Composite Bowman (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For other uses of the term, see Composite Bowman.

Composite Bowman
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Archer
Civilization	See table
Age	Bronze Age
Training
Trained at	Archery Range
Food	40
Gold	20
Training time	30 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	45
Pierce attack	5
Reload time	1.4
Attack delay	0.52
Range	7
Projectile speed	8
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Armor class	Archer
Speed	1
Line of Sight	9
Upgraded from
Upgraded from	Improved Bowman

“	Upgrade of Improved Bowman. The Composite Bowman has more hit points, attack strength, and range.	”
—Age of Empires description

Composite Bowman is a unit in Age of Empires. It is an upgrade of the Improved Bowman, obtained by researching Composite Bow. They are one of the Bronze Age's most cost-effective units, as they only require half the resources of a Chariot Archer.

Civilizations

Available	Unavailable
Babyloniansx Egyptiansx Lac Vietx+ Macedonians-+ Minoansx+ Palmyrans Persians Phoenicians+ Shang- Yamatox-	Assyrians Carthaginians Choson Greeks Hittites Romans Sumerians

^x indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade the combat statistics of their Composite Bowmen, i.e. gets Alchemy, Craftsmanship and Chain Mail Archers.

^- indicates that the civilization does not get Conscription.

⁺ indicates that the civilization has at least one civilization bonus that benefits the combat strength of their Composite Bowmen.

Gameplay

The Composite Bowman is better than the Improved Bowman. Civilizations that can train the Improved Bowman usually have the ability to upgrade them to a Composite Bowman. Because of this, the Improved Bowman never really makes their full appearance in a random game. Boasting solid overall stats, the Composite Bowman is an excellent ranged choice due to its low cost.

However, in Deathmatch games, civilizations that can train Cataphracts, or powerful siege weapons such as the Heavy Catapult or Helepolis, can make short work of them due to their fragility.

The Minoans have an additional 2 range for their Composite Bowmen, allowing them to strike before other archers and out-range towers. They can therefore continue using them effectively in the Iron Age and in Deathmatches.

Comparison among civilizations

Civilization	Lac Viet	Phoenicians	Babylonians Egyptians	Minoans	Palmyrans Persians	Macedonians	Yamato	Shang
Attack	5+1							5
Range	7+3			7+5	7+2		7+3
Training Time	19.2	24				30
Armor	0+8/0	0+4/0	0+6/0
Extras		+2 Line of Sight				4x conversion resistance	-30% upgrade cost

Further statistics

Strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Infantry, Villagers
Weak vs.	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
Range	Minoans (+1/+2 in the Bronze/Iron Age)
Armor	Lac Viet (+2/0)
Creation speed	Lac Viet (+25%)

Team bonuses
Line of Sight	Phoenicians (+2)

Civilization bonuses

• Macedonians: Composite Bowmen are four times more resistant to conversion.
• Yamato: Upgrading from Improved Bowmen is 30% cheaper.

Team bonuses

• Palmyrans: Researching technologies that benefit Composite Bowmen is 30% faster.

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Composite Bowmen have 5 frame delay.
• Minoans: Composite Bowmen have +2 range.

Definitive Edition

• Composite Bowmen have 26 frame delay.

Return of Rome

• Team bonuses added:
  • Palmyrans: Researching technologies that benefit Composite Bowmen is 30% faster.
  • Phoenicians: Composite Bowmen have +2 Line of Sight.
• Minoans: With update 93001, Composite Bowmen have +1/+2 range in the Bronze/Iron Age.

Heroes

There are three heroes in the game with the appearance of a Composite Bowman:

• Perseus
• Odysseus
• Xu Fu

History

“	The composite bow was developed in Asia and was also known as the oriental or recurved bow. It reached the Mediterranean and Middle East by the beginning of the second millennium BC. It was made of layers of wood glued together rather than a single piece. The composite material was then bent outward at each end to increase tension. The result was a very powerful bow that doubled the effective range of the short bow. Egyptian engravings depicting the Battle of Kadesh show Rameses II and other Egyptian archers using composite bows.	”
—Age of Empires manual

Trivia

• Originally, Composite Bowmen were called Longbowmen. This is also the reason why their bow is longer than a traditional composite bow.
• Before the Definitive Edition, the unit was not able to imitate his pose in the icon. In the latter, he is facing southeast while aiming at an enemy, holding the bow with his right arm and arrow with the left, allowing his back to face the player's view. In-game, when he is asked to face same direction and fire at an enemy unit, it is the other way around, exposing his front view to the player instead.

Gallery

Composite Bowmen in Return of Rome

A Composite Bowman in the Definitive Edition

A group of Composite Bowmen in the original game.

A group of Composite Bowmen attacking an enemy Storage Pit.

Composite Bowman in-game and infobox comparison. Even though the two illustrations show the Composite Bowman firing southeast, his in game counterpart does not imitate his pose on the infobox.

Old 3D model of a Composite Bowman

Technology tree

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