Bowman (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the unit in Chronicles, see Bowman (Chronicles).

Bowman
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Archer
Civilization	All civilizations
Age	Tool Age
Training
Trained at	Archery Range
Food	40
Wood	20
Training time	30 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	35
Pierce attack	3
Attack bonus	+2 vs. Light infantry
Reload time	1.4
Attack delay	0.52
Range	5
Projectile speed	8
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Armor class	Archers
Speed	1
Line of Sight	7

“	An early archer shooting at targets from a distance. The Bowman cannot be upgraded, but trains quick and cheap.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Bowman is the most basic ranged unit in Age of Empires and is armed with a bow. They can be trained from the Archery Range from the Tool Age.

Gameplay

Due to their wood-only cost, they are considered a trash unit. Although individually ineffective, they can be spammed in very large numbers and successfully take down swarms of infantry units as advanced as Legionaries.

Bowmen do not have a direct upgrade, but stronger archer units such as Improved Bowmen and Composite Bowmen can be trained in the Bronze Age.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Infantry, Villagers
Weak vs.	Slingers, cavalry, siege units
Upgrades
Attack	Alchemy (+1)
Range	Woodworking (+1) Artisanship (+1) Craftsmanship (+1)
Accuracy	Ballistics (hit moving targets)
Armor	Leather Armor Archers (+2/+0) Scale Armor Archers (+2/+0) Chain Mail Archers (+2/+0)
Creation speed	Conscription (+25%)

Civilization bonuses

• Assyrians: Bowmen fire 11%/22%/33% faster in the Tool/Bronze/Iron Age.
• Hittites: Bowmen have +1 attack.
• Lac Viet: Bowmen are trained 25% faster and have +2 armor.
• Macedonians: Bowmen are four times more resistant to conversion.

Team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Researching technologies that benefit Bowmen is 30% faster.
• Phoenicians: Bowmen have +2 Line of Sight.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Bowmen take 30 seconds to train and have 5 frame delay.
• Assyrians: Bowmen fire 27% faster (but stated 40%).

Definitive Edition

• Bowmen have 26 frame delay.
• Assyrians: Bowmen fire 33% faster (but stated 25%).
• With update 9, Bowmen take 26 seconds to train. With update 38862, they take 30 seconds to train again.

Return of Rome

• Bowmen gain +2 bonus attack vs Light infantry.
• Team bonuses added:
  • Palmyrans: Technologies benefiting Bowmen are researched 30% faster.
  • Phoenicians: Bowmen have +2 Line of Sight.
• Assyrians: With update 93001, Bowmen fire 11%/22%/33% faster in the Tool/Bronze/Iron Age.

History

“	The bow was an important military weapon from the time of the first armies, being easily adapted from hunting animals to warfare. Archers required less discipline and leadership in battle because they were not expected to engage in hand-to-hand combat, a terrifying experience. Bowmen fought from a distance on the battlefield, from behind walls or other cover, and from ambush. They were usually not decisive in battle on the attack because they could not physically take ground from the enemy like infantry could. They acted mainly as defensive troops and as light troops that disrupted enemy formations prior to the decisive moment when the infantry clashed. If barrages of arrows could cause casualties and lower morale of the enemy prior to the clash, friendly infantry had a better chance of breaking the will of the enemy infantry and being victorious.	”
—Age of Empires manual

Gallery

Bowmen in the Definitive Edition.

A group of Bowmen in the original game.

Bowman idle sprite in Return of Rome

Bowman attacking sprite in Return of Rome

Technology tree

		Requires Barracks
	➞		➞			➞
								➞
				Requires Improved Bow	➞
				Requires Wheel