The Ethiopians are an aggressive civilization with a multitude of ranged options.
Strengths[]
The standard Archer line is the Ethiopians' strong suit, thanks to their faster firing rate and full suite of upgrades. Their siege is even stronger, as they are the first and only civilization to have access to every available Siege Workshop unit and upgrade, and Torsion Engines strongly buffs most of their siege devices.
The basic Ethiopian rank-and-file are not bad, either. Their Spearmen receive the Pikeman upgrade for free upon reaching the Castle Age; Ethiopian Archers fire faster than those of other civilizations and their Blacksmith has all the necessary upgrades towards a strong Archer-based frontline. The Ethiopians' unique Shotel Warriors are blessed with an extremely short training rate and a remarkably high damage output. Players on a team with Ethiopians will receive a +3 boost to their Outposts' Line of Sight and the ability to create them with no stone cost. They also receive an economic power spike every time they reach a new age, with a free 100 food, 100 gold.
Weaknesses[]
While Ethiopians have access to nearly every available cavalry types in the game, they do lack Bloodlines and Plate Barding Armor for conventional Stable units and Parthian Tactics for Cavalry Archers, meaning that their mounted troops will not last very long in a scuffle. Their Militia line is also not very effective in the late game due to the lack of the Champion upgrade, and the Shotel Warrior does not have the durability to compensate. Their economy can also be lackluster without any long-term bonus.
In addition, their late-game naval options are also lackluster as they lack Fast Fire Ships, Elite Cannon Galleons, and Heavy Demolition Ships.
Strategy[]
The Ethiopians have a very weak Dark Age as they do not have any significant economic bonuses except the free 100 food, 100 gold when aging up. As such, the player should focus on booming their economy and play defensively against civilizations with early aggression such as the Aztecs, Huns, Mongols, or Malians. Upon reaching the Feudal Age, Ethiopians players should consider training masses of Spearmen to discourage early game Scout Cavalry aggression. Offensively in the early game, making an Archer rush during Feudal Age is a viable tactic for Ethiopians, and a Men-at-Arms opening is also solid. Making a mad dash towards the Castle Age as an Ethiopian player is very possible with their bonus resources, though doing so will leave the Ethiopians' base open to aggression outside of closed maps.
During the Castle Age, the player should continue to produce their Crossbowmen. Shotel Warriors have value in their high attack and fast training time, though they are weak against both Crossbowmen and Knights, as well as defensive structures due to their low pierce armor.
The Ethiopians can continue to produce their Arbalesters through the late-game, backed by Halberdiers and siege. Alternatively, they can use their siege as the backbone of their late-game army. With the Ethiopians being the only civilization that has access to every upgrade for their siege weapons, combined with the larger blast radius from Torsion Engines, their siege weaponry makes the Ethiopians late-game very threatening. The choice between the two depends on how fast the pace of the game is; an Arbalester-backed army is cheaper and easier to get the prerquisite technologies, while a Siege Onager/Heavy Scorpion-backed army is more powerful. Halberdiers are the go-to frontline buffer unit, as they specialize in countering cavalry. Bombard Cannons and Siege Rams are both great at base-razing, with the former also assisting against enemy siege and outranging Castles, while the latter is much cheaper and faster and can aid against enemy archers. Torsion Engines is a very powerful buff, though it is not recommended if siege is playing a supporting role thanks to its high cost.
Overall, the Ethiopians are best suited for early aggression, pressure, and guerrilla tactics, as the frailty of their frontline means that they do not always fare well in pitched battles or against civilizations with a more well-rounded late-game army.
Changes in Dynasties of India[]
Update 81058 changed their team bonus where the Line of Sight only applies to their Outposts, but they no longer cost stone. This allows the Ethiopians to create more Outposts than they normally would and grants them a large amount of map vision. The Royal Heirs Castle Age unique technology was changed; their Shotel Warriors and Camel Riders receive -3 damage from mounted units, further enhancing their anti-cavalry capacity, since they also get the Pikeman upgrade for free, which help compensate for the lack of Bloodlines for the latter and cover the Ethiopian vulnerability against cavalry archer civilizations. However, their Heavy Camel Rider will become less useful in the late-game, as they also lack Plate Barding Armor. Even without Bloodlines and Plate Barding Armor, their Heavy Camel Riders will still have some late-game utility against cavalry civilizations and can trade one-on-one against even Frank and Teutonic Paladin. Their Elite Shotel Warriors will also have more use in "trash war" scenarios against all three types of "trash units", which helps compensate for their lackluster Hussars in the late-game.
Alliances[]
The versatility of the Ethiopians in team games allows to them to play supportively, defensively or more aggressively than in free-for-all games. The Ethiopians are best when played as from the flank position, where they can go aggressively into their archers. The Ethiopians pair best with cavalry civilizations to cover their poor cavalry. The Ethiopian team bonus works well for any civilization, providing great map vision.
Celts: The Celts make Ethiopian siege train faster, and the Ethiopians grant extra vison to the Celts.
Goths: Allying with the Goths is very beneficial as it allows the Ethiopians to build Halberdiers faster and supplement each other's weaknesses (Goths have a very strong frontline, but a weaker siege line and Ethiopians fare the other way around).
Khmer: Southeast Asian allies offer Battle Elephants as meatshields to screen Ethiopian foot units and siege weapons. Amongst them, Khmer allies deliver range boost to the Ethiopians' already powerful Scorpions.- Koreans: The Koreans aid the Ethiopians' Siege Onagers, while the Ethiopians make it easier for the Koreans to keep track of enemy positioning.
- Saracens: The anti-building damage makes Ethiopian Arbalesters more devastating. Saracen Camels also pair very well with Ethiopian range.
- Slavs: Their population room bonus can be great for the Ethiopians aggression, and the Slavs specialize in melee while the Ethiopians specialize in range.
- Teutons: They offer great melee options to support the Ethiopians ranged options, and a conversion resistance to help their Siege Onagers against Monks.
Compared advantages and disadvantages[]
Advantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Ethiopians have some of the strongest archers in the game, thanks to their faster-firing archers, which allows the Ethiopians to have a significant advantage against most infantry based civilizations.
- Being a civilization with good early economy and capable of performing early archer rushes, they have an advantage against civilizations with bad early game, especially in open maps like Arabia if starting in the Dark Age.
- The Ethiopians get the free Pikeman upgrade once they advance into the Castle Age, and their Outposts and towers have extra Line of Sight. This makes the Ethiopians less vulnerable to early-game rushes and civilizations with strong Knight rushes.
- The Ethiopians are the only civilization in the game that has access to all technologies at the Siege Workshop. Combined with their Torsion Engines technology, this puts the Ethiopians a significant advantage at taking down enemy defenses. Onagers with larger blast radius can also be unpleasant against civilizations with good archers.
- Their unique unit, the Shotel Warrior, is a good raiding unit, as the unit's high attack and mobility allows them to easily pick off enemy Villagers. Combined with the Arson technology and their fast training time, the Shotel Warrior can be a very devastating unit, and large number of Shotel Warriors can easily destroy an enemy Town Center in seconds, making them incredibly devastating against civilizations with bad early-game or lackluster defenses.
Disadvantages vs. other civilizations[]
- Despite the Ethiopians having some of the strongest siege weapons in the game and some of the best archers, the Ethiopian frontline army is incredibly frail, as the Ethiopians lack key upgrades for their cavalry units (lacking Bloodlines and Plate Barding Armor) and the Champion upgrade. As such, civilizations with strong cavalry units (such as the Byzantine Cataphract, Persian Savar, or the Sicilian Cavalier) can overwhelm the Ethiopian frontline.
- While the Shotel Warrior is an incredibly strong raiding unit, it is incredibly frail, with a durability similar to a Man-at-Arms. As such, civilizations with strong defenses can make it harder for the Ethiopian Shotel Warriors to raid easily. Likewise, civilizations with strong infantry units, strong Knights, or strong Hand Cannoneers can easily take out hordes of Shotel Warriors. Elephant units can easily defeat Shotels due to their high hit points and strong attack with Area Damage. Due to their heavy melee armor, Slavic Boyars and Teutonic Knights are also good counters against Shotel Warriors.
- As their frontline lacks durability, the Ethiopians can struggle against civilizations with exceptionally bulky ranged units, such as the Elephant Archer. Therefore, civilizations like the Dravidians, Bengalis, and Gurjaras can be very difficult for the Ethiopians to deal with.
- On water maps, the Ethiopian navy is very lackluster, as they lack key important techs such as Fast Fire Ships, Elite Cannon Galleons, and Heavy Demolition Ships. As such, civilizations with inherently strong naval bonuses will have a significant advantage over the Ethiopians on water maps.
Situational advantages[]
- The Ethiopians are arguably one of the strongest civilizations in King of the Hill maps, as they are able to secure the Monument thanks to their fast-producing Shotel Warriors, their strong siege line, and their free Pikeman upgrade.
- In closed maps like Black Forest, the Ethiopians have a distinct advantage, thanks to their strong siege weapons with Torsion Engines and their fast-firing archers that will allow them to secure narrow checkpoints and destroy enemy defenses. They are also able to make wider paths through the forest with their Siege Onagers (for other civilizations those paths are narrower, since the blast radius of the Ethiopian Onagers is improved by Torsion Engines).
- In enclosed maps like Fortress, Arena, and Hill Fort, their faster firing archers give Ethiopians an advantage, as the already placed Walls allow their archers to easily defend their town (and in the case with Fortress, the extra Line of Sight for their Towers is more helpful, since the Towers are already placed in Fortress).
- The Ethiopians are also incredibly strong in Deathmatch maps, as starting with large number of resources means the Ethiopians can easily pump out their Shotel Warriors and siege weapons.
- As in Regicide game mode, each player starts with a Castle, the Ethiopians may gain an edge defending their initial location in the Castle and Imperial Age, thanks to the creation speed of the Shotel Warrior.
