Kona

The Kona fills the role of a "medium" cavalry unit, with stats and costs comparable to the Keshik. Compared to the Knight line, they are cheaper to produce and have largely similar stats, but no melee armor. The Kona can be considered a "glass cannon" cavalry, due to lacking melee armor, but having a decent attack that scales to the damage the target has already received. It is particularly effective against gunpowder units, due to the bonus damage it deals against them. However, against Fire Lancers, the outcome depends on number and resources advantages, as well the civilization that Fire Lancer belongs to, as both units will do high damage to each other, and have a similar cost. One of the main advantages and disadvantages of the Kona is that they are balanced around not having cavalry upgrades available. Whereas other civilizations' cavalry will need to pick up Bloodlines, Husbandry, and/or armor upgrades, the Mapuche player only needs to pick up the Forging line of technologies and eventually the Elite Kona upgrade. However, this means it will eventually end up with much lower armor. One way to maximize the usefulness of their ability is by pairing them with ranged units, such as the Bolas Rider, especially after researching Malon. As the ranged units attack first, it opens a window for the Kona to get their increased attack against the enemy units previously targeted. Both the Kona and the Bolas Rider should be used for raids in order to maximize the usefulness of the gold generation bonus. If playing against the Mapuche, one way to mitigate the Kona's ability is by bringing Monks or other healers to the battlefield. As Konas do more damage to any injured unit, they can perform very well against most units with low armor, since every attack will bring down the hit points fast enough to allow the Konas do more damage. This ability works poorly against units with high melee armor, as the Kona's attack and attack speed starts much lower than those of other cavalry units. This is especially problematic when dealing with Teutonic Knights, Boyars, Serjeants, and Monaspas. Iron Pagodas can negate their ability with their shield that blocks melee attacks periodically, negating the extra damage that they could receive if they were injured before. Both Pikemen and Camel Riders still defeat them effectively, while the inability to upgrade their pierce armor leaves them somewhat more vulnerable to large groups of ranged units than the Knight line in the late game. After Butalmapu, Konas cost just , becoming one of the most cost-effective cavalry units in the game, being able to defeat many stronger units at equal resources, such as Paladins or even Relic-boosted Leiciai.