Kamandaran is a technology in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition that is unique to the Persians and can be researched at the Castle. Once researched, it changes the cost of Archer line units from 25 wood and 45 gold to only 50 wood, effectively making them trash units.
Kamandaran replaces Boiling Oil which was introduced in The Forgotten.
Strategy
Kamandaran is a very useful technology, as it makes the Persian Crossbowmen only cost 50 wood, turning them into a "trash unit". In order to keep the game balance, the Persians lack the Arbalest and Bracer upgrades. Crossbowmen with Kamandaran excel at taking down infantry, especially in the late game, and perform better against cavalry than the Skirmisher. Crossbowmen also make a good complement to War Elephants, as the food and gold can be invested on the elephants while the wood can be invested in Crossbowmen, and both units have similar movement speed.
Like the Magyar unique technology Mercenaries and the Malay unique technology Forced Levy, the player should research Kamandaran as soon as they require more archers in order to have the highest possible use. Since Archers cost 45 gold, this technology starts to pay out if 5 or more archers are created after researching it.
