Spearman (Age of Empires II)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II. For other uses of the term, see Spearman.

Spearman
Unit information
Introduced in	The Age of Kings
Type	Infantry
Civilization	All civilizations
Age	Feudal Age
Training
Trained at	Barracks
Food	35
Wood	25
Training time	22 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	45
Attack	3 melee
Attack bonuses	+15 vs Cavalry +15 vs War elephant +12 vs Camel +9 vs Ship +9 vs Fishing Ship +4 vs Mameluke +1 vs Eagle Warrior +1 vs Standard building
Rate of Fire	3.0
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Armor classes	Infantry Spearman
Speed	1
Line of Sight	4
Unit evolution
Upgrades to	Pikeman
Upgrade cost	215 food, 90 gold
Upgrade time	45 seconds

“	Medium infantry.	”
—Age of Empires II description

The Spearman is an infantry unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Barracks once the Feudal Age is reached. They are a good early cavalry-counter, but are weak against virtually everything else. If not upgraded, a Spearman is one of only two military units (the other one being the Skirmisher) to lose outright to a Villager with Loom. Since no gold is required to train them, Spearmen are considered "trash units".

Tactics

Spearmen are very cheap and massed easily, allowing them to overwhelm enemy cavalry. They are useful in preventing early Scout Cavalry charges, but against Castle Age cavalry such as Knights or Cavalry Archers they should be upgraded to the more effective Pikeman. Players generally use this unit to defend their base against cavalry raids.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Cavalry
Weak vs.	Archers, infantry
Upgrades
Attack	Forging (+1)  Iron Casting (+1)  Blast Furnace (+2)  Arson (+2 attack against standard buildings)  Garland Wars (+4, Aztecs only)  Druzhina (Slavs only, gives trample damage)  Chieftains (Vikings only, gives +5 attack against cavalry and +4 against camels)
Armor	Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1)  Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1)  Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2)  Tower Shields (+2 Pierce Armor, Lithuanians only)
Speed	Squires (+10%)
Sight	Tracking (+2)
Conversion defense	Faith  Heresy
Creation speed	Conscription (+33%)  Perfusion (+100%, Goths only)
Upgrades	Pikeman

Civilization bonuses

Spearmen attacking an enemy Knight.

• Aztecs: Spearmen are created 11% faster.
• Bulgarians: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Spearmen cost 50% less food.
• Burmese: Spearmen have +1/+2/+3 attack in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. Researching Faith is 50% cheaper.
• Byzantines: Spearmen are 25% cheaper.
• Celts: Spearmen move 15% faster. Spearmen can convert herdables even if enemy units are next to them.
• Chinese: Technologies that benefit Spearmen are 10%/15%/20% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Ethiopians: The Pikeman upgrade is free.
• Goths: Spearmen are 25%/30%/35% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age, and have +1/+2/+3 attack against standard buildings in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age. With Perfusion researched, researching Squires and upgrading to Pikeman is 100% faster.
• Japanese: Spearmen attack 33% faster.
• Koreans: Spearmen cost 20% less wood.
• Lithuanians: Spearmen move 10% faster.
• Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
• Malians: Spearmen have +1/+2/+3 pierce armor in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Portuguese: Upgrades that benefit Spearmen are researched 30% faster.
• Sicilians: Spearmen absorb 50% of all incoming bonus damage.
• Spanish: Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Spearmen don't cost gold.
• Tatars: Spearman deal +25% bonus damage from a cliff or an elevation.
• Teutons: Spearman have +1/+0 armor in the Castle Age and +2/+0 in the Imperial Age.
• Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
• Vikings: Spearmen have 10%/15%/20% more hit points in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

Team bonuses

• A team containing Berbers: With Kasbah researched, researching Conscription, Garland Wars, Druzhina, Chieftains, Tower Shields, and Perfusion is 25% faster.
• A team containing Goths: Spearmen are created and upgraded 20% faster. Researching Squires and Arson is 20% faster.
• A team containing Teutons: Spearmen are more resistant to conversion.
• A team containing Lithuanians: Researching Heresy and Faith is 20% faster.
• A team containing Bulgarians: Researching infantry armor and attack upgrades at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.

Changelog

The Age of Kings

• Goths: Spearmen are 10%/15%/25% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.

The Conquerors

• Spearmen gain +7 attack against camel units and ships.
• Heresy introduced.
• Aztecs: Garland Wars introduced.
• Goths: With patch 1.0b, Spearmen are 35% cheaper. Perfusion introduced.

The Forgotten

• Spearmen now have +9 attack against camel units and ships.

The African Kingdoms

• Arson introduced.
• Vikings: With patch 4.8, Chieftains now affects Spearmen. It gives Spearmen +2 attack against camels.

Rise of the Rajas

• With patch 5.7, Spearmen now have +12 attack against camel units.
• Vikings: With patch 5.7, Chieftains now gives Spearmen +4 attack against camels.

Definitive Edition

• Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith upgrades that benefit Spearmen cost 50% less 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.
• Koreans: Spearmen cost 15% less wood. With update 39284, they cost 20% less wood.
• Tracking removed; all infantry now receive +2 LOS from the Feudal Age instead.
• Goths: With update 36202, the cost bonus is 25%/30%/35% in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age and bonus damage against buildings is +1/+2/+3 in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
• Teutons: With update 35584, starting in the Castle Age, Barracks units gain +1 armor. With update 36906, they receive another +1/+0 armor in the Imperial Age.
• Lithuanians: With update 36906, Tower Shields grants +2 pierce armor instead of +1.
• Portuguese: With update 42848, technologies are researched 30% faster.

Trivia

• The Spearman line units are the cheapest of all military units, tied with the Skirmisher, costing only 60 resources and no gold.
• The Spearman line units are the only trash units and also only common infantry units that don't have any base pierce armor.
• Spearmen deal bonus damage against the cheat unit Saboteur (since The Conquerors) because it is in the same unit class as ships.
• Spearmen and Pikemen use the same attack animation as Villagers' in the Iron Age in Age of Empires.
• Though the Turks cannot upgrade Spearmen to Pikemen, their fully upgraded Spearmen can defeat Malian Pikemen.

History

“	The medium infantry of medieval armies were often spearmen wearing half-armor, usually a helmet and armor on the upper body. As the Middle Ages advanced, the role of the spearman became more important. Armies learned to employ large formations of spearmen as a counter to heavy cavalry attacks because horses would not charge home against a bristling wall of spear points. Spearmen were most effective when emulating the ancient Greek phalanx, a dense box of men that could extend several spear points in a chosen direction. As towns grew in importance toward the end of the period, they fielded large contingents of trained spearmen. These were very effective in battle for the cost of their equipment and training. Spearmen were originally deployed in a defensive posture, but the best of the spearman armies, such as the Swiss, Scots, and Flemish, learned to maneuver and take the offensive.	”
—Age of Empires II manual

Gallery

The Spearman line, with the Spearman on the left.

The Spearman line, with the Spearman on the left. In the Definitive Edition.

A group of Spearmen

A group of Spearmen protect their town from a Scout Cavalry raid

Spearman in the Definitive Edition

A soldier armed with spear, sword, & shield, from a 1109 copy of Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana

Add a photo to this gallery