100
Attack: 9
Armor/Pierce Armor: 2/1
Special: +9 vs. infantry, 12 armor vs. anticavalry units.
UpgradesEdit
Upgrades to: Wapentuer (Guelders only)
Upgrade century: 15th
Upgrade cost: 1200 Food, 800 Florins
Commentary/StrategyEdit
Eventhough, the Ruiter has an attack bonus against infantry, it is still expensive and more of a trooper, than a heavy cavalry unit. Therefore, it should not be used carelessly, especially against ranged pikemen.
However, if you play as Friesland, these Mercenaries come in handy especially when your infantry has to face Danish Livgardes.
Historical BackgroundEdit
The people of Guelders were a warlike people. Stemming from a highly agricultural area, with however its fair share of small cities, many people had mounts and the money to afford the necessary equipment. The Dukes of Guelders fought in various theatres, undertaking the popular "Prusade" (crusade to pagan Prussia) during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. However, the Gelderlanders saw most practice at home, in a variety of civil wars or small-scale border wars against Brabant.
