The Huns are purely an offensive civilization.
Strengths[]
Since they do not need to build Houses, they are great at rushing, since the resources and time spent on Houses can be diverted to building an army. Adding to this is access to all Castle Age upgrades for the Crossbowman and Knight, the main power units of the mid-game. Later on, their cheaper Cavalry Archers grant them a very powerful, mobile option to use as well. Their unique unit, the Tarkan, is a fast and bulky cavalry unit that is great at destroying buildings and good at fighting archers, making them effective raiders. They have effective cavalry, since in addition to Tarkans, they can build Paladins for heavy-duty combat and Cavalry Archers for quick ranged support. The Huns' faster Stables allow them to replace lost cavalry faster. Their Cavalry Archers are cheaper than normal, so they will make up a large part of a Hunnic army. Their Trebuchets are more accurate against units than those of other civilizations, which aids them in destroying enemy siege weapons from a distance, most importantly, enemy Trebuchets.
Weaknesses[]
Their infantry are weak, as they lack the Plate Mail Armor and Champion upgrades. In addition, their siege weapons are lacking, missing the Onager, Heavy Scorpion and Bombard Cannon. They have a pitiful defense that can be easily broken as they lack Guard Tower, Fortified Wall, Hoardings, Arrowslits and Architecture.
Being unable to research Redemption would mean that the Huns can never convert any enemy Bombard Cannons.
While the Huns remain viable in the late game, they are generally very predictable as their only strong Imperial Age units outside of cavalry are Siege Rams, Trebuchets and Heavy Cavalry Archers. This lack of flexibility in their army composition can easily put them at a disadvantage. For example, a combination of Halberdiers and Siege Rams is normally able to be countered by Champions or Onagers. However, the Huns lack a multitude of upgrades for these units, and their core units (melee cavalry and Cavalry Archers) are hard countered by said army composition.
Strategy[]
Huns are one of the most dangerous civilizations in the early and mid-game. Due to not needing houses they have a more flexible start and can create Villagers and military without worrying about population blocks. They can easily fulfill most early game strategies, but become less versatile in the Imperial Age, so ending the game quickly is important.
Huns can do standard Dark Age rushing (drushing) and Feudal Age rushing (flushing). However, they are at their strongest in the Castle Age. Their cheap and powerful Cavalry Archers make for devastating raiders, with the range of an Archer and speed and durability of a Scout in one package. Due to their cost reduction, Huns can create more Cavalry Archers than normal. Cavalry Archers are powerful with all of their upgrades, but they also require more investment than most Castle Age units. They also have strong Knights and Crossbowmen to give them extra flexibility, especially before Cavalry Archers have their upgrades ready.
In the Imperial Age, Huns mostly rely on Heavy Cavalry Archers and Paladins. Hunnic Trebuchets are more accurate, making them a good go-to Siege weapon, though the Siege Ram's faster speed makes it a better choice at pure base razing.
Strategy changes in The Forgotten[]
The Huns' new unique tech, Marauders, allows them to create Tarkans at the Stable. This synergizes with their team bonus (Stables work 20% faster), meaning that the player can rapidly create large numbers of Tarkans. The cost bonus for their cavalry archers was reduced (25%/30% → 15%/25%) for game balance reasons. In addition, Treadmill Crane and Cannon Galleon have been removed.
Strategy changes in The African Kingdoms[]
Marauders costs 200 less wood, making it easier for players to spawn Tarkans. The Cavalry Archer discount was reduced even more (15%/25% → 10%/20%).
Alliances[]
Huns are extremely good in team battles, due to the Cavalry Archers' ability to keep several different foes in check at once, if micromanaged well. They can play in the flank position and go aggressive with Scout Cavalry and the archer line or play pocket and go with Knights and Cavalry Archers. The Hunnic team bonus (20% faster Stables) is helpful for all civilizations that have a strong Stable.
With their limited technology tree, a Hun ally should bring decent enough infantry and siege weapons to prevent the opponents from being able to oppress with an army composition that the Huns' team are unable to counter themselves.
Britons: The Briton's faster working Archery Ranges helps the Huns produce their Cavalry Archers. Hunnic cavalry is also a great complement to Briton archers.
Burgundians: The Burgundians get a production rate buff for their Stable units, while the Huns get more food from their relics. Later on, the Burgundians appreciate mobile ranged support, which the Huns are able to offer.
Franks: Both allies will support each other's Knights with their bonuses, and Frank Paladins do well with support from Hun Cavalry Archers.- Hindustanis: Each ally will give a boost to the other's Scout Cavalry rush, and the Hindustani Imperial Camel works well when paired with Heavy Cavalry Archers, which the Huns have a discount on.
- Magyars: Both civilizations get a bonus to their archers and cavalry.
- Mongols: Both of these civilizations' bonuses aid the other's Scout Cavalry rush, and the Huns Paladin protects the Mongols ranged options.
- Persians: Both civilizations aid each other's Knight rush, and the Persian Paladin pairs well with the Huns' Heavy Cavalry Archers.
Compared advantages and disadvantages[]
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Advantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Huns have access to every key technology for their cavalry units (such as the Paladin and Hussar upgrade) except for Camel Riders and Battle Elephants.
- The Huns are one of the few civilizations that can go for a Cavalry Archer rush, since their Cavalry Archers are cheaper. As such, the Huns can effectively counter slow-moving units such as Champions or Elephants by hit-and-running them.
- Being an early game civilization with strong economic bonus (starting at maximum population and not needing to build Houses means the Huns can effectively save a lot of Wood in the early game for an army), combined with their ability to create Scout Cavalry and Knights faster, and cheaper Cavalry Archers, means the Huns have an advantage over civilizations with weak early games, especially in open maps like Arabia and starting in the Dark and Feudal Age.
- Having access to fully upgraded Hussars, combined with their access to Heresy and their Stables working faster, means the Huns have an advantage over civilizations with strong Monks.
Disadvantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Huns' navy is lackluster, as they do not have access to Fast Fire Ships and Shipwright. As such, civilizations with strong navies will have a significant advantage over the Huns in water maps.
- Because most of the Huns' military consists of cavalry units, civilizations that have access to strong Halberdiers or unique units that deal bonus damage against cavalry units can be problematic for the Huns in the late game. Similarly, civilizations with strong Camel Riders are a threat to the Huns' cavalry in thue late game.
- Since the Huns' siege capacity is limited to Siege Rams and Trebuchets, civilizations with strong siege weapons or massed units can be a tough adversary.
- Despite the Huns having access to one of the strongest late-game units (the Paladin), the Huns' army composition is very limited in the late-game. As such, civilizations with diverse tech trees will have a significant advantage over the Huns in the late game.
Situational advantages[]
- The Huns are strong on wide open maps such as Arabia and Nomad due to their strong early game economic bonuses and their strong rushing capacity with their cavalry units.
- The Huns are also incredibly strong in 1v1 matches due to said economic bonuses.
- Having their Stables work faster means their ability to train light cavalry faster allows them to deny the Relic in Capture the Relic maps.
- As their unique technology Atheism adds +100 years to Wonder and Relic victories, it gives them an edge in Standard Game matches when a player intends a Wonder/Relic Victory, and the Game mode "Defend the Wonder".
- They are probably the strongest civilization at Deathmatch games, because as they don't need houses, all three of their starting villagers can be tasked with building military buildings, and their -100 wood penalty is invisible in that game mode while having their population limit on top so they can spam their units non-stop almost as soon as the game starts.
