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{{for|unit in [[Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten]]|the unit in [[Age of Empires]]|Elephant Archer (Age of Empires)}} |
{{for|unit in [[Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten]]|the unit in [[Age of Empires]]|Elephant Archer (Age of Empires)}} |
||
| + | {{Infobox unit |
||
| − | {{AoEIIUnits Test |
||
| − | |Name=Elephant Archer |
+ | |Name = Elephant Archer |
| − | |Image=[[File:ElephantArcherIcon. |
+ | |Image =<tabber>Definitive= [[File:ElephantArcherIcon-DE.png|thumb|left|45px]]|-|Original= [[File:ElephantArcherIcon.jpg|thumb|left]] |
| + | </tabber> |
||
| − | |Intro=[[File:ForgottenIcon.png]] ''[[Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten|The Forgotten]]'' |
||
| − | | |
+ | |Intro = [[File:ForgottenIcon.png]] ''[[Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten|The Forgotten]]'' |
| − | | |
+ | |Type = [[Cavalry units (Age of Empires II)|Cavalry]]<br>[[Archer units (Age of Empires II)|Archer]] |
| − | | |
+ | |Civilization = [[File:ForgottenIcon.png]] [[Indians (Age of Empires II)|Indians]] |
| − | | |
+ | |Age = [[File:CastleageDE.png|20px]] [[Castle Age]] |
| − | | |
+ | |Building = [[File:Castle-logo.jpg|22px]] [[Castle (Age of Empires II)|Castle]] |
| + | |UpTo = [[File:ElephantArcherIcon.jpg|22px]] '''Elite Elephant Archer''' |
||
| − | |UpCost=[[File:Elite-unique-research.jpg|22px]] {{tt|{{resources|food= |
+ | |UpCost = [[File:Elite-unique-research.jpg|22px]] {{tt|{{resources|food = 1,000}}|1,200 in The Forgotten}}, {{resources|gold = 800}} |
| − | |UpTime=60 |
||
| − | | |
+ | |UpTime = 60 seconds |
| + | |TrainTime = 25 seconds |
||
| − | |Food={{tt|100|110 in the Forgotten}} |
+ | |Food = {{tt|100|110 in the Forgotten}} |
| − | |Gold=80 |
||
| + | |Gold = {{tt|70|80 prior to update 37650 (Definitive Edition only)}} |
||
| − | |HP={{tt|280|250 in The Forgotten}}, {{tt|330|350 in The Forgotten}} <small>(Elite)</small> |
||
| − | | |
+ | |HP = {{tt|280|250 in The Forgotten}}, {{tt|330|350 in The Forgotten}} <small>(Elite)</small> |
| − | | |
+ | |Attack = 6, 7 <small>(Elite)</small> [[Attack#Age of Empires II|pierce]] |
| + | |AttackBonus = +3, +4 <small>(Elite)</small> vs [[Armor class: Stone defense|Stone defense]]<br>+3, +4 <small>(Elite)</small> vs [[Armor class: Standard building|Standard building]] |
||
| − | |ROF=2.5 |
||
| + | |ROF = {{tt|2.0|2.5 before update 37650 (Definitive Edition only)}} |
||
| − | |LOS=7 |
||
| − | | |
+ | |LOS = 7 |
| − | | |
+ | |FD = 4 |
| + | |Range = 4 |
||
| − | |Accuracy=100% |
+ | |Accuracy = 100% |
| − | |Armor=0 |
+ | |Armor = 0 |
| − | | |
+ | |PierceArmor = {{tt|3|4 in The Forgotten}} |
| − | |Class=[[Armor class: |
+ | |Class = [[Armor class: Cavalry archer|Cavalry archer]] {{tt|(-2)|since patch 5.8}}<br>[[Armor class: Archer|Archer]]{{tt|*|-2 before patch 5.8}}<br>[[Armor class: Cavalry|Cavalry]]<br>[[Armor class: War elephant|War elephant]]<br>[[Armor class: Unique unit|Unique unit]] |
| − | |Speed=0.8 |
+ | |Speed = 0.8 |
| − | |PSpeed=7 |
+ | |PSpeed = 7 |
| ⚫ | |||
| + | }} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
The '''Elephant Archer''' is the first [[Unique unit (Age of Empires II)|unique unit]] of the [[Indians (Age of Empires II)|Indians]] in ''[[Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten]]''. It is a heavy [[Cavalry units (Age of Empires II)|cavalry]] [[Archer units (Age of Empires II)|archer]] with low speed but very high [[hit points]]. |
The '''Elephant Archer''' is the first [[Unique unit (Age of Empires II)|unique unit]] of the [[Indians (Age of Empires II)|Indians]] in ''[[Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten]]''. It is a heavy [[Cavalry units (Age of Empires II)|cavalry]] [[Archer units (Age of Empires II)|archer]] with low speed but very high [[hit points]]. |
||
| Line 35: | Line 37: | ||
Elephant Archers have high HP and [[pierce armor]], and deal the same amount of damage as [[Cavalry Archer (Age of Empires II)|Cavalry Archers]], but with a lower [[Rate of Fire]]. Like all Elephants, Elephant Archers move quite slowly, even more so than foot archers, but they are still faster than [[War Elephant (Age of Empires II)|War Elephants]]. |
Elephant Archers have high HP and [[pierce armor]], and deal the same amount of damage as [[Cavalry Archer (Age of Empires II)|Cavalry Archers]], but with a lower [[Rate of Fire]]. Like all Elephants, Elephant Archers move quite slowly, even more so than foot archers, but they are still faster than [[War Elephant (Age of Empires II)|War Elephants]]. |
||
| − | Elephant Archers have more HP than any other Archer in the game, including the [[War Wagon (Age of Empires II)|War Wagon]]. They pack the durability of a War Elephant into a powerful package with the range and attack of a [[Cavalry Archer (Age of Empires II)|Cavalry Archer]]. Their extremely high HP and pierce armor makes the Elephant Archer function much like a mobile [[ |
+ | Elephant Archers have more HP than any other Archer in the game, including the [[War Wagon (Age of Empires II)|War Wagon]]. They pack the durability of a War Elephant into a powerful package with the range and attack of a [[Cavalry Archer (Age of Empires II)|Cavalry Archer]]. Their extremely high HP and pierce armor makes the Elephant Archer function much like a mobile [[tower]] with the advantage that they can be healed by [[Monk (Age of Empires II)|Monks]]. |
| − | Because of their high pierce armor, they are also good as an anti-archer unit. However, as [[Armor |
+ | Because of their high pierce armor, they are also good as an anti-archer unit. However, as [[Armor class: War elephant|elephants]] they are extremely vulnerable to [[Pikeman (Age of Empires II)|Pikemen]]. Unlike most other archers, they are quite good at destroying [[Buildings (Age of Empires II)|buildings]]. |
Even though Elephant Archers fare far better against enemy Monks than Persian War Elephants do due to their range, they still struggle against Monks. Like the Persians, the Indians also lack [[Heresy]], a circumstance that furthers that issue. |
Even though Elephant Archers fare far better against enemy Monks than Persian War Elephants do due to their range, they still struggle against Monks. Like the Persians, the Indians also lack [[Heresy]], a circumstance that furthers that issue. |
||
While Elephant Archers might look strong at first glance, they are a highly situational and rarely used unit (in one on one games). This has three main reasons: |
While Elephant Archers might look strong at first glance, they are a highly situational and rarely used unit (in one on one games). This has three main reasons: |
||
| − | *They are hard to mass, due to their high cost and the fact that they can only be trained at the Castle, and [[Archer units (Age of Empires II)|archers]] are at their best in large numbers. |
+ | * They are hard to mass, due to their high cost and the fact that they can only be trained at the Castle, and [[Archer units (Age of Empires II)|archers]] are at their best in large numbers. |
| − | *Their low speed takes away the main advantage of other cavalry archers, being able to outmaneuver slower units like [[Infantry units (Age of Empires II)|infantry]] or [[Elite Skirmisher]]s. Once [[Halberdier (Age of Empires II)|Halberdiers]] can come close they shred Elephant Archers, and the slow Elephant has little means to escape. |
+ | * Their low speed takes away the main advantage of other cavalry archers, being able to outmaneuver slower units like [[Infantry units (Age of Empires II)|infantry]] or [[Elite Skirmisher]]s. Once [[Halberdier (Age of Empires II)|Halberdiers]] can come close they shred Elephant Archers, and the slow Elephant has little means to escape. |
| − | *They have many vulnerabilities, due to them being in a total of five [[armor class]]es, the most of any unit in the game. This gives the opponent a wide array of units they can use against the Elephant Archer, depending on their civilization's strengths and overall game plan. |
+ | * They have many vulnerabilities, due to them being in a total of five [[armor class]]es, the most of any unit in the game. This gives the opponent a wide array of units they can use against the Elephant Archer, depending on their civilization's strengths and overall game plan. |
| + | |||
| + | This combination of factors makes them function better in tandem with other units, to balance their relative strengths and weaknesses. While alone, their short range and weakness to the Spearman line make them relatively weak, when combined with other archer units, their short range automatically places them in the ideal position to tank enemy damage, while the other archer units or Hand Cannoneers quickly eliminate any threatening infantry. In return, their extremely high health and pierce armor make them a very effective defensive unit, absorbing damage that would otherwise quickly kill their companion archer units. |
||
| + | |||
| + | Even a very small number of Elephant Archers can dramatically increase the durability of a group of archers at a relatively low cost in terms of damage and resources. For example, a group of 40 Hand Cannoneers is easily defeated by a group of 40 Elite Skirmishers, but a group of 34 Hand Cannoneers and 3 Elite Elephant Archers will instead win the same fight for the same cost. In this manner, they function similarly to Battering Rams, with the advantage of being cheaper, faster, more resistant to most types of melee damage, and healable by Monks or in Castles. |
||
| + | |||
| + | However, even in their ideal scenario, a player should not expect to use more than a ratio of 1 Elephant Archer to 10 other archers. |
||
== Further statistics == |
== Further statistics == |
||
As Elephant Archers are unique to the Indians, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table: |
As Elephant Archers are unique to the Indians, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table: |
||
| − | {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:89%; width:500px; |
+ | {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:89%; width:500px; width: 100%;left" align="left" |
|- |
|- |
||
| − | ! colspan="2" style=" |
+ | ! colspan="2" style="color:black; font-size:110%; padding:1em;" | Unit strengths and weaknesses |
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Strong vs.''' |
|'''Strong vs.''' |
||
| Line 57: | Line 65: | ||
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Weak vs.''' |
|'''Weak vs.''' |
||
| − | |[[Pikeman (Age of Empires II)|Pikemen]], [[Kamayuk]]s, [[Berserk]]s, [[Genoese Crossbowman|Genoese Crossbowmen]], [[Huskarl (Age of Empires II)|Huskarls]], [[Mameluke (Age of Empires II)|Mamelukes]], [[Camel]] |
+ | |[[Pikeman (Age of Empires II)|Pikemen]], [[Kamayuk]]s, [[Berserk]]s, [[Genoese Crossbowman|Genoese Crossbowmen]], [[Huskarl (Age of Empires II)|Huskarls]], [[Mameluke (Age of Empires II)|Mamelukes]], [[Camel Rider (Age of Empires II)|Camel Riders]], [[Skirmisher (Age of Empires II)|Skirmishers]], [[Eagle Warrior]]s, [[Samurai (Age of Empires II)|Samurai]], [[Monk (Age of Empires II)|Monks]] |
|- |
|- |
||
| − | ! colspan="2" style=" |
+ | ! colspan="2" style="color:black; font-size:110%; padding:1em;" | Upgrades |
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Hit points''' |
|'''Hit points''' |
||
| Line 65: | Line 73: | ||
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Attack''' |
|'''Attack''' |
||
| − | |{{2icons|Fletching}} (+1)<br>{{2icons|Bodkin Arrow}} (+1)<br>{{2icons|Bracer}} (+1)<br>{{2icons|Chemistry}} (+1)<br>{{2icons|Parthian Tactics}} (+2 attack against [[Armor class: Spearman|Spearmen]]) |
+ | |{{2icons|Fletching}} (+1)<br />{{2icons|Bodkin Arrow}} (+1)<br />{{2icons|Bracer}} (+1)<br />{{2icons|Chemistry}} (+1)<br />{{2icons|Parthian Tactics}} (+2 attack against [[Armor class: Spearman|Spearmen]]) |
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Range''' |
|'''Range''' |
||
| − | |{{2icons|Fletching}} (+1)<br>{{2icons|Bodkin Arrow}} (+1)<br>{{2icons|Bracer}} (+1) |
+ | |{{2icons|Fletching}} (+1)<br />{{2icons|Bodkin Arrow}} (+1)<br />{{2icons|Bracer}} (+1) |
|- |
|- |
||
| − | |'''Firing |
+ | |'''Firing rate''' |
|{{2icons|Thumb Ring}} (+18%) |
|{{2icons|Thumb Ring}} (+18%) |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Line 77: | Line 85: | ||
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Armor''' |
|'''Armor''' |
||
| − | |{{2icons|Padded Archer Armor}} (+1/+1)<br>{{2icons|Leather Archer Armor}} (+1/+1)<br>{{2icons|Ring Archer Armor}} (+1/+2)<br>{{2icons|Parthian Tactics}} (+1/+2) |
+ | |{{2icons|Padded Archer Armor}} (+1/+1)<br />{{2icons|Leather Archer Armor}} (+1/+1)<br />{{2icons|Ring Archer Armor}} (+1/+2)<br />{{2icons|Parthian Tactics}} (+1/+2) |
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Speed''' |
|'''Speed''' |
||
| Line 89: | Line 97: | ||
|- |
|- |
||
|'''Upgrades''' |
|'''Upgrades''' |
||
| − | | |
+ | |[[File:Elite-unique-research.jpg|22px]] Elite Elephant Archer |
|} |
|} |
||
| + | |||
{{-}} |
{{-}} |
||
== Team bonuses == |
== Team bonuses == |
||
| − | *A team containing [[Berbers]]: With [[Kasbah]] researched, Elephant Archers are created and upgraded 25% faster, and [[Conscription]] is researched 25% faster. |
+ | * A team containing [[Berbers]]: With [[Kasbah]] researched, Elephant Archers are created and upgraded 25% faster, and [[Conscription]] is researched 25% faster. |
| − | *A team containing [[Britons]]: Researching [[Thumb Ring]] and [[Parthian Tactics]] is 20% faster. |
+ | * A team containing [[Britons]]: Researching [[Thumb Ring]] and [[Parthian Tactics]] is 20% faster. |
| − | *A team containing [[Huns]]: Researching [[Bloodlines]] and [[Husbandry (Age of Empires II)|Husbandry]] is 20% faster. |
+ | * A team containing [[Huns]]: Researching [[Bloodlines]] and [[Husbandry (Age of Empires II)|Husbandry]] is 20% faster. |
| − | *A team containing [[Malians]]: Researching [[Chemistry]] and [[Ballistics (Age of Empires II)|Ballistics]] is 80% faster. |
+ | * A team containing [[Malians]]: Researching [[Chemistry]] and [[Ballistics (Age of Empires II)|Ballistics]] is 80% faster. |
| − | *A team containing [[Teutons]]: Elephant Archers are more resistant to [[conversion]]. |
+ | * A team containing [[Teutons]]: Elephant Archers are more resistant to [[conversion]]. |
== Changelog == |
== Changelog == |
||
=== ''The Forgotten'' === |
=== ''The Forgotten'' === |
||
| − | *Elephant Archers cost 110F/80G. |
+ | * Elephant Archers cost 110F/80G. |
| − | *The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer costs 1200F/800G. |
+ | * The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer costs 1200F/800G. |
| − | *Elephant Archers have 250 HP (350 for Elite). |
+ | * Elephant Archers have 250 HP (350 for Elite). |
| − | *Elephant Archers have 4 pierce armor. |
+ | * Elephant Archers have 4 pierce armor. |
| + | * Elephant Archers have -2 [[Armor class: Archer|archer]] and 0 [[Armor class: Cavalry archer|cavalry archer]] armor. |
||
| + | * Elephant Archers have a reload time of 2.5. |
||
| + | * Indians do not get [[Ring Archer Armor]]. |
||
=== ''The African Kingdoms'' === |
=== ''The African Kingdoms'' === |
||
| − | *Elephant Archers now cost 100F/80G. |
+ | * Elephant Archers now cost 100F/80G. |
| − | *The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer now costs 1000F/800G. |
+ | * The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer now costs 1000F/800G. |
| − | *Elephant Archers now have 280 HP (330 for Elite). |
+ | * Elephant Archers now have 280 HP (330 for Elite). |
| − | *Elephant Archers now have 3 pierce armor. |
+ | * Elephant Archers now have 3 pierce armor. |
| − | *[[Indians (Age of Empires II)|Indians]]: Get [[Ring Archer Armor]]. |
+ | * [[Indians (Age of Empires II)|Indians]]: Get [[Ring Archer Armor]]. |
| + | |||
| + | === ''Rise of the Rajas'' === |
||
| + | * With patch 5.8, Elephant Archers now have 0 [[Armor class: Archer|archer]] and -2 [[Armor class: Cavalry archer|cavalry archer]] armor. |
||
| + | |||
| + | === ''Definitive Edition'' === |
||
| + | * With [[update 37650]], Elephant Archers now cost 100F/70G and their reload time is reduced to 2.0 |
||
== Trivia == |
== Trivia == |
||
* The Elephant Archer has the most [[armor class]]es of any unit in the game, at five. |
* The Elephant Archer has the most [[armor class]]es of any unit in the game, at five. |
||
| − | *In the mod version ''Age of Empires II: The Forgotten Empires'' and the retail version ''Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten'', up to patch 3.4, the Elephant Archer was represented by an ''Age of Empires'' [[Composite Bowman]] mounted atop a War Elephant. The Elephant Archer got redesigned in patch 3.5. Further redesigns were made in patch 3.6. |
+ | * In the mod version ''Age of Empires II: The Forgotten Empires'' and the retail version ''Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten'', up to patch 3.4, the Elephant Archer was represented by an ''Age of Empires'' [[Composite Bowman]] mounted atop a War Elephant. The Elephant Archer got redesigned in patch 3.5. Further redesigns were made in patch 3.6. |
| + | * Since patch 3.6, Elephant Archers have a wheel-like symbol at their sides. The symbol is known as ''Dharmachakra'' (lit: wheel of law) and symbolizes the spiritual change in Buddhism.<ref>http://www.religionfacts.com/dharma-wheel</ref> |
||
| + | * If one looks closely, every time the Elephant Archer attacks, the arrows will launch from the elephant's head instead from the rider's bow |
||
== History == |
== History == |
||
| − | + | People from the Pre-Indic Indus civilization were the first to tame elephants, roughly around 4,000 years ago in Indus valley for agricultural purpose. Later on, Indic-speaking newcomers from the steppes introduced horses and familiarized themselves with tame elephants. The first military application of elephants dates from around 1100 BC and is mentioned in several Sanskrit hymns. War elephants were used either to charge and trample enemy troops directly, or to carry archers and spear throwers who can attack from the top. Elephant's sheer height and mass offered considerable protection for their riders.<ref>http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/LX/en/WarElephant.html</ref> |
|
== Gallery == |
== Gallery == |
||
| Line 127: | Line 147: | ||
AOF36_Elephant_Archer.jpg|Elephant Archers in patch 3.6 |
AOF36_Elephant_Archer.jpg|Elephant Archers in patch 3.6 |
||
Indians new architecture.PNG|Screenshot of the Indians fighting the [[Malians]] and [[Khmer]]. An Elephant Archer can be seen on the right of the image. |
Indians new architecture.PNG|Screenshot of the Indians fighting the [[Malians]] and [[Khmer]]. An Elephant Archer can be seen on the right of the image. |
||
| − | Indians preview.png|Official preview for the Indians when they were under development. Elephant Archers can be seen in their original appearance, fighting alongside [[Imperial Camel]]s in their original appearance. |
+ | Indians preview.png|Official preview for the Indians when they were under development. Elephant Archers can be seen in their original appearance, fighting alongside [[Imperial Camel Rider]]s in their original appearance. |
| + | rVUBGaR.png|An Elephant Archer alongside of a Hand Cannoner in the ''[[Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition|Definitive Edition]]'' |
||
| + | Indios2.jpg|Elephant Archer in the ''HD Edition'' and ''Definitive Edition'' |
||
</gallery> |
</gallery> |
||
== References == |
== References == |
||
| + | {{reflist}} |
||
| − | <references /> |
||
| − | |||
{{Units List (Age of Empires II)}} |
{{Units List (Age of Empires II)}} |
||
[[Category:Age of Empires II]] |
[[Category:Age of Empires II]] |
||
[[Category:Castle Age]] |
[[Category:Castle Age]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Cavalry |
+ | [[Category:Cavalry archers]] |
| − | [[Category:War |
+ | [[Category:War elephants]] |
| − | [[Category: |
+ | [[Category:Unique units]] |
| − | [[Category:Unique Units]] |
||
[[Category:The Forgotten]] |
[[Category:The Forgotten]] |
||
Revision as of 15:26, 28 May 2020
 |
This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. For the unit in Age of Empires, see Elephant Archer (Age of Empires). |
| “ | Indian unique unit. Heavy mounted archer. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Elephant Archer is the first unique unit of the Indians in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. It is a heavy cavalry archer with low speed but very high hit points.
Elephant Archers can be upgraded to Elite Elephant Archers in the Imperial Age.
Tactics
Elephant Archers have high HP and pierce armor, and deal the same amount of damage as Cavalry Archers, but with a lower Rate of Fire. Like all Elephants, Elephant Archers move quite slowly, even more so than foot archers, but they are still faster than War Elephants.
Elephant Archers have more HP than any other Archer in the game, including the War Wagon. They pack the durability of a War Elephant into a powerful package with the range and attack of a Cavalry Archer. Their extremely high HP and pierce armor makes the Elephant Archer function much like a mobile tower with the advantage that they can be healed by Monks.
Because of their high pierce armor, they are also good as an anti-archer unit. However, as elephants they are extremely vulnerable to Pikemen. Unlike most other archers, they are quite good at destroying buildings.
Even though Elephant Archers fare far better against enemy Monks than Persian War Elephants do due to their range, they still struggle against Monks. Like the Persians, the Indians also lack Heresy, a circumstance that furthers that issue.
While Elephant Archers might look strong at first glance, they are a highly situational and rarely used unit (in one on one games). This has three main reasons:
- They are hard to mass, due to their high cost and the fact that they can only be trained at the Castle, and archers are at their best in large numbers.
- Their low speed takes away the main advantage of other cavalry archers, being able to outmaneuver slower units like infantry or Elite Skirmishers. Once Halberdiers can come close they shred Elephant Archers, and the slow Elephant has little means to escape.
- They have many vulnerabilities, due to them being in a total of five armor classes, the most of any unit in the game. This gives the opponent a wide array of units they can use against the Elephant Archer, depending on their civilization's strengths and overall game plan.
This combination of factors makes them function better in tandem with other units, to balance their relative strengths and weaknesses. While alone, their short range and weakness to the Spearman line make them relatively weak, when combined with other archer units, their short range automatically places them in the ideal position to tank enemy damage, while the other archer units or Hand Cannoneers quickly eliminate any threatening infantry. In return, their extremely high health and pierce armor make them a very effective defensive unit, absorbing damage that would otherwise quickly kill their companion archer units.
Even a very small number of Elephant Archers can dramatically increase the durability of a group of archers at a relatively low cost in terms of damage and resources. For example, a group of 40 Hand Cannoneers is easily defeated by a group of 40 Elite Skirmishers, but a group of 34 Hand Cannoneers and 3 Elite Elephant Archers will instead win the same fight for the same cost. In this manner, they function similarly to Battering Rams, with the advantage of being cheaper, faster, more resistant to most types of melee damage, and healable by Monks or in Castles.
However, even in their ideal scenario, a player should not expect to use more than a ratio of 1 Elephant Archer to 10 other archers.
Further statistics
As Elephant Archers are unique to the Indians, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Slow non-ranged units, archers, buildings |
| Weak vs. | Pikemen, Kamayuks, Berserks, Genoese Crossbowmen, Huskarls, Mamelukes, Camel Riders, Skirmishers, Eagle Warriors, Samurai, Monks |
| Upgrades | |
| Hit points |  Bloodlines (+20)
|
| Attack |  Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Chemistry (+1) Parthian Tactics (+2 attack against Spearmen)
|
| Range | Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1)
|
| Firing rate |  Thumb Ring (+18%)
|
| Accuracy |  Ballistics (hit moving targets)
|
| Armor |  Padded Archer Armor (+1/+1) Leather Archer Armor (+1/+1) Ring Archer Armor (+1/+2) Parthian Tactics (+1/+2)
|
| Speed |  Husbandry (+10%)
|
| Conversion defense |  Faith
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%)
|
| Upgrades |  Elite Elephant Archer
|
Team bonuses
- A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, Elephant Archers are created and upgraded 25% faster, and Conscription is researched 25% faster.
- A team containing Britons: Researching Thumb Ring and Parthian Tactics is 20% faster.
- A team containing Huns: Researching Bloodlines and Husbandry is 20% faster.
- A team containing Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
- A team containing Teutons: Elephant Archers are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog
The Forgotten
- Elephant Archers cost 110F/80G.
- The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer costs 1200F/800G.
- Elephant Archers have 250 HP (350 for Elite).
- Elephant Archers have 4 pierce armor.
- Elephant Archers have -2 archer and 0 cavalry archer armor.
- Elephant Archers have a reload time of 2.5.
- Indians do not get Ring Archer Armor.
The African Kingdoms
- Elephant Archers now cost 100F/80G.
- The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer now costs 1000F/800G.
- Elephant Archers now have 280 HP (330 for Elite).
- Elephant Archers now have 3 pierce armor.
- Indians: Get Ring Archer Armor.
Rise of the Rajas
- With patch 5.8, Elephant Archers now have 0 archer and -2 cavalry archer armor.
Definitive Edition
- With update 37650, Elephant Archers now cost 100F/70G and their reload time is reduced to 2.0
Trivia
- The Elephant Archer has the most armor classes of any unit in the game, at five.
- In the mod version Age of Empires II: The Forgotten Empires and the retail version Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, up to patch 3.4, the Elephant Archer was represented by an Age of Empires Composite Bowman mounted atop a War Elephant. The Elephant Archer got redesigned in patch 3.5. Further redesigns were made in patch 3.6.
- Since patch 3.6, Elephant Archers have a wheel-like symbol at their sides. The symbol is known as Dharmachakra (lit: wheel of law) and symbolizes the spiritual change in Buddhism.[1]
- If one looks closely, every time the Elephant Archer attacks, the arrows will launch from the elephant's head instead from the rider's bow
History
People from the Pre-Indic Indus civilization were the first to tame elephants, roughly around 4,000 years ago in Indus valley for agricultural purpose. Later on, Indic-speaking newcomers from the steppes introduced horses and familiarized themselves with tame elephants. The first military application of elephants dates from around 1100 BC and is mentioned in several Sanskrit hymns. War elephants were used either to charge and trample enemy troops directly, or to carry archers and spear throwers who can attack from the top. Elephant's sheer height and mass offered considerable protection for their riders.[2]
Gallery
Elephant Archers in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, till patch 3.4
Elephant Archers in patch 3.5
Elephant Archers in patch 3.6
Official preview for the Indians when they were under development. Elephant Archers can be seen in their original appearance, fighting alongside Imperial Camel Riders in their original appearance.
An Elephant Archer alongside of a Hand Cannoner in the Definitive Edition
Elephant Archer in the HD Edition and Definitive Edition
