Dao Liao

Thanks to its bleeding damage, relatively solid hit points and melee armor, and damage-reflecting mechanic with Lamellar Armor, the Liao Dao is a very dangerous opponent in melee fights with equal resources. Jaguar Warriors and Teutonic Knights, despite being strong against most other infantry, lose against Liao Dao. Even stronger melee cavalry unique units such as Boyars, Monaspas, Konniks, and Leiciai (without Relics) are easily defeated in equal resources. However, Samurai, Urumi Swordsmen, Legionaries (with a nearby Centurion and Comitatenses), and Cataphracts (with all technologies) can narrowly win. They can also beat Battle Elephants if they have Lamellar Armor, as the trample damage will get partially reflected back at the elephants, but they still lose against War Elephants. This strength that they have against cavalry units more than negates the lack of Halberdiers, but in some circumstances and when Castles are hard to get, the Khitans still have two other effective units against cavalry: Heavy Camel Riders that are better with Ordo Cavalry, and Fire Lancers that are also affected by Lamellar Armor. When the player has enough Castles, Liao Dao is easily the better option, not just against cavalry, but also against infantry (that can pose a threat to both Camel Riders and Fire Lancers). Despite this high damage output over time, Liao Dao have a slow attack speed of 2.4 seconds, being the slowest among infantry units outside of the Spearmen line. As a result, Liao Dao do worse against buildings than the Militia line for instance. When facing units that can regenerate hit points, such as Berserks, Berber camel units, or Wu's infantry, the bleeding damage is strong enough to stop the unit from regenerating properly, being especially useful in large battles where it can stack with multiple Liao Daos. To offset such dominance in melee combat, Liao Dao are weak against ranged units, having less pierce armor than Champions with Gambesons. As a result, Arbalesters and Hand Cannoneers will make short work of them, as will Cavalry Archers and other similar units (but once in close range, Liao Daos can do severe damage thanks to the extra attack against archers due to the team bonus), which heavily limits their raiding potential. Mangonels, Scorpions, and ranged melee infantry units such as Chakram Throwers or Gbetos can also deal with them effectively as long as they are protected; additionally, Mangonels and Scorpions will not take any bleeding damage if Liao Daos reach them. Liao Daos have a higher cost than most infantry unique units, making them harder to keep massing in prolonged games. To cover these weaknesses, Liao Daos can be paired with the faster-trained Khitan Elite Skirmishers, which are affected by Lamellar Armor as well, or Rocket Carts. Siege Rams garrisoned with Liao Daos can be a dangerous force to take down enemy bases, as the Liao Daos can defend the rams much better than other infantry due to the bleeding damage.