Archer units (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the archer units in Age of Empires II. For archer units in other games of the series, see Archers.

Archers in Age of Empires II are one of the four combat forces on land, the other ones being infantry, cavalry, and siege weapons.

General information

Many different archer units firing over an enemy wall.

While being comparatively frail, all archer units possess a ranged attack, giving them an edge over non-ranged units. Most archers are foot soldiers, but there are also mounted variants. Cavalry Archers set themselves apart from foot archers by having an above average speed, making them able to hit-and-run enemy foot soldiers without casualties.

Archer units are trained at the Archery Range and become available in the Feudal Age.

Unique archer units are trained at the Castle. There are three exceptions: The Genitour, the Slinger, and the Imperial Skirmisher (unique upgrade of the Elite Skirmisher, available to the Vietnamese and their allies) are trained at the Archery Range.

Most archer units cost wood and gold, but some also cost food.

The Skirmisher, the no. 1 archer counter

Archers excel at massed battles against non-ranged units, and in battles in narrow passages and densely developed areas, like forests and towns. There, they can use their range to fire over each other, while non-ranged units have to 'dig' themselves through an army of archers. In battles with few units, though, archers have trouble holding ground.

Archers in general are superior to infantry and Monks, and can very effectively eliminate Villagers. But they struggle heavily against siege units, which deal Area of Effect damage (especially the Mangonel) and can eliminate entire armies of archers quickly. Battering Rams are also a useful supportive semi-counter against large mono-archer armies, especially for players using archers themselves. While Rams deal little to no damage to archers on their own, they can be sent close to the archers, drawing automatic fire, which they resist thanks to their high pierce armor, allowing other ranged units to quickly dispatch the distracted enemy archers. This tactic forces the opponent to use intense micromanagement. Cavalry is also quite effective against archers, since they can close the gap quickly and have high pierce armor. But the easiest counter against archers is the Skirmisher, a trash unit that is cheap, easy to mass, and does both resist archer attacks and deal bonus damage against archers.

Other notable counters are Huskarls, Eagle Warriors, Rattan Archers, and War Wagons, the latter two being archers themselves.

List of archer units

Marked with yellow background are unique units.

Archer unit	B	A	HP	At	Ar	PA	Ra	ROF	FD	Ac	LOS	Sp	F	W	G	TT	Ci
Archer			30	4	0	0	4	2.0	15	80	6	0.96	0	25	45	35	39
Crossbowman			35	5	0	0	5	2.0	15	85	7	0.96	0	25	45	27	37
Arbalester			40	6	0	0	5	2.0	20	90	7	0.96	0	25	45	27	22
Skirmisher			30	2	0	3	4	3.0	19	90	6	0.96	25	35	0	22	39
Elite Skirmisher			35	3	0	4	5	3.0	19	90	7	0.96	25	35	0	22	38
Imperial Skirmisher			35	4	0	5	5	3.0	19	95	7	0.96	25	35	0	22	38
Cavalry Archer			50	6	0	0	4	2.0	35	50	5	1.4	0	40	60	34	35
Heavy Cavalry Archer			60	7	1	0	4	2.0	46	50	6	1.4	0	40	60	27	28
Hand Cannoneer			40	17	1	0	7	3.45	15	75	9	0.96	45	0	50	34	20
Longbowman			35	6	0	0	5	2.0	10	70	7	0.96	0	35	40	18	1
Elite Longbowman			40	7	0	1	6	2.0	10	80	8	0.96	0	35	40	18	1
Chu Ko Nu			45	8+3	0	0	4	3.0	19	85	6	0.96	0	40	35	16	1
Elite Chu Ko Nu			50	8+3	0	0	4	3.0	19	85	6	0.96	0	40	35	13	1
Mangudai			60	6	0	0	4	2.1	23	95	6	1.4	0	55	65	26	1
Elite Mangudai			60	8	1	0	4	2.1	23	95	6	1.4	0	55	65	26	1
Janissary			35	17	1	0	8	3.45	12	50	10	0.96	60	0	55	21	1
Elite Janissary			40	22	2	0	8	3.45	0	65	10	0.96	60	0	55	21	1
War Wagon			150	9	0	3	4	2.5	32	100	7	1.2	0	110	60	21	1
Elite War Wagon			200	9	0	4	5	2.5	32	100	8	1.2	0	110	60	21	1
Plumed Archer			50	5	0	1	4	1.9	15	80	6	1.2	0	55	55	16	1
Elite Plumed Archer			65	5	0	2	5	1.9	15	90	7	1.2	0	55	55	16	1
Conquistador			55	16	2	2	6	2.9	13	65	8	1.3	60	0	70	24	1
Elite Conquistador			70	18	2	2	6	2.9	13	70	9	1.3	60	0	70	24	1
Slinger			40	5	0	0	5	2.0	14	90	7	0.96	30	0	40	25	1
Elephant Archer			280	6	0	3	4	2.0	24	100	7	0.8	100	0	80	25	1
Elite Elephant Archer			330	7	0	3	4	2.0	24	100	7	0.8	100	0	80	25	1
Genoese Crossbowman			45	6	1	0	4	2.0	15	100	8	0.96	0	45	40	22	1
Elite Genoese Crossbowman			50	6	1	0	4	2.0	15	100	8	0.96	0	45	40	19	1
Camel Archer			55	7	0	1	4	2.0	15	95	5	1.4	0	50	60	25	1
Elite Camel Archer			60	8	1	1	4	2.0	15	95	5	1.4	0	50	60	25	1
Genitour			50	3	0	3	4	3.0	30	90	5	1.35	50	35	0	25	39
Elite Genitour			55	4	0	4	4	3.0	30	90	6	1.35	50	35	0	25	39
Arambai			60	12	0	1	5	2.0	15	20	5	1.3	0	75	60	21	1
Elite Arambai			65	15	0	2	5	2.0	15	30	5	1.3	0	75	60	21	1
Rattan Archer			40	6	0	4	4	2.0	23	80	6	1.1	0	50	45	16	1
Elite Rattan Archer			45	7	0	6	5	2.0	23	90	6	1.1	0	50	45	16	1
Kipchak			40	4+3	0	0	4	2.2	0	90	6	1.4	0	60	35	20	1
Elite Kipchak			45	5+3	0	0	4	2.2	0	90	6	1.4	0	60	35	20	39
Average	N/A	N/A	68.9	8.3	0.4	1.5	4.8	2.55	19.4	80	6.8	1.12	19.2	37.8	46.5	22.8	26

The following archer units are only available in the Scenario Editor:

Archer unit	HP	At	Ar	PA	Ra	ROF	FD	Ac	LOS	Sp
Amazon Archer	45	5	0	1	4	1.9	5	80	6	1.1
Royal Janissary	40	22	2	0	8	3.45	0	65	10	0.96
Khan	160	12	2	2	4	2.1	23	95	6	1.45

Technologies

Listed below are all technologies that benefit archer units. Marked with yellow background are unique technologies. This list does not contain unit upgrades.

Technology	Researched at	Age	Civilization	Effect
Thumb Ring	Archery Range		26	Increases Rate of Fire and accuracy (the latter to 100%)
Parthian Tactics	Archery Range		13	Increases armor by +1/+2 and attack vs Pikemen for mounted archers by +2 or +4
Bloodlines	Stable		25	Increases hit points for mounted archers by +20
Husbandry	Stable		31	Increases movement speed for mounted archers by +10%
Fletching	Blacksmith		All	Increases range and attack by +1
Bodkin Arrow	Blacksmith		All	Increases range and attack by +1
Bracer	Blacksmith		30	Increases range and attack by +1
Padded Archer Armor	Blacksmith		All	Increases armor by +1/+1
Leather Archer Armor	Blacksmith		34	Increases armor by +1/+1
Ring Archer Armor	Blacksmith		28	Increases armor by +1/+2
Ballistics	University		All	Improves accuracy of non-gunpowder archers at moving targets
Chemistry	University		All	Increases attack of non-gunpowder archers by +1 and enables creation of Hand Cannoneer
Herbal Medicine	Monastery		33	Garrisoned units heal 6x faster
Heresy	Monastery		22	Converted units die instead of changing color
Faith	Monastery		34	Increases conversion resistance
Conscription	Castle		All	Increases creation speed by +33%
Atlatl	Castle		Aztecs	Skirmishers and Genitours +1 attack and range
Kasbah	Castle		Berbers	Castle production and research speed increased by +25%
Maghrabi Camels	Castle		Berbers	Camel Archers regenerate (0.25 HP/s)
Wagenburg Tactics	Castle		Bohemians	Hand Cannoneers move 15% faster
Yeomen	Castle		Britons	Increases foot archer range by +1
Manipur Cavalry	Castle		Burmese	Increases Arambai attack against standard buildings by +6
Rocketry	Castle		Chinese	Increases Chu Ko Nu attack by +2
Steppe Husbandry	Castle		Cumans	Cavalry Archers created 100% faster
Cuman Mercenaries	Castle		Cumans	Allows Cumans and their allies to train 10 Elite Kipchaks for free
Andean Sling	Castle		Incas	Removes minimum range of Slingers, Skirmishers, and Genitours
Fabric Shields	Castle		Incas	Increases Slinger armor by +1/+2
Shatagni	Castle		Indians	Increases Hand Cannoneer range by +1
Pavise	Castle		Italians	Increases foot archer (except Skirmishers) armor by +1/+1
Tower Shields	Castle		Lithuanians	Skirmishers +2 pierce armor
Recurve Bow	Castle		Magyars	Increases Cavalry Archer range and attack by +1
Obsidian Arrows (before Lords of the West)	Castle		Mayans	Increases Archer line attack against standard buildings by +6
Hul'che Javelineers (since Lords of the West)	Castle		Mayans	Skirmishers throw two javelins
Kamandaran	Castle		Persians	Archer line gold cost replaced by additional wood cost
Arquebus	Castle		Portuguese	Hand Cannoneers gain Ballistics-like accuracy
Silk Armor	Castle		Tatars	Cavalry Archers, Kipchaks, and Genitours get +1/+1 armor
Sipahi	Castle		Turks	Increases Cavalry Archer, Kipchak, and Genitour HP by +20

Civilizations

The Britons, Chinese, Ethiopians, Italians, Mayans, Saracens, and Vietnamese arguably are the best foot archer civilizations because of their bonuses and unique technologies. The Koreans, Persians and Portuguese also have bonuses and unique technologies that benefit their stats and production by decreasing their cost, providing more protection and being upgraded faster, making them strong foot archer civilizations, but weaker than the before-mentioned civilizations.

The Japanese and Saracens are the only civilizations with access to all archer units and technologies. This also applied to the Indians until patch 5.5, when Arbalesters were removed from their technology tree.

The Burgundians, Burmese, Celts, Franks, and Slavs lack key upgrades for their archer units, making them the weakest archer civilizations. The Bulgarians and the Spanish are the only civilzations that lack the Crossbowman upgrade.

As far as mounted archers are concerned, the Berbers, Cumans, Huns, Indians, Koreans, Magyars, Mongols, Saracens, Tatars, and Turks are the most prominent civilizations. Generally speaking, civilizations with access to Parthian Tactics have prominent mounted archers.

Civilization bonuses

The following civilizations have bonuses that benefit archer units:

• Aztecs: Archers are created 11% faster.
• Bohemians: Hand Cannoneer and Chemistry are available in the Castle Age.
• Britons: Foot archers (except Skirmishers) have +1/+2 range in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Bulgarians: Blacksmith technologies that benefit archers cost 50% less food.
• Burgundians: Hand Cannoneers have +25% attack. Husbandry is 50% cheaper.
• Burmese: Faith and Herbal Medicine are 50% cheaper.
• Byzantines: Skirmishers are 25% cheaper.
• Chinese: Technologies that benefit Infantry are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Cumans: Cavalry Archers move 10%/15% faster in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Ethiopians: The Archer line fires 18% faster.
• Franks: Cavalry Archers have +20% hit points.
• Huns: Cavalry Archers are 10%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
• Italians: Hand Cannoneers are 20% cheaper. Ballistics and Chemistry are 33% cheaper.
• Koreans: Archer units cost 20% less wood. Archer armor upgrades are free.
• Lithuanians: Skirmishers move 10% faster.
• Mayans: Archers (except Skirmishers) are 10%/20%/30% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Mongols: Cavalry Archers fire 25% faster.
• Portuguese: Archer units cost 20% less gold; Technologies that benefit archers are researched 30% faster.
• Sicilians: Archers receive 50% less bonus damage.
• Spanish: Blacksmith technologies that affect archers cost no gold. Hand Cannoneers fire 18% faster.
• Tatars: Archers deal +25% damage when attacking from higher elevation. Parthian Tactics and Thumb Ring are free.
• Turks: Hand Cannoneers and Janissaries have +25% HP and Chemistry is free.
• Vietnamese: Archery Range units have +20% HP and Conscription is free.

Team bonuses

The following civilizations have team bonuses that benefit archer units:

• Berbers: Genitour available at the Archery Range.
• Britons: Archery Ranges work 20% faster.
• Bulgarians: Blacksmith technologies that affect archers are researched 80% faster.
• Huns: Bloodlines and Husbandry are researched 20% faster.
• Indians: Camel Archers have +4 attack against standard buildings.
• Lithuanians: Faith, Herbal Medicine, and Heresy are researched 20% faster.
• Magyars: Foot archers (except Skirmishers) have +2 Line of Sight.
• Malians: Ballistics and Chemistry are researched 80% faster.
• Saracens: Foot archers have +3 attack against standard buildings.
• Tatars: Cavalry Archers have +2 LOS.
• Teutons: Archers are more resistant to conversion.
• Turks: Hand Cannoneers, Janissaries, and Conquistadors are created 25% faster.
• Vietnamese: Imperial Skirmisher available at the Archery Range.

Trivia

• Excluding the Berbers, all civilizations with prominent Cavalry Archers originated in various parts of Asia. This is also highlighted by the availability of Parthian Tactics, with 9 out of 13 factions that can research it being Asian cultures.
• Among the 51 unique units in the game 15 are archers, including 8 cavalry archers. This makes the archer units the largest group of unique units.
• Excluding Rattan and Plumed Archers, all foot archer, skirmisher, and gunpowder units move at a constant speed of 0.96.
• Contrary to popular belief, foot archer, skirmisher, and gunpowder units are unaffected by infantry speed upgrades like Squires. However their mounted counterparts are affected by Husbandry.
• Though superficially similar to the War Wagon, the Bohemian Hussite Wagon is a Siege Weapon.

Gallery

All archer units available at the Archery Range

All archer units available at the Castle