Infantry units (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the infantry units in Age of Empires II. For the armor class, see Armor class: Infantry. For infantry units in other games of the series, see Infantry.

Infantry in Age of Empires II is one of the four combat forces on land, the other ones being archers, cavalry, and siege weapons.

General information[]

Infantry units are (with a few exceptions) non-ranged foot soldiers, who in general have comparatively low armor and hit points and are relatively slow. Weak at first glance, they can be extremely important since they are the cheapest unit branch, are available very early in the game, are created quickly, and usually hold a medium to high attack.

Regular infantry units are trained at the Barracks only. The Militia is the first available unit there and the only military unit available in the Dark Age.

Unique infantry units are trained at the Castle. There are four exceptions: Huskarls can also be trained at the Barracks after researching Anarchy, Condottieri are only available at the Barracks as a team bonus, Serjeants can also be trained at the Donjon and Flemish Militia are only available at the Town Center after researching Flemish Revolution.

All infantry units cost food and gold, with the lone exceptions being the Spearman line, which costs food and wood, and the Malay Militia line (after researching Forced Levy), which only costs food.

While inferior in general to archers and cavalry when pitched against each other, infantry units have two advantages: Firstly, their low cost (especially in terms of gold) makes casualties more forgiving and secondly, there is no cheap counter to easily mass against infantry as opposed to archers, which are easily countered with Skirmishers, and cavalry, which are usually countered with Pikemen.

Due to their low speed and no range, most infantry units will struggle against Monks.

Units that excel at battle against infantry include Hand Cannoneers, Cataphracts, Slingers, Teutonic Knights, Jaguar Warriors, and Plumed Archers.

List of infantry units[]

Marked with yellow background are unique units.

Infantry unit	B	HP	At	MA	PA	Ra	ROF	LOS	Sp	F	W	G	TT	Ci
Militia	Barracks	40	4	0	1	0	2.0	4	0.9	60	0	20	21	42
Man-at-Arms	Barracks	45	6	0	1	0	2.0	4	0.9	60	0	20	21	42
Long Swordsman	Barracks	60	9	1	1	0	2.0	4	0.9	60	0	20	21	42
Two-Handed Swordsman	Barracks	60	12	1	1	0	2.0	5	0.9	60	0	20	21	41
Champion	Barracks	70	13	1	1	0	2.0	5	0.9	60	0	20	21	33
Spearman	Barracks	45	3	0	0	0	3.0	4	1	35	25	0	22	42
Pikeman	Barracks	55	4	0	0	0	3.0	4	1	35	25	0	22	40
Halberdier	Barracks	60	6	0	0	0	3.0	4	1	35	25	0	22	32
Eagle Scout	Barracks	50	4	0	2	0	2.0	6	1.1	20	0	50	35	3
Eagle Warrior	Barracks	55	7	0	3	0	2.0	6	1.15	20	0	50	35	3
Elite Eagle Warrior	Barracks	60	9	0	4	0	2.0	6	1.3	20	0	50	20	3
Woad Raider	Castle	65	10	0	1	0	2.0	3	1.38	65	0	25	10	1
Elite Woad Raider	Castle	80	13	0	1	0	2.0	5	1.38	65	0	25	10	1
Throwing Axeman	Castle	60	7	0	0	3	2.0	5	1	55	0	25	17	1
Elite Throwing Axeman	Castle	70	8	1	0	4	2.0	6	1	55	0	25	17	1
Huskarl	Castle / Barracks	60	10	0	6	0	2.0	3	1.05	80	0	40	16	1
Elite Huskarl	Castle / Barracks	70	12	0	8	0	2.0	5	1.05	80	0	40	16	1
Samurai	Castle	70	10	1	1	0	1.9	4	1	60	0	30	9	1
Elite Samurai	Castle	80	12	1	1	0	1.9	5	1	60	0	30	9	1
Teutonic Knight	Castle	80	14	7	2	0	2.0	3	0.8	85	0	40	12	1
Elite Teutonic Knight	Castle	100	17	10	2	0	2.0	5	0.8	85	0	40	12	1
Berserk	Castle	54	12	1	1	0	2.0	3	1.05	65	0	25	14	1
Elite Berserk	Castle	62	14	2	1	0	2.0	5	1.05	65	0	25	12	1
Jaguar Warrior	Castle	65	10	1	1	0	2.0	3	1	60	0	30	20	1
Elite Jaguar Warrior	Castle	75	12	2	1	0	2.0	5	1	60	0	30	20	1
Kamayuk	Castle	70	7	1	0	1	2.0	4	1	60	0	30	10	1
Elite Kamayuk	Castle	80	8	1	0	1	2.0	5	1	60	0	30	10	1
Condottiero	Barracks	80	10	1	0	0	1.9	6	1.2	50	0	35	18	42
Shotel Warrior	Castle	45	16	0	0	0	2.0	3	1.2	50	0	35	8	1
Elite Shotel Warrior	Castle	50	18	0	1	0	2.0	3	1.2	50	0	35	8	1
Gbeto	Castle	35	10	0	0	5	2.0	6	1.25	50	0	40	17	1
Elite Gbeto	Castle	45	13	0	0	6	2.0	7	1.25	50	0	40	17	1
Karambit Warrior	Castle	30	7	0	1	0	2.0	3	1.2	25	0	15	6	1
Elite Karambit Warrior	Castle	40	8	1	1	0	2.0	3	1.2	25	0	15	6	1
Dismounted Konnik	Castle / Krepost	45	12	0	0	0	2.4	5	0.9	60	0	70	3	1
Elite Dismounted Konnik	Castle / Krepost	50	13	0	1	0	2.4	5	0.9	60	0	70	3	1
Serjeant	Donjon / Castle	45	5	2	2	0	2	3	0.9	60	0	35	20/12	1
Serjeant	Donjon / Castle	65	8	3	3	0	2	3	0.9	60	0	35	20/12	1
Elite Serjeant	Donjon / Castle	85	11	4	4	0	2	5	0.9	60	0	35	20/12	1
Flemish Militia	Town Center	75	12	1	1	0	2	7	0.9	60	0	25	14	1
Obuch	Castle	80	8	2	2	0	2	3	0.9	55	0	20	12	1
Elite Obuch	Castle	95	10	2	2	0	2	3	0.9	55	0	20	12	1
Urumi Swordsman	Castle	55	8	1	0	0	2	3	1.05	65	0	20	9	1
Elite Urumi Swordsman	Castle	65	10	1	0	0	2	3	1.05	65	0	20	9	1
Chakram Thrower	Castle	40	5	1	0	5	2	7	1.15	65	0	30	15	1
Elite Chakram Thrower	Castle	50	6	1	0	6	2	8	1.15	65	0	30	15	1
Ghulam	Castle	65	8	0	3	0	2	6	1.15	30	0	45	12	1
Elite Ghulam	Castle	75	10	0	6	0	2	6	1.2	30	0	45	12	1

The following infantry units are only available in the Scenario Editor:

Infantry unit	HP	At	Ar	PA	ROF	LOS	Sp
Heavy Swordsman	75	7	0	0	2	4	0.95
Amazon Warrior	45	8	0	0	2	3	1.1
Eastern Swordsman	60	9	0	1	2	4	0.9
Heavy Pikeman	75	4	0	0	3.0	4	1
Legionary	75	12	2	2	2	5	0.9
Norse Warrior	60	9	0	1	2	4	0.9
Bandit	75	10	0	0	1	6	0.9
Iroquois Warrior	65	8	0	1	2	3	?
Ninja	50	9	1	?	1.8	4	1.1

Technologies[]

Listed below are all technologies that benefit infantry units. Marked with yellow background are unique technologies. This list does not contain unit upgrades.

Technology	Researched at	Age	Civilization	Effect
Tracking	Barracks		All	Increases Line of Sight by +2
Supplies	Barracks		31	Reduces Militia line food cost by 15.
Squires	Barracks		37	Increases speed by +10%
Arson	Barracks		41	Increases attack vs standard buildings by +2
Forging	Blacksmith		All	Increases attack by +1
Iron Casting	Blacksmith		All	Increases attack by +1
Blast Furnace	Blacksmith		36	Increases attack by +2
Scale Mail Armor	Blacksmith		All	Increases armor by +1/+1
Chain Mail Armor	Blacksmith		41	Increases armor by +1/+1
Plate Mail Armor	Blacksmith		34	Increases armor by +1/+2
Herbal Medicine	Monastery		38	Garrisoned units heal 6x faster
Heresy	Monastery		24	Converted units die instead of changing color
Faith	Monastery		38	Increases conversion resistance
Conscription	Castle		All	Increases creation speed by +33%
Garland Wars	Castle		Aztecs	Increases attack by +4
Kasbah	Castle		Berbers	Castle production and research is 25% faster
Bagains	Castle		Bulgarians	Militia line +5 armor
Flemish Revolution	Castle		Burgundians	All Villagers transform into Flemish Militias; Flemish Militia can be trained at the Town Center
Wootz Steel	Castle		Dravidians	Infantry attacks ignore armor
Royal Heirs	Castle		Ethiopians	Creation speed of Shotel Warriors doubled
Bearded Axe	Castle		Franks	Throwing Axeman range increased by +1
Anarchy	Castle		Goths	Huskarls can be created at Barracks
Perfusion	Castle		Goths	Work rate for Barracks units doubled
Kshatriyas	Castle		Gurjaras	Infantry units cost -25% food
Fabric Shields	Castle		Incas	Increases Kamayuk and Eagle Warrior line armor by +1/+2
Pavise	Castle		Italians	Increases Condottiero armor by +1/+1
Tower Shields	Castle		Lithuanians	Spearman line gain +2 pierce armor
Forced Levy	Castle		Malay	Militia line gold cost replaced with food cost
El Dorado	Castle		Mayans	Eagle Warrior hit points increased by +40
First Crusade	Castle		Sicilians	Trains 7 Serjeants per Town Center, in up to 5 Town Centers; Infantry units are more resistant to conversion
Druzhina	Castle		Slavs	Infantry does Area of Effect damage in 0.5 tile radius
Crenellations	Castle		Teutons	Garrisoned infantry fires arrows
Chieftains	Castle		Vikings	Infantry attack against cavalry and camels increased by +5 and +4, respectively
Berserkergang	Castle		Vikings	Berserk regeneration rate doubled

Civilizations[]

Many civilizations rely on a strong infantry. The Aztecs, Burmese, Dravidians, Goths, Japanese, Sicilians, Slavs, and Vikings arguably have the strongest infantry of all civilizations.

The Bulgarians, Celts, Franks, Incas, Malay, Malians, Poles, and Teutons also have very prominent infantry.

On the other hand, the Persians and Tatars have the most lackluster infantry units, being the only civilizations that can't upgrade their Long Swordsmen to Two-Handed Swordsmen, and research Chain Mail Armor, respectively. While the Turks and Gurjaras are the only civilizations that cannot upgrade their Spearmen to Pikemen.

The Incas are the only civilization to have access to all infantry units and technologies.

Civilization bonuses[]

The following civilizations have bonuses that benefit infantry units:

Aztecs: Infantry units are created 11% faster.
Bulgarians: Militia-line units are upgraded for free; Blacksmith upgrades that benefit infantry units cost -50% food.
Burmese: Infantry units have +1/+2/+3 attack in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age; Faith is 50% cheaper.
Byzantines: Spearman-line units are 25% cheaper.
Celts: Infantry units move 15% faster starting from the Feudal Age.
Chinese: Technologies that benefit infantry units are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Dravidians: Barracks technologies cost -50%.
Ethiopians: The Pikeman upgrade is free.
Goths: Infantry units are 20%/25%/30%/35% cheaper in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age and get +1/+2/+3 attack against standard buildings in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Japanese: Infantry units attack 33% faster (starting in the Feudal Age).
Koreans: Spearman-line units cost -20% wood.
Lithuanians: Spearman-line units move 10% faster.
Malians: Barracks units have +1/+2/+3 pierce armor in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
Portuguese: Infantry units cost -20% gold; technologies that benefit infantry units are researched 30% faster.
Sicilians: Infantry units receive -50% bonus damage.
Slavs: Supplies is free.
Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit infantry units cost no gold.
Tatars: Infantry units deal +50% damage when attacking from hills (instead of +25%).
Teutons: Barracks units get +1/+2 melee armor in the Castle/Imperial Age.
Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
Vikings: Infantry units have +20% HP (starting in the Feudal Age).

Team bonuses[]