The Bengalis are an elephant and naval civilization in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dynasties of India.
Strengths[]
The Bengalis are an elephant and naval civilization. As such, they not only have the most formidable elephant units, but great buffs as well. Despite having access to a mechanically complex unique unit, they have very straightforward economic and naval bonuses. This makes them a good civilization for booming strategies and water maps for newer and experienced players alike.
The Bengalis have probably the most powerful elephant units, as they not only have fully upgraded Battle Elephants and Siege Elephants, but Parthian Tactics is also available for their Elephant Archers. Despite lacking Thumb Ring, the Bengalis can use Paiks to strengthen the attack rate for their elephants and Rathas. In addition, all Bengali elephants take less bonus damage and have more resistance to conversion. The Bengalis also have a near-complete Monastery tech tree, only lacking Heresy.
Their economy is also relatively strong, as every age they advance will spawn two Villagers near every Town Center. With the Mahayana technology, Villagers also take up 10% less population space, meaning that each Villager will count as 0.9 of a unit space instead of 1. For example, the Mahayana tech would make having 10 villagers only count as having 9 population wise; having 20 villagers will only count as having 18, and so on. This makes the Bengalis a well-suited civilization for booming strategies. The only economic upgrade they lack is Stone Shaft Mining.
They also perform well on water maps, as they have nearly every upgrade and technology in their Dock, except for Heavy Demolition Ships. The Ratha is a unit that can switch their attack into either melee or ranged mode, making them a very versatile unit in skilled hands. The Imperial unique technology, Mahayana, makes their Villagers and Monks take less population, allowing more population space for military units.
Weaknesses[]
While the Bengalis have access to Arbalesters, Champions, Halberdiers, and Elite Skirmishers, these unit options are average at best, as the Bengalis lack Thumb Ring and Plate Mail Armor. The lack of Thumb Ring hurts their Elephant Archers significantly. The Bengalis also lack the Bombard Cannon and Siege Onager, leaving their Siege Elephants and Trebuchets their only reliable late-game siege options. Their Stable is very lackluster, as they do not have the Knight line, which leaves their Light Cavalry their only mobile unit on open maps.
The Ratha is a very mechanically complex and difficult unit to use. It requires proper micromanagement to maximize its use when switching between melee and ranged modes, and using the wrong mode can backfire on the player (i.e. switching to melee mode can help deal with enemy archers, but can leave them vulnerable to other melee units such as Spearmen and camels). Also, regardless of which mode they are in, they are always vulnerable to bonus damage from Elite Skirmishers and Camel Archers, as they always count as a Cavalry Archer.
The Bengalis' health regeneration bonus for ships is only useful on maps with reasonable amounts of water. On dry maps like Arabia, the bonus is useless. Even with the health regeneration, the Bengalis cannot simply slug it out with civilizations that have powerful navy bonuses, such as Saracens, Vikings, and Portuguese. The health regeneration is useful between fights, not during fights.
Although the Bengalis' economy is fairly strong, their bonuses do not begin to take effect until the Feudal Age. This gives them a disadvantage against some civilizations that can rush quickly with Dark Age bonuses, such as the Aztecs and Celts. Conversely, although their free Villager bonus is useful into the Imperial Age, they ultimately rely on their expensive Mahayana technology to keep their economy powerful in the late game. In contrast, civilizations such as the Teutons have economic bonuses that do not require the cost of a Castle and unique technology.
Finally, despite their strong economic bonuses, the Bengalis do not have any significant military bonuses until the Castle Age. This makes the Bengalis extremely vulnerable to early game rush strategies in open maps that will make it difficult to boom properly.
Strategy[]
The Bengalis have a distinct strategy of booming, thanks to their Town Centers spawning two Villagers whenever they reach to the next age. This gives the Bengalis a significant economic advantage over the opponent. For example, the player can easily reach Castle Age within 15 minutes by tasking the extra two villagers spawned in the Feudal Age to immediately collect gold, while the other Villagers produced at the Town Center can be tasked to gather food and wood. Despite their economic boom potential, the Bengalis are relatively vulnerable to early-game rushes, so it is important to build up any defensive structures necessary to help boom.
As noted, the biggest strength to the Bengalis is their elephant units, thanks to their civilization bonus of extra conversion resistance and reduced bonus damage. This covers the main weaknesses to elephant units, such as Pikemen, Camel Riders, and Monks. This make Bengalis a solid civilization for a Battle Elephant and Elephant Archer rush (they have the economy to back this strategy). Despite their higher resistances to their usual counters, their low mobility still makes them vulnerable to their usual unit counters, so it is recommended to diversify their army (since the other units they have available are reasonable options despite missing a few key upgrades and technologies). Their Castle Age unique technology, Paiks, will make their elephant units more threatening.
The Ratha is a unique unit that can switch between melee and ranged modes. While they are not as strong when compared to other cavalry units like Knights, they make up for it for their versatility. For example, the Ratha can switch to their ranged mode when facing infantry units, then switch to melee mode when facing enemy archers. With proper micromanagement, the Ratha can easily win trades with even the most mobile melee units in the Castle Age.
The Bengalis are at their strongest in the Imperial Age, with highly resistant Elite Battle Elephant, combined with their Siege Elephant that can tear down buildings relatively fast (thanks to their faster attack rate from Paiks), and having solid Monks; the Bengalis are one of the most rewarding civilizations for a boom strategy (which is made even more rewarding with the Mahayana upgrade that allow the Bengalis to free up more population space for their elephant units).
In water maps, the Bengalis are a good civilization, thanks to their ships regenerating hit points. This gives their Fishing Ships and Transport Ships an extra layer of protection (the latter can help with their surprise landings), while it helps players to micromanage their ships in water battles. This allows the Bengalis to save up wood and gold for more warships.
Overall, the Bengalis are a solid civilization for both beginners and experts alike. The Ratha is a very mechanically complex unit that can only be mastered by more experienced players. Newer players can instead primarily focus on a booming strategy with focus on elephants as their main army composition (as the extra Villagers spawning from their Town Center upon advancing to the next age can teach players how to balance their economy while booming). The ship-regenerating hit points can help players how to properly micromanage their ships in intensive water battles.
Patch changes[]
Update 66692 gave the Bengalis several direct and indirect buffs. The Bengalis have a new civilization bonus that grants their Monks +3/+3 armor (similar to the Slavs' previous unique technology, Orthodoxy). This allows the Bengalis to contest Relics easily in closed maps. In addition, Armored and Siege Elephants are now affected by Siege Engineers. Combined with their Castle Age unique technology, Paiks,this allows the Bengalis to tear down enemy buildings faster. Their Elephant Archers have their Cavalry Archers armor increased from -7 to -4, making their Elephant Archers even more durable thanks to their civilization bonus, and their bonus damage resistance is applied after the negative armor.
Update 81058 gives the Bengalis both Gambesons and Supplies, which further improves their Militia line, but it is still considered average, as they lack Plate Mail Armor. In addition, the Bengalis receive a civilization bonus where melee cavalry deal +2 damage against Skirmishers. This is primarily to address their lackluster performance in open maps such as Arabia due to the lack of Knight line, and addressing the Ratha's weakness against Skirmishers even in melee mode (due to the latter having the cavalry archer armor in melee mode, which the Ratha itself benefits from the civilization bonus). Mahayana now affect their Monks, giving their Monks more utility in the late-game to mix with their elephant army.
Update 111772 removes access to Parthian Tactics, but improves the Ratha's base armor from 2/1 to 3/2 and later 3/3 with the Elite upgrade. It also gives the Ratha bonus damage against Spearmen. This is effectively a buff to the Ratha while nerfing Bengali Elephant Archers.
Alliances[]
In team games, the Bengalis are best suited for the pocket position. This is both because of their powerful booming capabilities and the fact that they cannot take advantage of their powerful elephant units until the Castle Age. The Bengalis benefit from team bonuses that either benefit their elephant units, assist in booming, or help them play defensively until they can build a powerful elephant-based army. The Bengali team bonus grants food from trading, making them a good partner for civilizations that are already exceptional traders, and is one of the most useful team bonuses.
The Bengalis' reliance on elephant units makes them vulnerable to Halberdiers, Camel Riders, and Cavalry Archers. Thus, a Bengali player would disproportionately benefit from an ally that can easily counter at least two of these units. For example, civilizations with strong infantry and either foot archers, Hand Cannoneers, or siege units backing them up can easily use their infantry to destroy Halberdiers and Camel Riders and their ranged units to drive away Cavalry Archers. Meanwhile, these civilizations can benefit from the sheer power of elephant units in contrast to the relatively fragile nature of their own units.
Win-win synergies[]
Bohemians: Both team bonuses improve trade. The Bohemian team bonus enables Trade Carts to be created faster, and the Bengali team bonus allows Trade Carts to generate food along with gold.
Hindustanis: The Hindustani team bonus is almost useless for the Bengalis, but they still synergize, as the Hindustanis have access to the Caravanserai, a building that heals nearby allied Trade Carts and also improves their movement speed, which synergizes with the Bengali team bonus. The Hindustanis can also improve the gold generated by Trade Carts with their Grand Trunk Road technology.
Persians: In closed maps like Michi, the Bengalis can employ a very peculiar "super sling" strategy, which works particularly well with a Persian teammate. The Bengali player only makes Villagers, Trade Carts, and Town Centers before aging up to the Imperial Age, while tributing resources to their Persian ally. Meanwhile, the Persians focus on training military units and defending their Bengali partner. The Bengalis get 2 Villagers per Town Center when aging up, so the player only has to keep making Town Centers, Trade Carts, and Villagers in the Castle Age. When the player has a substantial amount of Town Centers, they can age up to the Imperial Age and get a ton of Villagers (the bonus ignores population limit) for resource gathering and then tribute them en masse to their teammate. The Persian player should then gradually start replacing their Villagers with military units (like War Elephants), creating an unstoppable deathball of almost 200 units. The two players' late-game economy is further amplified by Persian Caravanserais and the Bengali team bonus, which provides food from trading in addition to gold.- Spanish: Both team bonuses improve trade. The Spanish team bonus increases gold from trade units, while the Bengalis allow them to also generate some food.
Civilizations with good team bonuses[]
- Britons: The Britons' team bonus helps to train Elephant Archers slightly faster.
- Byzantines: The Byzantine team bonus allows Monks to heal 100% faster, which is useful for the Bengalis with their elephant units.
- Celts: The Celtic team bonus helps to train Siege Elephants faster
- Dravidians: The Dravidian team bonus enables Docks to hold 5 population each, which is useful on naval maps. The Bengalis have a good navy.
- Gurjaras: The Gurjara team bonus helps the Bengalis to spawn their elephant units faster.
- Huns: The Hunnic team bonus helps the Bengalis to spawn their Battle Elephants faster.
- Japanese: Bengali ships regenerate. The Japanese team bonus gives the Galley line +2 Line of Sight.
- Lithuanians: Bengali Monks have +3/+3 armor and almost all Monastery technologies, only lacking Heresy, so being able to train them faster is useful. The Bengalis need Monks for healing their elephant army.
- Magyars: The Magyar team bonus reduces the training time of mounted archers, including the Ratha and Elephant Archer.
- Malay: The Malay team bonus gives Docks more Line of Sight, which is useful on naval maps. The Bengalis have a good navy.
- Sicilians: Bengali Transport Ships regenerate. With the Sicilian team bonus, they get them at half the price with better Line of Sight.
- Tatars: The additional Line of Sight from the Tatar team bonus applies to Elephant Archers and Rathas even in melee mode.
- Teutons: One of the weaknesses elephant units have is their low conversion resistance. The Bengalis already have elephant units that resist conversion better, but with the Teutonic team bonus, these units are even more resistant against conversion, making Monks an inefficient counter.
- Vikings: The Bengalis have a good navy, as their ships regenerate. Thee Viking bonus reduces Dock cost, which helps on naval maps.
- Wei: The Wei team bonus makes Battle Elephants and Siege Elephants more effective against siege units.
Civilizations that benefit from the Bengali team bonus[]
- Italians: Italian Trade Cart cost is halved after researching Silk Road. With the Bengali team bonus, they also generate food.
- Saracens: The Saracens have cheaper Markets, and their resource interchange is better. The Bengali team bonus gives Trade Carts the ability of generating some food along with gold.
Compared advantages and disadvantages[]
Advantages against civilizations[]
- The biggest strength of the Bengalis is their economy, as their Town Centers spawn two Villagers when advancing to the next age. This gives Bengalis an economic advantage over civilizations who lack early-game economic bonuses and lack the ability to apply early-game pressure (e.g. Turks and Portuguese). This makes Bengalis a good civilization in closed maps such as Arena and Black Forest.
- Their elephant units are more resistant thanks, to them receiving less bonus damage and being more resistant to conversion. Combined with their access to their Castle Age unique technology, Paiks, their elephant units become deadlier, giving Bengalis an advantage over civilizations that have lackluster Spearmen (Gurjaras and Turks) or lack key important upgrades for their Monks (e.g. nomadic civilizations such as Mongols, Huns, Tatars, and Cumans).
- The Bengalis have a near-complete Monastery technology tree, with Heresy the only technology missing. In addition, the Monks are more durable thanks to their extra armor. This gives Bengalis an advantage over civilizations that depend on expensive units and lack Heresy in their technology tree (e.g. Slavs, Koreans, Persians, Burgundians, and many Southeast Asian and Indian civilizations with Battle Elephants and Elephant Archers).
- Their navy is excellent, having nearly every upgrade and technology in their Dock except for the Heavy Demolition Ship. In addition, their ships slowly regenerate hit points, giving Bengalis an extra layer of protection for their Fishing Ship from civilizations that excel in water-related rushes (e.g. Vikings, Japanese, Dravidians) and gives them an advantage over civilizations with a lackluster navy (e.g. Huns, Tatars, and Cumans).
- Their unique unit, Ratha, is a versatile unit that can switch between melee and ranged modes depending on the situation. For example, while the Ratha will take bonus damage from Skirmishers, since it has the Archers and Cavalry Archers armor classes, the Ratha can simply be switched to its melee mode to gap close into the Skirmishers. Similarly, the Ratha can swap to its ranged mode to perform hit-and-run tactics on slow-moving units like infantry. This gives Bengalis an edge against civilizations "specialized" in infantry or archers, such as Britons and Celts.
- Defensively, the Bengalis have nearly every upgrade and technology, only lacking the Bombard Tower. Combined with the two extra Villagers they receive upon advancing to the next age, this gives Bengalis the ability to defend themselves from early-game rushes.
Disadvantages vs civilizations[]
- The Bengalis' other unit options to mix in with their elephant army (i.e. Champion, Arbalester, Halberdier, and Elite Skirmisher) are considered average at best, as they lack a few key technologies for them, putting Bengalis at a disadvantage against civilizations with strong foot archers (e.g. Britons, Mayans, Vietnamese, and Ethiopians) or civilizations with bonuses to their infantry (i.e. Goths, Japanese, Slavs, Dravidians, Malay, Celts, and Teutons).
- While the Bengalis have some advantages in water maps thanks to their ships regenerating hit points, their navy isn't anything special when compared to other civilizations with their own unique ships (e.g. Vikings' Longboat, Koreans' Turtle Ship, Dravidians' Thirisadai, and Portuguese's Caravel).
- Despite their elephant units being more resistant to conversion and bonus damage, they still suffer the same weaknesses to their unit counters due to their low mobility, so civilizations with inherit bonuses to their Halberdiers (e.g. Goths, Byzantines, Bohemians, Slavs, and Japanese) or their Camel Riders (e.g. Berbers, Hindustanis, Gurjaras, and Saracens) will still have an advantage when dealing with their elephants. Similarly, civilizations with bonuses to their Monks (e.g. Bohemians, Burmese, Spanish, and Lithuanians) can still convert their elephants, as the Bengalis also lack Heresy.
- As the Ratha is considered a cavalry archer, they are vulnerable to anti-cavalry and anti-archer damage. Units such as the Genoese Crossbowman, Camel Archer, Ghulam, Huskarl, Eagle Warrior, and Camel Rider can deal with both melee and ranged versions easily (especially the last five units, who have the mobility to catch up to them).
- While the Ratha can deal with Skirmishers by simply switching to its melee mode, the Inca Skirmishers are a noticeable exception, as their Castle Age unique technology, Andean Sling, removes the minimum range for the Skirmishers, making Incan Skirmishers a threat to the Ratha for both ranged and melee modes.
- The Bengalis' siege options are average, and they do not get any significant bonuses for their defenses, so civilizations with stronger siege (such as Mongols, Tatars, Celts, Slavs, and Ethiopians) can still tear down their cities and siege weapons.
- Despite their strong economy and their ability to boom, the Bengalis lack any significant military bonuses, and many of their strengths do not come into play until the Castle Age, putting Bengalis at a significant disadvantage against civilizations with strong rushing capacity (such as Huns, Goths, Aztecs, Dravidians, and Vikings). Due to their lack of strong mobile cavalry units apart from their Light Cavalry, the Bengalis are vulnerable to civilizations that excel in Knight rushes, and are not suited in open maps such as Arabia.
Situational advantages[]
- As mentioned above, the Bengalis are best suited in closed maps (i.e. Arena and Black Forest) where they can defend and boom easily.
- Having access to durable Monks and resistant elephant units, they are well suited for post-Imperial matches.
- The Bengalis are better used in team games over one-on-one matches. Their team bonus allow their allies to have an income of food with their Trade Carts and makes it easier for Bengalis to mass produce their elephants.
- The Bengalis have an advantage in maps with multiple starting Town Centers (i.e. Budapest), as their extra two Villagers spawn on both Town Centers when advancing to the next Age, giving Bengalis four Villagers when advancing to the Feudal Age. Similarly, the Bengalis also have an advantage in Sudden Death matches, as their bonus of receiving two Villagers from their Town Center makes up for the inability to build additional Town Centers.
- As the Mahayana technology reduces Villager population space, the Bengalis have an advantage in high-population game settings. For example, if playing with a population cap of 500, the player can save 20 population space with 200 villagers, allowing Bengalis to produce more elephant units.
- Since the Bengalis receive two free Villagers for each age advancement, they are also a good pick in Wonder Race.
- As their Monks are more durable since update 66692, they are an excellent pick on maps with a large number of Relics on the map (i.e. Wolf Hill).
