This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in Age of Empires IV, see Handcannoneer. |
“ | Gunpowder unit with powerful attack, but inaccurate at long range. | ” |
—Age of Empires II description |
The Hand Cannoneer is a gunpowder unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Archery Range once the Imperial Age is reached and Chemistry is researched. It has a powerful attack, but low hit points and low accuracy at range.
Availability chart[]
Available | Unavailable |
---|---|
- - means that the civilizations does not get Ring Archer Armor. Consequently, it cannot fully upgrade its Hand Cannoneer.
- + means that the civilization gets some civilization or team bonus or a unique technology that benefits the combat strength of the Hand Cannoneer.
Tactics[]
Hand Cannoneers have a powerful attack but have a slow firing rate, and their shots fly off in random directions (within radial proximity to the vector leading to their target), so their accuracy at long range is poor. They do +10 bonus damage against infantry (except the Condottiero) and another +1 against Spearmen, and their accuracy is less of a problem against the larger cavalry, making them deadly at close range. If maneuvered properly, Hand Cannoneers may also take down siege weapons with great efficiency but Onagers can still pose a threat to them due to their range.
Hand Cannoneers are treated to be archers (even though they use firearms) for purposes of attack bonuses, so Skirmishers, Ghulams, and Huskarls have attack bonuses against them, and Huskarls also have a high defensive bonus against their piercing damage. They are of course also gunpowder units, giving Condottieri and Winged Hussars attack bonuses against them as well. Being foot units with low hit points, they are also vulnerable to Mangonels and Scorpions, and they perform poorly against towers and Castles. The food cost of Hand Cannoneers also makes them odd to work with, so special situations or builds are needed in order to use them appropriately, like a Fast Imperial strategy (in closed maps).
Comparison to similar units[]
Arbalester | Hand Cannoneer | |
---|---|---|
Cost | 25 wood, 45 gold | 45 food, 50 gold |
Training time | 27 seconds | 34 seconds |
Pierce Attack | 6+4 | 17 |
Attack Bonuses | +3 vs Spearman | +10 vs Infantry +2 vs Ram +1 vs Spearman |
Accuracy | 90% + 10% | 75% |
Range | 5+3 | 7 |
Rate of Fire | 2 - 0.3 | 3.45 |
Armor | 0+3/0+4 | 1+3/0+4 |
Armor Classes | Archer | Archer Gunpowder |
Upgrade Cost | 175 food, 125 gold 450 food, 400 gold |
300 food, 200 gold |
Upgrade Time | 35 seconds 50 seconds |
100 seconds |
In general, when compared to Arbalesters, Hand Cannoneers are better against targets with high pierce armor, while Arbalesters are better against targets with lower pierce armor.
Further statistics[]
Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
---|---|
Strong vs. | Infantry, Camel Riders |
Weak vs. | Skirmishers, Scorpions, Onagers, Genitours, Condottieri |
Upgrades | |
Range | Shatagni (+2, Hindustanis only) |
Accuracy | Arquebus (hit moving targets, Portuguese only) |
Armor | Padded Archer Armor (+1/+1) Leather Archer Armor (+1/+1) Ring Archer Armor (+1/+2) |
Speed | Wagenburg Tactics (+15%, Bohemians only) |
Training cost | Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only) |
Conversion defense | Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) |
Creation speed | Conscription (+33%) |
Civilization bonuses[]
- Bohemians: Chemistry and Hand Cannoneers are available in the Castle Age.
- Burgundians: Hand Cannoneers have +25% attack.[note 1]
- Georgians: Hand Cannoneers receive -20% damage (-40% instead of -25%) when fighting from higher elevation.
- Hindustanis: Hand Cannoneers have +1/+1 armor.
- Italians: Researching Chemistry costs -33%. Hand Cannoneers cost -20%.
- Koreans: Archer armor upgrades are free.
- Portuguese: Hand Cannoneers cost -20% gold.
- Spanish: Hand Cannoneers fire 18% faster. Archer Armor upgrades cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Hand Cannoneers provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: Hand Cannoneers deal +20% damage (+50% instead of +25%) from cliffs and elevations.
- Turks: Chemistry is free. Hand Cannoneers have +25% hit points.
Team bonuses[]
- Britons: Hand Cannoneers are created 10% faster.
- Bulgarians: Researching archer armor upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Malians: Researching Chemistry is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: All technologies benefiting Hand Cannoneers are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Hand Cannoneers are more resistant to conversion.
- Turks: Hand Cannoneers are created 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Hand Cannon needs to be researched in order to train Hand Cannoneers.
- Hand Cannoneers have an accuracy of 55%.
- Hand Cannoneers have an attack bonus of +8 against infantry.
- Hand Cannoneers have 35 HP and projectile speed of 5.5.
- Turks: Hand Cannoneers have +50% HP.
The Conquerors[]
- Hand Cannon was removed from the game, and Hand Cannoneers become available as soon as Chemistry is researched.
- Hand Cannoneers have an accuracy of 65%.
- Hand Cannoneers have an attack bonus of +10 against infantry.
- Hand Cannoneers receive an attack bonus of +1 against Spearmen.
- Hand Cannoneers receive an attack bonus of +2 against Rams.
- Heresy introduced.
- Turks: Hand Cannoneers have +25% HP.
The Forgotten[]
The African Kingdoms[]
- Italians: With patch 4.8, Hand Cannoneers are 20% cheaper.
- Portuguese: Hand Cannoneers cost -15% gold.
Definitive Edition[]
- Bulgarians: Initially, the Team Bonus gave the Blacksmith a 50% work rate boost. With update 42848, this was changed to a 80% work rate boost.
- Koreans: With update 42848, Archer armor upgrades are free.
- Portuguese: With update 39284, Hand Cannoneers cost -20% gold.
- Portuguese: With update 42848, all technologies are researched 30% faster.
Lords of the West[]
- With update 50292, Hand Cannoneers have an accuracy of 75% and an attack dispersion of 0.5 (from 0.75).
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 51737, Hand Cannoneers have 40 HP and projectile speed of 7.5.
Dynasties of India[]
- Shatagni gives +2 range to Hand Cannoneers.
- Portuguese: All technologies are researched 25% faster for the entire team.
Trivia[]
- Despite the fact that the Chinese were the first civilization to invent the hand cannon, they do not have access to Hand Cannoneers. This is most likely for balance purposes. Their unique unit, Heavy Scorpions, and Rocketry technology gives the flavour of early gunpowder.
- In the Into China scenario, the Jin AI was scripted to train Hand Cannoneers, indicating that the Chinese had access to them during development. In addition, the blue Ming player in the Definitive Edition version of The Final Fortress scenario have access to the Hand Cannoneer through triggers.
- The Goths have access to Hand Cannoneers, despite their civilization being on the decline by the 8th century AD and having waned long before gunpowder weapons were invented in China. This is most likely for balance purposes.
- Alternatively, this is arguably justified by the existence of Crimean Goths, who were only conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
- Another possible explanation is that the Goths were the ancestors of the Spanish and Portuguese, as most of the Goths eventually settled in the Iberian peninsula after the fall of the Roman empire. Their access to gunpowder units is supposed to reflect the Spanish and Portuguese use of them in later medieval periods to expand their empires.
- Before The Forgotten and also since patch 4.8 of The African Kingdoms until the release of Lords of the West, the Franks were the only civilization to not have fully upgraded Hand Cannoneers, lacking Ring Archer Armor. In The Forgotten, the Indians also missed Ring Archer Armor, although their Hand Cannoneers get +1 range from Shatagni, and before patch 4.8, the Berbers also lacked Ring Archer Armor. With the release of Lords of the West, the Burgundians also lack Ring Archer Armor, but their Hand Cannoneers have better attack due to their civilization bonus. With the release of Dynasties of India the Gurjaras are the third one lacking Ring Archer Armor, but have Kshatriyas to reduce their food cost. And with the release of The Mountain Royals the Georgians are the fourth one lacking Ring Archer Armor, but their Hand Cannoneers take less damage when fighting at hills due to their civilization bonus.
- During the beta, Bulgarians had access to Hand Cannoneers. Hand Cannoneers are seen in the Sicilian army in the announcement trailer of the Lords of the West expansion, indicating that they had them at some point before release.
- The Middle Eastern civilizations (Saracens, Persians, Berbers, and Turks) are the only group of civilizations to have Hand Cannoneers for all civilizations.
- Hand Cannoneers were originally an unpopular unit because they were both frailer and more expensive than the Arbalester, while having accuracy too low for them take advantage of their higher damage. The unit was considerably improved in later updates (with the hit points, accuracy, and projectile speed all boosted).
History[]
“ | Following the development of cannons, small hand-operated gunpowder weapons began appearing in Europe in the fourteenth century. These early firearms were small iron tubes mounted on a wooden stock. They were inaccurate and slow to load. In the early fifteenth century the hand cannon was made smaller, the stock was redesigned so it could be held against the chest, and a mechanism was added for inserting the slow-burning match into the chamber. This weapon was effective only in volleys at close range. In the middle of the fifteenth century the first recognizably modern firearm, the arquebus, was developed. This employed a wheel lock to bring the slow match in contact with a powder pan connected by a tube to the chamber. Lead and cast iron balls fired from the arquebus were lethal. Firearms of the Middle Ages had an inferior range and rate of fire in comparison to the best bows and crossbows. Firearms improved gradually, however, and became more and more popular, despite their high cost. They became status symbols. Important lords engaged in an arms race, attempting to field more firearms of more modern design than their competitors. | ” |