Talk:Elephant Archer (Age of Empires II)/@comment-2001:8003:54A9:AE00:64DC:7FA7:E6DA:DCCD-20180804091450

Hi Anadara and Papermanic. The comment by the Fandom user below is spot on. When the forgotten was released the developers revealed the Knight had been removed from the Indians to balance the heavy hit points EAs provide, and EAs were expected to soak up the damage the knights would normally do with their armour, speed, and hit points. While the developers might have found this simple arithmetic made sense on paper, it doesn't stack up in a dynamic game against good to top ranked players. This is because these player engage in the thick of battle is in the castle age (when there's no Imperial or even measly heavy camels). This leaves the basic camels that have a measly 6 attack, and are useless against everything as even cavalry can lead them on a chase off the battle field or within range of archery and pokes where archers, skirmishes, any infantry and pikemen to pick them off when they approach cavalry or siege. Same defence can be applied if the measly camel is sent to chip away at siege with their measly 6 attack.

So it is so easy to counter the castle age Indian Army of very slow, awkward, low range elephant archers, and weak camels with measly attack.

They can be countered with many combinations. Pikes to stroll up to the slow, low ranged EAs trying to retreat, as well as up to Camels attacking knights, siege, archers, or villagers to chop them up.

Cheap Skirms and/or Archers to support pikes and defend knights, & siege

Fast heavy high armour and attack Knights supported by archery units and pikes, can flanking, use hammer anvil tactic, take out siege & weaker parts of the Indian line and hit run the Indian army at their leisure & at will as archers take out weak camels and the EAs take for ever to move to counter them (and EAs will normally have their own problems from mangonels, higher ranged archer and esp. halbs strolling up to them!)

Mangonels and scorpions to shower down stones sticks and fire on the head of the elephants and wipe out any supporting foot archers.

Indians are very unbalanced against any above average players without at least the knight or faster elephants to counter knights, siege, or at least be able to retreat and regroup from pikes and archery range units.