| “ | All-purpose infantry unit. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
| “ | Stronger than Long Swordsman. Attack bonus vs. buildings. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Two-Handed Swordsman is an infantry unit in Age of Empires II that can be trained at the Barracks once the Imperial Age is reached. It is the fourth tier upgrade of the Militia line.
Two-Handed Swordsmen are available to all civilizations except for the Persians, the Romans (who get the Legionary as a replacement upgrade), and the Jurchens (who uniquely lack the Long Swordsman).
Tactics[]
As an upgrade, the Two-Handed Swordsman is decent with +3 attack, especially for its cost. However, Two-Handed Swordsmen are not seen very often because the Champion upgrade becomes available the moment the Two-Handed Swordsman upgrade is researched. However, it is seen in the early Imperial Age to counter Halberdier-ram pushes or all-in Eagle Warriors (though the Cavalier with Bloodlines is sometimes preferred for the latter), when the Champion upgrade is unnecessary. It can be used en masse by the Malay and Bulgarians.
The Malay case is particularly interesting as their Imperial Age unique technology Forced Levy changes the gold cost of the Militia line to food cost, including the Two-Handed Swordsman, making a swarm of these units a viable tactic in late game 'trash wars' where they easily defeat other trash units (Halberdiers, Hussars, and Elite Skirmishers). Explicitly, it modified the cost of the Militia line by +20 food, -20 gold.
Bulgarians also have quite effective Two-Handed Swordsmen, as they get all Militia-line upgrades for free and receive an additional +5 melee armor if Bagains is researched, giving them an advantage in both early and late Imperial Age.
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Elite Skirmishers, Halberdiers, Heavy Camel Riders, Elite Eagle Warriors, buildings |
| Weak vs. | Archers, Heavy Scorpions, Cataphracts, Jaguar Warriors, Boyars, Teutonic Knights |
| Conditional matchups | Hussars |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Fereters (+30, Armenians only)
|
| 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) Chieftains (+5 against cavalry and +4 against camels, Vikings only) Wootz Steel (attack ignores armor, Dravidians only)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1) Plate Mail Armor (+1/+2) Gambesons (0/+1) Bagains (+5/0, Bulgarians only)
|
| 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)
|
| Other | Chieftains (generates 5, 20, and 20 gold when killing Villagers, trade units, and Monks respectively, Vikings only) Druzhina (+0.5 tiles blast radius dealing pure 5 damage, Slavs only)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Hit points
|
 Vikings (+20%)
|
| Attack |  Burmese (+3) Goths (+3 against standard buildings) Tatars (+20% damage {+50% instead of +25%} from higher elevations)
|
| Armor |  Malians (0/+3) Teutons (+2/0)
|
| Damage resistance |  Georgians (-20% {-40% instead of -25%} damage on higher elevations) Sicilians (-33% bonus damage)
|
 Attack speed
|
 Japanese (+33%)
|
| Movement speed
|
 Celts (+20%)
|
| Resource cost | Goths (-30%) Inca (-25% food) Portuguese (-20% gold)
|
| Creation speed |  Aztecs (+15%)
|
| Other |  Armenians (available in the Castle Age)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Attack |  Khitans (+2 vs ranged soldiers)
|
| Conversion resistance | Teutons (+3 min, +1 max)
|
| Line of Sight | Armenians (+2)
|
| Creation speed | Goths (+20%)
|
Civilization bonuses[]
Armenians: Two-Hand Swordsmen are available and can be upgraded to Champions in the Castle Age.- Bulgarians: Blacksmith technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -50% food.
- Burmese: Researching Devotion and Faith is 50% cheaper.
- Celts: Two-Handed Swordsmen can convert herdable animals even if enemy units are next to them.
- Chinese: Technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are 5%/10%/15% cheaper in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Dravidians: Researching Supplies, Gambesons, Arson and Squires, and upgrading to Champion costs -50%.
- Magyars: Forging, Iron Casting, and Blast Furnace are free.
- Malay: Infantry armor technologies are free.
- Slavs: Supplies and Gambesons are free.
- Spanish: Blacksmith technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen cost no gold. Researching technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen provides 20 gold each.
- Vietnamese: Conscription is free.
Team bonuses[]
- Bulgarians: Researching infantry armor and attack technologies at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Goths: Researching Champion, Supplies, Gambesons, Squires, and Arson is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Heresy, Devotion and Faith is 20% faster.
- Portuguese: Technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are researched 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Age of Kings[]
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 11 attack, 0/0 armor, and 0.9 speed, and cost 60 food, 20 gold.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +3 attack against standard buildings.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen upgrade research time is 75 seconds.
- Celts: Two-Handed Swordsmen move 15% faster.
- Goths: Two-Handed Swordsmen are 25% cheaper and have an extra +1 attack against standard buildings.
The Conquerors[]
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +6 attack against shock infantry.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 0/1 armor.
- Heresy introduced.
- Aztecs: Garland Wars introduced.
- Goths: With patch 1.0b, Two-Handed Swordsmen are 35% cheaper. Perfusion introduced.
The Forgotten[]
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have 12 attack.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +4 attack against standard buildings.
- Two-Handed Swordsmen have +8 attack against shock infantry.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Arson introduced.
- Vikings: With patch 4.8, Chieftains affects Two-Handed Swordsmen. It gives Two-Handed Swordsmen +2 attack against camels.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- Vikings: With patch 5.7, Chieftains gives Two-Handed Swordsmen +4 attack against camels.
- Malay: Forced Levy removes Two-Handed Swordsmen's gold cost.
Definitive Edition[]
- Tracking is free.
- Supplies introduced.
- Bulgarians: Initially, Bagains gives +3 armor to Two-Handed Swordsmen. With update 34055, it gives +5 armor.
- Bulgarians: With update 42848, Blacksmith technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen 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, bonus damage against standard buildings is +3. Goths lose access to Arson.
- Malay: Forced Levy changes Two-Handed Swordsmen's gold cost to food cost.
- Portuguese: With update 42848, as a civilization bonus, technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are researched 30% faster.
- Teutons: With update 35584, Two-Handed Swordsmen have +1 armor. With update 36906, they have +2 armor.
Lords of the West[]
- Sicilians: Two-Handed Swordsmen resist 50% bonus damage. With update 47820, First Crusade increases the conversion resistance of Two-Handed Swordsmen.
Dawn of the Dukes[]
- With update 54480, Two-Handed Swordsmen have 1/1 armor.
Dynasties of India[]
- Sicilians: With update 66692, Two-Handed Swordsmen resist only 33% bonus damage.
- Portuguese: With update 73855, as a team bonus, technologies that benefit Two-Handed Swordsmen are researched 25% faster.
- With update 81058, Two-Handed Swordsmen research time is reduced to 60 seconds and Gambesons is introduced.
- Inca: With update 81058, Two-Handed Swordsmen cost -30% food.
- Malay: with update 81058, infantry armor technologies are free.
The Mountain Royals[]
- Inca: With update 99311, they cost -15%/-20%/-25% food.
Chronicles: Battle for Greece[]
- With update 141935:
Heroes[]
The following heroes in the game have the appearance of a Two-Handed Swordsman:
- Henry II (in the HD Edition only; in the Definitive Edition, the model is the same, but with a different pose)
- Le Lai (removed) (HD)
- Mleh
History[]
| “ | As armor improved, so did weapons. The two-handed sword was an innovation that allowed a man to swing with the power of both arms, not just one. This was a long and heavy sword, and it required a strong and well-trained man. The two-handed swordsman was a formidable adversary in hand-to-hand combat. Two-handed swordsmen used no shield and relied on the power of their attack to overcome an opponent's shield and armor. Although he struck fewer times, each swing had the potential of being a mortal blow, regardless of the armor and weapons of the defender. | ” |
Trivia[]
- The Militia line is the only unit line in the game with more than three stages.
- The Malay are the only civilization to have the Militia line (except the Champion) as trash units once Forced Levy is researched.
- A fully upgraded Malay Two-Handed Swordsman with Forced Levy gets 16 attack, the highest of all trash units.
- All units of the Militia line have protective gloves except the Two-Handed Swordsman.
- The Two-Handed Swordsman upgrade is the only upgrade not improving upon the defensive statistics of the unit. The only improvement of the upgrade is the increased attack, both base melee and attack bonuses.
- A fully upgraded Bulgarian Two-Handed Swordsman gets 9 melee armor, having the second highest melee armor of all infantry units and the third of all land units, being only beaten by the Elite Boyar with 11 melee armor and the Elite Teutonic Knight with 13 melee armor.
Gallery[]
The Militia line, with the Two-Handed Swordsman second from the right
The Militia line, with the Two-Handed Swordsman second from the right in the top row, in the Definitive Edition
Views of the Two-Handed-Swordsmen in the Definitive Edition
A group of Two-Handed-Swordsmen before the Definitive Edition
Two-Handed Swordsmen fighting Huskarls
A group of Two-Handed Swordsmen in the Definitive Edition
Unit sprite in the Definitive Edition
