ā | A simple warrior armed with a spiked club. | ā |
—In-game description in the Definitive Edition |
The Clubman is an infantry unit in Age of Empires that can be trained at the Barracks. It is the first and most basic infantry unit and the only military unit trainable in the Stone Age. Researching Battle Axe upgrades Clubmen to Axemen.
Clubmen are available to all civilizations.
Gameplay[]
The only Stone Age units capable of attack are the Clubman and Villager. The Clubman is far more durable and slightly faster, so can be used to explore the map with less to fear from predators such as Lions and Crocodiles.
En masse, they can also be used for very early raids, being available before walls, towers, and ranged troops. Individual Clubmen accomplish little when marched towards enemy Town Centers, as they are outmatched by a pair of Villagers, but a mob of Clubmen can massively disrupt the enemy's economy. Late-Stone-Age players attempting to boom should prevent enemy Clubmen from reaching their Villagers and Town Center by blocking off routes with screens of Houses or other buildings.
When enemies reach the Tool Age, the Clubman will quickly become outclassed by the more maneuverable and durable Scout, ranged Bowman, and naval Scout Ship, and struggle to break through the first dedicated walls and towers. During this age, the Clubman can be upgraded to the far more powerful Axeman, which should be done as soon as possible if the player plans an infantry focus at this point in the game. By the Bronze Age, however, the entire line will be obsolete, with their only advantage versus the Short Swordsman being that they cost no gold (and in Return of Rome, the Axeman deals slightly more damage to mounted units).
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Villagers |
Weak vs. | Archers, cavalry |
Upgrades | |
Attack | Toolworking (+2) Metalworking (+2) Metallurgy (+3) |
Armor | Leather Armor Infantry (+2/+0) Scale Armor Infantry (+2/+0) Chain Mail Infantry (+2/+0) Bronze Shield (+0/+1) Iron Shield (+0/+1) Tower Shield (+0/+1) |
Cost | Logistics (-0.5 population usage) |
Creation speed | Conscription (+25%) |
Upgrades | Battle Axe |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Lac Viet: Clubmen are trained 25% faster.
- Macedonians: Clubmen have +2 Line of Sight and are four times more resistant to conversion.
Team bonuses[]
- Palmyrans: Upgrading Clubmen to Axemen and researching upgrades that benefit Clubmen is 30% faster.
Changelog[]
Age of Empires[]
- Clubmen move at 1.2 tiles/s.
Return of Rome[]
- Clubmen move at 1 tiles/s.
- Team bonuses added, Palmyrans: Technologies benefiting Clubmen researched 30% faster.
History[]
ā | The first soldiers were local people called up for military duty in times of emergency. These temporary soldiers were commonly armed with any weapon used for hunting game and other wildlife. A common development of these weapons were wooden spears and large pieces of wood or bone. These tools were easily made since they could be crafted very easily and were an extension of weapons already used for hunting and gathering. Early troops that used these weapons were effective and needed minimum training. The club itself had very little practical use other than for combat against other humans since it was too slow and cumbersome to hunt game. These early fighters eventually became obsolete following the Neolithic Revolution, as better tools and toolworking became available. Some of these improvements included improved stoneworking and woodworking, and later the introduction of more advanced metal weapons made from bronze. | ā |
—Age of Empires manual |
Gallery[]
Tech tree[]
Units in Age of Empires | |
---|---|
Civilian | Villager Ā· Trade Cart |
Other | Priest Ā· Slinger Ā· Artifact |
Civilian ship | Fishing Boat Ā· Fishing Ship Trade Boat Ā· Merchant Ship |
Infantry | Clubman Ā· Axeman Short Swordsman Ā· Broad Swordsman Ā· Long Swordsmen Ā· Legionary Hoplite Ā· Phalangite Ā· Centurion |
Archer | Bowman Improved Bowman Ā· Composite Bowman Chariot Archer Horse Archer Ā· Heavy Horse Archer Elephant Archer |
Cavalry | Scout Chariot Ā· Scythe Chariot Cavalry Ā· Heavy Cavalry Ā· Cataphract War Elephant Ā· Armored Elephant Camel Rider |
Siege | Stone Thrower Ā· Catapult Ā· Heavy Catapult Ballista Ā· Helepolis |
War Ship | Scout Ship Ā· War Galley Ā· Trireme Catapult Trireme Ā· Juggernaut Fire Galley Light Transport Ā· Heavy Transport |
Scenario Editor-only units | |
Chieftain Ā· Donkey Ā· Explorer Ā· General Ā· High Priest Ā· Horse Ā· Mercenary (removed) Ā· Penguin Ā· Pharaoh Ā· Raft Ā· War Chest |