Halberdier (Age of Empires II)

For the Age of Empires III unit, see Halberdier (Age of Empires III). The Halberdier is an upgraded Pikeman available in the Imperial Age that possesses more Hit Points and attack. The Halberdier has a bonus against cavalry, particularly War Elephants. Effective against Skirmishers and cavalry, they are cheap and easy to mass. Enemy Paladins and War Elephants will still defeat them in singular combat, though Halberdiers will deal severe damage before perishing.

It is available to all civilizations except for Aztecs, Mongols, Saracens, Italians, Turks and Vikings.

Tactics
Like its predecessor the Pikeman, the main purpose of this unit is for countering cavalry units. They can be paired with siege units for protect them for melee cavalry attacks. They also become a lot valuable in late Imperial age since at that time gold is usually running very low, and as the Halberdier is a trash unit, it costs no gold and can be massed quickly, making this unit essential in " trash wars" considering also the fact that they have attack bonus vs other Imperial age Trash Units (the Hussar, the Magyar Huszar) They are even valuable against Elite Skirmishers, even when they deal bonus damage to Halberdiers those units have minimum range that makes them weak vs all melee units.

Civilizations bonuses

 * Celts Halberdiers move 15% faster.
 * Chinese Technologies that benefits Halberdiers are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in Feudal/Castle/Imperial age.
 * Goths Halberdiers are 35% cheaper and have +1 attack vs buildings.
 * Japanese Halberdiers attack 25% faster.
 * Spanish Blacksmith upgrades for Halberdiers don't cost gold.
 * Byzantines spear-line units are 25% cheaper.

Team bonuses

 * A team containing Goths produce Halberdiers 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons, Halberdiers are more resistant to conversion.

The Forgotten Changes

 * Halberdiers +1 attack vs. camels
 * Magyars get Forging, Iron Casting and Blast Furnace for free that upgrades the attack for Halberdiers.
 * Slavs have Tracking upgrade for free.
 * Goths : Halberdiers now have +2 attack vs buildings instead of +1, Perfusion now gives to the Barracks a work rate of +100%

History
''The Halberd was a pike weapon invented in the Middle Ages for use against armored men, especially on horseback. It consisted of a six-foot shaft with an axe head at the front, a spear point at the top, and thin point at the rear. The spear was used to ward off cavalry. The thin rear point could be chopped down on an armored man to penetrate the strongest armor. The axe head brought down with both hands could chop through armor, arms, and helmets. Wielding the Halberd left the soldier exposed momentarily, so it was best used in formation with other men at hand for protection.''