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Ranged infantry units in Age of Empires IV are a branch of infantry units, and can be considered one of the primary types of land combat units available to all civilizations, along with melee infantry, melee cavalry, and siege engines. They attack from range and deal ranged damage. Ranged infantry are almost always created at Archery Ranges.
All ranged infantry have a ranged attack that they use to attack both at a distance and up close, with the exception of the Streltsy, which also has a strong melee attack. In the original four campaigns, all ranged infantry also have a melee attack which they automatically switch to in melee range. All ranged infantry have the 'light infantry' unit type, although the Ozutsu also has the 'heavy' unit type (the only ranged unit to be classified this way). They can mostly all be classified into three main sub-categories: archer-type units, crossbow-type units, and gunpowder units. The primary purpose of all of these types is to counter different kinds of melee infantry. Archers and their equivalent have low base damage and an attack bonus vs light melee infantry. Crossbowmen have a slower rate of fire but deal medium base damage and have an attack bonus against all heavy units. Gunpowder ranged infantry typically have the slowest rate of fire but deal high base damage and perform better against most types of units. The latter type also does not benefit from the traditional ranged attack upgrades. The main deviation from these categories is the Javelin Thrower, which is primarily used to counter other ranged infantry. Due to its range and higher base damage, it can also perform reasonably well against light melee infantry, albeit less cost-effectively.
Ranged infantry is great at dealing out high DPS (damage-per-second) if used correctly. Their ability to attack from range inherently makes them less affected by pathing and crowding issues that affect melee units and makes them easy to micromanage against enemy units. Large groups of ranged infantry can easily focus-fire enemy units systematically. Too many ranged infantry in a group, however, are susceptible to 'overkilling' a unit, wherein they deal much more damage to a target than is needed to destroy it, thus wasting their attack. One way to mitigate this is to place the ranged infantry in line formation, spreading out their damage more evenly, and attack moving instead of target firing (or splitting them up into multiple smaller groups if the player's micro is good enough). Ranged units are also characterized by having on average the lowest hit points of all other military unit types. Combined with their lack of armor and slow speed, this makes them extremely susceptible to being engaged in close combat, especially by cavalry, which usually has a high attack bonus against them or high base damage. Even Crossbowmen can struggle on their own against heavy cavalry depending on their numbers, despite their attack bonus. This is why ranged infantry function best either from behind a front line of melee units which can guard them, or while 'kiting' enemy units (constantly attacking and moving away instead of remaining stationary).
All ranged infantry can be created at the Archery Range, except for the Wynguard Ranger and Ozutsu, which are trained exclusively at their respective civilizations' Landmarks: the Wynguard Palace for the English and the Tanegashima Gunsmith for the Japanese. Various other landmarks and buildings, such as the Council Hall, can also train ranged infantry, but not uniquely.
Counters[]
Although there are no units which have an attack bonus specifically against ranged infantry, the Horseman (and unique equivalents), Mangonel, and Javelin Thrower have large attack bonuses against all ranged units, including ranged infantry, and are thus the best counters. Heavy cavalry is also a good counter to Archer-type units and Javelin Throwers due to their high damage and armor. They fare worse against Crossbowmen and gunpowder ranged infantry due to their anti-heavy bonus damage or high base damage respectively, but can still do significant damage if they get up close. Heavy infantry is a situational counter to Archer-type units. Their high armor means they take little damage, but their slow speed means they cannot reliably chase ranged units. Against large enough numbers of ranged infantry, even melee cavalry can struggle. In this case Mangonels become the best counter, although the infantry can be placed in spread formation to mitigate even those.
List of ranged infantry[]
The following list of ranged infantry compares some common unit statistics, but should not be used as a direct indicator of combat ability, since attack bonuses, abilities, or other special features which can distinguish these units from each other are not included.
The following boosts apply specifically to Handcannoneers and their unique equivalents: Streltsy, Musofadi Gunners, Janissaries, and Gilded Handcannoneers.
Archer
Longbowman
English
Zhuge Nu
Chinese / 
Zhu Xi's Legacy
Yumi Ashigaru
Japanese
Gilded Archer
Order of the Dragon
Yumi Bannerman
Javelin Thrower
Malians
Yeoman
House of Lancaster
Bedouin Skirmisher*
Ayyubids
Veteran Archer
Veteran Longbowman
Veteran Zhuge Nu
Veteran Yumi Ashigaru
Veteran Gilded Archer
Crossbowman
Arbalétrier
French / 
Jeanne d'Arc
Gilded Crossbowman
Veteran Javelin Thrower
Veteran Yeoman
Genoese Crossbowman
Knights Templar
Janissary
Ottomans
Early Handcannoneer
Early Grenadier
Elite Archer
Elite Longbowman
Wynguard Ranger
Elite Zhuge Nu
Elite Yumi Ashigaru
Elite Gilded Archer
Elite Crossbowman
Elite Arbalétrier
Elite Gilded Crossbowman
Elite Javelin Thrower
Elite Yeoman
Elite Genoese Crossbowman
Handcannoneer
Streltsy
Rus
Musofadi Gunner
Elite Janissary
Gilded Handcannoneer
Grenadier
Ozutsu
Hit points
Boot Camp (+15%, 
Abbasid Dynasty)
Sultan's Mamluks (+25% for 10 seconds after killing an enemy, 
Military Tactics Training (+20% bonus damage, 
Fitted Leatherwork (+1 melee)
Insulated Helm (+1 melee)
Master Smiths (+1 melee)
Iron Undermesh (+1 ranged)
Wedge Rivets (+1 ranged)
Angled Surfaces (+1 ranged)
Movement speed
Military Academy (+33%); Improved: (+53%, 
Mongols)
Efficient Production (+100%, requires garrisoned Scholar, 
Delhi Sultanate) 
Advanced Academy (+25% at Military School, 
Siege Engineering (Can build Battering Rams and Siege Towers)
Infantry Support (+3/+3 armor to nearby camels, 
Forced March (Grants Forced March ability, 
Ming Dynasty)
Attack speed
Yuan Dynasty)
Holy Roman Empire (+10%)
Kingdom of France)
Byzantines (Gain Pilgrim Flask ability with Cistern of the First Hill)
Steeled Arrow (+1)
Balanced Projectiles (+1)
Platecutter Point (+1)
Incendiary Arrows (+20%, +3 siege damage vs buildings, all except 
Precision Training (+2, 
Poisoned Arrows (+3 over 6 seconds, 
Range
Silk Bowstrings (+1.5) 
Paiks (+0.5, 
Padded Jack (+3 melee, 
Scale Armor (+3 ranged, 
Composite Bows (+33%, 
Arrow Volley (+70% for 5 seconds, 
Arrow Volley (Grants Arrow Volley ability, 
Synchronized Shot (Grants Synchronized Shot ability, 
Cranequins (+2, 
Bodkin Bolts (+20 vs siege units, 
10000 Bolts (Weaker extra projectile added, 
Gambesons (+5 melee, 
Crossbow Stirrups (+25%, 
Deploy Pavise (+1, 
Serpentine Powder (+5 damage vs melee infantry, all except 
Janissary Guns (+4, 
Pyrotechnics (+1.5, 
Burgundian Imports (-25%, 
Local Knowledge (Heal 5 HP per attack for 5 seconds when leaving stealth, 
Fort of the Huntress (Deal 2x damage when breaking stealth)
Static Deployment (+30%, 
Fanaticism (+10%/+30% when below 50%/25% HP, 
Enlist Mansa Javelineers (+3 over 6 seconds, 
Bolt Magazines (+1 vs light infantry, 
Hard Cased Bombs (Units take +15% melee and ranged damage for 5 seconds after being hit, 
