Huskarl (Age of Empires II)

For the Age of Mythology unit, see Huskarl (Age of Mythology).

The Huskarl is the Gothic unique unit in Age of Empires II. They are infantry units that are almost immune to archer fire.

Overview
They are infantry units that have a good attack and reasonable speed, but their biggest asset is the base six pierce armor, allowing them to shrug off most ranged attacks and thus make them great anti-archer units. An army of these can destroy a Castle with minimal effort since the main 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. Their weaknesses include cavalry, who outclass them in terms of raw strength, and archers that move faster than them (Cavalry Archers, Mangudai, and War Wagons) that can wear out the Huskarls through sheer attrition, although they would take a long time doing so unless present in great numbers. Also, other unique unit infantry (Jaguar Warrior, Samurai, Teutonic Knight, Woad Raider, and Berserks) are much effective than Huskarls, and higher attacks. Cavalry are devastating against Huskarls, and even a unit of Light Cavalry can take out a Huskarl head-on, even they aren't still effective. Fully upgraded Huskarls only gain 3 melee armor, one of the lowest in the game.

The Conquerors Changes
Huskarls gain three damage against archers, Elite Huskarls gain six damage against archers, and they both gain two pierce armor.

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.''