The Turks are primarily an offensive civilization focusing on gunpowder units and mounted units. Military bonuses provide the Turks with a powerful advantage over defensive civilizations at long range. This civilization is among the best in the early Imperial Age and is flexible on both land and water. However, they are less effective if played defensively for most of the game, especially in early games, and their lackluster trash unit line makes the Turks less ideal in 1v1 matches in the late game.
Strengths[]
They obtain Chemistry for free, gunpowder technologies are cheaper, and their gunpowder units gain a bonus 25% hit points. They also gain the Light Cavalry and Hussar upgrades for free. This gives them an enormous power spike at the start of the Imperial Age and makes them one of the best civilizations for a Fast Imperial strategy. A combination of Hand Cannoneers/Janissaries, Bombard Cannons, and Hussars is hard to stop at any stage of the Imperial Age, but especially so when the opponent is in the Castle Age.
Their unique unit is the Janissary, a Hand Cannoneer with increased attack and armor, at the cost of anti-infantry attack. Artillery gives their Bombard Towers, Bombard Cannons, and Cannon Galleons +2 range, though the latter two lack Siege Engineers. Bombard Towers will provide a lot of map control and Bombard Cannons can attack enemy Bombard Cannons with much more safety.
With free unit upgrades and a latent +1 pierce armor, the Turks have one of the game's best Light Cavalry (Age of Empires II) lines. +1 pierce armor allows them to better counter enemy archers and resist tower and Castle fire while raiding. They also have some of the best Cavalry Archers, with a full kit of upgrades and Sipahi giving them +20 hit points. In addition, they have fully upgraded Cavaliers and Heavy Camel Riders.
Their ability to gather gold faster than other civilizations, coupled with access to fully upgraded Crossbowmen, Knights, and Castle Age Monks, means they have a lot of flexibility during the mid and late game.
Weaknesses[]
The Turks' biggest and most apparent weakness is their complete lack of the Elite Skirmisher and Pikemen upgrades. Even in just the Castle Age, this makes defending against rushes much more difficult, and forces the Turk to rely on other units to compensate. This also makes them one of the most gold-reliant civilizations in the game, and they are one of the worst in a Trash War.
The Turks' early game is slow, without any military bonus or strong economic bonus.
Most of their non-gunpowder siege weapons are weak compared to other civilizations as they cannot upgrade their Mangonels and lack Siege Engineers.
Strategy[]
Turks are a weak early game civilization. They gain an economic edge in the early game with their gold-gathering bonus, but they must focus on reaching the Castle or Imperial Age as soon as reasonably possible. The former is safer, while the latter is more powerful. Apart from their gold mining bonus and +1 pierce armor on their Scout Cavalry, Turks have no early game bonuses and because of this, Turks are vulnerable in early game. When playing in 1 vs 1 games or a free for all game they must try to wall themselves in to avoid a rush and focus on aging up.
Once in the Castle Age, the Turks start to become a fearsome power in the game. Crossbowmen, Knights, Camel Riders, and Monks are all great and available. The Janissary is an option, but its Castle requirement makes it suboptimal.
There is no doubt that the Turks are one of the most powerful civilizations in the early Imperial Age. The Hussar should be used, as it is by far the cheapest viable unit the Turks have and has a free upgrade and +1 pierce armor. The main force of the Turk army should be Heavy Cavalry Archers, Elite Janissaries, or Hand Cannoneers, combined with Bombard Cannons. Cavaliers, Heavy Camel Riders, and Champions are all solid options when gold is abundant. With their +2 range, Bombard Towers exert a lot of control and should be built in contested areas. The Turks must make sure to end the game before their gold runs out, as without gold they drastically fall off.
In maps with water, it goes mostly the same as in land. Turks do not get any relevant buffs to their navy until they reach the Imperial Age and get Cannon Galleons.
Strategy changes in The Forgotten[]
Turkish new tech Sipahi gives their Cavalry Archers more hit points, making them better at raiding and increasing their durability in battle. Elite Janissaries are now affected by their team bonus, so it is easier to make a large number of them in the late game.
Strategy changes in The African Kingdoms[]
The reduced cost of Cavalry Archers, coupled with the Sipahi technology makes Cavalry Archers even more viable than before.
Strategy changes in Rise of the Rajas[]
Gold miners now work 20% faster, so the Turks can advance, research upgrades, and afford the gold-intensive army earlier than before.
Strategy changes in the Definitive Edition[]
The Turks receive a new civilization bonus in update 42848 where their Scout unit line gain +1 pierce armor. This balance change is meant to offset the Turks' weak early game in 1v1 matches and their lackluster trash unit line. The additional pierce armor for their Scout unit line allows the Turks to perform a viable scout rush in the Feudal Age against strong archer civilizations since a fully upgraded Scout Cavalry will only take one damage against fully upgraded Archers in the Feudal Age. In addition, the accuracy of the Elite Jannissary was increased from 55% to 65%, resulting in fewer missed shots.
Strategy changes in Lords of the West[]
With update 47820, the Cannon Galleon technology was removed, and Cannon Galleons are now available as soon as Chemistry is researched. For the Turks, this is a major advantage on water maps in the Imperial Age, because they can be fielded as soon as the Imperial Age is reached.
With update 50292, the cost of Artillery was changed so it costs wood instead of stone. It is now easier to get the +2 range for an early Imperial Age Bombard Cannon push.
Strategy changes in Return of Rome[]
Non-Elite Janissaries have 7 range instead of 8, making them no longer able to kite fully upgraded Crossbowmen, Skirmishers, and Mangonels. This is done to balance their overpowered arena performance.
Alliances[]
As mentioned previously, Turks are vulnerable in the early game. As such, when playing in team games, they should get the pocket position, as their allies can defend them until they get to Imperial Age. Turks in team games prefer to create their strong variety of ranged units and pair well with a civilization with strong melee units. The Turkish team bonus is valuable to any civilization that has access to gunpowder units, though the Turks themselves usually will fulfill the team's gunpowder requirements. The Turks' reliance on gold is less impactful given that gold is in infinite supply with trade.
Aztecs: Their team bonus generates more relic gold, which is useful to sustain the gunpowder army. Aztecs have great infantry and rush potential, with the biggest gaps in their technology tree fulfilled by the Turks.
Berbers: The Berber team bonus enables the Turks to train Genitours. Turkish Genitours get +20 hit points from the Sipahi technology. The Berbers have a strong selection of Gunpowder units as well.
Bohemians: Allying with a Bohemian teammate provides more efficient Markets to improve the economy of the Turkish players, and the Bohemians in return get a faster production rate for their strong gunpowder units.- Bulgarians: Their team bonus makes it easier for the Turks to get their Blacksmith upgrades. The Bulgarians have a strong variety of melee units as well.
- Burgundians: team bonus (Relics generate food in addition to gold)
- Cumans: Their unique technology Cuman Mercenaries grants allies 5 free trainable Elite Kipchaks per Castle. The Cumans' Paladins are also strong.
- Gurjaras: Their team bonus makes Camel Riders easier to train, and the Gurjaras have a selection of gunpower units to benefit from the Turkish bonus. The Gurjaras have very strong Heavy Camel Riders and Shrivamsha Riders to aid the Turks.
- Huns: Their team bonus speeds up Stables by 20%, and the Turks have a solid selection of cavalry. The Huns also have paladins to buffer the Turks' army.
- Hindustanis: The Hindustani team bonus makes Turkish Heavy Camel Riders and Hussars raze enemy buildings quicker. In return, the Hindustanis' strong Gunpowder units are trained faster. The Hindustanis also have a great section of melee units, notably the Imperial Camel Rider. The Caravanserai also boosts trade.
- Poles: Their team bonus gives Turkish Light Cavalry +1 anti-archer attack. The Poles have the Obuch to maintain the line for the Turks.
- Portuguese: They are good allies, as they can speed up the research rate of Turk technologies, while also having strong gunpowder units to appreciate the Turk team bonus.
- Spanish: As the Turks often rely on units that cost gold, the Turks and the Spanish can make an excellent team, as the 33% trade bonus generates extra gold for the powerful Turkish units (Cavalry Archers, Janissaries, Bombard Cannons, and Cannon Galleons), and the Turkish team bonus speeds up the creation speed of the Spanish's gunpowder units. The Spanish also have the Paladin, which works great with the Turk's strong gunpowder.
Compared advantages and disadvantages[]
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Advantages vs other civilizations[]
- The Janissary, being a gunpowder unit with high range and a high attack, can easily counter slow and short-ranged units such as infantry. Even prominent infantry civilizations have trouble against contingents of Janissaries. Their bulkier Hand Cannoneers are also a great asset against infantry-based civilizations. Janissaries, if massed, can deliver volleys that can mow down even contingents of powerful heavy cavalry, such as Paladins and Battle Elephants. Since they have a high damage output, they can also help destroy buildings. Properly managed, they can be devastating against the Bulgarian Konnik in both mounted and dismounted forms.
- As the Turks have an auto-upgraded Scout Cavalry line and gain access to all upgrades for them (while also getting Cavalry Archers boosted by the Sipahi technology), they can deliver Scout Cavalry/Cavalry Archer rushes, which is effective against civilizations with poorer early and mid-game. This is especially noticeable if starting in the Feudal Age and playing in open maps. Also, they can counter enemy Monks very effectively with their light cavalry. As their Light Cavalry also get extra pierce armor, they have a huge advantage against archer civilizations and are more useful for raiding in the early game, as towers and garrisoned Town Centers will need to fire more shots to fend off Turkish raids.
- With great Bombard Cannons, they have a huge advantage in the late game against civilizations with poor defensive structures. Even civilizations with good defensive bonuses may struggle against the Turkish Bombard Cannons. Their Bombard Cannons are also effective at destroying upgraded Trebuchets.
- Defensively, the Turks have an advantage over civilizations with poor siege, as their Bombard Towers are great, and they get access to all defensive technologies at Blacksmith and University.
- Regarding their naval warfare, they are at an advantage against civilizations that rely on coastal defenses, as their Cannon Galleons can fire from longer distances and have more HP. This makes the Turks more effective on water maps against defensive civilizations such as the Byzantines and the Koreans.
- Since they mine gold faster and have access to all Monastery technologies available in the Castle Age, they can perform a good Monk rush, which can counter expensive units of civilizations that lack Heresy, such as elephants.
Disadvantages vs other civilizations[]
- Despite the fact the Janissary has great damage output and works especially great if massed, they can be countered by siege units (especially Siege Onagers), masses of Scorpions, and Bombard Cannons. Civilizations with overall good siege engines have an advantage over Turk Janissaries.
- Up close, Janissaries can be killed easily due to their low hit points. Enemy archers are also an issue, as they can take advantage of the Janissary's low accuracy, low pierce armor, and low rate of fire. Civilizations with good archers can overwhelm Janissaries.
- Despite the fact they have a heavy late game if they can access gold, they lack key upgrades for their trash unit lines, being the only civilization today to lack both Pikemen and the Elite Skirmisher. Civilizations with good trash units can easily overturn the Turkish army in trash wars.
- Despite having possibly the best early Imperial Age, they are very vulnerable in open maps like Arabia against civilizations with early aggression, especially if starting in the Dark Age.
- Regarding naval warfare, they are at a disadvantage against civilizations that can perform Galley or Fire Galley rushes as their powerful Cannon Galleons aren't available until Imperial Age.
- Civilizations with strong siege units are very strong against most of the Turks' defensive structures in the late game. Siege Rams are also effective against Turkish Bombard Towers and any of the Turks' gunpowder units since they have extremely high pierce armor.
- Despite having an above-average Monk rush during the Castle Age, they lack Block Printing and Illumination, both of which are very essential for Monks in the late game. Monks are very costly, so their Monk rush edge will not last long in the Imperial Age.
Situational advantages[]
- In maps like Golden Pit or Gold Rush, where there are huge deposits of gold in the center, the Turks are at a huge advantage if they can take control of those areas. Turks mine gold faster (which also prevents their opponents from getting it), allowing them to access their formidable gunpowder units and Cavalry Archers.
- In closed maps like Black Forest, Turks may get an advantage if they manage to wall up and boom until Imperial Age. The same logic can apply to maps like Arena and Fortress, where they are not as vulnerable to early rushes.
- In Death Matches, where the scarcity of gold is not an issue, they can gain an advantage if they survive until the Imperial Age by delivering masses of boosted gunpowder units.
- Similarly, the Turks are an excellent civilization in team games due to the ability to establish a trade line with an allied player and having access to gold-efficient units, hence not needing to worry about running out of gold in the late game.
- They are one of the best-equipped civilizations in Post-Imperial Age matches, as they have several bonuses for gunpowder units.
- In "Capture the Relic" game mode, their auto-upgradable light cavalry gives them an edge, as they can negate enemy monks from reaching the relic in the center of the map.
