Pikeman (Age of Empires II)

"Stronger than Spearman. Medium infantry."

- Age of Empires II description

The Pikeman is an infantry unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Barracks once the Castle Age is reached. They are an excellent cavalry-counter. They are weak against anything outside the cavalry section, but make up for it by being one of the cheapest military unit in the game. Additionally, no gold is required to train them, making them "trash units".

Pikemen are available to all civilizations except for the Turks.

Tactics
The Pikeman performs outstandingly against cavalry, doing 26 base damage to Knights and 51 to War Elephants. Due to their frailty, however, they should always operate in groups. In addition to cavalry, they are decent at combating enemy Skirmishers (even though Skirmishers do bonus damage to them), because they can outspeed the Skirmishers and exploit their minimum range. Pikemen are useful when attacking players who are basing their army on cavalry units or when defending against cavalry raids. They make an excellent complement for siege weapons, as they can protect them against enemy melee cavalry. Though they might lack offensive power to defeat enemy units outside of the cavalry sector, they can serve as cannon fodder since they are as cheap as a military unit can be.

Civilization bonuses

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

Team bonuses

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

The Age of Kings

 * Goths: Pikemen are 15%/25% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.

The Conquerors

 * Pikemen gain +11 attack against camels and ships.
 * Heresy introduced.
 * Goths: With patch 1.0c, Pikemen are 35% cheaper. Perfusion introduced.

The Forgotten

 * Pikemen now have +16 attack against camels and ships.

The African Kingdoms

 * Arson introduced.
 * Ethiopians: The Halberdier upgrade is free.
 * With patch 4.8, Chieftains now affects Pikemen.

Rise of the Rajas

 * Ethiopians: With patch 5.7, the free Halberdier upgrade was removed.

Trivia

 * The Spearmen line units are the cheapest of all military units, tied with the Skirmisher, costing only 60 resources and no gold.
 * The Spearman line units are the only trash units and also only common infantry units that don't have any base pierce armor.
 * Even though the Pikeman is a Castle Age unit, it loses outright to a Villager with Loom if it has no upgrades itself.
 * Even though their name is Pikeman, their weapon is actually a glaive not a pike, as evident by the weapon's broad blade and hook. Actual pikes resemble spears but are significantly longer.
 * Pikemen deal bonus damage against the cheat unit Saboteur (since The Conquerors) because it is in the same unit class as ships.
 * Spearmen and Pikemen use the same attack animation as Villagers in the Iron Age in Age of Empires.

History
"The success of spearmen against cavalry led to innovation in the equipment and tactics they used. Pikemen were an innovation of towns and communities that did not have the resources to field large armies of heavy cavalry. Pikes were cheap and could be quite effective in training. One important change was the lengthening of the weapon shaft. Where the spear had been 6 to 8 feet long, the pike had a shaft up to 18 feet long. The longer weapon meant that more spear points could be extended beyond the bodies of the men in the front rank. Pikemen combined with crossbowmen or hand cannoneers to make a useful combined arms unit. The pikemen prevented cavalry from overrunning the group, while the missile troops caused casualties to the enemy at range. Working together, this combination dominated battlefields at the end of the age. As firearms improved after the Middle Ages, the pikeman component became less necessary. The bayonet made the pike component obsolete and allowed the musketeer to defend himself against cavalry."