 |
This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For the unit in Age of Empires IV, see Man-at-Arms (Age of Empires IV). |
| “ | All-purpose infantry unit. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
| “ | Stronger than Militia. Attack bonus vs. buildings. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Man-at-Arms is an infantry unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Barracks once the Feudal Age is reached. They hold a strong advantage against most units in the Feudal Age, making them an effective unit at disrupting an opponent's economy.
Tactics[]
As a military unit, the Man-at-Arms fills a similar niche to the Militia, having a tough attack to be occasional raiders. Statistics-wise, they are better than the Militia when it comes to Villager harassment and base razing thanks to a +2 attack (a 50% increase), though in practice whether or not they are efficient depends largely on the development status of one's enemy. Still, the upgrade is cheap enough to be almost always worth it, especially when against Eagle Scouts or buildings. As they are slow, they are particularly weak against Archers. Also, while somewhat effective against Scout Cavalry, they are susceptible to mobbing and will die very easily if outnumbered.
Men-at-Arms work best when paired with additional support troops. A good raiding party composition should be of around a dozen Men-at-Arms, some Skirmishers to counter enemy Archers, and optionally some Spearmen if the enemy employs a large number of Scout Cavalry (e.g., when playing against Franks). As Murder Holes is not available in the Feudal Age, their weakness towards Towers can be circumvented by zig-zagging towards the structures' bases where the towers cannot target the units. If possible, having several of the player's own Archers mixed in can yield much greater raiding results.
Men-at-Arms should be upgraded as quickly as possible when transitioning towards the Castle Age due to the enemy's greatly expanded tech tree providing them with many effective counters.
Further statistics[]
| Unit strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Skirmishers, Scout Cavalry, Eagle Scouts, Spearmen, Villagers, Camel Scouts |
| Weak vs. | Archers, Scorpions |
| Technologies | |
| Hit points |  Fereters (+30, Armenians only)
|
| Regeneration |  Stronghold (regenerate 30 HP/min when within 18 tiles square of a team Celts Castle)
|
| Attack |  Forging (+1, +2 for the Khitans) Iron Casting (+1, +2 for the Khitans) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 against standard buildings) Garland Wars (+4, Aztecs only) Druzhina (gives trample damage in +0.5 tile radius, Slavs only) Chieftains (+5 against cavalry and +4 against camels, Vikings only) Wootz Steel (attack ignores armor, Dravidians only) Comitatenses (+5 charge attack, Romans only)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1, +2/+2 for the Romans) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1, +2/+2 for the Romans) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2) Gambesons (0/+1)
|
| Conversion resistance |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted) First Crusade (+4 min, +4 max, Sicilians only)
|
| Movement speed |  Squires (+10%)
|
| Resource cost |  Supplies (-15 food) Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only) Forced Levy (+20 food, -20 gold, Malay only)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%) Perfusion (+100%, Goths only) Comitatenses (+50%, Romans only)
|
| Other | Chieftains (generates gold when killing Villagers, trade units, and Monks, Vikings only)
|
| Upgrade |  Long Swordsman
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Armenians: Men-at-Arms can be upgraded to Long Swordsmen in the Feudal Age.- Aztecs: Men-at-Arms are created 15% faster.
- Bulgarians: Militia-line upgrades (except Champion) are free. Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Men-At-Arms cost -50% food.
- Burmese: Men-at-Arms have +1/+2/+3 attack in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Men-at-Arms move 10%/15%/20% faster in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Men-at-Arms can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Men-at-Arms are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Dravidians: Researching Supplies, Gambesons, Squires, Arson, and upgrading to Long Swordsman is 50% cheaper.
- Georgians: Men-at-Arms receive -20% (-40% instead of -25%) damage on higher elevations.
- Goths: Men-at-Arms are 20%/25%/30% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age, and have +1/+2/+3 attack against standard buildings in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Inca: Men-at-Arms cost -15/-20/-25% food in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Japanese: Men-at-Arms attack 33% faster.
- Jurchens: Men-at-Arms receive -50% friendly fire damage.
- Khitans: Men-at-Arms receive double the effect from melee attack upgrades.
- Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
- Malay: Scale Mail Armor, Chain Mail Armor, and Plate Mail Armor upgrades are free.
- Malians: Men-at-Arms have +1/+2/+3 pierce armor in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Portuguese: Men-at-Arms cost -20% gold.
- Romans: Men-at-Arms receive double the effect from armor upgrades, and are empowered by Centurions.
- Sicilians: Men-at-Arms take -33% bonus damage.
- Slavs: Supplies and Gambesons are free.
- Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Men-at-Arms cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Men-at-Arms provides 20 gold each.
- Tatars: Men-at-Arms deal +20% bonus from a cliff or an elevation.
- Teutons: Men-at-Arms have +1 armor in the Castle Age and +2 in the Imperial Age.
- Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
- Vikings: Men-at-Arms have +20% HP.
Team bonuses[]
- Armenians: Men-at-Arms have +2 Line of Sight.
- Bulgarians: Researching infantry armor and attack upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Goths: Men-at-Arms are created and upgraded 20% faster. Researching Supplies, Gambesons, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
- Khitans: Men-at-Arms have +2 attack vs ranged soldiers.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion, and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Technologies that benefit Men-at-Arms are researched 25% faster.
- Teutons: Men-at-Arms are more resistant to conversion.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Men-at-Arms have +1 attack against standard buildings, 0 pierce armor, and 0.9 speed, and cost 60 food, 20 gold.
- Upgrade cost of Long Swordsmen is 200 food, 65 gold. It takes 45 seconds to research.
- Celts: Men-at-Arms move 15% faster.
- Goths: Men-at-Arms are 10%/15%/25% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age and have an extra +1 attack against standard buildings.
- Vikings: Men-at-Arms have +10%/+15%/+20% HP in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
The Conquerors[]
- Men-at-Arms have 1 pierce armor.
- Heresy introduced.
- Aztecs: Garland Wars introduced.
- Goths: With patch 1.0b, Men-at-Arms are 35% cheaper. Perfusion introduced.
The Forgotten[]
- Men-at-Arms have +2 attack against standard buildings.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Arson introduced.
- Vikings: With patch 4.8, Chieftains affects Men-at-Arms. It gives Men-at-Arms +2 attack against camel units.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- Vikings: With patch 5.7, Chieftains gives Men-at-Arms +4 attack against camels.
- Malay: Forced Levy removes Men-at-Arms' gold cost.
Definitive Edition[]
- Tracking is free.
- Supplies introduced.
- Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Men-at-Arms cost -50% food.
- 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.
- Goths: With update 36202, cost bonus is 25%/30%/35% in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age and bonus damage against standard buildings is +1/+2/+3 in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Goths lose access to Arson.
- Malay: Forced Levy changes Men-at-Arms' gold cost to food cost.
- Portuguese: With update 42848, as a civilization bonus, technologies that benefit Men-at-Arms are researched 30% faster.
- Teutons: With update 35584, Men-at-Arms have +1 armor in the Castle/Imperial Age. With update 36906, they receive another +1 armor in the Imperial Age.
Lords of the West[]
- Sicilians: Men-at-Arms resist 50% bonus damage. With update 47820, First Crusade increases the conversion resistance of Men-at-Arms.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 54480 the cost of the Long Swordsman research was reduced to 150 food, 65 gold.
- Vikings: With update 56005, Men-at-Arms have +20% HP.
Dynasties of India[]
- Sicilians: With update 66692, Men-at-Arms resist only 33% bonus damage.
- Portuguese: With update 73855, as a team bonus, technologies that benefit Men-at-Arms are researched 25% faster.
- With update 81058, the Long Swordsman upgrade takes 40 seconds to research and Gambesons is introduced.
- Inca: With update 81058, Men-at-Arms cost -20%/-25%/-30% food in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Malay: With update 81058, infantry armor upgrades are free.
The Mountain Royals[]
- Inca: With update 99311, they cost -15%/-20%/-25% food in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
Chronicles: Battle for Greece[]
- With update 141935:
History[]
| “ | Men who had received weapons training and wore armor of some sort in battle were referred to as men-at-arms. By definition, all knights were men-at-arms, but not all men-at-arms were knights. The class of men-at-arms also included professional fighting men of no nobility called sergeants and knights in training called squires. The armies of feudal lords were divided into two distinct groups, the men-at-arms of all classes and the peasant militia. The training fighting men provided the principal fighting power of the army. Men-at-arms on foot fought with swords. This was an effective weapon and helped distinguish the men-at-arms from soldiers of lower social standing like Spearmen, Skirmishers, and missile troops. Men-at-arms wore armor, usually from head to toe, and were highly trained. They were especially effective against Spearmen if they could close under the spear points. They fought beside dismounted knights under certain conditions, such as castle assaults. During the Hundred Years War, the English often fought dismounted because the French knights usually outnumbered them by a large margin. On the open battlefield, a man-at-arms was at a great disadvantage against a mounted knight. Knights kept a body of men-at-arms on retainer to help maintain local order within the local fief and to accompany the knight when called up for military service. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings manual | ||
Trivia[]
- The Man-at-Arms is one of only three upgraded forms of military units (the other two being the Long Swordsman and the War Galley) to be available to all civilizations.
- The Militia line is the only unit line in the game with more than three stages.
- The name "Man-at-Arms" is incorrect: in history, a man-at-arms was a soldier (either noble or non-noble) from the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully armored heavy cavalryman. A more correct term would be Swordsman.
- The non-noble, heavily armored, mounted Elmetto in Age of Empires III more accurately portrays the historical men-at-arms.
- The Malay is the only civilization to have the Militia line (except the Champion) as trash units (once Forced Levy is researched).
- In the alpha version they are trash units, costing only food.
Gallery[]
The Militia line, with the Man-at-Arms second from the left, in the HD Edition
The Militia line, with the Man-at-Arms second from the left, in the Definitive Edition
A group of Men-at-Arms in the Definitive Edition
A group of Men-at-Arms in the HD Edition
A group of Men-at-Arms supported by Skirmishers raid an enemy town.
Man-at-Arms at march in the game's artwork
An official mod from the DressToImpress event (August 2022) for Men-At-Arms with Xolotl Swords
