This article has been approved and can also be read at the University. - Leif Ericson

The Scenario Designers Guide to Hidden Units

You may have seen Hidden Units Unleashed, but this article is more for the scenario designer. Here we view all those other mundane hidden units that are used for designing. This article is split into three sections: Cheat units, Scenario Designer units and Beta units. You might recognise some of these units from Hidden Units Unleased.

Cheat Units
Sorry to disappoint folks, but there aren't actually many hidden units that are cheat units. Typically you can get these by typing in a cheat while in-game to create the unit for various sorts of AI destruction.



Unit ID- 748

Special Qualities- This unit can be acquired by cheating, uses a rapid firing machine gun dealing out huge damage and can move quite quickly.

Uses- Time travel scenarios, siege weapons or a special unit for some scenarios.



Unit ID- 206

Special Qualities- Classed as a villager, but cannot build, repair or collect any resources. Moves extremely fast.

Uses- A fast scout in scenarios.

Beta Units



Unit ID- 493

Special Qualities- As you can see the Advanced Heavy Crossbowman has TWO sets of graphics, one for walking and standing, and another for attacking and dying. The attacking graphic appears to be a version of an AoE I Composite Bowman. The other unusual thing about this unit is the reload time it has which is comparatively very long and instead of firing arrows it fires something akin to javelins. It has been thought to be some sort of siege crossbow it carries.

Uses- For scenarios with bizarre occurrences, but however would look good as a patrolling watchman or guard if set to not attack.



Unit ID- 536

Special Qualities- This boat that looks the same as a galley can convert ships. It is like the monk of the sea except it has no range and therefore must be adjacent to the ship it wishes to convert.

Uses- Great addition to mix up sea battles as it can be used as a boarding vessel.



Unit ID- 535

Special Qualities-See ABGAL, however if used in AoK it will have a war galley graphic.



Unit ID- 94

Special Qualities- Another unit that uses different graphics, as you may note when walking it appears to be some sort of swordsman, when attacking it is the Aoe I Axeman. It's unit icon is a rock.

Uses- Another oddity, you might like to surprise or confuse a player with swordsmen that suddenly bring out axes.



Unit ID- 33

Special Qualities- Looks exactly like a castle to it's respective civilisation. Does not attack, has a garrison capacity of 75 and has a rapid garrison heal rate.

Uses- Scenic castles that don't attack and castles that can hold large numbers of units that can be healed fast.



Unit ID- 287, 288, 289, 290, 292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298

Special Qualities- There are ten different civ relics: (in order of unit ids) British, Byzantine, Chinese, Frankish, Gothic, Japanese, Persian, Saracen, Teutonic and Turkish. When a monk picks up a civ relic, let's say for example the British relic, it will become "Monk with British Relic" and show a monk carrying a relic. However if you pick up the Japanese Relic the monk will become "Monk with Japanese Relic" (See Monk with Japanese Relic) When the monk drops the relic it will become a normal monk again.

Uses- Special relic for special scenarios.



Unit ID- 445

Special Qualities- Ummm... none?

Uses- Well. Get creative! Maybe as a strange wonder...



Unit ID- 544

Special Qualities- Looks like a running wolf, flies like a bird. It is killable, has the icon of a hawk and can move through ALL terrain. Moves randomly around the map like birds. It seems to hold 100 food, but it is uncollectable.

Uses- Scenic units on open maps, otherwise looks bizarre running on water, through cliffs and over trees. However it could be used as a magical unit or type of deity.



Unit ID- 61

Special Qualities- Classed as a dead unit, cannot move and can disappear after a while. It has the graphics of an AOE I Trireme without sails.

Uses- Scenery that lasts for a few minutes before vanishing.



Unit ID- 76

Special Qualities- Has the graphics of an AoE I broad swordsman, although some of the graphics are missing on some angles, causing the unit to disappear from view.

Uses- A roman swordsman or, by using the random vanishing to your advantage, it could be a type of phantom/ghost unit.



Unit ID- 728

Special Qualities- GAIA only unit that other units can walk over. Can be placed on most terrains.

Uses- Eye candy



Unit ID- 299

Special Qualities- This is a hero unit,so it will automatically heal. It cannot be converted and it's attack is 2x as fast.

Uses- A type of bandit or assassin, maybe even as some sort of super unit.



Unit ID- 15

Special Qualities- A ship with the graphics of an AoE I trade boat. It cannot attack and has the icon of a relic.

Uses- Civilian ship in any sea scenario, especially in a port location.




Unit ID- 37

Special Qualities- Was originally planned to be a slaver unit for the game, however it needs modding for this property to be activated. Despite it's name being 'Light Cavalry it looks like a camel and has the icon of a dead fish trap.

Uses- Special scenarios.



Unit ID- 305

Special Qualities- A monk carrying a relic, however you cannot see the relic it carries. When the monk drops his relic the relic appears next to him and he becomes a monk. If the relic is placed in a monastery and is un-garrisoned it becomes a normal relic.

Uses- Monk carrying a hidden relic.



Unit ID- 436

Special Qualities- Cannot move unless in a group, can also attack. but will become invisible because of its lack of attack graphics.

Uses- Eye candy shipwreck or as a bizarre ship.



Unit ID- 352

Special Qualities- This unit looks like a gold mine and was going to be another type of resource. It has a value of 400 gold but cannot be mined. These can be overlapped in off-grid placement

Uses- Eye candy that can't be mined.



Unit ID- 158

Special Qualities- This is a GAIA only unit and it cannot be converted/changed ownership to a player. It acts as a predator much like the wolf and has an icon of the berry bush.

Uses- Outlaws that attack innocents.



Unit ID- (in order shown above) 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 261

Extra rubble piles even though three of them are the same as Rubble 1x1, Rubble 2x2 and Rubble 3x3. Will disappear in the editor if a different PILE # is placed overlapping or too close to another.

Uses- Eye candy



Unit ID- 479

Special Qualities- This unit looks like a packed trebuchet and unpacks into a mangonel. The unit is highly unstable and there is a fair chance that when unpacked your game will crash. If successfully unpacked it can suddenly vanish.

Uses- Because it is so volatile, it is generally refrained from use in scenarios, but it would make a good packed mangonel if the game doesn't crash.



Unit ID- 249

Special Qualities- Another type of ore mine that never was implemented. If you select villager to mine it they will become invisible. Can be overlapped in off-grid placement and has a value of 1 gold.


Uses- Eye Candy and disappearing villagers.



Unit ID- 446

Special Qualities- Looks much like a dock depending on what civilisation owns it. Will appear as shown above if owned by Aztecs, Goths, Huns, Mayans, Teutons or Vikings. It has a garrison capacity displayed as 10 and cannot create any units.

Uses- An eye candy building.



Unit ID- 444

Special Qualities- GAIA and Celt only object that if unpacked will become a town centre. It cannot be converted and moves away if attacked.



Unit ID- 577

Special Qualities- A cavalry archer with 1000 armour, but a very low attack (ingame shown as 0). Will not select with "Go to next idle military unit" hotkey.

Uses- Because of the low attack power and high armour they are useful for cut-scenes with a long battle of soldiers hacking away at each other or a continuous battle somewhere on a map (using triggers to spawn new combatants).



Unit ID- 575

Special Qualities- Light Cavalry with 1000 armour and low attack power. Will not select with "Go to next idle military unit" hotkey.

Uses- See RCARC



Unit ID- 159

Special Qualities- When still it, looks like a normal relic, when moving it looks like a 'piece of true cross'. It can move by itself and cannot die. It will also convert like a sheep converts to different players. It cannot be garrisoned inside monasteries. It also counts as one population, however also stores one population.

Uses- Special relic.



Unit ID- 571

Special Qualities- An archer with 1000 armour, poor range and poor attack. Will not select with "Go to next idle military unit" hotkey.

Uses- See RCARC



Unit ID- 573

Special Qualities- A militia unit with 1000 armour and low attack. It's icon is a man-at-arms icon. Will not select with "Go to next idle military unit" hotkey.

Uses- See RCARC



Unit ID- 447

Special Qualities- See ICE

Uses- Eye candy



Unit ID- 438

Special Qualities- This unit also has to different graphics, when still it looks like an AoE trade boat, but when moving it looks like a flat bottomed boat. It also has the icon of a petard. STRBO can attack enemies, but because it has no attack graphics it will become invisible when doing so.

Uses- Using triggers it is possible to make it look just like a flat bottomed boat. This could be used in sea scenarios especially around docks.



Unit ID- 179

Special Qualities- Looks like the normal trade workshop, but has a no icon. It also holds a value of 10000 trade goods, an unused resource.

Uses- Decorative building.



Unit ID- 208

Special Qualities- Another wall that was never used, has a black shadow making it look unappealing.

Uses- Another type of wall in scenarios. The shadow can be used to create a cave effect.



Unit ID- 443

Special Qualities- See GALLY_D

Scenario Designer Units

Ok so this is what this thread is really all about, we'll run through the ones mentioned in the previous article but we'll also talk about some others.


Unit ID- 162

Special Qualities- An invisible flag.

Uses- Map revealer


Unit ID- 112

Special Qualities- Reveals part of the map the size of OLD-EXPLORER, but for a limited time.

Uses- Map revealer for a short amount of time.


Unit ID- 274

Special Qualities- Displays a signal on the mini-map.

Uses- Signal to the player for a goal.


Unit ID- 332

Special Qualities- Large version of 112

Uses- Map revealer for short period of time.


Unit ID- 697

Special Qualities- Reveals same size as 127 but only gives LOS for one tile.

Uses- Map revealer for short time.


Unit ID- 127

Special Qualities- Smaller version of Map Revealer

Uses- Revealing map.



Unit ID- 262

Special Qualities- A forage bush that is worth 1 food, however it does not have white outlines when placed behind other objects. Can be overlapped with off-grid placement. Villagers that collect food from it are seen carrying meat.

Uses- Eye candy



Unit ID- 252

Special Qualities- A gold mine that is worth 1 gold, however the mine does not have white outlines when placed behind other objects. Can be overlapped with off-grid placement.

Uses- Eye candy



Unit ID- 248

Special Qualities- You guessed it! It holds 1 stone, can be overlapped in off-grid placement and does not have any white outlines when placed behind objects.

Uses- Eye candy



Unit ID- 253

Special Qualities- Again, can be overlapped in off-grid placement, looks like a stump, but can have 1 wood collected from it.

Uses- Eyecandy


Unit ID- (In order of name) 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148

Special Qualities- Extra piles of rubble, however more sizes available and more stable than PILEs (won't vanish if overlapped). These are the units that appear after a building is razed.

Uses- Eye Candy



Unit ID- 789 to 804 (Best to use 789, 792, 793, 796, 797, 800, 801, 804)

Special Qualities- A palisade gate that can be placed on shallow water and deep water. Also, some of the sea gates are the gate ends that look like palisade walls if they were twice as tall.

Uses- Sea gates and palisade gates with careful placement of terrain (unless of course you are using UserPatch, with which you can use free placement). Tall palisade walls using the gate ends.



Unit ID- 785

Special Qualities- A watch tower that can be placed in shallow water and deep water, but not medium

Uses- Well as the name suggests, a sea tower in water scenarios.



Unit ID- 788

Special Qualities- A palisade wall that can be placed on shallow water and deep water.

Uses- Sea wall.


Unit ID- 853

Special Qualities- Has the graphics of a dead cavalry archer, has no LOS.

Uses- Corpse

The next group is a sub-category of scenario designer units. You may look at them and say "but they aren't hidden units". It's true there is a version of them in the editor but these ones have slightly different properties. The numbers in brackets match the age the building is from:
(1) Dark Age (2) Feudal Age (3) Castle Age (4) Imperial Age
All the buildings that normally produce units and allow tech upgrades won't have them available, and buildings that normally are drop points for resources are no longer drop points. The monastery also does not allow relics to be garrisoned within them. The number next to each unit and age is the unit ID. These units are useful when you want specific buildings to not produce units, whilst some of the same type still can or if you want a building with later or earlier age graphics. I recommend when using these units that you enable the ones you need for the scenario and then disable them afterwards to avoid confusion in the scenario editor.

Archery range (3)- 10
Archery range (4)- 14

Barracks (2)- 498
Barracks (3)- 132
Barracks (4)- 20

Blacksmith (2)- 105
Blacksmith (3)- 18
Blacksmith (4)- 19

Dock (1)- 45
Dock (2)- 47
Dock (3)- 51
Dock (4)- 133

The following Docks contain Trade Goods, what appears to be an unused resource.Dock (1)- 805
Dock (2)- 806
Dock (3)- 807
Dock (4)- 808


Unit ID- 234


Unit ID- 235

Lumber Camp (2)- 563
Lumber Camp (3)- 564
Lumber Camp (4)- 565

Market (3)- 116
Market (4)- 137

Mill (2)- 129
Mill (3)- 130
Mill (4)- 131

Mining Camp (2)- 585
Mining Camp (3)- 587
Mining Camp (4)- 588

Monastery (2)- 30
Monastery (3)- 31
Monastery (4)- 32


Siege Workshop (4)- 150

Stable (3)- 86
Stable (4)- 153

University (4)- 210


Unit ID- 566

Other hidden units that the scenario designer will find useful are the dead units. There are way too many to list here, but some common ones will be listed below.

Dead Pikeman- 501
Dead Knight- 111
Dead Crossbowman- 26
Dead Man-at-arms- 154

There you go, most of the useful things have been listed. A good resource to cross-check with if you are unhiding units is here

Have any further questions ask them in the Hidden Units Reloaded Discussion Thread.

Credits and Thanks to:

AGE3 and it's creator/s
Aoe_scout- for insisting I use the proper AoE 1 unit names
AOHH- For many units and info on them
Basse- FLAGX
BF_Tanks- Also for many units, info and IDs
DerWerwolf- corrections
HockeySam18- for units, info and history on many of them
Kallehagen- Unit IDs document link
Keisari Tapsa- Extra info
Mahazona- that little bit of extra info
Monika_A- for some unit names and IDs
Unit IDs AOC and its author/s

[This message has been edited by Leif Ericson (edited 03-20-2017 @ 08:51 PM).]