Huskarl (Age of Empires II)

"Gothic unique unit. Infantry with substantial pierce armor, virtually immune to archer fire."

- Age of Empires II description

The Huskarl is the unique unit of the Goths in Age of Empires II. It is an infantry unit that is almost immune to archer fire.

Huskarls can be upgraded to Elite Huskarls in the Imperial Age.

Tactics
Huskarls are infantry units that have a good attack and speed, but their biggest asset is their high base pierce armor, especially when the +2 Blacksmith bonus is added to it, which makes them almost immune to archer fire, making them great anti-archer units. A large army of Huskarls can destroy a Castle with minimal effort since the attack of the Castle is a volley of arrows. Huskarls are best used against foot archers but they are fairly well-rounded units that can deal with most threats as they are almost immune to archer fire. Their weaknesses include Knights, who outclass them in terms of raw strength (they lose one-on-one even against Mongol Hussars), and archers that move faster than them (Cavalry Archers, Mangudai, War Wagons, and Plumed Archers) as they can either run away or wear the Huskarls out through sheer attrition, although it would take a long time doing so.

In addition, due their small amount of melee armor, they are not recommended for any melee combats beside Camels, Light Cavalry, and Halberdiers, but they are able to beat Eagle Warriors. However, the Goths are able to field Huskarls very cheaply and rapidly, so they may still be able to overwhelm standard melee units (such as Knights or Champions) by sheer numbers. Melee units with higher armor (Boyar, Teutonic Knight) or an attack bonus against them (Jaguar Warrior, Cataphract, Samurai) should generally be avoided, as they are deadly to Huskarls. War Elephants and Battle Elephants can also decimate Huskarls thanks to their high HP, powerful attacks, and splash damage, but must be wary of Halberdiers. Ranged melee units such as Throwing Axemen, Gbetos, or Mamelukes are also effective against Huskarls, though the latter take bonus damage from them.

Onagers can also be a threat since they deal melee-type damage, and large area damage. Scorpions, however, are not effective since they deal pierce damage, and can be easily handled if not protected well. Hand Cannoneers can be effective against Huskarls due to their attack bonus, but as the Cannoneers take huge bonus damage themselves (an Elite Huskarl kills a Hand Cannoneer in two strikes), they must be massed or protected by melee units in order to be effective.

Further statistics
As Huskarls are unique to the Goths, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:

Civilization bonuses

 * Goths: Huskarls are cheaper and have +1 attack against standard buildings.

Team bonuses

 * A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, Huskarls are created 25% faster at the Castle, and researching Conscription, Anarchy, and Perfusion is 25% faster.
 * A team containing Goths: Huskarls are created 20% faster at the Barracks. Researching Tracking, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Huskarls are more resistant to conversion.

The Age of Kings

 * Non-Elite Huskarls train in 26 seconds, Elite Huskarls in 16 seconds.
 * Huskarls have 4 pierce armor, Elite Huskarls 6.
 * Huskarls have a +3 attack bonus against archers, Elite Huskarls +4.
 * Huskarls move at a speed of 0.9.
 * Goths: Huskarls are 15%/25% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.

The Conquerors

 * Both Elite and non-Elite Huskarls now train in 16 seconds.
 * Huskarls now have 6 pierce armor, Elite Huskarls 8.
 * Huskarls now have a +6 attack bonus against archers, Elite Huskarls +10.
 * Huskarls now move at a speed of 1.05.
 * Goths: Perfusion and Anarchy introduced. With patch 1.0c, Huskarls are now 35% cheaper.

The African Kingdoms

 * Arson introduced.

Trivia

 * Huskarls, also rendered as 'Housecarls', were commonly found among the retinues of Saxon and Norse warlords well into the eleventh century. The housecarls of Harold Godwinson, last Saxon king of England, fought at Hastings in 1066.
 * It should be noted as-well that the Goths were a branch of the Iron Age-Vendel Era Norse.
 * The word 'Huskarl' is not a Gothic word, but is in fact Old Norse and translates literally to 'House man'.
 * The in-game Huskarl unit is armed with a sword and a shield. Historically, Huskarls were more likely to use axes as their primary weapons as opposed to swords.
 * The Huskarl is the only melee infantry unit that has an attack bonus against archers. Given that Huskarls also resist archer attacks and archers are the main weakness of infantry units, that arguably makes Huskarls the most versatile infantry units.

History
''Within the Germanic tribes that overran the Western Roman Empire and brought in the Dark Ages, including the Goths, tribal leaders kept a personal retinue of warriors known as huskarls. These men served their chiefs fanatically in return for a large share in any plunder the tribe could grab. Huskarls trained for battle continuously and had few other duties. A chief had to be successful in acquiring plunder, however, or risk being removed or abandoned. As the Dark Ages progressed, huskarls were absorbed into the feudal system as vassals of lords. They remained a lord's or king's personal fighting force but often became responsible for their own support on lands given to them by their chief. This system replaced much of the sharing of plunder.''