Improved Bowman

Improved Bowman is a unit in Age of Empires. Note that it is not an upgrade of the Bowman, since a new tile slot would appear once the "upgrade to improved bow" is fully researched. You must research the improved bow (Archery Range) before you can produce them. This unit is not generally used in combat since civilizations that can train this unit usually improves it to composite bowmen. It has more hit points, attack, and range than the Bowman, but is still generally weak. There's not much purpose in having these units, although they do a decent job of taking out Stone/Tool Age infantry such as the Axeman. The Improved Bowman can be upgraded to the Composite Bowman.

Tool Age

 * Leather Armor: for archers increases armour by 2.
 * Woodworking: increases range by 1.

Bronze Age

 * Scale Armor: for archers increases armour by 2.
 * Artisanship: increases range by 1.

Iron Age

 * Alchemy: increases attack by 1.
 * Ballistics: increases accuracy.
 * Chain Mail: for archers increases armour by 2.
 * Craftmanship: increases range by 1.


 * Improved Bowman can be upgraded to Composite Bowman

History
The simple bow was improved by using better materials and by better training. Employing better wood or strips of laminated wood increased the tensile strength of the bow, increasing power and thus range. Arrows were improved also by such changes as metal arrowheads. In modern times, hundreds of bronze arrowheads were recovered from an archaeological excavation of the battlefield at Thermopylae. On this site a Spartan force under Leonidas had perished under a hail of Persian arrows after delaying the huge Persian army for many days.

Related Articles

 * Bowman
 * Archer (Age of Empires II)
 * Toxote