Militia (Age of Empires II)

"Basic infantry swordsman. Cheap and quick to create."

- Age of Empires II description

The Militia is an infantry unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Barracks. It is the first trainable military unit and the only one available in the Dark Age. The Militia is ineffective after the Dark Age.

Tactics
The Militia's main and basically only use is in a Dark Age rush, which involves quickly training and sending a small band of Militia into the enemy base to harass and disrupt their economic activities. Given the extremely poor town defensive capabilities of the Dark Age, this tactic is very viable if the player can get the drop on their opponents. Enemy Villagers may still attack, though without Loom they will still be felled very quickly by the player's Militia. However, caution is still advisable given that Loom is often researched as soon as the match starts, and enemy Villagers may be able to defeat their aggressors if they manage to land the first strike. For infantry-focused civilizations like the Aztecs, Goths, Japanese, or Celts, a Dark Age rush is a potent strategy because they can upgrade to Man-at-Arms in the Feudal Age when their infantry bonuses kick in, and then go heavy into Men-at-Arms since they already have Militia.

With that said, Militia, despite being infantry, are extremely ineffective against buildings and upgraded units. Massing Militia without proper planning is generally a waste of valuable resources that are better spent focusing on building up the player´s economy and advancing to the Feudal Age. All in all, Militia are weak and die very easily, but do provide early offense.

Civilization Bonuses

 * Aztecs: Militia are created 15% faster.
 * Burmese: Militia have +1/+2/+3 attack in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Researching Faith is 50% cheaper.
 * Celts: Militia move 15% faster. Militia can convert herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
 * Chinese: Technologies that benefit Militia are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
 * Goths: Militia are cheaper (starting in the Feudal Age) and have +1 attack against buildings. With Perfusion researched, researching Tracking, Squires, and Arson and upgrading to Man-at-Arms is 100% faster.
 * Japanese: Militia attack 25% faster (starting in the Feudal Age).
 * Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
 * Malians: Militia have +1/+2/+3 pierce armor in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
 * Portuguese: Militia cost 15% less gold.
 * Slavs: Tracking is free.
 * Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Militia don't cost gold.
 * Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
 * Vikings: Militia have 10%/15%/20% more hit points in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

Team Bonuses

 * A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, researching Conscription is 25% faster.
 * A team containing Goths: Militia are created and upgraded 20% faster. Researching Tracking, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Militia are more resistant to conversion.

The Age of Kings

 * Militia have 0 pierce armor.
 * Goths: Militia are 10%/15%/25% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

The Conquerors

 * Militia now have 1 pierce armor.
 * Heresy introduced.
 * Goths: With patch 1.0c, Militia are 35% cheaper starting in the Feudal Age. Perfusion introduced.

The African Kingdoms

 * Arson introduced.
 * With patch 4.8, Chieftains now affects Militia.

Trivia

 * Although the Militia belong to the swordsman-line, they clearly carry some sort of club.
 * The Militia is one of only four military units without an attack bonus against anything (the others being the Boyar, the Turtle Ship, and the Knight-line).
 * The Militia line is the only unit line in the game with more than three stages.
 * The Militia is the only military unit and of only two land units (next to the Villager) available in the Dark Age.

History
"Local peasants and works called up for military duty in times of emergency made up the militia. These temporary soldiers were usually equipped with second-rate weapons and armor. They returned to their normal occupations when the emergency had passed. Levies of militia were often used as second-line troops when great lords assembled their vassals for a campaign. The militia was available for less demanding fighting and other tasks in support of the main army. England's Harold Godwinson stood his ground in 1066 at Hastings with only his vassals. If he had fallen back and called up the Anglo-Saxon militia, known as the furd, some historians believe that he would have not lost his kingdom to William the Conqueror. For much of the Dark Ages there were only small professional armies in the west. Militia led by strong leaders and their few retainers carried on much of the Dark Age fighting."