Bracer

Bracer
Availability
Introduced in	Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Civilization	See table
Age	Imperial Age
Research
Researched at	Blacksmith
Prerequisite(s)	Bodkin Arrow
Food	300
Gold	200
Research time	40 seconds
Effect
Arrow-shooting units and buildings +1 attack, range, and Line of Sight

Bracer is a technology in Age of Empires II that can be researched at the Blacksmith once the Imperial Age is reached. Once researched, it increases the range, attack, and Line of Sight of units and buildings that attack with arrows, most notably archers, Castles, and towers, by +1. Town Centers receive +1 attack and Line of Sight, but no range improvement.

Galleys, Longboats, Caravels, Harbors, and Kreposts also benefit from Bracer as well as Skirmishers, Genitours, and Bombard Towers, even though the latter three do not use arrows.

Availability chart

Available	Unavailable
Armenians Aztecs Bengalis Berbers Bohemians Britons Bulgarians Burgundians Burmese Byzantines Chinese Dravidians Ethiopians Georgians Goths Gurjaras Hindustanis Huns Inca Italians Japanese Jurchens Khitans Khmer Koreans Lithuanians Magyars Malay Maya Mongols Poles Portuguese Saracens Shu Sicilians Spanish Tatars Turks Vietnamese Vikings Wei Wu	Celts Cumans Franks Malians Persians Romans Slavs Teutons

Maximum range

Several civilizations also have either bonuses or unique technologies that increase the range of either units or buildings:

• The Armenians have Cilician Fleet, which provides +1 range to their Galleons, and have access to Bracer. As a result, they have the Galleons with the longest range.
• The Britons have a bonus that gives their foot archers +1/+2 range in the Castle/Imperial Age and to Yeomen, which increases the range by one and also benefits Skirmishers, as well as access to Bracer. As a result, they have the foot archers and Skirmishers (the latter tied with the Aztec Skirmisher with Atlatl) with the longest range.
• The Magyars have Recurve Bow, which provides +1 range and attack to their Heavy Cavalry Archers and Kipchaks (with a Cuman ally), and have access to Bracer. As a result, they have the Cavalry Archers with the longest range.
• The Koreans have Eupseong, which gives their towers +2 range, and have access to Bracer. As a result, they have the Keeps with the longest range.
• The Turks have Artillery, which gives their Bombard Towers +2 range, and have access to Bracer. As a result, they have the Bombard Towers with the longest range.
• Despite lacking Bracer, the Teutons have the Castles with the longest range, thanks to Crenellations, which gives their Castles +3 range.

Civilization bonuses

• Bulgarians: Bracer costs -50% food.
• Chinese: Bracer is 15% cheaper.
• Spanish: Bracer costs no gold. Receive 20 gold after researching Bracer.

Team bonuses

• Bulgarians: Researching Bracer is 80% faster.
• Portuguese: Researching Bracer is 25% faster.

Changelog

Definitive Edition

• With update 42848:
  • Bulgarians: Initially, the team bonus makes Bracer research 50% faster. With the update, Bracer is researched 80% faster. Bracer costs -50% food.
  • Portuguese: Bracer is researched 30% faster as a civilization bonus.

Dynasties of India

• Portuguese: With update 73855, Bracer is researched 25% faster as a team bonus.

History

“	The bracer was a hard leather guard worn on an archer's forward hand. This improvement had the duel advantage of supporting the wrist, which would grow quite weary after many shots, and protecting the inside of the arm from the fletching of launched arrows. Without protection, the arm could be cut over the course of many shots and weaken the archer to the point of taking him out of combat. The bracer was an important improvement for archers that made them more effective.	”
—Age of Empires II manual

Trivia

• Most of the civilizations that lack Bracer have access to a very population-efficient heavy cavalry unit, usually the Paladin. The Celts are the exception despite having Paladins, since they lack both Plate Barding Armor and Bloodlines.
  • The Franks and Teutons have bonuses for their Paladins.
  • The Persians have the Savar instead of the Paladin, which is much better than the latter against ranged units. They also have access to the Elite War Elephant.
  • The Slavs have access to the Elite Boyar, which is much better than the Paladin against melee units.
  • The Romans have access to the Elite Centurion, which is very similar to the Paladin, except for the former's ability to boost Legionaries.
  • The Malians have Farimba, which increases the attack of all their cavalry units, but they are the same defensively.
• Most of the civilizations which lack Bracer have bonuses or unique technologies that compensates for the lack of said technology for their defensive structures. The Cumans are the exception to this rule.
  • The Teutons have Crenellations, which further increases the range of Castles, and extra garrison and arrow capacities for their Town Centers and towers.
  • The Slavs have Detinets, which emphasizes more on quantity over quality.
  • The Franks have cheaper Castles, which, like the Slavs, also emphasizes on quantity over quality.
  • The Persians have extra attack and bonus damage resistance (since The Mountain Royals) and double hit points for their Town Centers.
  • The Celts have Stronghold, which increases their firing speed by 33%.