Archer unit (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

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.

File:Skirm.png

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 to hold 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	Building	A	HP	At	Ar	PA	Ra	ROF	FD	Ac	LOS	Sp	F	W	G	TT	Ci
File:ArcherIcon.jpg Archer	Ar. Range	File:Feudal-age-reseach.jpg	30	4	0	0	4	2.03	5	80	6	0.96	0	25	45	35	31
File:CrossbowmanIcon.jpg Crossbowman	Ar. Range	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	35	5	0	0	5	2.03	5	85	7	0.96	0	25	45	27	30
Arbalest	Ar. Range		40	6	0	0	5	2.03	5	90	7	0.96	0	25	45	27	19
Skirmisher	Ar. Range	File:Feudal-age-reseach.jpg	30	2	0	3	4	3.05	5	90	6	0.96	25	35	0	22	31
Elite Skirmisher	Ar. Range	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	35	3	0	4	5	3.05	5	90	7	0.96	25	35	0	22	30
Imperial Skirmisher	Ar. Range		35	4	0	5	5	3.05	5	95	7	0.96	25	35	0	22	1
File:CavalryArcherIcon.jpg Cavalry Archer	Ar. Range	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	50	6	0	0	4	2.03	10	50	5	1.4	0	40	60	34	28
Heavy Cavalry Archer	Ar. Range		60	7	1	0	4	2.03	10	50	6	1.4	0	40	60	27	23
File:HandCannoneerIcon.jpg Hand Cannoneer	Ar. Range		35	17	1	0	7	3.49	5	65	9	0.96	45	0	50	34	16
File:LongbowmanIcon.jpg Longbowman	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	35	6	0	0	5	2.03	5	70	7	0.96	0	35	40	18	1
File:LongbowmanIcon.jpg Elite Longbowman	Castle		40	7	0	1	6	2.03	5	80	8	0.96	0	35	40	18	1
Chu Ko Nu	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	45	8	0	0	4	3.65	3	85	6	0.96	0	40	35	16	1
Elite Chu Ko Nu	Castle		50	8	0	0	4	3.84	3	85	6	0.96	0	40	35	13	1
File:MangudaiIcon.jpg Mangudai	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	60	6	0	0	4	2.13	5	95	6	1.45	0	55	65	26	1
File:MangudaiIcon.jpg Elite Mangudai	Castle		60	8	1	0	4	2.13	5	95	6	1.45	0	55	65	26	1
Janissary	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	35	17	1	0	8	3.49	4	50	10	0.96	60	0	55	21	1
Elite Janissary	Castle		40	22	2	0	8	3.49	0	50	10	0.96	60	0	55	21	1
War Wagon	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	150	9	0	3	4	2.5	10	100	7	1.2	0	110	60	21	1
Elite War Wagon	Castle		200	9	0	4	5	2.5	10	100	8	1.2	0	110	60	21	1
Plumed Archer	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	50	5	0	1	4	1.93	5	80	6	1.2	0	50	50	16	1
Elite Plumed Archer	Castle		65	5	0	2	5	1.93	5	90	7	1.2	0	50	50	16	1
Conquistador	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	55	16	2	2	6	2.93	4	65	8	1.3	60	0	70	24	1
Elite Conquistador	Castle		70	18	2	2	6	2.93	4	70	9	1.3	60	0	70	24	1
Slinger	Ar. Range	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	40	5	0	0	5	2.03	5	90	7	0.96	30	0	40	25	1
Elephant Archer	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	280	6	0	3	4	2.5	4	100	7	0.8	100	0	80	25	1
Elite Elephant Archer	Castle		330	7	0	3	4	2.5	4	100	7	0.8	100	0	80	25	1
Genoese Crossbowman	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	45	6	1	0	4	3.05	5	100	8	0.96	0	45	45	22	1
Elite Genoese Crossbowman	Castle		50	6	1	0	4	2.03	5	100	8	0.96	0	45	45	19	1
File:CamelArcherIcon.jpg Camel Archer	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	55	7	0	1	4	2.03	5	95	5	1.4	0	50	60	25	1
File:CamelArcherIcon.jpg Elite Camel Archer	Castle		60	8	1	1	4	2.03	5	95	5	1.4	0	50	60	25	1
Genitour	Ar. Range	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	50	3	0	3	4	3.05	4	90	5	1.35	50	35	0	25	1
Elite Genitour	Ar. Range		55	4	0	4	4	3.05	4	90	6	1.35	50	35	0	25	1
File:Arambaiicon.png Arambai	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	60	17	0	1	5	2.03	10	20	5	1.3	0	80	60	21	1
File:Arambaiicon.png Elite Arambai	Castle		65	19	0	2	5	2.03	10	30	5	1.3	0	80	60	21	1
Rattan Archer	Castle	File:Castle-age-reseach.jpg	40	6	0	4	4	2.03	5	80	6	1.1	0	50	45	16	1
Elite Rattan Archer	Castle		45	7	0	6	5	2.03	5	90	6	1.1	0	50	45	16	1
Average	N/A	N/A	68.9	8.3	0.4	1.5	4.8	2.55	5.1	80	6.8	1.12	19.2	37.8	46.5	22.8	26

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	III	22	Increases Rate of Fire and accuracy (the latter to 100%)
Parthian Tactics	Archery Range	IV	10	Increases armor by +1/+2 and attack vs Pikemen for mounted archers by +4
Fletching	Blacksmith	II	All	Increases range and attack by +1
Bodkin Arrow	Blacksmith	III	All	Increases range and attack by +1
Bracer	Blacksmith	IV	25	Increases range and attack by +1
Padded Archer Armor	Blacksmith	II	All	Increases armor by +1/+1
Leather Archer Armor	Blacksmith	III	30	Increases armor by +1/+1
Ring Archer Armor	Blacksmith	IV	25	Increases armor by +1/+2
Ballistics	University	III	All	Improves accuracy at moving targets
Chemistry	University	IV	All	Increases attack by +1
File:Herbal Medicine.png Herbal Medicine	Monastery	III	26	Garrisoned units heal 4x faster
Heresy	Monastery	III	19	Converted units die instead of changing color
Faith	Monastery	IV	28	Increases conversion resistance
Conscription	Castle	IV	All	Increases creation speed by +33%
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Atlatl	Castle	III	Aztecs	Skirmishers and Genitours +1 attack and range
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Kasbah	Castle	III	Berbers	Creation speed for Castle units increased by +25%
File:Unique-tech.jpg Maghrabi Camels	Castle	IV	Berbers	Camel Archers regenerate
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Yeomen	Castle	III	Britons	Increases foot archer range by +1
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Manipur Cavalry	Castle	III	Burmese	Increases Arambai attack against buildings by +3
File:Unique-tech.jpg Rocketry	Castle	IV	Chinese	Increases Chu Ko Nu attack by +2
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Andean Sling	Castle	III	Incas	Removes minimum range of Slingers and Skirmishers
File:Unique-tech.jpg Couriers	Castle	IV	Incas	Increases Slinger armor by +1/+2
File:Unique-tech.jpg Shatagni	Castle	IV	Indians	Increases Hand Cannoneer range by +1
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Pavise	Castle	III	Italians	Increases foot archer armor by +1/+1
File:Unique-tech.jpg Recurve Bow	Castle	IV	Magyars	Increases Cavalry Archer range and attack by +1
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Obsidian Arrows	Castle	III	Mayans	Increases Archer attack against standard buildings by +6
File:Unique-tech.jpg Arquebus	Castle	IV	Portuguese	Hand Cannoneers hit moving targets better
File:CastleAgeUnique.png Sipahi	Castle	III	Turks	Increases Cavalry Archer 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 Japanese and Saracens are the only civilizations with access to all archer units and technologies.

As far as mounted archers are concerned, the Berbers, Huns, Indians, Magyars, Mongols, Saracens, 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 specifically benefit archer units:

Britons: Foot archers have +1/+2 range in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Byzantines: Skirmishers are 25% cheaper.
Ethiopians: Archers fire 15% faster.
Huns: Cavalry Archers are 10%/20% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Italians: Hand Cannoneers are 15% cheaper.
Mayans: Archers are 10%/20%/30% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Mongols: Cavalry Archers fire 20% faster.
Saracens: Cavalry Archers have +4 attack against standard buildings.
Spanish: Hand Cannoneers and Conquistadors fire 15% faster.
Turks: Chemistry is free.
Vietnamese: Archery Range units have +10%/+15%/+20% HP in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

Team bonuses