Elephant Archer (Age of Empires)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires. For the unit in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, see Elephant Archer (Age of Empires II).

Elephant Archer
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires
Type	Archer
Civilization	See table
Age	Iron Age
Training
Trained at	Archery Range
Food	180
Gold	60
Training time	50 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	600
Pierce attack	6
Reload time	1.5
Range	7
Projectile speed	8
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Armor class	Archers Mounted units
Speed	0.75
Line of Sight	9

“	Combines the hit points of the War Elephant and the attack strength and range of the Composite Bowman.	”
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition

The Elephant Archer is a ranged cavalry unit in Age of Empires that can be trained at the Archery Range once the Iron Age is reached. It is by far the strongest and most durable cavalry archer type in the game. It combines the hit points of the War Elephant and the attack and range of the Composite Bowman.

Civilizations

Available	Unavailable
Carthaginians+ Egyptiansx Hittitesx+ Lac Vietx+ Persians+ Phoenicians+	Assyrians Babylonians Choson Greeks Macedonians Minoans Palmyrans Romans Shang Sumerians Yamato

^x indicates that the civilization can fully upgrade their Elephant Archers, i.e. gets Craftsmanship and Chain Mail Archers.

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

Gameplay

The Elephant Archer is used for brute strength and durability. It is a slow unit but can take siege fire better than any archer and when in large groups they are very dangerous. They do however cost a lot of food, and can drain resources quickly if too many are built at once. Another disadvantage is because of their slow speed they are extremely susceptible to conversion from Priests and the Elephant Archer's attack is not nearly as good as the Horse Archer's or Heavy Horse Archer's.

It is good to use this unit very sparingly, mostly substituted by faster units which are cheaper and have a better attack, e.g. Horse Archers. The Phoenicians provide cheaper Elephant Archers. Persian Elephant Archers are a bit faster, but lack 1 range and the difference in speed is minimal compared to the Horse Archer anyway. They are practical in some cases, especially if used for defensive purposes, but for the most part their high cost is a major downside and they can be ineffective in many situations. If resources allow it and the opponent is not using Priests or Centurions, then Elephant Archers are good as a backup unit.

Comparison among civilizations

Civilization	Carthaginians	Egyptians	Hittites	Lac Viet	Persians	Phoenicians
Cost	180 food 60 gold	180 food 60 gold	180 food 60 gold	180 food 60 gold	180 food 60 gold	135 food 45 gold
Hit Points	750	600	600	600	600	600
Training Time	37.5 seconds	37.5 seconds	37.5 seconds	25 seconds	37.5 seconds	37.5 seconds
Armor	0+4/0	0+6/0	0+6/0	0+8/0	0+6/0	0+4/0
Attack	6+1	6+1	6+2	6+1	6+1	6+1
Range	7+3	7+3	7+3	7+3	7+2	7+3
Extras					+25% movement speed	+2 Line of Sight

Further statistics

Strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Archers
Weak vs.	Priests, cavalry

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
Hit points	Carthaginians (+25%)
Attack	Hittites (+1)
Armor	Lac Viet (+2/0)
Movement speed	Persians (+25%)
Resource cost	Phoenicians (-25%)
Creation speed	Lac Viet (+25%)

Team bonuses
Line of Sight	Phoenicians (+2)

Changelog

Age of Empires

• Elephant Archers cost 180 food, 60 gold, have 5 attack, and 5 frame delay
• Persian Elephant Archers move 56% faster.

Definitive Edition

• Elephant Archers cost 180 food, 45 gold. With update 46777, they cost 180 food, 60 gold.
• Elephant Archers have 6 attack. With update 38862, they have 5 attack again. With update 46777, they have 6 attack again.
• Elephant Archers have 20 frame delay.
• Persian Elephant Archers initially move 20% faster. With update 38862, they move 25% faster.

Return of Rome

• Upon release, Elephant Archers cost 180 food, 45 gold. With hotfix 85208, they cost 180 food, 60 gold again.
• Palmyrans (team bonus): Technologies benefiting Elephant Archers are researched 30% faster.
• Phoenicians (team bonus): Elephant Archers have +2 Line of Sight.

History

“	Attempting to use elephants in combat posed a number of problems, including the central one of how the elephant would fight and cause casualties. One answer was to place a box on the elephant's back from which archers could shoot. The archers were protected by the box and could fire down into the melee below. That worked only as long as the elephant remained standing and within range of the enemy. In the years following the death of Alexander the Great, many western kings adorned their armies with elephants but they were rarely effective. Armies of ancient India used elephants more successfully for many centuries.	”
—Age of Empires manual

Trivia

• A Carthaginian Elephant Archer, alongside the Carthaginian War Elephant and Armored Elephant, has the highest hit points of any unit in the game, all with 750.
• Before the Definitive Edition, the Elephant units (i.e. the War Elephant line and the Elephant Archer) used an African Savannah Elephant, which is inaccurate, as they have never been successfully used in warfare in any significant capacity. Since the Definitive Edition, the elephants were made smaller to depict the North African forest elephant (also informally called Carthaginian Elephants), which is an extinct subspecies of elephants that was present in North Africa and often utilised for warfare by various South European and North African cultures, most notably by the Carthaginians during the Punic Wars. The Indian empires used the larger Indian Elephants, which were also acquired by their neighbours, such as the Persians.
• In the original game, there was a visual glitch (see gallery) with the unit's moving sprite, where the elephant's tusks are missing.
• Since the Definitive Edition, the model of the Composite Bowman is used for the archer in the howdah. Previously, the man had a unique appearance.

Gallery

A group of Elephant Archers

An Elephant Archer in the Definitive Edition

An Elephant Archer as depicted in the original game

The visual glitch in the original game, the moving Elephant Archer lacking its tusks

Render of the Elephant Archer model

Section of the main menu in Age of Empires

Ptolemaic soldiers atop a now-extinct North African forest Elephant (left) fighting Seleucids atop an Indian one (right) in the Battle of Raphia

Unused icon, possibly for an unlocking technology for the Elephant Archer and War Elephant

Technology tree

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