Thumb Ring is a technology in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors available at the Archery Range upon reaching the Castle Age. Once researched, all archers (both foot and mounted) are able to fire faster and with 100% accuracy at non-moving targets. It does not affect gunpowder units.
This technology is different from Ballistics (researched at the University), which improves targeting against moving targets.
The Ethiopian Archer line already fires 18% faster due to their civilization bonus and have access to Thumb Ring. As a result, they have the fastest firing foot archers in the game.
Dravidian Elephant Archers and Mongol mounted archers already fire 25% faster due to their civilization bonuses and have access to Thumb Ring. As a result, they have the fastest-firing and second fastest-firing (Mangudai) mounted archers in the game respectively.
Availability chart[]
Available | Unavailable |
---|---|
- ā means that the civilization had access to Thumb Ring in the past, but does not currently.
Effect[]
The main effects are:
- 100% accuracy
- +17.6% firing rate or -15% reload time
These apply to every unit classified as an archer or cavalry archer (note that this does not include units classified as a Hand Cannoneer or Conquistador). However, additional effects are added to make technology different for some units:
- Skirmisher and Genitour lines, as well as Slingers and Tariq ibn Ziyad +17.6% reload time, basically nullifying the firing rate boost
- Cavalry Archer and War Wagon lines +5.9% reload time, modifying the firing rate boost to +11.1% or -10% reload time
- Chu Ko Nu -5.9% reload time, modifying the firing rate boost to +25% or -20% reload time
Civilization bonuses[]
- Chinese: Thumb Ring is 10%/15% cheaper in the Castle/Imperial Age.
- Spanish: Receive 20 gold after researching Thumb Ring.
- Tatars: Thumb Ring is free.
Team bonuses[]
- Britons: Researching Thumb Ring is 10% faster.
- Portuguese: Researching Thumb Ring is 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Conquerors[]
- Vikings: Can research Thumb Ring.
The Forgotten[]
- Incas: Cannot research Thumb Ring.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Incas: Thumb Ring added to their technology tree. Thumb Ring does not increase the Slinger's Rate of Fire.
Definitive Edition[]
- Portuguese: With update 42848, Thumb Ring is researched 30% faster as a civilization bonus.
- Tatars: With update 36202, Thumb Ring is free.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- Vikings: With update 56005, Vikings can no longer research Thumb Ring.
Dynasties of India[]
- With update 73855, the internal implementation of Thumb Ring is made cleaner and simpler. As a side effect, Heroes and Slingers benefit from it. This change was not mentioned in the patch notes.
- Portuguese: With update 73855, Thumb Ring is researched 25% faster as a team bonus.
- Incas: With update 81058, Fixed an issue where Slingers incorrectly gained attack speed from Thumb Ring.
Trivia[]
- In the Definitive Edition, none of the Western European civilizations can research Thumb Ring, while all African, East Asian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern civilizations can.
- Neither of the civilizations introduced in Lords of the West and The Mountain Royals can research Thumb Ring.
- As of update 56005, Vikings are the only civilization to lose access to Thumb Ring after an update and Incas are the only civilization to gain access to it.
- Thumb Ring benefits ranged Rathas, but not melee ones, making their Rate of Fire distinct.
History[]
ā | The typical archer of the Middle Ages drew the bowstring back to his chest to fire. English longbowmen had the ability to draw back to their cheek, increasing the power and distance of their shots. Archers from Asia developed a thumb ring that made it possible to draw back to their ear or beyond. When this improvement was added to their already very powerful composite bows, their weapons proved quite effective. | ā |
—The Conquerors manual |
References[]