Centurión Élite

Centurions can be seen as a significantly stronger alternative to Knights, but their high cost, long training time, and Castle requirement makes them hard to mass. Against Crossbowmen, Centurions can take significantly more hits than Knights thanks to their higher pierce armor, and their higher attack means they can kill a Crossbowman in three hits, whereas a Knight requires four if the Crossbowmen have armor technologies. In melee combat, Centurions surpass Knights in every aspect. Despite their higher stats, they are still cost-effectively countered by Pikemen and Camel Riders, as well as any other anti-cavalry unique units such as Genoese Crossbowmen. Monks are also a deadly counter to Centurions due to the Romans lacking Heresy, despite that a Centurion with Iron Casting can kill a Monk with Sanctity in three hits. They also cannot handle Teutonic Knights or Boyars due to their high melee armor, while Battle Elephants will beat them with raw power. In the Imperial Age, the Elite Centurion can be seen as a potent alternative to Paladins (which the Romans lack), especially if Comitatenses is researched, which grants the Centurion a +5 charge attack and greatly shortens their training time. That said, they still have the same counters: Halberdiers, Heavy Camel Riders, and Monks will all handle them effectively, as will anti-cavalry unique units such as Mamelukes. Leiciai and Dravidian infantry with Wootz Steel deal with them very effectively, Obuch's attacks also removes their high armor to let them prone to other unit's attacks. as well being unique units means they are easily countered by Samurai. While the overall better stats they have means they are more population-efficient against Paladins (they win in equal numbers, except against Lithuanian Paladins with 4 Relics), Centurions are worse in cost-effectiveness (Paladins can win against them in equal resources), as they are the most expensive cavalry unique unit in the game after the War Elephant. Their high cost (especially gold) and slow training time before Comitatenses gives them a huge drawback as a mainline unit, so they are preferred as a support unit to boost nearby Legionaries.