Long Swordsman (Age of Empires II)

For the related Age of Empires unit, see Long Swordsman (Age of Empires).

"Stronger than Man-at-Arms; cheap and quick to create."

- Age of Empires II description

In Age of Empires II, the Long Swordsman is the second upgrade up from Militia, after the Man-at-Arms. It is a cheap Infantry Unit that has a good amount of hit points and attack. Long Swordsman are the basic Infantry unit in the Castle Age. In the Imperial Age, they can be upgraded to become Two-Handed Swordsmen. They are very strong units, able to defeat all standard Castle Age units but the Knight in one on one combat. Like all basic infantry, long swordsmen also have a large attack bonus versus buildings, making them excellent raiders. They are weak against Cavalry Archer, Archers, Heavy Cavalry, and Mangonels (if they are unable to close the distance), but good against Spearmen, Light Cavalry, Camels, Skirmishers, and most Siege Weapons.

Tactics
Long swordsmen are usually used in large groups. They are good building destroyers, but pale in comparison to Battering Rams. Though they are a good staple in the early Castle Age, they are quickly supplanted by knights, many kinds of Unique Units, and archers. Their main advantage lies not in individual strength but their ease of creation and their inexpensiveness. Longswordsmen should be upgraded to Two handed swordsmen and then Champions as soon as possible to make them even more cost effective.

Civilizations bonuses

 * Aztecs: Long Swordsman are produced +15% faster.
 * Celts Long Swordsman move 15% faster. Herdables cannot be stolen within a unit's Line of Sight.
 * Chinese Technologies that benefits Long Swordsman are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in Feudal/Castle/Imperial age.
 * Goths Long Swordsman are 25% cheaper and have +1 attack vs buildings.
 * Japanese Long Swordsman attack 25% faster.
 * Spanish Blacksmith upgrades for Long Swordsman don't cost gold.
 * Vikings Long Swordsman +20% hit points.
 * Magyars get Forging, Iron Casting and Blast Furnace, which upgrade the attack of Long Swordsmen, for free.
 * The Slavs have Tracking upgrade for free.
 * Malians: Long Swordsman gains +1 pierce armor per Age (starting from Feudal Age)
 * Portuguese: Long Swordsman costs 15% less gold.

Team Bonuses

 * A team containing Goths: Long Swordsmen are produced 20% faster.
 * A team containing Teutons: Long Swordsman are more resistant to conversion.

The Conquerors Changes

 * Long Swordsmen gain 1 pierce armor.

The Forgotten Changes

 * Long Swordsmen gain +5 HP.
 * Long Swordsmen have +1 attack vs buildings.
 * Long Swordsmen have +2 attack vs eagles
 * Goths Long Swordsmen are 25% cheaper and have +2 attack vs buildings.
 * Vikings Long Swordsmen +10%, 15%, 20% hitpoints in Feudal/Castle/Imperial age.

History
"The weapon of choice for noble warriors was the long sword. Being skilled with a sword was a social distinction because good swords were expensive and difficult to make. Men-at-arms of lower classes trained with shorter and less expensive weapons. Long swords were reserved for the nobility. The ceremony of becoming a knight involved being dubbed with a long sword by the new knight's lord."

Trivia
Men-at-Arms, Long Swordsmen and War Galleys are the only upgraded forms of military soldiers in Age of Empires II and The Conquerors to be available to all civilizations.